Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) South Windsor wĭnˈzər [key], town (1990 pop. 22,090), Hartford co., N Conn.; set off from Windsor 1845. It is chiefly residential. Oliver Wolcott, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was b...

(Encyclopedia) Unser, Al (Alfred Unser, Sr.) ŭnˈsər [key] 1939–2021, American automobile racing driver, b. Albuquerque, ...

(Encyclopedia) Thirlwall, Connop kŏnˈəp thûrlˈwôl [key], 1797–1875, English historian. He was bishop of St. David's, Wales, from 1840. His chief work is his History of Greece (8 vol., 1835–44); it was the ...

(Encyclopedia) Blasket Islands, group of rock islets, Co. Kerry, SW Republic of Ireland; a lighthouse is on one of the islets. Most of the inhabitants of the islands were moved to the mainland in 1953. Great Blasket...

(Encyclopedia) Boscobel bŏsˈkəbĕl [key], parish, Shropshire, W central England. The oak in which Charles II supposedly hid after his defeat by Oliver Cromwell in the battle of Worcester (1651) was near Boscobel ...

(Encyclopedia) Acton, town (2020 pop. 24,021), Middlesex co., E Mass., NW of Boston; settled c.1680, inc. 1735. Among its manufactures are electrical machinery, chemicals, prefabricated houses, and preci...

(Encyclopedia) Franklin Institute, in Philadelphia; chartered and opened 1824 “for the promotion of the mechanic arts,” the first of its kind in the country. It was named for Benjamin Franklin. Since the 19th ce...

(Encyclopedia) Marie de France də fräNs [key], fl. 1155–90, poet. Born in France, she spent her adult life in England in aristocratic circles and wrote in Anglo-Norman. She is best known for some dozen lais; sev...

(Encyclopedia) Smith, Hoke, 1855–1931, American political leader, b. Newton, N.C. A successful lawyer in Atlanta, he acquired the Atlanta Journal in 1887. He served (1893–96) in President Cleveland's cabinet as ...

(Encyclopedia) Runyon, Damon (Alfred Damon Runyon), 1884–1946, American short story writer and journalist, b. Manhattan, Kans. He is best known for his humorous stories—written in a picturesque, slangy journalis...