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Biron, Ernst Johann von

(Encyclopedia)Biron or Biren, Ernst Johann von ĕrnst yōhänˈ fən bēˈrôn, bēˈrən [key], 1690–1772, duke of Courland (1737–43, 1763–69), favorite of Czarina Anna of Russia. A Baltic nobleman, he rose ...

Tolstoy, Aleksey Nikolayevich

(Encyclopedia)Tolstoy, Aleksey Nikolayevich təlstoiˈ [key], 1883–1945, Russian writer. He was distantly related to Leo Tolstoy. Of aristocratic origin, he opposed the Bolsheviks in 1917 and emigrated to Wester...

Francis Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Francis Joseph or Franz Joseph, 1830–1916, emperor of Austria (1848–1916), king of Hungary (1867–1916), nephew of Ferdinand, who abdicated in his favor. His long reign began in the stormy days o...

Finelli, Giuliano

(Encyclopedia)Finelli, Giuliano jo͞olyäˈnō fēnĕlˈlē [key], 1605–57, Italian sculptor. Working as assistant to Bernini, Finelli rejected the baroque aesthetic and adopted a mannered style of expression inf...

Andrew, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Andrew, Saint [Gr.,=manly], in the New Testament, one of the Twelve Apostles, brother of Peter. According to tradition he was a missionary in Asia Minor, Macedonia, and S Russia. According to the apoc...

Fleetwood

(Encyclopedia)Fleetwood, town, Lancashire, NW England, on Morecambe Bay at the mouth of the Wyre estuary. Fleetwood, a port, trades and has a ferry service with the I...

Benedict Biscop

(Encyclopedia)Benedict Biscop bĭsˈkəp [key], c.628–690, English monk. He founded the monasteries of Wearmouth (at Sunderland) and Jarrow, and he was abbot of St. Peter's, Canterbury. Bede was his pupil. ...

Wolcot, John

(Encyclopedia)Wolcot, John wo͝olˈkət [key], pseud. Peter Pindar, 1738–1819, English poet. He wrote several satires, notably Lyric Odes to the Royal Academicians (1782–83), Bozzy and Piozzi (1786), and The Lo...

Caiaphas

(Encyclopedia)Caiaphas (Joseph Caiaphas) kāˈyəfəs [key], Jewish high priest, a Sadducee, son-in-law of Annas. According to the Gospels, he presided at the council that condemned Jesus to death. Later, he joined...

Sargent, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Sargent, Henry, 1770–1845, American genre and portrait painter, b. Gloucester, Mass., studied in London with Benjamin West. He was skilled in the rendering of textures and accessories. Fine examples...