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Constantine Nikolayevich

(Encyclopedia)Constantine Nikolayevich kənˌstəntyēnˈ nēkôläyāˈvĭch [key], 1827–92, grand duke of Russia; brother of Czar Alexander II. Constantine supported all the reforms instituted by his brother, w...

Peipus, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Peipus, Lake pīˈpəs [key], Estonian Peipsi Järv, Rus. Chudskoye Ozero, c.1,390 sq mi (3,600 sq km), dividing Estonia from the W Pskov region, Russia. Its southern section is known as Lake Pskov. L...

Agis

(Encyclopedia)Agis āˈjĭs [key], name of four Spartan kings. Agis I, fl. late 10th cent. b.c., was the traditional founder of the Agiad dynasty, one of the two ruling dynasties of Sparta, which had a dual kingshi...

Ustinov, Sir Peter

(Encyclopedia)Ustinov, Sir Peter (Alexander) yo͞osˈtənôf [key], 1921–2004, English writer, director, and actor, b. London. A witty, charming, and cosmopolitan man, he debuted on the London stage at 18 and sub...

Childers, Robert Erskine

(Encyclopedia)Childers, Robert Erskine chĭlˈdərz [key], 1870–1922, Irish politician and author. Born into a Protestant family, he was a clerk in the House of Commons (1895–1910). Gradually becoming convinced...

Dunning, William Archibald

(Encyclopedia)Dunning, William Archibald, 1857–1922, American historian, b. Plainfield, N.J., grad. Columbia (B.A., 1881; Ph. D., 1885). After studying in Berlin, he returned (1886) to spend a lifetime at Columbi...

Romney, George

(Encyclopedia)Romney, George rŏmˈnē [key], 1734–1802, English portrait painter, b. Lancashire. Having had little early training, Romney went to London in 1762, where he rapidly became a popular and fashionable...

quaternion

(Encyclopedia)quaternion kwətûrˈnēən [key], in mathematics, a type of higher complex number first suggested by Sir William R. Hamilton in 1843. A complex number is a number of the form a+bi when a and b are re...

Philip II, king of Macedon

(Encyclopedia)Philip II, 382–336 b.c., king of Macedon (359–336 b.c.), son of Amyntas II. While a hostage in Thebes (367–364), he gained much knowledge of Greece and its people. He was appointed regent for Am...

Soli

(Encyclopedia)Soli sōˈlī [key], ancient city of Cilicia, SW of Tarsus, in present-day Turkey. It was founded c.700 b.c. by colonists from Rhodes. An important port at the time of Alexander the Great, Soli was de...