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Grenville, George

(Encyclopedia)Grenville, George, 1712–70, British statesman, brother of Earl Temple. He entered Parliament in 1741, held several cabinet posts, and in 1763 became chief minister. His prosecution (1763) of John Wi...

Grévy, Jules

(Encyclopedia)Grévy, Jules zhül grāvēˈ [key], 1807–91, French statesman, president of France (1879–87). As a republican deputy after the February Revolution (1848), he sought to eliminate the danger of a s...

Gerontius

(Encyclopedia)Gerontius jərŏnˈshəs [key], d. 411, Roman general, b. Britain. He at first supported the usurper Constantine (d. 411), and was left in charge of Spain. He set up (409) his own candidate, Maximus, ...

Ernest Augustus

(Encyclopedia)Ernest Augustus, 1771–1851, king of Hanover (1837–51) and duke of Cumberland, fifth son of George III of England. At the accession of his niece Queen Victoria, the crowns of England and Hanover we...

Francis II, duke of Brittany

(Encyclopedia)Francis II, 1435–88, duke of Brittany. He succeeded (1458) his uncle Arthur III. In his struggle with the French crown for the independence of his duchy, Francis entered (1465) the League of the Pub...

Comtat Venaissin

(Encyclopedia)Comtat Venaissin kəNtäˈ vənäsăNˈ [key] or Comtat, region of SE France, Vaucluse dept., comprising the territory around Avignon. Well-irrigated, it is a truck-farming and fruit-growing area. Com...

Clarence, Lionel, duke of

(Encyclopedia)Clarence, Lionel, duke of, 1338–68, third son of Edward III of England. His marriage (1352) to Elizabeth de Burgh gained him the title and lands of the earl of Ulster. Governor of Ireland from 1361 ...

Ramsay, Allan

(Encyclopedia)Ramsay, Allan, 1685?–1758, Scottish poet. An Edinburgh bookseller, he opened one of the first circulating libraries in Great Britain. The Gentle Shepherd (1725), a pastoral comedy, is his most famou...

Robert I, French king

(Encyclopedia)Robert I, c.865–923, French king (922–23), son of Count Robert the Strong and younger brother of King Eudes. He inherited from Eudes the territory between the Seine and the Loire rivers. In 922, R...

Perrers, Alice

(Encyclopedia)Perrers, Alice pĕrˈərz [key], d. 1400, mistress of Edward III of England. She entered the service of Edward's queen, Philippa of Hainaut, and married a courtier, Sir William de Windsor. Becoming th...

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