count

or earl

European h1 of nobility, ranking in modern times directly below a marquess or (in countries without marquesses) a duke. In England the h1 of earl is the equivalent of count and ranks above a viscount. The wife of a count or earl is a countess. The Roman comes (“count”) was originally a household companion of the emperor; under the Franks he was a local commander and judge. The counts were later incorporated into the feudal structure, some becoming subordinate to dukes, though a few countships were as great as duchies. As royal authority was reasserted over the feudatories, which took place at different times in the different kingdoms, the counts lost their political authority, though they retained their privileges as members of the nobility.

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(born Dec. 28, 1719, Dijon, France—died Feb. 13, 1787, Versailles) French statesman. As ambassador to Ottoman Turkey (1754–68), he ably defended French policies during the Seven Years' War. As Louis XVI's minister of foreign affairs (1774–87), he advocated French financial and military support for the colonists in the American Revolution, concluded an alliance with them (1778), and helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris (1783). He also worked to establish a stable balance of power in Europe by mediating the peace in the War of the Bavarian Succession.

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(born Sept. 5, 1817, St. Petersburg, Russia—died Oct. 10, 1875, Krasny Rog) Russian poet, novelist, and dramatist. A distant relative of Leo Tolstoy, he held various court posts. In the 1850s he began to publish comic verse, often satirizing government bureaucracy. Among his popular historical novels is Prince Serebrenni (1862). His dramatic trilogy about the 16th and 17th centuries—The Death of Ivan the Terrible (1866), Tsar Feodor Ioannovich (1868), and Tsar Boris (1870)—is written in blank verse and contains some of Russia's best historical dramatic writing. His lyric poetry includes many love and nature poems, as well as Ioann Damaskin (1859), a paraphrase of St. John of Damascus's prayer for the dead.

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(born Feb. 24, 1833, Vienna, Austria—died Nov. 29, 1895, Ellischau, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary) Austrian politician and prime minister (1868–70, 1879–93). A boyhood friend of the future emperor Francis Joseph, he entered the civil service in 1852 and rose rapidly, serving as governor of upper Austria, minister of the interior (1867, 1870–71, 1879), governor of Tirol (1871–79), and prime minister. In his second term as premier, he forged a conservative coalition that restored a degree of order among the Austrian Empire's quarreling nationalities by granting concessions to the Polish and Czech nationalists and bringing them into the Habsburg civil service.

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(born Sept. 25, 1873, Montignoso di Lunigiana, Italy—died Sept. 4, 1952, Rome) Italian diplomat. He entered the diplomatic service in 1896 and served in embassies worldwide. He served as minister for foreign affairs (1920–21) and as Italy's ambassador to France (1922), but he resigned after refusing to serve under Benito Mussolini. A strong antifascist, he lived in voluntary exile in Belgium until 1939 and in the U.S. (1940–43). He returned to Italy after World War II to serve in various government posts, including minister of foreign affairs (1947–51).

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(born Oct. 28, 1696, Goslar, Saxony—died Nov. 30, 1750, Chambord, France) German-born French general. The illegitimate son of Frederick Augustus I of Saxony, he served under Eugene of Savoy in Flanders and was made count of Saxony (Saxe) in 1711. He commanded a German regiment in the French service (1719) and made innovations in military training, especially in musketry. He served with distinction in the French army against his half brother Augustus III in the War of the Polish Succession and was made a general (1734). He successfully led French forces in the War of the Austrian Succession, capturing Prague (1741) and invading the Austrian Netherlands. There he won the Battle of Fontenoy (1745) and captured Brussels and Antwerp (1746). Appointed marshal general of France by Louis XV, Saxe led the successful invasion of Holland in 1747.

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(born April 30, 1803, Pleushagen, near Kolberg, Pomerania—died Feb. 23, 1879, Berlin, Ger.) Prussian army officer. He aided Prince William (later Emperor William I) in suppressing the insurrection in Baden (1848). As minister of war (1859–73), he improved the Prussian army by requiring universal military service and a permanent reserve. His reforms contributed to the army's decisive victories in the Seven Weeks' War (1866) and the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71), which helped make Germany the leading power on the European continent.

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(born Feb. 24, 1463, Mirandola, duchy of Ferrara—died Nov. 17, 1494, Florence) Italian scholar, philosopher, and humanist. He settled in Florence in 1484 as a protégé of Lorenzo de' Medici and Marsilio Ficino. In 1486 he posted in Rome a list of 900 theses on logic, mathematics, physics, and other subjects that he proposed to defend against any opponent. His Oration on the Dignity of Man (1486), which accompanied the posting, epitomizes Renaissance humanism. Accused of heresy by the pope, he was later cleared, and he was later reconverted to orthodoxy by Girolamo Savonarola. Pico was the first Christian scholar to use Kabbalistic doctrine (see Kabbala) in support of Christian theology. His other works include Heptaplus (a seven-point exposition of the Book of Genesis) and a synoptic treatment of Plato and Aristotle, of which Of Being and Unity is a portion. He died at age 31.

