Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Godiva, Lady

(Encyclopedia)Godiva, Lady gōdīˈvə [key], fl. c.1040–80, wife of Leofric, earl of Mercia; famous for her legendary ride through the city of Coventry. She was a benefactor of several monasteries, especially th...

Egan, Patrick

(Encyclopedia)Egan, Patrick ēˈgən [key], 1841–1919, Irish and American political leader, b. Co. Longford, Ireland. Fervently devoted to the cause of Irish home rule and land reform, he was a member of the Iris...

Dumfries, town, Scotland

(Encyclopedia)Dumfries dəmfrēsˈ [key], town, Dumfries and Galloway, SW Scotland, on the Nith River. The ...

Seaga, Edward Philip George

(Encyclopedia)Seaga, Edward Philip George sēˈägä [key], 1930–2019, prime minister of Jamaica (1980–89). Born in Boston, Mass., to Jamaican parents of Lebanese, European, and African descent, he was a record...

Baker Island

(Encyclopedia)Baker Island, uninhabited island, 1 sq mi (2.6 sq km), central Pacific, near the equator, c.1,650 mi (2,660 km) SW of Honolulu. The arid coral island was discovered in 1832 by Capt. Michael Baker, an ...

Patterson, P. J.

(Encyclopedia)Patterson, P. J. (Percival James Patterson), 1935–, Jamaican political leader, prime minister of Jamaica (1992–2006). A lawyer, he became an active member of the People's National party (PNP) in t...

San Francisco Ballet

(Encyclopedia)San Francisco Ballet, America's first classical ballet company, est. 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet by the dancer Adolph Bolm. Based at the War ...

Toronto, University of

(Encyclopedia)Toronto, University of, at Toronto, Ont., Canada; nondenominational; provincially supported; coeducational; founded 1827 as King's College. It achieved university status in 1849 and is governed under ...

Rice, Charles Moen

(Encyclopedia)Rice, Charles Moen, 1952–, American virologist, b. Sacramento, Calif., Ph.D. California Institute of Technology, 1981. Rice was a researcher at the Washington Univ. School of Medicine from 1986 to 2...

Old Vic

(Encyclopedia)Old Vic, London repertory company and theater. The Old Vic theater opened in 1818 as the Coburg, and was renamed the Royal Victoria in 1833, soon familiarized to the Old Vic. In 1914 it became a Shake...