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Alfonso VIII, Spanish king of Castile

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso VIII (Alfonso the Noble), 1155–1214, Spanish king of Castile (1158–1214), son and successor of Sancho III. Chaos prevailed during his minority, but he quickly restored order after assuming...

Louis XVIII, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Louis XVIII, 1755–1824, king of France (1814–24), brother of King Louis XVI. Known as the comte de Provence, he fled (1791) to Koblenz from the French Revolution and intrigued to bring about forei...

Lesseps, Ferdinand Marie, vicomte de

(Encyclopedia)Lesseps, Ferdinand Marie, vicomte de fĕrdēnäNˈ märēˈ vēkôNtˈ də lĕsĕpsˈ [key], 1805–94, French diplomat and engineer. He entered the consular service in 1825 and was minister to Spain ...

Louis II, king of Hungary and Bohemia

(Encyclopedia)Louis II, 1506–26, king of Hungary and Bohemia (1516–26), son and successor of Uladislaus II. He was the last of the Jagiello dynasty in the two kingdoms. In the face of intensified attacks by Sul...

Meyer, Conrad Ferdinand

(Encyclopedia)Meyer, Conrad Ferdinand kônˈrät fĕrˈdēnänt mīˈər [key], 1825–98, Swiss poet and novelist. He studied history and art and later turned to literature. He is best known for his historical nov...

Marcos, Ferdinand Edralin

(Encyclopedia)Marcos, Ferdinand Edralin fārdēnändˈ ĕdˈrälēnˌ märˈkōs [key], 1917–89, Philippine political leader. A lawyer and aide to Manuel Roxas (1946–47), he was elected to congress in 1949, ser...

Oyono, Ferdinand Léopold

(Encyclopedia)Oyono, Ferdinand Léopold ōyōˈnō, ōˌyōnōˈ [key], 1929–2010, Cameroonian statesman and novelist writing in French. After studying in Africa and in Paris at the Law School and the National Sc...

Philip I, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Philip I, 1052–1108, king of France (1060–1108), son and successor of Henry I. He enlarged, by arms and by diplomacy, his small royal domain. In order to prevent the union of England and Normandy ...

Minho, river, Spain

(Encyclopedia)Minho Span mēnˈyō, Port. mēnˈyo͞o [key], Span. Miño, river, c.210 mi (340 km) long, rising in Galicia, NW Spain, and flowing generally SW to the Atlantic Ocean. The Sil is its chief tributary. ...

Céline, Louis Ferdinand

(Encyclopedia)Céline, Louis Ferdinand lwē fĕrdēnNˈ sālēnˈ [key], 1894–1961, French author, whose real name was Louis Ferdinand Destouches. Céline wrote grim, scatological, and blackly funny novels. His f...