Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Worms, Diet of, 1521, most famous of the imperial diets held at Worms, Germany. It was opened in Jan., 1521, by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. After disposing of other business, notably the question of...

(Encyclopedia) Vesalius, Andreas vĭsāˈlēəs [key], 1514–64, Flemish anatomist. He made many discoveries in anatomy and became noted as professor of anatomy at the Univ. of Padua. There he produced his chief wo...

(Encyclopedia) Berlin Wall, 1961–89, a barrier first erected in Aug., 1961, by the East German government along the border between East and West Berlin, and later along the entire border between East Germany and W...

(Encyclopedia) Roehm or Röhm, Ernst both: ĕrnst röm [key], 1887–1934, German National Socialist leader. An army officer in World War I, he met (1919) Adolf Hitler, whose political career he helped to launch. Ro...

(Encyclopedia) Rutte, Mark rŭtˈtə [key], 1967–, Dutch politician, prime minister of the Netherlands (2010–), b. The Hague. He studied at Leiden Univ. (M.A., 1992), where he joined the youth organization of th...

(Encyclopedia) Ruysbroeck, John, Dutch Jan van Ruusbroec yän vän roisˈbro͞ok [key], 1293–1381, Roman Catholic mystic, b. Brabant (now in Belgium and the Netherlands). He was an Augustinian canon. In middle age...

(Encyclopedia) Santa Barbara sănˌtə bärˈbrə, –bərə [key], city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. A beautiful residential and resort city with many re...

(Encyclopedia) Schofield, John McAllister skōˈfēld [key], 1831–1906, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Gerry, N.Y. He taught at West Point (1855–60) and on the outbreak of the Civil War became chief...

(Encyclopedia) Seton, Saint Elizabeth Ann, 1774–1821, American Roman Catholic leader, usually called Mother Seton, b. Elizabeth Ann Bayley, New York City. She was the daughter of a prominent physician. Her husband...

(Encyclopedia) Thaçi, Hashim häshēmˈ thäˈchē [key], 1968–, Kosovar political leader. An ethnic Albanian, he studied history and politics at Priština Univ., becoming active in Kosovo's independence movement...