Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Mar, John Erskine, 1st (or 6th) earl of

(Encyclopedia)Mar, John Erskine, 1st (or 6th) earl of, d. 1572, regent of Scotland. As Lord Erskine he was keeper of Edinburgh and Stirling castles, a source of much political strength. In the struggle between the ...

Randolph, Thomas, English diplomat

(Encyclopedia)Randolph, Thomas, 1523–90, English diplomat. He was graduated from Oxford (1545) and served as principal of Broadgates Hall (later Pembroke College), Oxford, until forced because of his Protestant s...

taboo

(Encyclopedia)taboo or tabu both: tăbo͞oˈ, tə– [key], prohibition of an act or the use of an object or word under pain of punishment. Originally a Polynesian word, taboo can apply to the sacred or consecrated...

Tsien, Roger Yonchien

(Encyclopedia)Tsien, Roger Yonchien, 1952–2016, American biochemist, b. New York City, Ph.D. Cambridge, 1977. Tsien was a researcher at Cambridge (1977–81) and a professor at the Univ. of California, Berkeley (...

Esztergom

(Encyclopedia)Esztergom ĕˈstĕrgôm [key], Ger. Gran, city (1991 est. pop. 29,751), N Hungary, on the Danube River and the border of Slovakia. It is a county administrative center, a river port, and a railroad te...

Fossett, Steve

(Encyclopedia)Fossett, Steve (James Stephen Fossett), 1944–2007, American investment banker and adventurer, b. California. After becoming a multimillionaire as a stockbroker and investment consultant, he began a ...

Antirent War

(Encyclopedia)Antirent War, in U.S. history, tenant uprising in New York state. When Stephen Van Rensselaer, owner of Rensselaerswyck, died in 1839, his heirs attempted to collect unpaid rents. Tenants on the estat...

gazetteer

(Encyclopedia)gazetteer găzˌĭtērˈ [key], dictionary or encyclopedia listing alphabetically the names of places, political divisions, and physical features of the earth and giving some information about each. T...

Lincoln, city and district, England

(Encyclopedia)Lincoln, city and district (1991 pop. 79,980), county seat of Lincolnshire, E England, in the Parts of Kesteven, on the Witham River. Located at the junction of the Roman Fosse Way and Ermine Street, ...

Leo III, Saint, pope

(Encyclopedia)Leo III, Saint, pope (795–816), a Roman; successor of Adrian I. He was attacked about the face and eyes by members of Adrian's family, who hoped to render him unfit for the papacy. Leo recovered and...

Browse by Subject