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Lescot, Pierre

(Encyclopedia)Lescot, Pierre pyĕr lĕskōˈ [key], c.1510–1578, French Renaissance architect. Appointed by Francis I to design a new royal palace in Paris, he built the earliest portions of what was later to bec...

Meynell, Alice (Thompson)

(Encyclopedia)Meynell, Alice (Thompson) mĕnˈəl [key], 1847–1922, English poet and essayist. She spent most of her youth in Italy. Converted to Roman Catholicism in 1872, she wrote much on religious subjects. I...

Armagnac

(Encyclopedia)Armagnac ärmänyäkˈ [key], region and former county, SW France, in Gascony, roughly coextensive with Gers dept. Auch is the chief town. Armagnac is famous for the brandy bearing the same name. The ...

Lee, William

(Encyclopedia)Lee, William, 1739–95, American Revolutionary diplomat, b. Westmoreland co., Va.; brother of Arthur Lee, Francis L. Lee, and Richard H. Lee. He opened a business house in London in 1768 and later wa...

Marciano, Rocky

(Encyclopedia)Marciano, Rocky märsēäˈnō [key], 1924–69, American boxer, b. Brockton, Mass. His real name was Rocco Francis Marchegiano. Failing to become a professional baseball player, Marciano turned to bo...

Saint-Étienne

(Encyclopedia)Saint-Étienne săNtātyĕnˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 201,569), capital of Loire dept., SE France, in the Massif Central. The metropolitan region occupies much of what was once a major coal-mining and ...

Ray, John

(Encyclopedia)Ray or Wray, John, 1627–1705, English naturalist. He was extremely influential in laying the foundations of systematic biology. With his pupil Francis Willughby, he planned a complete classification...

Confederation of the Rhine

(Encyclopedia)Confederation of the Rhine, league of German states formed by Emperor Napoleon I in 1806 after his defeat of the Austrians at Austerlitz. Among its members were the newly created kingdoms of Bavaria a...

circuit rider

(Encyclopedia)circuit rider, itinerant preacher of the Methodist denomination who served a “circuit” consisting usually of 20 to 40 “appointments.” The circuit system, devised by John Wesley for his English...

Faust, Drew Gilpin

(Encyclopedia)Faust, Drew Gilpin (Catharine Drew Gilpin Faust), 1947–, American historian and educator, b. New York City, grad. Bryn Mawr (B.A. 1968), Univ. of Pennsylvania (M.A. 1971, Ph.D. 1975). A professor of...