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Norfolk, John Howard, 1st duke of

(Encyclopedia)Norfolk, John Howard, 1st duke of nôrˈfək [key], 1430?–1485, English nobleman. The grandson of Thomas Mowbray, 1st duke of Norfolk, he held considerable estates in Norfolk. A faithful adherent of...

Warwick, Thomas de Beauchamp, earl of

(Encyclopedia)Warwick, Thomas de Beauchamp, earl of, d. 1401, English nobleman, of an ancient and powerful family. He was one of the governors of the young Richard II. After Richard assumed power, Warwick joined th...

Vasily III

(Encyclopedia)Vasily III (Vasily Ivanovich) vəsēˈlyē ēväˈnəvĭch [key], 1479–1533, grand duke of Moscow (1505–33). Carrying on the policies of his father, Ivan III, he rounded out the territorial consol...

Bassompierre, François, baron de

(Encyclopedia)Bassompierre, François, baron de fräNswäˈ bärôNˈ də bäsôNpyĕrˈ [key], 1579–1646, marshal of France. Under King Henry IV he distinguished himself in the army and as a courtier, and after ...

Sulayman II

(Encyclopedia)Sulayman II, 1642–91, Ottoman sultan (1687–91), brother and successor of Muhammad IV to the throne of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). His grand vizier (chief executive officer), Mustafa Köprülü, w...

Vendémiaire

(Encyclopedia)Vendémiaire väNdāmyĕrˈ [key], first month of the French Revolutionary calendar. 13 Vendémiaire of the year iv (Oct. 5, 1795) was the day when Napoleon Bonaparte, until then an obscure general, w...

Lawrence, Sir Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Lawrence, Sir Thomas, 1769–1830, English portrait painter, b. Bristol. He began to draw when very young and developed extraordinary talents as a draftsman; though he studied briefly at the Royal Aca...

Robert Guiscard

(Encyclopedia)Robert Guiscard gēskärˈ [key], c.1015–1085, Norman conqueror of S Italy, a son of Tancred de Hauteville (see Normans). Robert joined (c.1046) his brothers in S Italy and fought with them to expel...

Vatican City

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Vatican City vătˈĭkən [key] or Holy See, officially Holy See (State of the Vatican City), independent state (2015 est. pop. 1,000), 108.7 acres (44 hectares), within the city of Rome, Italy...

Wittelsbach

(Encyclopedia)Wittelsbach vĭˈtəlsbäkh [key], German dynasty that ruled Bavaria from 1180 until 1918. The family takes its name from the ancestral castle of Wittelsbach in Upper Bavaria. In 1180 Holy Roman Emper...