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Ahaz

(Encyclopedia)Ahaz āˈhăz [key], d. c.727 b.c., king of Judah (c.731–727 b.c.), son of Jotham. His reign marked the end of the real independence of Judah. A coalition of Pekah of Israel and Rezin of Syria attac...

Cieza de León, Pedro

(Encyclopedia)Cieza de León, Pedro pāˈᵺrō thēāˈthä dā lāōnˈ [key], 1518?–1560, Spanish soldier and explorer in South America. His Chronicle of Peru is one of the most richly detailed accounts of the...

Faidherbe, Louis Léon César

(Encyclopedia)Faidherbe, Louis Léon César lwē lāôNˈ sāzärˈ fādĕrbˈ [key], 1818–89, French colonial administrator. He was a leading participant in the establishment of the French colonial empire in Afr...

Foucault, Jean Bernard Léon

(Encyclopedia)Foucault, Jean Bernard Léon zhäN bĕrnärˈ lāôNˈ fo͞okōˈ [key], 1819–68, French physicist. Known especially for his research on the speed of light, he determined its velocity in air and fou...

González de León, Teodoro

(Encyclopedia)González de León, Teodoro, 1926–2016, Mexican architect, b. Mexico City. After studying at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (1942–47), he was a draftsman (1948–49) in Le Corbusier'...

León, Juan Ponce de

(Encyclopedia)León, Juan Ponce de: see Ponce de León, Juan. ...

León, Luis Ponce de

(Encyclopedia)León, Luis Ponce de lo͞oēsˈ pōnˈthā dā lāōnˈ [key], 1527?–1591, Spanish mystic and poet, an Augustinian monk. Fray Luis held various theological chairs at the Univ. of Salamanca. A noted ...

Ponce de León, Juan

(Encyclopedia)Ponce de León, Juan pŏns də lēˈŏn, Span. hwän pōnˈthā dā lāōnˈ [key], c.1460–1521, Spanish explorer, first Westerner to reach Florida. He served against the Moors of Granada, and in 14...

Calmette, Léon Charles Albert

(Encyclopedia)Calmette, Léon Charles Albert lāôNˈ shärl älbĕrˈ kälmĕtˈ [key], 1863–1933, French physician and bacteriologist. He was founder and director of the Pasteur institutes at Saigon (now Ho Chi...

Bonnat, Léon Joseph Florentin

(Encyclopedia)Bonnat, Léon Joseph Florentin lāôNˈ zhôzĕfˈ flôräNtăNˈ bônäˈ [key], 1833–c.1922, French portrait and historical painter. He is best known for his portraits of famous men, including Thi...