FixedHat

Hero And Leander

2005-04-04T07:53:00.000-07:00

The story is preserved in

Andrade, Oswald De

2005-04-04T05:14:00.000-07:00

Born into a wealthy and aristocratic family, Andrade traveled extensively in Europe during his youth and there became aware of avant-garde literary trends in Paris and Italy. After his return to São Paulo,

Computers, The hobby market expands

2005-04-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

Some entrepreneurs, particularly in the San Francisco Bay area, saw opportunities to build add-on devices, or peripherals, for the Altair; others decided to design competitive hardware products. Because different machines might use different data paths, or buses, peripherals built for one computer might not work with another computer. This led the emerging industry

Sunderland, Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl Of, Baron Spencer Of Wormleighton

2005-04-02T10:58:00.000-08:00

Spencer was the only son and heir of the 1st Earl of Sunderland, and in 1679 he became secretary

Metal Point

2005-04-01T23:46:00.000-08:00

Descendant of the stylus of classical times and ancestor of the modern pencil, a small, sharpened metal rod used for drawing precise compositions on paper or parchment. The metal could be lead, silver, copper, or gold, but silverpoint was the most common choice because it is the most suited to permanent drawing, its stroke adhering unerasably. The silverpoint was of

Argentina, Industry

2005-04-01T21:24:00.000-08:00

Manufacturing, which accounts for one-fifth of the GDP and nearly one-sixth of the workforce, is the mainstay of the Argentine economy.

Habsburg, House Of

2005-03-30T13:31:00.000-08:00

There have been several good studies of economic development during the Habsburg reign. David F. Good, The Economic Rise of the Habsburg Empire, 1750–1914 (1984), is a solid survey. More advanced students may examine John Komlos, The Habsburg Monarchy as a Customs Union: Economic Development in Austria-Hungary in the Nineteenth Century (1983). Also worthy of inspection is John Komlos (ed.), Economic Development in the Habsburg Monarchy in the Nineteenth Century: Essays (1983). International relations and Habsburg foreign policy are the subjects of H.G. Koenigsberger, The Habsburgs and Europe, 1516–1660 (1971); F.R. Bridge, The Habsburg Monarchy Among the Great Powers, 1815–1918 (1990); and Samuel R. Williamson, Jr., Austria-Hungary and the Origins of the First World War (1991).

Johansson, Christian

2005-03-30T03:55:00.000-08:00

Johansson studied at the Royal Swedish Ballet School and in Copenhagen with August Bournonville, who was most responsible for establishing the traditions of the Royal Danish

Tobol River

2005-03-30T01:34:00.000-08:00

Kazak Tobyl river, left-bank tributary of the Irtysh (Ertis) River, flowing through northern Kazakstan into southern Russia. After rising in the low mountains of the Torghay Plateau, it flows northeast across the West Siberian Plain past the cities of Qostanay (Kazakstan) and Kurgan (Russia) before entering the Irtysh River at Tobolsk after a course of 989 miles (1,591 km). Its main tributaries

Procter, William Cooper

2005-03-29T00:40:00.000-08:00

The soapmaking firm of Procter & Gamble was founded in Cincinnati by Procter's grandfather, William Procter, a candlemaker, who joined with James Gamble, an Irish soapmaker, in 1837. The company expanded steadily with the successful

Domicile

2005-03-28T14:30:00.000-08:00

In law, a person's dwelling place as it is defined for purposes of judicial jurisdiction and governmental burdens and benefits. Certain aspects of a person's legal existence do not vary with the state he happens to be in at any given moment but are governed by a personal law that follows him at all times. In Anglo-American countries applying the common law, one's personal

Biblical Literature, Other types

2005-03-28T02:00:00.000-08:00

There is an unconscious tendency to conform hermeneutical principles to the climate of opinion in and around the community concerned, and to change the hermeneutic pattern as the climate of opinion changes. It is not surprising that in the circles where Pseudo-Dionysius (early-6th-century writings attributed to Dionysius, a convert of St. Paul) was revered as a teacher,

Carnivore, Form and function

2005-03-27T10:39:00.000-08:00

Cats have a reduced number of premolar and molar teeth; the typical dental formula includes only 30 teeth. The incisors are small and chisel-like and the canines long and pointed. The premolars are sharp, and occasionally an upper premolar may be lacking. The lower molar is elongate and sharp, the upper molar rudimentary. Because of the reduction in the number and size

