Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Pitman, Sir Isaac

(Encyclopedia)Pitman, Sir Isaac, 1813–97, English inventor of phonographic shorthand. In Stenographic Soundhand (1837) he set forth a shorthand system based on phonetic rather than orthographic principles; adapte...

Bladensburg

(Encyclopedia)Bladensburg blāˈdənzbûrg [key], town (2020 pop. 9,657), Prince Georges co., S central Md., a ...

Matagorda Bay

(Encyclopedia)Matagorda Bay mătəgôrˈdə [key], inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, c.50 mi (80 km) long and from 3 to 12 mi (4.8–19 km) wide, SE Tex., protected by a long sandspit, Matagorda Peninsula. It receives t...

Tindal, Matthew

(Encyclopedia)Tindal, Matthew tĭnˈdəl [key], c.1655–1733, English deist. For a short time in the reign of James II he was a Roman Catholic, but in 1688 he returned to the Church of England. The first of his pu...

Faversham

(Encyclopedia)Faversham făvˈərshəm [key], town, Kent, SE England, a port on a tributary of the Swale River. ...

Escondido

(Encyclopedia)Escondido ĕskəndēˈdō [key], city (2020 pop. 151,038), San Diego co., S Calif.; inc. 1888. ...

Eaton, Amos

(Encyclopedia)Eaton, Amos ēˈtən [key], 1776–1842, American naturalist, b. Chatham, N.Y., grad. Williams College, 1799. After practicing law for a time, he conducted pioneer geological surveys in Albany and Ren...

Johnson, Herschel Vespasian

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Herschel Vespasian, 1812–80, U.S. political leader, b. Burke co., Ga. Admitted to the bar in 1834, he filled (1848–49) an unexpired Senate term before serving as circuit court judge (1849...

Pejë

(Encyclopedia)Pejë, Peja pĕch [key], town (2011 pop. 95,723), W Kosovo. A trade center, it has industries that produce leather goods, foodstuffs, and handicrafts. Stephen Dušan in 1346 made the town the seat of...

Platt, Charles Adams

(Encyclopedia)Platt, Charles Adams, 1861–1933, American architect, landscape architect, painter, and etcher, b. New York City. He studied etching with Stephen Parrish and painting, in Paris, under Boulanger and L...