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Chinon

(Encyclopedia)Chinon shēnôNˈ [key], town (1993 est. pop. 8,961), Indre-et-Loire dept., W central France, in Touraine, on the Vienne River. Chinon was an important medieval town and many buildings (notably three ...

excess profits tax

(Encyclopedia)excess profits tax, levy on any profit above a standard level. Chiefly a wartime phenomenon, it is intended to increase revenue during periods of distress and to prevent businessmen from taking unfair...

Halsey, William Frederick, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Halsey, William Frederick, Jr. (Bull Halsey) hôlˈsē [key], 1882–1959, American admiral, b. Elizabeth, N.J., grad. Annapolis, 1904. In World War II he led (Jan., 1942) a spectacular carrier raid a...

Gaeta

(Encyclopedia)Gaeta gäĕˈtä [key], town, in Latium, central Italy, a seaport on a high promontory in the...

Aubusson, Pierre d'

(Encyclopedia)Aubusson, Pierre d' pyĕr dōbüsôNˈ [key], 1423–1503, French soldier, a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, and grand master of the Knights Hospitalers (1476–1503). In 1480 he valiantly defe...

Nicolls, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Nicolls, Richard, 1624–72, first English governor of New York, b. Bedfordshire, England. He served in the English civil war as a royalist and followed the Stuarts into exile, where he entered the se...

Marie Louise

(Encyclopedia)Marie Louise, 1791–1847, empress of the French (1810–15) as consort of Napoleon I and duchess of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla (1816–47), daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (later Empero...

Arcimboldo, Giuseppe

(Encyclopedia)Arcimboldo, Giuseppe jo͞ozĕpˈpā ärchēmbôlˈdō [key], 1527–93, Italian painter. The son of an artist, he began as a traditional portrait painter. Later, as court painter to Hapsburg kings Max...

Loris-Melikov, Mikhail Tarielovich

(Encyclopedia)Loris-Melikov, Mikhail Tarielovich mēkhəyēlˈ təryĕlˈəvĭch lôˈrĭs-mĕˈlyĭkəf [key], 1826–88, Russian general and statesman, of Armenian descent. He was created count for his services i...

Patkul, Johann Reinhold von

(Encyclopedia)Patkul, Johann Reinhold von yōˈhän rīnˈhôlt fən pätˈko͝ol [key], 1660–1707, Livonian nobleman. He incurred the wrath of Charles XI of Sweden by championing the rights of the Livonian gentr...