Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Romanus IV

(Encyclopedia)Romanus IV (Romanus Diogenes) dīŏjˈənēz [key], d. 1072, Byzantine emperor (1068–71). A Cappadocian general, he succeeded Constantine X by marrying his widow, Eudocia Macrembolitissa. After some...

Lourdes

(Encyclopedia)Lourdes lo͞ord [key], town (1990 pop. 16,581), Hautes-Pyrénées dept., SW France, at the foot of the Pyrénées. It is famous for its Roman Catholic shrine where Our Lady of Lourdes (Feast: Feb. 11)...

Blida

(Encyclopedia)Blida blēˈdä [key], town, N Algeria, at the foot of the Mitidja Atlas Mts. The name also a...

Bertrada

(Encyclopedia)Bertrada bĕrträˈdə [key], d. 783, Frankish queen, wife of Pepin the Short and mother of Charlemagne. She tried without success to reconcile Charlemagne and his brother Carloman. Also called Bertha...

Shasta, Mount

(Encyclopedia)Shasta, Mount shăsˈtə [key], volcanic peak, 14,162 ft (4,317 m) high, N Calif., in the Cascade Range. Visited c.1827 by Peter Skene Ogden, a British fur trader and explorer, Mt. Shasta has long bee...

secretary bird

(Encyclopedia)secretary bird, common name for a long-legged African bird, Sagittarius serpentarius, related to the hawk and about 4 ft (122 cm) tall. Its crest of black feathers suggested the quill pens behind the ...

shoe

(Encyclopedia)shoe, foot covering, usually of leather, consisting of a sole and a portion above the sole called an upper. In prehistoric times skins or hides may have been tied around the foot for protection and wa...

Jones, Henry Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Jones, Henry Arthur, 1851–1929, English playwright. His reputation was first established with the melodrama The Silver King (with Henry Herman; 1882). Strongly influenced by the great Norwegian play...

Kostroma

(Encyclopedia)Kostroma kəstrəmäˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 278,000), capital of Kostroma region, E European Russia, on the Volga at the mouth of the Kostroma River. It is a major linen-milling and textile machiner...

Sankt Wolfgang

(Encyclopedia)Sankt Wolfgang vôlfˈgäng [key], town, Upper Austria prov., in the Salzkammergut, on the Wolfgang See, a lake. It is a popular resort, famous for the White Horse Inn. A noteworthy attraction is the ...