Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

flamingo

(Encyclopedia)flamingo, common name for a large pink or red wading bird, similar to the related heron, stork, and spoonbill but with a longer neck, webbed feet, and a unique down-bent bill. Flamingos are tropical b...

Ferguson, James Edward

(Encyclopedia)Ferguson, James Edward, 1871–1944, governor of Texas (1915–17), b. Bell co., Tex. After an adventurous youth he rose from poverty to become a lawyer, large landowner, and banker. Although unknown ...

reserpine

(Encyclopedia)reserpine rĕsûrˈpēn [key], alkaloid isolated from the root of the snakeroot plant (Rauwolfia serpentina), a small evergreen climbing shrub of the dogbane family native to the Indian subcontinent. ...

Nicaragua, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Nicaragua, Lake, 3,089 sq mi (8,001 sq km), c.100 mi (160 km) long and up to 45 mi (72 km) wide, SW Nicaragua; the largest lake of Central America. It is drained into the Caribbean Sea by the San Juan...

Olson, Floyd Bjornstjerne

(Encyclopedia)Olson, Floyd Bjornstjerne byûrnˈstĕrˌnə [key], 1891–1936, American lawyer and politician, b. Minneapolis. In his early life he was an itinerant laborer and for a time belonged to the Industrial...

Neel, Alice

(Encyclopedia)Neel, Alice, 1900–84, American painter, b. Merion Square, Pa., grad. Philadelphia School of Design for Women (1925). She worked (1933–43) for various Depression-era government arts programs, paint...

Stavropol Territory

(Encyclopedia)Stavropol Territory, administrative division (1995 pop. 2,650,000), 31,120 sq mi (80,601 sq km), S European Russia, in the North Caucasus, the northern foothills of the main Caucasian range, and the d...

Monroe, James

(Encyclopedia)Monroe, James, 1758–1831, 5th President of the United States (1817–25), b. Westmoreland co., Va. In 1816 Monroe obtained the presidential nomination and was easily elected. During his first admi...

MacDonald, Ramsay

(Encyclopedia)MacDonald, Ramsay (James Ramsay McDonald), 1866–1937, British statesman, b. Scotland. The illegitimate son of a servant, he went as a young man to London, where he joined the Social Democratic Feder...

isolationism

(Encyclopedia)isolationism, a national policy of abstaining from political, military, or economic alliances or agreements with other countries. Isolationism may be adopted in order to devote a country's energies to...