Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Riel, Louis

(Encyclopedia)Riel, Louis lwē rēĕlˈ [key], 1844–85, Canadian insurgent, leader of two rebellions, b. Manitoba, of French and Métis parentage. In 1869–70 he led the rebels of the Red River settlements, main...

burdock

(Encyclopedia)burdock bûrˈdäk [key], common name of any plant of the genus Arctium of the family Asteraceae (aster family), coarse biennials indigenous to temperate Eurasia and mostly weedy in North America. The...

repartimiento

(Encyclopedia)repartimiento rāpärtēmyĕnˈtō [key], in Spanish colonial practice, usually, the distribution of indigenous people for forced labor. In a broader sense it referred to any official distribution of ...

North, Christopher

(Encyclopedia)North, Christopher: see John Wilson. ...

North, George

(Encyclopedia)North, George, fl. 1561–81, English gentleman, man of letters, and diplomat. A minor figure in the court of Queen Elizabeth I, he served as an ambassador to Sweden in 1564 and translated or adapted ...

North, Roger

(Encyclopedia)North, Roger, 1653–1734, English biographer. A lawyer, he wrote excellent biographies of his brothers: Francis North, Lord Guilford, Keeper of the Great Seal (1742); Dudley North, a merchant (1744);...

North Adams

(Encyclopedia)North Adams, city (1990 pop. 16,797), Berkshire co., NW Mass., in the Berkshire Hills, on the Hoosic River near the Vt. border; settled c.1737, set off from Adams and inc. 1878. It is located in a sum...

North Andover

(Encyclopedia)North Andover ănˈdōvər [key], town (1990 pop. 22,792), Essex co., NE Mass., on the Merrimack River, in a dairy and farm area; settled c.1644, set off from Andover and inc. 1855. A former textile t...

North Arlington

(Encyclopedia)North Arlington, borough (1990 pop. 13,790), Bergen co., NE N.J., a residential and industrial suburb of Newark, on the Passaic River; settled 1700s, inc. 1896. ...

North Attleboro

(Encyclopedia)North Attleboro ăˈtəlbərə [key], industrial town (1990 pop. 25,038), Bristol co., SE Mass., near the R.I. line; settled 1669, set off from Attleboro and inc. 1887. Jewelry has been made there sin...