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Boleslaus III

(Encyclopedia)Boleslaus III, 1085–1138, duke of Poland (1102–38). The kingdom had been divided by his father, Ladislaus Herman, between Boleslaus and his elder brother Zbigniew, whose legitimacy was disputed. Z...

Regiomontanus

(Encyclopedia)Regiomontanus rēˌjēōmŏnˌtāˈnəs [key] [Lat.,=belonging to the royal mountain, i.e., to Königsberg], 1436–76, German astronomer and mathematician, b. Königsberg. His original name was Johan...

Sylvester II

(Encyclopedia)Sylvester II, c.945–1003, pope (999–1003), a Frenchman (b. Auvergne) named Gerbert; successor of Gregory V. In his youth he studied at Muslim schools in Spain and became learned in mathematics and...

Batu Khan

(Encyclopedia)Batu Khan bäˈto͞o kän [key], d. 1255, Mongol leader; a grandson of Jenghiz Khan. In 1235 Batu became commander of the Mongol army assigned to the conquest of Europe; his chief general was Subutai....

Vaida-Voevod, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Vaida-Voevod, Alexander väˈēdä voivōdˈ [key], 1871–1950, Romanian statesman, b. Transylvania. He was (1906–18) a member of the Hungarian parliament, in which he advocated the cause of the Ro...

Vasarely, Victor

(Encyclopedia)Vasarely, Victor, 1908–97, French artist, one of the originators of op art, b. Pécs, Hungary. Educated at art institutes in Budapest, Vasarely was profoundly impacted by Bauhaus thought. He settled...

Pogány, Willy

(Encyclopedia)Pogány, Willy vĭlˈē pōˈgänyə [key], 1882–1955, American artist, b. Hungary, studied in Budapest, Munich, and Paris. Arriving in New York City in 1914 from England, he soon achieved renown as...

Rákosi, Mátyás

(Encyclopedia)Rákosi, Mátyás mäˈtyäs räˈkōshē [key], 1892–1971, Hungarian Communist politician. An associate of Bela Kun and later a disciple of Joseph Stalin, Rákosi was one of the chief engineers of ...

Bach, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Bach, Alexander, 1813–93, Austrian politician. A well-known lawyer and liberal, he took part in the revolution of 1848 in Vienna, but after its suppression he joined the forces of reaction. He becam...

Vis

(Encyclopedia)Vis vēs [key], Gr. Issa, Ital. Lissa, island, 35 sq mi (91 sq km), Croatia, off the Dalmatian coast in the Adriatic. A popular resort, its chief industries are fishing, citrus farming, and wine makin...