Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Marine Corps, United States, military corps that forms a separate service within the U.S. Dept. of the Navy. The commandant of the Marine Corps is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. During conflic...

(Encyclopedia) Bird, Larry Joe, 1956–, American basketball player, b. West Baden, Ind. Considered one of the greatest all-around players in basketball history, the 6-ft 9-in. Bird played for Indiana State Univ. (1...

(Encyclopedia) United States Merchant Marine Academy, at Kings Point, N.Y.; for the training of merchant marine officers; established 1936, opened 1943. The academy became coeducational in 1974. Candidates must be b...

(Encyclopedia) Transportation, United States Department of, executive department of the U.S. government, established by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. Its chief executive officer, the secretary, is a ...

(Encyclopedia) Detroit, river, 32 mi (52 km) long, flowing from Lake St. Clair S into Lake Erie between Detroit, Mich., and Windsor, Ont.; it forms part of the U.S.-Canada boundary. It is one of the most heavily ind...

(Encyclopedia) prairies, generally level, originally grass-covered and treeless plains of North America, stretching from W Ohio through Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa to the Great Plains region. The prairie belt also e...

(Encyclopedia) DePauw University, at Greencastle, Ind.; coeducational; United Methodist; est. 1832, chartered 1837. The school opened in 1838 as Indiana Asbury College, and in 1884 the present name was adopted. ...

(Encyclopedia) Fairbanks, Charles Warren, 1852–1918, Vice President of the United States (1905–9), b. Union co., Ohio. He became wealthy as a railroad lawyer in Indianapolis, rose in Republican politics, and ser...

(Encyclopedia) United Presbyterian Church, two denominations of Presbyterianism. 1 In Scotland, the United Presbyterian Church was formed by the union (1847) of the United Secession Church with the majority of the c...

(Encyclopedia) Niagara Falls, in the Niagara River, W N.Y. and S Ont., Canada; one of the most famous spectacles in North America. The falls are on the international line between the cities of Niagara Falls, N.Y., a...