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sponge

(Encyclopedia)sponge, common name for members of the aquatic animal phylum Porifera, and for the dried, processed skeletons of certain species used to hold water. Over 4,500 living species are known; they are found...

Rochet, Waldeck

(Encyclopedia)Rochet, Waldeck väldĕkˈ rôshāˈ [key], 1905–83, French political leader. A member of the French Communist party, he was named to its central committee in 1936. He was imprisoned and sent to Alg...

Foreign Legion

(Encyclopedia)Foreign Legion, French volunteer armed force composed chiefly, in its enlisted ranks, of foreigners. Its international character and the tradition of not revealing enlistees' backgrounds have helped t...

Dienbienphu

(Encyclopedia)Dienbienphu or Dien Bien Phu dyĕnˈbyĕnˈfo͞oˈ [key], former French military base, N Vietnam, near the Laos border. It was the scene in 1954 of the last great battle between the French and the Vie...

Cambert, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Cambert, Robert rōbĕrˈ käNbĕrˈ [key], c.1628–1677, French composer; pupil of Chambonnières. His Pastorale d'Issy (1659) and other works are among the first real French operas. With the libret...

Verdun, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Verdun, battle of, the longest and one of the bloodiest engagements of World War I. Two million men were engaged. It began on Feb. 21, 1916, when the Germans, commanded by Crown Prince Frederick Willi...

Battle of the Spurs

(Encyclopedia)Battle of the Spurs. 1 Fought in 1302 near Courtrai, Belgium, between the rebellious Flemish towns, led by Bruges, and an army sent by Philip IV of France, who had annexed Flanders in 1301. The French...

Francophonie, La

(Encyclopedia)Francophonie, La, officially the International Organization of the Francophonie, Fr. Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), an intergovernmental organization of mainly French-speaking n...

Antarctic Peninsula

(Encyclopedia)Antarctic Peninsula, glaciated mountain region of W Antarctica, extending c.1,200 mi (1,930 km) N toward South America. In the south, volcanic peaks rise to c.11,000 ft (3,350 m); other volcanic cones...

Esterhazy, Ferdinand Walsin

(Encyclopedia)Esterhazy, Ferdinand Walsin ĕsˈtərhäˌzē, Fr. fĕrdēnäNˈ välsăNˈ ĕstĕräzēˈ [key], 1847–1923, French army officer, member of a French family possibly related to the Hungarian family o...