Van Dyck, Anthony. 1599-1641. Flemish portrait painter. Subjects showed dignity, elegance. Charles I 1635.

Van Gogh, Vincent. 1853-90. Dutch expressionist painter. Passionate intensity revealed in colors. Sunflowers. Potato Eaters 1885. Starry Night 1889. Wheat Fields. Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear 1889.

Van Goyen, Jan. 1596-1656. Dutch landcape painter of familiar, commonplace.

Van Loo, Carl. 1705-65. French Rococo portrait painter.

Vandals. Germans fleeing Huns, invaded Gaul, Spain 409 and Africa 429-534. Sacked Rome 455. Arians, persecuted other Christians. Routed by Byzantines 533.

Vanuatu. New Hebrides. 1980 Independent.

Varangian Guard. 977-15C. Byzantine infantry recruited from Scandinavia and later England.

Vasa. 1523-1818. Swedish dynasty. Ruled Poland 1587-1668. Dominated 17C Baltic.

Vasa. 1628. Swedish warship sank in harbour before maiden voyage.

Vasarely, Victor. 1908-97. Hungarian/French Op art kinetic painter.

Vasari, Giorgio. 1511-74. Italian Mannerist painter, architect, writer. Coined term Renaissance. Painters Lives 1550. Uffizi Palace architect.

Vassal. Feudal holder of a fief in exchange for services.

Vatican. 1146 Palace begun. 1377 Principal Papal residence. 11,000 rooms; world’s largest residence. 1929 Sovereign. Lateran Treaty.

Vatican Councils. 1870 Papal Infallibility. 1962 Modified liturgy. Ecumenicalism.

Vauban, Sébastien de. 1633-1707. French military engineer. Invented trenches 1673, socket bayonet 1688.

Vaucreuil, Cavagnal, Marquis de. 1698-1765. Governor of New France. Surrendered to Britain 1760. Seven Years War.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. 1872-1958. English Nationalist composer of symphonies, ballads, songs. Combined folk idiom with 16C polyphony. Sea 1910. Pastoral Symphony 1922.

Vauquelin. Chromium 1797. Beryllium 1798.

VE Day. May 7, 1945. Folowed German surrender signed May 7 in Reims.

Veblen, Thorstein. 1857-1929. US sociologist. Theory of the Leisure Class 1899-“conspicuous consumption”.

Vedanta. Philosophy of Hinduism from 6C BC Upanishads. Developed by Sankara 7C and Ramanuja 11C.

Vedas. 15C BC. Sacred texts of Hinduism. Upanishads.

Velasco Agreement. 1835. Santa Anna grants Texas independence.

Velázquez, Diego. 1599-1660. Spanish Naturalist court painter. Old Woman Frying Eggs 1618. Coronation of the Virgin 1641. Philip IV 1644. Surrender of Breda. Borrachos. Venus and Mirror 1655.

Velikovsky, Immanuel. 1895-1979. Russian/US writer of controversial scientific theories. Worlds in Collision 1950.

332 more results ...