Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Sunnyvale

(Encyclopedia)Sunnyvale, city (1990 pop. 117,229), Santa Clara co., W Calif., near San Francisco; settled 1849, inc. 1912. A city in Silicon Valley, its many manufactures include semiconductors; machinery and instr...

Barbary Coast

(Encyclopedia)Barbary Coast bärˈbərē [key], waterfront area of San Francisco, Calif., in the years after the 1849 gold rush. Gamblers, gangsters, prostitutes, and confidence men flourished, and the brothels, sa...

Ferlinghetti, Lawrence

(Encyclopedia)Ferlinghetti, Lawrence fûrˈlĭng-gĕtˈē [key], 1919–2021, American author and publisher, b. Yonkers, N.Y, ...

Serra, Saint Junípero

(Encyclopedia)Serra, Saint Junípero ho͞onēˈpārō sĕˈrä [key], 1713–84, Spanish Franciscan missionary in North America, b. Majorca. His name was originally Miguel José Serra, and Junípero was his name in...

Colma

(Encyclopedia)Colma, city (2020 pop. 1,483), San Mateo co., W Calif., a suburb S of San Francisco, on Colma Creek, inc. 1924 as Lawndale, renamed 1941. Shopping ...

Milpitas

(Encyclopedia)Milpitas mĭlˌpēˈtəs [key], city (1990 pop. 50,686), Santa Clara co., W Calif., a suburb of San Jose, southeast of San Francisco; inc. 1954. Manufactures include computers and paint. Fruits, veget...

Vaca de Castro, Cristóbal

(Encyclopedia)Vaca de Castro, Cristóbal krēstōˈbäl väˈkä ᵺā käˈstrō [key], fl. 1540–45, Spanish colonial administrator in Peru. A judge of the royal audiencia at Valladolid, he was chosen by Charles...

Godden, Rumer

(Encyclopedia)Godden, Rumer (Margaret Rumer Godden) gŏdˈən [key], 1907–98, English novelist. Godden was highly praised for the subtlety of her characterization (particularly of children), the charm of her styl...

Stuart, Henry Benedict Maria Clement

(Encyclopedia)Stuart or Stewart, Henry Benedict Maria Clement, known as Cardinal York, 1725–1807, claimant to the British throne, b. Rome. Second son of James Francis Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender), he was the...

Reed, John

(Encyclopedia)Reed, John, 1887–1920, American journalist and radical leader, b. Portland, Oreg. After graduating from Harvard in 1910, he wrote articles for various publications and from 1913 was attached to the ...