Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Ludlow, Edmund

(Encyclopedia)Ludlow, Edmund, 1617?–1692, English parliamentarian and regicide. He commanded a regiment of cavalry in the English civil war and served on the court that condemned King Charles I, signing his death...

Camborne-Redruth

(Encyclopedia)Camborne-Redruth kămˈbôrn, –bûrn, rĕdˈro͞oth [key], town, Cornwall, SW Engla...

Bow Bells

(Encyclopedia)Bow Bells bō [key], in the church of St. Mary-le-Bow (Bow Church), Cheapside, London, England. The church is located in mid-London, and tradition says that only one who is born within sound of the Bo...

vending machine

(Encyclopedia)vending machine, coin-operated, automatic device for selling goods. Many vending machines are capable of making change, and some of the more sophisticated ones accept paper money or credit cards. The ...

Blount, Winton Malcolm, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Blount, Winton Malcolm, Jr., 1921–2002, U.S. postmaster general (1969–71), b. Union Springs, Ala. A successful building contractor, he was (1946–68) president and chairman of the board of Blount...

Simon, William Edward

(Encyclopedia)Simon, William Edward, 1927–2000, U.S. secretary of the treasury (1974–77), b. Paterson, N.J. He served (1946–48) in the U.S. army in Japan, graduated from Lafayette College (1952), and became a...

Stafford

(Encyclopedia)Stafford, city (1991 pop. 60,915) and district, Staffordshire, W central England, on the Sow River, above its junction with the Trent. Stafford's chief industry is the manufacture of electrical goods;...

Perry, Rick

(Encyclopedia)Perry, Rick (James Richard Perry), 1950–, American politician, governor of Texas (2000–2015), b. Haskell, Tex. A fifth-generation Texan from the state's agricultural western plains, he attended Te...

Richardson, Sir Ralph

(Encyclopedia)Richardson, Sir Ralph, 1902–83, English stage and film actor. Since his first professional stage appearance in The Merchant of Venice (1921), Richardson has played a variety of classic and modern ro...

Browse by Subject