Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Schmeling, Max

(Encyclopedia)Schmeling, Max (Maximilian Schmeling), 1905–2005, German boxer. He debuted as a professional fighter in 1924 and came to the United States in 1928. Two years later the methodical slugger beat heavyw...

Goering, Hermann Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Goering or Göring, Hermann Wilhelm both: hĕrˈmän vĭlˈhĕlm göˈrĭng [key], 1893–1946, German National Socialist leader. In World War I he was a hero of the German air force. An early member ...

conscription

(Encyclopedia)conscription, compulsory enrollment of personnel for service in the armed forces. Obligatory service in the armed forces has existed since ancient times in many cultures, including the samurai in Japa...

Castle, Vernon, and Irene Foote

(Encyclopedia)Castle, Vernon (Vernon Castle Blythe) 1887–1918, and Irene Foote, 1893–1969, husband-and-wife dance team. Vernon Castle was an English dancer, who studied civil engineering before turning to the s...

Madang

(Encyclopedia)Madang mäˈdäng [key], town (1990 pop. 27,181), Papua New Guinea, on NE New Guinea island. A seaport on Astrolabe Bay, Madang exports copra and gold. It was an important Japanese air base during Wor...

Costa Brava

(Encyclopedia)Costa Brava kōˈstä bräˈvä [key], a strip of coastline, Girona prov., NE Spain, in Catalonia, near the French border on the Mediterranean. One of the most agriculturally rich areas of Spain, it h...

Ube

(Encyclopedia)Ube o͞oˈbā [key], city (1990 pop. 175,053), Yamaguchi prefecture, SW Honshu, Japan, on the Inland Sea. It has a modern harbor and an important chemical industry. Coal mining, once the city's larges...

Garland

(Encyclopedia)Garland, city (2020 pop. 246,018), Dallas co., N Tex., a suburb of Dallas; inc. 1891. Since World War II, Garland has grown from an agricultural communi...

Horten

(Encyclopedia)Horten hôrˈtən [key], town, Vestfold co., SE Norway, a port on the Oslofjord (an arm of th...

Drancy

(Encyclopedia)Drancy dräNsēˈ [key], city, Seine–Saint Denis dept., N central France. An industrial sub...

Browse by Subject