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black hole

(Encyclopedia)black hole, in astronomy, celestial object of such extremely intense gravity that it attracts everything near it and in some instances prevents everything, including light, from escaping. The term was...

settlement house

(Encyclopedia)settlement house, neighborhood welfare institution generally in an urban slum area, where trained workers endeavor to improve social conditions, particularly by providing community services and promot...

Naboth

(Encyclopedia)Naboth nāˈbŏth [key], in the Bible, Jezreelite stoned to death because he would not let King Ahab have his vineyard. Elijah's curse on the royal family for their treatment of Naboth forecast the do...

Ascot

(Encyclopedia)Ascot ăsˈkət [key], town, Windsor and Maidenhead, S central England. The famous horse races instituted by Queen Anne in 1711 are held annually in June on Ascot Heath. Ascot remains an important soc...

Robert II, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Robert II (Robert the Pious), 970–1031, king of France (996–1031); son of Hugh Capet, with whom he was joint king after 987. Distinguished for his piety and learning, he also sought to strengthen ...

Conwy

(Encyclopedia)Conwy, formerly Conway, town , Conwy, N Wales, at the mouth of the Conwy (Conway) River. Conwy is a picturesque tourist town with several notable old st...

Fuller, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Fuller, Thomas, 1608–61, English clergyman and author. He was an able preacher and a noted wit. He adhered to the royalist cause during the civil war and the Commonwealth and served briefly as a roy...

grog

(Encyclopedia)grog, originally a mixture of rum and water. It is named after Admiral Grogram Vernon, who first ordered the dilution of the British Royal Navy's daily rum ration. The term is now applied to almost an...

Bled

(Encyclopedia)Bled blĕt [key], town, NW Slovenia. Situated in the Julian Alps and on the small Lake of Bled, it is a popular summer and winter resort town. In the vicinity are a medieval castle, a former royal vil...

Poltava

(Encyclopedia)Poltava pəltäˈvə [key], city (1989 pop. 315,000), capital of Poltava region, E Ukraine, on the Kiev-Kharkiv highway and on the Vorskla River, a tributary of the Dnieper. It is an industrial center...