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Constantine, Russian grand duke

(Encyclopedia)Constantine (Konstantin Pavlovich) kənstəntyēnˈ pävˈləvĭch [key], 1779–1831, Russian grand duke, second son of Czar Paul I and brother of Alexander I and Nicholas I. On the death of Alexande...

Antipater, Macedonian general

(Encyclopedia)Antipater ăntĭpˈətər [key], d. 319 b.c., Macedonian general. He was one of the ablest and most trusted lieutenants of Philip II and was a friend and supporter of Alexander the Great. When Alexand...

Sforza

(Encyclopedia)Sforza sfôrˈtsä [key], Italian family that ruled the duchy of Milan from 1450 to 1535. Rising from peasant origins, the Sforzas became condottieri and used this military position to become rulers i...

Leochares

(Encyclopedia)Leochares lēŏkˈərēz [key], fl. 4th cent. b.c., Greek sculptor, probably an Athenian. Leochares was associated in the decoration of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. He is known to have made portrai...

Huss, John

(Encyclopedia)Huss, John yän ho͝os [key], 1369?–1415, Czech religious reformer. At the invitation of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, who granted him a safe-conduct, Huss presented himself in 1414 at the Council...

Milic of Kremsier

(Encyclopedia)Milic of Kremsier mēˈlēch, krāmˈzēr [key], d. 1374, Bohemian reformer. He was a Roman Catholic priest. In 1363 he began a career of preaching in Moravia as well as in Prague. Believing that the ...

Maistre, Joseph de

(Encyclopedia)Maistre, Joseph de zhôzĕfˈ də mĕsˈtrə [key], 1753–1821, French writer and diplomat. Born in Savoy, he was Sardinian ambassador at St. Petersburg from 1803 to 1817. A passionate Roman Catholic...

Sarpi, Paolo

(Encyclopedia)Sarpi, Paolo päˈōlō särˈpē [key], 1552–1623, Venetian councillor, theologian, and historian. In 1565 he became a Servite friar and later theologian and adviser to the republic. In the conflic...

Romero, Saint Óscar

(Encyclopedia)Romero, Saint Óscar (Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez), 1917–80, Salvadoran bishop and human rights advocate. He studied at the Gregorian Univ. in Rome and was ordained in 1942. Returning to El Sa...

Quesnel, Pasquier

(Encyclopedia)Quesnel, Pasquier päskyāˈ kĕnĕlˈ [key], 1634–1719, French Jansenist writer. He entered the Congregation of the Oratory in 1657 and was made director of the seminary at Paris in 1662. His editi...