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Boccaccio, Giovanni

(Encyclopedia)Boccaccio, Giovanni jōvänˈnē [key], 1313–75, Italian poet and storyteller, author of the Decameron. Born in Paris, the illegitimate son of a Tuscan merchant and a French woman, he was educated a...

Levasseur, Émile

(Encyclopedia)Levasseur, Émile (Pierre Émile Levasseur) pyĕr āmēlˈ lüväsörˈ [key], 1828–1911, French economist. He was noted especially for his historical approach to the study of economics. He studied ...

Maupertuis, Pierre Louis Moreau de

(Encyclopedia)Maupertuis, Pierre Louis Moreau de pyĕr lwē môrōˈ də mōpĕrtüēˈ [key], 1698–1759, French mathematician and astronomer. For his skillful support of Newton's theory he was admitted to the Ro...

Dollier de Casson, François

(Encyclopedia)Dollier de Casson, François fräNswäˈ dôlyāˈ də käsôNˈ [key], 1636–1701, priest and explorer in Canada, b. near Nantes, France. In 1657 he entered the seminary of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, and...

Sagarra, Josep Maria de

(Encyclopedia)Sagarra, Josep Maria de (Josep Maria de Sagarra i Castellarnau) zhōsĕpˈ mərēˈə dā səgärˈrə ē kästəl-lyärˈnou [key], 1894–1961, Catalonian poet, novelist, and playwright. He publishe...

Pachuca de Soto

(Encyclopedia)Pachuca de Soto pächo͞oˈkä ᵺā sōˈtō [key], city (1990 pop. 174,013), capital of Hidalgo state, central Mexico, at the head of a ravine surrounded by foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental. P...

Villehardouin, Geoffroi de

(Encyclopedia)Villehardouin, Geoffroi de, c.1160–c.1212, French historian and Crusader. As marshal of Champagne, he was a leader of the Fourth Crusade (see Crusades), which resulted in the conquest (1204) of Cons...

Strozzi

(Encyclopedia)Strozzi strôtˈtsē [key], noble Florentine family. It grew rich through commerce and took an active part in the government of the city after the 13th cent. Later the Strozzi strongly opposed the Med...

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