Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Waterhouse, Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Waterhouse, Alfred, 1830–1905, English architect. He won competitions for the Manchester assize court (1859) and the Manchester city hall (1868). This work placed him in the forefront of the Victori...

Wisdom of Solomon

(Encyclopedia)Wisdom of Solomon or Wisdom, early Jewish book included in the Septuagint and the Vulgate but not in the Hebrew Bible. The book opens with an exhortation to seek wisdom, followed by a statement on wor...

benefit of clergy

(Encyclopedia)benefit of clergy, term originally applied to the exemption of Christian clerics from criminal prosecution in the secular courts. The privilege was established by the 12th cent., and it extended only ...

Mary of Burgundy

(Encyclopedia)Mary of Burgundy, 1457–82, wife of Maximilian of Austria (later Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I), daughter and heiress of Charles the Bold of Burgundy. The marriage of Mary was a major event in Euro...

Maria Christina, 1858–1929, queen of Spain

(Encyclopedia)Maria Christina märēˈä krēstēˈnä [key], 1858–1929, queen of Spain, consort of Alfonso XII. An Austrian archduchess, she was married to Alfonso in 1879. After his death, she was regent (1886�...

Shrewsbury, Elizabeth Talbot, countess of

(Encyclopedia)Shrewsbury, Elizabeth Talbot, countess of shrōzˈbərē, shro͞ozˈ– [key], 1520–1608, English noblewoman, known as Bess of Hardwick. At the age of 15 she married Robert Barlow, who died shortly ...

Worcester, Thomas Percy, earl of

(Encyclopedia)Worcester, Thomas Percy, earl of wo͝osˈtər [key], c.1344–1403, English nobleman; brother of Henry Percy, 1st earl of Northumberland. He served with considerable success in the wars in France and ...

Elizabeth Charlotte of Bavaria

(Encyclopedia)Elizabeth Charlotte of Bavaria, 1652–1722, German princess, called the Princess Palatine and also known as Charlotte Elizabeth; wife of Philippe I d'Orléans, brother of King Louis XIV. She abjured ...

Theodore of Studium, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Theodore of Studium, Saint sto͞oˈdēəm [key], 759–826, Byzantine Greek monastic reformer, also called St. Theodore the Studite. As an abbot he was early exiled for opposing the marriage of Empero...

Liberty, Statue of

(Encyclopedia)Liberty, Statue of, statue on Liberty Island in Upper New York Bay, commanding the entrance to New York City. Liberty Island, c.10 acres (4 hectares), formerly Bedloe's Island (renamed in 1956), was t...