Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

243 results found

Sheldon, Edward Austin

(Encyclopedia)Sheldon, Edward Austin, 1823–97, American educator, b. Wyoming co., N.Y., studied at Hamilton College. After illness forced him to cut short his own education, he held a variety of positions in the ...

Christian VII

(Encyclopedia)Christian VII, 1749–1808, king of Denmark and Norway (1766–1808), son and successor of Frederick V. Shortly after his accession his mental illness made him dependent on his physician, Struensee, w...

Mengs, Anton Raphael

(Encyclopedia)Mengs, Anton Raphael änˈtôn räˈfäĕl mĕngs [key], 1728–79, German historical and portrait painter, b. Bohemia. He was the pupil of his father, Ismael Mengs (c.1688–1764), a Dresden miniatur...

Pforzheim

(Encyclopedia)Pforzheim pfôrtsˈhīm [key], city (1994 pop. 117,450), Baden-Württemberg, SW Germany, on the Enz River, at the northern end of the Black Forest. It is the center of the German jewelry and watchmaki...

Froebel, Friedrich Wilhelm August

(Encyclopedia)Froebel, Friedrich Wilhelm August frāˈbəl, frōˈ–, Ger. frēˈdrĭkh vĭlˈhĕlm ouˈgo͝ost fröˈbəl [key], 1782–1852, German educator and founder of the kindergarten system. He had an unha...

Friedrich Schiller University of Jena

(Encyclopedia)Friedrich Schiller University of Jena frēˈdrĭkh shĭlˈər, yāˈnə [key], at Jena, Germany; founded 1548 as an academy; became the Univ. of Jena 10 years later. The school gained an international...

Fuseli, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Fuseli, Henry fyo͞oˈzĭlē [key], 1741–1825, Anglo-Swiss painter and draftsman, b. Zürich. He was known also as Johann Heinrich Fuessli or Füssli. He took holy orders but never practiced the pri...

John of Leiden

(Encyclopedia)John of Leiden, c.1509–1536, Dutch Anabaptist leader. His original name was Beuckelszoon, Beuckelzoon, Bockelszoon, Bockelson, Beukels, or Buckholdt. John of Leiden was attracted to the extreme left...

metronome

(Encyclopedia)metronome mĕˈtrənōmˌ [key], in music, originally pyramid-shaped clockwork mechanism to indicate the exact tempo in which a work is to be performed. It has a double pendulum whose pace can be alte...

Weiser, Conrad

(Encyclopedia)Weiser, Conrad wīzˈər [key], 1696–1760, American pioneer, b. Württemberg, Germany. Arriving in America in 1710, his family settled in Livingston Manor, N.Y., and later at Schoharie. While still ...