Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Mandalay

(Encyclopedia)Mandalay mănˌdəlāˈ, mănˈdəlāˌ [key], city (1983 pop. 532,895), capital of Mandalay region, central Myanmar, on the Ayeyarwady River. The second largest city in Myanmar, it is the terminus of...

Kiner, Ralph McPherran

(Encyclopedia)Kiner, Ralph McPherran, 1922–2014, American baseball player and sportscaster, b. Santa Rita, N. Mex. A right-handed slugger and outfielder, he played with the National League's Pittsburgh Pirates (1...

Porter, Fitz-John

(Encyclopedia)Porter, Fitz-John, 1822–1901, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Portsmouth, N.H.; nephew of David Porter. He saw service in the Mexican War and was an instructor at West Point (1849–55)....

Sussex, kingdom of

(Encyclopedia)Sussex, kingdom of, one of the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy (seven kingdoms) in England, located S of the Weald. It was settled in the late 5th cent. (according to tradition in 477) by Saxons under Ælle, wh...

Tilden, William Tatem, 2d

(Encyclopedia)Tilden, William Tatem, 2d (Bill Tilden), 1893–1953, American tennis player, b. Philadelphia. He developed into a brilliant, versatile tennis player, and from 1913 he won several doubles titles in th...

Thales

(Encyclopedia)Thales thāˈlēz [key], c.636–c.546 b.c., pre-Socratic Greek philosopher of Miletus and reputed founder of the Milesian school of philosophy. He is the first recorded Western philosopher. Thales ta...

Yastrzemski, Carl Michael

(Encyclopedia)Yastrzemski, Carl Michael, 1939–, American baseball player, b. Southampton, N.Y. A career-long member of the Boston Red Sox, “Yaz” was signed in 1959, brought up to the majors in 1961 (replacing...

Yates, Richard, American fiction writer

(Encyclopedia)Yates, Richard, 1926–92, American fiction writer, b. Yonkers, N.Y. A subtle and painstaking literary craftsman who has often been considered a “writers' writer,” Yates frequently chronicles the ...

Ras al-Khaimah

(Encyclopedia)Ras al-Khaimah räs äl-khīˈmä [key], sheikhdom (1995 pop. 144,430), c.650 sq mi (1,680 sq km), United Arab Emirates, SE Arabia, on the Persian Gulf; the northernmost of the seven sheikdoms in the ...

Sharjah

(Encyclopedia)Sharjah shärjäˈ [key], sheikhdom (1995 pop. 400,339), c.1,000 sq mi (2,590 sq km), part of the federation of seven United Arab Emirates, SE Arabia, on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. The mod...

Browse by Subject