Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) ghost town, term for any once flourishing American community that has been abandoned, generally for economic reasons. While most of the towns have little or no population, they often contain old build...

(Encyclopedia) Jefferson, Thomas, 1743–1826, 3d President of the United States (1801–9), author of the Declaration of Independence, and apostle of agrarian democracy. After 1809, Jefferson lived in retirem...

(Encyclopedia)  Weicker, Lowell Palmer, Jr., , 1931–2023 , American politician, b. Paris, France, Yale Univ. (B.A., 1953), Univ. of Virginia School of Law (J.D., 195...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Nevada nəvădˈə, –vä– [key], far western state of the United States. It is bordered by Utah (E), Arizona (SE), California (SW, W), and Oregon and Idaho (N). In the 20th cent. the ...

(Encyclopedia) Ginsburg, Ruth Bader, 1933–2020, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1993–2020), b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Joan Ruth Bader. A graduate (1954) of Cornell, she attended Harvard Law School, then...

(Encyclopedia) Oswego ŏswēˈgō [key], city (1990 pop. 19,195), seat of Oswego co., N central N.Y., on Lake Ontario and the Oswego River; founded 1722, inc. as a city 1848. The largest U.S. port on Lake Ontario, i...

(Encyclopedia) Austin, Moses, 1761–1821, American pioneer, b. Durham, Conn. After developing lead mines in SW Virginia, he went to inspect (1796–97) prospects in Missouri, then Spanish territory. In 1798 he foun...

(Encyclopedia) Powhatan pouˌətănˈ [key], d. 1618, Native North American chief of the Powhatan tribe in Virginia, whose personal name was Wahunsenaca, Wahunsenacawh, or Wahunsonacock. He greatly extended the domi...

(Encyclopedia) Somers, Sir George, 1554–1610, English naval commander. The leader of several successful privateering ventures against the Spanish, he was knighted in 1603. He was a founder (1606) of the London Com...

(Encyclopedia) Gates, Sir Thomas, fl. 1585–1621, English colonial governor of Virginia. He was knighted for his services under the 2d earl of Essex in the successful expedition against Cádiz in 1596. Gates, who h...