Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Abravanel, Isaac

(Encyclopedia)Abravanel or Abarbanel, Isaac əbräˈvənĕl, –bärbə– [key], 1437–1508, Jewish theologian, biblical commentator, and financier, b. Lisbon. He served as treasurer to Alfonso V of Portugal but ...

Avitus

(Encyclopedia)Avitus əvīˈtəs [key], d. 456?, Roman emperor of the West (455–56). He was proclaimed emperor in Gaul with the support of the Visigoths but was deposed by Ricimer. He was elected bishop of Placen...

Cooke, Terence James

(Encyclopedia)Cooke, Terence James, 1921–83, American Roman Catholic clergyman, b. New York City. He was ordained in 1945 after earning a B.A. from St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y. In 1957, Cooke was named ...

Cotton, George Edward Lynch

(Encyclopedia)Cotton, George Edward Lynch, 1813–66, English clergyman and educator, grad. Trinity College, Cambridge, 1836. From 1837 until 1852 he was an assistant master at Rugby and is the “young master” i...

Växjö

(Encyclopedia)Växjö vĕkˈshöˌ [key], city (1990 pop. 46,740), capital of Kronoberg co., S Sweden. Manufactures include paper, textiles, furniture, matches, and machines. An old city, Växjö became the seat of...

Palladius, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Palladius, Saint pəlāˈdēəs [key], d. 431, first bishop of Ireland. Probably of Gallo-Roman origin, Palladius was sent (431) by Pope Celestine I to proselytize among the Irish. He built three chur...

Ingram, Arthur Foley Winnington

(Encyclopedia)Ingram, Arthur Foley Winnington ĭngˈgrəm [key], 1858–1946, English prelate, bishop of London (1901–39). He was a lifelong leader in social work in London's East End. His many books include What...

King, Henry

(Encyclopedia)King, Henry, 1592–1669, English poet. He became bishop of Chichester in 1642. Elegies constitute nearly half his work, his most notable being “The Exequy,” written on the death of his young wife...

Wulfstan

(Encyclopedia)Wulfstan, d. 1023, English churchman, archbishop of York (1003–1023) and bishop of Worcester, whose Latin name was Lupus. He is buried at Ely. Homilies are attributed to him, but most of them are do...

Averno

(Encyclopedia)Averno əvûrˈnəs [key] [Gr.,=without bird], small crater lake, .6 mi (.9 km) wide, Campania, S Italy, between Cuma and Puteoli, near the Tyrrhenian Sea. Its intense sulfuric vapors, caused by volca...

Browse by Subject