(Encyclopedia) Cinco de Mayo, May 5, the anniversary of Mexico's victory over France in 1862 in the Battle of Puebla, in which Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza's small, ill-equipped Mexican forces defeated a…
(Encyclopedia) Coehoorn, Menno vanCoehoorn, Menno vanmĕˈnō vän k&oomacr;ˈhôrn [key], 1641–1704, Dutch military engineer and nobleman. He invented a portable bronze siege mortar called the coehorn…
(Encyclopedia) GedaliahGedaliahgĕdəlīˈə [key], in the Bible. 1 Son of Jeremiah's protector Ahikam and guardian under Nebuchadnezzar of the Jews who were exempt from the Captivity. He was…
(Encyclopedia) Gérôme, Jean LéonGérôme, Jean LéonzhäN lāôNˈ zhārōmˈ [key], 1824–1904, French historical and genre painter. He enjoyed a successful career in his day. He studied with Delaroche and…
(Encyclopedia) Delderfield, R. F. (Ronald Frederick Delderfield), 1912–73, English writer, b. London. He did not start writing novels until he was 44, after having been a successful playwright and…
(Encyclopedia) Alkan, Charles Henri ValentinAlkan, Charles Henri Valentinshärl äNrēˈ väläNtăNˈ ălkăNˈ [key], 1813–88, French pianist and composer; his original surname was Morhange. He was a pianist…
(Encyclopedia) Green, Hetty, 1835–1916, American financier, b. Henrietta Howland Robinson, New Bedford, Mass. She inherited a large fortune from her father and invested it so shrewdly that she was…
(Encyclopedia) Valhalla or WalhallaValhallaboth: vălhälˈə, –hălˈə [key], in Norse mythology, Odin's hall for slain heroes. This martial paradise was one of the most beautiful halls of Asgard. The…
(Encyclopedia) Praetorius, MichaelPraetorius, Michaelprētôrˈēəs [key], 1571–1621, German composer and musicographer, whose name originally was Schultheiss. He was a prolific composer, his Musae…
(Encyclopedia) OnkelosOnkelosŏngˈkəlōs [key], 2d cent. a.d., translator of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic, his work later being given the title Targum Onkelos (see Targum). A proselyte, he gained the…
