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Beaumarchais, Pierre Augustin Caron de

(Encyclopedia)Beaumarchais, Pierre Augustin Caron de pyĕr ōgüstăNˈ karôNˈ də bōmärshāˈ [key], 1732–99, French dramatist. Originally a watchmaker, he rose to wealth and position among the nobility. His...

Lee, Robert Edward

(Encyclopedia)Lee, Robert Edward, 1807–70, general in chief of the Confederate armies in the American Civil War, b. Jan. 19, 1807, at Stratford, Westmoreland co., Va.; son of Henry (“Light-Horse Harry”) Lee. ...

Hugo, Victor Marie, Vicomte

(Encyclopedia)Hugo, Victor Marie, Vicomte hyo͞oˈgō, Fr. vēktôrˈ märēˈ vēkôNtˈ ügōˈ [key], 1802–85, French poet, dramatist, and novelist, b. Besançon. His father was a general under Napoleon. As a ...

Johnston, Albert Sidney

(Encyclopedia)Johnston, Albert Sidney, 1803–62, Confederate general, b. Washington, Ky. After serving in the Black Hawk War, he resigned (1834) from the U.S. army and went to Texas where he enlisted (1835) in the...

Channel Tunnel

(Encyclopedia)Channel Tunnel, popularly called the “Chunnel,” a three-tunnel railroad connection running under the English Channel, connecting Folkestone, England, and Calais, France. The tunnels are 31 mi (50 ...

Fairfax of Cameron, Thomas Fairfax, 6th Baron

(Encyclopedia)Fairfax of Cameron, Thomas Fairfax, 6th Baron, 1693–1781, proprietor of the Northern Neck of Virginia, b. England. He inherited the Northern Neck, comprising the land between the Rappahannock and Po...

Seymour, Horatio

(Encyclopedia)Seymour, Horatio sēˈmôr, sēˈmər [key], 1810–86, American politician, b. Pompey Hill, N.Y. He studied law at Utica, N.Y. and was admitted to the bar in 1832. A Democrat, he was military secreta...

Newcastle, William Cavendish, duke of

(Encyclopedia)Newcastle, William Cavendish, duke of, 1593?–1676, English soldier and politician. Of great wealth, Cavendish became (1638) governor of the prince of Wales and a privy councilor. During the civil wa...

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi

(Encyclopedia)Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi, 1977–, one of the leading African writers of her generation, b. Enugu, Nigeria. She left Nigeria for the United States in 1997 to study, and since has split her time betwe...

Steelyard, Merchants of the

(Encyclopedia)Steelyard, Merchants of the, German hanse, or merchants guild, residing at the Steelyard on the Thames near the present Ironbridge Wharf at London, England. The merchants of the Hanseatic League in Lo...