Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Vestris, Gaetan

(Encyclopedia)Vestris, Gaetan gäātäNˈ vĕsˈtrēs [key], 1729–1808, Italian-French classical dancer, b. Florence. Vestris was one of the greatest dancers of the 18th cent. Born of an Italian theatrical family...

Rodin, Auguste

(Encyclopedia)Rodin, Auguste ōgüstˈ rōdăNˈ [key], 1840–1917, French sculptor, b. Paris. He began his art study at 14 in the Petite École and in the school of Antoine Barye, earning his living by working fo...

Île-de-France, region, France

(Encyclopedia)Île-de-France ēl-də-fräNs [key], region and former province, N central France, in the center of the Paris basin, a fertile depression where the Marne and Ouse rivers join the Seine. Containing par...

Brassaï

(Encyclopedia)Brassaï bräsīˈ [key], 1899–1984, French photographer, b. Brassó, Hungary (now Braşov, Romania), as Gyula Halász. Particularly known for his nightime photographs of Paris, he studied art in Hu...

Marcel, Étienne

(Encyclopedia)Marcel, Étienne ātyĕnˈ märsĕlˈ [key], d. 1358, French bourgeois leader, provost of the merchants of Paris. In the States-General of 1355 he and Robert Le Coq bargained for governmental reforms ...

Boieldieu, François Adrien

(Encyclopedia)Boieldieu, François Adrien fräNswäˈ ädrēăNˈ bwäldyöˈ [key], 1775–1834, French composer. He studied with the organist of the cathedral in Rouen and composed one successful opera, Le Calife...

plagues of Egypt

(Encyclopedia)plagues of Egypt, in the Bible, the plagues and other troubles brought on Egypt by God through the hands of Moses, because Pharaoh would not let the people of Israel go out of Egypt. The account, in t...

center of mass

(Encyclopedia)center of mass, the point at which all the mass of a body may be considered to be concentrated in analyzing its motion. The center of mass of a sphere of uniform density coincides with the center of t...

York, house of

(Encyclopedia)York, house of, royal house of England, deriving its name from the creation of Edmund of Langley, fifth son of Edward III, as duke of York in 1385. The claims to the throne of Edmund's grandson, Richa...

conflict of laws

(Encyclopedia)conflict of laws, that part of the law in each state, country, or other jurisdiction that determines whether, in dealing with a particular legal situation, its law or the law of some other jurisdictio...