Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Whitefield, George

(Encyclopedia)Whitefield, George, 1714–70, English evangelistic preacher, leader of the Calvinistic Methodist Church. At Oxford, which he entered in 1732, he joined the Methodist group led by John Wesley and Char...

Gulistan, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Gulistan, Treaty of go͞olĭstänˈ [key], 1813, signed by Russia and Iran (Persia) at Gulistan, a village in what is now NW Azerbaijan. It ended the Russo-Persian war that had begun in 1804. Persia c...

Walton, George

(Encyclopedia)Walton, George, 1741?–1804, American Revolutionary patriot, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. near Farmville, Va. He moved to Savannah, Ga., where he established a law practice. Walton w...

Choctaw

(Encyclopedia)Choctaw chŏkˈtô [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Muskogean branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They formerly occupied central and...

bobolink

(Encyclopedia)bobolink bŏbˈəlĭngkˌ [key], common name in the N United States and Canada for an American songbird, Dolichonyx oryzivorus, related to the blackbird and the oriole, belonging to the family Icterid...

Coram, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Coram, Thomas kôrˈəm [key], 1668?–1751, English philanthropist and colonizer. He lived for some years in Massachusetts, working as a shipbuilder. On his return to England he became (1732) a trust...

Bithynia

(Encyclopedia)Bithynia bĭthĭnˈēə [key], ancient country of NW Asia Minor, in present-day Turkey. The original inhabitants were Thracians who established themselves as independent and were given some autonomy a...

Ahtisaari, Martti Oiva Kalevi

(Encyclopedia)Ahtisaari, Martti Oiva Kalevi äkhˈtēsärrē [key], 1937–, Finnish diplomat, political leader, and international mediator; grad. Univ. of Oulu (1959). Joining (1965) the foreign affairs ministry, ...

Hayne, Paul Hamilton

(Encyclopedia)Hayne, Paul Hamilton, 1830–86, American poet, b. Charleston, S.C., grad. Charleston College. Considered the last of the Southern literary cavaliers, he wrote a book of nature poetry (1855) and edite...

Gori

(Encyclopedia)Gori gôˈrē [key], city (1989 pop. 68,924), central Georgia. A rail junction, it has food processing plants. Mentioned in the 7th cent. as Tontio, it was later named after a fortress. Gori passed to...

Browse by Subject