Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Bjørndalen, Ole Einar

(Encyclopedia)Bjørndalen, Ole Einar, 1974–, Norwegian biathlete, generally regarded as the greatest champion in the history of the biathlon, a combination of cross-country skiing and target-shooting. He competed...

Szewińska, Irena

(Encyclopedia)Szewińska, Irena, 1946–2018, Polish sprinter and long jumper, b. Leningrad (now St. Petersburg, Russia) as Irena Kirszenstein, grad. Univ. of Warsaw, 1970. In her first Olympics (1964), she won sil...

Taylor, Alan John Percivale

(Encyclopedia)Taylor, Alan John Percivale, 1906–90, English historian, primarily interested in diplomatic and Central European history. Educated at Oxford, he became a fellow of Magdalen College in 1938. He appea...

Tordesillas, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Tordesillas, Treaty of tōrˌᵺāsēˈlyäs [key], 1494, agreement signed at Tordesillas, Spain, by which Spain and Portugal divided the non-Christian world into two zones of influence. In principle ...

Beckenbauer, Franz Anton

(Encyclopedia)Beckenbauer, Franz Anton, 1945–, German soccer player nicknamed der Kaiser. The only person to win the World Cup as both player-captain (1974) and coach (1990), he began his career at 14 on the Baye...

Untermeyer, Louis

(Encyclopedia)Untermeyer, Louis ŭnˈtərmīər [key], 1885–1977, American poet and anthologist, b. New York City. Although a first-rate poet, he is known best for his anthologies, notably Modern American Poetry ...

Saunders, Dame Cicely

(Encyclopedia)Saunders, Dame Cicely (Cicely Mary Strode Saunders), 1918–2005, British physician, a pioneer in the modern hospice movement. She left Oxford during World War II to become a nurse (1944) and, after w...

Sedan

(Encyclopedia)Sedan sədäNˈ [key], town (1990 pop. 22,407), Ardennes dept., NE France, on the Meuse River. A noted textile center since the 16th cent., Sedan also has metal and brewing industries. The town became...

Baruch, Bernard Mannes

(Encyclopedia)Baruch, Bernard Mannes bəro͞okˈ [key], 1870–1965, U.S. financier and government adviser, b. Camden, S.C. He grew rich through stockmarket speculation before he was 30. In World War I he advised o...

Spee, Maximilian, Graf von

(Encyclopedia)Spee, Maximilian, Graf von mäkˌsēmēˈlyän gräf fən shpā [key], 1861–1914, German admiral. At the start of World War I he commanded a squadron in East Asia. In Nov., 1914, he met and defeated...