Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Castillejo, Cristóbal de

(Encyclopedia)Castillejo, Cristóbal de krēstōˈbäl dā kästēlyāˈhō [key], c.1490–1550, Spanish poet of the Renaissance. As secretary to the king of Bohemia, Castillejo visited Vienna and other European c...

Newcomen, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Newcomen, Thomas nyo͞oˈkəmən, nyo͞okŭmˈən [key], 1663–1729, English inventor of an early atmospheric steam engine (c.1711). It was an improvement over an earlier engine patented (1698) by Th...

Vélez de Guevara, Luis

(Encyclopedia)Vélez de Guevara, Luis lo͞oēsˈ vāˈlāth ᵺā gāväˈrä [key], 1579?–1644, Spanish playwright and novelist. He was a follower of Lope de Vega and wrote many popular plays noted for their poe...

Grimm, Friedrich Melchior, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Grimm, Friedrich Melchior, Baron frēˈdrĭkh mĕlˈkhēôr bärōnˈ grĭm [key], 1723–1807, German man of letters in France. He contributed to the Encyclopédie articles on music that were bellige...

Castillon-la-Bataille

(Encyclopedia)Castillon-la-Bataille kästēyôNˌ-lä-bätäˈyə [key], town (1993 est. pop. 3,030), Gironde dept., SW France, in Guienne, on the Dordogne River. An ancient port, it has a wine and liqueur trade an...

Richard of Devizes

(Encyclopedia)Richard of Devizes dĭvīˈzĭz [key], fl. late 12th cent., English chronicler and monk. He wrote a lively Chronicon de rebus gestis Ricardi primi [chronicle of the deeds of Richard I], a valuable his...

Thomas, Dylan

(Encyclopedia)Thomas, Dylan dĭlˈən [key], 1914–53, Welsh poet, b. Swansea. An extraordinarily individualistic writer, Thomas is ranked among the great 20th-century poets. He grew up in Swansea, the son of a te...

Browse by Subject