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Philip of Hesse

(Encyclopedia)Philip of Hesse hĕs [key], 1504–67, German nobleman, landgrave of Hesse (1509–67), champion of the Reformation. He is also called Philip the Magnanimous. Declared of age in 1518, he helped suppre...

Vespucci, Amerigo

(Encyclopedia)Vespucci, Amerigo ämārēˈgō vāspo͞otˈchē [key], 1454–1512, Italian navigator in whose honor America was named, b. Florence. He entered the commercial service of the Medici and in 1492 moved ...

balloon

(Encyclopedia)balloon, lighter-than-air craft without a propulsion system, lifted by inflation of one or more containers with a gas lighter than air or with heated air. During flight, altitude may be gained by disc...

Cossa, Baldassare

(Encyclopedia)Cossa, Baldassare bäldäs-säˈrā kôsˈsä [key], c.1370–1419, Neapolitan churchman, antipope (1410–15; see Schism, Great) with the name John XXIII. He had a military career before entering the...

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...

Marcy, William Learned

(Encyclopedia)Marcy, William Learned, 1786–1857, American politician, b. Southbridge, Mass. He settled in Troy, N.Y., where he practiced law and, after serving in the War of 1812, held local offices. A Democrat a...

London, Jack

(Encyclopedia)London, Jack (John Griffith London), 1876–1916, American author, b. San Francisco. The illegitimate son of William Chaney, an astrologer, and Flora Wellman, a seamstress and medium, he had a poverty...

Wittenberg

(Encyclopedia)Wittenberg vĭtˈənbĕrkhˌ [key], city (1994 pop. 53,374), Saxony-Anhalt, E Germany, on the Elbe River. A city with a noted history, it is today an industrial and mining center and a rail junction. ...

Bosch, Hieronymus

(Encyclopedia)Bosch, Hieronymus, or Jerom Bos hērônˈĭməs, yāˈrôm bôs [key], c.1450–1516, Flemish painter. His surname was originally van Aeken; Bosch refers to 's-Hertogenbosch (popularly called Den Bosc...

Bratislava

(Encyclopedia)Bratislava bräˈtēsläˈväˌ [key], Ger. Pressburg, Hung. Pozsony, city, SW Slovakia, on t...