Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Transvaal

(Encyclopedia)Transvaal trănzvälˈ [key], former province, NE South Africa. With the new constitution of 1994, it was divided into Eastern Transvaal (now Mpumalanga), Northern Transvaal (now Limpopo), Pretoria-Wi...

Scott, Winfield

(Encyclopedia)Scott, Winfield, 1786–1866, American general, b. near Petersburg, Va. Although vain and pompous (he was called “Old Fuss and Feathers”), Scott was also generous, fair-minded, considerate of h...

aurora borealis

(Encyclopedia)aurora borealis ôstrāˈlĭs [key], luminous display of various forms and colors seen in the night sky. The aurora borealis of the Northern Hemisphere is often called the northern lights, and the aur...

Dudinka

(Encyclopedia)Dudinka do͞odyēnˈkə [key], city, Krasnoyarsk Territory, N Siberian Russia, on the Yenisei ...

Ilemi Triangle

(Encyclopedia)Ilemi Triangle, triangular-shaped region, c.10,000 sq km (3,860 sq mi) in area, at the NW corner of Lake Turkana, E Africa. It borders South Sudan (W), Ethiopia (E) and Kenya (S). A disputed territory...

Hoyt, John Wesley

(Encyclopedia)Hoyt, John Wesley, 1831–1912, American educator, b. Worthington, Ohio, grad. Ohio Wesleyan Univ., 1849. In Madison, Wis., he published the Wisconsin Farmer and Northwestern Cultivator. A founder of ...

Justinian II

(Encyclopedia)Justinian II (Justinian Rhinotmetus), 669–711, Byzantine emperor (685–95, 705–11), son and successor of Constantine IV. He successfully invaded Arab territory but lost the advantage through a tr...

Kalanianole, Honah Kuhio

(Encyclopedia)Kalanianole, Honah Kuhio hōˈnä ko͝ohēˈō kälänˌēänōˈlā [key], 1871–1922, delegate to U.S. Congress from the Territory of Hawaii. He was educated in Hawaii, the United States, and Engla...

Narva, river, Estonia and Russia

(Encyclopedia)Narva, river, c.50 mi (80 km) long, rising in Lake Peipus (Chudskoye), E Estonia, and flowing northeast past the city of Narva into the Gulf of Finland. It forms the border between Estonia and Russia....

Navassa Island

(Encyclopedia)Navassa Island nəvăˈsə [key], Fr. Navasse, coral and limestone islet, c.1 sq mi (2.6 sq km), in the Caribbean Sea between Haiti and Jamaica. Located c.100 mi (160 km) S of the U.S. naval base at G...