Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Laibach, Congress of līˈbäkh [key], conference of European powers in 1821, held in what is now Ljubljana, Slovenia. The chief powers at the congress were Russia, Austria, Prussia, France, and Great...

(Encyclopedia) Nottingham, Charles Howard, 1st earl of nŏtˈĭngəm [key], 1536–1624, English nobleman. A member of one of the branches of the Howard family, he succeeded his father as Baron Howard of Effingham i...

(Encyclopedia) Smolensk smōlĕnskˈ, smô–, Rus. sməlyĕnskˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 341,000), capital of Smolensk region, W European Russia, a port on the Dnieper River. It is an important rail junction, a dist...

(Encyclopedia) Russo-Turkish Wars. The great eastward expansion of Russia in the 16th and 17th cent., during the decline of the Ottoman Empire, nevertheless left the shores of the Black Sea in the hands of the Ottom...

(Encyclopedia) Brown, John Carter, 1797–1874, American book collector and philanthropist, b. Providence, R.I.; son of Nicholas Brown. In about 1840 he began collecting books printed before 1800 relating to America...

(Encyclopedia) Leopold II, 1747–92, Holy Roman emperor (1790–92), king of Bohemia and Hungary (1790–92), as Leopold I grand duke of Tuscany (1765–90), third son of Maria Theresa. Succeeding his father, Holy ...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Finland, Finnish Suomi swôˈmē [key], officially Republic of Finland, republic (2015 est. pop. 5,482,000), 130,119 sq mi (337,009 sq km), N Europe. It borders on the Gulf of Bothnia and Swede...

(Encyclopedia) Lothair, sometimes called Lothair II, d. 869, king of Lotharingia (855–69), second son of Emperor of the West Lothair I. He inherited the region bounded by the Rhine, Scheldt, Alps, and North Sea, w...

(Encyclopedia) Rubinstein, Anton Grigoryevich əntônˈ grîgôrˈyəvĭch ro͞oˈbĭnstīn [key], 1829–94, Russian pianist, composer, and educator. As a piano virtuoso he was celebrated for his perfect technique ...

(Encyclopedia) Cambrai, League of, 1508–10, alliance formed by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, King Louis XII of France, Pope Julius II, King Ferdinand V of Aragón, and several Italian city-states against the re...