WhiteNeck

Ray

2005-03-18T17:40:00.000-08:00

Rays are distinguished from sharks by a flattened, disklike body, with the five gill openings and the mouth generally located on the underside. Rays are further distinguished from sharks by their greatly

Adelaer

2005-03-17T06:02:00.000-08:00

He entered the Dutch navy in 1639 as an adelborst (“cadet”) and served under Martin van Tromp but in 1642 moved into Venetian service, where he was known as Curzio Suffrido Adelborst. He soon distinguished himself and in 1650 was sent to patrol the Dardanelles.

Blood Disease

2005-03-14T19:17:00.000-08:00

Abnormal condition that involves the corpuscular elements of the blood—red cells, white cells, and platelets—and the tissues in which they are formed—the bone marrow, the lymph nodes, the spleen (i.e., the hematopoietic system). This definition, however, needs expansion and modification. In certain types of illness (e.g., pneumonia, appendicitis) the number of leukocytes

Arao

2005-03-13T15:17:00.000-08:00

City, Kumamoto ken (prefecture), Kyushu, Japan, facing Ariake Bay. It was a poor village until the opening of the Miike coal mine and the arrival of a major railway in the early 20th century. A military munitions factory was established in 1940. After World War II, however, the mine and the factory closed. Arao is now a residential suburb of Omuta to the north. Pop. (1985) 62,570.

Pesne, Antoine

2005-03-10T10:22:00.000-08:00

His father, the painter Thomas Pesne, and his maternal great-uncle, Charles de La Fosse, were probably his first teachers. While studying in Paris, he was influenced by the leading French

Butterfly Weed

2005-03-09T11:22:00.000-08:00

Unlike most milkweeds, this plant has a scanty milky juice. It is native to dry fields and

Burns, George; And Allen, Gracie

2005-03-06T09:39:00.000-08:00

Both came from theatrical backgrounds. Burns began his career at age seven as a singer in the PeeWee Quartet and later performed

Jainism, Jainism and Islam

2005-03-04T11:02:00.000-08:00

Muslim influence on Jainism can be seen in a number of areas. It has been suggested that the concept of ashatanas—activities that are unsuitable or indecent in a temple—reveals a notion of the sanctity of the temple that recalls Muslim barakah (“holiness”) more than any traditional Jain attitude. The most obvious Islamic influence is in the repudiation of image worship

Cilli, Ulrich Ii Von

2005-03-03T09:54:00.000-08:00

Made a prince of the empire in 1436, Cilli nevertheless feuded with the Austrian Habsburgs until forced to recognize their suzerainty in 1443. The Habsburg German king Albert II installed him as Bohemian

Builth Wells

2005-02-28T09:03:00.000-08:00

Welsh Llanfair ym Muallt market town, Powys county, historic county of Brecknockshire (Sir Frycheiniog), Wales, in the upper Wye valley. The Normans made the surrounding district of Buellt a marcher lordship (i.e., part of the political buffer zone between Wales and England) and constructed a fine motte-and-bailey castle at Builth. But the town and castle suffered severely from Welsh attacks, notably

Estaunié, Edouard

2005-02-26T04:51:00.000-08:00

A theme recurrent in the 12 novels of Estaunié is expressed by the title of one of them, La Vie Secrète (1908; “The Secret Life”): each man's outward life masks another,

Epilobium

2005-02-25T23:09:00.000-08:00

The hairy willow herb, or codling-and-cream

Neo-expressionism

2005-02-22T00:16:00.000-08:00

Diverse art movement (chiefly of painters) that dominated the art market in Europe and the United States during the early and mid-1980s. Neo-Expressionism comprised a varied assemblage of young artists who had returned to portraying the human body and other recognizable objects, in reaction to the remote, introverted, highly intellectualized abstract art production

Montserrat

2005-02-18T04:54:00.000-08:00

The original Native American inhabitants of Montserrat began to arrive in the Lesser Antilles about 3000 BC. Carib Indians, who arrived later, are said to have named the island Alliouagana (“Land of the Prickly Bush”). However, Montserrat was uninhabited by the time Christopher Columbus sighted it in November 1493, during his second voyage to the Americas. Columbus named the island

