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Francis Xavier, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Francis Xavier, Saint, 1506–52, Basque Jesuit missionary, called the Apostle to the Indies, b. Spanish Navarre, of noble parents. He studied in Paris (1525–34), where he became an associate of St....

Jackson, Michael Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Jackson, Michael Joseph, 1958–2009, American performer, b. Gary, Ind. Jackson was an extremely successful pop singer, superb dancer, and talented composer who often conveyed an androgynous image and...

redstart

(Encyclopedia)redstart, common name for an Old World thrush of the genus Phoenicurus, family Turdidae. A small, slender-legged songbird, it is found in woodlands, parks, and heaths. The European redstart, P. phoeni...

Mallowan, Max Edgar Lucien

(Encyclopedia)Mallowan, Sir Max Edgar Lucien, 1904–78, British archaeologist, educated at Oxford. He participated in the British Museum–Univ. of Pennsylvania excavations at Ur (1925–30) and Nineveh (1931–32...

Maine de Biran

(Encyclopedia)Maine de Biran mĕn də bēräNˈ [key], 1766–1824, French philosopher, member of the Council of Five Hundred (1797), and councilor of state (1816). His real name was Marie François Pierre Gonthier...

Maybeck, Bernard

(Encyclopedia)Maybeck, Bernard, 1862–1957, American architect, b. New York City. After studying at the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, he became one of the leading architects in California. From the 1890s to the 19...

John I, king of France

(Encyclopedia)John I or John the Posthumous, 1316, king of France, posthumous son of King Louis X. He lived only five days and was succeeded by his uncle, Philip V. According to legend, a dying child was substitute...

King, Ernest Joseph

(Encyclopedia)King, Ernest Joseph, 1878–1956, American admiral, commander in chief of the U.S. fleet (1941–45), b. Lorain, Ohio. A graduate of Annapolis, he distinguished himself in many branches of naval servi...

Green, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Green, Paul, 1894–1981, American dramatist, b. Lillington, N.C., grad. Univ. of North Carolina, 1921. He is known for his realistic plays depicting the lives of blacks and white tenant farmers. His ...

Gagarin, Yuri Alekseyevich

(Encyclopedia)Gagarin, Yuri Alekseyevich yo͞oˈrē əlyĭksyāˈyəvĭch gägäˈrĭn [key], 1934–68, Russian astronaut (cosmonaut), b. near Gzhatsk, RSFSR. He was the first in history to be rocketed into orbita...