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Péguy, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Péguy, Charles shärl pāgēˈ [key], 1873–1914, French poet and writer. Of a poor, working family, he won scholarships and made a brilliant record as a student. He left the École normale supérie...

Peninsular War

(Encyclopedia)Peninsular War, 1808–14, fought by France against Great Britain, Portugal, Spanish regulars, and Spanish guerrillas in the Iberian Peninsula. The Peninsular War immeasurably raised Britain's mi...

Laudonnière, René Goulaine de

(Encyclopedia)Laudonnière, René Goulaine de rənāˈ go͞olĕnˈ də lōdônyĕrˈ [key], fl. 1562–82, French colonizer in Florida. After accompanying Jean Ribaut on the first French expedition to Florida (1562...

Mutis, José Celestino

(Encyclopedia)Mutis, José Celestino hōsāˈ thālĕstēˈnō mo͞oˈtēs [key], 1732–1808, Spanish naturalist and plant explorer. One of Linnaeus' first disciples in Spain, he went to South America and settled ...

Courcelle, Daniel Rémy, sieur de

(Encyclopedia)Courcelle, Daniel Rémy, sieur de dänyĕlˈ rāmēˈ syörˈ də ko͞orsĕlˈ [key], d.1698, governor of New France (1665–72). He arrived with the intendant Jean Talon, and together they inaugurate...

Fustel de Coulanges, Numa Denis

(Encyclopedia)Fustel de Coulanges, Numa Denis nümäˈ dənēˈ füstĕlˈ də ko͞oläNzhˈ [key], 1830–89, French historian. His masterly study, La Cité antique (1864, tr. The Ancient City, 1874), stressed the...

Monge, Gaspard, comte de Péluse

(Encyclopedia)Monge, Gaspard, comte de Péluse gäspärˈ môNzh kôNt də pālüzˈ [key], 1746–1818, French mathematician, physicist, and public official. He was distinguished for his geometrical research, whic...

Deschappelles, Alexandre

(Encyclopedia)Deschappelles, Alexandre (Alexandre Louis Honoré Lebreton Deschapelles), 1780–1847, French chess player, b. Ville d'Avray. Considered the world champion chess player from about 1815 to 1821, he was...

Berthelot, Pierre Eugène Marcelin

(Encyclopedia)Berthelot, Pierre Eugène Marcelin pyĕr ûzhĕnˈ märsəlăNˈ bĕrtəlōˈ [key], 1827–1907, French chemist. He was professor at the École Supérieure de Pharmacie (1859) and at the Collège de ...

Jura, mountain range, France and Switzerland

(Encyclopedia)Jura jo͝orˈə, Fr. zhüräˈ, Ger. yo͞oˈrä [key], mountain range, part of the Alpine system, E France and NW Switzerland, occupying parts of the French region of Franche-Comté and the Swiss cant...