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Schmeling, Max

(Encyclopedia)Schmeling, Max (Maximilian Schmeling), 1905–2005, German boxer. He debuted as a professional fighter in 1924 and came to the United States in 1928. Two years later the methodical slugger beat heavyw...

Otto I, king of Bavaria

(Encyclopedia)Otto I, 1848–1916, king of Bavaria (1886–1913). Although incurably insane after 1872, he succeeded his brother King Louis II under the regency of his uncle Luitpold (1886–1912) and Luitpold's so...

Joanna I

(Encyclopedia)Joanna I, 1326–82, queen of Naples (1343–81), countess of Provence. She was the granddaughter of King Robert of Naples, whom she succeeded with her husband, Andrew of Hungary. The murder (1345) of...

Carolingians

(Encyclopedia)Carolingians kărəlĭnˈjēənz [key], dynasty of Frankish rulers, founded in the 7th cent. by Pepin of Landen, who, as mayor of the palace, ruled the East Frankish Kingdom of Austrasia for Dagobert ...

degree-day

(Encyclopedia)degree-day, a unit of measure used to estimate the fuel and power requirements in heating and cooling a building; it is equal to a difference of 1 degree between the outdoor daily average temperature ...

equestrianism

(Encyclopedia)equestrianism, art of riding and handling a horse. Horseback riding was practiced as far back as the Bronze Age and was thereafter adapted to commerce, industry, war, sport, and recreation. Diverse st...

McEwan, Ian

(Encyclopedia)McEwan, Ian (Ian Russell McEwan) məkyo͞oˈən [key], 1948–, English novelist, b. Aldershot, B.A. Univ. of Sussex, 1970, M.A. Univ. of East Anglia, 1971. His early short-story collections, First Lo...

stagecoach

(Encyclopedia)stagecoach, heavy, closed vehicle on wheels, usually drawn by horses, formerly used to transport passengers and goods overland. Throughout the Middle Ages and until about the end of the 18th cent., th...

Francis II, duke of Brittany

(Encyclopedia)Francis II, 1435–88, duke of Brittany. He succeeded (1458) his uncle Arthur III. In his struggle with the French crown for the independence of his duchy, Francis entered (1465) the League of the Pub...

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