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Major, John, 1943–, British politician

(Encyclopedia)Major, John, 1943–, British statesman, b. John Major Ball. Raised in a working-class area of London, he was elected to Lambeth borough council (1968–71) and entered Parliament as a Conservative in...

Parmigianino

(Encyclopedia)Parmigianino –jäˈnō [key], 1503–40, Italian painter and etcher, one of the most sensitive mannerist artists (see mannerism) and one of the period's finest draftsmen. His real name was Girolamo ...

Philip the Bold, duke of Burgundy

(Encyclopedia)Philip the Bold, 1342–1404, duke of Burgundy (1363–1404); a younger son of King John II of France. He fought (1356) at Poitiers and shared his father's captivity in England. He was first made duke...

Mackintosh, Charles Rennie

(Encyclopedia)Mackintosh, Charles Rennie măkˈəntŏshˌ [key], 1868–1928, Scottish architect, artist, and furniture designer. Probably the greatest architect and designer Scotland has produced, he attempted to ...

Paisley, Ian Richard Kyle

(Encyclopedia)Paisley, Ian Richard Kyle pāzˈlē [key], 1926–2014, Northern Irish religious and political leader. For many years a leading protagonist of militant Protestantism against Roman Catholicism in North...

Saint Bartholomew's Day, massacre of

(Encyclopedia)Saint Bartholomew's Day, massacre of, murder of French Protestants, or Huguenots, that began in Paris on Aug. 24, 1572. It was preceded, on Aug. 22, by an attempt, ordered by Catherine de' Medici, on ...

Henry IV, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Henry IV, 1553–1610, king of France (1589–1610) and, as Henry III, of Navarre (1572–1610), son of Antoine de Bourbon and Jeanne d'Albret; first of the Bourbon kings of France. Henry's marri...

Brown, Gordon

(Encyclopedia)Brown, Gordon (James Gordon Brown), 1951–, British politician. From 1975 to 1980 he taught at Edinburgh Univ. and Glasgow College of Technology; he then joined Scottish Television (1980–83) as a j...

Shetland Islands

(Encyclopedia)Shetland Islands zĕtˈ– [key], the archipelago is 70 mi (110 km) long and consists of some 100 islands, of which fewer than one fourth are inhabited. Mainland, Yell, Unst, Fetlar, Whalsey, and Bres...

Pisano, Nicola

(Encyclopedia)Pisano, Nicola pēzäˈnō [key], b. c.1220, d. between 1278 and 1287, major Italian sculptor, believed to have come from Apulia. He founded a new school of sculpture in Italy. His first great work w...