Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Makarova, Natalia

(Encyclopedia)Makarova, Natalia, 1940–, Russian ballet dancer, b. Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). She studied at the Choreographic School in her native city, graduating in 1959, and joined the Kirov Ballet. Durin...

Bourbon, Antoine de

(Encyclopedia)Bourbon, Antoine de bo͞orbôNˈ [key], 1518–62, duc de Vendôme, king of Navarre through his marriage to Jeanne d'Albret; father of Henry IV of France. He converted to Protestantism after his marr...

San Salvador, city, El Salvador

(Encyclopedia)San Salvador sän sälväᵺōrˈ [key], city (1993 pop. 402,448), central El Salvador, capital and largest city of the country. It is the center of El Salvador's trade and communications. Beer, tobac...

Alma-Tadema, Sir Lawrence

(Encyclopedia)Alma-Tadema, Sir Lawrence ălˈmə-tădˈĭmə [key], 1836–1912, English painter, b. Friesland. He studied in Belgium, where he lived until 1869. In that year he went to England; there he became a c...

Dells of the Wisconsin

(Encyclopedia)Dells of the Wisconsin, The Dells, or The Wisconsin Dells, scenic part of the Wisconsin River, central Wis., NW of Portage. The river has cut a deep gorge through 8 mi (12.9 km) of sandstone, which i...

Chukchi Sea

(Encyclopedia)Chukchi Sea chəkˈchē [key], part of the Arctic Ocean N of the Bering Strait, between Siberia and Alaska, Wrangell Island lies to the west and the Beaufort Sea lies to the east. The sea has an appro...

Frauds, Statute of

(Encyclopedia)Frauds, Statute of, basis of most modern laws requiring that certain promises must be in writing in order to be enforceable; it was passed by the English Parliament in 1677. In the United States, alth...

Gellius, Aulus

(Encyclopedia)Gellius, Aulus jĕlˈyəs [key], fl. 2d cent., Roman writer. He was a lawyer who spent at least a year in Athens and wrote Noctes Atticae [Attic nights], a collection of discussions of law, antiquitie...

Mürren

(Encyclopedia)Mürren mürˈən [key], village, Bern canton, S central Switzerland, in the Bernese Alps. It is a health and sports center with a splendid view of the Jungfrau and neighboring peaks. It is the highes...

Palladius, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Palladius, Saint pəlāˈdēəs [key], d. 431, first bishop of Ireland. Probably of Gallo-Roman origin, Palladius was sent (431) by Pope Celestine I to proselytize among the Irish. He built three chur...