Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Melville, Herman, 1819–91, American author, b. New York City, considered one of the great American writers and a major figure in world literature. Like Moby-Dick, Pierre; or, The Ambiguities (18...

(Encyclopedia) Hitler, Adolf äˈdôlf hĭtˈlər [key], 1889–1945, founder and leader of National Socialism (Nazism), and German dictator, b. Braunau in Upper Austria. By July, 1944, the German military si...

(Encyclopedia) terrorism, the threat or use of violence, often against the civilian population, to achieve political or social ends, to intimidate opponents, or to publicize grievances. The term dates from the Reign...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Italy ĭtˈəlē [key], Ital. Italia, officially Italian Republic, republic (2015 est. pop. 59,504,000), 116,303 sq mi (301,225 sq km), S Europe. It borders on France in the northwest, the Ligu...

(Encyclopedia) Mexico or Mexico City, Span. Ciudad de México (Méjico), city (1990 pop. 8,236,960; 1991 met. area est. 20,899,000), central Mexico, capital and largest city of Mexico. The city has been the met...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Vatican City vătˈĭkən [key] or Holy See, officially Holy See (State of the Vatican City), independent state (2015 est. pop. 1,000), 108.7 acres (44 hectares), within the city of Rome, Italy...

(Encyclopedia) Spanish literature, the literature of Spain. The Spanish civil war (1936–39) truncated the cultural evolution of the country. Many writers went into exile. Salinas, Guillén, Juan Larrea, an...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Equatorial Guinea gĭnˈē [key], officially Republic of Equatorial Guinea, republic (2021 est. pop. ...

(Encyclopedia) secret police, policing organization operating in secrecy for the political purposes of its government, often with terroristic procedures. Many states, including Chile, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Romania,...

(Encyclopedia) World War II, 1939–45, worldwide conflict involving every major power in the world. The two sides were generally known as the Allies and the Axis. Although hostilities came to an end in Sept...