Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Peter III, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)Peter III, 1717–86, king of Portugal (1777–86), younger brother of Joseph. He married his niece Maria I and was joint ruler with her, though she generally was the dominant figure. ...

Ivan V

(Encyclopedia)Ivan V, 1666–96, czar of Russia (1682–96), son of Czar Alexis by his first wife. Ivan was mentally retarded, and on the death of his elder brother, Feodor III, his succession was opposed by the su...

Sarai

(Encyclopedia)Sarai sərīˈ [key], former city, S European Russia, near present-day Volgograd. Founded in 1241 by Batu Khan, it was (13th–15th cent.) the capital of the Tatar Golden Horde, to which the Russians ...

Marie

(Encyclopedia)Marie mərēˈ [key], 1875–1938, queen of Romania, consort of Ferdinand. The daughter of Alfred, duke of Edinburgh and of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, she was the granddaughter of Czar Alexander II of Russia ...

Pozharski, Dmitri Mikhailovich, Prince

(Encyclopedia)Pozharski, Dmitri Mikhailovich, Prince dəmēˈtrē mēkhīˈləvĭch, pəzhärˈskē [key], 1578–1642, Russian hero. During the “Time of Troubles” (1598–1613), when various pretenders vied fo...

Dąbrowski, Jan Henryk

(Encyclopedia)Dąbrowski, Jan Henryk yän hĕnˈrĭk dôNbrôfˈskē [key], 1755–1818, Polish general. He distinguished himself in the insurrection led by Kosciusko in 1794. After its failure he went to France an...

Dmitri

(Encyclopedia)Dmitri dĭmēˈtrēəs [key], 1582–91, czarevich, son of Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible) of Russia. His brother, Feodor I, succeeded Ivan in 1584, but Boris Godunov actually ruled Russia for the period ...

Pushkin

(Encyclopedia)Pushkin po͝oshˈkĭn, Rus. po͞oshˈkĭn [key], city (1989 pop. 95,000), NW European Russia, a residential and resort suburb of St. Petersburg. It produces road-building equipment and has an importan...

Zhukovsky, Vasily Andreyevich

(Encyclopedia)Zhukovsky, Vasily Andreyevich vəsēˈlyē əndrāˈəvĭch zho͞okôfˈskē [key], 1783–1852, Russian poet and translator. Zhukovsky wrote fine lyrics and odes, including the patriotic poem “The ...

Anna, czarina of Russia

(Encyclopedia)Anna (Anna Ivanovna) änˈnə ĭväˈnôvnə [key], 1693–1740, czarina of Russia (1730–40), daughter of Ivan V and niece of Peter I (Peter the Great). On the death of her distant cousin, Peter II,...