Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Oldenburg, former state, Germany

(Encyclopedia)Oldenburg ôlˈdənbo͝orkh [key], former state, NW Germany. It is now included in the state of Lower Saxony. The city of Oldenburg was the capital. The former state consisted of three widely separate...

Aristides, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Aristides, Saint ârĭstīˈdēz [key], 2d cent., Greek philosopher, author of an early Christian apology. It was presented (c.126 or 136) to the emperor to protest anti-Christian slanders and persecu...

Prester John

(Encyclopedia)Prester John, legendary Christian priest and monarch of a vast, wealthy empire in Asia or in Africa. The legend first appeared in the latter part of the 12th cent. and persisted for several centuries....

Martens, Wilfried

(Encyclopedia)Martens, Wilfried, 1936–2013, Belgian statesman. A lawyer, Flemish Christian Democrat, and well-respected negotiator, he was president (1965–71) of the youth wing of the Christian People's party a...

National Symphony Orchestra

(Encyclopedia)National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), Washington, D.C., founded in 1931 by Hans Kindler, who conducted the orchestra until 1949. Its first home was Constitution Hall; since 1986 it has been affiliated wi...

motif, in literature

(Encyclopedia)motif mōtēfˈ [key], in literature, term that denotes the recurrent presence of certain character types, objects, settings, or situations in diverse genres and periods of folklore and literature. Ex...

Eschenbach, Christoph

(Encyclopedia)Eschenbach, Christoph, 1940–, German conductor and pianist, b. Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland), as Christoph Ringmann. Orphaned during World War II, he was adopted by Wallydore Eschenbach, h...

thermite

(Encyclopedia)thermite [from Thermit, a trade name], mixture of powdered or granular aluminum metal and powdered iron oxide. When ignited it gives off large amounts of heat. In wartime it has been used in incendiar...

Wagner, Honus

(Encyclopedia)Wagner, Honus hōˈnŭs wăgˈnər [key], 1874–1955, American baseball player, b. Mansfield (now Carnegie), Pa. His real name was John Peter Wagner. He played semiprofessional ball in Ohio and was g...

Baselitz, Georg

(Encyclopedia)Baselitz, Georg gāôrkhˈ bäˈzəlĭtsˌ [key], 1938–, German artist, b. Deutschbaselitz, Germany, as Hans-Georg Dern. A leading figure in the neoexpressionist movement (see neoexpressionism), he ...