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François Joseph Talma
François Joseph Talma , 1763-1826, French actor. The greatest tragedian of his time, he broke with tradition and foreshadowed the romanticists. He continued Lekain's reforms, paying close attention to costume, and employing gestures and a more emotive and less declamatory style of acting. In ...
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pawnbroker
pawnbroker one who makes loans on personal effects that are left as security. The practice of pawnbroking is ancient, as is recognition of the danger it involves of oppressing the poor. In fact, the Bible provides the poor with a number of safeguards against oppression from their creditors. Accordi...
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Rachel
Rachel , stage name of Élisa Félix , 1821-58, French actress, b. Switzerland. Exploited by her father in her childhood, she sang in the streets with her sister Sarah. In Paris, showing great promise at the Théâtre Molière school, she entered the Gymnase (1833) an...
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Kigali
Kigali , city (1997 pop. 330,000), central Rwanda, capital of Rwanda. It is the country's main administrative and economic center. The city has an international airport and road access to all of the country's borders. Iron ore (cassiterite) is mined nearby, and the city built a smelting plant in the...
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William Jefferson Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton
William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton (born 1946) won the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 1992 and then defeated incumbent George Bush to become the 42nd president of the United States. He was re-elected to a second term in 1996
William Jefferson (Bill) Clint...
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Innocent XI
Innocent XI 1611-89, pope (1676-89), an Italian named Benedetto Odescalchi, b. Como; successor of Clement X. He was elected because of his great saintliness and desire for reform. His election had been opposed by Louis XIV, with whom he had a long, bitter quarrel over Gallicanism , begun in this p...
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Murad II
Murad II 1403-51, Ottoman sultan (1421-51), son and successor of Muhammad I to the throne of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). He was opposed at his accession by a pretender, Mustafa, who rapidly gained control over most of the Ottoman possessions in Europe. After defeating his rival, Murad unsuccessful...
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Benoît Constant Coquelin
Benoît Constant Coquelin , 1841-1909, French actor, known as Coquelin aîné [the elder]. He made his debut at the Comédie française in 1860 and achieved fame in classic comic roles, such as the valets in Molière's plays and Beaumarchais's Figaro. He made an...
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Elizabeth
Elizabeth 1709-62, czarina of Russia (1741-62), daughter of Peter I and Catherine I . She gained the throne by overthrowing the young czar, Ivan VI , and the regency of his mother, Anna Leopoldovna. Her coup was made possible by her popularity with the imperial guards, who hated the German favo...
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Mark Spitz
Mark Spitz
American swimmer Mark Spitz (born 1950) is considered to have been the fastest swimmer in history. For six years, beginning in 1966, he dominated the sport, winning a world record seven gold medals in the 1972 Olympics held in Munich, West Germany. This was the most gold medals won by ...
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