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Medici, Cosimo III de'

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Cosimo III de', 1642–1723, grand duke of Tuscany (1670–1723); son and successor of Ferdinand II de' Medici. During his long reign the government of Tuscany degenerated into bigoted and cor...

Medici, Ferdinand II de'

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Ferdinand II de', 1610–70, grand duke of Tuscany (1620–70); son and successor of Cosimo II de' Medici. A pupil of Galileo, he founded (1657) the Accademia del Cimento, the first European a...

Knights of Calatrava

(Encyclopedia)Knights of Calatrava käläträˈvä [key], Spain's oldest military order, whose original seat was the now ruined fortress of Calatrava la Vieja in Ciudad Real prov., central Spain. Founded (1158) by ...

Fleurus

(Encyclopedia)Fleurus flörüsˈ [key], town, Hainaut prov., S Belgium. It is a coal-mining and manufacturi...

Hakuho

(Encyclopedia)Hakuho, 1985–, Mongolian sumo wrestler, b. Ulaanbaator as Mönkhbatyn Davaajarga. The son of a wrestler, he went to Japan in 2000 to train and made his professional debut in 2001. He won his first c...

Couperin, François

(Encyclopedia)Couperin, François fräNswäˈ ko͞opərăNˈ [key], 1668–1733, French harpsichordist and composer, called “le Grand” to distinguish him from the other musicians in his family. His harpsichord ...

Moran, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Moran, Edward mərănˈ [key], 1829–1901, American painter of marine and historical subjects, b. England. He came to the United States with his family in 1844. In 1899 he completed a series of 13 pa...

Powell, John Wesley

(Encyclopedia)Powell, John Wesley, 1834–1902, American geologist and ethnologist, b. Mt. Morris (now part of New York City). The family moved to Illinois, where Powell joined the Natural History Society, making c...

William I, king of the Netherlands

(Encyclopedia)William I, 1772–1843, first king of the Netherlands and grand duke of Luxembourg (1815–40), son of Prince William V of Orange, last stadtholder of the Netherlands. He commanded (1793–95) the Dut...

Vladimir I

(Encyclopedia)Vladimir I vŭlˌədyēˈmyĭr [key], or Saint Vladimir, d. 1015, first Christian grand duke of Kiev (c.980–1015); son of Sviatoslav. In 970, Vladimir was sent by his father to govern Novgorod. Afte...