Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Treviso

(Encyclopedia)Treviso trāvēˈzō [key], city (1991 pop. 83,598), capital of Treviso prov., Venetia, NE Italy. Situated in the center of the fertile Venetian plain, it is an agricultural market and industrial cent...

Silva, Antonio José da

(Encyclopedia)Silva, Antonio José da əntôˈnyo͝o zho͝ozĕˈ dä sēlˈvə [key], 1705–39, Portuguese playwright, b. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He belonged to a family of “New Christians” (Jews forced to con...

special effects

(Encyclopedia)special effects, in motion pictures, cinematographic techniques that create illusions in the audience's minds as well as the illusions created using these techniques. Some common examples are the use ...

Sher Ali

(Encyclopedia)Sher Ali shēr älēˈ, shâr [key], 1825–79, emir of Afghanistan (1863–79), son of Dost Muhammad. His succession was opposed by other members of his family, notably his brothers. Sher Ali turned ...

Pratt, Richard Henry

(Encyclopedia)Pratt, Richard Henry, 1840–1924, American soldier and educator, b. Rushford, N.Y. He served in the Union army during the Civil War and then in the Indian wars in the West, where he became interested...

Saalfeld

(Encyclopedia)Saalfeld zälˈfĕlt [key], city (1994 pop. 31,981), Thuringia, E central Germany, on the Thüringer Saale River. Manufactures include machinery, chocolate, and dyes. Iron is mined and slate is quarri...

Sabines

(Encyclopedia)Sabines sāˈbīnz [key], ancient people of central Italy, centered principally in the Sabine Hills, NE of Rome. Not much dependable information on them can be gathered. They were probably Oscan-speak...

Roxana

(Encyclopedia)Roxana –sănˈē [key], d. 311 b.c., wife of Alexander the Great. She was the daughter of Oxyartes, a Bactrian baron, and Alexander married her (327) to consolidate his power in Persia. She and Alex...

Cambrai

(Encyclopedia)Cambrai käNbrāˈ [key], city, Nord dept., N France, a port on the Escaut (Scheldt) River. I...

Campbell, Roy

(Encyclopedia)Campbell, Roy, 1901–57, South African poet and satirist. After some time in England and France Campbell returned to South Africa to edit Voorslag [Whiplash], a satirical magazine, publishing works s...

Browse by Subject