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Selden, John

(Encyclopedia)Selden, John, 1584–1654, English jurist and scholar. He studied at Oxford, was called to the bar in 1612, and was elected to Parliament in 1623. He had already assisted in preparing the protestation...

Schwyz

(Encyclopedia)Schwyz shvēts [key], canton (1993 pop. 116,100), 351 sq mi (909 sq km), central Switzerland, one of the Four Forest Cantons. Bordering on the Lake of Zürich in the north and the Lake of Lucerne in t...

benefit of clergy

(Encyclopedia)benefit of clergy, term originally applied to the exemption of Christian clerics from criminal prosecution in the secular courts. The privilege was established by the 12th cent., and it extended only ...

Wilson, August

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, August, 1945–2005, American playwright and poet, b. Pittsburgh as Frederick August Kittel, Jr. Largely self-educated, Wilson first attracted wide critical attention with his Broadway debut, ...

Besançon

(Encyclopedia)Besançon bəzäNsôNˈ [key], city, capital of Doubs dept., E France, in Franche-Comté, on ...

Chatham, William Pitt, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Chatham, William Pitt, 1st earl of chătˈəm [key], 1708–78, British statesman, known as the Great Commoner. Proud, dramatic, and patriotic, Chatham excelled as a war minister and orator. He was th...

Leopold II, Holy Roman emperor, king of Bohemia and Hungary

(Encyclopedia)Leopold II, 1747–92, Holy Roman emperor (1790–92), king of Bohemia and Hungary (1790–92), as Leopold I grand duke of Tuscany (1765–90), third son of Maria Theresa. Succeeding his father, Holy ...

Lagrange, Joseph Louis, Comte

(Encyclopedia)Lagrange, Joseph Louis, Comte zhôzĕfˈ lwē kôNt lägräNzhˈ [key], 1736–1813, French mathematician and astronomer, b. Turin, of French and Italian descent. Before the age of 20 he was professor...

Lower Saxony

(Encyclopedia)Lower Saxony, Ger. Niedersachsen nēˈdərsäkˌsən [key], state (1994 pop. 7,480,000), 18,295 sq mi (47,384 sq km), NW Germany. Hanover is the capital. The state was formed in 1946 by the merger of ...

Maurice of Nassau

(Encyclopedia)Maurice of Nassau năsˈô [key], 1567–1625, prince of Orange (1618–25); son of William the Silent by Anne of Saxony. He became stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland after the assassination (1584) of...