Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Shapur II or Sapor II, 310–79, king of Persia (310–79), of the Sassanid, or Sassanian, dynasty. He was the posthumous son of Hormuz II and therefore was born king. His long reign was marked by gre...

(Encyclopedia) Charles, James, 1906–78, American fashion designer known primarily for his high-style couture creations, b. Sandhurst, England. Although he had no formal training in dressmaking, he is generally con...

(Encyclopedia) Wenceslaus III, c.1289–1306, king of Bohemia (1305–6) and of Hungary (1301–5), son and successor of Wenceslaus II. On the death of Andrew III of Hungary, last of the Arpad dynasty, he was electe...

(Encyclopedia) Lothair, sometimes called Lothair II, d. 869, king of Lotharingia (855–69), second son of Emperor of the West Lothair I. He inherited the region bounded by the Rhine, Scheldt, Alps, and North Sea, w...

(Encyclopedia) King's Lynn, town (1991 pop. 37,323), Norfolk, E England, on the Great Ouse River near its influx into The Wash, an inlet of the North Sea. Its large harbor serves foreign as well as coastal trade and...

(Encyclopedia) Cleveland, Barbara Villiers, duchess of vĭlˈərz, vĭlˈyərz [key], 1641–1709, mistress of King Charles II of England. She became Charles's mistress at Breda in 1660 and returned with him to Engl...

(Encyclopedia) Leven, Alexander Leslie, 1st earl of lĕvˈən [key], 1580?–1661, Scottish general. He served in the Swedish army some 30 years, being knighted by Gustavus II and fighting in the Thirty Years War. R...

(Encyclopedia) Donnybrook, parish and suburb of Dublin, Co. Dublin, E central Republic of Ireland. It was famous for its annual fair, licensed by King John of England in 1204 and suppressed in 1855 because of its di...

(Encyclopedia) Paschal II păsˈkəl [key] [Lat.,=of Easter], d. 1118, pope (1099–1118), an Italian (b. near Ravenna) named Ranieri; successor of Urban II. He was a monk and, as a reformer, was made a cardinal by ...

(Encyclopedia) Charles X, 1622–60, king of Sweden (1654–60), nephew of Gustavus II. The son of John Casimir, count palatine of Zweibrücken, he brought the house of Wittelsbach to the Swedish throne when his cou...