Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) air mass, large body of air within the earth's atmosphere in which temperature and humidity, although varying at different heights, remain similar throughout the body at any one height. Air masses for...

(Encyclopedia) Essex, one of the early kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England. It was settled probably in the early 6th cent. by Saxons who traced their royal line back to a continental Saxon god instead of to Woden, as di...

(Encyclopedia) Letcher, John, 1813–84, American politician, b. Lexington, Va. He studied law and practiced at Lexington, where he also edited the Jacksonian Democrat Valley Star. In Congress (1851–59), he was kn...

(Encyclopedia) Maclay, William məklāˈ [key], 1734–1804, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (1789–91), b. Chester co., Pa. A lawyer and a provincial and state official before serving as Senator, he kept a journal,...

(Encyclopedia) Hill, Benjamin Harvey, 1823–82, American statesman, b. Jasper co., Ga. A highly successful lawyer and Whig politician, he supported the Whig-Democratic alliance that carried Georgia in favor of the ...

(Encyclopedia) Concert of Europe, term used in the 19th cent. to designate a loose agreement by the major European powers to act together on European questions of common interest. The concert emerged after the Congr...

(Encyclopedia) Calderón Guardia, Rafael Ángel räfäĕlˈ ängˈhĕl käldārōnˈ gwärˈdēä [key], 1900–1970, president of Costa Rica (1940–44). A practicing physician, he entered politics in 1934, serving...

(Encyclopedia) Cummings, Homer Stillé, 1870–1956, American lawyer, U.S. Attorney General (1933–39), b. Chicago. He practiced law in Stamford, Conn., where he was mayor three times. He served as chairman of the ...

(Encyclopedia) Waterton Lakes National Park, 203 sq mi (525 sq km), SW Alta., Canada, SW of Lethbridge and at the U.S. border, adjoining Glacier National Park, Mont.; est. 1895. It is the Canadian section of Waterto...

(Encyclopedia) Tucumán, city (1991 pop. 578,579), capital of Tucumán prov., NW Argentina. It is the commercial center of an area that produces sugar, legumes, lemons, and tobacco. The city was founded in 1565 and ...