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Marie Caroline

(Encyclopedia)Marie Caroline, 1752–1814, queen of Naples, consort of Ferdinand IV (later Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies), daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and Maria Theresa, and sister of Queen Marie Ant...

Kidman, Nicole

(Encyclopedia)Kidman, Nicole (Nicole Mary Kidman), 1967–, Australian actress, b. Honolulu, Hawaii. She began acting on television as a teenager in Australia, then starred in the film Dead Calm (1989). Her later r...

Acton, Sir John Francis Edward

(Encyclopedia)Acton, Sir John Francis Edward, 1736?–1811, Neapolitan statesman of British origin, b. Besançon, France. Called upon by Queen Marie Caroline and King Ferdinand IV of Naples (later Ferdinand I of th...

Nelson, Horatio Nelson, Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Nelson, Horatio Nelson, Viscount, 1758–1805, British admiral. The most famous of Britain's naval heroes, he is commemorated by the celebrated Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square, London. Upon the ...

Guadalupe Victoria

(Encyclopedia)Guadalupe Victoria gwäᵺälo͞oˈpā vēktōrˈyä [key], 1786?–1843, Mexican general, first president of Mexico (1824–29), whose original name was Manuel Félix Fernández. He joined (1811) the...

Mapplethorpe, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Mapplethorpe, Robert māˈpəlthôrpˌ [key], 1946–89, American photographer, b. New York City. He is known for his elegantly expressive black-and-white studies of male and female nudes, flowers, an...

Marlborough, Sarah Churchill, duchess of

(Encyclopedia)Marlborough, Sarah Churchill, duchess of, 1660–1744, confidante of Queen Anne of England. Born Sarah Jennings, she was a childhood friend of Princess Anne. In 1677 she married John Churchill, later ...

Lee, Peggy

(Encyclopedia)Lee, Peggy, 1920–2002, American singer and songwriter, b. Jamestown, N.D., as Norma Deloris Egstrom. Lee became famous for her singular voice—sexy, subtle, simultaneously smoky and cool—and her ...

Yamoussoukro

(Encyclopedia)Yamoussoukro yäməso͞oˈkrō [key], city (1990 est. pop. 100,000), designated capital of Côte d'Ivoire, S central Côte d'Ivoire. A small town of less than 20,000 people until the late 1970s, Yamou...

Blok, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich

(Encyclopedia)Blok, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich əlyĭksänˈdər əlyĭksänˈdrəvĭch blôk [key], 1880–1921, Russian poet, considered the greatest of the Russian symbolists. As the leading disciple of Vladimir S...