Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Salza, Hermann von hĕrˈmän fən zälˈtsä [key], d. 1239, grand master (1210–39) of the Teutonic Knights. A friend and adviser of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, he often mediated between the e...

(Encyclopedia) Hofmann, August Wilhelm von ouˈgo͝ost vĭlˈhĕlm fən hôfˈmän [key], 1818–92, German organic chemist. He was professor at the Univ. of Berlin from 1865 and was a founder (1868) of the German C...

(Encyclopedia) Neuhof, Theodor, Baron von tāˈōdôrˈ bärōnˈ fən noiˈhōf [key], 1694–1756, German adventurer, b. Metz, France. After a career as a soldier and diplomat, he was persuaded by Corsicans rebell...

(Encyclopedia) Klinger, Friedrich Maximilian von frēˈdrĭkh mäkˌsēmēˈlyän fən klĭngˈər [key], 1752–1831, German dramatist. A friend of the young Goethe, he was a playwright for a theatrical troupe and ...

(Encyclopedia) Eck, Johann Maier von yōˈhän mīˈər fən ĕk [key], 1486–1543, German Roman Catholic theologian. He was of peasant stock, the name von Eck being taken from his birthplace in Swabia. He was a br...

(Encyclopedia) Clausewitz, Karl von kärl fən klouˈzəvĭts [key], 1780–1831, Prussian general and military strategist. Clausewitz was an original thinker most influenced by the Napoleonic wars in which he fough...

(Encyclopedia) Biber, Heinrich Ignaz Franz von hīnˈrĭkh ĭgˈnäts fränts fən bēˈbər [key], 1644–1704, Austrian musician. Biber was one of the first notable Central European violinists and may have been th...

(Encyclopedia) Seydlitz, Friedrich Wilhelm, Freiherr von frēˈdrĭkh vĭlˈhĕlm frīˈhĕr fən zīdˈlĭts [key], 1721–73, Prussian general under Frederick II. He helped restore the effectiveness of the Prussia...

(Encyclopedia) Pastor, Ludwig, Freiherr von lo͞otˈvĭkh frīˈhĕr fən päsˈtôr [key], 1854–1928, German historian. The author of the monumental and authoritative History of the Popes from the Close of the Mi...

(Encyclopedia) Siemens, Ernst Werner von ĕrnst vĕrˈnər fən zēˈməns [key], 1816–92, German electrical engineer and inventor. He was a founder and director of Siemens and Halske, a firm that made electrical ...