Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Jack the Ripper

(Encyclopedia)Jack the Ripper, name given to an unidentified late-19th-century murderer in London, England; also known as the Whitechapel Murderer and Leather Apron. From Aug. to Nov., 1888, he was responsible for ...

Julian the Apostate

(Encyclopedia)Julian the Apostate (Flavius Claudius Julianus), 331?–363, Roman emperor (361–63), nephew of Constantine I; successor of Constantius II. He was given an education that combined Christian and Neopl...

Dionysius the Elder

(Encyclopedia)Dionysius the Elder, c.430–367 b.c., tyrant of Syracuse. Of humble origin, he entered politics as a supporter of the poorer classes. Having prompted (400 b.c.) a measure to elect truly democratic ge...

Dionysius the Younger

(Encyclopedia)Dionysius the Younger, fl. 368–344 b.c., tyrant of Syracuse, son of Dionysius the Elder. He ended the war with Carthage and enlisted the support of the professional army. Neither gifted nor trained ...

Edward the Confessor

(Encyclopedia)Edward the Confessor, d. 1066, king of the English (1042–66), son of Æthelred the Unready and his Norman wife, Emma. After the Danish conquest (1013–16) of England, Edward grew up at the Norman c...

Edward the Elder

(Encyclopedia)Edward the Elder, d. 924, king of Wessex (899–924), son and successor of Alfred. He fought with his father against the Danes. At Alfred's death (899) Edward's succession was disputed by his cousin Ã...

Edward the Martyr

(Encyclopedia)Edward the Martyr, c.962–978, king of the English (975–78), son of Edgar by his first wife. Despite the opposition of some of the nobles, Edward succeeded his father to the throne and was crowned....

Alexander the Great

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Empire of Alexander the Great (including dependencies) Alexander the Great or Alexander III, 356–323 b.c., king of Macedon, conqueror of much of Asia. Whether or not Alexander had plans fo...

Darius the Mede

(Encyclopedia)Darius the Mede, in the Bible, a king of the Medes who succeeded to the throne of Babylonia after Belshazzar. Otherwise unknown outside biblical tradition, it is likely that this Darius has been confu...

Cyrus the Great

(Encyclopedia)Cyrus the Great sīˈrəs [key], d. 529 b.c., king of Persia, founder of the greatness of the Achaemenids and of the Persian Empire. According to Herodotus, he was the son of an Iranian noble, the eld...