Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Kansas-Nebraska Act

(Encyclopedia)Kansas-Nebraska Act, bill that became law on May 30, 1854, by which the U.S. Congress established the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. By 1854 the organization of the vast Platte and Kansas river c...

Schröder, Gerhard

(Encyclopedia)Schröder, Gerhard shröˈdər [key], 1944–, chancellor of Germany (1998–2005), b. Mosenburg, Germany. A telegenic lawyer and Social Democrat, he entered politics as a Marxist student in the 1960...

civics

(Encyclopedia)civics, branch of learning that treats of the relationship between citizens and their society and state, originally called civil government. With the large immigration into the United States in the la...

Sharon, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Sharon shârˈən [key], city (1990 pop. 17,493), Mercer co., NW Pa., on the Shenango River, near the Ohio line; settled c.1800, inc. as a city 1920. An industrial city, its chief manufactures are tex...

Buffalo, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Buffalo, city (2020 pop. 278,349), seat of Erie co., W N.Y., on Lake Erie and the Niagara and Buffalo rivers; inc. 1832. With more than 37 mi (60 km) of...

marble

(Encyclopedia)marble, metamorphic rock composed wholly or in large part of calcite or dolomite crystals, the crystalline texture being the result of metamorphism of limestone by heat and pressure. The term marble i...

Wharton, Francis

(Encyclopedia)Wharton, Francis, 1820–89, American clergyman and lawyer, b. Philadelphia, grad. Yale, 1839. Admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1843, he became an authority on criminal law and wrote A Treatise on ...

Taunton, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Taunton tănˈtən, tŏn– [key], industrial city (1990 pop. 49,832), a seat of Bristol co., SE Mass., on the Taunton River; settled 1638, inc. as a city 1864. It has been a center of the silverware ...

Dartmouth, town, United States

(Encyclopedia)Dartmouth, residential and resort town (2020 pop. 33,783), Bristol co., SE Mass., on Buzzards Bay, in a dairy region; settled c.1650, inc. 1664. Farming...

Pearl Harbor

(Encyclopedia)Pearl Harbor, land-locked harbor, on the southern coast of Oahu island, Hawaii, W of Honolulu; one of the largest and best natural harbors in the E Pacific Ocean. In the vicinity are many U.S. militar...
 

Browse by Subject