Deira

2005-02-17T05:35:00.000-08:00

A northern Anglo-Saxon kingdom in Britain which, by the last quarter of the 7th century AD, had been united with its neighbour Bernicia (q.v.) to form the kingdom of Northumbria. Deira stretched from the Humber to the Tees River. There is a tradition that its first recorded king, Aelle, reigned from 560 and that, on his death in 588 or 590, Deira was seized by Aethelric of Bernicia, whose son

Gum

2005-02-14T21:29:00.000-08:00

Also called Gingiva, plural Gingivae, in anatomy, mucous membrane attached to and surrounding the necks of the teeth and adjacent alveolar bone. Before the erupting teeth enter the mouth cavity, gum pads develop; these are slight elevations of the overlying oral mucous membrane. When tooth eruption is complete, the gum embraces the neck region of each tooth. As well as being attached to adjacent alveolar

Hamasah

2005-02-13T09:26:00.000-08:00

The anthology consists of 10 books, containing,

Kwangsi, Education

2005-02-11T09:47:00.000-08:00

A special educational feature in Kwangsi is the program for the education of national minorities. Minority languages are used for instruction in primary and middle schools, written scripts, such as that for Chuang, are developed for spoken minority languages wherever needed, minority teachers are trained, and government subsidies are provided for minority

Ziguinchor

2005-02-08T04:23:00.000-08:00

River-port town, southwestern Senegal, lying along the Casamance River. Ziguinchor has long been known and visited by European mariners. In 1457 the Venetian navigator Alvise Ca' da Mosto (Cadamosto), envoy of the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator, reconnoitred the harbour. In 1886 the Portuguese ceded Ziguinchor to the French. The town's industries include a peanut- (groundnut-)

Andersson, Dan(iel)

2005-02-07T11:33:00.000-08:00

Born to a poor family, he was a woodsman and charcoal burner before he became a temperance lecturer. His first two published volumes, which made the charcoal burners and, incidentally, himself famous, were

Progeria

2005-02-05T11:09:00.000-08:00

Human disorder with many characteristics of premature aging. Affected persons have parchment-like skin, become bald or gray-haired early in life, and tend to develop diseases related to aging decades before they occur in normal individuals. Initially, progeria was studied as a model of normal aging, but because not all organs are affected, this is no longer thought

Infection, Temperature regulation

2005-02-03T20:32:00.000-08:00

Although it has been generally accepted that the usual range of deep body temperature is from 97.2° F to 100° F (36.2° C to 37.8° C), temperatures of 95.9° F to 101.2° F (35.5° C to 38.4° C) have been reported in normal individuals. The rectal temperature of a person may read 101° F (38.3° C) in the afternoon or after exercise. Core body temperature, in fact, varies with time of day, environmental temperature, physical activity, food intake,

Papen, Franz Von

2005-01-31T21:31:00.000-08:00

The scion of a wealthy Catholic landowning family, Papen began his career as a professional soldier. At the beginning of World War I, he was military attaché in Washington, but after

Amorphous Solid

2005-01-30T06:28:00.000-08:00

There are two main classes of solids: crystalline and amorphous. What distinguishes them from one another is the nature of their atomic-scale structure. The essential differences are displayed in Figure 2. The salient features of the atomic arrangements in amorphous solids (also called glasses), as opposed to crystals, are illustrated in the figure for two-dimensional

Pacific Ocean, Salinity

2005-01-27T06:13:00.000-08:00

The salinity patterns of the surface waters of the Pacific are influenced largely by wind and by rainfall and evaporation patterns. The waters within the belt of calms and variable winds near the equator have lower salinities than those in the trade-wind belts. In the equatorial belt, relatively large amounts of rain fall and little evaporation occurs both because

Hara Takashi

2005-01-25T00:06:00.000-08:00

Hara was the son of a high-ranking samurai family of northern Japan. After graduating from Tokyo University he became a journalist. In 1882 he entered the foreign service, upon which he rose rapidly

Melville, Jean-pierre

2005-01-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

Grumbach's enthusiasm for American culture prompted him to change his name to that of his favourite writer, Herman Melville. He served in the Free French forces during World War II, founded his own

Lancet Window

2005-01-21T07:13:00.000-08:00

Narrow, high window capped by a lancet, or acute, arch. The lancet arch is a variety of pointed arch in which each of the arcs, or curves, of the arch have a radius longer than the width of the arch. It takes its name from being shaped like the tip of a lance. The lancet window is one of the typical features of the Early English (13th century) period in Gothic architecture.

