Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Harriman, William Averell āˈvərəl [key], 1891–1986, American public official; son of E. H. Harriman. Expanding his railroad inheritance, W. Averell Harriman became a banker and shipbuilder and l...

(Encyclopedia) Schäuble, Wolfgang vôlfˈgäng shīˈblə [key], 1942–, German political leader. He studied law and economics at the Univ. of Freiburg and the Univ. of Hamburg and then worked as a tax lawyer (197...

(Encyclopedia) Chirac, Jacques René zhäk rənāˈ shēräkˈ [key], 1932–2019, French political leader, president of France (1995–2007), b. Paris. He attended the National School of Administration, joined the ...

(Encyclopedia) Cameron, David William Duncan kămˈərən [key], 1966–, British political leader, b. London. Educated at Eton and Oxford, he worked for the Conservative party's research department beginning in 198...

(Encyclopedia) Kent, county (1991 pop. 1,485,600), 1,525 sq mi (3,950 sq km), SE England. It lies between the Thames estuary and the Strait of Dover. The county town is Maidstone, and the county is divided into 12 a...

(Encyclopedia) Canary Islands, Span. Islas Canarias, group of seven islands (2020 est. pop. 2,161,000), 2,875 sq mi (7,445 sq km), autonomous community of Spain, ...

(Encyclopedia) coin, piece of metal, usually a disk of gold, silver, nickel, bronze, copper, aluminum, or a combination of such metals, stamped by authority of a government as a guarantee of its real or exchange val...

(Encyclopedia) Ahtisaari, Martti Oiva Kalevi äkhˈtēsärrē [key], 1937–, Finnish diplomat, political leader, and international mediator; grad. Univ. of Oulu (1959). Joining (1965) the foreign affairs ministry, ...

(Encyclopedia) iceboating, sport of sailing a specially prepared boat equipped with runners over ice. The first iceboats were probably sailed by the Dutch during the 18th cent., although the Finns and Sami (Lapps) m...

(Encyclopedia) beef, flesh of cattle prepared for food. It has become one of the chief products of the meatpacking industry and is sold either chilled, frozen, or cured. The leading beef consumers, as well as export...