Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Welles, Gideon wĕlz [key], 1802–78, American statesman, b. Glastonbury, Conn. He was (1826–36) editor and part owner of the Hartford Times, one of the first New England papers to support Andrew J...

(Encyclopedia) Decatur. 1 City (2020 pop. 57,938), seat of Morgan co., N Ala., on the Tennessee River; inc. 1826. It has shipyards, port traffic, and diverse ...

(Encyclopedia) Independence. 1 City (2020 pop. 6,064), seat of Buchanan co., NE Iowa; founded 1847. Located on the Wapsipinicon River, the town's grist mill ...

(Encyclopedia) Rehnquist, William Hubbs rĕnˈkwĭst [key], 1924–2005, American public official, 16th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1986–2005), b. Milwaukee, Wis., as William Donald Rehnquist. After r...

(Encyclopedia) frontier, in U.S. history, the border area of settlement of Europeans and their descendants; it was vital in the conquest of the land between the Atlantic and the Pacific. The importance of the westwa...

(Encyclopedia) Atlanta ətlănˈtə, ăt– [key], city (2020 pop. 498,715), state capital and seat of Fulton co., NW Ga., on the Chattahoochee R. and Peachtree Creek, near the Appalachi...

(Encyclopedia) Lee, Robert Edward, 1807–70, general in chief of the Confederate armies in the American Civil War, b. Jan. 19, 1807, at Stratford, Westmoreland co., Va.; son of Henry (“Light-Horse Harry”) Lee. ...

(Encyclopedia) university press, publishing house associated with a university and nearly always bearing the university's name in its imprint. The university press is normally a specialized publishing house emphasiz...

(Encyclopedia) lion, large carnivore of the cat family, Panthera leo, found in open country in Africa, with a few surviving in India. Lions have short-haired coats of tawny brown, with the tail ending in a dark tuft...

(Encyclopedia) Peary, Robert Edwin pērˈē [key], 1856–1920, American arctic explorer, b. Cresson, Pa. In 1881 he entered the U.S. navy as a civil engineer and for several years served in Nicaragua, where he was ...