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Mourou, Gérard Albert

(Encyclopedia)Mourou, Gérard Albert, 1944–, French physicist, Ph.D. Pierre and Marie Curie Univ. (now part of Sorbonne Univ.), 1973. Mourou was a professor at the Univ. of Rochester, New York, from 1977 to 1988,...

Longueuil, Charles le Moyne, sieur de

(Encyclopedia)Longueuil, Charles le Moyne, sieur de shärl lə mwän, syör də lôNgöˈyə [key], 1626–85, French colonial leader in Canada, founder of a famous Canadian family, b. Dieppe, France. Emigrating to...

Belloc, Hilaire

(Encyclopedia)Belloc, Hilaire (Joseph Hilaire Pierre Belloc) bĕlˈŏk [key], 1870–1953, English author, b. France. He became a British subject in 1902, and from 1906 to 1910 was a Liberal member of Parliament fo...

Von Stroheim, Erich

(Encyclopedia)Von Stroheim, Erich (Hans Erich Marie Stroheim von Nordenaall) āˈrĭkh fən shtrōˈhīm [key], 1885–1957, Austrian-American film director, writer, and actor. He came to the United States in 1909,...

irrigation

(Encyclopedia)irrigation, in agriculture, artificial watering of the land. Although used chiefly in regions with annual rainfall of less than 20 in. (51 cm), it is also used in wetter areas to grow certain crops, e...

Bangkok

(Encyclopedia)Bangkok băngˈkŏkˌ [key], Thai Krung Thep, city (2021 est. pop. 10,539,000), capital of Th...

Broglie

(Encyclopedia)Broglie brôˈyə, brôglēˈ [key], French noble family of Piedmontese origin, who settled in France in the 17th cent. Victor Maurice, comte de Broglie, 1647–1727, was marshal of France and fought ...

Saxe-Coburg

(Encyclopedia)Saxe-Coburg săks-kōbərg [key], Ger. Sachsen-Coburg, former duchy, central Germany. A possession of the Ernestine branch of the house of Wettin, it was given by Ernest the Pious (d. 1675) of Saxe-Go...

West Flanders

(Encyclopedia)West Flanders, Du. West-Vlaanderen, Fr. Flandre Occidentale, province (1991 pop. 1,106,829), W Belgium, bordering on the North Sea in the west, on the Netherlands in the northeast, and on France in th...

Umar

(Encyclopedia)Umar ōˈmär [key], c.581–644, 2d caliph (see caliphate). At first hostile to Islam, he was converted by 618, becoming an adviser to Muhammad. He succeeded Abu Bakr as caliph without opposition in ...