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Ronsard, Pierre de

(Encyclopedia)Ronsard, Pierre de pyĕr də rôNsärˈ [key], 1524–1585, French poet. As page, then squire, Ronsard seemed destined for a career at court both in France and abroad. However, deafness turned him to ...

Rachel, French actress

(Encyclopedia)Rachel ālēˈzä fālēksˈ [key], 1821–58, French actress, b. Switzerland. Exploited by her father in her childhood, she sang in the streets with her sister Sarah. In Paris, showing great promise ...

Vinland

(Encyclopedia)Vinland or Wineland, section of North America discovered by Leif Ericsson in the 11th cent. The sources for the knowledge of Leif Ericsson's exploration differ as to whether it was planned or accident...

Wylie, Elinor (Hoyt)

(Encyclopedia)Wylie, Elinor (Hoyt), 1885–1928, American poet and novelist, b. Somerville, N.J. She was famous during her life almost as much for her ethereal beauty and personality as for her melodious, sensuous ...

Bodoni, Giambattista

(Encyclopedia)Bodoni, Giambattista jämbät-tēˈstä bōdōˈnē [key], 1740–1813, Italian printer b. Piedmont. He was the son of a printer and worked for a time at the press of the Vatican. Under the patronage ...

Curtis, Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar

(Encyclopedia)Curtis, Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar, 1850–1933, American publisher and philanthropist, b. Portland, Maine. He started his first periodical, The People's Ledger, in Boston in 1872. Later, in Philadelphi...

Juvenal

(Encyclopedia)Juvenal (Decimus Junius Juvenalis) jo͞oˈvənəl [key], fl. 1st to 2d cent. a.d., Roman satirical poet. His verse established a model for the satire of indignation, in contrast to the less harsh sati...

Leadville

(Encyclopedia)Leadville lĕdˈvĭl [key], mining city (1990 pop. 2,629), alt. c.10,200 ft (3,110 m), seat of Lake co., central Colo., near the headwaters of the Arkansas River, in the Rocky Mts.; inc. 1878. Some mi...

Drago, Luis María

(Encyclopedia)Drago, Luis María lo͞oēsˈ märēˈä dräˈgō [key], 1859–1921, Argentine statesman, jurist, and writer on international law. As minister of foreign affairs under Julio A. Roca, he dispatched (...

Corneille, Pierre

(Encyclopedia)Corneille, Pierre pyĕr kôrnāˈyə [key], 1606–84, French dramatist, ranking with Racine as a master of French classical tragedy. Educated by Jesuits, he practiced law briefly in his native Rouen ...