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Astor, William Backhouse, 1792–1875, American financier

(Encyclopedia)Astor, William Backhouse, 1792–1875, American financier, b. New York City; son of John Jacob Astor (1763–1848). Educated in Germany, he was associated with his father in business after 1818. Later...

Nachtigal, Gustav

(Encyclopedia)Nachtigal, Gustav go͝osˈtäf näkhˈtēgäl [key], 1834–85, German explorer in Africa. He went (1869) on a mission for the king of Prussia to the sultan of Bornu. He visited the central Sahara reg...

Föhr

(Encyclopedia)Föhr för [key], island, 32 sq mi (83 sq km), Schleswig-Holstein, N Germany, in the North Sea, one of the North Frisian Islands. Wyk, the principal town, is a bathing resort. The island has farms, fi...

Ehrenbreitstein

(Encyclopedia)Ehrenbreitstein āˌrənbrītˈshtīn [key], fortress at Koblenz, W Germany, on a cliff (387 ft/118 m high) over the Rhine River. Built c.1000, it was later enlarged and strengthened during wars in th...

Eisenhüttenstadt

(Encyclopedia)Eisenhüttenstadt īˌzənhütˈənshtät [key], city, Brandenburg, E Germany; on the Oder River at the border with ...

Conrad of Marburg

(Encyclopedia)Conrad of Marburg, d. 1233, German churchman. He was confessor (1225–31) of St. Elizabeth of Hungary and administrator of her husband's benefices in his absence. His zeal against heresy earned him a...

Neuwied

(Encyclopedia)Neuwied noiˈvētˌ [key], city (1994 pop. 65,047), Rhineland-Palatinate, W Germany, a port at the confluence of the Rhine and Wied rivers. Manufactures of this industrial city include building materi...

Ramée, Joseph Jacques

(Encyclopedia)Ramée, Joseph Jacques zhôzĕfˈ zhäk rämāˈ [key], 1764–1842, French architect. He left France in 1792 and was active in Germany (where he built the Hamburg Exchange) and in Denmark. He lived i...

Wupper

(Encyclopedia)Wupper vo͝opˈər [key], river, c.65 mi (100 km) long, W central Germany. It is formed by several headstreams and winds in a tortuous course N and SW past Wuppertal, Remscheid, and Solingen into the ...

Sweynheym, Conrad

(Encyclopedia)Sweynheym, Conrad kônˈrät svīnˈhīm [key], fl. 15th cent., early printer. Originally from near Mainz, Germany, Sweynheym with Arnold Pannartz established (c.1464) in the monastery of Subiaco the ...