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Klesl, Melchior

(Encyclopedia)Klesl or Khlesl, Melchior both: mĕlˈkhyôr klāˈsəl [key], 1552–1630, Austrian politician, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. The son of a Protestant baker, he was converted to Catholicism b...

Cheng Ho

(Encyclopedia)Cheng Ho or Zheng He both: jŭngˈ ho͝oˈ [key], 1371–c.1433, admiral, diplomat, and explorer during China's Ming dynasty. At 10 he was captured by Chinese troops in Yunnan, castrated, and sent int...

Valentinian II

(Encyclopedia)Valentinian II, 371?–392, Roman emperor of the West (375–92), son of Valentinian I. Upon the death of his father, he was proclaimed emperor with his brother Gratian as coregent. After the death (3...

Pu Yi

(Encyclopedia)Pu Yi po͞o yē [key] or Henry Pu-yi, Manchu Aisin Gioro, 1906–67, last emperor (1908–12) of China, under the reign name Hsuan T'ung. After his abdication, the new republican government granted hi...

Hadrian's Wall

(Encyclopedia)Hadrian's Wall, ancient Roman wall, 73.5 mi (118.3 km) long, across the narrow part of the island of Great Britain from Wallsend on the Tyne River to Bowness at the head of Solway Firth. It was mainly...

Ten Thousand Islands

(Encyclopedia)Ten Thousand Islands, group of small islands in the Gulf of Mexico, off SW Fla., covered with mangrove forests and surrounded by clam beds. Most of the islands are in Everglades National Park. ...

Florida, Straits of

(Encyclopedia)Florida, Straits of, passage, c.90 mi (145 km) wide, between the Florida Keys in the north and Cuba in the south. It connects the Gulf of Mexico with the Atlantic Ocean. ...

Erzberger, Matthias

(Encyclopedia)Erzberger, Matthias mätēˈäs ĕrtsˈbĕrgər [key], 1875–1921, German public official. He was a leader of the left wing of the Catholic Center party in the Reichstag from 1903. Early in World War...

Vitellius, Aulus

(Encyclopedia)Vitellius, Aulus ôˈləs vĭtĕlˈēəs [key], a.d. 15–a.d. 69, Roman emperor (a.d. 69). He was made commander of the legions on the lower Rhine by Galba in a.d. 68. On Galba's death he was proclai...

Müller, Max

(Encyclopedia)Müller, Max (Friedrich Maximilian Müller, Friedrich Max Müller, or Friedrich Max-Müller) ;frēˈdrĭkh mäkˌsēmēlˈyän [key], 1823–1900, German philologist and Orientalist, b. Dessau; son of...