Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

frijole

(Encyclopedia)frijole frēhōˈlē [key] [Span. fríjol ], in Mexico and the Spanish-American countries, any cultivated bean of the genus Phaseolus. The term frijole refers to the small, flat, black bean that ran...

Stevenson, Robert Louis

(Encyclopedia)Stevenson, Robert Louis, 1850–94, Scottish novelist, poet, and essayist, b. Edinburgh. Handicapped from youth by delicate health, he struggled all his life against tuberculosis. He studied law and w...

Ashe, Arthur Robert

(Encyclopedia)Ashe, Arthur Robert, 1943–93, American tennis player, b. Richmond, Va. Ashe rose from his hometown's public courts to become the first African-American male to reach prominence in tennis. He won the...

Rozelle, Pete

(Encyclopedia)Rozelle, Pete (Alvin Rozelle), 1926–96, American football executive, b. South Gate, Calif. As commissioner of the National Football League (NFL; 1960–89), he guided the league through expansion fr...

Marion, Francis

(Encyclopedia)Marion, Francis mârˈēən [key], c.1732–1795, American Revolutionary soldier, known as the Swamp Fox, b. near Georgetown, S.C. He was a planter and Indian fighter before joining (1775) William Mou...

Byrnes, James Francis

(Encyclopedia)Byrnes, James Francis, 1879–1972, American public official, Secretary of State (1945–47), governor of South Carolina (1951–55), b. Charleston, S.C. He studied law while working (1900–1908) as ...

Buttigieg, Pete

(Encyclopedia)Buttigieg, Pete (Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg) bo͞otˈəjĕj [key], 1982–, American pol...

Masekela, Hugh

(Encyclopedia)Masekela, Hugh măsˌəkĕlˈə [key], 1939–2018, South African singer, composer, band leader, and trumpet player. After working with several South African jazz bands, he and his then-wife Miriam Ma...

Columbus, Christopher

(Encyclopedia)Columbus, Christopher, Ital. Cristoforo Colombo krēstōˈbäl kōlōnˈ [key], 1451–1506, European explorer, b. Genoa, Italy. Columbus was not the first European mariner to sail to the New World�...

Browse by Subject