Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Sturt, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Sturt, Charles stûrt [key], 1795–1869, English explorer and administrator in Australia, b. India. In 1827 he arrived in Sydney with a detachment of the British army. While in command of an expediti...

Cambrai, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Cambrai, Treaty of, called the Ladies' Peace, treaty negotiated and signed in 1529 by Louise of Savoy, representing her son Francis I of France, and Margaret of Austria, representing her nephew Holy R...

William II, king of the Netherlands

(Encyclopedia)William II, 1792–1849, king of the Netherlands and grand duke of Luxembourg (1840–49), son and successor of William I. He served with Wellington in the Peninsular War, was wounded at Waterloo, and...

Ré, island, France

(Encyclopedia)Ré rā [key], island (1991 pop. 13,973), 33 sq mi (85 sq km), Charente-Maritime dept., off La Rochelle, W France, in the Bay of Biscay. The island is largely agricultural; it has oyster beds, some fi...

Wolsey, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Wolsey, Thomas wo͝olˈzē [key], 1473?–1530, English statesman and prelate, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. From 1514 to 1529 Wolsey virtually controlled domestic and foreign policy for th...

Westphalia, Peace of

(Encyclopedia)Westphalia, Peace of, 1648, general settlement ending the Thirty Years War. It marked the end of the Holy Roman Empire as an effective institution and inaugurated the modern European state system. The...

Moselle, department, France

(Encyclopedia)Moselle mōzĕlˈ [key], department (1990 pop. 1,011,400), NE France, bordering on Luxembourg and Germany. Metz is the capital. ...

Somme, department, France

(Encyclopedia)Somme sôm [key], department (1990 pop. 548,300), N France, in Picardy, on the English Channel. Amiens is the capital. ...

Albert II, king of the Belgians

(Encyclopedia)Albert II, 1934–, king of the Belgians (1993–2013), the younger son of Leopold III. He married Donna Paola Ruffo de Calabria in 1959; they have three children. Albert became king when Baudouin, hi...

Saint-Saëns, Charles Camille

(Encyclopedia)Saint-Saëns, Charles Camille shärl kämēˈyəˈ săN-säNs [key], 1835–1921, French composer. A child prodigy, he made his debut as a pianist at 10 and entered the Paris Conservatory in 1848. He ...