Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Louis XIV, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Louis XIV, 1638–1715, king of France (1643–1715), son and successor of King Louis XIII. Although he had a series of mistresses, Louis XIV finally came under the influence of Mme de Maintenon, wh...

Devolution, War of

(Encyclopedia)Devolution, War of, 1667–68, undertaken by Louis XIV for the conquest of the Spanish Netherlands. On her marriage to Louis, Marie Thérèse, daughter of Philip IV of Spain, had renounced her rights ...

Condorcet, Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas Caritat, marquis de

(Encyclopedia)Condorcet, Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas Caritat, marquis de märēˈ zhäN äNtwänˈ nēkôläˈ kärētäˈ märkēˈ də kôNdôrsāˈ [key], 1743–94, French mathematician, philosopher, and politic...

Belmondo, Jean-Paul

(Encyclopedia)Belmondo, Jean-Paul zhäN-pōl bĕlmôNdōˈ [key], 1933–, French film actor, b. Neuilly-sur-Seine, studied Paris Conservatory. Belmondo made his film debut in 1957, but first gained fame in Breathl...

Flourens, Pierre

(Encyclopedia)Flourens, Pierre (Marie Jean Pierre Flourens) pyĕr flo͞oräNsˈ [key], 1794–1867, French physiologist. He demonstrated the respiratory center in the medulla and the function of the cerebellum in m...

Louis XVI, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Louis XVI, 1754–93, king of France (1774–92), third son of the dauphin (Louis) and Marie Josèphe of Saxony, grandson and successor of King Louis XV. In 1770 he married the Austrian archduchess Ma...

Marat, Jean Paul

(Encyclopedia)Marat, Jean Paul zhäN pōl märäˈ [key], 1743–93, French revolutionary, b. Switzerland. He studied medicine in England, acquired some repute as a doctor in London and Paris, and wrote scientific ...

Barnave, Antoine Pierre Joseph Marie

(Encyclopedia)Barnave, Antoine Pierre Joseph Marie äNtwänˈ pyĕr zhōzĕfˈ märēˈ bärnävˈ [key], 1761–93, French revolutionary. A member of the States-General of 1789 from Grenoble, he was a brilliant sp...

Soult, Nicolas Jean de Dieu

(Encyclopedia)Soult, Nicolas Jean de Dieu nēkôläˈ zhäN də dyö so͞olt [key], 1769–1851, marshal of France. Having won distinction in the Napoleonic Wars, especially at the battle of Austerlitz, he was crea...

Robespierre, Maximilien Marie Isidore

(Encyclopedia)Robespierre, Maximilien Marie Isidore mäksēmēlyăNˈ märēˈ ēzēdôrˈ rôbĕspyĕrˈ [key], 1758–94, one of the leading figures of the French Revolution. The law of 22 Prairial (June 10) ...