H Ii Region

2005-01-20T18:37:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Hii Region, in astronomy, interstellar matter consisting of ionized hydrogen atoms. Such regions occur as hot, ionized gaseous clouds, sometimes called emission nebulae. The energy that is responsible for ionizing and heating the hydrogen in an emission nebula comes from a central star that has a surface temperature in excess of 20,000 K. The density of these clouds normally ranges

Alliance For Progress

2005-01-17T09:32:00.000-08:00

International economic development program established by the United States and 22 Latin American countries in the Charter of Punta del Este (Uruguay) in August 1961. Objectives stated in the charter centred on the maintenance of democratic government and the achievement of economic and social development; specific goals included a sustained growth in per capita

Bektashi

2005-01-15T10:49:00.000-08:00

Originally one of many Sufi orders within orthodox Sunnite Islam, the Bektashi order in the 16th century adopted tenets of the Shi'ite sect,

Military Technology, The ax

2005-01-13T13:48:00.000-08:00

Limitations on the strength of bronze and difficulties in casting and hafting restricted the ax at first to a relatively broad blade mortised into a handle at three points and secured with bindings or rivets. The hafting problem became acute as improvements in armour dictated longer, narrower blades designed primarily for piercing rather than cutting. This

Military Affairs

2005-01-09T00:48:00.000-08:00

The movement against live-fire military training gained momentum during the year. President Bush announced that the U.S. Navy would cease using the island of Vieques, off the coast of Puerto Rico, for bombing exercises by 2003. A group of islanders had filed a $100 million lawsuit claiming that the bombing caused significant damage to the environment and public health. The

Agrippa Von Nettesheim, Heinrich Cornelius

2005-01-07T06:59:00.000-08:00

Court secretary to Charles V, physician to Louise of Savoy, exasperating theologian within the Catholic Church, military entrepreneur in Spain and Italy, acknowledged expert on occultism, and philosopher. His tempestuous career also included teaching at Dôle and Pavia universities, appointment as orator and public advocate at Metz

Valéry, Paul

2005-01-04T23:26:00.000-08:00

In full Ambroise-Paul-Toussaint-Jules Valéry French poet, essayist, and critic. His greatest poem is considered La Jeune Parque (1917; “The Young Fate”), which was followed by Album de vers anciens 1890–1900 (1920) and Charmes ou poèmes (1922), containing “Le Cimetière marin” (“The Graveyard by the Sea”). He later wrote a large number of essays and occasional papers on literary topics and took a great interest in scientific discoveries

Caroline

2005-01-02T19:54:00.000-08:00

County, eastern Maryland, U.S., lying between the Choptank River and Tuckahoe Creek to the west and Delaware to the east. In addition to the Choptank, it is drained by Marshyhope Creek. Caroline shares Tuckahoe State Park with neighbouring Queen Anne's county. The county was created in 1773 and named for Caroline Eden, a member of the Calvert family and wife of the last colonial

Indiana

2004-12-31T19:29:00.000-08:00

Constituent state of the United States of America. The state sits, as its motto claims, at “the crossroads of America.” It borders Lake Michigan and the state of Michigan on the north, Ohio on the east, Kentucky on the south, and Illinois on the west, making it an integral part of the Midwest. Indiana's 36,185 square miles (93,720 square kilometres) also make it, except for Hawaii, the smallest

Arguedas Mendieta, Antonio

2004-12-29T16:32:00.000-08:00

Bolivian political leader (b. 1929?, Bolivia—d. Feb. 22, 2000, La Paz, Bol.), rose to become Bolivia's minister of the interior during the 1964–69 military dictatorship of Gen. René Barrientos; recruited by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency in 1965, he aided efforts to defeat a guerrilla group in eastern Bolivia led by Che Guevara. Following the capture and execution of Guevara in 1967, Arguedas became disenchanted

