Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

204 results found

Ostwald, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Ostwald, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm ôstˈvält [key], 1853–1932, German physical chemist and natural philosopher, b. Riga, Latvia. He was professor of chemistry and director of the chemical laboratory (18...

Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Wilhelm. For German rulers thus named, use William.

Lehmbruck, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Lehmbruck, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm lāmˈbro͝ok [key], 1881–1919, German sculptor. He studied at Düsseldorf and went to Paris in 1910. Influenced at first by Rodin, Brancusi, and Maillol, he later arr...

Leibl, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Leibl, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm līˈbəl [key], 1844–1900, German genre and portrait painter. He studied in Munich where numerous painters came under his influence; the “Leibl group” shared his pred...

Keitel, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Keitel, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm kīˈtəl [key], 1882–1946, German general. A supporter of Hitler, he became (1938) chief of staff of the supreme command of the armed forces, a new post that marked the ...

Liebknecht, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Liebknecht, Wilhelm lēpˈkənĕkht [key], 1826–1900, German socialist leader and journalist. His participation in the revolution in Germany in 1848–49 forced him into exile, and he lived in Engl...

Marx, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Marx, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm [key], 1863–1946, German statesman. A Reichstag member, he was a leading figure of the Catholic Center party and was elected its president in 1921. As chancellor (1923–24...

Müller, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Müller, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlmˌ mŭlˈər [key], 1794–1827, German lyric poet; father of Max Müller. His Lieder der Griechen (5 vol., 1821–24) was inspired by the Greek struggle for independence. ...

Heinse, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Heinse, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm hīnˈsə [key], 1746–1803, German novelist. His principal novels, Ardinghello; or, An Artist's Rambles in Sicily (1787, tr. 1839) and Hildegard von Hohenthal (1795–96)...

Hofmeister, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Hofmeister, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm hōfˈmīˌstər [key], 1824–77, German botanist. Although self-taught, he made such valuable studies of the reproduction and development of plants that he was appoin...