Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Merton, Walter de

(Encyclopedia)Merton, Walter de, d. 1277, English bishop, founder of Merton College, Oxford. He was lord chancellor from 1261 to 1263, was reappointed after the death of Henry III (1272), and was made bishop of Roc...

Magliabechi, Antonio

(Encyclopedia)Magliabechi, Antonio äntôˈnyō mälyäbĕˈkē [key], 1633–1714, Italian librarian, b. Florence. Magliabechi was a trained goldsmith who devoted his life to learning, and mastered Greek, Latin, a...

Mustafa II

(Encyclopedia)Mustafa II, 1664–1703, Ottoman sultan (1695–1703), nephew and successor of Ahmed II. The grand vizier (chief executive officer) of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), Husayn Köprülü, exercised the act...

Flémal, Bertholet

(Encyclopedia)Flémal, Bertholet bĕrtōlĕˈ flāmälˈ [key], 1614–75, Flemish painter of mythological and religious subjects. He went to Italy in 1638 and worked in Florence for the Grand Duke Ferdinand III. R...

Aosta, Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, duke of

(Encyclopedia)Aosta, Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, duke of äôˈstə, –stä [key], 1869–1931, Italian general; son of King Amadeus of Spain and cousin of Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. In World War I he held the...

Issus

(Encyclopedia)Issus ĭsˈəs [key], ancient town of SE Asia Minor, now in Turkey, 5 mi (8 km) NW of Dörtyol. Located near the head of a gulf (the modern Gulf of Iskenderun), Issus was on a narrow strip of land bac...

Cornaro, Caterina

(Encyclopedia)Cornaro, Caterina kätārēˈnä kōrnäˈrō [key], 1454–1510, queen of Cyprus. A celebrated Venetian beauty, she was married in 1472 to James II of Cyprus, who was eager to secure Venetian support...

Cleopatra's Needles

(Encyclopedia)Cleopatra's Needles, name in popular use for two obelisks of red granite from Egypt. Originally erected at Heliopolis (c.1475 b.c.) by Thutmose III, they were transported to Alexandria (c.14 b.c.) und...

Seti II

(Encyclopedia)Seti II sēˈtī, sāˈtē [key], d. 1205 b.c., king of ancient Egypt, of the XIX dynasty. He was one of the kings who reigned briefly after Merneptah, and seems to have ruled for about four years. Af...

Plombières

(Encyclopedia)Plombières –lā-băN [key], village, Vosges dept., NE France, in the Vosges Mts. It is a fashionable spa, with radioactive springs used since Roman times for medicinal purposes. Housewares and embr...