Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Spalding, Albert Goodwill

(Encyclopedia)Spalding, Albert Goodwill, 1849–1915, American baseball player and business executive, b. Byron, Ill. He played as an amateur for the Rockford, Ill., Forest Citys (1866–68) and then was paid unoff...

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

(Encyclopedia)Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, founded 1888, one of the world's foremost orchestras. It performs at the Royal Concertbegouw [concert building], Amsterdam, Netherlands, designed by Adolf Leonard van Ge...

Niagara Falls, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Niagara Falls, city (1990 pop. 61,840), Niagara co., W N.Y., at the great falls of the Niagara River opposite Niagara Falls, Ont.; inc. 1892. Tourism is one of its oldest industries, and many state pa...

Romário

(Encyclopedia)Romário (Romário de Souza Faria), 1966–, Brazilian soccer player. A striker, he had a long stride and outstanding control and mobility despite his small stature (5 ft 6 in./1.68 m). He played with...

Richland

(Encyclopedia)Richland, city (1990 pop. 32,315), Benton co., S Wash., at the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima rivers, in an irrigated farm and vineyard region; inc. 1958. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Dep...

Disarmament Conference

(Encyclopedia)Disarmament Conference, 1932–37, meeting for the discussion of general disarmament. The first systematic efforts to limit armaments on an international scale, in either a quantitative or a qualitati...

Finnish-Russian War

(Encyclopedia)Finnish-Russian War, 1939–40, war between Finland and the Soviet Union. After World War II broke out in Sept., 1939, the USSR, never on cordial terms with Finland, took advantage of its nonaggressio...

woodpecker

(Encyclopedia)woodpecker, common name for members of the Picidae, a large family of climbing birds found in most parts of the world. Woodpeckers typically have sharp, chisellike bills for pecking holes in tree trun...

central bank

(Encyclopedia)central bank, financial institution designed to regulate and control the money supply of a nation, with the goal of fostering economic growth without inflation. Although central banking systems have v...

Baha'i

(Encyclopedia)Baha'i bähäˈē, –hīˈ, bə– [key], religion founded by Baha Ullah (born Mirza Huseyn Ali Nuri) and promulgated by his eldest son, Abdul Baha (1844–1921). It is a doctrinal outgrowth of Babis...
 

Browse by Subject