Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Charles, Eugenia (Mary Eugenia Charles), 1919–2005, Dominican politician, first female prime minister of Dominica (1980–95). A lawyer, she was a founder (1968) of the Dominica Freedom party (DFP) ...

(Encyclopedia) masque, courtly form of dramatic spectacle, popular in England in the first half of the 17th cent. The masque developed from the early 16th-century disguising, or mummery, in which disguised guests be...

(Encyclopedia) Defoe or De Foe, Daniel dĭfōˈ [key], 1660?–1731, English writer, b. London. He was nearly sixty when he turned to writing novels. In 1719 he published his famous Life and Strange Surprising Adv...

(Encyclopedia) Maisonneuve, Paul de Chomedey, sieur de pōl də shômdāˈ syör də māzôNnövˈ [key], 1612–76, founder and first governor of Montreal, b. France. A soldier, he fought in European wars before be...

(Encyclopedia) Pigalle, Jean Baptiste zhäN bätēstˈ pēgälˈ [key], 1714–85, French sculptor. His skill embraced a wide range, from small works appealing to the taste of the court to large and elaborate tombs....

(Encyclopedia) Boieldieu, François Adrien fräNswäˈ ädrēăNˈ bwäldyöˈ [key], 1775–1834, French composer. He studied with the organist of the cathedral in Rouen and composed one successful opera, Le Calife...

(Encyclopedia) Alençon äläNsôNˈ [key], town, capital of Orne dept., N France, in Normandy, on the Sarthe and Briante rivers. A commercial center in a fertile farm area, it is partic...

(Encyclopedia) Villefranche-sur-Saône vēlfräNshˈ-sür-sōn [key], town (1990 pop. 29,889), Rhône dept., E central France, on the Morgon River. Its industries include weaving, cotton dyeing, and the manufacture ...

(Encyclopedia) Saint-Omer săNtômĕrˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 15,304), Pas-de-Calais dept., N France, in Flanders, on the Aa River. The chief manufactures are metals, textiles, paper, and beer. The city grew around...

(Encyclopedia) Senlis săNlēsˈ [key], town (1990 pop. 15,226), Oise dept., N central France, on the Nonette River. Wood products and mechanical and electrical equipment are the chief manufactures. Senlis has some ...