Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Arndt, Ernst Moritz

(Encyclopedia)Arndt, Ernst Moritz ĕrnst mōˈrĭts ärnt [key], 1769–1860, German poet and historian. An ardent nationalist and opponent of Napoleon I, he was forced to flee to Sweden and Russia because of his p...

Otto II, Holy Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Otto II, 955–83, Holy Roman emperor (973–83) and German king (961–83), son and successor of Otto I. He was crowned joint emperor in 967. Shortly after his father died Otto faced a rebellion by h...

Windhoek

(Encyclopedia)Windhoek vĭntˈho͞ok [key], city (1991 pop. 147,056), capital of Namibia. It is Namibia's largest city and its administrative, communications, and economic center. Windhoek is one of the world's maj...

Gagern, Heinrich, Freiherr von

(Encyclopedia)Gagern, Heinrich, Freiherr von hīnˈrĭkh frīˈhĕr fən gäˈgərn [key], 1799–1880, German statesman. A Hessian parliamentary leader and leading advocate of German unity, he became (1848) presid...

Zesen, Philipp von

(Encyclopedia)Zesen, Philipp von fēˈlĭp fən tsāˈzən [key], 1619–89, German poet and novelist. Zesen was a major champion of the purification of the German language. His works include Deutscher Helikon [Ger...

Hanseatic League

(Encyclopedia)Hanseatic League hănˌsēătˈĭk, hănˌzē– [key], mercantile league of medieval German towns. It was amorphous in character; its origin cannot be dated exactly. Originally a Hansa was a company ...

Christie, Dame Agatha

(Encyclopedia)Christie, Dame Agatha, 1890–1976, English detective story writer, b. Torquay, Devon, as Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller. Christie's second husband was the archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan, and she gained ...

Caesar, Sid

(Encyclopedia)Caesar, Sid (Isaac Sidney Caesar), 1922–2014, American comedian, one of the stars of the “golden age of live television,” b. Yonkers, N.Y. While performing in a World War II military show he met...

Scherer, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Scherer, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm shĕrˈər [key], 1841–86, German philologist, b. Austria. Scherer held professorships at the universities of Vienna, Strasbourg, and Berlin. His History of German Liter...

Schleicher, August

(Encyclopedia)Schleicher, August ouˈgo͝ost shlīˈkhər [key], 1821–68, German philologist. A professor at the universities of Prague and Jena, Schleicher wrote studies of the Lithuanian language (1856–57), t...