Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Devrient, Ludwig

(Encyclopedia)Devrient, Ludwig lo͝otˈvĭkh dəvrēăNˈ [key], 1784–1832, German actor. He abandoned a commercial career in 1804 to join a traveling theatrical company. In Berlin he was a favorite in comedy and...

Emin Pasha

(Encyclopedia)Emin Pasha āmēnˈ päˈshä [key], 1840–92, German explorer, whose original name was Eduard Schnitzer. A physician, he served (1876–78) under Gen. Charles Gordon in Sudan as a district medical o...

Gabelentz, Hans Conon von der

(Encyclopedia)Gabelentz, Hans Conon von der häns kōˈnôn fən dĕr gäˈbəlĕnts [key], 1807–74, German linguist. Gabelentz showed the broad relationships among Pacific languages. He spoke 30 languages well a...

Moltke, Helmuth Johannes Ludwig, Graf von

(Encyclopedia)Moltke, Helmuth Johannes Ludwig, Graf von hĕlˈmo͞ot yōhäˈnəs lo͞otˈvĭkh gräf fən môltˈkə [key], 1848–1916, German army officer. He fought in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) and be...

German literature

(Encyclopedia)German literature, works in the German language by German, Austrian, Austro-Hungarian, and Swiss authors, as well as by writers of German in other countries. The postwar decades saw a gradual litera...

Varnhagen von Ense, Karl August

(Encyclopedia)Varnhagen von Ense, Karl August kärl ouˈgo͝ost färnˈhägən fən ĕnˈzə [key], 1785–1858, German poet, historian, and journalist. He collaborated with Chamisso and other writers and wrote Bio...

Browse by Subject