Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Barry, John

(Encyclopedia)Barry, John, 1745–1803, U.S. naval officer in the American Revolution, b. Co. Wexford, Ireland. He went as a youth to Philadelphia, where he was a trader and a shipmaster. In the Revolution he comma...

Hamilton, Lee Herbert

(Encyclopedia)Hamilton, Lee Herbert, 1931–, U.S. politician, b. Daytona Beach, Fla. A lawyer (J.D. Indiana Univ., 1956), he left private practice after winning a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1964,...

breakwater

(Encyclopedia)breakwater, offshore structure to protect a harbor from wave energy or deflect currents. When it also serves as a pier, it is called a quay; when covered by a roadway it is called a mole. In the Unite...

Westminster

(Encyclopedia)Westminster. 1 Residential city (1990 pop. 78,118), Orange co., S Calif.; founded 1870 as a temperance colony for Presbyterians, inc. 1957. It has several industrial parks. Naval Weapons Station Seal ...

Biscayne Bay

(Encyclopedia)Biscayne Bay bĭskānˈ [key], shallow, narrow inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, c.40 mi (60 km) long, SE Fla. Famous resort areas, including Miami and Miami Beach, are on the NW and NE respectively. Touri...

Chadwick, Florence May

(Encyclopedia)Chadwick, Florence May, 1918–95, American distance swimmer, b. San Diego, Calif. She began swimming at the age of six, and four years later she swam the San Diego Bay Channel, the first child to do ...

Bon, Cape

(Encyclopedia)Bon, Cape ädärˈ [key], peninsula, NE Tunisia, projecting c.50 mi (80 km) into the Mediterranean Sea toward Sicily. Cape Bon, the eastern terminus of the Saharan Atlas Mts., is a hilly, fertile regi...

White Sulphur Springs

(Encyclopedia)White Sulphur Springs, city (1990 pop. 2,779), Greenbrier co., SE W.Va., in the Allegheny Mts. near the Virginia border; settled c.1750. A mineral springs health resort since early 1800s, it is the si...

Morgantown

(Encyclopedia)Morgantown, city (1990 pop. 25,879), seat of Monongalia co., N W.Va., near the Pa. line, on the Monongahela River; inc. 1785. A shipping point for a coal and limestone region, it also has glass, chemi...

Powell, John

(Encyclopedia)Powell, John, 1882–1963, American pianist and composer, b. Richmond, Va., grad. Univ. of Virginian, 1901. In Vienna he studied piano and composition and in 1908 made his debut as a pianist in Berlin...

Browse by Subject