Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

John of Brienne

(Encyclopedia)John of Brienne brēĕnˈ [key], c.1170–1237, French crusader. He was a count and in 1210 married Mary, titular queen of Jerusalem. Mary died in 1212, and their daughter, Yolande (1212–28), succee...

legislative apportionment

(Encyclopedia)legislative apportionment, subdivision of a political body (e.g., a state or province) for the purpose of electing legislative representatives. In the United States, the Constitution requires that Con...

Rand, Ayn

(Encyclopedia)Rand, Ayn īn [key], 1905–82, American writer, b. St. Petersburg, Russia, as Alissa Rosenbaum. She came to the United States in 1926, became a citizen five years later, and worked for many years as ...

Drinkwater, John

(Encyclopedia)Drinkwater, John, 1882–1937, English author. A founder of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, he was associated with it as actor, director, and general manager for many years. He is best known for his...

Alexius II

(Encyclopedia)Alexius II (Alexius Comnenus), 1168–83, Byzantine emperor (1180–83), son and successor of Manuel I. His mother, Mary of Antioch, who was regent for him, alienated the population by favoring the La...

Clarke, Charles Cowden

(Encyclopedia)Clarke, Charles Cowden, 1787–1877, English lecturer and author. He was a close friend of Keats, who was a pupil of Clarke's father. Clarke's lectures on Shakespeare were published as Shakespeare Cha...

Cheke, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Cheke, Sir John chēk [key], 1514–57, English scholar. As professor of Greek at Cambridge he taught Roger Ascham and later was tutor to Edward VI. A Protestant, he was imprisoned by Mary I. Although...

Methuen

(Encyclopedia)Methuen mĭtho͞oˈən [key], town (1990 pop. 39,990), Essex co., NE Mass., a suburb of Boston; settled c.1642, set off from Haverhill 1725. Methuen is industrial, and among its products are food item...

Benedetto da Majano

(Encyclopedia)Benedetto da Majano bānādĕtˈtō dä mäyäˈnō [key], 1442–97. Italian sculptor and architect of the Florentine school. His pulpits, altarpieces, and other church furniture are beautifully exec...

Habash al-Hasib

(Encyclopedia)Habash al-Hasib häbäshˈ äl-häsēbˈ [key], d. c.870, Arab mathematician and astronomer. Habash al-Hasib was born in what is now Mary, Turkmenistan, and worked in Baghdad. He calculated tables of ...