Columbia Encyclopedia
Search results
500 results found
torsion balance
(Encyclopedia)torsion balance, instrument used to measure small forces. It is based on the principle that a wire or thread resists twisting with a force that is proportional to the stress. The torsion balance consi...Mancini, Laura, duchesse de Mercœur
(Encyclopedia)Mancini, Laura, duchesse de Mercœur märēˈ än, bo͞oyôN [key], 1649–1714, was famous for her vivacity and wit. She became the center of a literary circle in Paris and was the patroness of La Fo...Saint Bartholomew's Day, massacre of
(Encyclopedia)Saint Bartholomew's Day, massacre of, murder of French Protestants, or Huguenots, that began in Paris on Aug. 24, 1572. It was preceded, on Aug. 22, by an attempt, ordered by Catherine de' Medici, on ...De Soto, Hernando
(Encyclopedia)De Soto, Hernando dĭsōˈtō, Span. ĕrnänˈdō dā sōˈtō [key], c.1500–1542, Spanish explorer. After serving under Pedro Arias de Ávila in Central America and under Francisco Pizarro in Peru,...Federmann, Nikolaus
(Encyclopedia)Federmann, Nikolaus nēˈkōlous fāˈdərmän [key], 1501–42, German adventurer in Venezuela and Colombia. In the service of the Welser brothers, Augsburg bankers to whom Charles V had granted righ...Mendès-France, Pierre
(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...Villehardouin
(Encyclopedia)Villehardouin vēlärdwăNˈ [key], French noble family that ruled the Peloponnesus from 1210 to 1278. Geoffroi I de Villehardouin, d. 1218, nephew of the historian and marshal of Champagne and Romani...émigré
(Encyclopedia)émigré āmēgrāˈ [key], in French history, a refugee, usually royalist, who fled the French Revolution and took up residence in a foreign land. The émigrés comprised all classes, but were dispro...Richardson, Henry Handel
(Encyclopedia)Richardson, Henry Handel, pseud. of Ethel Richardson Robertson, 1870–1946, Australian novelist, b. Melbourne. Her years of study at the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne, were reflected in her...Clovio, Giorgio Giulio
(Encyclopedia)Clovio, Giorgio Giulio jôrˈjō jo͞oˈlyō klōˈvyō [key], 1498–1578, Italian illuminator, miniaturist, and painter, also called Macedo or Il Macedone because of his Macedonian origin. He studie...Browse by Subject
- Earth and the Environment +-
- History +-
- Literature and the Arts +-
- Medicine +-
- People +-
- Philosophy and Religion +-
-
Places
+-
- Africa
- Asia
- Australia and Oceania
- Britain, Ireland, France, and the Low Countries
- Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic Nations
- Germany, Scandinavia, and Central Europe
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- Oceans, Continents, and Polar Regions
- Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and the Balkans
- United States, Canada, and Greenland
- Plants and Animals +-
- Science and Technology +-
- Social Sciences and the Law +-
- Sports and Everyday Life +-
