Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Forbes, John

(Encyclopedia)Forbes, John, 1710–59, British general in the French and Indian Wars, b. Scotland. He entered the British army in 1735, won distinction and promotion in the War of the Austrian Succession, and in 17...

Gates, Horatio

(Encyclopedia)Gates, Horatio, c.1727–1806, American Revolutionary general, b. Maldon, Essex, England. Entering the British army at an early age, he fought in America in the French and Indian War and served in the...

Fraser, river, Canada

(Encyclopedia)Fraser, chief river of British Columbia, Canada, c.850 mi (1,370 km) long. It rises in the Rocky Mts., at Yellowhead Pass, near the British Columbia–Alta. line and flows northwest through the Rocky ...

bicameral system

(Encyclopedia)bicameral system bīkămˈərəl [key], governmental system dividing the legislative function between two chambers, an “upper,” such as the U.S. Senate and the British House of Lords, and a “low...

Daye, Stephen

(Encyclopedia)Daye, Stephen, c.1594–1668, British settler in North America, considered by many to be the first printer in the English American colonies. He came to Massachusetts Bay with his family in 1638 under ...

Campbell, John, 1st Baron Campbell

(Encyclopedia)Campbell, John, 1st Baron Campbell, 1779–1861, British jurist. He was a member of the Whig party in the House of Commons from 1830 and in the Lords from 1841. Ambitious legally rather than political...

Comprehensive Employment and Training Act

(Encyclopedia)Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), U.S. government program designed to assist economically disadvantaged, unemployed, or underemployed persons. Enacted in 1973, CETA provided block gran...

alder

(Encyclopedia)alder ôlˈdər [key], name for deciduous trees and shrubs of the genus Alnus of the family Betulaceae (birch family), widely distributed, especially in mountainous and moist areas of the north temper...

McCumber, Porter James

(Encyclopedia)McCumber, Porter James, 1858–1933, American political leader, b. Crete, Ill. He began law practice in North Dakota and served (1885–89) in the territorial legislature. From 1899 to 1923 he was a R...

Browse by Subject