Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Clootz or Cloots, Anacharsis änäkärsēsˈ klōts [key], 1755–94, French revolutionary, self-styled Orator of the Human Race. Born near Cleves and a member of the lesser German nobility, his given...

(Encyclopedia) foie gras fwä grä [key] [Fr.,=fat liver], livers of artificially fattened geese. Ducks and chickens are also sometimes used in the making of foie gras. The birds, kept in close coops to prevent exer...

(Encyclopedia) Jogues, Isaac (Saint Isaac Jogues) ēzäkˈ zhôg [key], 1607–46, French Jesuit missionary and martyr in the New World; one of the Jesuit Martyrs of North America. He arrived in Quebec in 1636 and i...

(Encyclopedia) Soissons swäsôNˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 32,144), Aisne dept., N France, on the Aisne River. It is an agricultural and industrial center. Soissons was an old Roman town and early episcopal see. Its ...

(Encyclopedia) von der Leyen, Ursula, 1958–, German politician, b. Brussels, Belgium, as Ursula Albrecht. She studied economics and medicine, worked (1988–92) at Hanover Medical School's (MHH) gynecological clin...

(Encyclopedia) Bel Geddes, Norman gĕdˈēz [key], 1893–1958, American designer, b. Adrian, Mich. as Norman Melancton Geddes. He began his career in 1918 as a scene designer for the Metropolitan Opera. He became k...

(Encyclopedia) Richter, Johann Paul Friedrich rĭkhˈtər [key], pseud. Jean Paul, 1763–1825, German novelist. He studied theology at the Univ. of Leipzig and later taught in that city. His novels combine the ide...

(Encyclopedia) Roman de la Rose, Le lə rōmäNˈ də lä rōz [key], French poem of 22,000 lines in eight-syllable couplets. It is in two parts. The first (4,058 lines) was written (c.1237) by Guillaume de Lorris a...

(Encyclopedia) Romilly, Sir Samuel rŏmˈĭlē [key], 1757–1818, English law reformer. Admitted to the bar in 1783, he soon developed a wide practice in the court of chancery. He was in sympathy with Rousseau's vi...

(Encyclopedia) Saguenay săgˈənā, săgˌənāˈ [key], river, c.125 mi (200 km) long, S Que., Canada. It issues from Lac Saint Jean, or Lake Saint John (c.375 sq mi/970 sq km), in two channels, the Grande Déchar...