Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Gros Ventre grō văNˈtrə [key] [Fr.,=big belly], name used by the French for two quite distinct Native North American groups. One was the Atsina, a detached band of the Arapaho, whose language belo...

(Encyclopedia) Mulroney, Brian (Martin Brian Mulroney) mŭlrōˈnē, –ro͞oˈnē [key], 1939–, Canadian prime minister (1984–93). Raised in Quebec in a working class family, Mulroney was a successful bilingual...

(Encyclopedia) New England Confederation, union for “mutual safety and welfare” formed in 1643 by representatives of the colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven. They met in Boston an...

(Encyclopedia) Mason, George, 1725–92, American political leader, b. Fairfax co., Va. He was one of the most affluent of the colonial Virginia planters. In his triple capacity as trustee of Alexandria (1754–79),...

(Encyclopedia) Melanchthon, Philip məlăngkˈthən [key], 1497–1560, German scholar and humanist. He was second only to Martin Luther as a figure in the Lutheran Reformation. His original name was Schwarzerd [Ger...

(Encyclopedia) Brahe, Tycho tīˈkō brä [key], 1546–1601, Danish astronomer. The most prominent astronomer of the late 16th cent., he paved the way for future discoveries by improving instruments and by his prec...

(Encyclopedia) Breckinridge, John Cabell, 1821–75, Vice President of the United States (1857–61) and Confederate general, b. Lexington, Ky. A lawyer, Breckinridge served in the Kentucky legislature (1849–51) a...

(Encyclopedia) Chernomyrdin, Viktor Stepanovich vyēkˈtôr styĭpänˈəvyĭch chərˌnōmĭrˈdən [key], 1938–2010, Soviet and Russian government official. Beginning in 1957, he held positions in the Soviet nat...

(Encyclopedia) Cyril, Saint (Saint Cyril of Alexandria) sĭrˈəl [key], d. a.d. 444, patriarch of Alexandria (412–44), Doctor of the Church, known for his animosity toward heretics and heathens. He drove the Jews...

(Encyclopedia) Wyoming Valley, c.20 mi (30 km) long and 3 to 4 mi (4.8–6.4 km) wide, in Luzerne co., NE Pa., through which flows the Susquehanna River. Wilkes-Barre is the major city of this once-rich anthracite c...