Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Bairnsfather, Bruce bârnzˈfäᵺər [key], 1888–1959, English illustrator and author, b. India. He served with the British forces in World War I and created the cartoon character “Old Bill” to...

(Encyclopedia) Amenemhet II äˌmĕnĕmˈhĕt, āˌ– [key], d. 1903 b.c., king of ancient Egypt, of the XII dynasty; son and successor of Sesostris I. He was coregent with his father (1938–1935 b.c.), then sole ...

(Encyclopedia) Amasis II, d. 525 b.c., king of ancient Egypt (569–525 b.c.), of the XXVI dynasty. In a military revolt he dethroned Apries. He erected temples and other buildings at Memphis and Saïs and encourage...

(Encyclopedia) zaibatsu zīˈbätso͞o [key] [Jap.,=money clique], the great family-controlled banking and industrial combines of modern Japan. The leading zaibatsu (called keiretsu after World War II) are Mitsui, M...

(Encyclopedia) Afghanistan War, 1978–92, conflict between anti-Communist Muslim Afghan guerrillas (mujahidin) and Afghan government and Soviet forces. The conflict had its origins in the 1978 coup that overthrew A...

(Encyclopedia) World Conservation Union: see International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. ...

(Encyclopedia) George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George), 1895–1952, king of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1936–52), second son of George V; successor of his elder brother, Edward VIII. He attended the ro...

(Encyclopedia) gremlin, in American folklore, malicious, airborne supernatural being. Gremlins were first heard of during World War II as creatures responsible for unexplainable mechanical failures and disruptions i...

(Encyclopedia) cruiser, large, fast, moderately armed warship, intermediate in type between the aircraft carrier and the destroyer. During World War II, battle cruisers operated as small battleships, combining in on...

(Encyclopedia) Roger II, c.1095–1154, count (1101–30) and first king (1130–54) of Sicily, son and successor of Roger I. He conquered (1127) Apulia and Salerno and sided with the antipope Anacletus II against P...