Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Berwick, James FitzJames, duke of

(Encyclopedia)Berwick, James FitzJames, duke of bĕrˈĭk [key], 1670–1734, marshal of France; illegitimate son of King James II of England and Arabella Churchill, sister of the duke of Marlborough. Born and educ...

Dundonald, Thomas Cochrane, 10th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Dundonald, Thomas Cochrane, 10th earl of dŭndŏnˈəld [key], 1775–1860, British naval commander. He served in the Napoleonic Wars, executing his assignments with a boldness and originality sometim...

Severn, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Severn, Joseph sĕvˈərn [key], 1793–1879, English portrait and landscape painter. He was consul at Rome from 1861 to 1872. He is best known for his devotion to Keats during the poet's last days. H...

carboloy

(Encyclopedia)carboloy kärˈbəloi [key] [portmanteau word from carbon and alloy], an alloy containing cobalt, tungsten, and carbon. This alloy is extremely hard, harder than steel; it is used to cut steel, porcel...

Key, David McKendree

(Encyclopedia)Key, David McKendree, 1824–1900, American politician and jurist, b. Greene co., Tenn. He practiced law in Chattanooga, Tenn., from 1853 to 1870, except during the Civil War, when he was an officer i...

Kimberley, city, South Africa

(Encyclopedia)Kimberley kĭmˈbərlē [key], city, now part and seat of Sol Plaatje local municipality, Northern Cape prov., South Africa. Since the 19th cent. the city has been primarily a diamond-mining center, b...

Goldwyn, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Goldwyn, Samuel gōlˈdwĭn [key], 1882–1974, American film producer, b. Warsaw, Poland. Goldwyn arrived in the United States in 1896, and with Jesse L. Lasky and Cecil B. De Mille he organized the ...

Essex, Robert Devereux, 2d earl of

(Encyclopedia)Essex, Robert Devereux, 2d earl of dĕvˈəro͞oksˌ, –ro͞oˌ, –rĕksˌ [key], 1567–1601, English courtier and favorite of Queen Elizabeth I. Succeeding to the earldom on the death (1576) of hi...

Fischer, Fritz

(Encyclopedia)Fischer, Fritz, 1908–99, German historian. Appointed professor at the Univ. of Hamburg in 1948 (emeritus after 1973), he became famous as the result of his book Griff nach der Weltmacht (1961; tr. G...

carbonic acid

(Encyclopedia)carbonic acid, H2CO3, a weak dibasic acid (see acids and bases) formed when carbon dioxide dissolves in water; it exists only in solution. Carbonic acid forms carbonate and bicarbonate (or acid carbon...

Browse by Subject