Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Ambiorix ămbīˈərĭks [key], fl. 54 b.c., Gallic chieftain of the Eburones (in what is now central Belgium). He had been favorably treated by the Romans, but he joined another tribe in attacking Ju...

(Encyclopedia) Henri, 1955–, grand duke of Luxembourg (2000–), the oldest son of Jean, grand duke of Luxembourg, and Joséphine Charlotte, princess of Belgium. In 1981 Henri married María Teresa Mestre y Batist...

(Encyclopedia) Vignola, Giacomo da jäˈkōmō dä vēnyōˈlä [key], 1507–73, one of the foremost late Renaissance architects in Italy. His real name was Giacomo Barozzi or Barocchio. Appointed (1550) papal arch...

(Encyclopedia) Nervii nûrˈvēī [key], ancient people of Belgica, Gaul. They revolted against the Romans and were crushed by Julius Caesar (57 b.c.). Their capital was Bagacum, the present-day Bavay, France. ...

(Encyclopedia) North, Sir Thomas, 1535?–1601?, English translator. He is famous for his translation of Plutarch, entitled Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans (1579), which he made from the French of Jacques Amy...

(Encyclopedia) Innocent VIII, 1432–92, pope (1484–92), a Genoese named Giovanni Battista Cibo; successor of Sixtus IV. He was made a cardinal in 1473. His close friend, Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere (later Pope...

(Encyclopedia) symphony [Gr.,=sounding together], a sonata for orchestra. The Italian operatic overture, called sinfonia, was standardized by Alessandro Scarlatti at the end of the 17th cent. into three sections, th...

(Encyclopedia) Casca (Publius Servilius Casca Longus) kăsˈkə [key], d. c.42 b.c., Roman politician, one of the assassins of Julius Caesar. Casca was the first to stab Caesar. He died (presumably by suicide) soon ...

(Encyclopedia) Kent, county (1991 pop. 1,485,600), 1,525 sq mi (3,950 sq km), SE England. It lies between the Thames estuary and the Strait of Dover. The county town is Maidstone, and the county is divided into 12 a...

(Encyclopedia) Pfeffer, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm pfĕˈfər [key], 1845–1920, German plant physiologist. He was professor of botany successively at the universities of Bonn, Basel, Tübingen, and Leipzig (from 1887). W...