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Brazzaville

(Encyclopedia)Brazzaville brăzˈəvĭl, Fr. bräzävēlˈ [key], city (1984 pop. 585,812), capital of the Republic of the Congo, on Pool Malebo of the Congo River. It is the nation's largest city and its administr...

Washington Monument

(Encyclopedia)Washington Monument, obelisk-shaped tower, 555 ft 51⁄9 in. (169.3 m) high, located on a 106-acre (43-hectare) site at the west end of the Mall, Washington, D.C.; dedicated 1885. The world's tallest ...

Chrétien, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Chrétien, Jean (Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien) zhōsĕfˈ zhäk zhäN krātyăNˈ [key], 1934–, Canadian politician and prime minister (1993–2003), b. Quebec. He received his legal education at Q...

Debussy, Claude Achille

(Encyclopedia)Debussy, Claude Achille klôd äshēlˈ dəbüsēˈ [key], 1862–1918, French composer, exponent of musical impressionism. He studied for 11 years at the Paris Conservatory, receiving its Grand Prix ...

Poitiers

(Encyclopedia)Poitiers pwätyāˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 82,507), capital of Vienne dept., W central France, on the Clain River. The ancient capital of Poitou, it is now an industrial, agricultural, and communicati...

Boston Symphony Orchestra

(Encyclopedia)Boston Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1881 by Henry Lee Higginson, who was its director and financial backer until 1918. The orchestra performed at the Old Boston Music Hall for nearly 20 years until ...

French literature

(Encyclopedia)French literature, writings in medieval French dialects and standard modern French. Writings in Provençal and Breton are considered separately, as are works in French produced abroad (as at Canadian ...

Louis XIII, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Louis XIII, 1601–43, king of France (1610–43). He succeeded his father, Henry IV, under the regency of his mother, Marie de' Medici. He married Anne of Austria in 1615. Even after being declared o...

Messiaen, Olivier

(Encyclopedia)Messiaen, Olivier ôlēvyāˈ mĕsyäNˈ [key], 1908–92, French composer and organist, b. Avignon. Messiaen was a pupil of Paul Dukas at the Paris Conservatory. He became organist of La Trinité, Pa...

materialism

(Encyclopedia)materialism, in philosophy, a widely held system of thought that explains the nature of the world as entirely dependent on matter, the fundamental and final reality beyond which nothing need be sought...