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Portalis, Jean Étienne Marie

(Encyclopedia)Portalis, Jean Étienne Marie zhäN ātyĕnˈ märēˈ pôrtälēsˈ [key], 1746–1807, French statesman and lawyer. A moderate, he was suspected of royalist sympathies during the French Revolution b...

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) ...

Bichat, Marie François Xavier

(Encyclopedia)Bichat, Marie François Xavier märēˈ fräNswäˈ zävyāˈ bēshäˈ [key], 1771–1802, French anatomist and physiologist. He studied the tissues, giving them that name and classifying them into 2...

Diane de Poitiers

(Encyclopedia)Diane de Poitiers pwätyāˈ [key], 1499–1566, duchess of Valentinois, mistress of King Henry II of France. Noted for her beauty, Diane, who was much older than Henry, retained her influence over hi...

Baliol, Edward de

(Encyclopedia)Baliol, Edward de bālˈyəl [key], d. 1363, king of Scotland, son of John de Baliol (d. 1315). Having secured English support for his claim to the Scottish throne, he invaded Scotland in 1332 and was...

Palafox, José de

(Encyclopedia)Palafox, José de hōsāˈ ᵺā päläfôkhˈ [key], 1776?–1847, Spanish general in the Peninsular War, celebrated for his heroic defense of Zaragoza. Elected captain general of Aragón in 1808, he...

Montcalm, Louis Joseph de

(Encyclopedia)Montcalm, Louis Joseph de mŏntkämˈ, Fr. lwē zhôzĕfˈ də môNkälmˈ [key], 1712–59, French general. His name in fuller form was Louis Joseph de Montcalm-Gozon, marquis de Saint-Véran. A vete...

Havelange, João

(Encyclopedia)Havelange, João (Jean-Marie Faustin Godefroid de Havelange), 1916–2016, Brazilian business and sports executive, b. Rio de Janeiro. An Olympic swimmer (1936) and water polo player (1952), he was a ...

Josephine

(Encyclopedia)Josephine, 1763–1814, empress of the French (1804–9) as the consort of Napoleon I. Born Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de la Pagerie in Martinique, she was married in 1779 to Alexandre de Beauharnais...

Croix, Carlos Francisco de Croix, marqués de

(Encyclopedia)Croix, Carlos Francisco de Croix, marqués de kärˈlōs fränthēsˈkō dā krəwäˈ märkāsˈ dā krəwäˈ [key], 1699–1786, Spanish colonial administrator, b. Lille, France. As viceroy of New ...