Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Alemán, Miguel

(Encyclopedia)Alemán, Miguel mēgĕlˈ älāmänˈ [key], 1902–83, president of Mexico (1946–52). Son of a revolutionary general, Alemán became a highly successful lawyer and a champion of Mexican labor. He w...

Extremadura

(Encyclopedia)Extremadura ĕstrəmədo͝oˈrə [key], autonomous community, 16,075 sq mi (41,634 sq km), W central Spain, ...

Institute of International Law

(Encyclopedia)Institute of International Law, Fr., Institut de Droit International, private international organization, est. 1873 in Ghent, Belgium, dedicated to the study, development, and implementation of intern...

Hooks, Benjamin Lawson

(Encyclopedia)Hooks, Benjamin Lawson, 1925–2010, African-American civil-rights leader, b. Memphis, Tenn. In 1972 President Nixon named Hooks, a lawyer, Baptist minister, and former Tennessee county criminal court...

Escalante, Silvestre Vélez de

(Encyclopedia)Escalante, Silvestre Vélez de sēlvāˈstrā vāˈlāth dā āskälänˈtā [key], fl. 1769–79, Spanish explorer in the American Southwest and Far West, a Franciscan missionary. He was in charge of...

Ouagadougou

(Encyclopedia)Ouagadougou or Wagadugu both: wägədo͞oˈgo͞o [key], city (1991 est. pop. 634,500), capital of Burkina Faso. It is the nation's largest city and its administrative, communications, and economic cen...

Mans, Le

(Encyclopedia)Mans, Le lə mäN [key], city (1990 pop. 148,465), capital of Sarthe dept., NW France, on the Sarthe River. The historical capital of Maine, it is also an important manufacturing, commercial, educatio...

Kreuger, Ivar

(Encyclopedia)Kreuger, Ivar ēˈvär kro͞oˈgər [key], 1880–1932, Swedish financier. After studying engineering in Stockholm and engaging in construction enterprises in the United States, he returned to Sweden ...

Cerf, Vinton Gray

(Encyclopedia)Cerf, Vinton Gray, 1943–, American computer scientist, b. New Haven, Conn., B.S. Stanford, 1965, Ph.D. Univ. of California, Los Angeles, 1972. With Robert Kahn, he is responsible for the design and ...

Burnett, Leo

(Encyclopedia)Burnett, Leo bərnĕtˈ [key], 1891–1971, American advertising executive, b. St. Johns, Mich., grad. Univ. of Michigan (1914). He was a newspaper reporter and worked in advertising before moving to ...