Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Shaw, Robert Gould, 1837–63, Union hero in the American Civil War, b. Boston. An ardent white abolitionist, he was colonel of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, the first body of black troops raised i...

(Encyclopedia) Poti pôˈtyē [key], city (1989 pop. 50,922), W Georgia, on the Black Sea at the mouth of the Rion River. It is a port that ships manganese (from Chiatura), corn, lumber, and wine. The region around ...

(Encyclopedia) Abel, Sir Frederick Augustus, 1826–1902, English chemist, an authority on explosives. He was professor of chemistry at the Royal Military Academy (1851–55) and chemist to the War Dept. and governm...

(Encyclopedia) blackleg or black quarter, acute infectious disease of cattle, less often of sheep, caused by an organism of the genus Clostridium. It is characterized by inflammation of muscles with swelling and pai...

(Encyclopedia) Cumberland Presbyterian Church, branch of the Presbyterian Church in the United States founded in 1810. In 1906 many of its congregations were united with the main body of the church. It began as a re...

(Encyclopedia) pyrolusite pīˈrōlo͞ozīt [key], naturally occurring manganese dioxide, MnO2, a black mineral that crystallizes in the tetragonal system but is usually found in earthy or massive deposits. It is th...

(Encyclopedia) Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, 330,780 acres (133,860 hectares), N Calif., est. 2015. Jointly managed by Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, the monument extends from near sea le...

(Encyclopedia) Ponca City, city (1990 pop. 26,359), Kay co., N Okla., on the Arkansas River; founded 1893 with the opening of the Cherokee Strip, inc. 1899. It is a trade, processing, and shipping hub in a grain, li...

(Encyclopedia) Porres, Saint Martin de märtēnˈ dā pôrˈrās [key], 1579–1639, Peruvian Dominican lay brother, b. Lima. He was the son of a Spanish soldier and a black freedwoman from Panama. Apprenticed to a ...

(Encyclopedia) Sand to Snow National Monument, 154,000 acres (62,000 hectares) in the San Bernadino Mountains, S Calif. It rises from the Sonoran Desert floor to Mount San Gorgonio (11,503 ft/3,506 m), the highest p...