Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Rocard, Michel Louis Léon, 1930–2016, French political leader. After studying at the École Nationale d'Administration and the Institut d'Études Politiques, he joined the civil service. He led the...

(Encyclopedia) Henry III, 1379–1406, Spanish king of Castile and León (1390–1406), son and successor of John I. His marriage (1388) to Catherine, daughter of John of Gaunt, ended a long dynastic conflict. Henry...

(Encyclopedia) Rykov, Aleksey Ivanovich əlyĭksyāˈ ēväˈnəvĭch rēˈkôf [key], 1881–1938, Russian revolutionary and Communist leader. A Bolshevik, he became commissar for the interior after the October Rev...

(Encyclopedia) Ferdinand IV, 1285–1312, Spanish king of Castile and León (1295–1312), son and successor of Sancho IV. His mother, María de Molina, was regent during his turbulent minority. He tried unsuccessfu...

(Encyclopedia) John II, 1405–54, Spanish king of Castile and León (1406–54), son and successor of Henry III. He was little interested in government, which he entrusted to his favorite Alvaro de Luna. Literature...

(Encyclopedia) John I, 1358–90, Spanish king of Castile and León (1379–90), son and successor of Henry II. He tried unsuccessfully to unite the Portuguese and Castilian crowns but was twice defeated by the Port...

(Encyclopedia) Silone, Ignazio ēnyäˈtsyō sēlōˈnā [key], 1900–1978, Italian novelist and journalist, whose original name was Secondo Tranquilli. A Socialist and for a time a Communist, he broke with Stalin ...

(Encyclopedia) Alfonso XI, 1311–50, Spanish king of Castile and León (1312–50), son and successor of Ferdinand IV. His vigorous campaign against Granada provoked an invasion by the Moors from Morocco; they took...

(Encyclopedia) Krylenko or Krilenko, Nikolai Vasilyevich both: nyĭkəlīˈ vəsēˈlyəvĭch krĭlyĕnˈkō [key], 1885–1938, Russian revolutionary and Soviet jurist. In Nov., 1917, Trotsky promoted him from ensi...

(Encyclopedia) Henry IV, 1425–74, Spanish king of Castile and León (1454–74), son and successor of John II. His weakness opened the way to civil strife and anarchy. The Castilian nobles refused to recognize Hen...