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Houdin, Jean Eugène Robert

(Encyclopedia)Houdin, Jean Eugène Robert or Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin zhäN özhĕnˈ rōbĕrˈ o͞odăNˈ [key], 1805–71, French conjurer and magician. Originally a clockmaker, he was celebrated for his optica...

Robert-Houdin, Jean Eugène

(Encyclopedia)Robert-Houdin, Jean Eugène: see Houdin, Jean Eugène Robert. ...

Houdini, Harry

(Encyclopedia)Houdini, Harry ho͞odēˈnē [key], 1874–1926, American magician and writer, b. Budapest, Hungary, as Erik Weisz, later modified to Ehrich Weiss; his stage name honors the French magician Houdin. By...

Nanteuil, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Nanteuil, Robert rōbĕrˈ näNtöˈyə [key], 1623?–1678, French draftsman and engraver. His pastel portraits gained him popularity, and in 1658 Louis XIV made him draftsman to the royal cabinet. H...

Casadesus, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Casadesus, Robert käsädāsüsˈ [key], 1899–1972, French pianist and composer, b. Paris. Casadesus was born into a family remarkable for its numerous celebrated musicians. After study at the Paris...

Stafford, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Stafford, Jean, 1915–79, American writer, b. Covina, Calif., grad. Univ. of Colorado, 1936. Her literary reputation rests primarily on her exquisitely wrought short stories. Both these and her novel...

Cambert, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Cambert, Robert rōbĕrˈ käNbĕrˈ [key], c.1628–1677, French composer; pupil of Chambonnières. His Pastorale d'Issy (1659) and other works are among the first real French operas. With the libret...

Schuman, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Schuman, Robert rōbĕrˈ sho͞omäNˈ [key], 1886–1963, French statesman and lawyer, b. grand duchy of Luxembourg. A member of the Catholic Mouvement Républicain Populaire (MRP), he was finance mi...

Malthus, Thomas Robert

(Encyclopedia)Malthus, Thomas Robert mălˈthəs [key], 1766–1834, English economist, sociologist, and pioneer in modern population study. A graduate of Cambridge, he was a professor at the East India College, Lo...

Racine, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Racine, Jean zhäN räsēnˈ [key], 1639–99, French dramatist. Racine is the prime exemplar of French classicism. The nobility of his Alexandrine verse, the simplicity of his diction, the psychologi...