Black Pepper

2005-03-27T08:24:00.000-08:00

In early

Aetolia And Acarnania

2005-03-27T07:18:00.000-08:00

Most of Acarnania

Spalding, Albert

2005-03-24T23:18:00.000-08:00

The son of a partner in the sporting-goods firm of A.G. Spalding and Brothers, he began to study the violin at the age of seven, making his debut in Paris in 1905 and in New York City in 1908. He served with the American Expeditionary Force in Europe during World War I. Spalding toured the

Pere Ubu

2005-03-24T21:11:00.000-08:00

American avant-garde art rock band generally considered to be a major force and influence in postpunk music. The original members were David Thomas (b. June 14, 1953), Peter Laughner (b. c. 1953—d. June 22, 1977), Tom Herman (b. April 19, 1949), Allen Ravenstine (b. May 9, 1950), Scott Krauss (b. Nov. 19, 1950), and Tim Wright. Later members included Tony Maimone (b. Sept. 27, 1952, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.), Jim Jones (b. March 12, 1950), Chris Cutler (b. Jan. 4, 1947), Mayo

Finland, Education

2005-03-24T03:11:00.000-08:00

School attendance in Finland is compulsory beginning at the age of seven. The national and local governments support the schools, and tuition is free. The introduction of a new nine-year comprehensive school system, consisting of a six-year primary stage and a three-year secondary stage, was completed during the 1970s. The English language is taught beginning in the third

God, Church Of

2005-03-23T23:29:00.000-08:00

Any of several Pentecostal churches that developed in the U.S. South from the late 19th- and early 20th-century Latter Rain revival, based on a belief that a second rain of the gifts of the Holy Spirit would occur similar to that of the first Christian Pentecost. They adhere to an ultraconservative theology, by which they regard the state of holiness as a work of grace subsequent

Conduit

2005-03-22T19:51:00.000-08:00

In water-supply systems the term is usually reserved for covered or closed sections of aqueduct, especially those that transport water under pressure. Large conduits may be fabricated of steel sections joined in the field or of reinforced

Rus

2005-03-22T14:26:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ros ancient people who gave their name to the land of Russia. Their origin and identity are much in dispute. Traditional Western scholars believe them to be Scandinavian Vikings, an offshoot of the Varangians, who moved southward from the Baltic coast and founded the first consolidated state among the eastern Slavs, centring on Kiev. Russian scholars, along with some

Vihara

2005-03-21T06:15:00.000-08:00

Early type of Buddhist monastery consisting of an open court surrounded by open cells accessible through an entrance porch. The viharas in India were originally constructed to shelter the monks during the rainy season, when it became difficult for them to lead the wanderer's life. They took on a sacred character when small stupas (housing sacred relics) and images

Calcisol

2005-03-20T08:32:00.000-08:00

One of the 30 soil groups in the classification system of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Calcisols are characterized by a layer of translocated (migrated) calcium carbonate—whether soft and powdery or hard and cemented—at some depth in the soil profile. They are usually well-drained soils with fine to medium texture, and they are relatively fertile because

Tereshkova, Valentina

2005-03-20T06:01:00.000-08:00

Although she had no pilot training, Tereshkova was an accomplished amateur parachutist

Smith, Dame Maggie

2005-03-19T21:44:00.000-08:00

Smith studied acting at the Oxford Playhouse School and began appearing in revues in Oxford in 1952 and London in 1955. She first achieved recognition in the Broadway revue New Faces of 1956 and held the lead comedienne role in the London revue Share My Lettuce (1957–58). She then

Tiger-flower

2005-03-19T19:57:00.000-08:00

The flowers, in a range of colours including orange-red, have three lower floral parts alternating with three much smaller petals, all with a spotted cup at the centre.

Mine Gas

2005-03-19T14:47:00.000-08:00

Any of various harmful vapours produced during mining operations. The gases are frequently called damps (German Dampf, “vapour”). Firedamp is a gas that occurs naturally in coal seams. The gas is nearly always methane (CH4) and is highly inflammable and explosive when present in the air in a proportion of 5 to 14 percent. White damp, or carbon monoxide (CO), is a particularly

Dinosaur, The KT boundary event

2005-03-18T08:57:00.000-08:00

It was not only the dinosaurs that disappeared 65 million years ago at the Cretaceous–Tertiary, or K–T, boundary. Many other organisms became extinct or were greatly reduced in abundance and diversity, and the extinctions were quite different between, and even among, marine and terrestrial organisms. Land plants did not respond in the same way as land animals, and not