Yung-an

2004-12-28T20:04:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Yong'an, town in central Fukien sheng (province), China. Situated on the Sha River, a southern tributary of the Min River, which provides the main southwest-to-northeast route through central Fukien, Yung-an is a natural route centre on the railway line from Kiangsi province via Nan-p'ing to Amoy (Hsia-men). From Yung-an a network of highways radiates to Ch'üan-chou on the coast north

Triconodon

2004-12-27T15:52:00.000-08:00

Genus of extinct primitive mammals found in Europe as fossil deposits of the Late Jurassic (163 to 144 million years ago). Triconodon is representative of the triconodonts, known throughout the world in regions as widely separated as North America, Europe, and China. Triconodon, a relatively large animal for its time (most early mammals were very small), was about the size of

Moscow Academic Art Theatre

2004-12-25T08:52:00.000-08:00

Also called (until 1939) Moscow Art Theatre, Russian Moscovsky Akademichesky Khudozhestvenny Teatr, or Moscovsky Khudozhestvenny Teatr, abbreviation Mkhat, outstanding Russian theatre of theatrical naturalism founded in 1898 by two teachers of dramatic art, Konstantin Stanislavsky and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko (qq.v.). Its purpose was to establish a theatre of new art forms, with a fresh approach to its function. Sharing similar theatrical experience and interests, the cofounders met and it was agreed that Stanislavsky

Cyriacus Of Ancona

2004-12-25T03:10:00.000-08:00

Byname of Ciriaco De' Pizzicolli Italian merchant and Humanist whose writings, based on topographical observations and antiquarian findings relating to ancient Greek civilization, proved useful for later archaeological surveys and classical scholarship. Travelling extensively in southern Italy, Greece, Egypt, and the Near East, he copied hundreds

Chan Ii

2004-12-23T02:20:00.000-08:00

When Chan's father, King Eng, died in 1796, the Thais had superiority. In 1802 Chan was recognized as the king of Cambodia by the Thais, and he was crowned in the Thai capital of Bangkok in 1806. The advisers to the

Hoover, Lou

2004-12-21T14:39:00.000-08:00

The Hoovers retired to homes on both coasts—a house in Palo Alto, California, and an apartment in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. It was in the latter home that Lou died suddenly in January 1944. She was buried in West Branch, Iowa, at the site of her husband's presidential library, a place as understated as was the approach of this reticent, independent woman to the job of first lady.

Vakhtangov, Yevgeny Bagrationovich

2004-12-21T03:21:00.000-08:00

A pupil of Konstantin Stanislavsky, Vakhtangov succeeded by the early 1920s in reconciling the naturalistic acting techniques of his master with the bold experiments of Vsevolod Y. Meyerhold. His departure from naturalism in the direction of greater theatricality

Earth, Folding

2004-12-20T14:24:00.000-08:00

Folds along subduction zones

Pachomius, Saint

2004-12-18T22:51:00.000-08:00

Of Egyptian origin, Pachomius encountered Coptic, or Egyptian, Christianity among his cohorts in the Roman emperor Constantine's North African army and, on leaving the military about 314, withdrew alone into

Palencia

2004-12-16T07:57:00.000-08:00

Inland provincia, in the Castile-León comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”), northern Spain. It is bounded by the autonomous community (and province) of Cantabria (north) and by the provinces of Burgos (east), Valladolid (south), and Valladolid and León (west). It was formed in 1833. The north is traversed by the Cantabrian Mountains, rising to 8,268 feet (2,520 m) at Curavacas peak. The remainder

Literature

2004-12-16T02:40:00.000-08:00

The Turkish literary field proved fertile in 2001. Many impressive works of fiction with wide-ranging themes and topics appeared, including Ahmet Altan's Isyan günlerinde ask (“Love in Days of Rebellion”), about an early 20th-century fundamentalist uprising; Buket Uzuner's Uzun beyaz bulut—Gelibolu (“Tall White Cloud—Gallipoli”); Ayla Kutlu's Zehir zikkim hikâyeler (“Bitter

Davao City

2004-12-14T06:25:00.000-08:00

City, southeastern Mindanao Island, Philippines. It lies at the mouth of the Davao River near the head of Davao Gulf. It is the leading regional centre for southeastern Mindanao and encompasses about 50 small ports in its commercial sphere. Pakiputan Strait, formed by offshore Samal Island, shelters both Santa Ana, an urban port servicing small vessels, and the deepwater

Abdelkader

2004-12-14T02:32:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Abd El-kader, or Abdul-qadir, Arabic in full 'abd Al-qadir Ibn Muhyi Ad-din Ibn Mustafa Al-hasani Al-jaza'iri amir of Mascara (from 1832), the military and religious leader who founded the Algerian state and led the Algerians in their 19th-century struggle against French domination (1840–46).

