Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Fox, Charles James

(Encyclopedia)Fox, Charles James, 1749–1806, British statesman and orator, for many years the outstanding parliamentary proponent of liberal reform. He entered Parliament in 1768 and served as lord of the admiral...

elk

(Encyclopedia)elk, name applied to several large members of the deer family. It most properly designates the largest member of the family, Alces alces, found in the northern regions of Eurasia and North America. In...

Catholic Emancipation

(Encyclopedia)Catholic Emancipation, term applied to the process by which Roman Catholics in the British Isles were relieved in the late 18th and early 19th cent. of civil disabilities. They had been under oppressi...

Sears, Isaac

(Encyclopedia)Sears, Isaac, c.1730–86, American Revolutionary leader, b. West Brewster, Mass. A merchant sea captain, Sears won a reputation as a daring privateer during the French and Indian War. He was a leader...

Columbus Day

(Encyclopedia)Columbus Day, holiday commemorating Christopher Columbus's discovery of America. It has been traditionally celebrated on Oct. 12 throughout most of the United States, parts of Canada, and in several o...

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

(Encyclopedia)North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), established under the North Atlantic Treaty (Apr. 4, 1949) by Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, N...

North Carolina, University of

(Encyclopedia)North Carolina, University of, main campus at Chapel Hill; state supported; coeducational; chartered 1789, opened 1795, the first state college to open as a university. In 1931 the North Carolina Stat...

North Cascades National Park

(Encyclopedia)North Cascades National Park, 504,781 acres (204,436 hectares), N Washington. Located in the Cascade Range, the park has outstanding alpine scenery, including high jagged peaks, glaciers, icefalls, ha...

Browse by Subject