Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Sumqayit gīētˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 231,104), E central Azerbaijan, on the Caspian Sea at the mouth of the Sumqayit River. Once a major industrial center, it became heavily polluted and most of i...

(Encyclopedia) Tuxtla Gutiérrez to͞osˈtlä go͞otyārˈrās [key] or Tuxtla, city (1990 pop. 289,626), capital of Chiapas state, SE Mexico, in the fertile Grijalva valley and at the foot of the Chiapas highlands....

(Encyclopedia) Sharaku Toshusai shäˈräko͞o tōsho͝osīˈ [key], fl. 1794, Japanese artist. Extant sources indicate that he was either Saito Jurobei, a Noh dancer in the employ of the Daimyo of Awa, or that his ...

(Encyclopedia) Abbott and Costello kŏstĕlˈō [key], American comedy team of William Alexander “Bud” Abbott, 1895–1974, b. Asbury Park, N.J., and Lou Costello, 1906–59, b. Pate...

(Encyclopedia) Gowon, Yakubu yäko͞oˈbo͞o gôˈwŏn [key], 1934–, Nigerian head of state. After entering the Nigerian army in 1954, he advanced (1966) to battalion commander. After Nigeria's second bloody coup ...

(Encyclopedia) Guzmán, Martín Luis märtēnˈ lo͞oēsˈ go͞osmänˈ [key], 1887–1977, Mexican novelist and journalist. Guzmán worked as a journalist during the Mexican revolution, in which he joined the force...

(Encyclopedia) Formulas for the Volumes of Some Common Solids 1 Abbreviations: B = area of base; h = height; r = radius; l = length; w = width. ...

(Encyclopedia) Suzhou, Soochow wo͞oˈshēĕnˈ [key], city (1994 pop. 710,900), SE Jiangsu prov., E central China, on the Grand Canal near Tai Lake. Suzhou, famous for its silks since the Sung dynasty, is still a ...

(Encyclopedia) Wladislaw, Wladyslaw, and Wladislas, Pol. Władysław. For Polish rulers thus named, use Ladislaus. ...

(Encyclopedia) limerick, type of humorous verse. It is always short, often nonsensical, and sometimes ribald. Of unknown origin, the limerick is popular rather than literary and has even been used in advertising. Th...