Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Amboise, Georges d' zhôrzh däNbwäzˈ [key], 1460–1510, French statesman, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He became archbishop of Rouen in 1493. In 1498, as an intimate friend of the new ki...

(Encyclopedia) Katz, Sir Bernard, 1911–2003, British biophysicist, b. Germany, M.D. Univ. of Leipzig, 1934; Ph.D. University College, London, 1938. Katz became a British subject in 1941. He was a professor at Univ...

(Encyclopedia) prefect or praefect both: prēˈfĕkt [key], in ancient Rome, various military and civil officers. Under the empire some prefects were very important. The Praetorian prefects (first appointed 2 b.c.) ...

(Encyclopedia) forum, market and meeting place in ancient Roman towns in Italy and later in the provinces, corresponding to the Greek agora. By extension the word forum often indicates the meeting itself in modern u...

(Encyclopedia) Liberius lībērˈēəs [key], d. 366, pope (352–66), a Roman; successor of St. Julius I. At the beginning of his pontificate, the status of Athanasius was still disputed, and Liberius requested Emp...

(Encyclopedia) cesarean section sĭzârˈēən [key], delivery of an infant by surgical removal from the uterus through an abdominal incision. The operation is of ancient origin: indeed, the name derives from the le...

(Encyclopedia) Belvedere bĕlˈvədēr, Ital. bālvādĕˈrā [key], court of the Vatican named after a villa built (1485–87) for Innocent VIII. The villa was decorated with frescoes by Pinturicchio and others; a ...

(Encyclopedia) Ptolemy XIII, 61?–47 b.c., king of ancient Egypt (51–47 b.c.), of the Macedonian dynasty; son of Ptolemy XII. On the death of his father he was under the guardianship of Pompey. He was completely ...

(Encyclopedia) Scaliger, Joseph Justus skălˈĭjər [key], 1540–1609, French classical scholar. He was the son of Julius Caesar Scaliger, from whom he acquired his early mastery of Latin. He adopted Protestantism...

(Encyclopedia) Pontus, ancient country, NE Asia Minor (now Turkey), on the Black Sea coast. On its inland side were Cappadocia and W Armenia. It was not significantly penetrated by Persian or Hellenic civilization. ...