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Gluck, Christoph Willibald von

(Encyclopedia)Gluck, Christoph Willibald von krĭsˈtôf vĭlˈēbält fən glo͝ok [key], 1714–87, German-born operatic composer. Gluck revolutionized opera by establishing lyrical tragedy as a unified vital art...

Hapsburg, Otto von

(Encyclopedia)Hapsburg, Otto von, 1912–2011, Austrian archduke and former pretender to the Austro-Hungarian throne, son of Emperor Charles I and Empress Zita. After World War II began, he went to the United State...

Brühl, Heinrich, Graf von

(Encyclopedia)Brühl, Heinrich, Graf von hīnˈrĭkh gräfˈ fən brül [key], 1700–1763, Saxon statesman. He was adviser to Augustus II, king of Poland and elector of Saxony, and gained control of both governmen...

Görtz, Georg Heinrich von

(Encyclopedia)Görtz, Georg Heinrich von gāˈôrk hīnˈrĭkh fən görts [key], 1668–1719, Swedish diplomat and financial expert, a German. While in the service of Frederick V, duke of Holstein-Gottorp, he help...

Taaffe, Eduard, Graf von

(Encyclopedia)Taaffe, Eduard, Graf von āˈdo͞oärt gräf fən täˈfə [key], 1833–95, Austrian premier (1868–70, 1879–93), of Irish descent. A childhood friend of Emperor Francis Joseph, he was twice premi...

Biber, Heinrich Ignaz Franz von

(Encyclopedia)Biber, Heinrich Ignaz Franz von hīnˈrĭkh ĭgˈnäts fränts fən bēˈbər [key], 1644–1704, Austrian musician. Biber was one of the first notable Central European violinists and may have been th...

Gneisenau, August, Graf Neithardt von

(Encyclopedia)Gneisenau, August, Graf Neithardt von ouˈgo͝ost gräf nītˈhärt fən gənīˈzənou [key], 1760–1831, Prussian field marshal. In the Napoleonic Wars he fought at Jena (1806) and, as a major, won...

Stadion, Johann Philipp, Graf von

(Encyclopedia)Stadion, Johann Philipp, Graf von yōˈhän fēˈlĭp gräf fən shtäˈdēôn [key], 1763–1824, Austrian politician. A diplomat, he was made (1805) foreign minister and campaigned for a German upri...

Hrotswith von Gandersheim

(Encyclopedia)Hrotswith rôsvēˈtä fən gänˈdərs-hīm [key], 10th-century German dramatist, a nun. Of a noble Saxon family, Hrotswith was well educated. Her long epic poems—one including a fragment on Empero...

Siebold

(Encyclopedia)Siebold tāˈōdōr ĕrnst [key], 1804–85, also a physician, was one of the foremost biologists of his time. He specialized in the comparative anatomy of invertebrates and wrote the first volume (18...

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