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Borodin, Aleksandr Porfirevich

(Encyclopedia)Borodin, Aleksandr Porfirevich əlyĭksänˈdər pərfēˈrĭvĭch bôrôdyēnˈ [key], 1833–87, Russian composer, chemist, and physician. He studied at the academy of medicine in St. Petersburg, wh...

Brian Boru

(Encyclopedia)Brian Boru or Brian Boroimhe both: brīˈən, brēn; bəro͞oˈ, bərōˈ [key], 940?–1014, king of Ireland. A clan prince, he succeeded his brother Mathghamhain, who had seized the throne of Munste...

Berry, Caroline Ferdinande Louise, duchesse de

(Encyclopedia)Berry, Caroline Ferdinande Louise, duchesse de kärôlēnˈ fĕrdēnäNd lwēz, düshĕsˈ də bĕrēˈ [key], 1798–1870, wife of the French prince, Charles Ferdinand, duc de Berry; daughter of Fran...

Broglie

(Encyclopedia)Broglie brôˈyə, brôglēˈ [key], French noble family of Piedmontese origin, who settled in France in the 17th cent. Victor Maurice, comte de Broglie, 1647–1727, was marshal of France and fought ...

William II, emperor of Germany and king of Prussia

(Encyclopedia)William II, 1859–1941, emperor of Germany and king of Prussia (1888–1918), son and successor of Frederick III and grandson of William I of Germany and of Queen Victoria of England. After the out...

Malplaquet, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Malplaquet, battle of mälpläkāˈ [key], a major engagement in the War of the Spanish Succession (see Spanish Succession, War of the). On Sept. 11, 1709, the combined forces of England and the Holy ...

Artevelde, Jacob van

(Encyclopedia)Artevelde, Jacob van yäˈkôp vän ärˈtəvĕldə [key], c.1290–1345, Flemish statesman, of a wealthy family of Ghent. In 1337 the Flemish cloth industry underwent a severe crisis. The pro-French ...

Limousin

(Encyclopedia)Limousin lēmo͞ozăNˈ [key], region and former province, S central France, in the arid, hilly country W of the Auvergne Mts. It comprises the depts. of Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienne, and is par...

John of Leiden

(Encyclopedia)John of Leiden, c.1509–1536, Dutch Anabaptist leader. His original name was Beuckelszoon, Beuckelzoon, Bockelszoon, Bockelson, Beukels, or Buckholdt. John of Leiden was attracted to the extreme left...

Kleist, Heinrich von

(Encyclopedia)Kleist, Heinrich von hīnˈrĭkh fən klīst [key], 1777–1811, German dramatic poet. He is one of the most evocative and disturbing of the German Romantic writers. Kleist served (1792–99) in the P...