Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Eiffel, Alexandre Gustave īˈfəl, Fr. älĕksäNˈdrə güstävˈ āfĕlˈ [key], 1832–1923, French engineer. A noted constructor of bridges and viaducts, he also designed the Eiffel Tower and the...

(Encyclopedia) Magellan, Strait of, c.330 mi (530 km) long and 21⁄2 to 15 mi (4–24 km) wide, separating South America from Tierra del Fuego and other islands south of the continent. Except for a few miles at its...

(Encyclopedia) yellow fever, acute infectious disease endemic in tropical Africa and many areas of South and Central America. Yellow fever is caused by a virus transmitted by the bite of the female Aedes aegypti mos...

(Encyclopedia) Amador Guerrero, Manuel mänwĕlˈ ämädōrˈ gārāˈrō [key], 1833–1909, first president of Panama (1904–8), b. Colombia. A physician, he served as medical officer for the Panama RR and was a ...

(Encyclopedia) Loubet, Émile François āmēlˈ fräNswäˈ lo͞obāˈ [key], 1838–1929, president of the French republic (1899–1906). As a member of the chamber of deputies, he advocated secular education. Aft...

(Encyclopedia) Waldeck-Rousseau, René rənāˈ väldĕkˈ-ro͞osōˈ [key], 1846–1904, French statesman. Belonging to the republican left, he was twice minister of the interior (1881, 1883–85), and in 1884 he w...

(Encyclopedia) New Granada grənäˈdə [key], former Spanish colony, N South America. It included at its greatest extent present Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela. Between 1499 and 1510 a host of conquerors ...

(Encyclopedia) Chitré chētrāˈ [key], city, S Panama, near the Gulf of Panama. It is capital of the Herre...

(Encyclopedia) Noriega, Manuel Antonio mänwĕlˈ äntōˈnyō nôryāˈgə [key], 1934–2017, Panamanian general. Commander of the Panamanian Defense Forces from 1983, when he promoted himself to full general, Nor...

(Encyclopedia) Inter-American Highway, c.3,400 mi (5,470 km) long, section of the Pan-American Highway system from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, to Panama City, Panama. Much of the highway prior to 1941 had been built by th...