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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...

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...

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...

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...

Warsaw Treaty Organization

(Encyclopedia)Warsaw Treaty Organization or Warsaw Pact, alliance set up under a mutual defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, in 1955 by Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania,...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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....