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Fortescue, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Fortescue, Sir John fôrˈtĭskyo͞o [key], c.1394–1476, English jurist. A supporter of the Lancastrian king Henry VI, he was chief justice of the Court of King's Bench from 1442 until 1461, when He...

Gardiner, Stephen

(Encyclopedia)Gardiner, Stephen, 1493?–1555, English prelate. He was educated at Cambridge. He became secretary to Thomas (later Cardinal) Wolsey and later secured the favor of Henry VIII by a mission to Rome to ...

Honthorst, Gerrit van

(Encyclopedia)Honthorst, Gerrit van gĕrˈĭt vän hōntˈhôrst [key], 1590–1656, Dutch portrait, genre, and allegorical painter. In Italy (c.1610–1620) he gained a sound understanding of the works of Caravagg...

Baganda

(Encyclopedia)Baganda bägänˈdə [key], also called Ganda, the largest ethnic group in Uganda. Bagandas comprise about 17% of the population and have the country's highest standard of living and literacy rate. Th...

Faeroe Islands

(Encyclopedia)Faeroe Islands or Faröe Islands both: fârˈō [key], Dan. Færøerne, Faeroese Føroyar, group of volcanic islands (2015 est. pop. 49,000), 540 sq mi (1,399 sq km), Denmark, in the N Atlantic, betwe...

Boleyn, Anne

(Encyclopedia)Boleyn, Anne bo͝olˈĭn, bo͝olĭnˈ [key], 1507?–1536, second queen consort of Henry VIII and mother of Elizabeth I. She was the daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn, later earl of Wiltshire and Ormonde,...

Laughton, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Laughton, Charles, 1899–1962, Anglo-American actor, b. Scarborough, England. A large, versatile character actor, Laughton was successful both in films and on the stage. In The Private Life of Henry ...

Frankfurt Parliament

(Encyclopedia)Frankfurt Parliament, 1848–49, national assembly convened at Frankfurt on May 18, 1848, as a result of the liberal revolution that swept the German states early in 1848. The parliament was called by...

Harpestreng, Henrik

(Encyclopedia)Harpestreng, Henrik, or Henricus Dacus, d. 1244, Danish herbalist and medical writer. He probably studied at the medical school in Salerno, and was a canon at Roskilde Cathedral, then Denmark's eccles...

Westphalia, Peace of

(Encyclopedia)Westphalia, Peace of, 1648, general settlement ending the Thirty Years War. It marked the end of the Holy Roman Empire as an effective institution and inaugurated the modern European state system. The...