Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

John III, Byzantine emperor of Nicaea

(Encyclopedia)John III (John Ducas Vatatzes) do͝oˈkəs vətătˈzēz [key], d. 1254, Byzantine emperor of Nicaea (1222–54), successor and son-in-law of Theodore I. He extended his territory in Asia Minor and th...

Lerner, Alan Jay

(Encyclopedia)Lerner, Alan Jay, 1918–86, American lyricist and librettist, b. New York City. After two years as a radio scriptwriter, Lerner began an association with the composer Frederick Loewe that resulted in...

viscose process

(Encyclopedia)viscose process vĭsˈkōs [key], method widely used for the commercial preparation of rayon. Cellulose, prepared from either wood pulp or, less commonly, cotton linters, is treated with sodium hydrox...

Truth, Sojourner

(Encyclopedia)Truth, Sojourner, c.1797–1883, American abolitionist, a freed slave, originally called Isabella, b. Ulster co., N.Y. Convinced that she heard heavenly...

Sophia

(Encyclopedia)Sophia sōfīˈə, Ger. zōfēˈä [key], 1630–1714, electress of Hanover, consort of Elector Ernest Augustus. She was the daughter of Frederick the Winter King and Elizabeth of Bohemia, who was the...

Schadow, Johann Gottfried

(Encyclopedia)Schadow, Johann Gottfried yōˈhän gôtˈfrēt shäˈdôf [key], 1764–1850, German sculptor of the neoclassical school. He studied in Rome. In 1788 he returned to Berlin, where he became court scul...

Perl, Martin Lewis

(Encyclopedia)Perl, Martin Lewis, 1927–2014, American physicist, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., Ph.D. Columbia, 1955. He was a professor at the Univ. of Michigan from 1955 to 1963, when he accepted a position at Stanford; he...

Charles X, king of Sweden

(Encyclopedia)Charles X, 1622–60, king of Sweden (1654–60), nephew of Gustavus II. The son of John Casimir, count palatine of Zweibrücken, he brought the house of Wittelsbach to the Swedish throne when his cou...

Charles the Bold

(Encyclopedia)Charles the Bold, 1433–77, last reigning duke of Burgundy (1467–77), son and successor of Philip the Good. As the count of Charolais before his accession, he opposed the growing power of King Loui...

Henry VII, Holy Roman emperor and German king

(Encyclopedia)Henry VII, c.1275–1313, Holy Roman emperor (1312–13) and German king (1308–13). A minor count of the house of Luxembourg, Henry was elected German king on the death of King Albert I after the el...