Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Portsmouth, cities, United States

(Encyclopedia)Portsmouth. 1 City (1990 pop. 25,925), Rockingham co., SE N.H., a port of entry with a good harbor and a state-owned port terminal at the mouth of the Piscataqua River opposite Kittery, Maine; inc. 16...

Oban

(Encyclopedia)Oban ōˈbən [key], town (1991 pop. 8,000), Argyll and Bute, W Scotland, on the Firth of Lorn. A port and seaside resort, its circular bay makes a fine yacht basin. Highland Games are held there each...

Melville, Sir James

(Encyclopedia)Melville, Sir James, 1535–1617, Scottish diplomat. He was a page to Mary Queen of Scots in France and, after her return to Scotland, was employed as Mary's representative at the court of Elizabeth I...

muslin

(Encyclopedia)muslin, general name for plain woven fine white cottons for domestic use. It is believed that muslins were first made at Mosul (now a city of Iraq). They were widely made in India, from where they wer...

Lanarkshire

(Encyclopedia)Lanarkshire lănˈərk, –ärk [key], former county, central Scotland. Lanarkshire became (1975) part of the Strathclyde region; when the region was dissolved (1996) the council areas of North and So...

Mallet, David

(Encyclopedia)Mallet or Malloch, David mălˈĭt, –əkh [key], c.1705–1765, English poet and dramatist, b. Scotland. His best-known work is the ballad William and Margaret (1720). Although he wrote several trag...

Maree, Loch

(Encyclopedia)Maree, Loch lŏkh mərēˈ [key], lake, 13 mi (21 km) long and 1 to 3 mi (1.6–4.8 km) wide, Highland, NW Scotland. It drains into the Minch through the Ewe River and Loch Ewe. Set in the Highlands, ...

Barclay, John

(Encyclopedia)Barclay, John, 1734–98, minister of the Church of Scotland and founder of the Bereans or Barclayites. His Without Faith, without God (1769) and other works were unacceptable to his presbytery, and h...

Telford, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Telford, Thomas, 1757–1834, Scottish civil engineer. He greatly improved road building in England and Scotland. He introduced the use of a base of large stones surfaced with compacted layers of smal...

Renfrew

(Encyclopedia)Renfrew rĕnˈfro͞o [key], town (1991 pop. 21,550), Renfrewshire, W central Scotland, on the Clyde River, near Glasgow. It has shipyards and manufactures rubber, paint, and soap. A busy Clydeside por...