Bréguet, Louis-charles

2005-03-17T22:19:00.000-08:00

Bréguet built his first airplane in 1909, set a speed

Manannán Mac Lir

2005-03-17T16:55:00.000-08:00

(Celtic: “Manannán, Son of the Sea”), Irish sea god from whom the name of the Isle of Man allegedly derived. Manannán traditionally ruled an island paradise, protected sailors, and provided abundant crops. He gave immortality to the gods through his swine, which returned to life when killed; those who ate of the swine never died. He wore impenetrable armour and, carrying an

Florence

2005-03-17T10:38:00.000-08:00

Italian Firenze, Latin Florentia, city, capital of Firenze province and Toscana (Tuscany) region, central Italy. The city, located about 145 miles (230 kilometres) northwest of Rome, has, during its long history, been a republic, a seat of the duchy of Tuscany, and a capital (1865–71) of Italy. Florence was founded as a Roman military colony about the 1st century BC and during the 14th to 16th centuries achieved preeminence in commerce

Cynric

2005-03-16T03:39:00.000-08:00

King of the West Saxons, or Wessex (from 534). By some accounts he also reigned jointly (519–534) with his grandfather (or father?), Cerdic, founder of Wessex. The period was apparently one of consolidating gains climaxed by the Battle of Mount Badon (520) rather than a period of further expansion, though Cynric is said to have routed Britons in battle at least once, at a place called Searobyrg

Pigweed

2005-03-15T23:10:00.000-08:00

Any of several coarse annual plants of cosmopolitan distribution that are often troublesome weeds. Several of them belong to the genus Amaranthus, of the family Amaranthaceae. Prostrate pigweed, or mat amaranth (A. graecizans), grows along the ground surface with stems rising at the tips; spiny pigweed, or spiny amaranth (A. spinosus), has spines at the base of the leafstalks;

Botanical Garden

2005-03-15T03:11:00.000-08:00

German Botanischer Garten, botanical garden founded in 1914 by the German botanist Karl von Goebel in Munich. The garden's vast array of greenhouses, completed in 1958, includes 17 for display and 8 for service functions. The palm house is particularly notable. Other significant greenhouse collections are composed of alpine plants, insectivorous plants, cacti, African succulents, Crassula, and Mesembryanthemeae.

Chang Chü-cheng

2005-03-14T23:21:00.000-08:00

Chang gained power through his position as tutor

Thoburn, Isabella

2005-03-14T16:22:00.000-08:00

Thoburn attended local schools and the Wheeling Female Seminary in Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia). In 1866, after she had taught for several years, Thoburn was invited by her brother

Ear, Human, Tympanic membrane

2005-03-13T01:23:00.000-08:00

The thin, semitransparent tympanic membrane, or eardrum, which forms the boundary between the outer and middle ear, is stretched obliquely across the end of the external canal. Its diameter is about 9 millimetres (0.35 inch), its shape that of a flattened cone with its apex directed inward. Thus, its outer surface is slightly concave. The edge of the membrane is thickened and

Robbins, Jerome

2005-03-12T16:17:00.000-08:00

Original surname Rabinowitz one of the most popular and imaginative American choreographers of the 20th century. Robbins was first known for his skillful use of contemporary American themes in ballets and Broadway and Hollywood musicals. He won acclaim for highly innovative ballets structured within the traditional framework of classical

Anne Of Brittany

2005-03-12T03:04:00.000-08:00

Daughter of Duke Francis II of Brittany and Margaret of Foix, Anne succeeded to her father's duchy on Sept. 9, 1488. The future of the duchy depended on her marriage. In desperation Anne allied herself with

Optical Axis

2005-03-11T14:36:00.000-08:00

The straight line passing through the geometrical centre of a lens and joining the two centres of curvature of its surfaces. Sometimes the optical axis of a lens is called its principal axis. The path of a light ray along this axis is perpendicular to the surfaces and, as such, will be unchanged. All other ray paths passing through a lens and its optical centre (the geometrical

Ac/dc

2005-03-10T23:32:00.000-08:00

Australian heavy metal band whose theatrical, high-energy shows placed them among the most popular stadium performers of the 1980s. The principal members were Angus Young (b. March 31, 1955, Glasgow, Scot.), Malcolm Young (b. Jan. 6, 1953, Glasgow), Bon Scott (original name Ronald Belford Scott; b. July 9, 1946, Kirriemuir, Angus, Scot.—d. Feb. 21, 1980, London, Eng.), Brian Johnson (b. Oct. 5, 1948, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear,

