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Casimir III

(Encyclopedia)Casimir III, 1310–70, king of Poland (1333–70), son of Ladislaus I and last of the Piast dynasty. Called Casimir the Great, he brought comparative peace to Poland. By the Congress of Visegrad (133...

Eric XIV

(Encyclopedia)Eric XIV, 1533–77, king of Sweden (1560–68), son and successor of Gustavus I. To strengthen the power of the crown, he limited (1561) the privileges of the royal dukes. He forbade the marriage of ...

Gomułka, Władysław

(Encyclopedia)Gomułka, Władysław vwädĭsˈwäf gəmo͝oˈkə [key], 1905–82, Polish Communist leader. Long a Communist, he helped establish the Polish Workers' party and was (1943–49) secretary of its centr...

Spotted swine

(Encyclopedia)Spotted swine, breed that is predominantly black with many white spots. Except for its additional white coloring, it is much like the Poland China swine, which together with Gloucester Old Spot hogs f...

Mazowiecki, Tadeusz

(Encyclopedia)Mazowiecki, Tadeusz tädāˈo͞osh mäzōvēĕtˈskē [key], 1927–2013, Polish journalist and political leader, prime minister of Poland (Aug., 1989– Jan., 1991). He attended Warsaw Univ. and from...

Palaeologus

(Encyclopedia)Palaeologus pālēŏlˈəgəs [key], Greek dynasty that ruled the Byzantine Empire from its restoration in 1261 to its final conquest by the Turks in 1453. The first emperor was Michael VIII, restorer...

Majdanek

(Encyclopedia)Majdanek or Maidanek mīdäˈnĕk [key], village, Lubelskie prov., SE Poland, a suburb of Lublin. The Germans established and operated a concentration camp there in World War II. An estimated 170,000 ...

Jastrow, Marcus

(Encyclopedia)Jastrow, Marcus yäsˈtrō, jăsˈ– [key], 1829–1903, American rabbi and Talmudic scholar, b. Poland. He was a rabbi (1866–92) in Philadelphia, editor of the Talmud material of The Jewish Encycl...

Livonia, region and former Russian province

(Encyclopedia)Livonia lĭvōˈnēə [key], region and former Russian province, comprising present Estonia and parts of Latvia (Vidzeme and Latgale). It borders on the Baltic Sea and its arms, the Gulf of Riga and t...