Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Heiden, Eric hīˈdən [key], 1958–, American speed skater, b. Madison, Wis. After competing in the 1976 Winter Olympics, he won three consecutive World Speedskating Championships (1977–79). In 19...

(Encyclopedia) Eric XIV, 1533–77, king of Sweden (1560–68), son and successor of Gustavus I. To strengthen the power of the crown, he limited (1561) the privileges of the royal dukes. He forbade the marriage of ...

(Encyclopedia) Eric IX (Eric the Saint), d. 1160, king of Sweden. He led (1157?) a Christian crusade to Finland, where he left the bishop of Uppsala in charge of missionary work. While attending mass he was killed b...

(Encyclopedia) Drummond, James Eric: see Perth, James Eric Drummond, 16th earl of. ...

(Encyclopedia) Eric the Red, fl. 10th cent., Norse chieftain, discoverer and colonizer of Greenland according to the sagas. He left (c.950) Norway with his exiled father and settled in Iceland. A feud resulting in m...

(Encyclopedia) Carle, Eric, 1929–2021, American children's book author and illustrator, b. Syracuse, N.Y. Although born in the U.S., Carle was raised in Stuttgart, G...

(Encyclopedia) Cottrell, Leonard Eric kŏˈtrəl, kətrĕlˈ [key], 1913–74, British author. He was a commentator, writer, and producer for the British Broadcasting Corporation until 1960, when he resigned to devo...

(Encyclopedia) Bentley, Eric (Eric Russell Bentley), 1916–2020, American critic, editor, and translator, b. Bolton, England, grad. Oxford, 1938, Ph.D. Yale, 1941. He became a U.S. citizen in 1948. A highly regarde...

(Encyclopedia) Partridge, Eric Honeybrook, 1894–1979, British lexicographer; b. New Zealand. He studied in Australia and at Oxford, taught briefly in England, and founded a small publishing company. For 50 years h...

(Encyclopedia) Kirk, Norman Eric, 1923–74, New Zealand political leader. A Labour party member, he rose in New Zealand politics, entering Parliament in 1957, and becoming vice president (1963) and then president (...