Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Rabaul räˈboul [key], town (1990 pop. 17,044), on New Britain island, Bismarck Archipelago, a part of Papua New Guinea. Situated within an active caldera surrounded by volcanoes, the city has long b...

(Encyclopedia) Vo Nguyen Giap: see Giap, Vo Nguyen. ...

(Encyclopedia) Graf Spee, German battleship: see Spee, Maximilian, Graf von. ...

(Encyclopedia) Louis II, 1845–86, king of Bavaria (1864–86), son and successor of King Maximilian II. Much was hoped from the handsome, talented, and liberal young prince at his accession, but his prodigality an...

(Encyclopedia) Kolokotronis, Theodore kôlôkôtrôˈnyēs [key], 1770–1843, Greek patriot and general. A leader in the Greek War of Independence against Ottoman rule in the 1820s, he was instrumental in the captu...

(Encyclopedia) Ussachevsky, Vladimir vlədyēˈmĭr o͞osəchĕfˈskē [key], 1911–90, Russian-American composer, b. Manchuria. Ussachevsky emigrated to the United States in 1931 and studied at the Eastman School....

(Encyclopedia) Gniezno gənyĕzˈnô [key], Ger. Gnesen, city (1993 est. pop. 70,400), Wielkopolskie prov., central Poland. It is a railway junction and a trade and food-processing center; there is also light manufa...

(Encyclopedia) Opitz, Martin märˈtĭn ōˈpĭts [key], 1597–1639, leader of the Silesian school of German poetry. His influence as poet, critic, and metrical reformer was widely recognized during his time; he wa...

(Encyclopedia) Berlin Philharmonic, orchestra, Berlin, Germany, founded 1882 by musicans who had left an ensemble led by Benjamin Bilse. The orchestra performs in the modernist Philharmonie concert hall (1963). Amon...

(Encyclopedia) Bebel, August ouˈgo͝ost bāˈbəl [key], 1840–1913, German Socialist leader. A wood turner by trade, he became a Marxian Socialist under the influence of Wilhelm Liebknecht. At a congress at Eisen...