Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

294 results found

Bacon, Sir Nicholas

(Encyclopedia)Bacon, Sir Nicholas, 1509–79, English jurist. Called to the bar in 1533, he was made attorney of the court of wards and liveries in 1546 and, although a staunch Protestant, held this office through ...

Copernican system

(Encyclopedia)Copernican system, first modern European theory of planetary motion that was heliocentric, i.e., that placed the sun motionless at the center of the solar system with all the planets, including the ea...

Horthy de Nagybanya, Nicholas

(Encyclopedia)Horthy de Nagybanya, Nicholas hôrˈtĭ də nŏˈdyəbäˌnyŏ [key], Hung. Nagybányai Horthy Miklós, 1868–1957, Hungarian admiral and regent. He commanded the Austro-Hungarian fleet in World War ...

Nicholas I, Saint, pope

(Encyclopedia)Nicholas I, Saint, c.825–867, pope (858–67), a Roman; successor of Benedict III. He was a vigorous and politically active pope who arbitrated both temporal and religious disputes. His decisions of...

Nicholas, Russian grand duke

(Encyclopedia)Nicholas (Nikolai Nikolayevich) nyĭkəlīˈ nyĭkəlīˈəvĭch [key], 1856–1929, Russian grand duke and army officer; first cousin of Czar Alexander III and grandson of Czar Nicholas I. He served ...

Winton, Sir Nicholas George

(Encyclopedia)Winton, Sir Nicholas George, 1909–2015, British stockbroker who saved the lives of several hundred Czech children on the eve of World War II, b. London as Nicholas George Wertheim (later Wortham); h...

Wiseman, Nicholas Patrick Stephen

(Encyclopedia)Wiseman, Nicholas Patrick Stephen, 1802–65, English prelate, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, b. Seville, Spain, of Irish-English parentage. In 1836 he founded (with Daniel O'Connell) the Dubl...

Biddle, Nicholas, American financier

(Encyclopedia)Biddle, Nicholas, 1786–1844, American financier, b. Philadelphia. After holding important posts in the American legations in France and England, he returned to the United States in 1807 and became o...

Flüe, Nicholas von der, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Flüe, Nicholas von der, Saint fən dĕr flüˈə [key], 1417–87, Swiss patriot and folk hero. He was leader of the cantonal forces fighting Austria and counselor for many years to the duke of Saxon...

Browse by Subject