Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Trent Affair

(Encyclopedia)Trent Affair, incident in the diplomatic relations between the United States and Great Britain, which occurred during the American Civil War. On Nov. 8, 1861, the British mail packet Trent, carrying J...

Hastings, Warren

(Encyclopedia)Hastings, Warren, 1732–1818, first governor-general of British India. Employed (1750) as a clerk by the East India Company, he soon became manager of a trading post in Bengal. When Calcutta (now Kol...

Monroe Doctrine

(Encyclopedia)Monroe Doctrine, principle of American foreign policy enunciated in President James Monroe's message to Congress, Dec. 2, 1823. It initially called for an end to European intervention in the Americas,...

wapiti

(Encyclopedia)wapiti wŏpˈĭtē [key], large North American deer, Cervus canadensis, closely related to the Old World red deer. It is commonly called elk in America although the name elk is used in Europe to refer...

Chabanel, Noël

(Encyclopedia)Chabanel, Noël (St. Noël Chabanel) nôĕlˈ shäbänĕlˈ [key], 1613–49, French missionary in North America, a Jesuit. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1630, came as a missionary to New France ...

Porter, David

(Encyclopedia)Porter, David, 1780–1843, American naval officer, b. Boston. Appointed a midshipman in 1798, he served in the West Indies and in the war with Tripoli. In 1803 his ship, the Philadelphia, was capture...

Cabot, John

(Encyclopedia)Cabot, John, fl. 1461–98, English explorer, probably b. Genoa, Italy. He became a citizen of Venice in 1476 and engaged in the Eastern trade of that city. This experience, it is assumed, was the sti...

arborvitae

(Encyclopedia)arborvitae ärˌbərvīˈtē [key] [Lat.,=tree of life], aromatic evergreen tree of the genus Thuja of the family Cupressaceae (cypress family), with scalelike leaves borne on flattened branchlets of ...

Homestead National Monument of America

(Encyclopedia)Homestead National Monument of America: see National Parks and Monuments (table)national parks and monuments (table). ...

National Rifle Association of America

(Encyclopedia)National Rifle Association of America (NRA), group founded (1871) to promote shooting, hunting, firearm safety, and wildlife conservation. The NRA has more than 3 million members. The association spon...