Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Motlanthe, Kgalema Petrus kälāˈmä, mōtlänˈtā [key], 1949–, South African politician, b. Johannesburg. A fierce opponent of apartheid, he was influenced by Steve Biko and organized student pr...

(Encyclopedia) Beersheba bērshēˈbə, bērˈshēbə [key] [Heb.,=seven wells or well of the oath],...

(Encyclopedia) Ramaphosa, Cyril (Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa), 1952–, South African political leader, b. Johannesburg. A lawyer, he became involved in the antiapartheid Black Consciousness Movement while a university...

(Encyclopedia) Dutch and Flemish literature, literary works written in the standard language of the Low Countries since the Middle Ages. It is conventional to use the term Dutch when referring to the language spoken...

(Encyclopedia) Solidarity, Polish independent trade union federation formed in Sept., 1980. Led by Lech Wałęsa, it grew rapidly in size and political power and soon posed a threat to Poland's Communist government ...

(Encyclopedia) Zhirinovsky, Vladimir Volfovich vlədyēˈmĭr vôlˈfəvyĭchˌ zhĭrˌĭnôfˈskē [key], 1946–, Russian politician, b. Kazakh SSR (now Kazakhstan) as Vladimir Volfovich Eidelshtein. Born into a p...

(Encyclopedia) Hoboken hōˈbōkən, –bəkən [key], city (2020 pop. 60,419), Hudson co., NE N.J.,...

(Encyclopedia) Adler, Stella ădˈlər [key], 1901–92, American actress, director, and acting teacher, b. New York City. The daughter of Jacob and Sarah Adler, stars in New York's Yiddish theater, she made her act...

(Encyclopedia) Brownsville, city (2020 pop. 186,738), seat of Cameron co., extreme S Tex., on the Rio Grande c.17 mi (30 km) from its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico; inc....

(Encyclopedia) Mennonites mĕnˈnənīts [key], descendants of the Dutch and Swiss evangelical Anabaptists of the 16th cent. The name Mennonite is derived from Menno Simons (c.1496–1561), Dutch reformer and org...