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Elizabeth, empress of Austria and queen of Hungary

(Encyclopedia)Elizabeth, 1837–98, empress of Austria and queen of Hungary. A Bavarian princess, she was married (1854) to her cousin, Emperor Francis Joseph. Despite her exceptional beauty, intelligence, and kind...

Hale, John Parker

(Encyclopedia)Hale, John Parker, 1806–73, American politician, b. Rochester, N.H. He practiced law at Dover, N.H., and had remarkable success with juries. He was U.S. district attorney (1834–41) and a member of...

Hazael

(Encyclopedia)Hazael hăzˈāĕl, həzāˈəl [key], fl. 840 b.c., king of Damascus; successor and murderer of Benhadad. In the Bible he appears as the ally of the party of Elisha in Israel and later as the conquer...

Arcadia, region of ancient Greece

(Encyclopedia)Arcadia ärkāˈdēə [key], region of ancient Greece, in the middle of the Peloponnesus, without a seaboard, and surrounded and dissected by mountains. The Arcadians, relatively isolated from the res...

Talon, Patrice Guillaume Athanase

(Encyclopedia)Talon, Patrice Guillaume Athanase, 1958–, Beninois businessman and political leader, president of Benin (2016–), b. Abomey. A successful businessman, he made his fortune in the cotton industry. He...

Smyth, John

(Encyclopedia)Smyth or Smith, John, c.1554–1612, English nonconformist clergyman and early believer in adult baptism. Influenced by the Brownists, he separated from the Church of England and became (1606) ministe...

Wild, Jonathan

(Encyclopedia)Wild, Jonathan, 1683–1725, English criminal. He maintained a highly organized gang of thieves in London and long escaped punishment by posing as an instrument of justice and helping the authorities ...

West Indies, University of the

(Encyclopedia)West Indies, University of the, autonomous regional institution with main campuses in Jamaica, Trinidad, and Barbados; coeducational; est. 1948 in Mona, Jamaica, as an external university college of t...