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Ré, island, France

(Encyclopedia)Ré rā [key], island (1991 pop. 13,973), 33 sq mi (85 sq km), Charente-Maritime dept., off La Rochelle, W France, in the Bay of Biscay. The island is largely agricultural; it has oyster beds, some fi...

pessimism

(Encyclopedia)pessimism, philosophical opinion or doctrine that evil predominates over good; the opposite of optimism. Systematic forms of pessimism may be found in philosophy and religion. In religion Buddhism and...

Céspedes, Carlos Manuel de, 1871–1939, president of Cuba

(Encyclopedia)Céspedes, Carlos Manuel de, 1871–1939, president of Cuba (1933), b. New York City; son of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes (1819–74). He actively participated in the Revolution of 1895 and the Spanish-...

Arrau, Claudio

(Encyclopedia)Arrau, Claudio clawdēō ărˈrō [key], 1903–91, classical pianist, b. Chile. In 1911 he was sponsored by the Chilean government to study with Martin Krause in Berlin, where his talent attracted at...

Kinderhook

(Encyclopedia)Kinderhook kĭnˈdərho͝okˌ [key], village (1990 pop. 1,293), Columbia co., SE N.Y.; settled before the Revolution, inc. 1838. Richard Upjohn designed St. Paul's Church (1851) there. President Marti...

Amsdorf, Nikolaus von

(Encyclopedia)Amsdorf, Nikolaus von nēˈkōlous fən ämsˈdôrf [key], 1483–1565, German Protestant reformer. He became a devoted supporter of Martin Luther. Elector John Frederick I of Saxony appointed Amsdorf...

Jouvenet, Jean Baptiste

(Encyclopedia)Jouvenet, Jean Baptiste zhäN bätēstˈ zho͞ovənāˈ [key], 1644–1717, French painter, one of a family of painters. He worked in Paris in the studio of Charles Le Brun, whose manner he acquired a...

Drexel, Anthony Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Drexel, Anthony Joseph drĕkˈsəl [key], 1826–93, American banker and philanthropist, b. Philadelphia. He entered (1838) at an early age the well-known banking firm of Drexel and Company, founded b...

Aleandro, Girolamo

(Encyclopedia)Aleandro, Girolamo jērôˈlämō älāänˈdrō [key], 1480–1542, Italian scholar, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is also called Hieronymus Aleander. A principal in the Lutheran crisis, ...

Synge, Richard Laurence Millington

(Encyclopedia)Synge, Richard Laurence Millington, 1914–94, British biochemist, Ph.D. Cambridge, 1941. Synge was a researcher at the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, London, from 1943 to 1948 and at the Ro...