Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Mecca măkˈə [key], city (1993 pop. 966,381), capital of the Hejaz, W Saudi Arabia. The birthplace c.a.d. 570 of Muhammad the Prophet, it is the holiest city of Islam, and the goal of the annual Mus...

(Encyclopedia) Peninsular campaign, in the American Civil War, the unsuccessful Union attempt (Apr.–July, 1862) to capture Richmond, Va., by way of the peninsula between the York and James rivers. Late in May...

(Encyclopedia) Monroe, James, 1758–1831, 5th President of the United States (1817–25), b. Westmoreland co., Va. In 1816 Monroe obtained the presidential nomination and was easily elected. During his first admi...

(Encyclopedia) Dostoyevsky or Dostoevsky, Feodor Mikhailovich fyôˈdər mēkhīˈləvĭch dəstəyĕfˈskē [key], 1821–81, Russian novelist, one of the towering figures of world literature. Notes from the Unde...

(Encyclopedia) Cairo kīˈrō [key], Arab. Al Qahirah, city (2021 est. metro. area pop. 21,323,000), capital...

(Encyclopedia) Stravinsky, Igor Fedorovich ēˈgər fyôˈdərôˌvyĭch strəvĭnˈskē [key], 1882–1971, Russian-American composer. Considered by many the greatest and most versatile composer of the 20th cent., ...

(Encyclopedia) tile, one of the ceramic products used in building, to which group brick and terra-cotta also belong. The term designates the finished baked clay—the material of a wide variety of units used in arch...

(Encyclopedia) Raphael Santi or Raphael Sanzio, Ital. Raffaello Santi or Raffaello Sanzio räfˌfäĕlˈlō sänˈtē, sänˈtsyō [key], 1483–1520, major Italian Renaissance painter, b. Urbino. In Raphael's work ...

(Encyclopedia) Burke, Edmund, 1729–97, British political writer and statesman, b. Dublin, Ireland. Burke left, in his many and diverse writings, a monumental construction of British political thought that had fa...

(Encyclopedia) Truman, Harry S., 1884–1972, 33d President of the United States, b. Lamar, Mo. Truman remained active in politics for many years after his retirement, campaigning around the country for Democrat...