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Machault d'Arnouville, Jean Baptiste de

(Encyclopedia)Machault d'Arnouville, Jean Baptiste de zhäN bätēstˈ də mäshōˈ därno͞ovēlˈ [key], 1701–94, French statesman. He held a succession of government offices and was (1743–45) intendant of V...

Champs Élysées

(Encyclopedia)Champs Élysées shäN zālēzāˈ [key], avenue of Paris, France, leading from the Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe. It is celebrated for its tree-lined beauty, its commodious breadth, the...

Alkan, Charles Henri Valentin

(Encyclopedia)Alkan, Charles Henri Valentin shärl äNrēˈ väläNtăNˈ ălkăNˈ [key], 1813–88, French pianist and composer; his original surname was Morhange. He was a pianist of great virtuosity and wrote m...

Moissan, Henri Ferdinand Frederick

(Encyclopedia)Moissan, Henri Ferdinand Frederick, 1852–1907, French chemist, Ph.D. École Pratique des Haute Études, Paris, 1880. Moissan was a professor at the School of Pharmacy in Paris (1886–1900) and at t...

Lacordaire, Jean Baptiste Henri

(Encyclopedia)Lacordaire, Jean Baptiste Henri zhäN bätēstˈ äNrēˈ läkôrdĕrˈ [key], 1802–61, French Roman Catholic preacher and liberal. Ordained in 1827, he came under the influence of Lamennais and col...

French literature

(Encyclopedia)French literature, writings in medieval French dialects and standard modern French. Writings in Provençal and Breton are considered separately, as are works in French produced abroad (as at Canadian ...

Caylus, Marie Marguerite, comtesse de

(Encyclopedia)Caylus, Marie Marguerite, comtesse de kālüsˈ [key], 1673–1729, French writer and actress. A noted beauty and wit, she was lauded for her performance at Saint-Cyr in Racine's Esther. Her Souvenir...

John the Fearless

(Encyclopedia)John the Fearless, 1371–1419, duke of Burgundy (1404–19); son of Philip the Bold. He fought against the Turks at Nikopol in 1396 and was a prisoner for a year until he was ransomed. He continued h...

Versailles

(Encyclopedia)Versailles vərsīˈ, Fr. vĕrsīˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 91,029), capital of Yvelines dept., N central France. It was an insignificant rural hamlet when Louis XIII constructed a small retreat there ...

régence style

(Encyclopedia)régence style rāzhäNsˈ [key], transitional style in architecture and decoration originated in France during the regency (1715–23) of Philippe, duc d'Orléans. The most important practitioners of...

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