Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Leo X, pope

(Encyclopedia)Leo X, 1475–1521, pope (1513–21), a Florentine named Giovanni de' Medici; successor of Julius II. He was the son of Lorenzo de' Medici, was made a cardinal in his boyhood, and was head of his fami...

Llywelyn ap Iorwerth

(Encyclopedia)Llywelyn or Llewelyn ap Iorwerth , lo͞oĕlˈĭn [key] (Llywelyn the Great), 1173–1240, Welsh prince; grandson of Owain Gwynedd. He first proved his capacity by wresting (1194) N Wales from his unc...

Las Casas, Bartolomé de

(Encyclopedia)Las Casas, Bartolomé de bärtōlōmāˈ dā läs käˈsäs [key], 1474–1566, Spanish missionary and historian, called the apostle of the Indies. He went to Hispaniola with his father in 1502, and e...

Lorenzetti

(Encyclopedia)Lorenzetti lōrān-tsĕtˈtē [key], two brothers who were major Sienese painters. Pietro Lorenzetti, c.1280–c.1348, was first influenced by Duccio di Buoninsegna and Giovanni Pisano. His earliest k...

peptide

(Encyclopedia)peptide, organic compound composed of amino acids linked together chemically by peptide bonds. The peptide bond always involves a single covalent link between the α-carboxyl (oxygen-bearing carbon) o...

William of Wykeham

(Encyclopedia)William of Wykeham or William of Wickham both: wĭˈkəm [key], 1324–1404, English prelate and lord chancellor. He is thought to have been the son of a serf. Entering the service of the royal court ...

Winslow, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Winslow, Edward, 1595–1655, one of the founders of Plymouth Colony in New England, b. England. One of the leaders of the Pilgrims who traveled to America on the Mayflower in 1620, Winslow negotiated...

Wavell, Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl

(Encyclopedia)Wavell, Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl wāˈvəl [key], 1883–1950, British field marshal and viceroy of India. Wavell first saw service in the South African War and in India. During World War I...

Wallace, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Wallace, Sir William, 1272?–1305, Scottish soldier and national hero. The first historical record of Wallace's activities concerns the burning of Lanark by Wallace and 30 men in May, 1297, and the s...

bushbuck

(Encyclopedia)bushbuck, either of two small, delicate, spiral-horned antelopes of sub-Saharan Africa, the imbabala (Tragelaphus sylvaticus) and the kéwel (T. scriptus), formerly classified as a single species. Bus...

Browse by Subject