Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

414 results found

Field, David Dudley

(Encyclopedia)Field, David Dudley, 1805–94, American lawyer and law reformer, b. Haddam, Conn.; brother of Cyrus W. Field and Stephen J. Field. He was graduated from Williams (1825), studied law in Albany and New...

Haydn, Franz Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Haydn, Franz Joseph fränts yōˈzĕf hīˈdən [key], 1732–1809, Austrian composer, one of the greatest masters of classical music. As a boy he sang in the choir at St. Stephen's, Vienna, where he ...

John I, king of Hungary

(Encyclopedia)John I (John Zapolya) zäˈpôlyŏ [key], 1487–1540, king of Hungary (1526–40), voivode [governor] of Transylvania (1511–26). He was born John Zapolya, the son of Stephen Zápolya. The leader of...

Thököly, Imre

(Encyclopedia)Thököly, Imre ĭmˈrĕ töˈkölyə [key], 1656–1705, Hungarian rebel, of a noble family of N Hungary. His father, Stephen Thököly, took an important part in the unsuccessful conspiracy of Franc...

Popes of the Roman Catholic Church (table)

(Encyclopedia)Popes of the Roman Catholic ChurchIn the following list, the date of election, rather than of consecration, is given. Before St. Victor I (189), dates may err by one year. Antipopes—i.e., those men...

Brown, John, American abolitionist

(Encyclopedia)Brown, John, 1800–1859, American abolitionist, b. Torrington, Conn. He spent his boyhood in Ohio. Before he became prominent in the 1850s, his life ha...

Wren, Sir Christopher

(Encyclopedia)Wren, Sir Christopher, 1632–1723, English architect. A mathematical prodigy, he studied at Oxford. He was professor of astronomy at Gresham College, London, from 1657 to 1661, when he became Savilia...

Ravenna, city, Italy

(Encyclopedia)Ravenna rävĕnˈnä [key], city (1991 pop. 135,844), capital of Ravenna prov., in Emilia-Romagna, N central Italy, near the Adriatic Sea (with which it is connected by a canal). It is an agricultural...

Sino-Japanese War, Second

(Encyclopedia)Sino-Japanese War, Second, 1937–45, conflict between Japanese and Chinese forces for control of the Chinese mainland. The war sapped the Nationalist government's strength while allowing the Communis...

duel

(Encyclopedia)duel, prearranged armed fight with deadly weapons, usually swords or pistols, between two persons concerned with a point of honor. The duel may have originated in the wager of battle, an early mode of...