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Josephine

(Encyclopedia)Josephine, 1763–1814, empress of the French (1804–9) as the consort of Napoleon I. Born Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de la Pagerie in Martinique, she was married in 1779 to Alexandre de Beauharnais...

Alençon, François, duc d'

(Encyclopedia)Alençon, François, duc d': see Francis, duke of Alençon and Anjou. ...

Franz Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Franz Joseph, emperor of Austria and king of Hungary: see Francis Joseph. ...

Marignano, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Marignano, battle of märēnyäˈnō [key], 1515, in the Italian Wars, fought by Francis I of France and his Venetian allies against the Swiss Confederates, who then controlled the duchy of Milan. It ...

Budé, Guillaume

(Encyclopedia)Budé, Guillaume gēyōmˈ büdāˈ [key], 1467–1540, French humanist, b. Paris. Budé, known also by the Latinized form of his name, Budaeus, was a towering figure of the Renaissance. He was secret...

Golding, William

(Encyclopedia)Golding, William (Sir William Gerald Golding), 1911–93, English novelist, grad. Oxford (B.A. 1934). Praised for his highly imaginative and original writings, Golding was basically concerned with the...

Peck, Gregory

(Encyclopedia)Peck, Gregory, 1916–2003, American movie actor, b. La Jolla, Calif., as Eldred Gregory Peck. Peck studied at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse and debuted on Broadway in The Morning Star (1942) and ...

Pelosi, Nancy Patricia

(Encyclopedia)Pelosi, Nancy Patricia pəlōˈsē [key], 1940–, U.S. congresswoman, Speaker of the U.S. House of ...

Beatty, Warren

(Encyclopedia)Beatty, Warren (Henry Warren Beaty) bāˈtē, bēˈ– [key], 1937–, motion picture act...

brigandage

(Encyclopedia)brigandage brĭgˈəndĭj [key] [Ital. brigare=to fight], robbery and plundering committed by armed bands, often associated with forests or mountain regions. Social and political demoralization, econo...