Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Figueras, Estanislao

(Encyclopedia)Figueras, Estanislao āstäˌnēsläˈō fēgāˈräs [key], 1819–82, Spanish politician. After the overthrow (1868) of Isabella II, he became leader of the Republican party. He opposed King Amadeus...

Blériot, Louis

(Encyclopedia)Blériot, Louis lwē blārēōˈ [key], 1872–1936, French aviator and inventor. He devoted the fortune acquired by his invention of an automobile searchlight to the invention and construction of mon...

Mason, Bobbie Ann

(Encyclopedia)Mason, Bobbie Ann, 1940–, American regional author, b. Mayfield, Ky., grad. Univ. of Kentucky (B.A., 1962), State Univ. of New York, Binghamton (M.A., 1966), Univ. of Connecticut (Ph.D., 1972). Her ...

racquets

(Encyclopedia)racquets, game played by two or four persons on a court 60 by 30 ft (18.3 m by 9.1 m); it is surrounded by three walls 30 ft (9.1 m) high and a backwall 15 ft (4.6 m) high. The ball, 1 in. (2.54 cm) i...

yak

(Encyclopedia)yak, bovine mammal, Bos grunniens, of the Tibet region of China and adjacent areas. It is oxlike in build, with short, thick legs, humped shoulders, large upcurved horns, and a thick coat that hangs d...

Loti, Pierre

(Encyclopedia)Loti, Pierre zhülyăNˈ vyō [key], 1850–1923, French novelist, an officer in the French navy. He achieved popularity with his impressionistic romances of adventure in exotic lands, such as Aziyad�...

Montezuma Castle National Monument

(Encyclopedia)Montezuma Castle National Monument, 858 acres (347 hectares), central Ariz.; est. 1906. Montezuma Castle, built c.1250, is a 5-story, 20-room dwelling perched high in the cavity of a cliff. It was nam...

Auerbach, Berthold

(Encyclopedia)Auerbach, Berthold bĕrtˈhōlt ouˈərbäkhˌ [key], 1812–82, German novelist. He fought in the Revolution of 1848 and in the Franco-Prussian War. As a result of his Schwarzwälder Dorfgeschichten ...

Marsh, Dame Ngaio

(Encyclopedia)Marsh, Dame Ngaio nīˈō [key], 1899–1982, New Zealand detective story writer. She was an art student, actress, and theatrical producer before her first novel, A Man Lay Dead, was published in 1934...

Sabines

(Encyclopedia)Sabines sāˈbīnz [key], ancient people of central Italy, centered principally in the Sabine Hills, NE of Rome. Not much dependable information on them can be gathered. They were probably Oscan-speak...