Colon is a genus of beetles of the family Colonidae, with nine species found in Britain and a further eleven in Europe. They generally have an elongate oval body and short antennae with claviform tips. Research Colon
Gregarinida are an order of Sporozoa. They are parasites which live in invertebrates, and are found in the gut, colon and tissues. Research Gregarinida
Christopher Columbus (real name Cristoforo Colombo, known in Spanish as Christoval Colon) was an Italian navigator. He was born in 1451 at Genoa and died in 1506. His father, Domenico Colombo, a poor wool-comber, gave him a careful education. He appears to have gone to sea at an early age and to have navigated all parts of the Mediterranean and some of the coasts beyond the Straits of Gibraltar. In 1470 we find him at Lisbon, where he married the daughter of Bartolommeo de Palestrello, a distinguished navigator. He had gradually come to the conclusion that there were unknown lands belonging to Eastern Asia separated from Europe by the Atlantic: whilst the Portuguese were seeking to reach India by a south-east course round Africa he was convinced that there must be a shorter way by the west. He applied in vain to Genoa for assistance, and equally fruitless were his endeavours to interest John II of Portugal in the enterprise. He then determined to apply to the Spanish court; and after many disappointments he induced Ferdinand and Isabella to equip and man three vessels for a voyage of discovery.
It was early in the morning of Friday, on the 3rd of August, 1492, that Christopher Columbus set sail from the port of Palos, and after sailing for two months the expedition narrowly escaped failure. The variation of the needle so alarmed the crews that they were on the point of breaking out into open mutiny, and he was obliged to promise that he would turn back if three more days brought no discovery. On the third day (the 12th of October 1492) the island of Guanahani or San Salvador was sighted, which Christopher Columbus believed to belong to Eastern Asia and to be connected with India - a belief which he carried with him to his grave. Hence the mistaken name of Indians applied to the natives of America, and that of West Indies applied to the group of islands of which Guanahani forms one.
On landing Christopher Columbus threw himself upon his knees and kissed the earth, returning thanks to God. The natives collected round him in silent astonishment, and his men, ashamed of their disobedience and distrust, threw themselves at his feet, begging his forgiveness. Christopher Columbus, drawing his sword, planted the royal standard, and in the name of his sovereigns took possession of the country, which, in memory of his preservation, he called San Salvador. He then sailed in search of other lands, and discovered Cuba, St Domingo, and some other of the West India islands. Being so far successful, he built a fort at Hispaniola, Haiti, left some of his men there, and set out on his return to Europe, where he was received with almost royal honours.
In 1493 he set out on his second great voyage from Cadiz, with three large ships of heavy burden and fourteen caravels, carrying 1500 men. He discovered .the island of Dominica, and afterwards Mariegalante, Guadeloupe, and Porto Rico, and at length arrived at Hispaniola. Finding the colony destroyed, he built a fortified town, which he called, in honour of the queen, Isabella. He then left the island in order to make new discoveries, visited Jamaica, and returning after a voyage of five months, worn down with fatigue, found to his great joy that his brother Bartolommeo had arrived at Isabella with provisions and other supplies for the colony.
Meanwhile a general dissatisfaction had broken out among his companions, who, instead of the expected treasures, had found hardships and labour. This and news of calumnies being set on foot against him at home induced him to return to Spain, where his presence, and probably also the treasure he brought, silenced his enemies.
In May, 1498, he sailed with six vessels on his third voyage. Three of his vessels he sent direct to Hispaniola; with the three others he took a more southerly direction, and having discovered Trinidad and the continent of America, returned to Hispaniola, His colony had now been removed from Isabella, according to his orders, to the other side of the island, and a new fortress erected called St Domingo. Christopher Columbus found the colony in a state of confusion, but soon restored tranquillity. His enemies, in the meantime, endeavoured to convince his sovereigns that his plan was to make himself independent, and Christopher Columbus was not only displaced, but Francisco de Bobadilla, a new governor who had come from Spain, even sent him to that country in chains.
