Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

412 results found

KwaZulu-Natal

(Encyclopedia)KwaZulu-Natal kwäzo͞oˈlo͞o-nätälˈ [key], province (2011 pop. 10,267,300), 36,433 sq mi (94,361 sq km), E South Africa, on the Indian Ocean. Formerly Natal province, in the post-apartheid consti...

Herschel

(Encyclopedia)Herschel hûrˈshəl [key], family of distinguished English astronomers. Sir William Herschel,Sir William Herschel, 1738–1822, born Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel, was a great pioneer in astronomy. Bor...

Western Sahara

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Western Sahara, territory (2015 est. pop. 526,000), 102,703 sq mi (266,000 sq km), NW Africa, occupied by Morocco. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean in the west, on Morocco in the north, on Alge...

Durban

(Encyclopedia)Durban dûrˈbən [key], city, now part and seat of eThekwini metropolitan municipality, KwaZulu-Natal prov., E South Africa, on Natal Bay, an arm of the Indian Ocean. Durban is an industrial center, ...

Dutch West India Company

(Encyclopedia)Dutch West India Company, trading and colonizing company, chartered by the States-General of the Dutch republic in 1621 and organized in 1623. Through its agency New Netherland was founded. The phenom...

croaker

(Encyclopedia)croaker, member of the abundant and varied family Sciaenidae, carnivorous, spiny-finned fishes including the weakfishes, the drums, and the kingcroakers (or kingfish). The croaker has a compressed, el...

Volcker, Paul Adolph

(Encyclopedia)Volcker, Paul Adolph, 1927–2019, American economist, government official, and banker, b. Cape May, N.J. After working as an under secretary in the Treasury Department (1969–74) and as president of...

Nelson, Horatio Nelson, Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Nelson, Horatio Nelson, Viscount, 1758–1805, British admiral. The most famous of Britain's naval heroes, he is commemorated by the celebrated Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square, London. Upon the ...

garnet

(Encyclopedia)garnet, name applied to a group of isomorphic minerals crystallizing in the cubic system. They are used chiefly as gems and as abrasives (as in garnet paper). The garnets are double silicates; one of ...

Dampier, William

(Encyclopedia)Dampier, William dămˈpēr [key], 1651–1715, English explorer, buccaneer, hydrographer, and naturalist. He fought (1673) in the Dutch War, managed a plantation in Jamaica (1674), and then worked wi...