Shabonee

2005-03-10T22:23:00.000-08:00

By birth an Ottawa Indian, Shabonee married the daughter of a Potawatomi chief and succeeded him as tribal leader. Although an adherent

Chagai

2005-03-10T00:49:00.000-08:00

District in Quetta Division, Baluchistan Province, Pakistan. It is bounded on the north by Afghanistan, on the east and south by Kalat and Kharan districts, and on the west by Iran and has an area of 19,516 sq mi (50,546 sq km), consisting of a level plain in the east, part of the Baluchistan desert in the west, the Chagai Hills in the north, and the Ras Koh Range in the south. Sparse scrub vegetation

Powell, Cecil Frank

2005-03-09T07:11:00.000-08:00

British physicist and winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1950 for his development of the photographic method of studying nuclear processes and for the resulting discovery of the pion (pi-meson), a heavy subatomic particle. The pion proved to be the hypothetical particle proposed in 1935 by Yukawa Hideki of Japan in his theory

Gabelich, Gary

2005-03-08T23:16:00.000-08:00

Gabelich began racing hot-rod cars while he was in high school. In the late 1950s he competed as a drag racer of both automobiles and boats. In 1969 he set a drag-boat record of 200.44 miles per hour (322.38 km/h). He achieved his 1970 one-mile land-speed record

Scandinavian Literature, Skaldic verse

2005-03-08T06:20:00.000-08:00

Norwegians and Icelanders of the 9th to the 13th century also composed skaldic poetry (from the Icelandic word skáld, “poet”). It was not composed in the free variable metres of the Poetic Edda but was strictly syllabic: every syllable had to be counted and every line had to end in a given form. Like Eddaic lines, the skaldic lines were joined in pairs by alliteration, often using

Shensi, Climate

2005-03-08T02:18:00.000-08:00

The Tsinling Mountains are not only a physical divide but also separate Shensi into two sharply differentiated climatic regions. The southern mountain area has a subtropical climate, similar to that of the Middle Yangtze Basin or of Szechwan. Mean temperatures in January are from 37° to 39° F (3° to 4° C), and the frost-free growing season is from 260 to 280 days, although the summer and

Talambo Affair

2005-03-07T14:34:00.000-08:00

Following the attack at Talambo, the Spanish government sent an investigator, whom it called a viceroy (the title of the

Ma-ubin

2005-03-07T08:26:00.000-08:00

Town, southern Myanmar (Burma). The town is a river port on the west bank of the main Irrawaddy distributary and is protected by flood-control embankments. It is linked with Yangon (Rangoon), 40 miles (65 km) east, by the Twante Canal and is the site of a diesel electric plant. The surrounding area occupies a largely swampy portion of the Irrawaddy River delta. It has a southern coastline

Aethelflaed

2005-03-06T18:08:00.000-08:00

The daughter of King Alfred the Great, she helped her brother Edward the Elder, king of the West Saxons (reigned 899–924), in conquering the Danish armies occupying eastern England. Aethelflaed became the effective ruler of Mercia some years before the death (911) of her husband, Aethelred, ealdorman of the Mercians. While

Ubangi River

2005-03-06T15:05:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Oubangui, largest right-bank tributary of the Congo River, marking the border between Congo (Kinshasa) and Congo (Brazzaville). The Ubangi is formed by the union (near Yakoma, Congo [Kinshasa], on the border of the Central African Republic) of the Bomu and Uele (Welle) rivers, and it then flows west for about 350 miles (560 km). It bends northeast of Bangui and flows a somewhat longer distance southwest.

Veneer

2005-03-05T08:13:00.000-08:00

Extremely thin sheet of rich-coloured wood (such as mahogany, ebony, or rosewood) or precious materials (such as ivory or tortoiseshell) cut in decorative patterns and applied to the surface area of a piece of furniture. It is to be distinguished from two allied processes: inlay, in which cutout pieces of decorative wood or other materials—such as metal, leather, or

Armenian Catholic Church

2005-03-04T14:45:00.000-08:00

An Eastern-rite member of the Roman Catholic church. The Armenians embraced Christianity about AD 300 and were the first people to do so as a nation. About 50 years after the Council of Chalcedon (451), the Armenians repudiated the Christological decisions of the council and became the Armenian Apostolic (Orthodox) Church, a body that basically adhered to the doctrinal beliefs

