Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Jackson, Henry Martin “Scoop”

(Encyclopedia)Jackson, Henry Martin “Scoop,” 1912–83, American political leader, b. Everett, Wash. As a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1941–53) and Senate (1953–83) he was a suppo...

Moral Majority

(Encyclopedia)Moral Majority, U.S. political action group composed of conservative, fundamentalist Christians. Founded (1979) and led (1979–87) by evangelist Rev. Jerry Falwell, the group played a significant rol...

Nuristan

(Encyclopedia)Nuristan no͝orĭstănˈ [key] [Persian,=land of light or the enlightened], region on the southern slopes of the Hindu Kush, NE Afghanistan, bordered on the E by Pakistan. Formerly called Kafiristan [...

Malmstrom Air Force Base

(Encyclopedia)Malmstrom Air Force Base mälmˈstrəm, mălmˈ– [key], U.S. military installation, 3,573 acres (1,446 hectares), W central Mont., E of Great Falls; est. 1942. During World War II, it was the takeof...

Machel, Samora Moïsès

(Encyclopedia)Machel, Samora Moïsès səmôrˈə moizĕshˈ məshĕl [key], 1933–86, president of Mozambique (1975–86). Machel joined the Mozambican Liberation Front (Frelimo) in 1962, led its guerrilla forces...

Khachaturian, Aram Ilich

(Encyclopedia)Khachaturian, Aram Ilich ərämˈ ĭlyēchˈ khäˌchəto͞oryänˈ [key], 1903–78, Russian composer of Armenian parentage, b. Tiflis (now Tbilisi). Khachaturian moved to Moscow in the early 1920s a...

Khiva, khanate of

(Encyclopedia)Khiva, khanate of, former state of central Asia, based on the Khiva (Khwarazm or Khorezm) oasis along the Amu Darya River. The khanate lay S of the Aral Sea and included large areas of the Kyzyl Kum a...

Pandit, Vijaya Lakshmi

(Encyclopedia)Pandit, Vijaya Lakshmi vĭjīˈə läkˈshmē pŭnˈdĭt [key], 1900–1990, Indian diplomat, sister of Jawaharlal Nehru. She played an active role in the Indian National Congress before Indian indepe...

Watson, Thomas John, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Watson, Thomas John, Jr., 1914–93, American industrialist, b. Dayton, Ohio. The son of Thomas John Watson, Sr., the founder of the International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), he joined the family b...

Bohlen, Charles Eustis

(Encyclopedia)Bohlen, Charles Eustis bōˈlən [key], 1904–74, American diplomat, born Clayton, N.Y. He entered (1929) the U.S. Foreign Service and undertook several consular assignments. A specialist in Russian ...