Orange River

2004-12-12T21:26:00.000-08:00

River in southern Africa, one of the longest rivers on the continent and one of the longest south of the Tropic of Capricorn. After rising in the Lesotho Highlands, less than 125 miles (200 kilometres) from the Indian Ocean, the river flows to the Atlantic Ocean in a generally westerly direction for some 1,300 miles. The Orange traverses the veld region of South Africa, after which

Fucus

2004-12-12T16:38:00.000-08:00

Also called Rockweed, genus of brown algae, common on rocky seacoasts and in salt marshes of northern temperate regions. Adaptations to its environment include bladderlike floats (pneumatocysts), disk-shaped holdfasts for clinging to rocks, and mucilage-covered blades for resisting desiccation and temperature changes. The plant is between 25 and 30 centimetres (9.8 to 11.8 inches)

Málaga

2004-12-10T20:46:00.000-08:00

Sweet, usually red, fortified wine that originated in the southern Spanish Mediterranean coastal province from which it takes its name. The term may also be applied generically to any of a variety of heavy, sweet red wines, including certain kosher wines served at Jewish celebrations. The best Spanish Málaga is made from muscat grapes and from the variety known as

Saint Augustine

2004-12-10T03:46:00.000-08:00

The Spanish

Robert The Strong

2004-12-08T03:37:00.000-08:00

Count of various regions between the Seine and Loire rivers, Robert served the Carolingian king of France Charles II the Bald and, by his bold and inspiring military leadership, succeeded in checking the depredations of the Northmen who were laying waste the settlements near the Loire. A great victory

Van Dyke, Henry

2004-12-08T02:18:00.000-08:00

Educated at Princeton, Van Dyke graduated from its theological seminary in 1877 and became a Presbyterian minister. His early works, “The Story of the Other Wise Man” (1896) and “The First Christmas Tree” (1897), were first read aloud to his congregation in New York

Conservative Force

2004-12-07T19:05:00.000-08:00

In physics, any force, such as the gravitational force between the Earth and another mass, whose work is determined only by the final displacement of the object acted upon. The total work done by a conservative force is independent of the path resulting in a given displacement and is equal to zero when the path is a closed loop. Stored energy, or potential energy, can be

Teresa Of ávila, Saint

2004-12-06T10:41:00.000-08:00

Also called Saint Teresa of Jesus , original name Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada Spanish nun, one of the great mystics and religious women of the Roman Catholic church, and author of spiritual classics. She was the originator of the Carmelite Reform, which restored and emphasized the austerity and contemplative character of primitive Carmelite life. St. Teresa was elevated

Aqhat Epic

2004-12-05T01:26:00.000-08:00

Ancient West Semitic legend probably concerned with the cause of the annual summer drought in the eastern Mediterranean. The epic records that Danel, a sage and king of the Haranamites, had no son until the god El, in response to Danel's many prayers and offerings, finally granted him a child, whom Danel named Aqhat. Some time later Danel offered hospitality to the divine

Algeria, Mining

2004-12-04T19:12:00.000-08:00

The main mining centres are at Ouenza and Djebel Onk near the eastern border with Tunisia and at El-Abed in the west, the latter the source of most of Algeria's zinc and lead production. Nearly all of the country's substantial output of high-grade iron ore from the open-cut works at Ouenza is used to supply the domestic steel industry. About one-third of Djebel Onk's phosphate

Rowboat

2004-12-02T22:14:00.000-08:00

A true rowboat or sculling boat has an easy motion through the water and, most important, glides between strokes. Thus the boat's forward motion never ceases; each stroke of the oar keeps the boat underway, and a steady tempo

