Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Bülow, Friedrich Wilhelm, Freiherr von

(Encyclopedia)Bülow, Friedrich Wilhelm, Freiherr von fən büˈlō [key], 1755–1816, Prussian general in the Napoleonic Wars. After his victories (1813) over the French at Gross Beeren and at Dennewitz he was c...

Wilson, Pete

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, Pete (Peter Barton Wilson), 1933–, American politician, b. Lake Forest, Ill. A lawyer and moderate Republican, he began his career in local politics. He was a campaign aide in Richard Nixon'...

Wolcott, Oliver, signer of the Declaration of Independence

(Encyclopedia)Wolcott, Oliver, 1726–97, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. South Windsor (then in Windsor), Conn.; son of Roger Wolcott. He fought in King G...

Yamashita, Tomoyuki

(Encyclopedia)Yamashita, Tomoyuki tōmōˈyo͞okē yämäˈshētä [key], 1888–1946, Japanese general. He studied military science in Germany. He commanded (1941) the Malayan campaign and forced Singapore to surr...

McClellan, George Brinton

(Encyclopedia)McClellan, George Brinton, 1826–85, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Philadelphia. After graduating (1846) from West Point, he served with distinction in the Mexican War and later worked ...

Numantia

(Encyclopedia)Numantia no͞omănˈshə [key], ancient settlement, Spain, near the Durius (now Douro) River and north of modern Soria. Numantia played a central role in the Celt-Iberian resistance to Roman conquest....

McNary, Charles Linza

(Encyclopedia)McNary, Charles Linza, 1874–1944, U.S. senator (1917–44), b. near Salem, Oreg. Admitted (1898) to the bar in Oregon, he became prominent in the Republican party. In the Senate he sponsored farm ai...

Rivas

(Encyclopedia)Rivas, town (1995 est. pop. 22,255), SW Nicaragua. It is on the Isthmus of Rivas, a narrow land strip between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean. Rivas is the commercial center of a region which pro...

Shaw, Leslie Mortier

(Encyclopedia)Shaw, Leslie Mortier, 1848–1932, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1902–7), b. Morristown, Vt. Admitted to the Iowa bar in 1876, he organized (1880) a banking firm that specialized in agricultural c...

Shelby

(Encyclopedia)Shelby, city (1990 pop. 14,669), seat of Cleveland co., W N.C., in a fertile piedmont farming (cotton, grain, soybeans, livestock) area; inc. 1843. There is dairy processing, and plastic and metal pro...