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Laplace, Pierre Simon, marquis de

(Encyclopedia)Laplace, Pierre Simon, marquis de pyĕr sēmôNˈ märkēˈ də läpläsˈ [key], 1749–1827, French astronomer and mathematician. At 18 he went to Paris, proved his gift for mathematical analysis to...

Offenbach, Jacques Levy

(Encyclopedia)Offenbach, Jacques Levy ôˈfənbäk, Fr. zhäk lāvēˈ ôfĕnbäkˈ [key], 1819–80, French composer, b. Cologne. The son of a cantor, he went to Paris to study at the conservatory and in 1849 beca...

La Maurice National Park

(Encyclopedia)La Maurice National Park lä môrēsˈ [key], 210 sq mi (544 sq km), S Que., Canada, near Trois-Rivières; est. 1970. It is in a heavily wooded part of the Laurentian Mts. ...

Watsonville

(Encyclopedia)Watsonville, city (1990 pop. 31,099), Santa Cruz co., W Calif., on the Pajaro River near Monterey Bay; founded 1852, inc. 1868. It is a trade and processing center for vegetables, fruits, berries, and...

Tehuantepec, Isthmus of

(Encyclopedia)Tehuantepec, Isthmus of, c.125 mi (200 km) wide at its narrowest, S Mexico, between the Gulf of Campeche and the Gulf of Tehuantepec. It is mostly a rolling, tropical lowland with the lowest pass elev...

Ville-sous-La-Ferté

(Encyclopedia)Ville-sous-La-Ferté vēl-so͞o-lä-fĕrtāˈ [key], village (1993 est. pop. 1,455), NE France. It is famous for its nearby abbey (now a prison) of Clairvaux, founded (1115) by St. Bernard of Clairvau...

Madeleine

(Encyclopedia)Madeleine mădˈəlĭn, Fr. mädlĕnˈ [key] [Fr.,=Magdalen, i.e., Mary Magdalen], large church of Paris, in the Place de la Madeleine. It was originally planned by J. A. Gabriel as a part of his layo...

Roche-sur-Yon, La

(Encyclopedia)Roche-sur-Yon, La lä rôsh-sür-yôN [key], city (1990 pop. 48,518), capital of Vendée dept., W France, on the Yon River. A transportation and agricultural trade center, it also has industries produ...

Buenos Aires

(Encyclopedia)Buenos Aires bwāˈnəs īˈrēz, ârˈēz, Span. bwāˈnōs īˈrās ...

Rio de Janeiro, city, Brazil

(Encyclopedia)Rio de Janeiro rēˈō də zhänāˈrō, Port. rēˈo͝o ᵺĭ zhənĕēˈro͝o [key] [Port.,=river of January], city (1990 pop. 5,533,011; 1995 metropolitan area est. pop. 10,181,000), capital of Rio...