Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Oliveros, Pauline

(Encyclopedia)Oliveros, Pauline, 1932–2016, American composer and musician, b. Houston, Tex., studied Univ. of Houston, San Francisco State College (B.A., 1957). She began playing the accordion as a child, and it...

Menuhin, Yehudi

(Encyclopedia)Menuhin, Yehudi yəho͞oˈdē mĕnˈyo͞oĭn [key], 1916–99, British violinist and conductor, b. New York City. Menuhin, an extraordinary prodigy, began playing the violin at four. He made his debut...

Imperial Beach

(Encyclopedia)Imperial Beach, residential and resort city (2020 pop. 26,137), San Diego co., S Calif., on the Mexican border; inc. 1956. The southwesternmost city in ...

Sanger

(Encyclopedia)Sanger, city (1990 pop. 16,839), Fresno co., S central Calif., in the San Joaquin Valley; inc. 1911. It is a shipping and processing center for a variety of agricultural products. Manufactures include...

Davidson, George

(Encyclopedia)Davidson, George, 1825–1911, American geographer and astronomer, b. England. From 1845 to 1895 he was on the staff of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. He charted (1850–60) the U.S. Pacific coas...

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

(Encyclopedia)Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, 132.4 sq mi (343 sq km), in the San Luis Valley of S Colorado; est. as a national monument 1932, designated a national park 2004. Lying in an area of high ...

Montana, Joe

(Encyclopedia)Montana, Joe (Joseph Clifford Montana) mŏntănˈə [key], 1956–, American football player, b. New Eagle, Pa. After playing at Notre Dame Univ., he starred (1979–93) for the San Francisco 49ers of...

Morris, Wright

(Encyclopedia)Morris, Wright (Wright Marion Morris), 1910–98, American writer, b. Central City, Nebr. He was for many years professor of English at San Francisco State College (now San Francisco State Univ.). Fro...

Kern

(Encyclopedia)Kern, river, 155 mi (249 km) long, rising in the S Sierra Nevada Mts., E Calif., and flowing south, then southwest to a reservoir in the extreme southern part of the San Joaquin valley. The river has ...

Miró Ferrer, Gabriel

(Encyclopedia)Miró Ferrer, Gabriel fĕrĕrˈ [key], 1879–1930, Spanish novelist and short-story writer. One of the Generation of '98, he achieved his powerful individual style through unusual combinations of wor...

Browse by Subject