Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Bell, John, 1797–1869, American statesman, b. near Nashville, Tenn. A leading member of the Nashville bar, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1827–41), was speaker in 1834, and for a ...

(Encyclopedia) artesian well, deep drilled well through which water is forced upward under pressure. The water in an artesian well flows from an aquifer, which is a layer of very porous rock or sediment, usually san...

(Encyclopedia) Kearny, Stephen Watts kärˈnē [key], 1794–1848, American general in the Mexican War, b. Newark, N.J. At the beginning of the Mexican War he was made commander of the Army of the West with the rank...

(Encyclopedia) crane, large wading bird found in marshes in the Northern Hemisphere and in Africa. Although sometimes confused with herons, cranes are more closely related to rails and limpkins. Cranes are known for...

(Encyclopedia) Winnebago, Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). When Father Jean Nicolet encountered them (1634), th...

(Encyclopedia) Great Plains, extensive grassland region on the continental slope of central North America. They extend from the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba south through W central Unite...

(Encyclopedia) Missouri River basin project, comprehensive plan authorized in 1944 for the coordinated development of water resources of the Missouri River and its tributaries, draining an area of c.513,300 sq mi (1...

(Encyclopedia) Fessenden, William Pitt, 1806–69, American politician, b. Boscawen, N.H. Admitted (1827) to the bar, he began practice in Portland in 1829 and by 1835 was regarded as one of the leading lawyers of M...

(Encyclopedia) Springsteen, Bruce Frederick, 1949–, American singer, guitarist, and songwriter, nicknamed “The Boss,” b. Long Branch, N.J. Springsteen established himself as a singer and songwriter, as well as...

(Encyclopedia) Pershing, John Joseph pûrˈshĭng [key], 1860–1948, American army officer and commander in chief of the American Expeditionary Force in World War I, b. Linn co., Mo. After graduating (1886) from We...