Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

356 results found

Straus

(Encyclopedia)Straus strous [key], family of American merchants, public officials, and philanthropists. Isidor Straus, 1845–1912, b. Rhenish Bavaria, emigrated (1854) with his brothers to the United States in ord...

Taylor, Zachary

(Encyclopedia)Taylor, Zachary zăkˈərē [key], 1784–1850, 12th President of the United States (1849–50), b. Orange co., Va. He was raised in Kentucky. Taylor joined the army in 1808, became a captain in 1810,...

DMX

(Encyclopedia)DMX,1970-2021, b. Mount Vernon, N.Y., as Earl Simmons. DMX grew up in Yonkers, NY, in the 1980s, in a highly dysfunctional family; abandoned by his fath...

Chicago Seven

(Encyclopedia)Chicago Seven, group of political activists, originally eight in number, who led protests at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968 and were charged with criminal conspiracy and incitem...

Intifada

(Encyclopedia)Intifada ĭntēfăˈdĕ [key] [Arab.,=uprising, shaking off], the Palestinian uprising during the late 1980s and early 90s in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, areas that had been occupied by Israel since...

Maathai, Wangari Muta

(Encyclopedia)Maathai, Wangari Muta wän-gäˈrē mātīˈ [key], 1940–2011, Kenyan environmental...

Washington, Denzel

(Encyclopedia) Washington, Denzel (Denzel Hayes Washington Jr.), 1954- , African-American actor, b. Mount Vernon, N.Y., Fordham Univ. (B.A., 1977). Washington’s fa...

Buhari, Muhammadu

(Encyclopedia)Buhari, Muhammadu, 1942–, Nigerian military officer and political leader. A Fulani from Katsina State, he joined the army in 1961; he rose to the rank of general and participated in several coups. H...

Alexandria, cities, United States

(Encyclopedia)Alexandria. 1 City (2020 pop. 45,275), seat of Rapides parish, central La., on the Red River; inc. 1818. It is a trade, rail, and medical center for a rich agricultural and timber area. ...

Johnson City

(Encyclopedia)Johnson City. 1 Village (1990 pop. 16,890), Broome co., S N.Y., in a tricity area including Endicott and Binghamton; inc. 1892. It has been noted for its Endicott-Johnson shoes. Originally called Lest...

Browse by Subject