Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Central Valley project, central Calif., long-term general scheme for the utilization of the water of the Sacramento River basin in the north for the benefit of the farmlands of the San Joaquin Valley ...

(Encyclopedia) circuit rider, itinerant preacher of the Methodist denomination who served a “circuit” consisting usually of 20 to 40 “appointments.” The circuit system, devised by John Wesley for his English...

(Encyclopedia) Fort McHenry, former U.S. military post in Baltimore harbor; built 1794–1805. In the War of 1812 it was bombarded (Sept. 13–14, 1814) by a British fleet under Sir Alexander Cochrane, but the fort,...

(Encyclopedia) Hawkins, Sir Richard, 1562?–1622, English admiral, son of Sir John Hawkins. He served under Sir Francis Drake in the 1585–86 expedition to the West Indies, commanded the Swallow in the defeat of t...

(Encyclopedia) stigmata stĭgˈmətə, stĭgmătˈə [key] [plural of stigma, from Gr.,=brand], wounds or marks on a person resembling the five wounds received by Jesus at the crucifixion. Some 300 cases of stigmati...

(Encyclopedia) Berry, Caroline Ferdinande Louise, duchesse de kärôlēnˈ fĕrdēnäNd lwēz, düshĕsˈ də bĕrēˈ [key], 1798–1870, wife of the French prince, Charles Ferdinand, duc de Berry; daughter of Fran...

(Encyclopedia) Saint-Étienne săNtātyĕnˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 201,569), capital of Loire dept., SE France, in the Massif Central. The metropolitan region occupies much of what was once a major coal-mining and ...

(Encyclopedia) Portobelo, Porto Bello pwārˈtō bāˈyō [key], town, central Panama, on the Caribbean Sea. The site, an excellent harbor, was visited by Columbus. The town was founded in 1597. A thriving colonial...

(Encyclopedia) Ray or Wray, John, 1627–1705, English naturalist. He was extremely influential in laying the foundations of systematic biology. With his pupil Francis Willughby, he planned a complete classification...

(Encyclopedia) Eger ĕˈgĕr [key], Ger. Erlau, city (1991 est. pop. 62,474), NE Hungary, on the Eger River. It is the commercial center of a wine-producing region and has food- and tobacco-processing plants. Eger i...