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Chaillé-Long, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Chaillé-Long, Charles shäyāˈ-lông [key], 1842–1917, American soldier, African explorer, and writer, b. Princess Anne, Md. After serving in the Civil War, he was commissioned (1869) in the Egypt...

McLoughlin, John

(Encyclopedia)McLoughlin, John məglŏkhˈlĭn, –glôfˈlĭn [key], 1784–1857, Canadian-American fur trader in Oregon, b. Rivière du Loup, near Quebec. A physician and then a trader, he was (1824–46) chief a...

Yourcenar, Marguerite

(Encyclopedia)Yourcenar, Marguerite märgərētˈ yo͞orsənärˈ [key], 1903–87, French writer, b. Belgium as Marguerite de Crayencour. The first woman elected (1980) to the prestigious French Academy, Yourcenar...

Philidor, François-André Danican

(Encyclopedia)Philidor, François-André Danican, 1726–95, French chess player and composer, b. Dreux. The last in a line of well-known 17th- and 18th-century musicians, he was a celebrated composer, mainly of mo...

Vanderbilt, Cornelius

(Encyclopedia)Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 1794–1877, American railroad magnate, b. Staten Island, N.Y. As a boy he ferried freight and passengers from Staten Island to Manhattan, and he soon gained control of most of ...

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...

Chandos, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Chandos, Sir John shănˈdŏs, chănˈ– [key], d. 1370, English soldier and administrator of English territories in France. A friend of Edward the Black Prince, he won distinction in the Hundred Yea...

Nerval, Gérard de

(Encyclopedia)Nerval, Gérard de zhārärˈ də nĕrvälˈ [key], 1808–55, French writer, an early romantic. His real name was Gérard Labrunie. His writings include translations of Faust (1828) and other German ...

Peter the Cruel

(Encyclopedia)Peter the Cruel, 1334–69, Spanish king of Castile and León (1350–69), son and successor of Alfonso XI. His desertion of his wife, Blanche of Bourbon, for María Padilla and his favors to the Padi...