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Valle, Pietro della

(Encyclopedia)Valle, Pietro della pyĕˈtrō dĕlˈlä välˈlā [key], 1586–1652, Italian traveler in Asia. He sailed (1614) from Venice; spent a year in Constantinople, where he studied Turkish and Arabic; then...

Vare, William Scott

(Encyclopedia)Vare, William Scott, 1867–1934, American political leader, b. Philadelphia. He engaged in machine politics and became (1898) a member of the select council of Philadelphia. He was recorder of deeds ...

Blackbeard

(Encyclopedia)Blackbeard, d. 1718, English pirate. His name was probably Edward Teach, Thatch, or Thach. He probably began as a privateer in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), then turned pirate. In 171...

Sandys, Edwin

(Encyclopedia)Sandys, Edwin săndz [key], 1516?–1588, English prelate, archbishop of York (1576–88). While a student at Cambridge he turned to Protestantism. On the death (1553) of Edward VI, Sandys supported L...

Stafford, Humphrey, 1st duke of Buckingham

(Encyclopedia)Stafford, Humphrey, 1st duke of Buckingham, 1402–60, English nobleman. He succeeded his father as earl of Stafford in 1403. He inherited the title of earl of Buckingham through his mother, Anne, cou...

abdication

(Encyclopedia)abdication, in a political sense, renunciation of high public office, usually by a monarch. Some abdications have been purely voluntary and resulted in no loss of prestige. For instance, Holy Roman Em...

Eustace II

(Encyclopedia)Eustace II yo͞oˈstĭs [key], d. 1093, count of Boulogne. He was the brother-in-law of Edward the Confessor of England. Visiting England in 1051, he and his followers became involved in a brawl with ...

Norfolk, Thomas Howard, 3d duke of

(Encyclopedia)Norfolk, Thomas Howard, 3d duke of, 1473–1554, English nobleman, prominent in the reign of Henry VIII; son of Thomas Howard, the 2d duke. He married (1495) a daughter of Edward IV and thus became br...

Mars, family of American food manufacturers

(Encyclopedia)Mars, family of American food manufacturers. Franklin Clarence Mars, 1882–1934, b. Hancock, Minn., was a chocolate manufacturer who produced candy at home before opening a candy factory (1911) in Ta...

William of Wykeham

(Encyclopedia)William of Wykeham or William of Wickham both: wĭˈkəm [key], 1324–1404, English prelate and lord chancellor. He is thought to have been the son of a serf. Entering the service of the royal court ...