Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Crockett, Davy (David Crockett) krŏkˈĭt [key], 1786–1836, American frontiersman, b. Limestone, near Greeneville, Tenn. After serving (1813–14) under Andrew Jackson against the Creek in the War ...

(Encyclopedia) Jones, Davy: see Davy Jones.

(Encyclopedia) Davy Jones, personification or spirit of the sea. The name is best known in the expression “Davy Jones's locker,” meaning the bottom of the sea, to which drowned sailors go. ...

(Encyclopedia) tall tale, extravagantly and humorously exaggerated story of the backwoods exploits of an American frontiersman. Originating in the 1820s, the genre remained popular well into the 20th cent. One of th...

(Encyclopedia) Nolichucky nŏlˌĭchŭkˈē, nŏlˈĭchŭkˌē [key], river, c.150 mi (240 km) long, rising in the Blue Ridge, W N.C., and flowing NW and W to the French Broad River W of Greeneville, Tenn. A power d...

(Encyclopedia) Davy, Sir Humphry, 1778–1829, English chemist and physicist. The son of a woodcarver, he received his early education at Truro and was apprenticed (1795) to a surgeon-apothecary at Penzance. While d...

(Encyclopedia) Alamo, the ălˈəmōˌ [key] [Span.,=cottonwood], building in San Antonio, Tex., “the cradle of Texas liberty.” Built as a chapel after 1744, it is all that remains of the mission of San Antonio ...

(Encyclopedia) safety lamp, oil lamp designed for safe use in mines and other places where flammable gases such as firedamp (see damp) may be present. Its invention (c.1816) is usually attributed to Sir Humphry Davy...

(Encyclopedia) Lufkin, city (1990 pop. 30,206), seat of Angelina co., E Tex.; inc. 1890. Situated in the deep pine woods, it is the core of a region of forest industries with many sawmills and the first plant to mak...

(Encyclopedia) Stephenson, George, 1781–1848, British engineer, noted as a locomotive builder. He learned to read and write in night school at the age of 18, while working in a colliery. He constructed (1814) a tr...