Calatafimi. A town of Sicily, province of Trapani. Here, in May, 1860, Garibaldi defeated the royalist troops under Gen. Landi.
Calatañazor. A small town of Spain in Old Castile. Here Al-Mansoor gained a great victory over the Christians in 1001.
Calatayud. A town of Spain, province of Saragossa. It was captured from the Moors by Alfonso of Aragon in 1118; taken from the descendants of Alfonso by the king of Castile in 1362.
Calatrava, The Order of. Was founded in 1158 by Sancho III. of Castile. For a long period the war against the Moors was carried on almost entirely by the knights of Calatrava. The knights bear a cross gules, fleur-de-lised with green, etc.
Calcans. The bucklers of the Turks were so called during the Middle Ages.
Calcinato. A town of Italy, on the river Chiese. The Duke of Vendôme here defeated the Austrians under Count de Reventlau in 1706.
Calcium-light. A brilliant light produced by projecting the oxyhydrogen flame upon a surface of lime. Called also the Drummond-light.
Calcutta. Capital of Bengal and British India; the first settlement of the English here was made in 1689. The town was attacked and taken by an army of 70,000 horse and foot and 400 elephants (146 of the British were crammed into the “Black-Hole prison,” a dungeon about 16 feet square, from whence 23 only came forth alive next day), June 20, 1756; it was retaken by Clive, January 2, 1757.
Caldiero. A village of Northern Italy. Here, just before the battle of Arcola, the French under Napoleon I. were repulsed by the Austrians under Alvinzi in 1796, and in 1805 were beaten under Masséna by the Archduke Charles.
Caledonia. The name given by the Romans to that part of Britain north of the Wall of Antoninus, and afterwards applied to the whole of the country now known as Scotland. The inhabitants were called Caledonii until about the beginning of the 4th century, when they began to be spoken of as Picts and Scots. In 84 they were defeated under their chief Galgacus by the Roman general Agricola, and a great part of the country was overrun by the Romans, who formed many encampments there; but the country was never reduced to a Roman province.