Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Diamond Necklace, Affair of the

(Encyclopedia)Diamond Necklace, Affair of the, scandal that took place at the court of King Louis XVI of France just before the French Revolution. An adventuress who called herself the comtesse de La Motte duped Ca...

Elements (table)

(Encyclopedia)Elements 1 Parentheses indicate most stable isotope; brackets enclose lower and upper bounds of weight variation. ...

Charles III, emperor of the West, king of the East Franks, and king of the West Franks

(Encyclopedia)Charles III or Charles the Fat, 839–88, emperor of the West (881–87), king of the East Franks (882–87), and king of the West Franks (884–87); son of Louis the German, at whose death he inherit...

Alexander, king of Yugoslavia

(Encyclopedia)Alexander, 1888–1934, king of Yugoslavia (1921–34), son and successor of Peter I. Of the Karadjordjević family, he was educated in Russia and became crown prince of Serbia upon the renunciation (...

Q, letter of the alphabet

(Encyclopedia)Q, 17th letter of the alphabet, corresponding to the koppa of western Greek alphabets. U must follow the letter in English (e.g., queen, question), and the combination properly represents a sound much...

Anne of Brittany

(Encyclopedia)Anne of Brittany, 1477–1514, queen of France as consort of Charles VIII from 1491 to 1498 and consort of Louis XII from 1499 until her death. The daughter of Duke Francis II of Brittany, she was hei...

Carlos, prince of the Asturias

(Encyclopedia)Carlos, 1545–68, prince of the Asturias, son of Philip II of Spain and Maria of Portugal. Don Carlos, who seems to have been mentally unbalanced and subject to fits of homicidal mania, was imprisone...

Carloman, d. 754, mayor of the palace in the kingdom of Austrasia, brother of Pepin the Short

(Encyclopedia)Carloman, d. 754, mayor of the palace in the kingdom of Austrasia after the death (741) of his father, Charles Martel. Ruling with his brother, Pepin the Short, he carried on successful wars against t...

Paul of the Cross, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Paul of the Cross, Saint, 1694–1775, Italian, religious founder of the Passionists. His original name was Paolo Francesco Danei. He had visions calling him to found a new order and received papal pe...

Ferdinand, emperor of Austria

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand, 1793–1875, emperor of Austria (1835–48), son and successor of Emperor Francis I (who also, as Francis II, had been the last Holy Roman emperor). A well-meaning monarch in his lucid mome...