Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Parícutin

(Encyclopedia)Parícutin pärēˈko͞otēn [key], active volcano, c.8,200 ft (2,500 m) high, Michoacán state, W central Mexico. In one of the most spectacular eruptions of modern times, Parícutin burst forth from...

Padilla, Ezequiel

(Encyclopedia)Padilla, Ezequiel āsākyĕlˈp äᵺēˈyä [key], 1890–1971, Mexican political leader. A revolutionary under Pancho Villa, he studied law in New York City. He served as secretary of public educati...

Burgess, Gelett

(Encyclopedia)Burgess, Gelett (Frank Gelett Burgess) jəlĕtˈ [key], 1866–1951, American humorist, b. Boston. His ability as an illustrator led him into magazine work, and he was soon writing humorous articles a...

Wheaton, William Rufus

(Encyclopedia)Wheaton, William Rufus, 1814–88, American baseball pioneer, b. New York City. He practiced law in New York during the 1830s and 40s, and was a founding member and vice president of the Knickerbocker...

Wiggin, Kate Douglas (Smith)

(Encyclopedia)Wiggin, Kate Douglas (Smith), 1856–1923, American author and educator, b. Philadelphia. In San Francisco she organized the first free kindergartens on the Pacific coast (1878) and with her sister es...

Muybridge, Eadweard

(Encyclopedia)Muybridge, Eadweard ĕdˈwərd mīˈbrĭj [key], 1830–1904, English-born photographer and student of animal locomotion. Muybridge changed his name from Edward James Muggeridge. A gifted and obsessed...

Alcatraz

(Encyclopedia)Alcatraz ălˈkətrăzˌ [key] [Sp. Álcatraces=pelicans], rocky island in San Francisco Bay, W Calif, about one mile (1.61 km) north of San Francisco. Alcatraz was first sighted by the Spanish in 177...

Belasco, David

(Encyclopedia)Belasco, David bəlăsˈkō [key], 1853–1931, American theatrical manager and producer, b. San Francisco. He was actively connected with the theater from his youth, and while associated with Dion Bo...

Valladolid

(Encyclopedia)Valladolid välyäᵺōlēᵺˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 333,680), capital of Valladolid prov. and the administrative center of Castile and León, N central Spain, at the confluence of the Pisuerga and ...