Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Ripley, Robert LeRoy, 1890–1949, American cartoonist, b. Santa Rosa, Calif., as Leroy Robert Ripley. The creator of the Believe It or Not! newspaper cartoon, Ripley began his career at 16 as a sport...

(Encyclopedia) Robinson, Boardman, 1876–1952, American painter, illustrator, and cartoonist, b. Somerset, N.S., studied at the Massachusetts School of Art, Boston, and in Paris. After four years of painting in San...

(Encyclopedia) Scottsdale, city (1990 pop. 130,069), Maricopa co., central Ariz.; settled in 1895 by Winfield Scott, inc. 1951. It is a resort and retirement center in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Manufacturing in...

(Encyclopedia) Pittsburg pĭtsˈbərg [key]. 1 Industrial city (1990 pop. 47,564), Contra Costa co., W Calif., on the edge of the San Francisco Bay area, at the junction of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers;...

(Encyclopedia) Thomas, Michael Tilson, 1944–, American conductor, composer, and pianist, b. Hollywood, Calif. A musical prodigy, he won Tanglewood's Koussevitsky Prize at 24 and shortly thereafter (1969) made his ...

(Encyclopedia) Brown, Jerry (Edmund Gerald Brown, Jr.), 1938–, American political leader, b. San Francisco. The son of Edmund Gerald (Pat) Brown (1905–96), governor of California (1959–67), Brown abandoned ear...

(Encyclopedia) Escalante, Silvestre Vélez de sēlvāˈstrā vāˈlāth dā āskälänˈtā [key], fl. 1769–79, Spanish explorer in the American Southwest and Far West, a Franciscan missionary. He was in charge of...

(Encyclopedia) Bierce, Ambrose Gwinett ămˈbrōz gwĭnĕtˈ bĭrs [key], 1842–1914?, American satirist, journalist, and short-story writer, b. Meigs co., Ohio. He fought with extreme bravery in the Civil War, and...

(Encyclopedia) Atahualpa ätäwälˈpä [key], d. 1533, favorite son of Huayna Capac, Inca of Peru. At his father's death (1525) he received the kingdom of Quito while his half-brother, the legitimate heir Huáscar,...

(Encyclopedia) Hiller, Stanley, Jr., 1924–2006, American aeronautical engineer and business executive, b. San Francisco. At 12 years old, he designed and produced gas-propelled toy cars, a business that led to the...