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Calonne, Charles Alexandre de

(Encyclopedia)Calonne, Charles Alexandre de shärl älĕksäNˈdrə də kälōnˈ [key], 1734–1802, French statesman, controller general of finances (1783–87). Faced with a huge public debt and a steadily deter...

Loménie de Brienne, Étienne Charles

(Encyclopedia)Loménie de Brienne, Étienne Charles ātyĕnˈ shärl lōmānēˈ də brēĕnˈ [key], 1727–94, French statesman, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was archbishop of Toulouse (1763–88) an...

Deschappelles, Alexandre

(Encyclopedia)Deschappelles, Alexandre (Alexandre Louis Honoré Lebreton Deschapelles), 1780–1847, French chess player, b. Ville d'Avray. Considered the world champion chess player from about 1815 to 1821, he was...

Necker, Jacques

(Encyclopedia)Necker, Jacques zhäk nĕkĕrˈ [key], 1732–1804, French financier and statesman, b. Geneva, Switzerland. In 1750 he went to Paris and entered banking. He rose rapidly to importance, established a b...

Charles, Jacques Alexandre César

(Encyclopedia)Charles, Jacques Alexandre César zhäk älĕksäNˈdrə sāzärˈ shärl [key], 1746–1823, French physicist. He confirmed Benjamin Franklin's electrical experiments, became interested in aeronautic...

de Gaulle, Charles

(Encyclopedia)de Gaulle, Charles shärl də gōl [key], 1890–1970, French general and statesman, first president (1959–69) of the Fifth Republic. De Gaulle was reelected to a second seven-year term in 1965. A...

Brongniart, Alexandre

(Encyclopedia)Brongniart, Alexandre brôNyärˈ [key], 1770–1847, French geologist, mineralogist, and chemist. As director of the Sèvres porcelain factory from 1800, he was responsible for its international fam...

Beauharnais, Alexandre, vicomte de

(Encyclopedia)Beauharnais, Alexandre, vicomte de älĕksäNˈdrə vēkôNtˈ də bōärnāˈ [key], 1760–94, French general, b. Martinique. He fought with the colonials in the American Revolution and, as a suppor...

Vinet, Alexandre Rodolphe

(Encyclopedia)Vinet, Alexandre Rodolphe älĕksäNˈdrə rôdôlfˈ vēnāˈ [key], 1797–1847, Swiss Protestant theologian and historian of literature. In 1817 he became professor of French language and literatur...

Bourdonnais, Louis de la

(Encyclopedia)Bourdonnais, Louis de la (Louis-Charles Mahé de la Bourdonnais), 1795–1840, French chess player, b. La Réunion. A pupil of Alexandre Deschappelles, he defeated his mentor in 1821 and from then unt...

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