Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Valla, Lorenzo lōrānˈtsō välˈlä [key], c.1407–57, Italian humanist. Valla knew Greek and Latin well and was chosen by Pope Nicholas V to translate Herodotus and Thucydides into Latin. From hi...

(Encyclopedia) emanation ĕmənāˈshən [key] [Lat.,=flowing from], cosmological concept that explains the creation of the world by a series of radiations, or emanations, originating in the godhead. It is character...

(Encyclopedia) Obed ōˈbĕd [key], in the Bible. 1 David's grandfather. 2 Father of Azariah (18.) 3 Gatekeeper at the Temple. ...

(Encyclopedia) Laban lāˈbăn [key], in the Bible, father of Leah and Rachel and uncle of Jacob. The Nuzi tablets contain the stories of Laban and Jacob. ...

(Encyclopedia) Pachmann, Vladimir de vlədyēˈmĭr də päkhˈmän [key], 1848–1933, Russian pianist, studied with his father, a violinist, and at the Vienna Conservatory. He devoted himself almost exclusively to...

(Encyclopedia) Birch, Thomas, 1779–1851, American artist, b. London. Birch settled in Philadelphia in 1793. Famous for his paintings of landscapes and historical scenes, he is also noted for a series of engravings...

(Encyclopedia) Calchas kălˈkăs [key], in Greek legend, seer whose prophecies aided the Greeks in the Trojan War. In medieval romances, he is the father of Cressida. ...

(Encyclopedia) Imri ĭmˈrī [key], in the Bible. 1 Judahite. Probably the same as Amariah (8.) 2 Father of a builder of the walls. ...

(Encyclopedia) Feodor II, 1589–1605, czar of Russia (1605). He succeeded his father, Boris Godunov, but was assassinated when the first false Dmitri was proclaimed czar. ...

(Encyclopedia) Henri, 1955–, grand duke of Luxembourg (2000–), the oldest son of Jean, grand duke of Luxembourg, and Joséphine Charlotte, princess of Belgium. In 1981 Henri married María Teresa Mestre y Batist...