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(born May 22, 1622, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, France—died Nov. 28, 1698, Quebec, New France) French courtier and governor of New France (1672–82, 1689–98). Despite a record of misgovernment, he encouraged exploration that led to the expansion of the French empire in Canada. He established fur-trading posts that brought him into conflict with the Montreal fur traders and later expanded the posts west. He engaged in disputes with the officials and clergy of New France. The Iroquois Confederacy, which had remained on good terms with the French until 1675, turned against the French, and the colony was left defenseless. Louis XIV recalled Frontenac in 1682. Reappointed when the French and Indian War started (1689), he distinguished himself by repulsing British attacks on Quebec.

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orig. William Allen Basie

(born Aug. 21, 1904, Red Bank, N.J., U.S.—died April 26, 1984, Hollywood, Fla.) U.S. jazz pianist and bandleader. Basie was influenced by the Harlem pianists James P. Johnson and Fats Waller. In Kansas City in 1936 he formed his own band, which became known as the most refined exponent of swing. Its rhythm section was noted for its lightness, precision, and relaxation; on this foundation, the brass and reed sections developed a vocabulary of riffs and motifs. Their hit recordings included “One O'Clock Jump” and “Jumpin' at the Woodside.” Basie's piano style became increasingly spare and economical. His soloists included singer Jimmy Rushing, trumpeters Buck Clayton and Harry (“Sweets”) Edison, and saxophonist Lester Young. Basie's reorganized band of the 1950s placed greater emphasis on ensemble work and developed a more powerful style built from the riffs and buoyant rhythm of the earlier group. The band achieved renewed popularity for recordings featuring vocalist Joe Williams.

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(born Aug. 10, 1810, Turin, Piedmont, French Empire—died June 6, 1861, Turin, Italy) Italian statesman, leading figure of the Risorgimento. Influenced by revolutionary ideas from an early age, he traveled to Paris and London and in 1847 founded the liberal newspaper Il Risorgimento, and he helped persuade Charles Albert to grant a liberal constitution. Elected to Parliament in 1848, Cavour held several cabinet posts before becoming prime minister of Piedmont (1852–59, 1860–61). His exploitation of international rivalries and of revolutionary movements brought about the unification of Italy under the house of Savoy, with himself as the first prime minister of the new kingdom (1861).

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(born Feb. 24, 1831, Berlin-Charlottenburg, Prussia—died Feb. 6, 1899, near Crossen-an-der-Oder, Ger.) German soldier and politician. A distinguished soldier, he served as chief of the admiralty (1883–88). He succeeded Otto von Bismarck as Germany's imperial chancellor (1890–94) and Prussian minister president (1890–92). His achievements included an Anglo-German agreement concerning spheres of influence in Africa, commercial treaties with Austria, Romania, and other states, and the reorganization of the German army.

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orig. William Allen Basie

(born Aug. 21, 1904, Red Bank, N.J., U.S.—died April 26, 1984, Hollywood, Fla.) U.S. jazz pianist and bandleader. Basie was influenced by the Harlem pianists James P. Johnson and Fats Waller. In Kansas City in 1936 he formed his own band, which became known as the most refined exponent of swing. Its rhythm section was noted for its lightness, precision, and relaxation; on this foundation, the brass and reed sections developed a vocabulary of riffs and motifs. Their hit recordings included “One O'Clock Jump” and “Jumpin' at the Woodside.” Basie's piano style became increasingly spare and economical. His soloists included singer Jimmy Rushing, trumpeters Buck Clayton and Harry (“Sweets”) Edison, and saxophonist Lester Young. Basie's reorganized band of the 1950s placed greater emphasis on ensemble work and developed a more powerful style built from the riffs and buoyant rhythm of the earlier group. The band achieved renewed popularity for recordings featuring vocalist Joe Williams.

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(born Jan. 16, 1749, Asti, Piedmont—died Oct. 8, 1803, Florence) Italian tragic poet and playwright. Through his lyrics and dramas he helped revive the national spirit of Italy. After a period of travel in which he experienced English political liberty and read the works of Montesquieu and other French writers, he left the military and began writing. His tragedies almost always present the struggle between a champion of liberty and a tyrant. Of the 19 tragedies that he approved for publication in an edition of 1787–89, the best are Filippo, Antigone, Oreste, Mirra, and his masterpiece, Saul, often considered the most powerful drama in the Italian theatre. His autobiography (1804) is his chief prose work.

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Jarl or JARL may refer to:

• Japan Amateur Radio League
• The Scandinavian Viking Age form of earl

People with the given name Jarl:

• Jarl Wahlström (1918–1999), 12th General of The Salvation Army