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Fresnel, Augustin Jean

(Encyclopedia)Fresnel, Augustin Jean ōgüstăNˈ zhäN frānĕlˈ [key] 1788–1827, French physicist and engineer. He is known for his research on light, especially on conditions governing interference phenomena ...

Clouet, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Clouet, Jean both: zhänĕˈ [key], c.1485–1540, portrait and miniature painter. He was court painter and valet de chambre to the French king Francis I. He is thought to have been Flemish and may ha...

Mandeville, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Mandeville, Sir John, 14th-century English author of The Travels of Sir John Mandeville. Originally written in Norman French, the work became enormously popular and was translated into English, Latin,...

Nathan, George Jean

(Encyclopedia)Nathan, George Jean, 1882–1958, American editor and drama critic, b. Fort Wayne, Ind. He left the New York Herald to join H. L. Mencken in editing Smart Set (1914–23), which they made into a guide...

Duvalier, Jean-Claude

(Encyclopedia)Duvalier, Jean-Claude düvälyāˈ [key], 1951–2014, president of Haiti (1971–86). At age 19, he was proclaimed “president for life” upon the death of his father, Francois Duvalier. Under gre...

Alembert, Jean le Rond d'

(Encyclopedia)Alembert, Jean le Rond d' zhäN lərôNˈ däläNbĕrˈ [key], 1717–83, French mathematician and philosopher. The illegitimate son of the chevalier Destouches, he was named for the St. Jean le Rond ...

Dionne, Narcisse Eutrope

(Encyclopedia)Dionne, Narcisse Eutrope närsēsˈ ötrôpˈ dyôn [key], 1848–1917, French Canadian historian. He was a prolific writer and produced biographies in French of Samuel de Champlain, Jacques Cartier, ...

Cortot, Alfred Denis

(Encyclopedia)Cortot, Alfred Denis älfrĕdˈ dənēˈ kôrtōˈ [key], 1877–1962, French pianist and conductor. Among his appearances as a conductor were those at Bayreuth (1898–1901). He joined the faculty of...

Lefèvre d'Étaples, Jacques

(Encyclopedia)Lefèvre d'Étaples, Jacques zhäk ləfăvˈrə dātäpˈlə [key], c.1450–1536, French theologian and humanist. A priest, he studied in Italy, where he was influenced by Neoplatonism. In 1507, he w...
 

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