Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Perry, Rick (James Richard Perry), 1950–, American politician, governor of Texas (2000–2015), b. Haskell, Tex. A fifth-generation Texan from the state's agricultural western plains, he attended Te...

(Encyclopedia) Atlas, in astronomy, one of the named moons, or natural satellites, of Saturn. Also known as Saturn XV (or S15), Atlas is a small, irregularly shaped (nonspherical) body measuring about 25 mi (40 km) ...

(Encyclopedia) Stafford, city (1991 pop. 60,915) and district, Staffordshire, W central England, on the Sow River, above its junction with the Trent. Stafford's chief industry is the manufacture of electrical goods;...

(Encyclopedia) Alleyn, Edward ălˈĭn [key], 1566–1626, English actor. He was the foremost member of the Admiral's Men, joining the group c.1587, and was the only rival of Richard Burbage. An exceptionally large ...

(Encyclopedia) Blount, Winton Malcolm, Jr., 1921–2002, U.S. postmaster general (1969–71), b. Union Springs, Ala. A successful building contractor, he was (1946–68) president and chairman of the board of Blount...

(Encyclopedia) Bow Bells bō [key], in the church of St. Mary-le-Bow (Bow Church), Cheapside, London, England. The church is located in mid-London, and tradition says that only one who is born within sound of the Bo...

(Encyclopedia) Camborne-Redruth kămˈbôrn, –bûrn, rĕdˈro͞oth [key], town, Cornwall, SW Engla...

(Encyclopedia) Connecticut Wits or Hartford Wits, an informal association of Yale students and rectors formed in the late 18th cent. At first they were devoted to the modernization of the Yale curriculum and declari...

(Encyclopedia) Cyrano de Bergerac, Savinien sävēnyăNˈ sēränōˈ də bĕrzhəräkˈ [key], 1619–55, French novelist. Satirizing the customs and beliefs of his time, he wrote two fantastic romances about visit...

(Encyclopedia) Fleetwood, Charles, 1618?–1692, English parliamentary general. He fought under Oliver Cromwell in many battles of the English civil war and later (1650) in Scotland. He became (1651) a member of the...