Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Schwarzkopf, H. Norman

(Encyclopedia)Schwarzkopf, H. Norman (Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.), 1934–2012, U.S. army general, b. Trenton, N.J. He graduated from West Point (1956) and served two tours of duty in the Vietnam War, the firs...

Indian Ocean

(Encyclopedia)Indian Ocean, third largest ocean, c.28,350,000 sq mi (73,427,000 sq km), extending from S Asia to Antarctica and from E Africa to SE Australia; it is c.4,000 mi (6,400 km) wide at the equator. It con...

Kuwait

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Kuwait or Kowait ko͝owātˈ [key], officially State of Kuwait, constitutional emirate (2015 est. pop. 3,936,000), 6,177 sq mi (16,000 sq km), NE Arabian peninsula, at the head of the Persian G...

Thermopylae

(Encyclopedia)Thermopylae thərmŏpˈĭlē [key] [Gr.,=hot gates, from hot mineral springs nearby], pass, E central Greece, SE of Lamía, between the cliffs of Mt. Oeta and the Malic Gulf. Silt accumulation has gra...

Dubai

(Encyclopedia)Dubai do͞obīˈ [key], sheikhdom (2021 pop. 2,921,376), c.1,500 sq mi (3,890 sq km), part of...

Qatar

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Qatar or Katar both: kŭˈtər, gŭ–, kətärˈ [key], officially State of Qatar, independent emirate (2015 est. pop. 2,482,000), c.4,400 sq mi (11,400 sq km), E Arabia, coextensive with the ...

Hurd, Douglas

(Encyclopedia)Hurd, Douglas, 1930–, British politician. Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, he worked in the diplomatic service (1952–66) and later served as Prime Minister Edward Heath's political...

Heyerdahl, Thor

(Encyclopedia)Heyerdahl, Thor hāˈərdälˌ, hīˈ– [key], 1914–2002, Norwegian explorer and anthropologist, b. Larvik. He carried out research in the Marquesas Islands in 1937–38 and studied the indigenous ...

Middle East

(Encyclopedia)Middle East, term traditionally applied by western Europeans to the countries of SW Asia and NE Africa lying W of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. Thus defined it includes Cyprus, the Asian part of T...

Bush, George Herbert Walker

(Encyclopedia)Bush, George Herbert Walker, 1924–2018, 41st President of the United States (1989–93), b. Milton, Mass., B.A., Yale Univ., 1948. Bush's handling of domestic affairs was less successful. The savi...