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Bagration, Piotr Ivanovich, Prince

(Encyclopedia)Bagration, Piotr Ivanovich, Prince pyôˈtər ēväˈnəvyĭch bägrätēōnˈ [key], 1765–1812, Russian general in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He fought under Field Marshal Suvoro...

Leonardo da Vinci

(Encyclopedia)Leonardo da Vinci də vĭnˈchē, Ital. lāōnärˈdō dä vēnˈchē [key], 1452–1519, Italian painter, sculptor, architect, musician, engineer, and scientist, b. near Vinci, a hill village in Tusc...

Guarini, Guarino

(Encyclopedia)Guarini, Guarino gwärēˈnō gwärēˈnē [key], 1624–83, Italian architect, mathematician, and writer. He was one of the first to analyze with perceptivity the structure of medieval architecture, ...

Pourbus

(Encyclopedia)Pourbus po͝orˈbəs, –büs [key], family of Flemish painters. Pieter Pourbus, 1510–84, painted portraits and religious subjects. His Last Judgment is in the Bruges Museum; the Metropolitan Museum...

Morris, Robert, 1734–1806, American merchant

(Encyclopedia)Morris, Robert, 1734–1806, American merchant, known as the “financier of the American Revolution,” and signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Liverpool, England. Morris emigrated to Ameri...

L'Hôpital, Michel de

(Encyclopedia)L'Hôpital or L'Hospital, Michel de both: mēshĕlˈ də lōpētälˈ [key], c.1505–1573, chancellor of France under Catherine de' Medici. He was Catherine's chief collaborator in the policy of reli...

Épernon, Jean Louis de Nogaret, duc d'

(Encyclopedia)Épernon, Jean Louis de Nogaret, duc d' zhäN lwē də nōgärāˈ dük dāpĕrnôNˈ [key], 1554–1642, French nobleman. He distinguished himself during the civil wars at the beginning of the reign ...

Charles IX, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Charles IX, 1550–74, king of France. He succeeded (1560) his brother Francis II under the regency of his mother, Catherine de' Medici. She retained her influence throughout his reign. After 1570, ho...

Pole, English noble family

(Encyclopedia)Pole, English noble family. The first member of importance was William de la Pole, d. 1366, a rich merchant who became the first mayor of Hull (1332) and a baron of the exchequer (1339). His oldest so...

Sforza, Francesco I

(Encyclopedia)Sforza, Francesco I , sfôrˈtsä [key], 1401–66, duke of Milan (1450–66); illegitimate son of Muzio Attendolo Sforza. He succeeded his father as leader of his band of mercenaries, and by his valo...