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...

chantey

(Encyclopedia)chantey or shanty both: shănˈtē [key], work song with marked rhythm, particularly one sung by a group of sailors while hoisting sail or anchor or pushing the capstan. Often it has solo stanzas sung...

Seaga, Edward Philip George

(Encyclopedia)Seaga, Edward Philip George sēˈägä [key], 1930–2019, prime minister of Jamaica (1980–89). Born in Boston, Mass., to Jamaican parents of Lebanese, European, and African descent, he was a record...

Pogodin, Nikolai

(Encyclopedia)Pogodin, Nikolai fyôˈdərəvĭch sto͞okäˈlôf [key], 1900–1962, Russian dramatist. Pogodin wrote many colorful, optimistic, and popular plays generally dealing with the theme of man's conquest ...

Touré, Ahmed Sékou

(Encyclopedia)Touré, Ahmed Sékou sāˈko͞o to͞orāˈ [key], 1922–84, Guinean political leader, president (1958–84) of the republic of Guinea. From a poor family, Touré was labor union activist, becoming ge...

Putumayo

(Encyclopedia)Putumayo ēsäˈ [key], river, c.1,000 mi (1,600 km) long, rising in the Andes, S Colombia, and flowing SE to the Amazon in NW Brazil. Mostly navigable, it marks part of Colombia's boundary with Ecuad...

Norilsk

(Encyclopedia)Norilsk nərēlskˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 175,000), Krasnoyarsk Territory, N Siberian Russia. The northernmost major city of Russia and the world's second largest city (after Murmansk) above the Arct...

Nelson, Knute

(Encyclopedia)Nelson, Knute kəno͞otˈ [key], 1843–1923, U.S. Senator (1895–1923), b. Voss, Norway. He was brought to the United States at the age of six, grew up on a Wisconsin farm, and served in the Union a...

Vandervelde, Émile

(Encyclopedia)Vandervelde, Émile āmēlˈ vändĕrvĕlˈdə [key], 1866–1938, Belgian statesman and Socialist leader. He entered parliament in 1894, and served in many cabinets, notably as minister of justice (1...

Woodcock, Leonard Freel

(Encyclopedia)Woodcock, Leonard Freel, 1911–2000, American labor leader, b. Providence, R.I. In 1933 he went to work as a machine assembler at the Detroit Gear and Machine Co., where he joined a union that became...

Browse by Subject