Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

455 results found

Argenson, René Louis de Voyer de Paulmy, marquis d'

(Encyclopedia)Argenson, René Louis de Voyer de Paulmy, marquis d' rənāˈ lwē də vwäyāˈ də pōmē märkēˈ därzhäNsôNˈ [key], 1694–1757, French foreign minister (1744–47), brother of Marc Pierre d'...

Baraga, Frederic

(Encyclopedia)Baraga, Frederic bârˈəgə [key], 1797–1868, Roman Catholic missionary to the Native Americans of Upper Michigan, b. Slovenia. He received (1821) a law degree from the Univ. of Vienna, and after s...

Robertson, Thomas William

(Encyclopedia)Robertson, Thomas William, 1829–71, English dramatist and actor; brother of Madge Kendal. After spending several years as an actor, he turned to playwriting, initiating the “cup and saucer” scho...

Cram, Donald James

(Encyclopedia)Cram, Donald James, 1919–2001, American chemist, b. Chester, Vt., Ph.D. Harvard, 1947. A professor at the Univ. of California at Los Angeles, Cram expanded on the work of Charles J. Pedersen by synt...

Jacobsen, Jens Peter

(Encyclopedia)Jacobsen, Jens Peter yĕns pāˈtər yäˈkôpsən [key], 1847–85, Danish writer. His historical romance Marie Grubbe (1876, tr. 1917) deals with spiritual degeneration in 17th-century Denmark. Jaco...

Ferdinand I, king of the Two Sicilies

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand I, 1751–1825, king of the Two Sicilies (1816–25). He had previously been king of Naples (1759–99, 1799–1805, 1815–16) as Ferdinand IV and king of Sicily (1759–1816) as Ferdinand ...

Royal Ballet

(Encyclopedia)Royal Ballet, the principal British ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. It is noted for lavish dramatic productions, a superbly disciplined corps de ballet, and bril...

ballet

(Encyclopedia)CE5 The five classical positions in ballet ballet bălˈā, bălāˈ [key] [Ital. ballare=to dance], classic, formalized solo or ensemble dancing of a highly controlled, dramatic nature performed ...

Lubbers, Ruud

(Encyclopedia)Lubbers, Ruud (Rudolphus Franciscus Marie Lubbers), 1939–2018, Dutch political leader. After the death of his father (1965), he became codirector of the family's engineering firm. A member (from 196...

Maine de Biran

(Encyclopedia)Maine de Biran mĕn də bēräNˈ [key], 1766–1824, French philosopher, member of the Council of Five Hundred (1797), and councilor of state (1816). His real name was Marie François Pierre Gonthier...