Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Fitzwilliam, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Fitzwilliam, Sir William, 1526–99, lord deputy of Ireland. He acquired (1547) land in Ireland by a grant of Edward VI. Although a Protestant, he was loyal to Queen Mary I, and she appointed him keep...

Armagnacs and Burgundians

(Encyclopedia)Armagnacs and Burgundians, opposing factions that fought to control France in the early 15th cent. The rivalry for power between Louis d'Orléans, brother of the recurrently insane King Charles VI, an...

M'Carthy, Justin

(Encyclopedia)M'Carthy, Justin, 1830–1912, Irish historian, politician, and novelist. After a long career in journalism, he entered the British Parliament in 1879, advocating home rule for Ireland. He was at firs...

Croker, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Croker, Richard, 1841–1922, American politician, head of Tammany Hall from 1886 to 1902, b. Co. Cork, Ireland. He became prominent as Democratic leader of New York City's East Side and as an aide of...

Berwick, James FitzJames, duke of

(Encyclopedia)Berwick, James FitzJames, duke of bĕrˈĭk [key], 1670–1734, marshal of France; illegitimate son of King James II of England and Arabella Churchill, sister of the duke of Marlborough. Born and educ...

Douglas, Archibald, 8th earl of Angus

(Encyclopedia)Douglas, Archibald, 8th earl of Angus, 1555–88, Scottish nobleman; grandnephew of Archibald Douglas, 6th earl of Angus. During the regency (1572–78) of his uncle, James Douglas, 4th earl of Morton...

Maximilian I, 1573–1651, elector and duke of Bavaria

(Encyclopedia)Maximilian I, 1573–1651, elector (1623–51) and duke (1597–1651) of Bavaria, one of the outstanding figures of the Thirty Years War and an ardent supporter of the Counter Reformation. His occupat...

Augustus II

(Encyclopedia)Augustus II, 1670–1733, king of Poland (1697–1733) and, as Frederick Augustus I, elector of Saxony (1694–1733). He commanded the imperial army against the Turks (1695–96), but had no success a...

Alfonso VI, Spanish king of León and Castile

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso VI, 1030–1109, Spanish king of León (1065–1109) and Castile (1072–1109). He inherited León from his father, Ferdinand I. Defeated by his brother Sancho II of Castile, he fled to the Mo...

Alfonso VII, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso VII (Alfonso the Emperor), 1104–57, Spanish king of Castile and León (1126–57), son and successor of Urraca. He recovered the places in Castile that his stepfather, Alfonso I of Aragón, ...