Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Potiphar

(Encyclopedia)Potiphar pŏtˈifər [key], in the Bible, chief official of Pharaoh who bought Joseph and gave him a high position in his house. Later when his wife falsely accused Joseph, Potiphar put Joseph into pr...

Broglie

(Encyclopedia)Broglie brôˈyə, brôglēˈ [key], French noble family of Piedmontese origin, who settled in France in the 17th cent. Victor Maurice, comte de Broglie, 1647–1727, was marshal of France and fought ...

Fernán González

(Encyclopedia)Fernán González fārnänˈ gōnthäˈlāth [key], d. 970, first count of Castile. As count of Burgos from c.930 he took advantage of Leonese divisions and the war against the Moors to establish the ...

Fizeau, Armand Hippolyte Louis

(Encyclopedia)Fizeau, Armand Hippolyte Louis ärmäNˈ ēpôlētˈ lwē fēzōˈ [key], 1819–96, French physicist. The first to measure (1849) the velocity of light in air, he also determined its speed in water. ...

Soria

(Encyclopedia)Soria sōrˈyä [key], town (1990 pop. 32,609), capital of Soria prov., N central Spain, in Castile and León, on the Duero River. It is a food processing and timbering center in a livestock raising r...

Sancho II, Spanish king of Castile

(Encyclopedia)Sancho II sänˈchō [key], d.1072, Spanish king of Castile (1065–72), son and successor of Ferdinand I. He conquered (1072) León from his brother Alfonso VI, but his sister Urraca rebelled against...

Monterrey

(Encyclopedia)Monterrey mōntārāˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 1,068,996), capital of Nuevo León state, NE Mexico, the third largest city of Mexico. Located c.150 mi (240 km) S of Laredo, Tex., in a valley surrounded...

Alfonso X, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso X (Alfonso the Wise), 1221–84, Spanish king of Castile and León (1252–84); son and successor of Ferdinand III, whose conquests of the Moors he continued, notably by taking Cádiz (1262). ...

Alfonso XI, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso XI, 1311–50, Spanish king of Castile and León (1312–50), son and successor of Ferdinand IV. His vigorous campaign against Granada provoked an invasion by the Moors from Morocco; they took...

Henry II, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)Henry II or Henry of Trastámara trăstəmărˈə [key], 1333?–1379, Spanish king of Castile and León (1369–79), illegitimate son of Alfonso XI. After taking part in several unsuccessful revolts ...