Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Peter II, 1648–1706, king of Portugal (1683–1706), younger son of John IV; brother and successor of Alfonso VI. In 1667, he seized power from his incompetent brother and ruled the country as princ...

(Encyclopedia) régence style rāzhäNsˈ [key], transitional style in architecture and decoration originated in France during the regency (1715–23) of Philippe, duc d'Orléans. The most important practitioners of...

(Encyclopedia) Kautsky, Karl Johann kärl yōˈhän koutˈskē [key], 1854–1938, German-Austrian socialist, b. Prague. A leading figure in the effort to spread Marxist doctrine in Germany, he was the principal dev...

(Encyclopedia) atonement, the reconciliation, or “at-one-ment,” of sinful humanity with God. In Judaism both the Bible and rabbinical thought reflect the belief that God's chosen people must be pure to remain in...

(Encyclopedia) Isabey, Jean Baptiste zhäN bätēstˈ ēzäbāˈ [key], 1767–1855, French portrait painter and miniaturist. He was a pupil of J. L. David and was greatly influenced by Fragonard. His portraits are ...

(Encyclopedia) Stendal shtĕnˈdäl [key], city (1994 pop. 47,252), Saxony-Anhalt, N central Germany, on the Uchte River. It is a major rail junction and has sugar refineries, metalworks, food canneries, and chemica...

(Encyclopedia) Talma, François Joseph fräNswäˈ zhôzĕfˈ tälmäˈ [key], 1763–1826, French actor. The greatest tragedian of his time, he broke with tradition and foreshadowed the romanticists. He continued L...

(Encyclopedia) Polignac, Yolande Martine Gabrielle de Polastron, duchesse de pôlēnyäkˈ [key], c.1749–1793, favorite of Queen Marie Antoinette of France. Her husband, Jules, comte de Polignac, was created duke...

(Encyclopedia) Régnier, Henri de äNrēˈ də rānyāˈ [key], 1864–1936, French poet, one of the young symbolists of the circle of Mallarmé. His early Poèmes anciens et romanesques (1891) showed skill in free ...

(Encyclopedia) Bassompierre, François, baron de fräNswäˈ bärôNˈ də bäsôNpyĕrˈ [key], 1579–1646, marshal of France. Under King Henry IV he distinguished himself in the army and as a courtier, and after ...