Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Kadesh, ancient city of Syria

(Encyclopedia)Kadesh kāˈdĕsh [key], ancient city of Syria, on the Orontes River. There Ramses II fought (c.1300 b.c.) the Hittites in a great battle that ended in a truce. ...

Port Republic

(Encyclopedia)Port Republic, village, NW Va., on the South Fork of the Shenandoah River. During the Civil War, on June 8–9, 1862, the last battle of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson's successful Shenandoah vall...

Regillus, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Regillus, Lake rĭjĭlˈəs [key], in ancient Latium, SE of Rome, possibly near Frascati. Traditionally it was the scene of a battle (499 or 496 b.c.) by which Rome gained supremacy in Latium. ...

Omdurman

(Encyclopedia)Omdurman ŏmdərmänˈ [key], Arab. Umm Durman, city (1993 pop. 1,271,403), E central Sudan, on the White Nile opposite Khartoum. It is the largest city and chief commercial center of Sudan and part o...

Diggers

(Encyclopedia)Diggers, members of a small English religio-economic movement (fl. 1649–50), so called because they attempted to dig (i.e., cultivate) the wastelands. They were an offshoot of the more important gro...

Huggins, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Huggins, Sir William, 1824–1910, English astronomer. Using a spectroscope, he began to study the chemical constitution of stars from the observatory attached to his home in Tulse Hill, London. He pr...

Bardstown

(Encyclopedia)Bardstown, city (2020 pop. 13,567), seat of Nelson co., central Ky., SE of Louisville, in a rich farm area; settled 1775, inc. 1788. The city has distil...

Smithies, Oliver

(Encyclopedia)Smithies, Oliver, 1925–2017, American geneticist, b. Halifax, England, Ph.D., Oxford, 1951. Smithies was on the faculty at the Univ. of Toronto (1953–60) and Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison (1960–8...

Ayacucho

(Encyclopedia)Ayacucho äyäko͞oˈchō [key], city, capital of Ayacucho dept., S central Peru. It is a commercial center in a rich mining region that produces gold, silver, and nickel....

Rothermel, Peter Frederick

(Encyclopedia)Rothermel, Peter Frederick rŏᵺˈərmĕl [key], 1817–95, American painter, b. Nescopeck, Pa., studied in Paris. His noted historical works include a colossal Battle of Gettysburg (Capitol building...