Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Killy, Jean-Claude zhäN-klōd kēlēˈ [key], 1943–, French skier. He grew up at his father's ski resort and began skiing at the age of 3. At 18 he was a senior member of the French national team. ...

(Encyclopedia) Béranger, Pierre Jean de pyĕr zhäN də bāräNzhāˈ [key], 1780–1857, French lyric poet. He was a protégé of Lucien Bonaparte and a friend of some of the most eminent men of his day. His first...

(Encyclopedia) Breton literature brĕtˈən [key], in the Celtic language of Brittany. Although there are numerous allusions in other literatures of the 12th to 14th cent. to the “matter of Brittany,” which incl...

(Encyclopedia) La Harpe, Jean François de lä ärp [key], 1739–1803, French critic. He was the author of the monumental Cours de littérature ancienne et moderne, lectures he delivered after his appointment (178...

(Encyclopedia) Detaille, Jean Baptiste Édouard zhäN bäptēstˈ ādwärˈ dətäyˈ [key], 1848–1912, French painter. He studied under J. L. E. Meissonier and served in the Franco-Russian war. From this backgrou...

(Encyclopedia) Gérard, Jean Ignace Isidore zhäN ēnyäsˈ ēzēdôrˈ zhārärˈ [key], 1803–47, French caricaturist, illustrator, and lithographer, better known as Grandville. He is noted for his spirited caric...

(Encyclopedia) Harlow, Jean, 1911–37, American movie star, b. Kansas City, Mo., as Harlean Carpentier. Harlow brought charm and a sexual knowingness to a series of comedies during the 1930s, becoming the model of ...

(Encyclopedia) Laffite, Jean zhäN läfētˈ [key], c.1780–1826?, leader of a band of privateers and smugglers. The name is often spelled Lafitte. He and his men began operating (1810) off the Baratarian coast S o...

(Encyclopedia) Lully, Jean Baptiste zhäN bätēstˈ lülēˈ [key], 1632–87, French operatic composer, b. Florence, Italy. His name originally was Giovanni Battista Lulli. A self-taught violinist, he went to Fran...

(Encyclopedia) Perrin, Jean Baptiste zhäN bätēstˈ pĕrăNˈ [key], 1870–1942, French physicist. From 1910 to 1940 he was professor at the Univ. of Paris, and in 1941 he came to the United States. Perrin specia...