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Montmorency, Mathieu II, baron de

(Encyclopedia)Montmorency, Mathieu II, baron de môNmôräNsēˈ [key], d. 1230, constable of France (1218–30), called the Great Constable. He fought under Philip II at Château Gaillard (1203–4) and Bouvines ...

Armistead, George

(Encyclopedia)Armistead, George ärˈmĭstĕd [key], 1780–1818, American artillery officer distinguished in the War of 1812, b. Virginia. He took part in the capture of Fort George on the Niagara frontier but is ...

Royal George

(Encyclopedia)Royal George, British naval vessel that sank on Aug. 29, 1782, while undergoing repairs at Spithead. Its commander, Admiral Richard Kempenfelt, and about 800 sailors and visitors were drowned. The inc...

Ade, George

(Encyclopedia)Ade, George, 1866–1944, American humorist and dramatist, b. Kentland, Ind., grad. Purdue Univ., 1887. His newspaper sketches and books attracted attention for their racy and slangy idiom and for the...

Stephenson, George

(Encyclopedia)Stephenson, George, 1781–1848, British engineer, noted as a locomotive builder. He learned to read and write in night school at the age of 18, while working in a colliery. He constructed (1814) a tr...

Amherst, Jeffery Amherst, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Amherst, Jeffery Amherst, Baron ămˈərst [key], 1717–97, British army officer. He served in the War of the Austrian Succession and in the early part of the Seven Years War. In 1758 he was sent to ...

Saint George

(Encyclopedia)Saint George, town (1991 pop. 1,648), on St. George's Island, Bermuda. It was the capital of Bermuda until 1815, when it was replaced by Hamilton. During the American Civil War it harbored Confederate...

Wrangel, Baron Piotr Nikolayevich

(Encyclopedia)Wrangel, Baron Piotr Nikolayevich pyôˈtər nyĭkəlīˈəvĭch vränˈgĭl [key], 1878–1928, Russian general. After serving in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–5) and in World War I, he joined (late...

Pulci, Luigi

(Encyclopedia)Pulci, Luigi lwēˈjē po͞olˈchē [key], 1432–84, Italian poet. Of an impoverished literary family, he became a protégé of Lorenzo de' Medici and a friend of Poliziano. The most noted work of hi...

Blessington, Marguerite, countess of

(Encyclopedia)Blessington, Marguerite, countess of, 1789–1849, English author and famous beauty, b. Ireland. At the age of 14 she was forced by her father into marriage with Capt. Maurice St. Leger Farmer, a sadi...