Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

240 results found

Abeokuta

(Encyclopedia)Abeokuta äˌbēōko͞oˈtə, ăbˌ– [key], city (1991 est. pop. 377,000), SW Nigeria. It is the trade center for an agricultural region producing rice, yams, cassava, cotton, fruit, vegetables, and...

Houghton, Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Houghton, Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron houˈtən, hôˈ– [key], 1809–85, English author. Throughout much of his life he was an active member of Parliament. He was among the first to recogniz...

Jaja

(Encyclopedia)Jaja jäˈjə [key], fl. 1869–87, Nigerian merchant prince. A former slave, he became an important trader in Bonny in the 1860s as a middleman between the coastal markets and the Nigerian interior. ...

Catherine, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Catherine, Saint kăthˈrən, kăthˈərĭn [key], 4th cent.?, Alexandrian virgin martyr. Nothing certain is known of her life, and in 1969 her name was dropped from the liturgical calendar. According...

swift

(Encyclopedia)swift, common name for small, swallowlike birds related to the hummingbird and found all over the world, chiefly in the tropics. They range in size from 6 to 12 in. (15–30 cm) in length. Swifts have...

Morgan, Joe

(Encyclopedia)Morgan, Joe (Joe Leonard Morgan), 1943–2020, American baseball player, b. Bonham, Tex. An outstanding second baseman, he signed with the Houston Colt .45s (now the Astros) in 1962, becoming their re...

Elche

(Encyclopedia)Elche ĕlˈchā [key], Valencian Elx, city, Alicante prov., SE Spain, in Valencia. It is surr...

Mzab

(Encyclopedia)Mzab əmzäbˈ [key], stony, barren valley, Algeria, in the N Sahara. It was settled c.1000 by members of an austere Muslim sect, the Kharijites. The inhabitants, called Mozabites, dug wells, created ...

Pointe-Noire

(Encyclopedia)Pointe-Noire pwăNt-nwär [key], city (1984 pop. 294,203), SW Republic of the Congo, Africa, a port on the Atlantic Ocean. Offshore oil drilling and oil refining are the city's most important economic...