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Zhu De

(Encyclopedia)Zhu De or Chu Teh both: jo͞o dŭ [key], 1886–1976, Chinese Communist soldier and leader. He was graduated (1911) from the Yunnan military academy and served in various positions with armies loyal t...

San Francisco Symphony

(Encyclopedia)San Francisco Symphony, orchestra founded 1911. It has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall since 1980. Henry Hadley, the original music director, was followed by Alfred Hertz (1915–30), ...

Balthus

(Encyclopedia)Balthus bôlˈthəs, bălˈ– [key], 1908–2001, Polish-French painter, b. Paris as Count Balthasar Klossowski de Rola. Balthus is sometimes regarded as one of the most important figurative painters...

Sá de Miranda, Francisco de

(Encyclopedia)Sá de Miranda, Francisco de fränsēshˈkō də sä də mēränˈdä [key], 1481–1558, Portuguese writer. A noble and a courtier, he lived for a time in Italy and became acquainted with the literat...

Carranza de Miranda, Bartolomé de

(Encyclopedia)Carranza de Miranda, Bartolomé de bärtōlōmāˈ dā käränˈthä dā mēränˈdä [key], 1503–76, Spanish churchman. He joined the Dominicans (1520) and taught at Valladolid. He was active in th...

Bienville, Jean Baptiste le Moyne, sieur de

(Encyclopedia)Bienville, Jean Baptiste le Moyne, sieur de zhäN bätēstˈ lə mwän syör də byăNvēlˈ [key], 1680–1768, colonizer and governor of Louisiana, b. Ville Marie (on the site of Montreal), Canada; ...

French literature

(Encyclopedia)French literature, writings in medieval French dialects and standard modern French. Writings in Provençal and Breton are considered separately, as are works in French produced abroad (as at Canadian ...

Du Pont, Samuel Francis

(Encyclopedia)Du Pont, Samuel Francis, 1803–65, American naval officer, b. Bergen Point, N.J.; grandson of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours. Appointed a midshipman in 1815, he saw his first active duty in the Med...

Couperin, François

(Encyclopedia)Couperin, François fräNswäˈ ko͞opərăNˈ [key], 1668–1733, French harpsichordist and composer, called “le Grand” to distinguish him from the other musicians in his family. His harpsichord ...

Chouteau

(Encyclopedia)Chouteau sho͞otōˈ [key], family of American fur traders. René Auguste Chouteau, 1749–1829, b. New Orleans, accompanied (1763) his stepfather, Pierre Laclede, on a trading expedition to the Illin...