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Malherbe, François de

(Encyclopedia)Malherbe, François de fräNswäˈ də mälĕrbˈ [key], 1555–1628, French poet and critic, official poet of Henry IV and Louis XIII. His own poems approach technical perfection but lack verve and f...

Jodelle, Estienne

(Encyclopedia)Jodelle, Estienne ātyĕnˈ zhôdĕlˈ [key], 1532–73, French poet of the Pléiade (see under Pleiad). He was the author of Cléopatre captive (1553), the first French tragedy that departed from med...

Münch, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Münch, Charles shärl münsh [key], 1891–1968, French conductor and violinist, b. Alsace. Having conducted and directed orchestras in Paris (1933–48), Münch appeared for three seasons from 1947 ...

Gautier, Émile Félix

(Encyclopedia)Gautier, Émile Félix āmēlˈ fālēksˈ gōtyāˈ [key], 1864–1940, French geographer, an authority on Algiers, the Sahara, and the French African possessions. He explored W Madagascar (1892–94...

Gaspé, Philippe Aubert de

(Encyclopedia)Gaspé, Philippe Aubert de fēlēpˈ ōbĕrˈ də gäspāˈ [key], 1786–1871, French Canadian author. He was high sheriff of Quebec for several years. His Les Anciens Canadiens (1863, tr. 1864, 1890...

Flotow, Friedrich von

(Encyclopedia)Flotow, Friedrich von frēˈdrĭkh fən flōˈtō [key], 1812–83, German operatic composer. Flotow's operas show the influence of French opéra comique, which set the tone for light opera in the 19t...

Fra Diavolo

(Encyclopedia)Fra Diavolo frä dēäˈvōlō [key] [Ital.,=friar devil], 1771–1806, Italian bandit and soldier, whose real name was Michele Pezza. He entered the service of the king of Naples in 1798 and with Car...

Junius, Franciscus

(Encyclopedia)Junius, Franciscus, 1589–1677, French philologist; son of Franciscus Junius (1545–1602), French Huguenot theologian. The younger Franciscus Junius was born in Heidelberg and lived chiefly in Holla...

Schoelcher, Victor

(Encyclopedia)Schoelcher, Victor vēktôrˈ shölshĕrˈ [key], 1804–93, French humanitarian and statesman. Long involved in the abolition movement, he presided (1848) over a commission that secured the abolition...

Bart, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Bart, Jean zhäN bär [key], 1650–1702, French naval hero, b. Dunkirk. Of a seafaring family, he enlisted in the Dutch navy but entered French service as a privateer at the outbreak of the Dutch War...