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Two Sicilies, kingdom of the

(Encyclopedia)Two Sicilies, kingdom of the. The name Two Sicilies was used in the Middle Ages to mean the kingdoms of Sicily and of Naples (see Sicily and Naples, kingdom of). Alfonso V of Aragón, who in 1442 reun...

Blair, Francis Preston, 1821–75, American political leader

(Encyclopedia)Blair, Francis Preston, 1821–75, American political leader and Union general in the Civil War, b. Lexington, Ky., son of Francis Preston Blair (1791–1876). A St. Louis lawyer, Blair led the Free-S...

Charles, archduke of Austria

(Encyclopedia)Charles, 1771–1847, archduke of Austria; brother of Holy Roman Emperor Francis II. Despite his epilepsy, he was the ablest Austrian commander in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars; however...

Anne of Brittany

(Encyclopedia)Anne of Brittany, 1477–1514, queen of France as consort of Charles VIII from 1491 to 1498 and consort of Louis XII from 1499 until her death. The daughter of Duke Francis II of Brittany, she was hei...

Melrose, town, Scotland

(Encyclopedia)Melrose, town (1991 pop. 2,221), Scottish Borders, S Scotland, on the Tweed River. It is the site of one of the finest ruins in Scotland—Melrose Abbey, owned by the nation and founded for Cistercian...

Aspen Music Festival

(Encyclopedia)Aspen Music Festival, classical music festival held annuallly each summer in Aspen, Colo. Chicagoans Walter and Elizabeth Paepcke established the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies (now the Aspen ...

Houston Grand Opera

(Encyclopedia)Houston Grand Opera, opera company in Houston, Tex., founded 1955 by the German-American impresario and conductor Walter Herbert, who was general director and conductor until 1972. The company perform...

Amadas, Philip

(Encyclopedia)Amadas or Amidas, Philip both: ămˈədăs [key], 1550–1618, English navigator. With Arthur Barlowe he was sent by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584 to explore the North American coast. Their favorable rep...

Slezak, Leo

(Encyclopedia)Slezak, Leo slāˈzäk [key], 1873–1946, Czech tenor, pupil of Jean de Reszke. After his debut as Lohengrin at Brno in 1896, he sang in Vienna, Berlin, and later at the Metropolitan Opera, New York ...

Agramonte, Arístides

(Encyclopedia)Agramonte, Arístides ärēˈstēdās ägrämōnˈtā [key], 1869–1931, Cuban physician and pathologist, M.D. Columbia, 1892. A member of the medical corps of the U.S. army, he was appointed patholo...