Bahrain, Settlement patterns

2005-03-04T13:14:00.000-08:00

The majority of the population now dwells in towns, but in the north and northwest of the main island, where irrigation has long been carried out using artesian water, there are numerous small villages and isolated dwellings where horticulture is the way of life. This area has an aspect of great fertility, which contrasts starkly with the bare desert appearance of

Arts, Islamic, The new style

2005-03-04T01:05:00.000-08:00

The new approach to poetry that developed during the 9th century was first accorded scholarly discussion in the Kitab al-badi ' (“Book of the Novel and Strange”) by Ibn al-Mu'tazz (died 908), caliph for one day, who laid down rules for the use of metaphors, similes, and verbal puns. The ideal of these “modern” poets was the richest possible embellishment of verses by the use of tropes, brilliant

Deffand, Marie De Vichy-chamrond, Marquise Du

2005-03-03T18:54:00.000-08:00

She was born of a noble family, educated at a convent in Paris, and married at 21 to her kinsman Jean-Baptiste de La Lande, Marquis du Deffand, from whom she separated in 1722. She was by that time taking part in the extremely dissipated life that characterized the entourage of the

1848, Revolutions Of

2005-03-03T15:03:00.000-08:00

The revolutionary movement began in Italy with a local revolution in Sicily in January 1848; and, after the revolution

Korea, North

2005-03-03T01:35:00.000-08:00

Officially Democratic People's Republic of Korea , Korean Choson Minjujuui In'min Konghwaguk country in East Asia. It occupies the northern portion of the Korean peninsula, which juts out from the Asian mainland between the Sea of Japan (East Sea) and the Yellow Sea. The country is bordered by China and Russia to the north and by the Republic of Korea (South Korea) to the south. North Korea has an area of 47,399 square miles (122,762 square kilometres), occupying about 55 percent of the

Udine

2005-03-02T08:12:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Udine provincia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia regione, northeastern Italy. It lies northwest of Trieste, near the border with Slovenia. Possibly the site of a Roman frontier station called Utina, the city was the seat of the Roman Catholic patriarchate of Aquileia from 1238 until 1751, when the patriarchate was dissolved and replaced by the archbishoprics of Udine

Table Mountain

2005-03-01T20:20:00.000-08:00

Afrikaans Tafelberg, flat-topped mountain, overlooking Cape Town and Table Bay, South Africa, dominating the northern end of the high, rocky Cape Peninsula. Its tabular shape results from nearly horizontal layers of sandstone, exposed by vigorous wind and water erosion. The stark, scarred, 2-mi- (3-km-) long northern face contrasts with the fertile summit plateau broken by small valleys and streams.

Southern Africa, The annexation of Southern Africa

2005-03-01T15:51:00.000-08:00

The first move in the scramble for Southern Africa came with renewed assertions of British supremacy in the interior. After much dispute, Britain annexed Griqualand West as a crown colony in 1871, transferring it to the Cape Colony in 1881. The multiple crises following the diamond discoveries led during the 1870s to failed imperial schemes to confederate the Southern African

Computers, The IBM 360

2005-02-28T20:11:00.000-08:00

IBM had been selling business machines since early in the century and had built Howard Aiken's computer to his architectural specifications. But the company had been slow to implement the stored-program digital computer architecture of the early 1950s. It did develop the IBM 650, a (like UNIVAC) decimal implementation of the IAS plan—and the first computer to sell more than

Tholeiite

2005-02-28T06:45:00.000-08:00

Fine-grained extrusive igneous rock, a basalt that contains plagioclase feldspar (labradorite), clinopyroxene (augite with pigeonite or hypersthene), and iron ore (magnetite and ilmenite). Tholeiitic lavas often contain glass, but little or no olivine. Tholeiite occurs as extensive plateaus (volumes on the order of 200,000 to 800,000 cubic km [50,000 to 200,000 cubic miles]) in the Pacific Northwest

Atmosphere, Ionospheric variations

2005-02-27T19:42:00.000-08:00

The ionosphere is variable in space and time. Some of the changes are chemical in origin and can be readily understood on the basis of the general considerations outlined above. There is a systematic variation, for example, as a function of time of day. In the early morning the Sun is relatively low in the sky. Radiation must penetrate a large column of air before reaching

Doyle, Richard

2005-02-27T11:51:00.000-08:00

A student of his father, Doyle regularly contributed (from 1843) decorations, theatre sketches, and political caricatures to Punch. The cover

