Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Danby, Francis

(Encyclopedia)Danby, Francis, 1793–1861, British historical and landscape painter. He painted many romantic and imaginary scenes and excelled in depicting sunrise and sunset. A good example of his work is Conway ...

Moesia

(Encyclopedia)Moesia mēˈshə [key], ancient region of SE Europe, south of the lower Danube River. Inhabited by Thracians, it was captured by the Romans in 29 b.c. It was later organized as a Roman province, compr...

John VIII, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)John VIII (John Palaeologus), 1390–1448, Byzantine emperor (1425–48), son and successor of Manuel II. When he acceded, the Byzantine Empire had been reduced by the Turks to the city of Constantino...

Muhammad III, Ottoman sultan

(Encyclopedia)Muhammad III or Mehmet III, 1567–1603, Ottoman sultan (1595–1603), son and successor of Murad III to the throne of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). Muhammad, who was a provisional governor under his f...

Cheektowaga

(Encyclopedia)Cheektowaga chēkˌtŏwäˈgə [key], town (2020 pop. 73,740), Erie co., W. N.Y., E of Buffalo; settled ...

Baer, George Frederick

(Encyclopedia)Baer, George Frederick bâr [key], 1842–1914, American financier, b. Somerset co., Pa. Baer became legal adviser to J. Pierpont Morgan and held many posts as a key figure in the railroad-and-coal em...

Vulgar Latin

(Encyclopedia)Vulgar Latin, vernacular form of the Latin language spoken in ancient Rome and the Roman Empire, as distinguished from classical or literary Latin. Vulgar Latin, rather than classical Latin, is the tr...

Speed, John

(Encyclopedia)Speed, John, 1552?–1629, English historian and cartographer. He abandoned his trade as a tailor to engage in mapmaking. Many of his maps of parts of England and Wales were published in The Theatre o...

Celaenae

(Encyclopedia)Celaenae sĭlēˈnē [key], ancient city of Asia Minor, in Phrygia, near the source of the Maeander River, in present-day W central Turkey. In the days of the Persian Empire, Cyrus the Great had a pal...

Das, Chitta Ranjan

(Encyclopedia)Das, Chitta Ranjan chĭtˈtə rŭnˈjən däs [key], 1870–1925, Indian political leader. A lawyer who opposed British rule and defended many Indian nationalists, he idealized traditional Indian life...

Browse by Subject