Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Hérault de Séchelles, Marie Jean

(Encyclopedia)Hérault de Séchelles, Marie Jean märēˈ zhäN ārōˈ də sāshĕlˈ [key], 1759–94, French revolutionary. A lawyer, he became a favorite of Queen Marie Antoinette, but nevertheless joined the r...

Gauck, Joachim

(Encyclopedia)Gauck, Joachim, 1940–, German political and human-rights activist, president of Germany (2012–17), b. Rostock. An anticommunist from his youth, Gauck was ordained a Lutheran minister and was pasto...

Jones, Brian

(Encyclopedia)Jones, Brian, 1947–, British balloonist, b. Bristol. A former Royal Air Force pilot, he entered the world of ballooning in the 1980s, and in 1997 became an organizer for the attempt of the British-b...

Joseph of Arimathea, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Joseph of Arimathea, Saint ârˌĭməthēˈə [key], in the New Testament, wealthy man, probably a member of the Sanhedrin, who gave the body of Jesus a decent burial. The Christian Church has always ...

Kléber, Jean Baptiste

(Encyclopedia)Kléber, Jean Baptiste zhäN bätēstˈ klābĕrˈ [key], 1753–1800, French general, b. Strasbourg. A trained architect, he attended military school in Munich and served in the Austrian army from 17...

Borschberg, André

(Encyclopedia)Borschberg, André, 1952–, Swiss engineer, businessman, and pilot. With Bertrand Piccard (see under Piccard, Auguste) he founded Solar Impulse to develop a solar-powered plane capable of circumnavig...

San Ildefonso, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)San Ildefonso, Treaty of, any of several treaties signed at the royal residence of San Ildefonso, Spain. 1 The Treaty of San Ildefonso of 1796 was an alliance of France with Spain against Great Britai...

Quimby, Phineas Parkhurst

(Encyclopedia)Quimby, Phineas Parkhurst, 1802–66, American mental healer, b. Lebanon, N.H. He became interested in mesmerism and gave exhibitions of that art in New England and New Brunswick. He then turned to me...

Rakovsky, Christian Georgyevich

(Encyclopedia)Rakovsky, Christian Georgyevich khrĭstyänˈ gēyŏrˈgyĭvĭch rəkôfˈskē [key], 1873–1938, Soviet Communist diplomat. His early revolutionary activities extended from his native Bulgaria throu...

Pechora

(Encyclopedia)Pechora pyĭchôˈrə [key], river, c.1,120 mi (1,800 km) long, rising in the N Urals, N European Russia. It flows generally north through the forest and tundra regions of the Komi Republic and the Ne...