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Sharp, Granville

(Encyclopedia)Sharp, Granville, 1735–1813, English reformer, scholar, and abolitionist. In 1772 he won a case establishing the principle that any slave would become free upon reaching British land. Sharp continue...

Alexander, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Alexander, Samuel, 1859–1938, British philosopher, b. Australia. From 1893 to 1924 he was professor of philosophy at Victoria Univ., Manchester. Strongly influenced by the theory of evolution, Alexa...

Stevin, Simon

(Encyclopedia)Stevin, Simon sēˈmôn stəvīnˈ [key], 1548–1620, Dutch engineer and mathematician. His experiments in hydrostatics showed that the pressure exerted by a liquid is dependent only on its vertical ...

Rodenbach, Georges

(Encyclopedia)Rodenbach, Georges zhôrzh rôdĕnbäkˈ [key], 1855–98, Belgian symbolist poet and novelist. Living in Paris from 1887, he wrote about Flemish life. His works include the poems Le Foyer et les cham...

Morin, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Morin, Paul pôl môrăNˈ [key], 1889–1963, French Canadian poet, b. Montreal. After taking degrees in the arts, science, and law at Laval Univ., he studied in Paris. His two books of poems, Le Pao...

Margaret Mary, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Margaret Mary, Saint, 1647–90, French nun of the Visitation Convent of Paray-le-Monial, Saône-et-Loire dept., France. Her family name was Alacoque. Jesus appeared to her in a number of visions. In ...

Rove Tunnel

(Encyclopedia)Rove Tunnel rōv, Fr. rôv [key], southern section of the Marseilles-Rhône Canal, 4.5 mi (7.2 km) long and 72 ft (22 m) wide, Bouches-du-Rhône dept., SE France; opened 1927. Starting near the villag...

Thomas, Ambroise

(Encyclopedia)Thomas, Ambroise äNbrwäzˈ tōmäˈ [key], 1811–96, French operatic composer, studied at the Paris Conservatory, receiving the Prix de Rome in 1832. He later taught composition there and became it...

Scarron, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Scarron, Paul pōl skärôNˈ [key], 1610–60, French writer. His picaresque novel Le Romant comique (1651) vividly portrays the lives of a company of strolling players. He also wrote short stories, ...

Chartier, Alain

(Encyclopedia)Chartier, Alain älăNˈ shärtyāˈ [key], b. c.1385, d. c.1433, French writer, secretary to Charles VII. His most popular work was the love poem La Belle Dame sans mercy (1424), which provided Keats...