Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

electoral college

(Encyclopedia)electoral college, in U.S. government, the body of electors that chooses the president and vice president. The Constitution, in Article 2, Section 1, provides: “Each State shall appoint, in such Man...

Minneapolis

(Encyclopedia)Minneapolis mĭnˌēăpˈəlĭs [key], city (2020 pop. 429,606), seat of Hennepin co., E Minn., at the ...

Vanderbilt, Cornelius

(Encyclopedia)Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 1794–1877, American railroad magnate, b. Staten Island, N.Y. As a boy he ferried freight and passengers from Staten Island to Manhattan, and he soon gained control of most of ...

Richier, Germaine

(Encyclopedia)Richier, Germaine rēshyāˈ [key], 1904–59, French sculptor. She studied with Bourdelle (1925–29) and after 1940 developed a tortured awareness expressed in powerful, distorted figures. Richier's...

blueberry

(Encyclopedia)blueberry, plant of the large genus Vaccinium, widely distributed shrubs (occasionally small trees) of the family Ericaceae (heath family), usually found on acid soil. They are often confused with the...

Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument

(Encyclopedia)Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, c.490,000 sq mi (1,260,000 sq km), central Pacific Ocean; est. 2009. The monument comprises the waters and reefs surrounding seven islands and atolls, ...

Hare, Sir David

(Encyclopedia)Hare, Sir David, 1947–, British playwright. Hare is a prominent member of the British theatrical left. A founder of the Portable Theatre and the Joint Stock, he became resident dramatist at the Roya...

McCall, Samuel Walker

(Encyclopedia)McCall, Samuel Walker, 1851–1923, American political leader, U.S. Congressman (1893–1913), governor of Massachusetts (1916–18), b. East Providence, Pa. He was a lawyer in Boston when he entered ...

León, city, Nicaragua

(Encyclopedia)León, city (1995 pop. 125,117), W Nicaragua. It is Nicaragua's second largest city and the rail and commercial center between Corinto and Managua. It was founded in 1524 on Lake Managua by Francisco ...
 

Browse by Subject