Carolingian Art

2004-12-01T19:54:00.000-08:00

Charlemagne's dream of a revival of the Roman Empire in the West determined both his political aims and his artistic program. His strong patronage of the arts gave impetus to a remarkable return to Roman classicism in the copying of Early Christian models and the influence

Chibougamau

2004-11-30T14:59:00.000-08:00

City, Nord-du-Québec region, central Quebec province, Canada. It lies on the northwest shore of the Lac Doré part of Chibougamau Lake. Gold and copper were discovered in the area by Peter McKenzie in 1903, but his and several subsequent attempts at mining the ore failed because of the region's remoteness. Finally, in the late 1940s, the provincial government began building a road

Orange

2004-11-30T07:47:00.000-08:00

County, southeastern New York state, U.S., located mostly in the Hudson River valley. It is bordered by Pennsylvania to the northwest (the Delaware River constituting the boundary), New Jersey to the southwest, and the Hudson River to the east. Among the other waterways are the Wallkill and Neversink rivers and Shawangunk Kill. Storm King Mountain is a massive granite

Race, Japan's minority peoples

2004-11-28T06:58:00.000-08:00

A few ethnographic studies have suggested to some that a form of racial ideology may also have developed independently of the West in some traditional societies such as that of Japan, where various minority peoples, notably the burakumin (pejoratively called Eta) and the Ainu, have been victimized and exploited by the dominant society. Discrimination against

Kikutake Kiyonori

2004-11-27T17:10:00.000-08:00

After graduating from Waseda University (1950), Kikutake worked for several architectural firms and then opened his own office (1953). The work that first brought him to international notice was Sky House (1957), his own home, a building of one room elevated on

Chiba

2004-11-26T14:06:00.000-08:00

City and capital of Chiba ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It lies on the Boso Peninsula about 20 miles (30 km) southeast of Tokyo and on the east coast of Tokyo Bay. It was a castle town controlled by the Chiba family in the 12th–15th century, and during the Tokugawa period (1603–1867) it served as a post-station town for several major roads. The town grew after the construction of a railway connecting

Strang, Gunnar Georg Emanuel

2004-11-25T07:41:00.000-08:00

Strang was a self-educated agricultural labourer and trade-union organizer who rose to become president of the Swedish Agricultural Workers' Union

Yhwh

2004-11-25T00:02:00.000-08:00

In Hebrew, the name of God as revealed to Moses. Because of its four letters, it is also known as the Tetragrammaton. See Yahweh.

Ibn 'abbad

2004-11-24T21:15:00.000-08:00

Attracted to Morocco by the famous madrasahs (religious colleges), Ibn 'Abbad emigrated there at an early age. He abandoned legal studies in a quest for mystical knowledge. In 1359 he

Chekhov, Anton

2004-11-22T16:07:00.000-08:00

In March 1897 Chekhov had suffered a lung hemorrhage caused by tuberculosis, symptoms of which had become apparent considerably earlier. Now forced to acknowledge himself a semi-invalid, Chekhov sold his Melikhovo estate and built a villa in Yalta, the Crimean coastal resort. From then on he spent most of his winters there or on the French Riviera, cut off from the intellectual

Earth, Crustal magnetization

2004-11-21T15:05:00.000-08:00

Magnetic fields measured at the Earth's surface are not entirely produced by the internal dynamo. Radially outward from the Earth's core, the next major source of magnetic field is crustal magnetization. The temperature of the materials constituting the crust is cool enough for them to exist in solid form. The solids may become magnetized by the Earth's main field

Harbour Seal

2004-11-20T10:11:00.000-08:00

Also called Common Seal, Hair Seal, or Spotted Seal (Phoca vitulina), nonmigratory, earless seal (family Phocidae) found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The harbour seal is whitish or grayish at birth and as an adult is generally gray with black spots. The adult male may attain a length and weight of about 1.8 m (6 feet) and 130 kg (290 pounds); the female is somewhat smaller. Found along coastlines and in a few freshwater lakes in Canada

Olson, Elder (james)

2004-11-20T02:53:00.000-08:00

After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1938, Olson taught for several years at the Armour Institute of Technology

