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Baïf, Jean Antoine de

(Encyclopedia)Baïf, Jean Antoine de zhäN äNtwänˈ də bäēfˈ [key], 1532–89, French poet of the Pléiade (see under Pleiad). He wrote sonnets, didactic and satirical poems, and plays. ...

Saint-Jean-de-Luz

(Encyclopedia)Saint-Jean-de-Luz săN-zhäN-də-lüz [key], town (1990 pop. 13,181), Pyrénées-Atlantiques dept., SW France, in the Basque region (see Basques), on the Bay of Biscay. It is a beach resort with a cas...

Portalis, Jean Étienne Marie

(Encyclopedia)Portalis, Jean Étienne Marie zhäN ātyĕnˈ märēˈ pôrtälēsˈ [key], 1746–1807, French statesman and lawyer. A moderate, he was suspected of royalist sympathies during the French Revolution b...

Pompidou, Georges Jean Raymond

(Encyclopedia)Pompidou, Georges Jean Raymond zhôrzh pôNpēdo͞oˈ [key], 1911–74. French political leader, president of France (1969–74). Georges Pompidou taught school and then served in World War II until t...

Vianney, Saint Jean-Baptiste

(Encyclopedia)Vianney, Saint Jean-Baptiste zhäN-bätēstˈ vyänāˈ [key], 1786–1859, French parish priest, popularly known as the Curé d'Ars, b. Dardilly, near Lyons. He came of poor, peasant stock and receiv...

Glass, Philip

(Encyclopedia)Glass, Philip, 1937–, American composer, b. Baltimore. Considered one of the most innovative of contemporary composers, he was a significant figure in the development of minimalism in music. Glass a...

Balzac, Jean Louis Guez de

(Encyclopedia)Balzac, Jean Louis Guez de də bälzäkˈ [key], 1597?–1654, French writer. His Lettres (1624, tr. 1634) and other writings were a great influence in reforming French prose. Their style was marked ...

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