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Two Sicilies, kingdom of the

(Encyclopedia)Two Sicilies, kingdom of the. The name Two Sicilies was used in the Middle Ages to mean the kingdoms of Sicily and of Naples (see Sicily and Naples, kingdom of). Alfonso V of Aragón, who in 1442 reun...

Blair, Francis Preston, 1821–75, American political leader

(Encyclopedia)Blair, Francis Preston, 1821–75, American political leader and Union general in the Civil War, b. Lexington, Ky., son of Francis Preston Blair (1791–1876). A St. Louis lawyer, Blair led the Free-S...

Charles, archduke of Austria

(Encyclopedia)Charles, 1771–1847, archduke of Austria; brother of Holy Roman Emperor Francis II. Despite his epilepsy, he was the ablest Austrian commander in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars; however...

Gibson, William

(Encyclopedia)Gibson, William, 1948–, Canadian science fiction writer, b. Conway, S.C., moved to Canada in the 1960s. He first published short stories in sci-fi magazines; many are collected in Burning Chrome (19...

Moore, Douglas Stuart

(Encyclopedia)Moore, Douglas Stuart, 1893–1969, American composer and teacher, b. Cutchogue, N.Y. Moore studied with Horatio Parker, Vincent D'Indy, Nadia Boulanger, and Ernest Bloch. In 1926 he joined the music ...

Anne of Brittany

(Encyclopedia)Anne of Brittany, 1477–1514, queen of France as consort of Charles VIII from 1491 to 1498 and consort of Louis XII from 1499 until her death. The daughter of Duke Francis II of Brittany, she was hei...

Collège de France

(Encyclopedia)Collège de France kôlĕzhˈ də fräNs [key], institution of higher learning founded in Paris, France, in 1529 by Francis I at the instigation of Guillaume Budé. It was founded to encourage humanis...

Hastings, Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st marquess of

(Encyclopedia)Hastings, Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st marquess of hāˈstĭngz [key], 1754–1826, British soldier and administrator. He fought with distinction against the colonists in the American Revolution. Crea...

Fontainebleau, school of

(Encyclopedia)Fontainebleau, school of, group of 16th-century artists who decorated the royal palace at Fontainebleau. The major figures in this group were Italian painters invited to France by Francis I. Il Rosso,...

Amboise, conspiracy of

(Encyclopedia)Amboise, conspiracy of, 1560, plot of the Huguenots (French Protestants) and the house of Bourbon to usurp the power of the Guise family, which virtually ruled France during the reign of the young Fra...