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Audubon, John James

(Encyclopedia)Audubon, John James ôˈdəbŏn [key], 1785–1851, American ornithologist, b. Les Cayes, Santo Domingo (now Haiti). The illegitimate son of a French sea captain and plantation owner and a Creole cham...

Audley of Walden, Thomas Audley, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Audley of Walden, Thomas Audley, Baron, 1488–1544, lord chancellor of England (1533–44) under Henry VIII. He was made speaker of the House of Commons in 1529 and lord keeper of the great seal in...

Isle La Motte

(Encyclopedia)Isle La Motte īl lə mŏt [key], island and village, 6 mi (9.7 km) long and 2 mi (3.2 km) wide, in Lake Champlain, NW Vt. The French chose the island as the site for Fort Ste Anne (built 1666), the f...

Sansovino, Andrea

(Encyclopedia)Sansovino, Andrea ändrĕˈä sänsōvēˈnō [key], c.1460–1529, Florentine sculptor and architect of the High Renaissance, b. Monte Sansavino. His real name was Andrea Contucci. He trained under A...

Stanhope, Philip Henry Stanhope, 5th Earl

(Encyclopedia)Stanhope, Philip Henry Stanhope, 5th Earl, 1805–75, English historian. He was undersecretary for foreign affairs (1834–35) in Sir Robert Peel's first ministry and secretary of the board of control...

York, Frederick Augustus, duke of

(Encyclopedia)York, Frederick Augustus, duke of, 1763–1827, second son of George III of England. In the French Revolutionary Wars he commanded (1793–95) the unsuccessful English forces in Flanders. Despite his ...

Brontë

(Encyclopedia)Brontë brŏnˈtē [key], family of English novelists, including Charlotte Brontë, 1816–55, English novelist, Emily Jane Brontë, 1818–48, English novelist and poet, and Anne Brontë, 1820–49, ...

Loches

(Encyclopedia)Loches lôsh [key], town (1990 pop. 7,133), Indre-et-Loire dept., W central France, in Touraine, on the Indre River. Products include processed food and electronics. It is famous for its medieval buil...

Kit-Cat Club

(Encyclopedia)Kit-Cat Club, London political and literary club, active c.1700–1720. The membership of some four dozen included leading Whig politicians and London's best young writers. Among them were Charles Sey...

Hopkins, Johns

(Encyclopedia)Hopkins, Johns, 1795–1873, American financier and philanthropist, founder of Johns Hopkins Univ., b. Anne Arundel co., Md. In 1819 he founded his own commission firm, later known as Hopkins Brothers...