Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

329 results found

Clovis I

(Encyclopedia)Clovis I klōˈvĭs [key], c.466–511, Frankish king (481–511), son of Childeric I and founder of the Merovingian monarchy. Originally little more than a tribal chieftain, he became sole leader of ...

Frederick III, king of Denmark and Norway

(Encyclopedia)Frederick III, 1609–70, king of Denmark and Norway (1648–70), son and successor of Christian IV. He at first made great concessions to the powerful nobles but later asserted his own power. In 1657...

Griffith, Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Griffith, Arthur, 1872–1922, Irish statesman, founder of Sinn Féin. He joined the nationalist movement as a young man. In 1899 he founded the United Irishman, in which he advocated that Irish membe...

Pichegru, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Pichegru, Charles shärl pēshgrüˈ [key], 1761–1804, French general in the French Revolutionary Wars. Successful on the Rhine front (1793), he invaded (1794) the Netherlands, entered (1795) Amster...

St. John, Oliver

(Encyclopedia)St. John, Oliver sĭnˈjən [key], 1598?–1673, English politician. He married (1638) a cousin of Oliver Cromwell. In 1637–38 he was, by his brilliant defense of John Hampden in the ship money case...

Tyrconnel, Richard Talbot, duke and earl of

(Encyclopedia)Tyrconnel, Richard Talbot, duke and earl of tôlˈbət, tərkŏnˈəl [key], 1630–91, Irish Jacobite. He escaped from Ireland after Oliver Cromwell's punitive campaign there (1649) and was party to ...

Nicolson, Sir Harold

(Encyclopedia)Nicolson, Sir Harold, 1886–1968, English biographer, historian, and diplomat, b. Tehran, Iran. Educated at Oxford, he entered the foreign office in 1909, and, until his resignation 20 years later, h...

Beaumarchais, Pierre Augustin Caron de

(Encyclopedia)Beaumarchais, Pierre Augustin Caron de pyĕr ōgüstăNˈ karôNˈ də bōmärshāˈ [key], 1732–99, French dramatist. Originally a watchmaker, he rose to wealth and position among the nobility. His...

Abbott, Tony

(Encyclopedia)Abbott, Tony (Anthony John Abbott), 1957–, Australian political leader, b. London, England. His family moved to Australia in 1960. Educated at the Univ. of Sydney and, as a Rhodes scholar, at Queens...

Liechtenstein

(Encyclopedia)Liechtenstein lĭkhˈtənshtīnˌ [key], officially Principality of Liechtenstein, principality (2015 est. pop. 37,000), 62 sq mi (160 sq km), W central Europe. It is situated in the Alps between Aust...