Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Bering, Vitus Jonassen vēˈto͝os yōˈnäsən bārˈĭng [key], 1681–1741, Danish explorer in Russian employ. In 1725 he was selected by Peter I to explore far NE Siberia. Having finally moved men...

(Encyclopedia) Vasconcelos, José hōsāˈ väskōnsāˈlōs [key], 1882–1959, Mexican educator and writer. He headed (1920–24) the National Univ. of Mexico and, as minister of education under Álvaro Obregón, ...

(Encyclopedia) Elijah ēlīˈəs [key] [both: Heb.,=Yahweh is God], fl. c.875 b.c., Hebrew prophet in the reign of King Ahab. He is one of the outstanding figures of the Bible. Elijah's mission was to destroy the wo...

(Encyclopedia) Elizabeth, city (2020 pop. 137,298), seat of Union co., NE N.J., on Newark Bay; inc. 1855. It is a shipping and transportation hub, with some of the wor...

(Encyclopedia) megachurch, large Protestant church with an average weekly attendance of 2,000 or more; relatively uncommon until after 1970. In the United States, where most megachurches are located, there were more...

(Encyclopedia) Oxford, city (1991 pop. 113,847) and district, county seat of Oxfordshire, S central England. In addition to its importance as the site of the Univ. of Oxford, the city has significant industries, inc...

(Encyclopedia) Siebold tāˈōdōr ĕrnst [key], 1804–85, also a physician, was one of the foremost biologists of his time. He specialized in the comparative anatomy of invertebrates and wrote the first volume (18...

(Encyclopedia) Obregón, Álvaro älˈvärō ōbrāgōnˈ [key], 1880–1928, Mexican general and president (1920–24). A planter in Sonora, he supported Francisco I. Madero in the revolution against Porfirio Díaz...

(Encyclopedia) Tlingit tlĭngˈgĭt [key], group of related Native North American tribes, speaking a language that forms a branch of the Nadene linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The 14 divisions of t...

(Encyclopedia) National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), organization composed mainly of American blacks, but with many white members, whose goal is the end of racial discrimination and seg...