Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Riverina rĭvˌərēˈnə [key], region, 26,560 sq mi (68,790 sq km), New South Wales, SE Australia. Located S of the Lachlan River in the south central part of the state, Riverina is a rich agricultu...

(Encyclopedia) Makeba, Miriam məkāˈbə [key], 1932–2008, South African singer. She became the first black South African to achieve international fame and she played a fundamental role in introducing African mus...

(Encyclopedia) force bill, popular name for several laws in U.S. history, notably the act of Mar. 2, 1833, and the Reconstruction acts of May 31, 1870; Feb. 28, 1871; and Apr. 20, 1871. The first force bill, passed ...

(Encyclopedia) Tillman, Benjamin Ryan, 1847–1918, U.S. Senator from South Carolina (1895–1918), b. Edgefield co., S.C. A farmer, he became the leader of the backcountry whites in South Carolina and fostered thei...

(Encyclopedia) Grand Canal, Chinese Da Yunhe [large transit river], longest in the world, extending c.1,000 mi (1,600 km) from Beijing to Hangzhou, E China, and forming an important north-south waterway on the North...

(Encyclopedia) mandates, system of trusteeships established by Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations for the administration of former Turkish territories and of former German colonies. As finally adopt...

(Encyclopedia) fugitive slave laws, in U.S. history, the federal acts of 1793 and 1850 providing for the return between states of escaped black slaves. Similar laws existing in both North and South in colonial days ...

(Encyclopedia) Mbeki, Thabo Mvuyelwa täˈbō mvo͝oyĕlˈə mbĕkˈē [key], 1942–, South African political leader. Mbeki was born into a politically active family; his father, Govan Mbeki, an official with the A...

(Encyclopedia) Nilotes nīlōˈtēz [key], people of E Africa who speak Nilotic languages. Among these are the Nuer and the Masai. The most prominent Nilotic ethnic groups live in South Sudan, N Uganda, and N Kenya....

(Encyclopedia) Panmunjom, officially Panmunjeom pănˌmo͝onjômˈ [key], village, N South Korea. It lies south of the 38th parallel, the military demarcation line that partitions Korea. In the Korean War the truce ...