Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Swiss literature. The literature of Switzerland is written in German, French, Italian, and Romansh, with German predominating. The extensive literature in Romansh dialect (see Rhaeto-Romanic) is littl...

(Encyclopedia) Muhlenberg, William Augustus myo͞oˈlənbûrg [key], 1796–1877, American Episcopal clergyman, hymn writer, and philanthropist, b. Philadelphia. He was a great-grandson of Heinrich Melchior Mühlenb...

(Encyclopedia) Holbach, Paul Henri Thiry, baron d' poulˈ hīnˈrĭkh dētrĭkh bärōnˈ fŭn hôlˈbäkh [key], 1723–89, French philosopher, one of the Encyclopedists. Although a native of the Palatinate, he liv...

(Encyclopedia) Froebel, Friedrich Wilhelm August frāˈbəl, frōˈ–, Ger. frēˈdrĭkh vĭlˈhĕlm ouˈgo͝ost fröˈbəl [key], 1782–1852, German educator and founder of the kindergarten system. He had an unha...

(Encyclopedia) Novalis frēˈdrĭkh fən härˈdənbĕrk [key], 1772–1801, German poet. He studied philosophy under Schiller, Schlegel, and Fichte and was especially influenced by Fichte. He later studied geology....

(Encyclopedia) Binnig, Gerd gĕrt bĭnˈĭkh [key], 1947–, German physicist, Ph.D. Univ. of Frankfurt, 1978. At the IBM Research Laboratory in Zürich, Binnig and fellow researcher Heinrich Rohrer built the first ...

(Encyclopedia) Giedion, Sigfried zēkhˈfrēd gēˈdēôn [key], 1883–1968, Swiss historian of architecture. Giedion was a student of Heinrich Wölfflin and close associate of Walter Gropius. He was a key figure o...

(Encyclopedia) Gottfried von Strassburg gôtˈfrēt fən shträsˈbo͝orkh [key], fl. 13th cent., German poet, also called Godfrey of Strasbourg. He is thought to have been official scribe of Strasbourg, but little ...

(Encyclopedia) Fuseli, Henry fyo͞oˈzĭlē [key], 1741–1825, Anglo-Swiss painter and draftsman, b. Zürich. He was known also as Johann Heinrich Fuessli or Füssli. He took holy orders but never practiced the pri...

(Encyclopedia) Müller, Hermann mülˈər [key], 1876–1931, German statesman. A Social Democrat, he succeeded in 1919 to the post of German foreign minister and signed the Treaty of Versailles. He was chancellor ...