Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Houdin, Jean Eugène Robert or Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin zhäN özhĕnˈ rōbĕrˈ o͞odăNˈ [key], 1805–71, French conjurer and magician. Originally a clockmaker, he was celebrated for his optica...

(Encyclopedia) Gresset, Jean Baptiste Louis zhäN bätēstˈ lwē grĕsāˈ [key], 1709–77, French poet and dramatist. He was the author of a mock epic, Vairvert (1734), and of a successful comedy, Le Méchant (17...

(Encyclopedia) Nattier, Jean-Marc zhäN-märk nätyāˈ [key], 1685–1766, French painter; son of the painter Marc Nattier and the miniaturist Marie Courtois. His early works include historical and mythological pai...

(Encyclopedia) Marchand, Jean Baptiste zhäN bätēstˈ märshäNˈ [key], 1863–1934, French explorer and general. Sent to Africa (1897) to establish French control of the headwaters of the White Nile, Marchand le...

(Encyclopedia) Maury, Jean Siffrein zhäN sēfrăNˈ môrēˈ [key], 1746–1817, French churchman, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. A court preacher and writer before the French Revolution, he was known in th...

(Encyclopedia) Deluc, Jean André zhäN äNdrāˈ dəlükˈ [key], 1727–1817, Swiss geologist. During the first half of his life he was engaged mainly in business in Switzerland. He also made scientific excursions...

(Encyclopedia) Jourdan, Jean Baptiste zhäN bätēstˈ zho͞ordäNˈ [key], 1762–1833, marshal of France. He fought in the American Revolution, and in the French Revolutionary Wars he commanded the Army of the Nor...

(Encyclopedia) King, Billie Jean, 1943–, American tennis player, b. Long Beach, Calif., as Billie Jean Moffitt. King won 67 tournament titles and 20 Wimbledon titles, including singles in 1966–68, 1972–73, and...

(Encyclopedia) Isabey, Jean Baptiste zhäN bätēstˈ ēzäbāˈ [key], 1767–1855, French portrait painter and miniaturist. He was a pupil of J. L. David and was greatly influenced by Fragonard. His portraits are ...

(Encyclopedia) Cerré, Jean Gabriel zhäN gäbrēĕlˈ sĕrāˈ [key], 1734–1805, frontiersman and trader in the American Midwest, b. Montreal, Canada. By 1755 he had established a fur-trading post at Kaskaskia, I...