Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

496 results found

Lane, Sir Ralph

(Encyclopedia)Lane, Sir Ralph, c.1530–1603, leader of the first attempted English settlement in America, on Roanoke Island, N.C. Sent by Sir Walter Raleigh, the expedition of over 100 colonists left England in Ap...

Samsonov, Aleksandr Vasilyevich

(Encyclopedia)Samsonov, Aleksandr Vasilyevich əlyĭksänˈdər vəsēˈlyəvĭch səmsôˈnəf [key], 1859–1914, Russian general. Early in World War I, when his army advanced into East Prussia (see Masuria) in o...

eisteddfod

(Encyclopedia)eisteddfod īstĕᵺˈvəd, –vôd [key] [Welsh,=session], Welsh competitive festival. Contests traditionally are held in all the arts and crafts, with special emphasis on music and poetry. The Natio...

Pérez, Juan

(Encyclopedia)Pérez, Juan hwän pāˈrāth [key], d. 1774, Spanish colonial naval officer, explorer on the coast of the Pacific Northwest. In 1774 he commanded a fleet sent by the Spanish viceroy to investigate Ru...

Mahgoub, Muhammad Ahmad

(Encyclopedia)Mahgoub, Muhammad Ahmad mo͞ohämˈmäd äkhmädˈ mäˈgo͞o [key], 1908–76, Sudanese political leader. After twice serving as Sudan's minister of foreign affairs (1956–58, 1964–65), he was ele...

Tsushima

(Encyclopedia)Tsushima tso͞oˈshēmä [key], two Japanese islands in Korea Strait. The islands are rocky, and fishing is the main occupation. Nearby, in May, 1905, occurred the major naval battle of the Russo-Japa...

Beer's law

(Encyclopedia)Beer's law [for August Beer], physical law stating that the quantity of light absorbed by a substance dissolved in a nonabsorbing solvent is directly proportional to the concentration of the substance...

Modersohn-Becker, Paula

(Encyclopedia)Modersohn-Becker, Paula mōˈdərzōnˌ-bĕkˈər [key], 1876–1907, German painter. After studying in London and Berlin, she was greatly influenced by her experience at Worpswede, an artists' colony...

Merseburg

(Encyclopedia)Merseburg mĕrˈzəbo͝ork [key], city (1994 pop. 41,528), Saxony-Anhalt, E central Germany, on the Saale River. It is an industrial city and a lignite-mining center. Manufactures include chemicals, p...

Brunswick, city, Germany

(Encyclopedia)Brunswick or Braunschweig brounˈshvīk [key], city, Lower Saxony, central Germany, on th...