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Rodin, Auguste

(Encyclopedia)Rodin, Auguste ōgüstˈ rōdăNˈ [key], 1840–1917, French sculptor, b. Paris. He began his art study at 14 in the Petite École and in the school of Antoine Barye, earning his living by working fo...

Piccard, Auguste

(Encyclopedia)Piccard, Auguste ōgüstˈ pēkärˈ [key], 1884–1962, Swiss physicist, b. Basel. He became a professor at the Univ. of Brussels in 1922. He and his twin brother Jean Felix (d. 1963) are known for t...

Perret, Auguste

(Encyclopedia)Perret, Auguste ōgüstˈ pĕrāˈ [key], 1874–1954, French architect. He left the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris to join the family construction firm with his brother Gustave, and began to exper...

agnosticism

(Encyclopedia)agnosticism ăgnŏsˈtĭsĭzəm [key], form of skepticism that holds that the existence of God cannot be logically proved or disproved. Among prominent agnostics have been Auguste Comte, Herbert Spenc...

Morny, Charles Auguste Louis Joseph, duc de

(Encyclopedia)Morny, Charles Auguste Louis Joseph, duc de shärl ōgüstˈ lwē zhôzĕfˈ dük də môrnēˈ [key], 1811–65, French statesman; illegitimate son of Hortense de Beauharnais and the comte de Flahaut...

positivism

(Encyclopedia)positivism pŏˈzĭtĭvĭzəm [key], philosophical doctrine that denies any validity to speculation or metaphysics. Sometimes associated with empiricism, positivism maintains that metaphysical questio...

Franche-Comté

(Encyclopedia)Franche-Comté fräNsh-kôNtāˈ [key] or Free County of Burgundy, former province and former administrative region, E France. It is coextensive with Haute-Saône, Doubs, and Jura depts. Dôle was the...

Delaherche, Félix Auguste

(Encyclopedia)Delaherche, Félix Auguste fālēksˈ ōgüstˈ dəläârshˈ [key], 1857–1940, French potter. He is considered the greatest ceramist since Bernard Palissy. Working alone in the village of La Chapel...

Chartier, Émile Auguste

(Encyclopedia)Chartier, Émile Auguste shärtyāˈ [key], 1868–1951, French essayist and philosopher who wrote under the pseudonym Alain. He is best known for thousands of aphoristic essays, called propos, which...

Franck, César Auguste

(Encyclopedia)Franck, César Auguste sāzärˈ ōgüstˈ fräNk [key], 1822–90, Belgian-French composer and organist. He studied at the conservatories of Liège and Paris, taking prizes in piano, composition, and...