Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) John of Procida prōˈchēdä [key], c.1225–c.1302, Italian conspirator, lord of the island of Procida. He was an ardent supporter of the Hohenstaufen cause in Sicily and attempted to secure the isl...

(Encyclopedia) Weber, Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von frēˈdrĭkh ĕrnst fən vāˈbər [key], 1786–1826, German composer and pianist; pupil of Michael Haydn and Abbé Vogler. He made his debut as a pianist at 13 ...

(Encyclopedia) MacBride, Seán, 1904–1988, Irish statesman, b. Paris. The son of Irish patriot-actress Maude Gonne and revolutionary Major John MacBride, he moved to Ireland after his father was executed as a lead...

(Encyclopedia) Deuteronomy do͞otərŏnˈəmē [key], book of the Bible, literally meaning “second law,” last of the five books (the Pentateuch or Torah) ascribed by tradition to Moses. Deuteronomy purports to b...

(Encyclopedia) Salt Lake City, city (1990 pop. 159,936), alt. c.4,330 ft (1,320 m), state capital and seat of Salt Lake co., N central Utah, on the Jordan River and near the Great Salt Lake, at the foot of the Wasat...

(Encyclopedia) Great Rift Valley, geological fault system of SW Asia and E Africa. It extends c.3,000 mi (4,830 km) from N Syria to central Mozambique. The northernmost extension runs S through Syria and Lebanon, th...

(Encyclopedia) Milan (Milan Obrenović) mĭlˈän ōbrĕˈnəvĭch [key], 1854–1901, prince (1868–82) and king (1882–89) of Serbia; grandnephew of Miloš Obrenović. He succeeded his cousin Michael Obrenović ...

(Encyclopedia) Makarios III mäkäˈrēôs [key], 1913–77, Orthodox Eastern archbishop and Cypriot statesman, first president of Cyprus (1960–77). Born Michael Mouskos, Makarios was elected bishop of Kition in 1...

(Encyclopedia) Iron Guard, Romanian nationalistic, anti-Semitic, and antiparliamentary group, founded in 1924 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu. Originally named the Legion of the Archangel Michael, it was organized on mil...

(Encyclopedia) Duncan Smith, Iain, 1954–, British political leader, b. Edinburgh. Educated at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, he served in the Scots Guards from 1975 to 1981, leaving the army for a series o...