Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Hiero II, d. c.215 b.c., Greek Sicilian ruler, tyrant of Syracuse (c.270–c.215 b.c.). He showed such ability and distinction after Pyrrhus left Sicily (275 b.c.) that he was made commander in chief ...

(Encyclopedia) Mendès-France, Pierre pyĕr măNdĕsˈ-fräNs [key], 1907–82, French statesman. A lawyer and economist, he entered (1932) the chamber of deputies as a Radical Socialist. In World War II he was a pi...

(Encyclopedia) Robert's Rules of Order: see parliamentary law; Robert, Henry Martyn. ...

(Encyclopedia) Alfonso IX, 1171–1230, Spanish king of León (1188–1230), son and successor of Ferdinand II. He conquered from the Moors several cities in Extremadura and was frequently at war with Alfonso VIII o...

(Encyclopedia) Charles XV, 1826–72, king of Sweden and Norway (1859–72), son and successor of Oscar I. A liberal and popular ruler, he consented to many reforms, including the creation of a bicameral parliament....

(Encyclopedia) Alfonso V (Alfonso the Magnanimous), 1396–1458, king of Aragón and Sicily (1416–58) and of Naples (1443–58), count of Barcelona. He was the son of Ferdinand I, whom he succeeded in Aragón and ...

(Encyclopedia) Nicholas I, 1841–1921, prince (1860–1910) and king (1910–18) of Montenegro, successor of his uncle, Danilo II. In 1862, after a series of frontier incidents, Nicholas was forced into war with th...

(Encyclopedia) Alfonso XII, 1857–85, king of Spain (1874–85), son of Isabella II. He went into exile with his parents at the time of the revolt of the Carlists in 1868 and was educated in Austria and England. In...

(Encyclopedia) Alfonso III, 1265–91, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (1285–91), son and successor of Peter III. He was forced to grant wide privileges to the cortes of the Aragonese nobles. At first he su...

(Encyclopedia) Bar, Confederation of, union formed in 1768 at Bar, in Podolia (now in W Ukraine), by a number of Polish nobles to oppose the interference of Catherine II of Russia in Polish affairs. Headed by the Pu...