Colbert \kol-'ber\, Jean-Baptiste (b. Aug. 29, 1619, Reims, France—d. Sept. 6, 1683, Paris) French statesman. He was recommended to Louis XIV by Jules Mazarin, whose personal assistant he had been. He
engineered the downfall of Nicolas Fouquet, and thereafter he served the king both in his private affairs and in the administration of the kingdom.
As controller general of finance from 1665, he brought order to financial operations, reformed the chaotic sys¬ tem of taxation, and reorganized industry and commerce. As secretary of state for the navy from 1668, he undertook to make France a great power at sea. He also sought to pro¬ mote emigration to Canada and to enhance France’s power and prestige in the arts. Though a series of wars prevented the fulfillment of all his reforms, he strengthened the monar¬ chy and improved the country’s pub¬ lic administration and economy, helping make France the dominant power in Europe.
Colchester ancient Camulodunum City and borough (pop., 2001: 155,794), southeastern England. In ancient times, the city was the capital of the powerful pre-Roman ruler Cunobelinus. After his death, the enmity of his sons toward Rome encouraged the Roman invasion of Britain, and it became the first Roman colony there, founded by Claudius c. ad 43. Burned by Boudicca’s warriors c. ad 60, it was reestablished and received its first charter in 1189. In the 13th century it was a major port. It has a long history in both cloth making and oyster trading. It is the site of England’s largest castle keep (built c. 1080), which now houses a museum of Romano-British antiquities.
Colchis Vkal-kosX Ancient region on the Black Sea. Now the western part of the Republic of Georgia, Colchis was in Greek mythology the home of Medea and the destination of the Argonauts. Historically, it was colonized by Milesian Greeks with the support of the native Colchians, whose ethnic composition is unclear. After the 6th century bc it was nominally controlled by Persia; it passed to Mithradates VI Eupator, the king of Pontus, in the 1st century bc and later came under Roman rule.
Cold War Open yet restricted rivalry and hostility that developed after World War II between the U.S. and the Soviet Union and their respective allies. The U.S. and Britain, alarmed by the Soviet domination of East¬ ern Europe, feared the expansion of Soviet power and communism in Western Europe and elsewhere. The Soviets were determined to maintain control of Eastern Europe, in part to safeguard against a possible renewed threat from Germany. The Cold War (the term was first used by Bernard Baruch during a congressional debate in 1947) was waged mainly on political, economic, and propaganda fronts and had only limited recourse to weapons. It was at its peak in 1948-53 with the Berlin blockade and airlift, the formation of NATO, the victory of the communists in the Chi¬ nese civil war, and the Korean War. Another intense stage occurred in 1958-62 with the Cuban missile crisis, which resulted in a weapons buildup by both sides. A period of detente in the 1970s was followed by renewed hostility. The Cold War ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in
cold, common Viral infection of the upper and sometimes the lower respiratory tract. Symptoms, which are relatively mild, include sneezing, fatigue, sore throat, and stuffy or runny nose (but not fever); they usually last only a few days. About 200 different strains of virus can produce colds; they are spread by direct or indirect contact. The cold is the most com¬ mon of all illnesses; the average person gets several every year. Incidence peaks in the fall. Treatment involves rest, adequate fluid intake, and over- the-counter remedies for the symptoms. Antibiotics do not combat the virus but may be given if secondary infections develop.
Cole, Nat King orig. Nathaniel Adams Coles (b. March 17, 1917, Montgomery, Ala., U.S.—d. Feb. 15, 1965, Santa Monica, Calif.) U.S. jazz pianist and singer. Cole grew up in Chicago and formed a trio in Los Angeles (1939), establishing himself as a major jazz piano stylist. Commercial success, however, came with his singing. His warm, relaxed voice brought a personal touch to the ballads and light swing in which he specialized. “Mona Lisa” and “Unforgettable” were among his major hits of the 1950s. He excelled as a stage personality, and he was also a capable film actor.
Jean-Baptiste Colbert, detail of a bust by Antoine Coysevox, 1677; in the Louvre, Paris.
GIRAUDON/ART RESOURCE, NEW VORK
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Cole ► Coligny I 431
Cole, Thomas (b. Feb. 1, 1801, Bolton-le-Moors, Lancashire, Eng.—d. Feb. 11, 1848, Catskill, N.Y., U.S.) British-born U.S. landscape painter, founder of the Hudson River school. After immigrating to the U.S. with his family in 1819, he studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In 1825 Asher B. Durand began purchasing his work and finding him patrons. After settling in Catskill, N.Y., Cole traveled throughout the northeast making pencil sketches of the scenery, from which he later pro¬ duced finished paintings in his studio. He is famous for his views of the Hudson Valley, as well as for grandiose imaginary vistas.
Colebrook, Leonard (b. March 2, 1883, Guildford, Surrey, Eng.—d. Sept. 29, 1967, Farnham Common, Buckinghamshire) English medical researcher. He introduced (1935) the use of Prontosil, the first sulfona¬ mide antibacterial drug, as a cure for puerperal fever. He also researched burn treatment, proving that sulfonamides and penicillin could control infection, urging wider use of skin grafting, and bringing the problem of tissue rejection to the attention of Peter Medawar.
Coleman, (Randolph Denard) Ornette (b. March 9, 1930, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.) U.S. saxophonist and composer, the principal initia¬ tor and leading exponent of free jazz. Coleman began playing the saxo¬ phone as a teenager and soon became a working musician in dance bands and rhythm-and-blues groups. He abandoned harmonic patterns in order to improvise more directly upon melodic and expressive elements; because the tonal centres of such music changed at the improviser’s will, it became known as “free jazz.” His organized collective improvisation in such recordings as Free Jazz (1960) placed him firmly in the jazz avant- garde. In the 1970s he began composing orchestral music and also formed an electric band called Prime Time, with which he was active until the 1990s.
Coleraine \kol-'ran\ District (pop., 2001: 56,315), Northern Ireland. Established in 1973, it is primarily an agricultural area. Flint implements found there date back to nearly 7000 bc and provide the earliest evidence of human occupation in Ireland. The administrative centre, Coleraine town, on the River Bann, was colonized by companies from the City of London in the 17th century; it is the seat of the New University of Ulster (founded 1965).
Coleridge \'kol-rij\, Samuel Taylor (b. Oct. 21, 1772, Ottery St. Mary, Devonshire, Eng.—d. July 25,
1834, Highgate, near London)
English poet, critic, and philosopher.
Coleridge studied at the University of Cambridge, where he became closely associated with Robert Southey. In his poetry he perfected a sensuous lyricism that was echoed by many later poets. Lyrical Ballads (1798; with William Wordsworth), containing the famous “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and “Frost at Mid¬ night,” heralded the beginning of English Romanticism. Other poems in the “fantastical” style of the “Mari¬ ner” include the unfinished “Christa- bel” and the celebrated “Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan.” While in a bad marriage and addicted to opium, he produced “Dejection: An Ode”
(1802), in which he laments the loss of his power to produce poetry.