Columbia Encyclopedia
Search results
500 results found
Mistral, Gabriela
(Encyclopedia)Mistral, Gabriela mēsträlˈ [key], 1889–1957, Chilean poet whose original name was Lucila Godoy Alcayaga. She was a teacher in and director of rural schools in Chile before she attained wider acc...alabaster
(Encyclopedia)alabaster, fine-grained, massive, translucent variety of gypsum, a hydrous calcium sulfate. It is pure white or streaked with reddish brown. Alabaster, like all other forms of gypsum, forms by the eva...Chihuahua, breed of dog
(Encyclopedia)Chihuahua chəwäˈwə [key], a breed of small toy dog probably of Asian origin and introduced into Mexico by Spanish settlers. It stands about 5 in. (12.7 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 1 t...Buchanan, James
(Encyclopedia)Buchanan, James, 1791–1868, 15th President of the United States (1857–61), b. near Mercersburg, Pa., grad. Dickinson College, 1809. Buchanan was nominated as a Democratic candidate for the pres...amaryllis
(Encyclopedia)amaryllis ămˌərĭlˈĭs [key], common name for some members of the Amaryllidaceae, a family of mostly perennial plants with narrow, flat leaves and with lilylike flowers borne on separate, leafless...Bolaño, Roberto
(Encyclopedia)Bolaño, Roberto bōlänˈyō [key], 1953–2003, Chilean novelist widely regarded as the most influential Spanish-language writer of his generation. He led a peripatetic life, and his fictional prota...Calles, Plutarco Elías
(Encyclopedia)Calles, Plutarco Elías plo͞otärˈkō ālēˈäs käˈyās [key], 1877–1945, Mexican statesman, president (1924–28). In 1913 he left schoolteaching to fight with Álvaro Obregón and Venustiano ...Baja California, peninsula, Mexico
(Encyclopedia)Baja California Span.: bäˈhä kälēfōrˈnyä [key] or Lower California, peninsula, c.760 mi (1,220 km) long and from 30 to 150 mi (48–241 km) wide, NW Mexico, separating the Gulf of California f...Quetzalcoatl
(Encyclopedia)Quetzalcoatl kĕtˌsälkôätˈəl [key] [Nahuatl,=feathered serpent], ancient deity and legendary ruler of the Toltec in Mexico. The name is also that of a Toltec ruler, who is credited with the disc...Comonfort, Ignacio
(Encyclopedia)Comonfort, Ignacio ēgnäˈsyō kōmōnfôrtˈ [key], 1812–63, Mexican general and president (1855–58). He was one of the leaders in the Revolution of Ayutla, which in 1855 overthrew Santa Anna an...Browse by Subject
- Earth and the Environment +-
- History +-
- Literature and the Arts +-
- Medicine +-
- People +-
- Philosophy and Religion +-
-
Places
+-
- Africa
- Asia
- Australia and Oceania
- Britain, Ireland, France, and the Low Countries
- Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic Nations
- Germany, Scandinavia, and Central Europe
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- Oceans, Continents, and Polar Regions
- Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and the Balkans
- United States, Canada, and Greenland
- Plants and Animals +-
- Science and Technology +-
- Social Sciences and the Law +-
- Sports and Everyday Life +-
