Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Castro, Raúl (Raúl Castro Ruz) käsˈtrō [key], 1931–, Cuban revolutionary and government official, younger brother of Fidel Castro. A loyal supporter of his brother and a Communist, Raúl Castr...

(Encyclopedia) Guaidó, Juan (Juan Gerardo Guaidó Márquez), 1983–, Venezuelan political leader. An industrial engineer by training, he helped establish the Popular Will party in 2009 and was a protégé of party...

(Encyclopedia) Pledge of Allegiance, in full, Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, oath that proclaims loyalty to the United States. and its national symbol. It reads: “I pledge allegi...

(Encyclopedia) Koch kōk [key], family of American industrialists and philanthropists. Fred Chase Koch, 1900–1967, b. Quanah, Tex., grad. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1922, was a Wichita, Kans., entrepre...

(Encyclopedia) Pacific Rim, term used to describe the nations bordering the Pacific Ocean and the island countries situated in it. In the post–World War II era, the Pacific Rim has become an increasingly important...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Kansas kănˈzəs [key], midwestern state occupying the center of the coterminous United States. It is bordered by Missouri (E), Oklahoma (S), Colorado (W), and Nebraska (N). Kansas has b...

(Encyclopedia) Northampton nôrthˌhămpˈtən, nôrˌthămpˈtən [key], city (1990 pop. 29,289), seat of Hampshire co., W Mass., on the Connecticut River; inc. as a town 1656, as a city 1883. Brushes, wire, optica...

(Encyclopedia) Lourenço, João Manuel Gonçalves, 1954–, Angolan political leader and military officer. A member of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), he fought against the Portuguese in th...

(Encyclopedia) National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), organization composed mainly of American blacks, but with many white members, whose goal is the end of racial discrimination and seg...

(Encyclopedia) Freedom of Information Act (1966), law requiring that U.S. government agencies release their records to the public on request, unless the information sought falls into a category specifically exempted...