Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Pembroke, William Herbert, 3d earl of

(Encyclopedia)Pembroke, William Herbert, 3d earl of, 1580–1630, English courtier and patron of letters. Son of Mary Herbert, countess of Pembroke, and nephew of Sir Philip Sidney, he was tutored by the poet Samue...

Oratory, Congregation of the

(Encyclopedia)Oratory, Congregation of the [Lat. abbr., Cong. Orat.], in the Roman Catholic Church, founded in 1575, an association of secular priests organized into independent communities according to the rule wr...

Manhattan Project

(Encyclopedia)Manhattan Project, the wartime effort to design and build the first nuclear weapons (atomic bombs). With the discovery of fission in 1939, it became clear to scientists that certain radioactive materi...

shorthand

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Shorthand systems shorthand, any brief, rapid system of writing that may be used in transcribing, or recording, the spoken word. Such systems, many having characters based on the letters of th...

revival, religious

(Encyclopedia)revival, religious, renewal of attention to religious faith and service in a church or community, usually following a period of comparative inactivity and frequently marked by intense fervor. As appli...

Charles III, king of Spain, and of Naples and Sicily

(Encyclopedia)Charles III, 1716–88, king of Spain (1759–88) and of Naples and Sicily (1735–59), son of Philip V and Elizabeth Farnese. Recognized as duke of Parma and Piacenza in 1731, he relinquished the duc...

Burgundy

(Encyclopedia)Burgundy bo͝orgôˈnyə [key], historic region, E France. The name once applied to a large area embracing several kingdoms, a free county (see Franche-Comté), and a duchy. The administrative region ...

Livingston

(Encyclopedia)Livingston, family of American statesmen, diplomats, and jurists. Edward Livingston,Edward Livingston, 1764–1836, b. Livingston Manor, was the son of Robert R. Livingston (1718–75) and brother o...

Charles V, Holy Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Charles V, 1500–1558, Holy Roman emperor (1519–58) and, as Charles I, king of Spain (1516–56); son of Philip I and Joanna of Castile, grandson of Ferdinand II of Aragón, Isabella of Castile, Ho...

Crécy

(Encyclopedia)Crécy –äN–pôNtyöˈ [key], village, Somme dept., N France. A nearby forest is popular for camping. At Crécy, on Aug. 26, 1346, Edward III of England defeated Philip VI of France in the Hundred...