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Lacaille, Nicolas Louis de

(Encyclopedia)Lacaille, Nicolas Louis de nēkôläˈ lwē də läkäˈyə [key], 1713–62, French astronomer. As a result of his success in making meridional measurements in France under the patronage of the duke ...

Pretorius, Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus

(Encyclopedia)Pretorius, Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus prĭtôrˈēəs, Du. änˈdrēs vĭlhĕlˈməs yäkōˈbəs prātôrˈēəs [key], 1799–1853, Boer (Afrikaner) leader. He was elected (1838) commandant general o...

Philidor, François-André Danican

(Encyclopedia)Philidor, François-André Danican, 1726–95, French chess player and composer, b. Dreux. The last in a line of well-known 17th- and 18th-century musicians, he was a celebrated composer, mainly of mo...

Tu Fu

(Encyclopedia)Tu Fu do͞o fo͞o [key], 712–70, Chinese poet. In Pinyin, his name is romanized as Du Fu. Tu Fu is often considered the greatest of Chinese poets. He did not pass the imperial civil service examinat...

Bogor

(Encyclopedia)Bogor boiˈtənzôrkh [key] [Du.,=free from care], city, W Java, Indonesia. At the foot of tw...

Yourcenar, Marguerite

(Encyclopedia)Yourcenar, Marguerite märgərētˈ yo͞orsənärˈ [key], 1903–87, French writer, b. Belgium as Marguerite de Crayencour. The first woman elected (1980) to the prestigious French Academy, Yourcenar...

Depardieu, Gérard

(Encyclopedia)Depardieu, Gérard jĕˌrärdˈ dəpärˌdyöˈ [key], 1948–, French actor, b. Châteauroux. He is a versatile, highly successful actor, who has performed on stage and screen in France and also has ...

Donizetti, Gaetano

(Encyclopedia)Donizetti, Gaetano gītäˈnō dōnēdzĕtˈtē [key], 1797–1848, Italian composer. He studied music in Bergamo and Bologna and achieved success with his first opera, Enrico di Borgogna (1818). His ...

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