Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Franz Josef Land

(Encyclopedia)Franz Josef Land frăns jōˈzəf, fränts yōˈzĕf [key], Rus. Zemlya Frantsa Iosifa, archipelago, c.6,300 sq mi (16,320 sq km), in the Arctic Ocean N of Novaya Zemlya, Russia. It consists of more t...

motif, in literature

(Encyclopedia)motif mōtēfˈ [key], in literature, term that denotes the recurrent presence of certain character types, objects, settings, or situations in diverse genres and periods of folklore and literature. Ex...

North German Confederation

(Encyclopedia)North German Confederation, 1867–71, alliance of 22 German states N of the Main River. Dominated by Prussia, it replaced the German Confederation and included the states that had supported Prussia i...

Zita

(Encyclopedia)Zita zēˈtə, Ger. tsēˈtä [key], 1892–1989, last empress of Austria and queen of Hungary. The daughter of Duke Robert of Parma, she was married (1911) to Archduke Charles Francis, who in 1916 be...

Beham

(Encyclopedia)Beham pā– [key], name of two German Renaissance artists, brothers, who were both influenced by Dürer and later by Italian art. Hans Sebald Beham, 1500–1550, engraver, etcher, and miniaturist, wi...

Torgau

(Encyclopedia)Torgau tôrˈgou [key], city, Saxony, E central Germany, a port on the Elbe River. Manufactures include paper, iron products, glass, pottery, and agricultural machinery. Torgau is an important railway...

Spangenberg, August Gottlieb

(Encyclopedia)Spangenberg, August Gottlieb ouˈgo͝ost gôtˈlēp shpängˈənbĕrk [key], 1704–92, a bishop of the Moravian Church and a founder of that church in America, b. Prussia. While at the Univ. of Jena,...

Vesalius, Andreas

(Encyclopedia)Vesalius, Andreas vĭsāˈlēəs [key], 1514–64, Flemish anatomist. He made many discoveries in anatomy and became noted as professor of anatomy at the Univ. of Padua. There he produced his chief wo...

Salzburg Festival

(Encyclopedia)Salzburg Festival, annual festival of music and drama held in Salzburg, Austria, for five weeks starting in late July. The festival may be considered a descendant of the Salzburg Music Festival Weeks ...

Deane, Silas

(Encyclopedia)Deane, Silas, 1737–89, political leader and diplomat in the American Revolution, b. Groton, Conn. A lawyer and merchant at Wethersfield, Conn., he was elected (1772) to the state assembly and became...

Browse by Subject