Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, sea-level canal, 19 mi (31 km) long, 250 ft (76 m) wide, and 27 ft (8.2 m) deep, connecting the head of Chesapeake Bay with the Delaware River. Built in 1824–29, the c...

(Encyclopedia) Clarke, Charles Cowden, 1787–1877, English lecturer and author. He was a close friend of Keats, who was a pupil of Clarke's father. Clarke's lectures on Shakespeare were published as Shakespeare Cha...

(Encyclopedia) Francis, Sam, 1923–94, American painter, b. San Mateo, Calif. Educated in medicine, Francis began painting while recovering from an injury received in World War II. His mural-sized paintings are sta...

(Encyclopedia) Hardy, Alexandre älĕksäNˈdrə ärdēˈ [key], b. between 1569 and 1575, d. 1631 or 1632, French dramatist. His more than 600 plays are unexceptional, but he played a transitional role as innovator...

(Encyclopedia) Harold Bluetooth, d. c.985, king of Denmark. Succeeding (935) his father, Gorm the Old, who had united Denmark, Harold consolidated the kingdom. He tried to assert suzerainty over Norway but was defea...

(Encyclopedia) Wulfstan, d. 1023, English churchman, archbishop of York (1003–1023) and bishop of Worcester, whose Latin name was Lupus. He is buried at Ely. Homilies are attributed to him, but most of them are do...

(Encyclopedia) Pynson, Richard pĭnˈsən [key], d. 1530, English printer, b. Normandy. He moved to England c.1482 and in 1491 or 1492 began printing books pertaining to law in London. He became king's printer (to H...

(Encyclopedia) Tiridates tĭrˌĭdāˈtēz [key], d. 211 b.c., king of Parthia (c.248–211 b.c.), 2d ruler of the Arsacid dynasty (see under Arsaces). He absorbed Hyrcania and, with the ruler of Bactria, successful...

(Encyclopedia) Ermine Street, Saxon name for the Roman road in Britain that ran from London to Lincoln and York. It was one of the four main highways of Saxon England. The name is derived from the Earningas, a group...

(Encyclopedia) Escobedo, Juan de hwän dā āskōbāˈᵺō [key], d. 1578, Spanish politician, secretary to John of Austria in the Netherlands. He was murdered while on a mission in Madrid. Antonio Pérez was, perh...