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San Francisco Symphony

(Encyclopedia)San Francisco Symphony, orchestra founded 1911. It has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall since 1980. Henry Hadley, the original music director, was followed by Alfred Hertz (1915–30), ...

Bourbon, Charles, duc de

(Encyclopedia)Bourbon, Charles, duc de bo͞orbôNˈ [key], 1490–1527, constable of France and governor of Milan. He distinguished himself at the battle of Marignano (1515) in the Italian Wars between King Franci...

Fuller, Loie

(Encyclopedia)Fuller, Loie lōˈē [key], 1862–1928, American dancer and theatrical innovator, b. Fullersburg, Ill., as Mary Louise Fuller. She began her career as a child, performing in burlesque, vaudeville, th...

Corcoran, William Wilson

(Encyclopedia)Corcoran, William Wilson kôrˈkərən [key], 1798–1888, American financier, philanthropist, and art collector, b. Georgetown, D.C. After becoming a successful banker, he retired in 1854 and devoted...

Ferdinand VI, king of Spain

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand VI, b. 1712 or 1713, d. 1759, king of Spain (1746–59), son of Philip V by his first queen, Marie Louise of Savoy. When Ferdinand succeeded his father, his stepmother, Elizabeth Farnese, lo...

Prud'hon, Pierre Paul

(Encyclopedia)Prud'hon, Pierre Paul pyĕr pôl prüdôNˈ [key], 1758–1823, French painter; 13th child of a Cluny stonemason. He gained recognition in 1796 with Truth Descending from the Heavens Led by Wisdom (Lo...

Walton, Sam

(Encyclopedia)Walton, Sam (Samuel Moore Walton), 1918–92, American retailing executive, b. Kingfisher, Okla. After 17 years of operating franchise retail stores, he opened the first Wal-Mart Discount City in Roge...

Varèse, Edgard

(Encyclopedia)Varèse, Edgard värĕzˈ [key], 1883–1965, French-American composer. In Paris he first studied mathematics and science but became more interested in music. He then studied composition with Roussel ...

Frederick Henry

(Encyclopedia)Frederick Henry, 1584–1647, prince of Orange; son of William the Silent by Louise de Coligny. He became stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands upon the death (1625) of his brother Ma...

Edwards, Sir Robert Geoffrey

(Encyclopedia)Edwards, Sir Robert Geoffrey, 1925–2013, British physiologist, Ph.D. Edinburgh Univ., 1955. In 1963 he became a research fellow at Cambridge. He was associated with the university until his death, a...