Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

devaluation

(Encyclopedia)devaluation, decreasing the value of one nation's currency relative to gold or the currencies of other nations. It is usually undertaken as a means of correcting a deficit in the balance of payments. ...

grayling

(Encyclopedia)grayling, common name for a brilliantly colored fish belonging to the genus Thymallus, of the family Salmonidae (salmon family), and closely allied to the smelt. Graylings are found chiefly in clear, ...

Flood, James Clair

(Encyclopedia)Flood, James Clair, 1826–89, American silver magnate, b. New York City. Having been apprenticed to a carriage maker, he left to join the California gold rush in 1849. The following year he returned ...

Fonda, Peter

(Encyclopedia)Fonda, Peter, 1939–2019, American actor. The son of Henry Fonda and brother of Jane Fonda, he made his screen debut in a forgettable 1963 feature. Several movies later he co-wrote and starred in the...

Frazier, Joe

(Encyclopedia)Frazier, Joe (William Joseph Frazier), 1944–2011, African-American boxer, b. Beaufort, S.C. Known for a brawling style and devastating left hook, “Smokin' Joe” won Olympic gold in 1964 and turne...

Jeter, Derek Sanderson

(Encyclopedia)Jeter, Derek Sanderson, 1974–, American baseball player, b. Pequannock, N.J. Drafted by the New York Yankees' in 1992, he played in the minors until he was first called up in 1995. His first full se...

Ekurhuleni

(Encyclopedia)Ekurhuleni, metropolitan municipality, Gauteng prov., NE South Africa. Ekurhuleni largely encompasses the East Rand region of Gauteng. Germiston is the ...

Heller, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Heller, Joseph, 1923–99, American writer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Heller is best known for his first novel, Catch-22 (1961). Set in World War II, it is a darkly humorous commentary on the illogic of war a...

John V, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)John V (John the Magnanimous), 1689–1750, king of Portugal (1706–50), son and successor of Peter II. Before his accession the Methuen Treaty (1703) with England had brought Portugal into the War o...

Stephens, James

(Encyclopedia)Stephens, James, 1882–1950, Irish poet and fiction writer, b. Dublin. One of the leading figures of the Irish literary renaissance, Stephens is best known for his fanciful and highly colored prose w...