Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Wenceslaus II, 1271–1305, king of Bohemia (1278–1305) and of Poland (1300–1305), son and successor of Ottocar II. From the death (1278) of his father until 1283 the regency was exercised by Otto...

(Encyclopedia) Elizabeth, 1837–98, empress of Austria and queen of Hungary. A Bavarian princess, she was married (1854) to her cousin, Emperor Francis Joseph. Despite her exceptional beauty, intelligence, and kind...

(Encyclopedia) Nicholas III, d. 1280, pope (1277–80), a Roman named Giovanni Gaetano Orsini; successor of John XXI. As a cardinal he made a great reputation in diplomacy, and he was a close confidant of popes for ...

(Encyclopedia) Michael the Brave, d. 1601, prince of Walachia (1593–1601), of Transylvania (1599–1600), and of Moldavia (1600). Michael was one of Romania's greatest medieval rulers, as well as a celebrated mili...

(Encyclopedia) Johnson, Edward, 1881–1959, Canadian tenor and operatic manager, b. Guelph, Ont. As Eduardo di Giovanni, he sang in Italian opera houses (1912–19). In 1920 he joined the Chicago Opera Company and ...

(Encyclopedia) Bocskay, Stephen bôchˈkī [key], 1557–1606, Hungarian noble, voivode [governor] (1604–6) and prince (1605–6) of Transylvania. Seeking to secure the independence of Transylvania, he supported h...

(Encyclopedia) Styria shtīˈərmärk [key], province (1991 pop. 1,184,593), 6,324 sq mi (16,379 sq km), central and SE Austria. Graz is the capital. Bordering on Slovenia in the south, Styria is predominately mount...

(Encyclopedia) Wyss, Johann David yōˈhän däˈvĭt vēs [key], 1743–1818, Swiss author. His Swiss Family Robinson (1813, tr. 1814), an internationally popular classic for children, relates the adventures of a s...

(Encyclopedia) Carinthia kərĭnˈthēə [key], Ger. Kärnten, province, c.3,680 sq mi (9,531 sq km), S Aust...

(Encyclopedia) Oncken, Hermann hĕrˈmän ôngˈkən [key], 1869–1946, German historian. He taught at the universities of Heidelberg, Munich, Chicago, and (1928–35) Berlin. He was forced to retire because of his...