Fructidor, Coup Of 18

2004-11-19T08:36:00.000-08:00

The Directory, fearing that it was losing favour in the country, called upon Napoleon Bonaparte to send a general to command troops guarding the legislature at the Tuileries. On 18 Fructidor, year V (September 4, 1799), General Pierre-Fran

Sordone

2004-11-17T09:54:00.000-08:00

Rare double-reed wind instrument of the 16th and 17th centuries, an early precursor of the bassoon. It differs from the curtal, the bassoon's direct predecessor, in having a cylindrical bore (a bassoon bore is conical). The bore, cut into a single piece of wood, doubled in a narrow U-shape and emerged in a lateral hole. Finger holes were cut in the instrument wall. The sordone produced

Polemoniaceae

2004-11-16T18:11:00.000-08:00

The tubular, five-lobed, funnel-shaped or flaring

Swastika

2004-11-15T02:49:00.000-08:00

Equilateral cross with arms bent at right angles, all in the same rotary direction, usually clockwise. The swastika as a symbol of prosperity and good fortune is widely distributed throughout the ancient and modern world. The word is derived from the Sanskrit svastika, meaning “conducive to well-being.” It was a favourite symbol on ancient Mesopotamian coinage. In

Breeze

2004-11-14T08:17:00.000-08:00

Air current designation on the Beaufort scale; it is weaker than a wind, which in turn is weaker than a gale. Breeze also denotes various local winds (e.g., sea breeze, land breeze, valley breeze, mountain breeze) generated by unequal diurnal heating and cooling of adjacent areas of the Earth's surface. These breezes are strongest in warm, clear, dry weather, when daytime insolation,

France, History Of, Philip Augustus

2004-11-13T07:46:00.000-08:00

Philip's outstanding achievement was to wrest control from the Plantagenets of most of the domains they held in France. Intervening in struggles between Henry II of England and his sons, Philip won preliminary concessions in 1187 and 1189. He acquired strategic lands on the Norman borders following wars with Henry's sons, King Richard and King John (1196 and 1200). And when, in 1202, John failed

Beza, Theodore

2004-11-13T06:53:00.000-08:00

After studying law at Orléans, Fr. (1535–39), Beza established a practice in Paris, where he published Juvenilia (1548), a volume of amorous verse that earned him a reputation as a leading Latin poet. On recovering

Earth Exploration, Electrical and electromagnetic methods

2004-11-11T14:49:00.000-08:00

A multitude of electrical methods are used in mineral exploration. They depend on (1) electrochemical activity, (2) resistivity changes, or (3) permittivity effects. Some materials tend to become natural batteries that generate natural electric currents whose effects can be measured. The self-potential method relies on the oxidation of the upper surface of metallic

Olympus, Mount

2004-11-11T08:57:00.000-08:00

Mount Olympus is snowcapped and often has cloud

Regium Donum

2004-11-09T18:41:00.000-08:00

(Latin: “royal gift”), annual grant made from public funds to Presbyterian ministers in Ireland and to Nonconformist ministers (those not part of the Church of England) in Great Britain. It originated in Ireland in 1690, when the English king William III made a grant to Presbyterian ministers in Ulster as a reward for their services during his struggles with former king James

Brazil, Drainage

2004-11-07T04:18:00.000-08:00

Brazil is drained by the Amazon River, which is the centrepiece of the most extensive river system in the world, and by other systems that are notable in their own right—the Tocantins-Araguaia in the north, the Paraguay-Paraná-Plata in the south, and the São Francisco in the east and northeast. Numerous smaller rivers and streams drain directly eastward to the Atlantic

Evans, Rowland

2004-11-05T21:41:00.000-08:00

American journalist (b. April 28, 1921, Whitemarsh, Pa.—d. March 23, 2001, Washington, D.C.), advocated conservative causes as a prominent newspaper columnist and television host. With journalist Robert Novak, Evans published a syndicated column, called “Inside Report,” from 1963 to 1993. From 1980 the pair served as cohosts of Cable News Network's political talk show Evans & Novak, which was renamed Evans,

Qaddafi, Muammar Al-

2004-11-02T13:08:00.000-08:00

The son of an itinerant Bedouin farmer, Qaddafi was born in a tent in the Libyan desert. He proved a talented student and graduated from the University of Libya in 1963. A devout Muslim and ardent Arab nationalist, Qaddafi early began

