Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) marine engine, machine for the propulsion of watercraft. The earliest marine power plants, reciprocating steam engines, were used almost exclusively until the early 1900s. In later ship construction t...

(Encyclopedia) public ownership, government ownership of lands, streets, public buildings, utilities, and other business enterprises. The theory that all land and its resources belong ultimately to the people and th...

(Encyclopedia) Churchill. 1 River, c.600 mi (970 km) long, issuing as the Ashuanipi River from Ashuanipi Lake, SW Labrador, N.L., Canada, and flowing in an arc north, then southeast through a series of lakes to Chur...

(Encyclopedia) Rajputs räjˈpo͞ots [key] [Sanskrit,=son of a king], dominant people of Rajputana, an historic region now almost coextensive with the state of Rajasthan, NW India. The Rajputs are mainly Hindus (alt...

(Encyclopedia) Boleslaus II, c.1039–1081, duke (1058–76), and later king (1076–79) of Poland; son and successor of Casimir I. Throughout his reign he opposed the influence of the Holy Roman Empire. He asserted...

(Encyclopedia) Chattahoochee chătˌəho͞oˈchē [key], river, 436 mi (702 km) long, rising in N Ga., and flowing generally SW to the Ala.-Ga. border and then S along it to join the Flint River in Lake Seminole on ...

(Encyclopedia) soprano [Ital.,=above], female voice of highest pitch. The three basic types of solo soprano are coloratura, lyric, and dramatic. The coloratura has a great range and impressive vocal agility; the lyr...

(Encyclopedia) Bakr, Ahmad Hasan al- äkhmädˈ häsänˈ äl-bäkˈər [key], 1914–82, president of Iraq (1968–79). He served as an officer in the Iraqi army but was forced to retire (1958) because of his parti...

(Encyclopedia) Saint Croix. 1 River, 75 mi (121 km) long, rising in the Chiputneticook Lakes and flowing SE to Passamaquoddy Bay, forming part of the U.S.-Canada border; navigable to Calais, Maine. The river is used...

(Encyclopedia) Adalbert, 1043–72, German churchman, archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, a diocese that included Scandinavia. He was a favorite of Holy Roman Emperor Henry III, who appointed Adalbert to the archbishopric...