Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Martin IV, d. 1285, pope (1281–85), a Frenchman named Simon de Brie; successor of Nicholas III. He was chancellor under Louis IX of France and was created cardinal by Urban IV. He was thus a support...

(Encyclopedia) Martin v. Hunter's Lessee, case decided in 1816 by the U.S. Supreme Court. From 1779 to 1785, Virginia passed a series of laws by which the state confiscated all lands owned by foreigners. David Hunte...

(Encyclopedia) Pinzón, Martín Alonso märtēnˈ älōnˈsō pēnthōnˈ [key] d.1493, Spanish navigator. The commander of the Pinta on Columbus's first voyage to the New World in 1492, he was already an experience...

(Encyclopedia) Navarrete, Martín Fernández de nävärāˈtā [key], 1765–1844, Spanish historian and hydrographer. Joining (1780) the Spanish navy, he entered (1796) the navy department and later established it...

(Encyclopedia) Martin, William McChesney, Jr., 1906–98, U.S. banker, chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (1951–70), b. St. Louis. After an early career as a stockbroker, Martin becam...

(Encyclopedia) Delany, Martin Robinson dəlāˈnē [key], 1812–85, American black leader, b. Charles Town, Va. (now in West Virginia). The son of free blacks, he attended a black school in Pittsburgh and studied m...

(Encyclopedia) Wieland, Christoph Martin krĭsˈtôf märˈtĭn vēˈlänt [key], 1733–1813, German poet and novelist. His style, typical of the German rococo, is elegant, satiric, and often playful. He borrowed s...

(Encyclopedia) Lewis, Jerry, 1926–2017, extremely popular and influential American comedian, b. Newark, N.J. as Jerome Levitch. The son of vaudevillians, he entered show business early and entertained in the “bo...

(Encyclopedia) Porres, Saint Martin de märtēnˈ dā pôrˈrās [key], 1579–1639, Peruvian Dominican lay brother, b. Lima. He was the son of a Spanish soldier and a black freedwoman from Panama. Apprenticed to a ...

(Encyclopedia) Nexø, Martin Andersen märˈtēn änˈdərsĕn nĕksö [key], 1869–1954, Danish novelist. Born one of 11 children in a Copenhagen slum, he spent his impoverished childhood largely on the island of ...