Dagestan Rug

2004-10-31T10:31:00.000-08:00

Dagestan rugs are relatively finely woven, with short pile in wool, the warp being of wool and the weft frequently of cotton. Their designs are highly geometric and fragmented, producing the effect of brightly coloured mosaics. There is a wide diversity of patterns,

Canada Day

2004-10-29T06:10:00.000-07:00

Formerly (until 1982) Dominion Day the national holiday of Canada. The possibility of a confederation between the colonies of British North America was discussed throughout the mid 1800s. On July 1, 1867, a dominion was formed through the British North America Act as approved by the British Parliament. It consisted of territories then called Upper and Lower Canada and of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The act

Indo-esfahan Carpet

2004-10-28T04:56:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Indo-isfahan, type of floor covering ranging from small to extremely large, handmade in India, primarily in the 17th century, as free imitations of Herat designs (see Herat carpet). The name Esfahan was applied in the belief that Persian carpets sold better than Indian. They appear to have been exported in quantity to Europe, especially to Portugal and the Low Countries, by the various East

Chauk

2004-10-23T21:42:00.000-07:00

Town and port, north-central Myanmar (Burma). Situated in the Irrawaddy River basin, it is a petroleum port for the Singu-Chauk oil fields. Traditionally, people of the Mon group gathered asphalt in the area to weatherproof houses. In 1902 the British discovered the Chauk-Lonywa oil field. Later, crude oil from Chauk was sent by a 350-mile (563-kilometre) pipeline to Syriam for refining.

Balaton, Lake

2004-10-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

Largest lake of central Europe, located in central Hungary about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Budapest. It has an area of 231 square miles (598 square km) and extends for 48 miles (77 km) along the southern foothills of the Bakony Mountains of Hungary. At it widest point, Lake Balaton measures about 9 miles (14 km) across. Its maximum depth is 37 feet (11 m). The Zala River provides the largest inflow of water.

Adamson, Joy; And Adamson, George

2004-10-20T05:32:00.000-07:00

Following an education in Vienna and two divorces, Austrian-born Joy Gessner, living in Kenya from 1939, married George Adamson (1944), a British game warden who had

Disease

2004-10-17T15:03:00.000-07:00

A brief discussion of disease follows. The subject is treated in a variety of articles. For a general discussion of human, animal, and plant diseases, see disease. For a discussion of diseases categorized according to their cause or transmission, see infection; nutritional

Arishima Takeo

2004-10-13T01:25:00.000-07:00

Arishima was the eldest son of a talented and aristocratic family; his younger brothers included the painter Arishima Ikuma and the novelist Satomi Ton. He went to the Peers School, where he was chosen as a companion to the crown prince. He went

Sea-urchin Cactus

2004-10-12T23:29:00.000-07:00

Any of the genus Echinopsis, family Cactaceae, about 30 species native to South America at medium elevations in desert shrublands or grasslands. Several species, but most especially the Easter lily cactus (E. multiplex), are valued for their ease of growth and large flowers on tubes up to 25 centimetres (10 inches) long. Most are hardy outdoors in Mediterranean

Saint Clair's Defeat

2004-10-10T00:46:00.000-07:00

(November 4, 1791), one of the worst defeats ever suffered by U.S. forces in Indian warfare, precipitated by British-Indian confrontation with settlers and militia in the Northwest Territory following the American Revolution. Despite specific provisions in the Treaty of 1783 for the evacuation of its forts on the northwestern border, Britain had failed to yield these lucrative

Earth, Formation of joints

2004-10-07T21:05:00.000-07:00

Because joints are areas of weakness in sedimentary rocks, erosion may occur more readily along regions in which joints are closely spaced. Consequently, streams in some areas of jointed rocks tend to parallel one or more joint sets.

Wagner, Richard

2004-10-05T18:49:00.000-07:00

In 1869 Wagner had resumed work on The Ring which he now brought to its world-renouncing conclusion. It had been agreed with the King that the tetralogy should be first performed in its entirety at Munich, but Wagner broke the agreement, convinced that a new type of theatre must be built for the purpose. Having discovered a suitable site at the Bavarian town of Bayreuth, he