Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

352 results found

Cadamosto, Luigi da

(Encyclopedia)Cadamosto, Luigi da lo͞oēˈjē dä kädämôˈstō [key], 1432?–1488, Venetian navigator in the service of Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal. He seems to have entered Portuguese service in 14...

Ahmad al-Mansur

(Encyclopedia)Ahmad al-Mansur äˈməd äl-mänso͞orˈ, Arabic äkhmädˈ [key] [al-Mansur,=the victorious], d. 1603, emir of Morocco (1578–1603). Proclaimed ruler after his brother's death at the battle of Ksar...

Ricardo, David

(Encyclopedia)Ricardo, David, 1772–1823, British economist, of Dutch-Jewish parentage. At the age of 20 he entered business as a stockbroker and was so skillful in the management of his affairs that within five y...

Philip II, king of Spain, Naples, and Sicily

(Encyclopedia)Philip II, 1527–98, king of Spain (1556–98), king of Naples and Sicily (1554–98), and, as Philip I, king of Portugal (1580–98). Philip was not the bloodthirsty tyrant portrayed by his enemi...

María de Molina

(Encyclopedia)María de Molina dā mōlēˈnä [key], d. 1321, queen of Castile, consort of Sancho IV. As regent (1295–1301) for her son, Ferdinand IV, she defended his throne against several pretenders, who were...

John of Austria, 1629–79, Spanish general and statesman

(Encyclopedia)John of Austria, 1629–79, Spanish general and statesman; illegitimate son of Philip IV. He helped put down Masaniello's revolt (1647) in Naples, was viceroy of Sicily (1648–51), and fought (1651�...

Hawkins, Sir Richard

(Encyclopedia)Hawkins, Sir Richard, 1562?–1622, English admiral, son of Sir John Hawkins. He served under Sir Francis Drake in the 1585–86 expedition to the West Indies, commanded the Swallow in the defeat of t...

Gregory XVI

(Encyclopedia)Gregory XVI, 1765–1846, pope (1831–46), an Italian named Bartolomeo Alberto Capellari, b. Belluno; successor of Pius VIII. In 1783 he became a Camaldolite and was (1825) created cardinal. Gregory ...

Chissano, Joaquim Alberto

(Encyclopedia)Chissano, Joaquim Alberto, 1939–, Mozambican political leader. A founding member of the Mozambican Liberation Front (Frelimo), he rose to become a major general in the organization, and after Mozamb...

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

(Encyclopedia)Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), international organization that came into being in 1961. It superseded the Organization for European Economic Cooperation, which had been ...