(Encyclopedia) vaudevillevaudevillevôdˈvĭl [key], originally a light song, derived from the drinking and love songs formerly attributed to Olivier Basselin and called Vau, or Vaux, de Vire. Similar…
(Encyclopedia) Catherine I, 1683?–1727, czarina of Russia (1725–27). Of Livonian peasant origin, Martha Skavronskaya was a domestic when she was captured (1702) by Russian soldiers. As mistress of…
(Encyclopedia) Johnston, Mary, 1870–1936, American novelist, b. Buchanan, Va. Her books combine romance with history. She is chiefly remembered for To Have and to Hold (1900), a story of colonial…
(Encyclopedia) Menshikov, Aleksandr Danilovich, PrinceMenshikov, Aleksandr Danilovich, Princeəlyĭksänˈdər dənyēˈləvĭch mĕnˈshĭkəf [key], 1672?–1729, Russian field marshal and statesman. Of lowly…
(Encyclopedia) Gordon, Patrick, 1635–99, Scottish soldier of fortune and Russian general, b. Scotland. After serving alternately on both sides in the war between Sweden and Poland (1655–60), he…
(Encyclopedia) Apraksin, Feodor MatveyevichApraksin, Feodor Matveyevichfyôˈdər mətvyāˈəvĭch əpräkˈsyĭn [key], 1671–1728, Russian admiral. He helped Peter I (Peter the Great) create the Russian navy…
(Encyclopedia) Henry II or Henry of TrastámaraHenry IItrăstəmărˈə [key], 1333?–1379, Spanish king of Castile and León (1369–79), illegitimate son of Alfonso XI. After taking part in several…
(Encyclopedia) Peter I (Pierre Mauclerc), d. 1250, duke or count of Brittany (1213–37). The son of Robert II, count of Dreux, he married Alix, half-sister and heiress of Arthur I duke of Brittany.…
(Encyclopedia) Peter III (Peter the Great), 1239?–1285, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (1276–85) and king of Sicily (1282–85); son and successor of James I. In 1280 he established Aragonese…
