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Two Sicilies, kingdom of the

(Encyclopedia)Two Sicilies, kingdom of the. The name Two Sicilies was used in the Middle Ages to mean the kingdoms of Sicily and of Naples (see Sicily and Naples, kingdom of). Alfonso V of Aragón, who in 1442 reun...

Charles, archduke of Austria

(Encyclopedia)Charles, 1771–1847, archduke of Austria; brother of Holy Roman Emperor Francis II. Despite his epilepsy, he was the ablest Austrian commander in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars; however...

Anne of Brittany

(Encyclopedia)Anne of Brittany, 1477–1514, queen of France as consort of Charles VIII from 1491 to 1498 and consort of Louis XII from 1499 until her death. The daughter of Duke Francis II of Brittany, she was hei...

Pavese, Cesare

(Encyclopedia)Pavese, Cesare chāˈzärā pävĕˈsā [key], 1908–50, Italian novelist, poet, and translator. A major literary figure in postwar Italy, Pavese brought American influence to Italian literature thro...

Ripley, Robert LeRoy

(Encyclopedia)Ripley, Robert LeRoy, 1890–1949, American cartoonist, b. Santa Rosa, Calif., as Leroy Robert Ripley. The creator of the Believe It or Not! newspaper cartoon, Ripley began his career at 16 as a sport...

Shepard, Alan Bartlett, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Shepard, Alan Bartlett, Jr., 1923–98, American astronaut, b. East Derry, N.H., grad. Annapolis, 1944. He served on a destroyer during World War II and later had extensive experience as a test pilot....

Coney Island

(Encyclopedia)Coney Island kōˈnē [key], beach resort, amusement center, and neighborhood of S Brooklyn borough of New York City, SE N.Y., on the Atlantic Ocean. The tidal creek that once separated the island fro...

Collège de France

(Encyclopedia)Collège de France kôlĕzhˈ də fräNs [key], institution of higher learning founded in Paris, France, in 1529 by Francis I at the instigation of Guillaume Budé. It was founded to encourage humanis...

Fontainebleau, school of

(Encyclopedia)Fontainebleau, school of, group of 16th-century artists who decorated the royal palace at Fontainebleau. The major figures in this group were Italian painters invited to France by Francis I. Il Rosso,...

Amboise, conspiracy of

(Encyclopedia)Amboise, conspiracy of, 1560, plot of the Huguenots (French Protestants) and the house of Bourbon to usurp the power of the Guise family, which virtually ruled France during the reign of the young Fra...