Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Washington, George, 1732–99, 1st President of the United States (1789–97), commander in chief of the Continental army in the American Revolution, called the Father of His Country. The Univ. of V...

(Encyclopedia) Morton, Thomas, fl. 1622–47, English trader and adventurer in New England. He visited New England in 1622 and returned in 1625 with Captain Wollaston, who founded a settlement at Mt. Wollaston (now ...

(Encyclopedia) Mosby, John Singleton môzˈbē [key], 1833–1916, Confederate partisan leader in the American Civil War, b. Edgemont, Va. He was practicing law in Bristol, Va., when the Civil War broke out. Mosby s...

(Encyclopedia) Colter, John kōlˈtər [key], c.1775–1813, American trapper and guide, b. Virginia. In 1803 he enlisted in the Lewis and Clark expedition and in 1806, on the return trip, was granted a discharge to...

(Encyclopedia) Calvert, George, 1st Baron Baltimore, c.1580–1632, English colonizer of North America. In 1606 he became private secretary to Robert Cecil, earl of Salisbury, then a secretary of state. His advance ...

(Encyclopedia) James. 1 Unnavigable river, 710 mi (1,143 km) long, rising in central N.Dak. and flowing across S.Dak. to the Missouri River at Yankton, S.Dak. Jamestown Dam on the river is an irrigation and flood co...

(Encyclopedia) kale, borecole bôrˈkōl [key], and collards, common names for nonheading, hardy types of cabbage (var. acephala and sometimes others), with thick stems and curly leaves, belonging to the family Cru...

(Encyclopedia) Wynette, Tammy wīnĕtˈ [key], 1942–98, American singer and songwriter, often called “th...

(Encyclopedia) Rorty, Richard, 1931–2007, American philosopher. b. New York City. After studying at the Univ. of Chicago (B.A. 1949, M.A. 1952) and Yale (Ph.D. 1956), Rorty taught philosophy at Wellesley College (...

(Encyclopedia) Freeman, Douglas Southall sŭᵺˈôl, –əl [key], 1886–1953, American editor and historian, b. Lynchburg, Va. ...