Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Selkirk, Alexander sĕlˈkərk [key], 1676–1721, Scottish sailor whose adventures suggested to Daniel Defoe the story of Robinson Crusoe (1719). In 1704, as a sailing master, Selkirk quarreled with ...

(Encyclopedia) Alexander Nevsky nĕvˈskē [key] [Rus.,=of the Neva], 1220–1263, Russian hero, grand duke of Vladimir-Suzdal. As prince of Novgorod (1236–52) he earned his surname by his victory (1240) over the ...

(Encyclopedia) Alexander Severus (Marcus Aurelius Alexander Severus) sĭvērˈəs [key], d. 235, Roman emperor (222–35), b. Syria. His name was changed (221) from Alexius Bassianus when he was adopted as the succe...

(Encyclopedia) Grant, George Munro, 1835–1902, Canadian educator and author, b. Nova Scotia, educated at the Univ. of Glasgow. From 1877 to 1902 he was principal of Queen's Univ., Kingston, Ont.; under him the uni...

(Encyclopedia) Muir, Alexander myo͞or [key], 1830–1906, Canadian songwriter, b. Scotland. In 1867 he wrote the words and music for “The Maple Leaf Forever,” which is regarded by many as the national hymn of C...

(Encyclopedia) Alexander Balas bāˈləs [key], d. 145 b.c., ruler of Syria, putative son of Antiochus IV. He seized power from his uncle Demetrius I (c.152 b.c.); Jonathan the Maccabee supported him. He died in bat...

(Encyclopedia) Montgomerie, Alexander məntgŭmˈərē [key], c.1556–c.1610, Scottish poet. His principal poem, The Cherry and the Sloe (1597), is a pedestrian and ambiguous allegory that enjoyed considerable popu...

(Encyclopedia) Dyce, Alexander dīs [key], 1798–1869, Scottish editor. He is best known for his scholarly editions of the works of Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatists, including those of George Peele, Robert Green...

(Encyclopedia) Cruden, Alexander kro͞oˈdən [key], 1701–70, author of a famous biblical concordance, b. Aberdeen, Scotland. He spent most of his life near London. In 1737 he published his Complete Concordance to...

(Encyclopedia) Nasmyth, Alexander nāˈsmĭth [key], 1758–1840, Scottish landscape and portrait painter. His Stirling Castle (National Gall., London) is a good example of his simple, picturesque Scottish scenes. H...