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Maurice, duke and elector of Saxony

(Encyclopedia)Maurice, 1521–53, duke (1541–47) and elector (1547–53) of Saxony. A member of the Albertine branch of the ruling house of Saxony, he became duke of Albertine Saxony during the Protestant Reforma...

Brahe, Tycho

(Encyclopedia)Brahe, Tycho tīˈkō brä [key], 1546–1601, Danish astronomer. The most prominent astronomer of the late 16th cent., he paved the way for future discoveries by improving instruments and by his prec...

Bourbon, Charles, duc de

(Encyclopedia)Bourbon, Charles, duc de bo͞orbôNˈ [key], 1490–1527, constable of France and governor of Milan. He distinguished himself at the battle of Marignano (1515) in the Italian Wars between King Franci...

Utrecht, Peace of

(Encyclopedia)Utrecht, Peace of, series of treaties that concluded the War of the Spanish Succession. It put an end to French expansion and signaled the rise of the British Empire. By the treaty between England and...

Kepler, Johannes

(Encyclopedia)Kepler, Johannes yōhäˈnəs kĕpˈlər [key], 1571–1630, German astronomer. From his student days at the Univ. of Tübingen, he was influenced by the Copernican teachings. From 1593 to 1598 he was...

Sylvester II

(Encyclopedia)Sylvester II, c.945–1003, pope (999–1003), a Frenchman (b. Auvergne) named Gerbert; successor of Gregory V. In his youth he studied at Muslim schools in Spain and became learned in mathematics and...

Frederick William, elector of Brandenburg

(Encyclopedia)Frederick William, known as the Great Elector, 1620–88, elector of Brandenburg (1640–88), son and successor of George William. At his accession the scattered lands of the Hohenzollern were devasta...

Rákóczy

(Encyclopedia)Rákóczy räˈkôtsĭ [key], noble Hungarian family that played an important role in the history of Transylvania and Hungary in the 17th and 18th cent. Sigismund Rákóczy, 1544–1608, was elected (...

Gattinara, Mercurino Arborio, marchese di

(Encyclopedia)Gattinara, Mercurino Arborio, marchese di mĕrco͞orēˈnō ärbôˈrēō märkĕˈza dē gätˌtēnäˈrä [key], 1465–1530, Italian statesman and jurist, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Aft...

Philip of Hesse

(Encyclopedia)Philip of Hesse hĕs [key], 1504–67, German nobleman, landgrave of Hesse (1509–67), champion of the Reformation. He is also called Philip the Magnanimous. Declared of age in 1518, he helped suppre...
 

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