Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Alexander Severus

(Encyclopedia)Alexander Severus (Marcus Aurelius Alexander Severus) sĭvērˈəs [key], d. 235, Roman emperor (222–35), b. Syria. His name was changed (221) from Alexius Bassianus when he was adopted as the succe...

Chandos, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Chandos, Sir John shănˈdŏs, chănˈ– [key], d. 1370, English soldier and administrator of English territories in France. A friend of Edward the Black Prince, he won distinction in the Hundred Yea...

De Forest, John William

(Encyclopedia)De Forest, John William də fôrˈəst, fŏrˈ– [key], 1826–1906, American author, b. Seymour, Conn. He served in the Civil War, chiefly as a captain. His vivid accounts of battle scenes in Louisi...

Pakenham, Sir Edward Michael

(Encyclopedia)Pakenham, Sir Edward Michael păkˈənəm [key], 1778–1815, British general. He entered the army in 1794 and served in the wars against Napoleon I, emperor of France. He distinguished himself in the...

Fürth

(Encyclopedia)Fürth fürt [key], city, Bavaria, S Germany, at the confluence of the Rednitz and Pegnitz ri...

Eglon

(Encyclopedia)Eglon ĕgˈlŏn [key], in the Bible. 1 King of Moab. He was murdered by Ehud, who became judge of Israel. 2 City, ancient Palestine, near Lachish. It was one of the cities allied against Joshua, who d...

Gujrat

(Encyclopedia)Gujrat go͝ojərätˈ [key], city, NE Pakistan. It is near the Chenab River and on a major road ...

Kellogg Foundation

(Encyclopedia)Kellogg Foundation, philanthropic institution established (1930) at Battle Creek, Mich., by food manufacturer W. K. Kellogg (see under Kellogg, John Harvey). Kellogg eventually gave the institution a ...

King, Billie Jean

(Encyclopedia)King, Billie Jean, 1943–, American tennis player, b. Long Beach, Calif., as Billie Jean Moffitt. King won 67 tournament titles and 20 Wimbledon titles, including singles in 1966–68, 1972–73, and...

Stavelot

(Encyclopedia)Stavelot stävlōˈ [key], Du. Stablo, small town, Liège prov., E Belgium, in the Ardennes. It developed around a Benedictine abbey founded c.650. The abbots were later princes of the Holy Roman Empi...