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Hardy, Alexandre

(Encyclopedia)Hardy, Alexandre älĕksäNˈdrə ärdēˈ [key], b. between 1569 and 1575, d. 1631 or 1632, French dramatist. His more than 600 plays are unexceptional, but he played a transitional role as innovator...

Harold Bluetooth

(Encyclopedia)Harold Bluetooth, d. c.985, king of Denmark. Succeeding (935) his father, Gorm the Old, who had united Denmark, Harold consolidated the kingdom. He tried to assert suzerainty over Norway but was defea...

Grafton, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Grafton, Richard, d. c.1572, London publisher and printer. In 1539 with Edward Whitchurch he printed the Great Bible in black letter (see type). He printed the first edition of the Book of Common Pray...

Ermine Street

(Encyclopedia)Ermine Street, Saxon name for the Roman road in Britain that ran from London to Lincoln and York. It was one of the four main highways of Saxon England. The name is derived from the Earningas, a group...

Escobedo, Juan de

(Encyclopedia)Escobedo, Juan de hwän dā āskōbāˈᵺō [key], d. 1578, Spanish politician, secretary to John of Austria in the Netherlands. He was murdered while on a mission in Madrid. Antonio Pérez was, perh...

Francis, Sam

(Encyclopedia)Francis, Sam, 1923–94, American painter, b. San Mateo, Calif. Educated in medicine, Francis began painting while recovering from an injury received in World War II. His mural-sized paintings are sta...

Clarke, Charles Cowden

(Encyclopedia)Clarke, Charles Cowden, 1787–1877, English lecturer and author. He was a close friend of Keats, who was a pupil of Clarke's father. Clarke's lectures on Shakespeare were published as Shakespeare Cha...

Chesapeake and Delaware Canal

(Encyclopedia)Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, sea-level canal, 19 mi (31 km) long, 250 ft (76 m) wide, and 27 ft (8.2 m) deep, connecting the head of Chesapeake Bay with the Delaware River. Built in 1824–29, the c...

Pelayo

(Encyclopedia)Pelayo pāläˈyō [key], d. 737, first king (c.718–737) of Asturias. He was elected king by the tribespeople of Asturias and by Visigothic leaders who had escaped Tariq. His victory over the Moors ...

Pepin I

(Encyclopedia)Pepin I pĕpˈĭn [key], d. 838, king of Aquitaine (817–38), son of Louis I, emperor of the West. He joined in the uprisings of 830 and 833 against Louis, but each time helped to restore him shortly...