(Encyclopedia) Alfonso VI, 1643–83, king of Portugal (1656–83), son and successor of John IV. Slightly paralyzed and mentally defective, he led a dissolute youth until he came under the influence of…
(Encyclopedia) Devolution, War of, 1667–68, undertaken by Louis XIV for the conquest of the Spanish Netherlands. On her marriage to Louis, Marie Thérèse, daughter of Philip IV of Spain, had renounced…
(Encyclopedia) Amundsen Sea, arm of the S Pacific Ocean, W Antarctica, bordered by Thurston Island and Cape Dart. Off the coast of Marie Byrd Land, the sea was named after Norwegian explorer Roald…
(Encyclopedia) Vigée-Lebrun, ÉlisabethVigée-Lebrun, Élisabethālēzäbĕtˈ vēzhāˈ-ləbröNˈ [key], 1755–1842, French portrait painter; pupil of her father, the painter Louis Vigée. She was influenced by…
(Encyclopedia) Épernon, Jean Louis de Nogaret, duc d'Épernon, Jean Louis de Nogaret, duc d'zhäN lwē də nōgärāˈ dük dāpĕrnôNˈ [key], 1554–1642, French nobleman. He distinguished himself during the…
(Encyclopedia) Flourens, Pierre (Marie Jean Pierre Flourens)Flourens, Pierrepyĕr fl&oomacr;räNsˈ [key], 1794–1867, French physiologist. He demonstrated the respiratory center in the medulla and…
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z More Biographies Don't see the biography you're looking for? Search 30,000+ biographies Biographies by Category…
(Encyclopedia) Vatel, FrançoisVatel, FrançoisfräNswäˈ vätĕlˈ [key], fl. 17th cent., French chef, famous in the time of Louis XIV. Mme Marie de Sévigné, in her letters, speaks of him as the chef of…
(Encyclopedia) Peri, JacopoPeri, Jacopoyäˈkōpō pĕˈrē [key], 1561–1633, Italian composer and singer. Dafne (c.1597), perhaps the first opera, was composed by both Peri and Jacopo Corsi. The librettist…
(Encyclopedia) Ferdinand, 1865–1927, king of Romania (1914–27), nephew of Carol I. The second son of the Prussian prince, Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, he was designated successor to the…
