Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) impressment, forcible enrollment of recruits for military duty. Before the establishment of conscription, many countries supplemented their militia and mercenary troops by impressment. In England, imp...

(Encyclopedia) Brühl, Heinrich, Graf von hīnˈrĭkh gräfˈ fən brül [key], 1700–1763, Saxon statesman. He was adviser to Augustus II, king of Poland and elector of Saxony, and gained control of both governmen...

(Encyclopedia) Reformation, religious revolution that took place in Western Europe in the 16th cent. It arose from objections to doctrines and practices in the medieval church (see Roman Catholic Church) and ultimat...

(Encyclopedia) Leopold II, 1747–92, Holy Roman emperor (1790–92), king of Bohemia and Hungary (1790–92), as Leopold I grand duke of Tuscany (1765–90), third son of Maria Theresa. Succeeding his father, Holy ...

(Encyclopedia) Hochkirch hōkhˈkĭrkh [key], village, Dresden dist., E central Germany. At Hochkirch in 1758 the Austrians under Daun defeated Frederick II of Prussia. In 1813, Napoleon I defeated a Prussian-Russia...

(Encyclopedia) Altamura älˌtämo͞oˈrä [key], city, Apulia, S Italy. It is a commercial and agricultural center. The imposing Romanesque cathedral, with twin campaniles, was begun by...

(Encyclopedia) Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel bäkh [key], 1714–88, German composer; second son of J. S. Bach, his only teacher. While harpsichordist at the court of Frederick the Great, where his chief duty for 28 y...

(Encyclopedia) Griffenfeld, Peder Schumacher, Count pāˈᵺər sho͞oˈmäkhər, grĭfˈənfĕlt [key], 1635–99, Danish politician. The son of a merchant, he became (1665) secretary to Frederick III. In 1665 Grif...

(Encyclopedia) Maximilian I, 1573–1651, elector (1623–51) and duke (1597–1651) of Bavaria, one of the outstanding figures of the Thirty Years War and an ardent supporter of the Counter Reformation. His occupat...

(Encyclopedia) Long, Stephen Harriman, 1784–1864, American explorer, b. Hopkinton, N.H. As an army engineer, Long was sent on several exploring and surveying expeditions. The first in 1817 was to the region of the...