Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Lewis, Andrew

(Encyclopedia)Lewis, Andrew, 1720?–1781, American soldier, b. Ireland. As a boy he emigrated with his family to America and settled near Staunton, Va. Later, he became a leading frontier Indian fighter. In 1754, ...

Gage, Thomas, English traveler

(Encyclopedia)Gage, Thomas, d. 1656, English traveler. He went (1612) to Spain to study and became a Dominican. He lived and traveled among the Native populations of Central America from 1625 to 1637, when he retur...

Romani

(Encyclopedia)Romani or Romany both: rŏmˈənē, rōˈ– [key], people known historically in English as Gypsies and their language. 1 A traditionally nomadic people with particular folkways and a unique language,...

alien

(Encyclopedia)alien, in law, any person residing in one political community while owing allegiance to another. A procedure known as naturalization permits aliens to become citizens. Each nation establishes conditio...

Rove Tunnel

(Encyclopedia)Rove Tunnel rōv, Fr. rôv [key], southern section of the Marseilles-Rhône Canal, 4.5 mi (7.2 km) long and 72 ft (22 m) wide, Bouches-du-Rhône dept., SE France; opened 1927. Starting near the villag...

Penutian

(Encyclopedia)Penutian pəno͞oˈshən [key], linguistic family, or stock, of Native Americans of North and Central America. See Native American languages. ...

Midlands

(Encyclopedia)Midlands, region of central England. It is usually considered to include the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire,...

Moffat Tunnel

(Encyclopedia)Moffat Tunnel mŏfˈət [key], railroad tube, 24 ft (7.3 m) high, 18 ft (5.5 m) wide, and 6.4 mi (10.3 km) long, N central Colo., in the Continental Divide, NW of Denver. One of the country's longest ...

Walsall

(Encyclopedia)Walsall wôlˈsôl [key], metropolitan borough (1991 pop. 177,923), W central England, in the Black Country. Iron and brass founding, limestone quarrying, and the manufacture of leather goods, small h...

Redditch

(Encyclopedia)Redditch, city (1991 pop. 61,639) and district, Worcestershire, central England. Redditch was designated one of the new towns in 1964 to alleviate overpopulation in Birmingham and the Black Country. I...