Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Menshikov, Aleksandr Danilovich, Prince əlyĭksänˈdər dənyēˈləvĭch mĕnˈshĭkəf [key], 1672?–1729, Russian field marshal and statesman. Of lowly origin, he became an intimate companion of...

(Encyclopedia) Margaret Maultasch moulˈtäsh [key] [Ger.,=pocket mouth], 1318–69, countess of Tyrol, called the Ugly Duchess, probably because of her unattractive appearance, especially her mouth. When Margaret's...

(Encyclopedia) Shirley or Sherley, Sir Anthony, 1565–1636?, English adventurer. He fought in the Netherlands (1586) under the earl of Leicester and in France (1591) under the earl of Essex, who became his patron. ...

(Encyclopedia) Alfonso V (Alfonso the Magnanimous), 1396–1458, king of Aragón and Sicily (1416–58) and of Naples (1443–58), count of Barcelona. He was the son of Ferdinand I, whom he succeeded in Aragón and ...

(Encyclopedia) Calixtus II, Callixtus II, or Callistus II, d. 1124, pope (1119–24), named Guy of Burgundy, successor of Gelasius II. The son of count William I of Burgundy, he was archbishop of Vienne during the ...

(Encyclopedia) Campo Formio, Treaty of kämˈpō fôrˈmyō [key], Oct., 1797, peace treaty between France and Austria, signed near Campo Formio, a village near Udine, NE Italy, then in Venetia. It marked the end of...

(Encyclopedia) curling, winter sport, similar in principle to bowls and quoits (see horseshoe pitching), played on an ice court called a sheet by teams of four. Each player hurls a squat, circular stone—weighing 3...

(Encyclopedia) John of Brienne brēĕnˈ [key], c.1170–1237, French crusader. He was a count and in 1210 married Mary, titular queen of Jerusalem. Mary died in 1212, and their daughter, Yolande (1212–28), succee...

(Encyclopedia) Torstensson, Lennart lĕnˈnärt tōrˈstənsōn [key], 1603–51, Swedish general in the Thirty Years War. He was one of the generals trained by Gustavus II in the new techniques of war. As commander...

(Encyclopedia) Gibson, William, 1948–, Canadian science fiction writer, b. Conway, S.C., moved to Canada in the 1960s. He first published short stories in sci-fi magazines; many are collected in Burning Chrome (19...