Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Damocles

(Encyclopedia)Damocles dămˈəklēz [key], in classical mythology, courtier at the court of Dionysius I. He so persistently praised the power and happiness of Dionysius that the tyrant, in order to show the precar...

Grayson, Cary Travers

(Encyclopedia)Grayson, Cary Travers, 1878–1938, American naval officer and surgeon, b. Culpeper co., Va. As a physician he entered (1903) the U.S. navy, was graduated (1904) from the navy medical school, and afte...

Paulus, Friedrich

(Encyclopedia)Paulus, Friedrich frēˈdrĭkh pouˈlo͝os [key], 1890–1957, German field marshal. He commanded the army at the siege of Stalingrad and was raised to marshal's rank several hours before his surrende...

Pressburg, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Pressburg, Treaty of, 1805, peace treaty between Napoleon I of France and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (also emperor of Austria), signed at Pressburg (now Bratislava, Slovakia). Defeated at Austerlit...

Kollontai, Aleksandra Mikhaylovna

(Encyclopedia)Kollontai, Aleksandra Mikhaylovna əlyĭksänˈdrə mēkhīˈləvnə kələntīˈ [key], 1872–1952, Russian revolutionary, diplomat, and novelist, whose maiden name was Aleksandra M. Domontovich. Th...

Dale, Sir Henry Hallett

(Encyclopedia)Dale, Sir Henry Hallett, 1875–1968, English scientist. For his study of acetylcholine as agent in the chemical transmission of nerve impulses he shared with Otto Loewi the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physio...

Kanaris, Constantine

(Encyclopedia)Kanaris, Constantine känäˈrĭs [key], 1790–1877, Greek patriot, admiral, and politician. He distinguished himself in the Greek War of Independence, notably at Tenedos, where he destroyed (1822) t...

Victoria, empress of Germany

(Encyclopedia)Victoria (Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa), 1840–1901, empress of Germany, daughter of Victoria of England. In 1858 she married the German crown prince (later Emperor Frederick III). After her husband...

Wilkinson, Sir Geoffrey

(Encyclopedia)Wilkinson, Sir Geoffrey, 1921–, English inorganic chemist. He shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Ernst Otto Fischer for their independent research on the organometallic compounds of the t...

Guelphs and Ghibellines

(Encyclopedia)Guelphs and Ghibellines gwĕlfs, gĭbˈəlēnz, –lĭnz [key], opposing political factions in Germany and in Italy during the later Middle Ages. The names were used to designate the papal (Guelph) pa...