On his arrival in 1500 orders were sent directing him to be set at liberty and inviting him to court, but for this injurious treatment he never got redress, though great promises were made. After some time he was able to set out on his fourth and last voyage, in 1502, in four slender vessels supplied by the court. In this expedition he was accompanied by his brother Bartolommeo and his son Hernando. He encountered every imaginable disaster from storms and shipwreck, and returned to Spain, sick and exhausted, in 1504. The death of the queen soon followed, and he urged in vain on Ferdinand the fulfilment of his promises; but after two years of illness, humiliations, and despondency, Christopher Columbus died at Valladolid. His remains were transported, according to his will, to St Domingo, but on the cession of Hispaniola to France they were removed to Havana in Cuba in 1796. In 1899 they were carried back to Spain. Research Christopher Columbus
Victor Balaguer was a Spanish author and politician. He was born in 1824 at Barcelona and died in 1901. He is regarded as the most important writer of the 19th century in the Catalonian dialect.. He studied law at Barcelona, and becoming learned in Catalonian history was appointed archivist and soon after professor of history. In 1869 he entered the Cortes as a liberal; in 1872 was minister of public works; in 1886-88 colonial minister. He wrote much both in prose and verse, his prose comprising historical works, novels, etc, his verse lyrics, ballads, tragedies, odes, etc. His tragedies were partly on subjects taken from Catalonian history, partly on subjects connected with Greek and Roman history or literature. Among his lyrical and other poems are: El Trovador de Montserrat; Primavera de Ultimo Trovador Catalan; Poesias Completas (1874); Obras Poeticas (1880). Don Juan de Serrallonga is the most popular of his novels. Among other works of his are: Historia Politica y Literaria de los Trovadores; Historia de Cataluna; Los Pirineos; Cristobal Colon; Estudios Historicos y Politicos; Historias y Tradiciones; Instituciones y Reyes de Aragon. Research Victor Balaguer
William Caxton was the first English printer. He was born in 1422 at Kent and died in 1491. He served an apprenticeship to Robert Large, a London mercer. On the death of his master William Caxton went into business for himself at Bruges. He was appointed about 1463 governor at Bruges to the London Association of Merchant Adventurers. About 1471 he entered the service of Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy, sister of Edward IV.
He now learned the newly-discovered art of printing, probably at Cologne; and his Recuyell of the Histories of Troy, the translation of a popular mediaeval romance, was printed about 1474, probably at Bruges, and is the earliest specimen of typography in the English language. His Game and Playe of the Chesse, Bruges, 1475, is the second English book printed. In 1476 he returned to England, and in 1477 printed at Westminster The Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers, the first book printed in England. In fourteen years he printed nearly 80 separate books, nearly all of folio size, some of which passed through two editions, and a few through three.
He translated twenty-one books, mainly romances, from the French, and one (Reynard the Fox) from the Dutch, helping materially to fix the literary language. He was patronized by Edward IV, Richard III, and Henry VII; and he was on intimate terms with Earl Rivers, the Earl of Worcester, and others of the nobility, the two noblemen named having even translated works for his press. Besides the works named above he printed Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Troylus and Creside, Book of Fame, and translation of Boethius; Gower's Confessio Amantis; works by Lydgate; Malory's King Arthur; the Golden Legend ; The Fables of AEsop; erc.
His books have no title-pages, but are frequently provided with prologues and colophons. His types are in the Gothic character, and copied so closely from the handwriting of his time, that many of his books have been mistaken for manuscript. In some no punctuation is used; in others the full point and colon only; commas are represented by a long or short upright line.
*William Channing
William Ellery Channing was an American theologian and writer. He was born in 1780 at Massachusetts and died in 1842. Educated at Harvard from 1798 until 1800 he was a private instructor in Richmond, studied theology at Cambridge and was settled over the Federal Street Church in Boston in 1803, where he became the leader of the Unitarian movement then stirring New England, and active in all the philanthropic enterprises of the time. Research William Caxton
Willie Colon is an American musician. He was born in 1950 in the Bronx. He is renowned for his trombone playing and arrangements. He is also a keen civil rights and political activist, being a member of the United Nations Immigrant Foundation amongst other organisations. Research Willie Colon
Milton Berle (real name Milton Berlinger) was an American comedian and actor. He was born in 1908 at New York and died in 2002 of coloncancer. Research Milton Berle
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Colon
