Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Philip VI, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Philip VI, 1293–1350, king of France (1328–50), son of Charles of Valois and grandson of King Philip III. He succeeded his cousin Charles IV, invoking the Salic law to set aside both Charles's dau...

Elizabeth II, queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

(Encyclopedia)Elizabeth II, 1926–2022, former queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1952–2022), elder daughter and successor of George VI, and Britain's lo...

Charles I, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)Charles I, 1863–1908, king of Portugal (1889–1908), son and successor of Louis I. A cultured man, learned in language and oceanography, Charles had little opportunity to display his administrative...

Aldan, river, Russia

(Encyclopedia)Aldan, river, c.1,400 mi (2,250 km) long, rising in the Stanovoy Range, Sakha Republic, SE Siberian Russia. It flows north and east, past Tommot and around the Aldan Plateau, before flowing generally ...

Dvina, river, Russia

(Encyclopedia)Dvina dvēnäˈ [key] or Northern Dvina, Rus. Severnaya Dvina, river, c.465 mi (750 km) long, N European Russia. It is formed near Veliki Ustyug by the union of the Sukhona and Yug rivers, flows N pas...

Frederick William II

(Encyclopedia)Frederick William II, 1744–97, king of Prussia (1786–97), nephew and successor of Frederick II (Frederick the Great). He had the power but lacked the ability of his distinguished predecessors. He ...

Pius II

(Encyclopedia)Pius II pīˈəs [key], 1405–64, pope (1458–64), an Italian named Enea Silvio de' Piccolomini (often in Latin, Aeneas Silvius), renamed Pienza after him, b. Corsigniano; successor of Calixtus III....

Louis IX, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Louis IX or Saint Louis, 1214–70, king of France (1226–70), son and successor of Louis VIII. His mother, Blanche of Castile, was regent during his minority (1226–34), and her regency probably la...

Charles XIV, king of Sweden and Norway

(Encyclopedia)Charles XIV (Charles John; Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte) zhäN bäptēstˈ zhül bĕrnädôtˈ [key], 1763–1844, king of Sweden and Norway (1818–44), French Revolutionary general. Bernadotte ros...

Lothair, French king

(Encyclopedia)Lothair, 941–86, French king (954–86), son and successor of King Louis IV. During the early part of his reign he was dominated by Hugh the Great. Even after Hugh's death he was involved in conflic...