Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Giannini, A. P. (Amadeo Peter Giannini) ämädĕˈō, jänēˈnē [key], 1870–1949, American banker and financier, b. San Jose, Calif. The son of Italian immigrants, he joined his stepfather in the ...

(Encyclopedia) Greek Anthology, a collection of short epigrammatic poems representing Greek literature from the 7th cent. b.c. to the 10th cent. a.d. It contains more than 6,000 poems on a variety of subjects by som...

(Encyclopedia) Louis IX or Saint Louis, 1214–70, king of France (1226–70), son and successor of Louis VIII. His mother, Blanche of Castile, was regent during his minority (1226–34), and her regency probably la...

(Encyclopedia) John of Gaunt [Mid. Eng. Gaunt=Ghent, his birthplace], 1340–99, duke of Lancaster; fourth son of Edward III of England. He married (1359) Blanche, heiress of Lancaster, and through her became earl (...

(Encyclopedia) Seville səvĭlˈ, sĕˈ– [key], Span. Sevilla, city (1990 pop. 678,218), capital of Seville prov. and leading city of Andalusia, SW Spain, on the Guadalquivir River. Connected with the Atlantic by ...

(Encyclopedia) narthex närˈthĕks [key], entrance feature peculiar to early Christian and Byzantine churches, although also found in some Romanesque churches, especially in France and Italy. Usually extending acro...

(Encyclopedia) Peace, river, 945 mi (1,521 km) long, formed by the junction of the Finlay and Parsnip rivers at Williston Lake, N central British Columbia, Canada. It flows east through the Rocky Mts., then generall...

(Encyclopedia) La Tour, Georges de zhôrzh də lä to͞or [key], 1593–1652, French painter. By 1618 he was settled at Lunéville, in his native Lorraine. He bore the title of painter to the king in 1639. La Tour p...

(Encyclopedia) Leeds, city and metropolitan borough (1991 pop. 445,242), N central England, on the Aire River. It lies between one of England's leading manufacturing regions on the west and south and an agricultural...

(Encyclopedia) Ferdinand I, 1345–83, king of Portugal (1367–83), son and successor of Peter I. His ambitions and his private life plunged the realm into disaster, although during his reign agricultural reform wa...