Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Huayna Capac

(Encyclopedia)Huayna Capac wīˈnä käˈpäk [key], d. 1525, Inca of Peru, last of the great emperors. The Inca empire reached its greatest extent and power under his rule, but disruptive forces were already at wo...

Hawkins, Sir Richard

(Encyclopedia)Hawkins, Sir Richard, 1562?–1622, English admiral, son of Sir John Hawkins. He served under Sir Francis Drake in the 1585–86 expedition to the West Indies, commanded the Swallow in the defeat of t...

Fujimori, Keiko

(Encyclopedia)Fujimori, Keiko (Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi), 1975–, Peruvian political leader, daughter of President Alberto Fujimori. She attended Boston Univ. and Columbia Business School, then served in the ...

Horn, Cape

(Encyclopedia)Horn, Cape, headland, 1,391 ft (424 m) high, S Chile, southernmost point of South America, in the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego. It was discovered and first rounded by Willem Schouten, the Dutch nav...

Gauteng

(Encyclopedia)Gauteng, province, 7,019 sq mi (18,178 sq km), NE South Africa. In 1994, under South Africa's post-apartheid constitution, Gauteng was created from the ...

reconnaissance satellite

(Encyclopedia)reconnaissance satellite, artificial satellite launched by a country to provide intelligence information on the military activities of foreign countries. There are four major types. Early-warning sate...

Holstein-Friesian cattle

(Encyclopedia)Holstein-Friesian cattle hōlˈstēn-frēˈzhən, –stīn– [key], breed of dairy cattle originated in N Holland and Friesland. Commonly called Holsteins in the United States, these large cattle wit...

Hampton, Wade, American planter and soldier

(Encyclopedia)Hampton, Wade, c.1752–1835, American planter and soldier, b. Halifax co., Va. He served in the American Revolution and took part in South Carolina politics, opposing the ratification of the U.S. Con...

French Guiana

(Encyclopedia)CE5 French Guiana gēănˈə, –änˈ– [key], Fr. La Guyane française, officially Department of Guiana, French overseas department (2015 est. pop. 269,000), 35,135 sq mi (91,000 sq km), NE Sout...

Lewis, Andrew

(Encyclopedia)Lewis, Andrew, 1720?–1781, American soldier, b. Ireland. As a boy he emigrated with his family to America and settled near Staunton, Va. Later, he became a leading frontier Indian fighter. In 1754, ...