Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Augustus II

(Encyclopedia)Augustus II, 1670–1733, king of Poland (1697–1733) and, as Frederick Augustus I, elector of Saxony (1694–1733). He commanded the imperial army against the Turks (1695–96), but had no success a...

cavalry

(Encyclopedia)cavalry, a military force consisting of mounted troops trained to fight from horseback. Horseback riding probably evolved independently in the Eurasian steppes and the mountains above the Mesopotamian...

Schleswig-Holstein

(Encyclopedia)Schleswig-Holstein shlĕsˈvĭkh-hôlˈshtīn [key], state (1994 pop. 2,595,000), c.6,050 sq mi (15,670 sq km), NW Germany. Kiel (the capital and chief port), Lübeck, Flensburg, and Neumünster are t...

Meissen

(Encyclopedia)Meissen mīsˈən [key], city (1994 pop. 33,075), Saxony, E central Germany, on the Elbe River. A porcelain manufacturing center since 1710, Meissen is famous for its delicate figurines (often called ...

Klaipeda

(Encyclopedia)Klaipeda māˈməl [key], city (1993 pop. 206,400), W Lithuania, on the Baltic Sea, at the entrance to the Courland Lagoon. An ice-free seaport and an industrial center, it has shipyards and industrie...

grenade

(Encyclopedia)grenade grĭnādˈ [key], small bomb either thrown by hand or shot from a modified rifle or a grenade launcher. It may be filled with gas or chemicals but more often holds an explosive charge that fra...

Görtz, Georg Heinrich von

(Encyclopedia)Görtz, Georg Heinrich von gāˈôrk hīnˈrĭkh fən görts [key], 1668–1719, Swedish diplomat and financial expert, a German. While in the service of Frederick V, duke of Holstein-Gottorp, he help...

Gondomar, Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, conde de

(Encyclopedia)Gondomar, Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, conde de gŏnˈdəmär, Span. dyāˈgō särmyānˈtō ᵺā äko͞oˈnyä kōnˈdā ᵺā gōndōmärˈ [key], 1567?–1626, Spanish ambassador to England (1613...

Garnet, Henry Highland

(Encyclopedia)Garnet, Henry Highland gärˈnĭt [key], 1815–82, American abolitionist clergyman, b. Kent co., Md. Born a slave, he escaped in 1824 and was educated at the Oneida Institute, Whitesboro, N.Y. He was...

Jomini, Antoine Henri

(Encyclopedia)Jomini, Antoine Henri äNtwänˈ äNrēˈ zhômēnēˈ [key], 1779–1869, Swiss general and military writer. He organized (1799) the militia of the Helvetic Republic and after 1804 served as staff of...

Browse by Subject