Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Galla Placidia

(Encyclopedia)Galla Placidia gălˈə pləsĭdˈēə [key], c.388–450, Roman empress of the West, daughter of Theodosius I. Captured by Alaric I in the course of his Italian campaign, she was held by the Visigoth...

Innocent VIII

(Encyclopedia)Innocent VIII, 1432–92, pope (1484–92), a Genoese named Giovanni Battista Cibo; successor of Sixtus IV. He was made a cardinal in 1473. His close friend, Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere (later Pope...

Hades

(Encyclopedia)Hades hāˈdēz [key], in Greek and Roman religion and mythology. 1 The ruler of the underworld: see Pluto. 2 The world of the dead, ruled by Pluto and Persephone, located either underground or in the...

Kilby, Jack St. Clair

(Encyclopedia)Kilby, Jack St. Clair, 1923–2005, American electrical engineer, b. Jefferson City, Mo., B.S. Univ. of Illinois, 1947, M.S. Univ. of Wisconsin, 1950. In 1958, Kilby began working for Texas Instrument...

Brunner, Emil

(Encyclopedia)Brunner, Emil āˈmēl bro͝onˈər [key], 1889–1966, Swiss Protestant theologian. A clear and systematic thinker from the school of dialectical theology, he was a professor of theology at the Univ....

Adrian IV, pope

(Encyclopedia)Adrian IV, d. 1159, pope (1154–59), an Englishman (the only English pope), b. Nicholas Breakspear at Langley, near St. Albans. He was successor of Anastasius IV. At an early age he went to France. T...

termite

(Encyclopedia)termite or white ant, common name for a soft-bodied social insect of the infraorder Isoptera. Originally classified in as a separate order, termites are genetically related to cockroaches and are now ...

fennel

(Encyclopedia)fennel, common name for several perennial herbs, genus Foeniculum vulgare of the family Umbelliferae (parsley family), related to dill. The strawlike foliage and the seeds are licorice-scented and are...

Miguel

(Encyclopedia)Miguel mēgĕlˈ [key], 1802–66, Portuguese prince; son of John IV of Portugal and younger brother of Pedro I of Brazil. He led an unsuccessful revolt against his father in 1824. On John's death (18...

Nagasaki

(Encyclopedia)Nagasaki nägˌäsäˈkē [key], city (1990 pop. 444,599), capital of Nagasaki prefecture, W Kyushu, Japan, on Nagasaki Bay. It is one of Japan's leading ports. Shipbuilding is the chief industry; mac...