![Moscow University, photo by Thomas T. Hammond](../../Photos/Russia/MGUtt.jpg)
Moscow University (Moskovskii gosudarstvennyi universitet imeni Mikhaila Lomonosova) in its present form (from the 1950s),
located on the Sparrow Hills overlooking Moscow's center city. Photo courtesy Thomas T. Hammond.
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Moscow University (Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) was founded in 1755, which was rather later by European university standards; some colleges were already even in existence in America by then too. The driving force behind this accomplishment was Mikhail Lomonosov (1711- 1765), who has frequently been referred to as the "Ben Franklin" of Russia as Lomonosov, like Franklin, dabbled in a wide range of scientific and literary pursuits.