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Basil II

(Encyclopedia)Basil II, c.958–1025, Byzantine emperor (976–1025), surnamed Bulgaroktonos [Bulgar slayer]. With his brother, Constantine VIII, he nominally succeeded his father, Romanus II, in 963, but had no sh...

Richard II

(Encyclopedia)Richard II, 1367–1400, king of England (1377–99), son of Edward the Black Prince. Richard is possibly the most enigmatic of the English kings. Some historians have attributed his behavior in ...

Éluard, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Éluard, Paul pōl ālüärˈ [key], 1895–1952, French poet. He was a leading exponent of surrealism. Among his volumes of verse are Mourir de ne pas mourir [to die of not dying] (1924) and L'Immacu...

Kondouriotis, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Kondouriotis, Paul kôndo͞oryôˈtĭs [key], 1857–1935, Greek admiral and statesman. He became a national hero through his victories over the Turkish fleet in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and in t...

John II, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)John II (John Comnenus) kŏmnēˈnəs [key], 1088–1143, Byzantine emperor (1118–43), son and successor of Alexius I. He was crowned despite the intrigues of his sister, Anna Comnena, and of his mo...

Dessau, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Dessau, Paul dĕsˈou [key], 1894–1979, German conductor and composer. As a conductor he worked (1919–23) in Cologne before moving to Berlin from 1925 until 1933. A fervent socialist, he left Germ...

Reynaud, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Reynaud, Paul pōl rānōˈ [key], 1878–1966, French statesman and lawyer. He held several cabinet posts, and after Nov., 1938, as minister of finance in the cabinet of Édouard Daladier, he pursued...

Catherine II

(Encyclopedia)Catherine II or Catherine the Great, 1729–96, czarina of Russia (1762–96). Catherine increased the power and prestige of Russia by skillful diplomacy and by extending Russia's western boundary i...

Murad II

(Encyclopedia)Murad II, 1403–51, Ottoman sultan (1421–51), son and successor of Muhammad I to the throne of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). He was opposed at his accession by a pretender, Mustafa, who rapidly gain...

Sylvester II

(Encyclopedia)Sylvester II, c.945–1003, pope (999–1003), a Frenchman (b. Auvergne) named Gerbert; successor of Gregory V. In his youth he studied at Muslim schools in Spain and became learned in mathematics and...