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Langer, William Leonard

(Encyclopedia)Langer, William Leonard, 1896–1977, American historian, b. Boston. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1923 and began teaching there in 1927. Langer served in U.S. intelligence in World War II and...

teasel

(Encyclopedia)teasel, common name for some members of the Dipsacaceae, a family of chiefly Old World herbs found mostly in the Mediterranean and Balkan areas but ranging to India and to S Africa. Species of Dipsacu...

Louise of Savoy, duchesse d'Angoulême

(Encyclopedia)Louise of Savoy, duchesse d'Angoulême düshĕsˈ däNgo͞olĕmˈ [key], 1476–1531, regent of France; daughter of Duke Philip II of Savoy and mother of King Francis I of France and Margaret, queen o...

Waldemar IV

(Encyclopedia)Waldemar IV (Valdemar Atterdag), c.1320–1375, king of Denmark (1340–75). He became king of a land completely dismembered by foreign rulers, but his ambition, unscrupulousness, and military ability...

earth, in chemistry

(Encyclopedia)earth, in chemistry, metallic oxide not readily reducible by chemical means, e.g., alkaline earths, rare earths, and alumina. The name is also applied to certain absorbent clays, e.g., fuller's earth,...

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon

(Encyclopedia)Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, 1834–92, English Baptist preacher. He joined the Baptist communion in 1850. In 1852, at age 18, he took charge of a small congregation at Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, and, a...

Des Périers, Bonaventure

(Encyclopedia)Des Périers, Bonaventure bōnävăNtürˈ dā pārēāˈ [key], c.1510–1544, French humanist and poet; protégé of Margaret of Navarre. His chief work, Cymbalum mundi (1537), a series of four skep...

Newcastle, William Cavendish, duke of

(Encyclopedia)Newcastle, William Cavendish, duke of, 1593?–1676, English soldier and politician. Of great wealth, Cavendish became (1638) governor of the prince of Wales and a privy councilor. During the civil wa...

Roses, Wars of the

(Encyclopedia)Roses, Wars of the, traditional name given to the intermittent struggle (1455–85) for the throne of England between the noble houses of York (whose badge was a white rose) and Lancaster (later assoc...

Falköping

(Encyclopedia)Falköping fälˈchöˌpĭng [key], city, Skaraborg co., S Sweden, between lakes Vänern and ...