Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Lumière, Louis Jean ōgüstˈ [key], 1862–1954, French inventors, brothers. They invented the Cinématographe, which was patented and demonstrated in 1895. This mechanism was the first to photograp...

(Encyclopedia) Le Vau, Louis lwē lə vō [key], 1612–70, French architect, involved in most of the important building projects for Louis XIV. He settled on the Île Saint-Louis, where he built his own house and t...

(Encyclopedia) St. Laurent, Louis Stephen săN lôräNˈ [key], 1882–1973, Canadian political leader. A well-known lawyer, he entered (1941) political life as minister of justice and attorney general in the Macken...

(Encyclopedia) Victor Amadeus II ămədēˈəs [key], 1666–1732, duke of Savoy (1675–1713), king of Sicily (1713–20), king of Sardinia (1720–30). Succeeding his father, Charles Emmanuel II, as duke of Savoy,...

(Encyclopedia) Lamartine, Alphonse Marie Louis de älfôNsˈ märēˈ lwē də lämärtēnˈ [key], 1790–1869, French poet, novelist, and statesman. After a trip to Italy and a brief period in the army, Lamartine ...

(Encyclopedia) French art, the artistic production of the region that constitutes the historic nation of France. See also French architecture. The innovations of postimpressionism, combined with the influence of C...

(Encyclopedia) Balzac, Jean Louis Guez de də bälzäkˈ [key], 1597?–1654, French writer. His Lettres (1624, tr. 1634) and other writings were a great influence in reforming French prose. Their style was marked ...

(Encyclopedia) Malle, Louis lwē mäl [key], 1932–95, French film director, b. Thumeries, France. Malle's motion pictures are noted for their nonjudgmental approach to often taboo material, for which he sought to ...

(Encyclopedia) Alexander III, d. 1181, pope (1159–81), a Sienese named Rolandus [Bandinelli?], successor of Adrian IV. He was a canonist who had studied law under Gratian and had taught at Bologna. He came to Rome...

(Encyclopedia) Hoche, Louis Lazare läzärˈ ôsh [key], 1768–97, French general in the French Revolutionary Wars. He entered the army at the age of 16 and rose rapidly to lieutenant in the national guard by 1792....