Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Albany ôlˈbənē [key], river, 610 mi (982 km) long, rising in Lake St. Joseph, W Ont., Canada, and flowing generally E into James Bay, near Fort Albany. The Kenogami and Ogoki rivers are its chief ...

(Encyclopedia) Guilmant, Félix Alexandre fālēksˈ älĕksäNˈdrə gēlmäNˈ [key], 1837–1911, French organist, one of the foremost performers of his day. He taught at the Schola Cantorum, of which he was a fo...

(Encyclopedia) McCormick, Robert Sanderson, 1849–1919, American diplomat, b. Rockbridge co., Va.; nephew of Cyrus Hall McCormick. President McKinley appointed (1901) him minister to Austria-Hungary. He became the ...

(Encyclopedia) Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, religious group that regards itself as the successor of the church founded by Joseph Smith. They organized in...

(Encyclopedia) James, Saint, in the Bible, the “brother” of Jesus. The Gospels make several references to the brothers of Jesus, and St. Paul speaks of “James the Lord's brother.” While Protestants generally...

(Encyclopedia) Lodge, Henry Cabot, 1850–1924, U.S. senator (1893–1924), b. Boston. He was admitted to the bar in 1876. Before beginning his long career in the U.S. Senate he edited (1873–76) the North American...

(Encyclopedia) multiple sclerosis (MS), chronic, slowly progressive autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks the protective myelin sheaths that surround the nerve cells of the brain and spinal co...

(Encyclopedia) Mercer, Johnny (John Herndon Mercer) mûrˈsər [key], 1909–76, American lyricist and songwriter, b. Savannah, Ga. Mercer, who was one of American popular music's most accomplished wordsmiths, began...

(Encyclopedia) Macaulay, Thomas Babington, 1st Baron, 1800–1859, English historian and author, b. Leicestershire, educated at Cambridge. After the success of his essay on Milton in the Edinburgh Review (Aug., 1825...

(Encyclopedia) Marion. 1 City (1990 pop. 14,545), seat of Williamson co., S Ill.; inc. 1841. It is the commercial and retail center of a farm and coal area and has a large soft drink bottling plant. A maximum-securi...