Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Bahadur Shah II

(Encyclopedia)Bahadur Shah II bähäˈdo͝or shä [key], 1775–1862, last Mughal emperor of India (1837–57). A political figurehead, he was completely controlled by the British East India Company, who found it c...

population I and II

(Encyclopedia)population I and II, in astronomy: see stellar populations. ...

Victor Amadeus II

(Encyclopedia)Victor Amadeus II ămədēˈəs [key], 1666–1732, duke of Savoy (1675–1713), king of Sicily (1713–20), king of Sardinia (1720–30). Succeeding his father, Charles Emmanuel II, as duke of Savoy,...

Victor Emmanuel II

(Encyclopedia)Victor Emmanuel II, 1820–78, king of Sardinia (1849–61) and first king of united Italy (1861–78). He fought in the war of 1848–49 against Austrian rule in Lombardy-Venetia and ascended the thr...

World War II

(Encyclopedia)World War II, 1939–45, worldwide conflict involving every major power in the world. The two sides were generally known as the Allies and the Axis. Although hostilities came to an end in Sept...

Rambouillet, Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de

(Encyclopedia)Rambouillet, Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de kätrēnˈ də vēvônˈ märkēzˈ də räNbo͞oyāˈ [key], 1588–1665, famous Frenchwoman, whose salon exercised a profound influence on French liter...

despotism

(Encyclopedia)despotism, government by an absolute ruler unchecked by effective constitutional limits to his power. In Greek usage, a despot was ruler of a household and master of its slaves. The title was applied ...

Ligne, Charles Joseph, prince de

(Encyclopedia)Ligne, Charles Joseph, prince de shärl zhôzĕfˈ prăNs də lēˈnyə [key], 1735–1814, Austrian field marshal. He belonged to an ancient princely family of Hainaut, in the Austrian Netherlands (n...

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...

Orlov, Aleksey Grigoryevich, Count

(Encyclopedia)Orlov, Aleksey Grigoryevich, Count əlyĭksyāˈ grĭgôrˈyəvĭch, ərlôfˈ [key], 1737–1808, Russian nobleman; brother of Grigori G. Orlov. He and his brother headed the conspiracy to put Cather...