Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Albigenses

(Encyclopedia)Albigenses ălbĭjĕnˈsēz [key] [Lat.,=people of Albi, one of their centers], religious sect of S France in the Middle Ages. In 1208 the papal legate, a Cistercian, Peter de Castelnau, was murdere...

Alfonso I, king of Aragón and Navarre

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso I (Alfonso the Battler) ălfŏnˈsō, äl– [key], d. 1134, king of Aragón and Navarre (1104–34), brother and successor of Peter I. The husband of Urraca, queen of Castile, he fought unsuc...

Christian VII

(Encyclopedia)Christian VII, 1749–1808, king of Denmark and Norway (1766–1808), son and successor of Frederick V. Shortly after his accession his mental illness made him dependent on his physician, Struensee, w...

Fert, Albert

(Encyclopedia)Fert, Albert älbârˈ fâr [key], 1938– French physicist, b. Carcassonne, France. After receiving his Ph.D. at the Univ. of Paris-Sud in 1970 Fert accepted a teaching position there and headed a re...

Ingermanland

(Encyclopedia)Ingermanland ĭngˈgrēə [key], Finnish Ingerinta, historic region, NW European Russia, along the Neva River and on the east bank of the Gulf of Finland. Its name derives from the ancient Finnic inha...

Fust, Johann

(Encyclopedia)Fust yōˈhän foust [key], d. 1466?, printer at Mainz. Johann Gutenberg borrowed substantial sums of money from Fust, a goldsmith, lawyer, and money lender. When Gutenberg was unable to repay these s...

Jommelli, Niccolò

(Encyclopedia)Jommelli, Niccolò nēk-kōlôˈ yōm-mĕlˈlē [key], 1714–74, Italian opera composer of the Neapolitan school, who worked variously in Vienna, Rome, Stuttgart, and eventually Naples, successfully ...

John V, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)John V (John the Magnanimous), 1689–1750, king of Portugal (1706–50), son and successor of Peter II. Before his accession the Methuen Treaty (1703) with England had brought Portugal into the War o...

Mino da Fiesole

(Encyclopedia)Mino da Fiesole dē jōvänˈnē [key], 1429–84, Florentine sculptor of the early Renaissance. He produced many tombs and sculptures for churches. Among the best are the altar in the cathedral at Fi...

Mortensen, Dale Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Mortensen, Dale Thomas, 1939–2014, American economist, b. Enterprise, Oreg., Ph.D. Carnegie-Mellon Univ., 1967. Mortensen a professor at Northwestern Univ. for his entire academic career. His work f...