(Encyclopedia) Pétion, AlexandrePétion, AlexandreälĕksäNˈdrə pātyôNˈ [key], 1770–1818, Haitian revolutionist. After taking part in the expulsion (1798) of the English from Haiti, he joined (1799)…
(Encyclopedia) VichyVichyvĭshˈē, Fr. vēshēˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 28,048), Allier dept., central France, on the Allier River. Vichy's hot mineral springs made it one of the foremost spas in Europe,…
WorldTaiwanese President Accused of Corruption (Nov. 3): Prosecutors indict Wu Shu-chen, the wife of President Chen Shui-ban, charging that she spent $450,000 in public funds on personal…
Are the Indiana Jones films historically accurate?
by Mark Hughes Related Links Special Effects Archaeology Ancient History World War II The Holocaust…
2,000 Years of the Necktie Bow Ties Take Center Stage by David Johnson NECKTIESTHROUGH THE AGES Introduction • 210 B.C. China's First Emperor • 113 A.…
Painters, sculptors, and photographers
Read the brief and informative biographies of notable artists, from Pablo Picasso and Mary Cassatt to Vincent Van Gogh and Georgia O'Keeffe…
(Encyclopedia) Gregory XI, 1330–78, pope (1370–78), a Frenchman named Pierre Roger de Beaufort. He was the successor of Urban V, who had made an unsuccessful attempt to remove the papacy from Avignon…
(Encyclopedia) Maupassant, Guy deMaupassant, Guy degē də mōpäsäNˈ [key], 1850–93, French novelist and short-story writer, of an ancient Norman family. He worked in a government office at Paris and…
(Encyclopedia) Laffite, JeanLaffite, JeanzhäN läfētˈ [key], c.1780–1826?, leader of a band of privateers and smugglers. The name is often spelled Lafitte. He and his men began operating (1810) off…
(Encyclopedia) London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), founded 1904 by musicians who had left the Queen's Hall Orchestra. Established as a self-governing, profit-sharing cooperative, with members selecting…