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Bismarck, Otto von

(Encyclopedia)Bismarck, Otto von bĭzˈmärk, Ger. ôˈtō fən bĭsˈmärk [key], 1815–98, German statesman, known as the Iron Chancellor. The Bismarckian era closed with the death of Emperor Frederick III. A ...

Bock, Fedor von

(Encyclopedia)Bock, Fedor von fāˈdôr fən bôk [key], 1880–1945, German field marshal. During World War II he led German armies in Poland, the Low Countries, France, and Russia. In 1941 he failed to take Mosco...

Bode, Wilhelm von

(Encyclopedia)Bode, Wilhelm von bōˈdə [key], 1845–1929, German art critic and writer. He abandoned law for art and archaeology in 1869. In 1872 he was made assistant in the Berlin Museum; in 1883, director of...

Berlichingen, Götz von

(Encyclopedia)Berlichingen, Götz von götsˈ fən bĕrˈlĭkhĭng-ən [key], 1480–1562, German knight and adventurer. The head of a band of free soldiers, he lost (1504) his right hand in the battle of Landshut ...

Bernhardi, Friedrich von

(Encyclopedia)Bernhardi, Friedrich von frēˈdrĭkh fən bĕrnhärˈdē [key], 1849–1930, German general and military writer. His book Germany and the Next War (1912, tr. 1912) was widely publicized by the Allies...

Bergmann, Ernst von

(Encyclopedia)Bergmann, Ernst von ĕrnst fən bĕrgˈmän [key], 1836–1907, German surgeon, b. Riga. He became a professor at the Univ. of Berlin in 1882. He contributed to the modern practice of asepsis in surge...

Zesen, Philipp von

(Encyclopedia)Zesen, Philipp von fēˈlĭp fən tsāˈzən [key], 1619–89, German poet and novelist. Zesen was a major champion of the purification of the German language. His works include Deutscher Helikon [Ger...

Ranke, Leopold von

(Encyclopedia)Ranke, Leopold von lāˈōpôlt fən rängˈkə [key], 1795–1886, German historian, generally recognized as the father of the modern objective historical school. He applied and elaborated Barthold N...

Sybel, Heinrich von

(Encyclopedia)Sybel, Heinrich von hīnˈrĭkh fən zēˈbəl [key], 1817–95, German historian. He studied under Ranke at the Univ. of Berlin, but later abandoned the Rankean striving for objective history; he beg...

Stein, Lorenz von

(Encyclopedia)Stein, Lorenz von lōˈrĕnts fən shtīn [key], 1815–90, German economist and sociologist. He studied jurisprudence at the Univ. of Kiel and at Paris and taught (1846–51) at the Univ. of Kiel, bu...