Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

apse

(Encyclopedia)apse, the termination at the sanctuary end of a church, generally semicircular in plan but sometimes square or polygonal. The apse appeared early in Roman temples and basilicas; it was originally a se...

Eaton, William

(Encyclopedia)Eaton, William, 1764–1811, U.S. army officer, celebrated for his exploit in the Tripolitan War, b. Woodstock, Conn. Captain Eaton was sent to Tunis as consul in 1798 and learned much about the Barba...

Guadalupe Victoria

(Encyclopedia)Guadalupe Victoria gwäᵺälo͞oˈpā vēktōrˈyä [key], 1786?–1843, Mexican general, first president of Mexico (1824–29), whose original name was Manuel Félix Fernández. He joined (1811) the...

Smibert, John

(Encyclopedia)Smibert or Smybert, John both: smīˈbərt [key], 1688–1751, American portrait painter, b. Scotland, the first skillful painter in New England. After his apprenticeship to an Edinburgh house painter...

Badajoz

(Encyclopedia)Badajoz bäᵺähōthˈ [key], city, capital of Badajoz prov., SW Spain, in Extremadura, on the ...

Willard, Emma

(Encyclopedia)Willard, Emma, 1787–1870, American educator, pioneer in woman's education, b. Emma Hart in Berlin, Conn. She attended and later taught in the local academy and in 1807 took charge of the Female Acad...

Wright, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Wright, Henry, 1878–1936, American landscape architect and community planner, b. Lawrence, Kans., studied architecture at the Univ. of Pennsylvania. He was widely recognized as a leader in the movem...

campanile

(Encyclopedia)campanile kămpənēˈlē, Ital. kämpänēˈlā [key], Italian form of bell tower, constructed chiefly during the Middle Ages. Built in connection with a church or a town hall, it served as a belfry ...

Capitoline Hill

(Encyclopedia)Capitoline Hill kăpˈĭtəlīnˌ [key] or Capitol, highest of the seven hills of ancient Rome, historic and religious center of the city. The great temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, on its southern summ...

Blennerhassett, Harman

(Encyclopedia)Blennerhassett, Harman blĕnˈərhăsˌət [key], 1765–1831, Anglo-Irish pioneer in America, an associate of Aaron Burr. Wealthy and gifted, he fell in love with and married his beautiful niece, Mar...