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farce

(Encyclopedia)farce, light, comic theatrical piece in which the characters and events are greatly exaggerated to produce broad, absurd humor. Early examples of farce can be found in the comedies of Aristophanes, Pl...

Sainte-Chapelle

(Encyclopedia)Sainte-Chapelle săNt-shäpĕlˈ [key], former chapel in Paris. Forming part of the buildings of the Palais de Justice (once the royal palace) on the Île-de-la-Cité, it was built by Pierre de Montre...

Templewood, Samuel John Gurney Hoare, 1st Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Templewood, Samuel John Gurney Hoare, 1st Viscount, 1880–1959, British statesman. He entered parliament as a Conservative in 1910, served (1922–24, 1924–29) as secretary of state for air, and in...

South Dakota

(Encyclopedia)CE5 South Dakota dəkōˈtə [key], state in the N central United States. It is bordered by North Dakota (N), Minnesota and Iowa (E), Nebraska (S), and Wyoming and Montana (W). ...

Klein, Yves

(Encyclopedia)Klein, Yves, 1928–62, French painter. With critic Pierre Restany, he was a leader of the avant-garde movement called Nouveau Réalisme (founded 1960). In the 1950s Klein began to work in monochromes...

French Community

(Encyclopedia)French Community, established in 1958 by the constitution of the Fifth French Republic to replace the French Union. Its members consisted of the French Republic, which included metropolitan France (co...

Darlan, Jean François

(Encyclopedia)Darlan, Jean François zhäN fräNswäˈ därläNˈ [key], 1881–1942, French admiral. A career naval officer, he became commander of the French navy in 1939 and joined the Vichy government (see unde...

Deane, Silas

(Encyclopedia)Deane, Silas, 1737–89, political leader and diplomat in the American Revolution, b. Groton, Conn. A lawyer and merchant at Wethersfield, Conn., he was elected (1772) to the state assembly and became...

Trafalgar, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Trafalgar, battle of trəfălˈgər [key], naval engagement fought off Cape Trafalgar on the SW coast of Spain on Oct. 21, 1805, in which the British fleet under Horatio Nelson won a famous victory ov...

Hébert, Jacques René

(Encyclopedia)Hébert, Jacques René zhäk rənāˈ ābĕrˈ [key], 1757–94, French journalist and revolutionary. An ardent supporter of the French Revolution, he gained the support of the working classes through...