Earth, Faulting

2005-02-27T11:19:00.000-08:00

Extension of the Earth's crust may result in the formation of numerous parallel ridges and valleys

Earth, Decay of the ring current

2005-02-26T16:02:00.000-08:00

The particles of the ring current have a finite lifetime before being lost to the Earth's atmosphere. Two processes—charge exchange and wave-particle interactions—contribute to this loss. Charge exchange is a process wherein a cold atmospheric neutral particle interacts with a positive ion of the ring current and exchanges an electron. The ion is converted to

O'neill, Eugene

2005-02-25T02:56:00.000-08:00

In full Eugene Gladstone O'Neill foremost American dramatist and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1936. His masterpiece, Long Day's Journey into Night (produced posthumously 1956), is at the apex of a long string of great plays, including Beyond the Horizon (1920), Anna Christie (1922), Strange Interlude (1928), Ah! Wilderness (1933), and The Iceman Cometh (1946).

World War I, Greek affairs

2005-02-24T06:55:00.000-08:00

Greece's attitude toward the war was long uncertain: whereas King Constantine I and the general staff stood for neutrality, Eleuthérios Venizélos, leader of the Liberal Party, favoured the Allied cause. As prime minister from 1910, Venizélos wanted Greece to participate in the Allies' Dardanelles enterprise against Turkey in 1915, but his arguments were overruled by the

Thomas, W(illiam) I(saac)

2005-02-24T06:23:00.000-08:00

Thomas taught sociology at the University of Chicago (1895–1918), the New School for Social Research, New York City (1923–28), and Harvard University (1936–37). His Sex and

Lebrun, Charles-françois, Duke (duc) De Plaisance, Prince De L'empire

2005-02-24T02:20:00.000-08:00

While he was a lawyer in Paris, Lebrun served as royal censor in 1766, and two years later he became inspector general of the crown lands. As secretary and protégé of the chancellor

Madeleine

2005-02-23T06:56:00.000-08:00

Napoleon, who had ordered its design and construction, originally intended the building

Bahmani Sultanate

2005-02-23T03:13:00.000-08:00

The Bahmani sultanate's

Epistemology, Ancient Skepticism

2005-02-22T21:17:00.000-08:00

After the development of Aristotle's psychology the next significant event for the theory of knowledge was the rise of Skepticism, of which there were at least two kinds. The first, Academic Skepticism, arose in the Academy after Plato's death and was propounded by the Greek philosopher Arcesilaus (c. 315–c. 240 BC), about whom the philosophers Cicero, Sextus Empiricus, and Diogenes

Japanese Cedar

2005-02-22T21:14:00.000-08:00

The Japanese

Tafilalt

2005-02-21T16:17:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Tafilet, or Tafilalet, largest Saharan oasis of Morocco, in the southeastern part of the country. The oasis comprises the fortified villages of Erfoud, Arab Sebbah du Ziz, Rissani, Seffalat, Aoufous, and Jorf, together with palm groves stretching 30 miles (50 km) along the Wadi Ziz. Its old capital was the Berber stronghold of Sijilmassa, founded in AD 757 on the Saharan caravan route from the Niger River

Abd El-krim

2005-02-20T20:03:00.000-08:00

In full Muhammad Ibn 'abd Al-karim Al-khattabi leader of a resistance movement against Spanish and French rule in North Africa and founder of the short-lived Republic of the Rif (1921–26). A skilled tactician and a capable organizer, he led a liberation movement that made him the hero of the Maghrib (northwest Africa). A precursor of the anticolonial struggle for independence, Abd el-Krim was defeated

Antarctica, The land

2005-02-20T08:07:00.000-08:00

Balata

2005-02-20T04:12:00.000-08:00

Also called Gutta Balata, hard rubberlike material made by drying the milky juice produced principally by the bully tree (species Manilkara bidentata) of Guyana and the West Indies. The tree is tapped by cutting zigzag gashes in the bark and collecting the latex in cups, to be coagulated in trays. Like gutta-percha, balata is inelastic, tough, leathery, and water-resistant, and it softens when

Biblical Literature, The Letter of Aristeas

2005-02-18T20:12:00.000-08:00

An important document of Jewish Hellenistic literature is The Letter of Aristeas, a pseudepigraphon ascribed to Aristeas, an official of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, a Greek monarch of Egypt in the 3rd century BCE. The letter is addressed to his brother and gives an account of the translation of the Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament) into Greek, by order of Ptolemy.

