Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Saxe, Maurice, comte de mōrēsˈ kôNt də säks [key], 1696–1750, marshal of France, one of the greatest generals of his age. He was the illegitimate son of Augustus II of Poland and Saxony and Co...

(Encyclopedia) Destutt de Tracy, Antoine Louis Claude, Comte äNtwänˈ lwē klōd kôNt dĕstütˈ də träsēˈ [key], 1754–1836, French philosopher and psychologist. Although active in the Napoleonic government...

(Encyclopedia) William III, 1650–1702, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1689–1702); son of William II, prince of Orange, stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and of Mary, oldest daughte...

(Encyclopedia) Henry VIII, 1491–1547, king of England (1509–47), second son and successor of Henry VII. Henry was a supreme egotist. He advanced personal desires under the guise of public policy or moral rig...

(Encyclopedia) Charles XIII, 1748–1818, king of Sweden (1809–18) and Norway (1814–18). He became regent for his nephew, Gustavus IV, after the assassination (1792) of his brother Gustavus III. He introduced so...

(Encyclopedia) Ferdinand I or Ferrante fār-ränˈtā [key], 1423–94, king of Naples (1458–94), illegitimate son and successor (in Naples) of Alfonso V of Aragón. His succession was challenged by Pope Calixtus ...

(Encyclopedia) Orange ôräNzhˈ [key], town (1990 pop. 28,136), Vaucluse dept., SE France. An agricultural market center, the town also produces refined sugar, pâtés, preserves, wool, and shoes. Tourism is also i...

(Encyclopedia) Blanqui, Louis Auguste lwē ôgüstˈ [key], 1805–81, French revolutionary and radical thinker. While a student in Paris, he joined (1824) a branch of the Carbonari, a revolutionary secret society; ...

(Encyclopedia) Montespan, Françoise Athénaïs, marquise de fräNswäzˈ ätānäēsˈ märkēzˈ də môNtəspäNˈ [key], 1641–1707, mistress of King Louis XIV of France. She was maid of honor to Queen Marie Th...

(Encyclopedia) Maintenon, Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de fräNswäzˈ dōbēnyāˈ märkēzˈ də măNtənôNˈ [key], 1635–1719, second wife of the French king Louis XIV. Her grandfather was Théodore Agrippa...