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Peter I, czar of Russia

(Encyclopedia)Peter I or Peter the Great, 1672–1725, czar of Russia (1682–1725), major figure in the development of imperial Russia. Peter's personal traits ranged from bestial cruelty and vice to the most ...

Hecht, Selig

(Encyclopedia)Hecht, Selig, 1892–1947, American biophysicist, b. Glogow, Austria (now Poland). He moved to the United States in 1898 and was graduated from the College of the City of New York (B.S., 1913) and fro...

Marie Leszczynska

(Encyclopedia)Marie Leszczynska lĕshchĭnˈskə [key], 1703–68, queen of France, wife of Louis XV, and daughter of Stanislaus I of Poland. Married in 1725, she bore 10 children and was the grandmother of Louis X...

Tomaszów Mazowiecki

(Encyclopedia)Tomaszów Mazowiecki tômäˈsho͞of mäzôvyĕtsˈkē [key], city (1992 est. pop. 70,000), E central Poland. It is a railroad junction and has industries manufacturing synthetic textiles and fibers, ...

Zgierz

(Encyclopedia)Zgierz zgyĕsh [key], city (1991 est. pop. 59,300), Łódzkie prov., E central Poland. A textile center, it also manufactures chemicals, textile machinery, and metals. Chartered about 1300, Zgierz gre...

Boleslav II

(Encyclopedia)Boleslav II, d. 999, duke of Bohemia (967–99), son and successor of Boleslav I. Continuing his father's policies, he largely completed the Christianization of Bohemia. In 973 he agreed to the establ...

plagues of Egypt

(Encyclopedia)plagues of Egypt, in the Bible, the plagues and other troubles brought on Egypt by God through the hands of Moses, because Pharaoh would not let the people of Israel go out of Egypt. The account, in t...

center of mass

(Encyclopedia)center of mass, the point at which all the mass of a body may be considered to be concentrated in analyzing its motion. The center of mass of a sphere of uniform density coincides with the center of t...

York, house of

(Encyclopedia)York, house of, royal house of England, deriving its name from the creation of Edmund of Langley, fifth son of Edward III, as duke of York in 1385. The claims to the throne of Edmund's grandson, Richa...

conflict of laws

(Encyclopedia)conflict of laws, that part of the law in each state, country, or other jurisdiction that determines whether, in dealing with a particular legal situation, its law or the law of some other jurisdictio...