Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Leh

(Encyclopedia)Leh lā [key], town (2011 pop. 30,870), Ladakh, E Kashmir, N India. It is the headquarters of Ladakh union territory and of the Leh district in Indian-controlled Kashmir. It lies at an altitude of c.1...

Magnitogorsk

(Encyclopedia)Magnitogorsk məgnyēˌtəgôrskˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 440,000), SW Siberian Russia, on the slopes of Mt. Magnitnaya in the S Urals, on the Ural River. Built (1929–31) under the first Five-Year P...

Mara, Ratu Sir Kamisese

(Encyclopedia)Mara, Ratu Sir Kamisese, 1920–2004, Fijian political leader. A paramount chief of the Lau Islands, he was educated in Fiji, New Zealand, and England, founded (1960) the Alliance party, and helped ne...

Ramadan

(Encyclopedia)Ramadan rämädänˈ, rămˌədänˈ [key], in Islam, the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which all Muslims must fast during the daylight hours. Indulgence of any sort is forbidden during the f...

Ramses I

(Encyclopedia)Ramses I both: rămˈəsēzˌ [key], d. c.1314 b.c., succeeded Horemheb, the true founder of the XIX dynasty. He died after only one year as king. His son and successor was Seti I. ...

Auriemma, Geno

(Encyclopedia)Auriemma, Geno (Luigi Auriemma), 1954–, American basketball coach, b. Montella, Italy, grad. West Chester State College (now West Chester Univ. of Pennsylvania), 1977. After coaching as an assistant...

Tet offensive

(Encyclopedia)Tet offensive, 1968, a series of crucial battles in the Vietnam War. On Jan. 31, 1968, the first day of the celebration of the lunar new year, Vietnam's most important holiday, the Vietnamese Communis...

cider

(Encyclopedia)cider, in Europe, fermented juice of apples; in the United States, unfermented apple juice, unless allowed to ferment, in which case it is typically known as hard cider. Selected apples are grated in ...

Gibbon, John

(Encyclopedia)Gibbon, John, 1827–96, Union general in the Civil War, b. near Holmesburg (now part of Philadelphia), Pa., grad. West Point, 1847. Made a brigadier general of volunteers (1862), he fought in the sec...

Browse by Subject