Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Caledonian Canal

(Encyclopedia)Caledonian Canal, waterway, c.60 mi (100 km) long, cutting across Highland, N Scotland, from Moray Firth to Loch Linnhe by way of the Great Glen. It was built in two phases (1803–22 and 1843–47; o...

Fife, council area, Scotland

(Encyclopedia)Fife, council area (1993 est. pop. 351,200), 510 sq mi (1,322 sq km), and former county, E Scotland, between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Tay. The land rises to 1,500 ft (457 m) in the Lomond H...

Mansfield, William Murray, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Mansfield, William Murray, 1st earl of, 1705–93, English jurist. As solicitor general (1742–54) he prosecuted the Scottish rebel lords, Balmerino (Arthur Elphinstone), Kilmarnock, and Lovat. In 17...

Carte, Richard D'Oyly

(Encyclopedia)Carte, Richard D'Oyly doiˈlē kärt [key], 1844–1901, English impresario. His choice of presentations did much to raise the level of English musical theater. In 1875 he produced Trial by Jury, the ...

Bayeux tapestry

(Encyclopedia)Bayeux tapestry. This so-called tapestry is in fact an embroidery that chronicles the Norman Conquest of England by William the Conqueror (William I) in 1066. It is a long, narrow strip of coarse line...

Burnet, Gilbert

(Encyclopedia)Burnet, Gilbert bûrˈnĭt [key], 1643–1715, Scottish bishop and writer. He studied in Scotland, England, and abroad, held minor ecclesiastical office in Scotland, and was appointed (1669) professor...

Melbourne, William Lamb, 2d Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Melbourne, William Lamb, 2d Viscount mĕlˈbərn [key], 1779–1848, British statesman. He entered Parliament as a Whig in 1805, was (1827–28) chief secretary for Ireland, and entered (1828) the Hou...

Turner, Joseph Mallord William

(Encyclopedia)Turner, Joseph Mallord William, 1775–1851, English landscape painter, b. London. Turner was the foremost English romantic painter and the most original of English landscape artists; in watercolor he...

Arran

(Encyclopedia)Arran ârˈən [key], island (1981 pop. 4,725), 165 sq mi (427 sq km), North Ayshire, W Scotland, in the Firth of Clyde. It is largely granitic and is wild and rocky; it rises to 2,866 ft (874 m). Its...

Port Glasgow

(Encyclopedia)Port Glasgow, town (1991 pop. 22,636), Inverclyde, W Scotland, on the Firth of Clyde. Its dry dock, built in 1762, was one of the first of its kind in Scotland. It was founded in 1668 as a port for Gl...

Browse by Subject