Xia Gui

2005-02-18T14:32:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Hsia Kuei one of China's greatest masters of landscape painting, cofounder with Ma Yuan of the Ma-Xia school. The album leaf and the hand scroll with a continuous panorama were his predominant forms. His works are typically in ink monochrome, occasionally with a few touches of colour.

Pre-columbian Civilizations, The Maya highlands and Pacific coast

2005-02-18T07:43:00.000-08:00

Little is known about the Guatemalan highlands between the demise of the Late Formative Miraflores culture and the onset of the Early Classic. But at the ancient site of Kaminaljuyú, on the western side of Guatemala City, a group of invaders from Teotihuacán built a miniature replica of their capital city. This happened about AD 400, when Teotihuacán was at the height of

Salat

2005-02-18T06:36:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Salah, Arabic Salat, the daily ritual prayer enjoined upon all Muslims as one of the five Pillars of Islam (arkan al-Islam). There is disagreement among Islamic scholars as to whether some passages about prayer in the Muslim sacred scripture, the Qur'an, are actually references to the salat. Within Muhammad's lifetime five ritual prayers, each preceded by ablution, were observed: salat al-fajr (dawn),

China, Japan and Ryukyu

2005-02-17T05:51:00.000-08:00

Three years after the Meiji Restoration of 1868—which inaugurated a period of modernization and political change in Japan—a commercial treaty was signed between China and Japan, and it was ratified in 1873. Understandably it was reciprocal, because both signatories had a similar unequal status vis-à-vis the Western nations. The establishment of the new Sino-Japanese relations

Cytology

2005-02-17T04:27:00.000-08:00

The study of cells as fundamental units of living things. The earliest phase of cytology began with the English scientist Robert Hooke's microscopic investigations of cork in 1665. He observed dead cork cells and introduced the term “cell” to describe them. In the 19th century two Germans, the botanist Matthias Schleiden (in 1838) and the biologist Theodor Schwann (in 1839), were among

Corso, Gregory

2005-02-16T19:16:00.000-08:00

Corso lived in an orphanage and with foster parents until he was 11, when his remarried father took him to live with him. A repeated runaway, he was placed in juvenile institutions. At 17 he was sentenced to three years in Clinton Prison in Dannemora, New

L'engle, Madeleine

2005-02-16T05:47:00.000-08:00

L'Engle attended boarding schools in Europe and the United States and graduated with honours from Smith College (B.A., 1941). She pursued a career in the theatre before

Gaelic Revival

2005-02-15T17:14:00.000-08:00

Resurgence of interest in Irish language, literature, history, and folklore inspired by the growing Irish nationalism of the early 19th century. By that time Gaelic had died out as a spoken tongue except in isolated rural areas; English had become the official and literary language of Ireland. The discovery by philologists of how to read Old Irish (written prior to 900) and

Topelius, Zacharias

2005-02-15T11:30:00.000-08:00

Topelius joined the faculty of the University of Helsinki as professor of Finnish history in 1864; he served as university president, 1875–78. Though he published five collections of lyrics, he is best known for F

Scandinavian Literature, Denmark

2005-02-14T13:44:00.000-08:00

The 18th century was a fertile period in Danish literature. The great name in the first half of the century was that of Ludvig Holberg, a Norwegian by birth. His most important contributions, written for the Danish theatre, which opened in 1722, were 32 comedies of character and manner, including some moral allegories in his old age. His aim was to create a modern Danish literature

Cytology

2005-02-14T04:37:00.000-08:00

Interleukins are a subset of a larger group of cellular messenger molecules called cytokines, which are modulators

Norfolk

2005-02-13T10:37:00.000-08:00

Administrative and historic county of eastern England, bounded by Suffolk (south), Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire (west), and the North Sea (north and east). The administrative county comprises seven districts: Breckland, Broadland, North Norfolk, and South Norfolk; the boroughs of Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn and West Norfolk; and the city of Norwich. The historic

Quionga

2005-02-12T23:25:00.000-08:00

Formerly Kionga, village, Cabo (Cape) Delgado province, extreme northeastern Mozambique, East Africa, just south of the Rio Rovuma. In 1886 Germany and Portugal had agreed on the Rovuma as the boundary between then German East Africa (now Tanzania) and Portuguese Mozambique, but the Germans later claimed (1892) that Portugal had no rights north of Cabo Delgado, approximately 20 mi (32 km) south of the Rovuma's

