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Turgot, Anne Robert Jacques

(Encyclopedia)Turgot, Anne Robert Jacques än rōbĕrˈ zhäk türgōˈ [key], 1727–81, French economist, comptroller general of finances (1774–76). The son of a rich merchant, he showed precocious ability at s...

Tissot, James Joseph Jacques

(Encyclopedia)Tissot, James Joseph Jacques zhāmz zhôzĕfˈ zhäk tēsōˈ [key], 1836–1902, French painter and etcher. After participating in the Franco-Prussian War he stayed for 10 years in London, where he w...

Thou, Jacques Auguste de

(Encyclopedia)Thou, Jacques Auguste de zhäk ôgüstˈ də to͞o [key], 1553–1617, French historian and magistrate. As a member of the Parlement of Paris, Thou rendered outstanding service to Henry IV. The first ...

Rivette, Jacques Pierre Louis

(Encyclopedia)Rivette, Jacques Pierre Louis, 1928–2016, French filmmaker and critic b. Rouen. One of the French New Wave directors of the 1950s and 60s, he wrote criticism for the influential journal Cahiers du C...

Yhombi-Opango, Jacques Joachim

(Encyclopedia)Yhombi-Opango, Jacques Joachim, 1939–2020, Congolese politician. An army colonel, he became president of the People's Republic of the Congo in 1977 after the assassination of President Ngouabi. Forc...

Bonpland, Aimé Jacques Alexandre

(Encyclopedia)Bonpland, Aimé Jacques Alexandre āmāˈ zhäkˈ älĕksäNˈdrə bôNpläNˈ [key], 1773–1858, French surgeon and naturalist who accompanied Alexander von Humboldt on his expedition in Latin Ameri...

essence

(Encyclopedia)essence, in philosophy, the nature of a thing. Aristotle maintained that there is a distinction between the form of a thing—its intelligible, verbally formulable character—and the essence of a thi...

Henry, Pierre Georges

(Encyclopedia)Henry, Pierre Georges, 1927–2017, French composer noted for his contributions to electronic music. He studied with Nadia Boulanger and Olivier Messiaen at the Paris Conservatory, where he met Pierre...

diminishing returns, law of

(Encyclopedia)diminishing returns, law of, in economics, law stating that if one factor of production is increased while the others remain constant, the overall returns will relatively decrease after a certain poin...

Barbizon school

(Encyclopedia)Barbizon school bärˌbĭzōNˈ, bärˈbĭzŏnˌ [key], an informal school of French landscape painting that flourished c.1830–1870. Its name derives from the village of Barbizon, a favorite residen...