Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Cassin, René rənāˈ cäsăNˈ [key], 1887–1976, French jurist and humanitarian. He studied law at the universities of Aix-en-Provence and Paris, earned (1914) a doctorate, and practiced until Wor...

(Encyclopedia) Porto-Novo pôrˈtō nōˈvō [key], city (1992 pop. 179,138), capital of Benin, S Benin, a port on Porto-Novo lagoon, an arm of the Gulf of Guinea. It is Benin's second largest city and an administra...

(Encyclopedia) Pozzo di Borgo, Carlo Andrea kärˈlō ändrĕˈä pôtˈtsō dē bôrˈgō [key], 1764–1842. Corsican politician and diplomat in Russian service, b. Corsica. In the French Revolution, he allied wit...

(Encyclopedia) decadents, in literature, name loosely applied to those 19th-century, fin-de-siècle European authors who sought inspiration, both in their lives and in their writings, in aestheticism and in all the ...

(Encyclopedia) Jaurès, Jean zhäN zhōrĕsˈ [key], 1859–1914, French Socialist leader and historian. A brilliant student and teacher, he entered the chamber of deputies in 1885 and subsequently became a Socialis...

(Encyclopedia) Bayle, Pierre pyĕr bāl [key], 1647–1706, French philosopher. Born a Huguenot, he converted to Roman Catholicism and then returned to Protestantism. To avoid French intolerance of Protestants, he m...

(Encyclopedia) Quiberon kēbrôNˈ [key], peninsula, Morbihan dept., NW France, in Brittany, projecting into the Bay of Biscay. The town of Quiberon (1993 est. pop. 4,647), a fishing port and resort, is at the tip o...

(Encyclopedia) Tory, Geofroy zhôfrwäˈ tôrēˈ [key], c.1480–1533, Parisian printer, typographer, and author, b. Bourges. After study in Italy, he won distinction as a professor in Paris and became editor to th...

(Encyclopedia) Trafalgar, battle of trəfălˈgər [key], naval engagement fought off Cape Trafalgar on the SW coast of Spain on Oct. 21, 1805, in which the British fleet under Horatio Nelson won a famous victory ov...

(Encyclopedia) Rohan, Henri, duc de äNrēˈ dük də rôäNˈ [key], 1579–1638, French Protestant general; son-in-law of the duc de Sully. A leader of the Huguenots, Rohan took up arms against the French governme...