Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia)  Hancock, Herbie (Herbert Jeffrey Hancock), 1940- , American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader, b. Chicago, Il., Grinnell College (B.S.E., 1960, H...

(Encyclopedia) Yorktown, historic town (1990 pop. 270), seat of York co., SE Va., on the York River 10 mi (16 km) from its mouth on Chesapeake Bay; settled 1631, laid out 1691. It is included in the Colonial Nationa...

(Encyclopedia) Everest, Mount ĕvˈərĭst, ĕvˈrəst [key], peak, 29,032 ft (8,849 m) high (as officially recognized by China and Nepal; rock height only, 29,016 ft/8,844 m), on the border of Tibet and Nepal, in t...

(Encyclopedia) Big Ben, the bell in the Parliament tower (Westminster Palace), London, England. It was named for Sir Benjamin Hall, commissioner of works when the bell was installed in 1856. The name is often used t...

(Encyclopedia) Ard ärd [key], in the Bible. 1 Son of Benjamin. 2 Benjamite, perhaps the same as 1. An alternate form is Addar. ...

(Encyclopedia) Ruth, book of the Bible. It tells a story, set in the days of the judges, of the fidelity of a Moabite widow (Ruth) to her widowed mother-in-law (Naomi). After the death of her husband in Moab, Ruth r...

(Encyclopedia) mercantilism mûrˈkəntĭlĭzəm [key], economic system of the major trading nations during the 16th, 17th, and 18th cent., based on the premise that national wealth and power were best served by inc...

(Encyclopedia) Naseby nāzˈbē [key], village, Northamptonshire, central England, near Northampton. Nearby, on June 14, 1645, the parliamentarians under Sir Thomas Fairfax of Cameron and Oliver Cromwell defeated th...

(Encyclopedia) Peter or Peters, Hugh, 1598–1660, British Puritan clergyman, educated at Cambridge. He became a priest of the Established Church, but his Puritan doctrines forced him to leave England for Holland c....

(Encyclopedia) Dunbar, town, East Lothian, SE Scotland, on the North Sea. It is a fishing center and seaside resort. Dunbar Castle was held by “Black Agnes,” count...