Scandinavian Literature, Denmark

2005-02-12T23:04:00.000-08:00

Formerly (1969–73) National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws American organization, founded in 1969 to centralize state abortion-rights efforts and continuing its mission thereafter to protect and promote reproductive freedom. The organization consists of three related entities: NARAL Inc., a nonprofit organization that focuses on defending abortion rights and on making abortions less necessary; NARAL-PAC, a registered

William Of Saint-amour

2005-02-12T14:36:00.000-08:00

A protégé of the Count of Savoy, who supported his doctoral studies in canon law and theology at the University of Paris, William was chosen dean of the theology

Islam, The teachings of Twelver Shi'ism and the school of Esfahan

2005-02-11T23:06:00.000-08:00

After Ibn al-'Arabi, the new wisdom developed rapidly in intellectual circles in eastern Islam. Commentators on the works of Avicenna, as-Suhrawardi, and Ibn al-'Arabi began the process of harmonizing and integrating the views of the masters. Great poets made them part of every educated man's literary culture. Mystical fraternities became the custodians of such works, spreading

Anterus, Saint

2005-02-11T05:20:00.000-08:00

Pope for several weeks at the end of 235 and the beginning of 236. He was elected (possibly Nov. 21, 235) while St. Pontian, his predecessor, was condemned to the Sardinian mines. Anterus was soon prosecuted and sentenced to death. According to the Liber pontificalis, he was martyred for having ordered a collection of the acts of the martyrs to be made and

Shamanism, Social role

2005-02-10T19:42:00.000-08:00

The extraordinary profession of the shaman naturally distinguishes him socially. The belief that he communicates with the spirits gives him authority. Furthermore, the belief that his actions may not only bring benefit but also harm makes him feared. Even a good (white) shaman may do harm, and a wicked (black) shaman, who is in contact with the spirits of the Lower World,

Tur, At-

2005-02-10T01:35:00.000-08:00

Town, capital of Janub Sina' muhafazah (governorate), southwestern Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. It lies on the coast of the Gulf of Suez. At-Tur has been an administrative centre and seaport since the Roman and Byzantine periods. In the town the Byzantine emperor Justinian (527–565) built a monastery, its ruins still extant. From the medieval period into the early 20th century, the town served as a

Khorram-dinan

2005-02-09T22:28:00.000-08:00

The doctrinal beliefs of the Khorram-dinan are not altogether clear. Although the sect accepted the general principles of Islam, its members also believed in transmigration of the soul and placed special emphasis on the

FixedHat

Hero And Leander

Andrade, Oswald De

Computers, The hobby market expands

Sunderland, Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl Of, Baron Spencer Of Wormleighton

Metal Point

Argentina, Industry

Habsburg, House Of

Johansson, Christian

Tobol River

Procter, William Cooper

Domicile

Biblical Literature, Other types

Carnivore, Form and function

Black Pepper

Aetolia And Acarnania

Spalding, Albert

Pere Ubu

Finland, Education

God, Church Of

Conduit

Rus

Vihara

Calcisol

Tereshkova, Valentina

Smith, Dame Maggie

Tiger-flower

Mine Gas

Dinosaur, The KT boundary event

Bréguet, Louis-charles

Manannán Mac Lir

Florence

Cynric

Pigweed

Botanical Garden

Chang Chü-cheng

Thoburn, Isabella

Ear, Human, Tympanic membrane

Robbins, Jerome

Anne Of Brittany

Optical Axis

Ac/dc

Shabonee

Chagai

Powell, Cecil Frank

Gabelich, Gary

Scandinavian Literature, Skaldic verse

Shensi, Climate

Talambo Affair

Ma-ubin

Aethelflaed

Ubangi River

Veneer

Armenian Catholic Church

Bahrain, Settlement patterns

Arts, Islamic, The new style

Deffand, Marie De Vichy-chamrond, Marquise Du

1848, Revolutions Of

Korea, North

Udine

Table Mountain

Southern Africa, The annexation of Southern Africa

Computers, The IBM 360

Tholeiite

Atmosphere, Ionospheric variations

Doyle, Richard

Earth, Faulting

Earth, Decay of the ring current

O'neill, Eugene

World War I, Greek affairs

Thomas, W(illiam) I(saac)

Lebrun, Charles-françois, Duke (duc) De Plaisance, Prince De L'empire

Madeleine

Bahmani Sultanate

Epistemology, Ancient Skepticism

Japanese Cedar

Tafilalt

Abd El-krim

Antarctica, The land

Balata

Dinosaur, The KT boundary event

Arts, Islamic, The new style