Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

430 results found

Du Bellay, Joachim

(Encyclopedia)Du Bellay, Joachim bĕlāˈ [key], 1522?–1560, French poet of the Pléiade (see under Pleiad). He wrote their manifesto, La Deffence et illustration de la langue francoyse (1549), which urges the s...

Du Guesclin, Bertrand

(Encyclopedia)Du Guesclin, Bertrand bĕrträNˈ dü gĕklăNˈ [key], c.1320–80, constable of France (1370–80), greatest French soldier of his time. A Breton, he initially served Charles of Blois in the War of ...

Côtes-du-Nord

(Encyclopedia)Côtes-du-Nord: see Côtes-d'Armor, France. ...

Cirque du Soleil

(Encyclopedia)Cirque du Soleil, [Fr.,=circus of the sun], innovative Canadian circus, est. 1984, with headquarters in Montreal. The best-known exemplar of cirque nouveau, Cirque du Soleil is a mixture of spectacle,...

Rivière du Loup

(Encyclopedia)Rivière du Loup rēvyĕrˈ dü lo͞o [key], city (1991 pop. 14,017), E Que., Canada, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, NE of Quebec. It is a commercial and industrial center in a lumberin...

Bouches-du-Rhône

(Encyclopedia)Bouches-du-Rhône bo͞osh-dü-rōn [key], department, in Provence, SE France. It includes the island of ...

Canal du Midi

(Encyclopedia)Canal du Midi känälˈ dü mēdēˈ [key], canal, c.150 mi (240 km) long, linking Sète and Toulouse, S France. It was built to carry oceangoing ships between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean...

chemical industry

(Encyclopedia)chemical industry, the business of using chemical reactions to turn raw materials, such as coal, oil, and salt, into a variety of products. During the 19th and 20th cent. technological advances in the...

Labouchere, Henry du Pré

(Encyclopedia)Labouchere, Henry du Pré lăˌbo͞oshârˈ [key], 1831–1912, British politician and journalist. Following diplomatic service (1854–64), he sat in the House of Commons (1880–1906) as a Radical. ...

Browse by Subject