Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Fair Isle

(Encyclopedia)Fair Isle, island, c.3 sq mi (7.8 sq km), off N Scotland, southernmost of the Shetland Islands. It is known for its traditional knitting in bright, multicolored designs and for its bird sanctuary. ...

Renfrewshire

(Encyclopedia)Renfrewshire or Renfrew, former county, central Scotland. Under the Local Government Act of 1973, Renfrewshire became (1975) part of the Strathclyde region, but in 1996 that region was dissolved and t...

Ayrshire

(Encyclopedia)Ayrshire or Ayr, former county, SW Scotland. Ayrshire became part of the Strathclyde region in 1975. In the local government reorganization of 1996, Strathclyde was dissolved and the council areas of ...

Stromness

(Encyclopedia)Stromness, town, on Mainland island, Orkney Islands, N Scotland. It has a harbor with shipyards and docks. Eggs are exported. In the 18th and 19th cent., Stromness was a whaling center and a port of c...

Wick

(Encyclopedia)Wick, town (1991 pop. 7,770), Highland, N Scotland, on Wick Bay at the mouth of the Wick River. The town consists of the villages of Louisburgh, Old Wick, and Pulteneytown. It is an important port for...

Lang, Andrew

(Encyclopedia)Lang, Andrew, 1844–1912, English scholar and man of letters, b. Scotland. His poetry, much of it written in the forms of ballades, triolets, and rondeaux, appeared in such volumes as his Ballads in ...

Murray, John, 2d marquess and 1st duke of Atholl

(Encyclopedia)Murray, John, 2d marquess and 1st duke of Atholl ăthˈəl [key], 1660–1724, Scottish nobleman; son of the 2d earl and 1st marquess. A supporter of William III, he held high government posts in Scot...

gazetteer

(Encyclopedia)gazetteer găzˌĭtērˈ [key], dictionary or encyclopedia listing alphabetically the names of places, political divisions, and physical features of the earth and giving some information about each. T...

Raeburn, Sir Henry

(Encyclopedia)Raeburn, Sir Henry rāˈbərn [key], 1756–1823, Scottish portrait painter, b. near Edinburgh. He was apprenticed to a goldsmith at 15 and he showed considerable talent. In 1784 he went to London and...

Witherspoon, John

(Encyclopedia)Witherspoon, John, 1723–94, Scottish-American Presbyterian clergyman, political leader in the American Revolution, and signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Haddingtonshire (now East Lothian...