Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Bailly, Jean Sylvain

(Encyclopedia)Bailly, Jean Sylvain zhäN sēlvăNˈ bäyēˈ [key], 1736–93, French astronomer and politician. His works on astronomy and on the history of science (notably the Essai sur la théorie des satellite...

Poncelet, Jean Victor

(Encyclopedia)Poncelet, Jean Victor zhäNˈ vēktôrˈ pôNslāˈ [key], 1788–1867, French mathematician and army engineer. He taught at the school of mechanics at Metz and at the Faculté des Sciences and the É...

Rotrou, Jean de

(Encyclopedia)Rotrou, Jean de zhäN də rôtro͞oˈ [key], 1609–50, French dramatist. One of the Cinq auteurs, five playwrights commissioned by Cardinal Richelieu, Rotrou wrote many plays, including the noble and...

Rousseau, Jean Jacques

(Encyclopedia)Rousseau, Jean Jacques ro͞osōˈ [key], 1712–78, Swiss-French philosopher, author, political theorist, and composer. Rousseau's influence on posterity has been equaled by only a few, and it is...

Saint Jean, Lac

(Encyclopedia)Saint Jean, Lac, Canada: see Saguenay, river. ...

Sartre, Jean-Paul

(Encyclopedia)Sartre, Jean-Paul zhäN-pôl särˈtrə [key], 1905–80, French philosopher, playwright, and novelist. Influenced by German philosophy, particularly that of Heidegger, Sartre was a leading exponent o...

Tirole, Jean Marcel

(Encyclopedia)Tirole, Jean Marcel, 1953–, French economist, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1981. He was a professor of at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1984–91) and École Polytechniq...

Trichet, Jean-Claude

(Encyclopedia)Trichet, Jean-Claude zhäN-klōd trēˈshĕ [key], 1942–, French banker and government official, b. Lyons. During the 1970s Trichet held a number of French finance and treasury positions and in 1978...

Reszke, Jean de

(Encyclopedia)Reszke, Jean de zhäN də rĕshˈkē [key], 1850–1935, Polish singer. His voice, at first a baritone, developed into one of the finest tenors of the 19th cent. He first appeared as a tenor in Madrid...

Raffarin, Jean-Pierre

(Encyclopedia)Raffarin, Jean-Pierre zhäN-pyĕr räfärăNˈ [key], 1948–, French politician. From a political family, he began his career in business and served as a spokesman for a labor minister in the late 19...

Browse by Subject