Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) North Reading rĕdˈĭng [key], residential town (1990 pop. 12,002), Middlesex co., NE Mass., on the Ipswich River; settled 1651, set off from Reading and inc. 1853. Athletic footwear is manufactured ...

(Encyclopedia) Gosford, Archibald Acheson, 2d earl of gŏzˈfərd [key], 1776–1849, governor in chief of British North America (1835–37). He served in the British House of Commons and, after succeeding (1807) to...

(Encyclopedia) National Rifle Association of America (NRA), group founded (1871) to promote shooting, hunting, firearm safety, and wildlife conservation. The NRA has more than 3 million members. The association spon...

(Encyclopedia) Velasco, Luis de vāläsˈkō [key], d. 1564, Spanish administrator, second viceroy (1550–64) of New Spain (now Mexico), successor to Antonio de Mendoza. His rule was remarkably energetic, humanita...

(Encyclopedia) Starved Rock, cliff, 140 ft (43 m) high, overlooking the Illinois River between La Salle and Ottawa, N Ill. Legend says that in the 18th cent. the Ottawas drove a band of Illinois onto the cliff, wher...

(Encyclopedia) North Attleboro ăˈtəlbərə [key], industrial town (1990 pop. 25,038), Bristol co., SE Mass., near the R.I. line; settled 1669, set off from Attleboro and inc. 1887. Jewelry has been made there sin...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Guatemala gwätəmäˈlə [key], officially Republic of Guatemala, republic (2021 est. pop. ...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Purslane, Portulaca oleraceae purslane, common name for some plants of the Portulaceae, a family of herbs and a few small shrubs, chiefly of the Americas. The portulacas or purslanes (genus Po...

(Encyclopedia) reductions, Span. reducciones, settlements of indigenous peoples in colonial Latin America, founded (beginning in 1609) to utilize efficiently native labor and to teach the natives the ways of Spanish...

(Encyclopedia) North Arlington, borough (1990 pop. 13,790), Bergen co., NE N.J., a residential and industrial suburb of Newark, on the Passaic River; settled 1700s, inc. 1896. ...