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Amalric of Bena

(Encyclopedia)Amalric of Bena bēˈnə [key], d. 1207?, French professor of philosophy. He taught heretical precepts concerning God, a pantheistic universe, and a progressive Trinity. Before he died, he publicly re...

Meryon, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Meryon, Charles shärl mĕryôNˈ [key], 1821–68, French etcher. His short life was saddened by poverty and neglect and complicated by recurring forms of mental aberration. Prevented by color blindn...

Panama Canal Zone

(Encyclopedia)Panama Canal Zone, former territory within Panama, 553 sq mi (1,432 sq km), that was administered by the United States under a 1903 treaty (with later amendments) with Panama. The zone included the Pa...

Picard, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Picard, Jean, 1620–82, French astronomer, noted for having made the first accurate measurement of a degree of the earth's meridian. The figures he established were of great value to Newton in his ca...

Luxembourg Palace

(Encyclopedia)Luxembourg Palace, large Renaissance palace in Paris, on the left bank of the Seine near the Sorbonne. It was built (1615–20) for Marie de' Medici by Salomon de Brosse on the site of a former palace...

White, Henry

(Encyclopedia)White, Henry, 1850–1927, American diplomat, b. Baltimore. He studied abroad and traveled widely. White—often called the first career diplomat in the United States—entered the foreign service as ...

Held, Anna

(Encyclopedia)Held, Anna, 1873?–1918, American musical comedy actress, b. Paris. She is remembered for her beauty and charm and for her tempestuous off-stage life. After she had small singing and dancing parts in...

Casadesus, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Casadesus, Robert käsädāsüsˈ [key], 1899–1972, French pianist and composer, b. Paris. Casadesus was born into a family remarkable for its numerous celebrated musicians. After study at the Paris...

Thetis

(Encyclopedia)Thetis thēˈtĭs [key], in Greek mythology, a nereid, mother of Achilles. She was loved by both Zeus and Poseidon, but because of a prophecy that her son would be greater than his father, the gods ga...

Cluny Museum

(Encyclopedia)Cluny Museum, 14th- and 15th-century Gothic and Renaissance structure in Paris, built by Pierre de Chaslus, abbot of Cluny, and rebuilt by Jacques d'Ambroise. The site is that of the ancient Roman bat...