Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Ehrenbreitstein

(Encyclopedia)Ehrenbreitstein āˌrənbrītˈshtīn [key], fortress at Koblenz, W Germany, on a cliff (387 ft/118 m high) over the Rhine River. Built c.1000, it was later enlarged and strengthened during wars in th...

Easter

(Encyclopedia)Easter [A.S. Eastre, name of a spring goddess], chief Christian feast, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus after his crucifixion. In the West, Easter is celebrated on the Sunday following the full...

Keith, George Keith Elphinstone, Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Keith, George Keith Elphinstone, Viscount 1746–1823, British admiral. After serving as a captain in the American Revolution and early French Revolutionary Wars, he was appointed (1795) vice admiral....

Simon, Antoine

(Encyclopedia)Simon, Antoine äNtwänˈ sēmôNˈ [key], 1736–94, French revolutionary, often called “the shoemaker,” a member of the Commune of Paris. He and his wife guarded the dauphin, Louis XVII, in pris...

Hébert, Jacques René

(Encyclopedia)Hébert, Jacques René zhäk rənāˈ ābĕrˈ [key], 1757–94, French journalist and revolutionary. An ardent supporter of the French Revolution, he gained the support of the working classes through...

Billaud-Varenne, Jean Nicolas

(Encyclopedia)Billaud-Varenne, Jean Nicolas zhäk nēkōläˈ bēyōˈ-värĕnˈ [key], 1756–1819, French revolutionary. A violent antimonarchist in the Convention, the revolutionary national assembly, he and Jea...

Lowe, Sir Hudson

(Encyclopedia)Lowe, Sir Hudson lō [key], 1769–1844, British general. He fought with credit throughout the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, mainly in the Mediterranean region, and served (1815–21) as g...

Marseillaise

(Encyclopedia)Marseillaise märˌsəlāzˈ [key] [Fr.,=of Marseille], the French national anthem, written and composed in 1792 for the army of the Rhine by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, a French officer in garriso...

Gérando, Joseph Marie de

(Encyclopedia)Gérando, Joseph Marie de zhôzĕfˈ märēˈ də zhāräNdōˈ [key], 1772–1842, French philosopher and political figure. Joining the insurrection in Lyons against the French Revolutionary governme...

Clausel, Bertrand

(Encyclopedia)Clausel or Clauzel, Bertrand bĕrträNˈ klōzĕlˈ [key], 1772–1842, marshal of France. Having served in the French Revolutionary Wars and in the Napoleonic campaigns, particularly in the Peninsula...