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William II, king of Sicily

(Encyclopedia)William II (William the Good), c.1153–1189, king of Sicily (1166–89), son and successor of William I. He married (1177) Joan, daughter of Henry II of England. As an ally of Pope Alexander III and ...

Schadow, Johann Gottfried

(Encyclopedia)Schadow, Johann Gottfried yōˈhän gôtˈfrēt shäˈdôf [key], 1764–1850, German sculptor of the neoclassical school. He studied in Rome. In 1788 he returned to Berlin, where he became court scul...

Mackenzie, Sir Alexander, Canadian fur trader and explorer

(Encyclopedia)Mackenzie, Sir Alexander, 1764?–1820, Canadian fur trader and explorer, b. Scotland. His family took him to the colony of New York in 1774, and later he was sent to Canada. He entered (c.1779) a Mon...

Shero, Fred

(Encyclopedia)Shero, Fred (Frederick Alexander Shero), 1925–1990, Canadian hockey player and coach. He was a defenseman for the New York Rangers (1947–50), then played (1950–58) and coached (1958–70) in the...

Jomini, Antoine Henri

(Encyclopedia)Jomini, Antoine Henri äNtwänˈ äNrēˈ zhômēnēˈ [key], 1779–1869, Swiss general and military writer. He organized (1799) the militia of the Helvetic Republic and after 1804 served as staff of...

Warburton, William

(Encyclopedia)Warburton, William, 1698–1779, English bishop and author. Ordained in 1727 and serving successively in several rectories, he became chaplain to Frederick Louis, prince of Wales, in 1738, preacher to...

Cossa, Baldassare

(Encyclopedia)Cossa, Baldassare bäldäs-säˈrā kôsˈsä [key], c.1370–1419, Neapolitan churchman, antipope (1410–15; see Schism, Great) with the name John XXIII. He had a military career before entering the...

pi

(Encyclopedia)pi, in mathematics, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. The symbol for pi is π. The ratio is the same for all circles and is approximately 3.1416. It is of great importance in...

Honorius III

(Encyclopedia)Honorius III, d. 1227, pope (1216–27), a Roman named Cencio Savelli; successor of Innocent III. He was created cardinal in 1197 and was an able administrator of the papal treasury. He authored the o...

Sans Souci

(Encyclopedia)Sans Souci säN so͞osēˈ [key] [Fr.,=without care], palace built (1745–47) at Potsdam, Germany, by Frederick II, who lived there for 40 years. Over 300 ft (91 m) long, it is believed to have been ...