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Laura

(Encyclopedia)Laura, subject of the love poems of Petrarch. She is thought to be Laura de Noves (1308?–1348), wife of Hugo de Sade, but this has not been proved. ...

Humbert I

(Encyclopedia)Humbert I, 1844–1900, king of Italy (1878–1900), son and successor of Victor Emmanuel II. A soldier by training, Humbert showed interest primarily in military affairs and foreign policy, and early...

Choiseul, César, comte Du Plessis-Praslin, duc de

(Encyclopedia)Choiseul, César, comte Du Plessis-Praslin, duc de sāzärˈ kôNt dü plĕsē-prälăNˈ dük də shwäzölˈ [key], 1598–1675, marshal of France, diplomat, and soldier. He served as ambassador to ...

Ponchielli, Amilcare

(Encyclopedia)Ponchielli, Amilcare ämēlkäˈrā pōngkyĕlˈlē [key], 1834–86, Italian composer of several very successful operas. Only La Gioconda (1876), with libretto by Boito after Hugo's Angelo, is still ...

Le Vau, Louis

(Encyclopedia)Le Vau, Louis lwē lə vō [key], 1612–70, French architect, involved in most of the important building projects for Louis XIV. He settled on the Île Saint-Louis, where he built his own house and t...

Bonaparte

(Encyclopedia)Bonaparte bwōnäpärˈtā [key], family name of Napoleon I, emperor of the French. Of the second generation of the family the most important was Louis Bonaparte's son, Louis Napoleon, who became e...

Savoy, house of

(Encyclopedia)Savoy, house of, dynasty of Western Europe that ruled Savoy and Piedmont from the 11th cent., the kingdom of Sicily from 1714 to 1718, the kingdom of Sardinia from 1720 to 1861, and the kingdom of Ita...

Gibson, William

(Encyclopedia)Gibson, William, 1948–, Canadian science fiction writer, b. Conway, S.C., moved to Canada in the 1960s. He first published short stories in sci-fi magazines; many are collected in Burning Chrome (19...

Chesney, Francis Rawdon

(Encyclopedia)Chesney, Francis Rawdon chĕzˈnē [key], 1789–1872, British soldier and explorer in Asia. His examination of a route for the Suez Canal (1829) demonstrated the feasibility of building a canal and l...

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