Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Abbott and Costello kŏstĕlˈō [key], American comedy team of William Alexander “Bud” Abbott, 1895–1974, b. Asbury Park, N.J., and Lou Costello, 1906–59, b. Pate...

(Encyclopedia) Fátima fäˈtēmə [key], hamlet, W central Portugal, in Beira Litoral. At the nearby Cova da Iria is the national shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima. This became a great Roman Catholic cent...

(Encyclopedia) Charles IX, 1550–74, king of France. He succeeded (1560) his brother Francis II under the regency of his mother, Catherine de' Medici. She retained her influence throughout his reign. After 1570, ho...

(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) Forrest City, city (2020 pop. 13,015), seat of St. Francis co., E central Ark., at the foot of Crowley's Ridge; inc. 1871. It is a rail and trade center...

(Encyclopedia) Norristown, borough (1990 pop. 30,749), seat of Montgomery co., SE Pa., on the Schuylkill River; settled c.1712, laid out 1784, inc. 1812. Among its manufactures are textiles, medical equipment, machi...

(Encyclopedia) Connors, Jimmy (James Scott Connors, Jr.), 1952–, American tennis player, b. East St. Louis, Ill. A volatile, controversial, and fiercely competitive player, Connors was known for his theatrical con...

(Encyclopedia) Curtis, George Ticknor, 1812–94, American lawyer and writer, b. Watertown, Mass. A highly successful patent attorney, Curtis served in the Massachusetts legislature (1840–43) and as U.S. commissio...

(Encyclopedia) Atlantis ətlăntĭs, ăt– [key], in Greek legend, large island in the western sea (the Atlantic Ocean). Plato, in his dialogues the Timaeus and the Critias, tells of the high civilization that flou...

(Encyclopedia) Czernin, Ottokar, Graf ôˈtōkär gräf chĕrˈnĭn [key], 1872–1932, Austro-Hungarian foreign minister. He was an adviser to Archduke Francis Ferdinand. As foreign minister (1916–18) he sought a...