Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Mosquito Coast or Mosquitia məskēˈtēə, mōskētēˈä [key], region, east coast of Nicaragua and Honduras. The name is derived from the Miskito, the indigenous inhabitants and remnants of the Cho...

(Encyclopedia) Waterloo campaign, last action of the Napoleonic Wars, ending with the battle of Waterloo. Napoleon I, who escaped from Elba in Feb., 1815, and entered Paris on Mar. 20, soon faced a European coalitio...

(Encyclopedia) Nelson, Byron (John Byron Nelson, Jr.), 1912–2006, American golfer, b. Fort Worth, Tex. In 1926 he began playing golf as a caddie, and in 1932 he entered upon his professional career. Noted for the ...

(Encyclopedia) community college, public institution of higher education. Community colleges are characterized by a two-year curriculum that leads to either the associate degree or transfer to a four-year college. T...

(Encyclopedia) Cerar, Miro (Miroslav Cerar, Jr.), 1963–, Slovenian lawyer and political leader, b. Ljubljana. After earning a law doctorate from the Univ. of Ljubljana, he became a professor of constitutional law ...

(Encyclopedia) Hull, Bobby (Robert Marvin Hull, Jr.), 1939–, Canadian hockey player. Considered to be the best left wing in the sport's history, Hull was skating from age three and began playing with the Chicago B...

(Encyclopedia) Ryan, Nolan (Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr.), 1947–, American baseball player, b. Refugio, Tex. A right-handed pitcher with a blazing fastball, he played with the New York Mets, the California Angels, the Hou...

(Encyclopedia) Santa Gertrudis cattle, breed of beef cattle derived from crosses between Shorthorn cows (see Shorthorn cattle) and Brahman bulls (see Brahman cattle); the breed was developed by Robert J. Kleberg, Jr...

(Encyclopedia) Taylor, Myron Charles, 1874–1959, American industrialist and diplomat, b. Lyons, N.Y. He practiced law and then ran a group of textile mills in New England. In 1932 he succeeded J. P. Morgan, Jr., a...

(Encyclopedia) Abernathy, Ralph David ăbˈərnăthˌē [key], 1926–90, American civil-rights leader, b. Linden, Ala. A Baptist minister, he helped Martin Luther King, Jr., organize the Montgomery bus boycott (195...