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Walewski, Alexandre Florian Joseph Colonna, Comte

(Encyclopedia)Walewski, Alexandre Florian Joseph Colonna, Comte älĕksäNˈdrə flôryäNˈ zhôzĕfˈ kôlônäˈ kôNt välĕfskēˈ [key], 1810–68, French diplomat, b. Poland; illegitimate son of Maria Walews...

Walewska, Countess Maria

(Encyclopedia)Walewska, Countess Maria märēˈä välĕfˈskä [key], 1789–1817, Polish noblewoman. She became (1807) the mistress of Emperor Napoleon I and bore (1810) him a son, Alexandre Walewski. ...

Château d'If

(Encyclopedia)Château d'If shätōˌdēfˈ [key], castle built in 1524 on the small rocky isle of If, in the Mediterranean Sea off Marseilles, SE France. Long used as a state prison, it was made famous by Alexandr...

Monte Cristo

(Encyclopedia)Monte Cristo mŏnˌtē krĭsˈtō, Ital. mônˈtā krēˈstō [key], unpopulated, rocky island, 6 sq mi (15.5 sq km), belonging to Italy, in the Tyrrhenian Sea between Corsica and the Italian coast. I...

Becquerel

(Encyclopedia)Becquerel bĕkərĕlˈ [key], family of French physicists. Antoine César Becquerel, 1788–1878, was a pioneer in electrochemical science. He was professor of physics at the Muséum d'Histoire nature...

Duvergier de Hauranne, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Duvergier de Hauranne, Jean zhäN düvĕrzhyāˈ də ōränˈ [key], 1581–1643, French theologian. He is often called the Abbé de Saint-Cyran from an abbacy he held in commendam (i.e., received the...

Delambre, Jean Baptiste Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Delambre, Jean Baptiste Joseph zhäN bätēstˈ zhôzĕfˈ dəläNˈbrə [key], 1749–1822, French astronomer and mathematician. He was a member of the bureau of longitudes from 1795 and professor at...

De Smet, Pierre Jean

(Encyclopedia)De Smet, Pierre Jean pyĕr zhäN də smĕtˈ [key], 1801–73, Jesuit missionary in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, b. Belgium. He emigrated to the United States in 1821, served his novitiate in Florissan...

Detaille, Jean Baptiste Édouard

(Encyclopedia)Detaille, Jean Baptiste Édouard zhäN bäptēstˈ ādwärˈ dətäyˈ [key], 1848–1912, French painter. He studied under J. L. E. Meissonier and served in the Franco-Russian war. From this backgrou...

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