Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Perrot, Jules pĕrōˈ [key], 1810–92, French dancer and choreographer, b. Lyons. Perrot studied with Auguste Vestris (see under Vestris, Gaetan) and Salvatore Vigano. He gained fame as a dancer be...

(Encyclopedia) Claudel, Camille (Camille-Rosalie Claudel) kämēˈyə-rōzälēˈ klōdĕlˈ [key], 1864–1943, French sculptor. The sister of the writer Paul Claudel, she studied at the Colarossi Academy (now the ...

(Encyclopedia) Henri, 1955–, grand duke of Luxembourg (2000–), the oldest son of Jean, grand duke of Luxembourg, and Joséphine Charlotte, princess of Belgium. In 1981 Henri married María Teresa Mestre y Batist...

(Encyclopedia) Hollande, François Gérard Georges, 1954–, French lawyer and politician, president of France (2012–17), b. Rouen. He attended the elite National School of Administration (ENA) and Paris Institute...

(Encyclopedia) Vienna State Opera, opera house and company in Vienna, Austria, founded in 1869 as an expansion of the Vienna Court Opera (Hofoper). Destroyed by wartime bombing in 1945, the elegant building's recons...

(Encyclopedia) altruism ălˈtro͞oĭzˈəm [key], concept in philosophy and psychology that holds that the interests of others, rather than of the self, can motivate an individual. The term was invented in the 19th...

(Encyclopedia) Charlotte, 1896–1985, grand duchess of Luxembourg (1919–64). The second daughter of Duke William of Nassau-Weilburg and a Portuguese princess, Marie Anne of Braganza, she succeeded her sister, Mar...

(Encyclopedia) Messmer, Pierre (Pierre Joseph Auguste Messmer) pyĕr mĕsmāˈ [key], 1916–, French political leader. In World War II he fought with the Free French forces before joining General de Gaulle's staff....

(Encyclopedia) Lagarde, Christine (Christine Madeleine Odette Lallouette Lagarde) krĭstēnˈ lägärdˈ [key], 1956–, French lawyer and government official, the first woman to head the International Monetary Fund...

(Encyclopedia) Mandeville, Sir John, 14th-century English author of The Travels of Sir John Mandeville. Originally written in Norman French, the work became enormously popular and was translated into English, Latin,...