Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Wickremesinghe, Ranil Shriyan ränēlˈ shrēyänˈ wĭkrəməsĭngˈhä [key], 1949–, Sri Lankan political leader. A member of the United National party and party leader (1994–), he was first ele...

(Encyclopedia) Bannon, Steve (Stephen Kevin Bannon), 1953–, American political strategist, financier, and media executive, b. Norfolk, Va. After serving as an officer in the U.S. navy (1976–83), he worked as an ...

(Encyclopedia) Tantawi, Hussein (Mohamed Hussein Tantawi Soliman), 1935–, Egyptian field marshal. Joining the army in 1956, he became defense minister (1991) and commander-in-chief of the armed forces (1995). He s...

(Encyclopedia) Polycarp, Saint pŏlˈĭkärp [key], c.a.d. 70–a.d. 156?, Greek bishop of Smyrna, Father of the Church. He was a disciple of St. John, who appointed him bishop. Thus he linked the apostles and such ...

(Encyclopedia) Port-au-Prince pôrt-ə-prĭnsˈ, Fr. pôr-tō-prăNsˈ [key], city (1995 est. pop. 846,200), capital of Haiti, SW Haiti, on a bay at the end of the Gulf of Gonâve. The country's chief seaport, it ex...

(Encyclopedia) Semmes, Raphael sĕmz [key], 1809–77, American naval officer, b. Charles co., Md. He took part in the Mexican War, practiced law at Mobile, Ala., and was in the Lighthouse Service from 1856 to Feb.,...

(Encyclopedia) Freitas do Amaral, Diogo dēōˈgō frāˈtäs do͞o ämärälˈ [key], 1941–2020, Portuguese political leader. A law professor at the Univ. of Lisbon, he was a founder (1974) and leader (1974–82,...

(Encyclopedia) long march, Chin., Changzheng, the journey of c.6,000 mi (9,660 km) undertaken by the Red Army of China in 1934–35. When their Jiangxi prov. Soviet base was encircled by the Nationalist army of Chia...

(Encyclopedia) Luxembourg, Du. Luxemburg, province (1991 pop. 232,813), 1,706 sq mi (4,419 sq km), SE Belgium, in the Ardennes, bordering on the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in the east and on France in the south. The ...

(Encyclopedia) Leclerc, Jacques Philippe ləklĕrˈ [key], 1902–47, French general. His real name was Philippe, vicomte de Hauteclocque, but he adopted the name Leclerc in World War II. Commanding the Free French...