Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Crerar, Henry Duncan Graham

(Encyclopedia)Crerar, Henry Duncan Graham krērˈär [key], 1888–1965, Canadian general in World War II. He fought in World War I and later headed the Royal Military College. In 1940 he was made chief of the Cana...

Flèche, La

(Encyclopedia)Flèche, La lä flĕsh [key], town, Sarthe dept., on the Loir River. The town has a few light ...

caudillo

(Encyclopedia)caudillo kôdēlˈyō Span. kouᵺēˈyō [key], [Span.,= military strongman], type of South American political leader that arose with the 19th-century wars of independence. The first caudillos were o...

creole language

(Encyclopedia)creole language krēōlˈ [key], any language that began as a pidgin but was later adopted as the mother tongue by a people in place of the original mother tongue or tongues. Examples are the Gullah o...

corundum

(Encyclopedia)corundum kərŭnˈdəm [key], mineral, aluminum oxide, Al2O3. The clear varieties are used as gems and the opaque as abrasive materials. Corundum occurs in crystals of the hexagonal system and in mass...

Iredell, James

(Encyclopedia)Iredell, James īrˈdĕl [key], 1751–99, American jurist, b. Lewes, England. He emigrated (1767) to North Carolina, where he entered the customs service at Edenton and was made (1774) collector for ...

Tizard, Sir Henry Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Tizard, Sir Henry Thomas, 1885–1959, English physical chemist and scientific adviser. He was educated at Westminster school and Magdalen College, Oxford, from which he received honors in natural sci...

Freeman, Douglas Southall

(Encyclopedia)Freeman, Douglas Southall sŭᵺˈôl, –əl [key], 1886–1953, American editor and historian, b. Lynchburg, Va. ...

Grahamstown

(Encyclopedia)Grahamstown, city, now part and seat of Makana local municipality, Eastern Cape prov., SE South Africa. It manufactures pottery and is the commercial center for a rich agricultural region. Founded in ...

Krishna Menon, Vengalil Krishnan

(Encyclopedia)Krishna Menon, Vengalil Krishnan vĕngäˈlēl krĭshˈnən krĭshˈnə mĕnˈĭn [key], 1897–1974, Indian diplomat. He was educated at the Presidency College and the Law College of Madras (now Chen...