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Blake, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Blake, Robert, 1599–1657, English admiral. A merchant, he sat in the Short Parliament (1640) and joined the parliamentary side in the civil war. He defended Bristol, Lyme, and Taunton against royali...

Shrewsbury, Charles Talbot, duke of

(Encyclopedia)Shrewsbury, Charles Talbot, duke of shrōzˈbərē, shro͞ozˈ– [key], 1660–1718, English statesman. Brought up a Roman Catholic, he embraced Protestantism in 1679. A powerful Whig, he was one of ...

Capetians

(Encyclopedia)Capetians kəpēˈshənz [key], royal house of France that ruled continuously from 987 to 1328; it takes its name from Hugh Capet. Related branches of the family (see Valois; Bourbon) ruled France unt...

Spencer, Herbert

(Encyclopedia)Spencer, Herbert, 1820–1903, English philosopher, b. Derby. In 1848 he moved to London, where he was an editor at The Economist and wrote his first major book, Social Statics (1851), which tried to ...

evolution

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Plant and animal evolution [Modified from Alfred Gunderson in Brooklyn Botanic Garden Leaflets, Ser. 18, No. 4 (1930); used by permission.] evolution, concept that embodies the belief that ex...

jungle fowl

(Encyclopedia)jungle fowl, common name for small, terrestrial wild fowl comprising four species in the genus Gallus. Most important of these is the red jungle fowl, which Charles Darwin determined to be the ancesto...

Townshend, Charles Townshend, 2d Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Townshend, Charles Townshend, 2d Viscount tounˈzĕnd [key], 1674–1738, English statesman. A leading Whig in the reign of Queen Anne, he served as a commissioner to negotiate the union (1707) with S...

Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma, Prince

(Encyclopedia)Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma, Prince, 1886–1934, son of Robert, last duke of Parma. While serving as an officer in the Belgian army, he was the intermediary for his brother-in-law, Emperor Charles I of A...

Hugh Capet

(Encyclopedia)Hugh Capet kāˈpĭt, kăpˈĭt [key], c.938–996, king of France (987–96), first of the Capetians. He was the son of Hugh the Great, to whose vast territories he succeeded in 956. After the death ...

Laughton, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Laughton, Charles, 1899–1962, Anglo-American actor, b. Scarborough, England. A large, versatile character actor, Laughton was successful both in films and on the stage. In The Private Life of Henry ...