Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Tristan L'Hermite, François fräNswäˈ trēstäNˈ lĕrmētˈ [key], pseud. of François L'Hermite, 1601–55, French playwright and poet. Poor and plagued by ill health, he was a page in the court ...

(Encyclopedia) Goncourt, Edmond Louis Antoine Huot de zhül älfrĕdˈ [key], 1830–70, French authors. Brothers, they were known, for their close association in art and literature, as “les deux Goncourt.” They...

(Encyclopedia) Quilmes kēlˈmēs [key], city (1991 pop. 509,445), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina, on the Río de la Plata estuary. It is a district administrative center and a major industrial city, with one of th...

(Encyclopedia) Laplace, Pierre Simon, marquis de pyĕr sēmôNˈ märkēˈ də läpläsˈ [key], 1749–1827, French astronomer and mathematician. At 18 he went to Paris, proved his gift for mathematical analysis to...

(Encyclopedia) Cabeza de Vaca, Álvar Núñez älˈvär no͞oˈnyāth käbāˈthä dā väˈkä [key], c.1490–c.1557, Spanish explorer. Cabeza de Vaca [cow's head] was not actually a surname but a hereditary title...

(Encyclopedia) Asunción äso͞onsyōˈn [key], city, S Paraguay, capital of Paraguay, on the Paraguay River. It is the principal port and chief industrial and cultural center of Paragua...

(Encyclopedia) Vinet, Alexandre Rodolphe älĕksäNˈdrə rôdôlfˈ vēnāˈ [key], 1797–1847, Swiss Protestant theologian and historian of literature. In 1817 he became professor of French language and literatur...

(Encyclopedia) Perrot, Georges zhôrzh pĕrōˈ [key], 1832–1914, French archaeologist. He was professor at the Sorbonne from 1875, director of the École normale supérieure, Paris, from 1888 to 1902, and permane...

(Encyclopedia) Villemain, Abel François äbĕlˈ fräNswäˈ vēlmăNˈ [key], 1790–1870, French scholar and critic. He was a professor at the Sorbonne from 1816, held several government posts after 1830, and was...

(Encyclopedia) Ponce de León, Juan pŏns də lēˈŏn, Span. hwän pōnˈthā dā lāōnˈ [key], c.1460–1521, Spanish explorer, first Westerner to reach Florida. He served against the Moors of Granada, and in 14...