Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Mugabe, Robert Gabriel mo͞ogäˈbē, –bā [key], 1924–2019, president of Zimbabwe (1987–2017). A founder of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) in 1963 and a guerrilla leader, he was imp...

(Encyclopedia) cobra, name for African and Asian snakes of the family Elapidae that are equipped with inflatable neck hoods. The family also includes the African mambas, the Asian kraits, the New World coral snakes ...

(Encyclopedia) Dovrefjell dôˈvrəfyĕl [key], mountainous region of S Norway, c.100 mi (160 km) long and 40 mi (60 km) wide, culminating in Snøhetta (7,500 ft/2,286 m high). It is crossed by the Dovre railway and...

(Encyclopedia) Feyjóo y Montenegro, Benito Gerónimo bānēˈtō hārōˈnēmō fāēhōˈō ē mōntānāˈgrō [key], 1676–1764, Spanish Benedictine scholar and critic, abbot at Oviedo, Asturias. Feyjóo led in...

(Encyclopedia) John II, 1405–54, Spanish king of Castile and León (1406–54), son and successor of Henry III. He was little interested in government, which he entrusted to his favorite Alvaro de Luna. Literature...

(Encyclopedia) Seelye, Laurenus Clark, 1837–1924, American educator and Congregational clergyman, b. Bethel, Conn., grad. Union College, 1857, and studied at Andover Theological Seminary and in Germany; brother of...

(Encyclopedia) Giesebrecht, Wilhelm von vĭlˈhĕlm fən gēˈzəbrĕkht [key], 1814–89, German historian. A gifted student of Ranke, he later taught at the Univ. of Königsberg. His Geschichte der deutschen Kaise...

(Encyclopedia) Hellenistic civilization. The conquests of Alexander the Great spread Hellenism immediately over the Middle East and far into Asia. After his death in 323 b.c., the influence of Greek civilization con...

(Encyclopedia) Parrington, Vernon Louis, 1871–1929, American literary historian and scholar, b. Aurora, Ill. His cultural interpretation of American literature was an expression of his belief in democratic idealis...

(Encyclopedia) Izhevsk ēzhĭfskˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 635,000), capital of Udmurt Republic, E European Russia. A major steel-milling, armaments, machinery, motor vehicles, and metallurgical center, Izhevsk has i...