Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Joseph, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Joseph, one of the heroes of the patriarchal narratives of the Book of Genesis. He is presented as the favored son of Jacob and Rachel, sold as a boy into slavery by his brothers, who were jealous of ...

Story, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Story, Joseph, 1779–1845, American jurist, associate justice of the Supreme Court (1811–45), b. Marblehead, Mass. Admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1801, he practiced law in Salem and was sever...

Cartan, Élie Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Cartan, Élie Joseph äNrēˈ [key], 1904–2008, was also a mathematician, and was one of the founding members of the Bourbaki group (see Bourbaki, Nicolas), which sought to establish a rigorous foun...

Gentz, Friedrich von

(Encyclopedia)Gentz, Friedrich von frēˈdrĭkh fən gĕnts [key], 1764–1832, German conservative political theorist. Admirer of the English political system of checks and balances, Gentz was critical of the Fren...

Frundsberg, Georg von

(Encyclopedia)Frundsberg, Georg von gāˈôrkh fən fro͝ontsˈbĕrkh [key], 1473–1528, German commander in the service of Holy Roman emperors Maximilian I and Charles V. He was the principal organizer and comman...

Holstein, Friedrich von

(Encyclopedia)Holstein, Friedrich von frēˈdrĭkh fən hôlˈshtīn [key], 1837–1909, German diplomat. After the Congress of Berlin (1878) he became a powerful figure in shaping German foreign policy. His offici...

Hutten, Ulrich von

(Encyclopedia)Hutten, Ulrich von o͝olˈrĭkh fən ho͝otˈən [key], 1488–1523, German humanist and poet, partisan of the Reformation, an outstanding figure in German political history. Hutten's career as poet w...

Fétis, François Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Fétis, François Joseph fräNswäˈ zhôzĕfˈ fātēsˈ [key], 1784–1871, Belgian music theorist, historian, and composer. A teacher and librarian at the Paris Conservatory, he became (1833) direc...

Lettow-Vorbeck, Paul von

(Encyclopedia)Lettow-Vorbeck, Paul von poul fən lĕtˈō-fôrˈbĕk [key], 1870–1964, German general. In World War I he conducted a brilliant defense of German East Africa against vastly superior Allied power. ...

Heller, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Heller, Joseph, 1923–99, American writer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Heller is best known for his first novel, Catch-22 (1961). Set in World War II, it is a darkly humorous commentary on the illogic of war a...

Browse by Subject