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Suvorov, Aleksandr Vasilyevich

(Encyclopedia)Suvorov, Aleksandr Vasilyevich əlyĭksänˈ dər vəsēˈlyəvĭch so͞ovôˈrəf [key], 1729–1800, Russian field marshal. Suvorov entered the army as a youth and rose rapidly through the ranks. He...

John VI, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)John VI, 1769–1826, king of Portugal (1816–26), son of Maria I and Peter III. When his mother became insane, John assumed the reins of government (1792), although he did not formally become regent...

Christopher, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Christopher, Saint krĭsˈtəfər [key] [Gr.,=Christ bearer], 3d cent.?, martyr of Asia Minor. His characteristic legend is that one day when he was carrying a little child over a river, he felt the c...

Philomena of Dacia, Peter

(Encyclopedia)Philomena of Dacia, Peter, or Peter Nightingale, fl. 1291–1303, Danish astronomer and mathematician. He taught at the Univ. of Bologna (1291–92) and in Paris, and was a canon of Roskilde Cathedral...

Brittany

(Encyclopedia)Brittany brĭtˈənē [key], Breton Breiz, Fr. Bretagne, region and former province, NW France. It is a peninsula between the English Channel (N) and the Bay of Biscay (S) and comprises four departmen...

Ramadan

(Encyclopedia)Ramadan rämädänˈ, rămˌədänˈ [key], in Islam, the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which all Muslims must fast during the daylight hours. Indulgence of any sort is forbidden during the f...

East Friesland

(Encyclopedia)East Friesland frēzˈlənd [key], Ger. Ostfriesland, region and former duchy, c.1,100 sq mi (2,850 sq km), Lower Saxony, NW Germany, on the North Sea. It includes the East Frisian Islands and is sepa...

Desmoulins, Camille

(Encyclopedia)Desmoulins, Camille kämēˈyə dāmo͞olăNˈ [key], 1760–94, French revolutionary and journalist. His oratory of July 12, 1789, contributed to the storming of the Bastille two days later. His pamp...

Alexander, William

(Encyclopedia)Alexander, William, known as Lord Stirling stûrˈlĭng [key], 1726–83, American Revolutionary general, b. New York City. Although the House of Lords rejected his claim to succeed as the 6th earl of...

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