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Regnard, Jean François

(Encyclopedia)Regnard, Jean François zhäN fräNswäˈ rənyärˈ [key], 1655–1709, French comic dramatist. He traveled widely in Europe; captured by Barbary pirates, he was held in slavery (1678–79) until ran...

Burlamaqui, Jean Jacques

(Encyclopedia)Burlamaqui, Jean Jacques zhäN zhäk bo͝orlämäkēˈ [key], 1694–1748, Swiss jurist. His chief works are Principes du droit naturel [principles of natural law] (1747) and Principes du droit politi...

Calloc'h, Jean Pierre

(Encyclopedia)Calloc'h, Jean Pierre zhäN pyĕr kälôkhˈ [key], 1888–1917, Breton poet. Important in the revival of Breton literature, he wrote in the Vannes dialect of Brittany. His lyrical verse displays a lo...

Blanchard, Jean Pierre

(Encyclopedia)Blanchard, Jean Pierre fräNswäˈ [key], 1753–1809, French balloonist. In 1785 he made with Dr. John Jeffries of Boston, Mass., the first crossing by air of the English Channel. His ascents at Phil...

Picard, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Picard, Jean, 1620–82, French astronomer, noted for having made the first accurate measurement of a degree of the earth's meridian. The figures he established were of great value to Newton in his ca...

Castex, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Castex, Jean, 1965–, French government official and political leader. A member of the center-right Republicans (and its predecessor, the Union for a Popular Movement), Castex has held a variety of c...

Liotard, Jean-Étienne

(Encyclopedia)Liotard, Jean-Étienne zhäN ātyĕnˈ lyôtärˈ [key], 1702–89, Swiss painter. He is best known for his portraits and drawings in pastel, but he also made portraits in oil, paintings on glass and ...

Fresnel, Augustin Jean

(Encyclopedia)Fresnel, Augustin Jean ōgüstăNˈ zhäN frānĕlˈ [key] 1788–1827, French physicist and engineer. He is known for his research on light, especially on conditions governing interference phenomena ...

Jouvenet, Jean Baptiste

(Encyclopedia)Jouvenet, Jean Baptiste zhäN bätēstˈ zho͞ovənāˈ [key], 1644–1717, French painter, one of a family of painters. He worked in Paris in the studio of Charles Le Brun, whose manner he acquired a...

Pigalle, Jean Baptiste

(Encyclopedia)Pigalle, Jean Baptiste zhäN bätēstˈ pēgälˈ [key], 1714–85, French sculptor. His skill embraced a wide range, from small works appealing to the taste of the court to large and elaborate tombs....