Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

En-gedi

(Encyclopedia)En-gedi ĕn-gēˈdī, ĕnˈ-gēdī [key], in the Bible, oasis on the W shore of the Dead Sea, famed for its vineyards. David hid there from Saul. ...

Hadadezer

(Encyclopedia)Hadadezer hădədēˈzər [key], in the Bible, king of Zobah, who led a Syrian coalition against David. The allies were eventually defeated and became tributaries. An alternate form is Hadarezer. ...

Hattush

(Encyclopedia)Hattush hătˈəsh [key], in the Bible. 1, 2 Descendants of David. 3 Signer of the covenant. 4 Worker on the wall of Jerusalem. ...

Laurens, John

(Encyclopedia)Laurens, John, 1754–82, American Revolutionary soldier, b. Charleston, S.C.; son of Henry Laurens. In 1777 he joined George Washington's staff as a volunteer aide-de-camp, fought at Brandywine and i...

McPherson, James Birdseye

(Encyclopedia)McPherson, James Birdseye, 1828–64, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Sandusky co., Ohio. After teaching (1853–54) at West Point, he worked on various engineering projects. In the Civil ...

Theremin, Leon

(Encyclopedia)Theremin, Leon thĕrˈəmən [key], 1896–1993, Russian engineer and inventor, b. St. Petersburg as Lev Sergeyevich Termen. He studied and worked in his native city, attending its university and cons...

Porter, Horace

(Encyclopedia)Porter, Horace, 1837–1921, American soldier and diplomat, b. Huntingdon, Pa. In the Civil War he saw varied service, mostly as an ordnance officer, before becoming (1864) aide-de-camp to Gen. U. S. ...

Hounslow

(Encyclopedia)Hounslow hounzˈlō [key], outer borough of Greater London, SE England, on the Thames River. ...

Harte, Bret

(Encyclopedia)Harte, Bret (Francis Brett Harte) härt [key], 1836–1902, American writer of short stories and humorous verse, b. Albany, N.Y. At 19 he went to California, where he tried his hand at teaching, clerk...

Browse by Subject