Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Newsom, Gavin Christopher, 1967– American businessman and politician, b. San Francisco. He was a cofounder (1991) of the PlumpJack Group, whose businesses grew from a wine store to include wineries,...

(Encyclopedia) Boyle, Kay, 1903–93, American writer, b. St. Paul, Minn. A European expatriate in the interwar years, she returned to Europe as a correspondent for the New Yorker (1946–53) and subsequently taught...

(Encyclopedia) San Anselmo săn ănsĕlˈmō [key], city (1990 pop. 11,743), Marin co., W Calif., near San Francisco; inc. 1907. It is mostly residential. San Francisco Theological Seminary is there. ...

(Encyclopedia) San Mateo săn mətāˈō [key], city (1990 pop. 85,486), San Mateo co., W Calif., on San Francisco Bay; inc. 1894. It is a commercial and retail center with some high-technology manufacturing. San Ma...

(Encyclopedia) Inca ĭngˈkə [key], pre-Columbian empire, W South America. The name Inca may specifically refer to the emperor, but is generally used to mean the empire or the people. When Francisco Pizarro lande...

(Encyclopedia) San Quentin săn kwĕnˈtən [key], peninsula extending into San Francisco Bay, W Calif., N of San Francisco. The state prison there was begun in 1852. San Quentin is the western terminus of the Richm...

(Encyclopedia) Millbrae mĭlbrāˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 20,412), San Mateo co., W Calif., on San Francisco Bay; inc. 1948. It is primarily residential, but there is light manufacturing, including the production of...

(Encyclopedia) Milk, Harvey, 1931–78, U.S. politician and gay-rights activist. When elected (1977) to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, he was the first acknowledged homosexual to win high local office in th...

(Encyclopedia) Oakland, city (1990 pop. 372,242), seat of Alameda co., W Calif., on the eastern side of San Francisco Bay; inc. 1852. Together with San Francisco and San Jose, the city comprises the fourth largest m...

(Encyclopedia) Richmond–San Rafael Bridge, W Calif., c.4 mi (6 km) long, part of the network of bridges serving the San Francisco Bay area; completed in 1957. It provides an essential link between the east side of...