Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Deburau, Jean Gaspard

(Encyclopedia)Deburau or Debureau, Jean Gaspard both: zhäN gäspärˈ dəbürōˈ [key], 1796–1846, French pantomime performer, whose original name was Jan Kaspar Dvorjak, b. Bohemia. He became famous for his in...

Malipiero, Gian Francesco

(Encyclopedia)Malipiero, Gian Francesco jän fränchāˈskō mälēpyāˈrō [key], 1882–1973, Italian composer. Malipiero studied in Venice and Bologna with Enrico Bossi and taught at the Conservatory of Parma, ...

Wyatt, Sir Thomas, c.1520–54, English soldier and conspirator

(Encyclopedia)Wyatt, Sir Thomas, c.1520–54, English soldier and conspirator; son of the poet Sir Thomas Wyatt. In Jan., 1554, when Queen Mary's intention to marry Philip II of Spain was announced, Wyatt joined a ...

Calderón Bridge

(Encyclopedia)Calderón Bridge käldārōnˈ [key], site of a decisive battle in the Mexican revolution against Spain, fought on the Lerma River E of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. On Jan. 17, 1811, insurgents comma...

Boyd, Louise Arner

(Encyclopedia)Boyd, Louise Arner, 1887–1972, American arctic explorer, b. San Rafael, Calif. She led a series of scientific explorations on the east coast of Greenland. The expedition of 1933, sponsored by the Am...

Tet offensive

(Encyclopedia)Tet offensive, 1968, a series of crucial battles in the Vietnam War. On Jan. 31, 1968, the first day of the celebration of the lunar new year, Vietnam's most important holiday, the Vietnamese Communis...

Bastogne

(Encyclopedia)Bastogne bästôˈnyə [key], Du. Bastenaken, town, Luxembourg prov., SE Belgium, in the Arde...

Montreal Protocol

(Encyclopedia)Montreal Protocol, officially the Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer, treaty signed on Sept. 16, 1987, at Montreal by 25 nations; 197 nations are now parties to the accord. The protoc...

sulfuric acid

(Encyclopedia)sulfuric acid, chemical compound, H2SO4, colorless, odorless, extremely corrosive, oily liquid. It is sometimes called oil of vitriol. Although sulfuric acid is now one of the most widely used c...

Reiner, Carl

(Encyclopedia) Reiner, Carl, 1922-2020, American comedian, television producer, actor, and film director, b. Bronx, N.Y. The son of a watchmaker, Reiner initially wo...