Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

281 results found

Whitaker, Pernell

(Encyclopedia)Whitaker, Pernell, 1964–2019, American boxer, b. Norfolk, Va. A left-handed fighter with brilliant defensive skills, he was a 1984 Olympic gold medalist in the 132-pound lightweight division. Turnin...

Lenglen, Suzanne

(Encyclopedia)Lenglen, Suzanne süzänˈ läNglĕnˈ [key], 1899–1938, French tennis player. She won the world hard-court singles and doubles titles in 1914. She was champion of French women's singles (1920–23,...

Lewis, Carl

(Encyclopedia)Lewis, Carl (Frederick Carlton Lewis), 1961–, American sprinter and jumper, b. Birmingham, Ala. A star in high school and at the Univ. of Houston, he became possibly the greatest track athlete of al...

Klein, Ralph Phillip

(Encyclopedia)Klein, Ralph Phillip, 1942–2013, Canadian politician, b. Calgary. He served in the Canadian air force and worked in public relations and as a weathercaster and reporter in radio and television befor...

Nagano

(Encyclopedia)Nagano nägäˈnō [key], city (1990 pop. 347,026), capital of Nagano prefecture, central Honshu, Japan, on the Tenryu River. It has a food-processing industry and produces auto parts and textiles. It...

Haile Gebrselassie

(Encyclopedia)Haile Gebrselassie, 1973–, Ethiopian track athlete. Adept at both indoor and outdoor distance events as well as long-distance cross-country and marathon running, Haile won major races in distances r...

Froome, Chris

(Encyclopedia)Froome, Chris (Christopher Clive Froome), 1985– British bicycle racer, b. Nairobi, Kenya. The most dominant road cyclist of the 2010s, he turned professional in 2007 and has ridden with Teams Konica...

Paine, Robert Treat, 3d

(Encyclopedia)Paine, Robert Treat, 3d, 1933–2016, American ecologist, b. Cambridge, Mass., Ph.D. Univ. of Michigan, 1961. He was on the faculty of the Univ. of Washington from 1962 to 1998. Paine's major contribu...

Ohno, Apolo Anton

(Encyclopedia)Ohno, Apolo Anton, 1982–, American speedskater, b. Seattle, Wash. Ohno began his speedskating career in 1995 and by 1997 was America's best short-track skater. In 1999 he became the youngest U.S. sk...

Sun Valley

(Encyclopedia)Sun Valley, mountain resort city (1990 pop. 938), alt. c.6,000 ft (1,830 m), Blaine co., S central Idaho; inc. 1967. It is a popular year-round resort with both winter and summer sports. It was founde...