Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Kansas kănˈzəs [key], midwestern state occupying the center of the coterminous United States. It is bordered by Missouri (E), Oklahoma (S), Colorado (W), and Nebraska (N). Kansas has b...

(Encyclopedia) Perón, Juan Domingo hwän dōmēngˈgō pĕrōnˈ [key], 1895–1974, president of Argentina (1946–55; 1973–74). In 1971, President Lanusse, convinced that political order could not be achieve...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Antigua and Barbuda ăntēˈgə, –gwə, bärbo͞oˈdə, –byo͞oˈ– [key], independent Commonwealth nation (2020 est. pop. 97,928), 171 sq mi (442 sq km), We...

(Encyclopedia) soap plant, any of various plants having cleansing properties. A few are of commercial importance, but most soap plants are used locally, as in early times, for toilet and laundry purposes. The soapba...

(Encyclopedia) Steinbeck, John, 1902–68, American writer, b. Salinas, Calif., studied at Stanford. He is probably best remembered for his strong sociological novel The Grapes of Wrath, considered one of the great ...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Africa ăfˈrĭkə [key], second largest continent (2015 est. pop. 1,194,370,000), c.11,677,240 sq mi (30,244,050 sq km) including adjacent islands. Broad to the north (c.4,600 mi/7,400 km wide...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Uruguay yo͝oˈrəgwā, gwī, Span. o͞oro͞ogwiˈ, o͞oro͞owīˈ [key], officially Oriental Republic of Uruguay, republic (2015 est. pop. 3,432,000), 68,536 sq mi (177,508 sq km), SE South Am...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Netherlands nĕᵺˈərləndz [key], Du. Nederland or Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, officially Kingdom of the Netherlands, constitutional monarchy (2015 est. pop. 16,938,000), 15,963 sq mi (41,34...

(Encyclopedia) commerce, traffic in goods, usually thought of as trade between states or nations. Engaged in by all peoples from the earliest times, it has been carried on in some areas and by some peoples more than...

(Encyclopedia) Martin, Steve, 1945–, American comedian, actor, and writer, b. Waco, Tex. An Emmy-winning television comedy writer in the late 1960s for the Smothers ...