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pragmatic sanction

(Encyclopedia)pragmatic sanction, decision of state dealing with a matter of great importance to a community or a whole state and having the force of fundamental law. The term originated in Roman law and was used o...

duPont, Margaret Osborne

(Encyclopedia)duPont, Margaret Osborne, 1918–2012, American tennis player, b. Joseph, Oreg. Known for her aggressive play and endurance, she was one of the finest female players in the mid-20th cent. Ranked numbe...

Cuoco, Vincenzo

(Encyclopedia)Cuoco, Vincenzo vēnchānˈtsō ko͞o-ôˈkō [key], 1770–1823, Italian political philosopher. A lawyer, he was exiled (1799) from Naples for his part in establishing the Parthenopean Republic. In t...

Ferdinand, emperor of Austria

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand, 1793–1875, emperor of Austria (1835–48), son and successor of Emperor Francis I (who also, as Francis II, had been the last Holy Roman emperor). A well-meaning monarch in his lucid mome...

Elizabeth, empress of Austria and queen of Hungary

(Encyclopedia)Elizabeth, 1837–98, empress of Austria and queen of Hungary. A Bavarian princess, she was married (1854) to her cousin, Emperor Francis Joseph. Despite her exceptional beauty, intelligence, and kind...

Horsley, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Horsley, Samuel hôrzˈlē [key], 1733–1806, English prelate, noted as a scientist. He became bishop of St. David's in 1788, of Rochester in 1793, and of St. Asaph in 1802. Science was the field in ...

Halleck, Fitz-Greene

(Encyclopedia)Halleck, Fitz-Greene hălˈĭk [key], 1790–1867, American poet, b. Guilford, Conn. He was joint author, with Joseph Rodman Drake, of the humorous lampoons “Croaker Papers,” most of which were pr...

Habersham, James

(Encyclopedia)Habersham, James hăˈbərshəm [key], 1713–75, colonial statesman, acting governor of Georgia (1771–73), b. Beverley, Yorkshire, England. He came to Georgia (1738) and was associated with George ...

Oliver, King

(Encyclopedia)Oliver, King (Joseph Oliver), 1885–1938, American jazz musician, b. Abend, La. Oliver began his professional career in 1904 with the Onward Brass Band. After playing with leading bands in New Orlean...

Marseillaise

(Encyclopedia)Marseillaise märˌsəlāzˈ [key] [Fr.,=of Marseille], the French national anthem, written and composed in 1792 for the army of the Rhine by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, a French officer in garriso...