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Pico della Mirandola, Giovanni, Conte

(Encyclopedia)Pico della Mirandola, Giovanni, Conte jōvänˈnē kōnˈtā pēˈkō dĕlˈlä mēränˈdōlä [key], 1463–94, Italian philosopher and humanist. To many in the age of the Renaissance, Pico was the ...

Machiavelli, Niccolò

(Encyclopedia)Machiavelli, Niccolò nēk-kōlôˈ mäkyävĕlˈlē [key], 1469–1527, Italian author and statesman, one of the outstanding figures of the Renaissance, b. Florence. Machiavelli's best-known work, ...

Menzel, Donald Howard

(Encyclopedia)Menzel, Donald Howard, 1901–76, American astrophysicist, b. Florence, Colo. From 1926 to 1932 he was with the Lick Observatory in Calif. In 1932 he joined the faculty at Harvard, where he became pro...

Lascaris, Constantine

(Encyclopedia)Lascaris, Constantine kŏnˈstəntēn lăsˈkərĭs [key], d. 1501?, Greek grammarian. After the fall of Constantinople, Lascaris went to Italy and in Milan obtained the patronage of Francesco Sforza....

Richards, William Trost

(Encyclopedia)Richards, William Trost, 1833–1905, American painter, b. Philadelphia, studied in Florence, Rome, and Paris, and settled in Germantown, Pa. Early in his career he painted landscapes and still lifes,...

Gemistus Pletho, Georgius

(Encyclopedia)Gemistus Pletho, Georgius jôrˈjəs jĭmĭsˈtəs plēˈthō [key], c.1355–1452, Byzantine scholar and philosopher, b. Constantinople. He represented the Orthodox Eastern Church at the Council of F...

Bella, Stefano della

(Encyclopedia)Bella, Stefano della stāfäˈnō dĕlˈlä bĕlˈlä [key], 1610–64, Italian engraver, b. Florence. First copying the manner of Jacques Callot, his style changed somewhat when he traveled to Rome, ...

Pucci, Emilio

(Encyclopedia)Pucci, Emilio (Marchese Emilio Pucci di Barsento) po͞oˈchē [key], 1914–92, Italian fashion designer. After establishing showrooms in Florence, Capri, and Rome, he began his signature look with el...

Ball, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Ball, Thomas, 1819–1911, American sculptor, b. Charlestown, Mass.; son of a house and sign painter. Thomas Ball was also a singer of reputation, the first in the United States to sing the title role...

Fliedner, Theodor

(Encyclopedia)Fliedner, Theodor tāˈōdôr flētˈnər [key], 1800–1864, German Protestant minister and philanthropist. In 1826 he organized the first prison society of Germany. Ten years later at Kaiserswerth h...