PresentRod

Table Talk

2005-03-19T15:25:00.000-08:00

Informal conversation at or as if at a dining table; especially, the social talk of a celebrity recorded for publication. Collections of such conversations exist from as early as the 3rd century AD, and the term has been in use in English since about the 16th century. The practice of recording conversations and sayings of the famous became especially popular in the 17th century.

Natha

2005-03-16T03:14:00.000-08:00

Religious movement of India whose members strive for immortality by transforming the human body into an imperishable divine body. It combines esoteric traditions drawn from Buddhism, Saivism (worship of the Hindu deity Siva), and Hatha Yoga, with a liking for the occult. The term is derived from the names of the nine traditional masters, all of which end in the word natha

Mammal, Respiratory system

2005-03-15T17:13:00.000-08:00

Closely coupled with the circulatory system is the ventilatory (breathing) apparatus, the lungs and associated structures. Ventilation in mammals is unique. The lungs themselves are less efficient than those of birds, for air movement consists of an ebb and flow, rather than a one-way circuit, so a residuum of air remains that cannot be expired. Ventilation in mammals

Ambrose, Saint

2005-03-12T05:19:00.000-08:00

Latin Ambrosius bishop of Milan, biblical critic, and initiator of ideas that provided a model for medieval conceptions of church–state relations. His literary works have been acclaimed as masterpieces of Latin eloquence, and his musical accomplishments are remembered in his hymns. Ambrose is also remembered as the teacher

Diego Garcia

2005-03-11T23:00:00.000-08:00

Discovered by the Portuguese in the early 16th century, it was for

Little Saint Bernard Pass

2005-03-08T21:15:00.000-08:00

Italian Colle Del Piccolo San Bernardo, French Col Du Petit-saint-bernard, pass (7,178 ft [2,188 m]) situated just southwest of the Italian border in Savoie département of southeastern France; it lies between the Mont Blanc Massif (north) and the Graian Alps (q.v.; south-southeast). The road across the pass connects Bourg-Saint-Maurice (7 mi [11 km] southwest) in the Isère River Valley, France, with Morgex (10 mi northeast) in the Valle d'Aosta, Italy. Until the Treaty of Paris

Halston

2005-03-07T05:32:00.000-08:00

Halston studied at Indiana University and the Art Institute of Chicago and operated a millinery shop in Chicago before joining milliner Lilly Daché in New York City. In 1959 he became a milliner for Bergdorf Goodman; in 1966 he expanded his line into clothes

Lignite

2005-03-05T21:48:00.000-08:00

Brown to black coal that has been formed from peat under moderate pressure; it is one of the first products of coalification and is intermediate between peat and subbituminous coal. Dry lignite contains about 60 to 75 percent carbon. It has been estimated that about 45 percent of the world's total coal reserves are lignitic, but these reserves have not been exploited to any

Irish Sea

2005-03-02T04:33:00.000-08:00

Irish Muir Éireann arm of the North Atlantic Ocean that separates Ireland from Great Britain. The Irish Sea is bounded by Scotland on the north, England on the east, Wales on the south, and Ireland on the west. The sea is connected with the Atlantic by the North Channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland and by St. George's Channel between the southeastern tip of Ireland and southwestern

Chuuk Islands

2005-02-28T23:44:00.000-08:00

Formerly Truk Islands, or Hogoleu, cluster of 14 much-eroded high volcanic islands in Chuuk State, Federated States of Micronesia, in the western Pacific Ocean. Forming part of the eastern Caroline Islands, the Chuuk Islands are enclosed within an encircling barrier bank composed of some 69 sand and coral islets. The bank (often referred to as a reef) encloses a lagoon of 822 square miles (2,129 square km) in area and

Viet-muong Languages

2005-02-26T14:49:00.000-08:00

Subbranch of the Vietic branch of the Mon-Khmer family of languages, itself a part of the Austroasiatic stock. Vietnamese, the most important language of the group and of the entire Mon-Khmer family, has a number of regional variants. Northern Vietnamese, centred in Hanoi, is the basis for the official form of Vietnamese. Central Vietnamese, centred in Hue, and Southern

Dafla

2005-02-25T22:46:00.000-08:00

The Dafla support themselves with a slash-and-burn agriculture and with hunting and fishing. They live at elevations of 3,000 to 6,000 feet (900 to 1,800 m) in houses built on pilings. Descent

Athelney

2005-02-22T06:04:00.000-08:00

Small eminence, formerly an island, rising above the drained marshes around the confluence of the Rivers Tone and Parrett in the administrative and historic county of Somerset, England. In 878 King Alfred sought refuge from the Danes in the marshes and constructed a stronghold at Athelney, from where he broke out and won a decisive victory at Edington, near Chippenham.

Daulatabad

2005-02-21T10:41:00.000-08:00

Also called Devagiri , or Deogir village and ancient city, Maharashtra state, western India. Founded in the late 12th century by King Bhillam of the Yadava dynasty, it was a major fortress and administrative centre in medieval times. The fortress, located in and around a large rock outcropping, was so impregnable that it was never taken by force, although it was taken by intrigue. The city was the capital of

Rajasthan, Education and welfare

2005-02-19T20:04:00.000-08:00

There are a number of educational establishments in Rajasthan, including state-run universities at Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, and Ajmer; the Open University at Kota; and the Birla Institute of Technology and Science at Pilani. There are several state hospitals and dispensaries. There also are many Ayurvedic, Unani (a medicinal system using prescribed herbs and shrubs), and

Alabama, European rivalry, settlement, and growth

2005-02-16T07:12:00.000-08:00

The first known European explorers were of Spanish descent and arrived at Mobile Bay in 1519. The main thrust of exploration came in 1540, when Hernando de Soto and his army of about 500 men entered the interior from the valley of the Tennessee River to search for gold. His expedition, which extensively crisscrossed the area, was important because of his discovery of the Mississippi

Wolframite

2005-02-14T03:33:00.000-08:00

Wolframite consists of a mixture in varying proportions of the tungstates of iron and manganese, FeWO4 and MnWO4; varieties with dominant

Interlaken

2005-02-12T05:06:00.000-08:00

Town, Bern canton, central Switzerland. It lies along the Aare River, in the Bernese Highland. Its name is derived from its position on the flat plain (Bödeli), 1,864 feet (568 m) above sea level, between Lakes (inter lacus) Brienz to the east and Thun to the west. The town grew up around a convent of Augustinian canons (1130–1528). It is one of Switzerland's oldest and most frequented summer tourist

Goddard Family

2005-02-11T21:17:00.000-08:00

Quakers of English ancestry, the Goddards intermarried with the Townsend family, who were equally famous as cabinetmakers. In four generations, 20 Goddard and Townsend craftsmen are known, the peak of their excellent productivity coming in

Antarctica, Geologic record

2005-02-06T21:01:00.000-08:00

Raymond J. Adie (ed.), Antarctic Geology (1964), and Antarctic Geology and Geophysics (1972); Campbell Craddock (ed.), Antarctic Geoscience (1982); R.L. Oliver, P.R. James, and J.B. Jago (eds.), Antarctic Earth Science (1983); and M.R.A. Thomson, J.A. Crame, and J.W. Thomson (eds.), Geological Evolution of Antarctica (1991), are records of international symposia describing Earth science research by many nations. J.C. Behrendt and C.R. Bentley, Magnetic and Gravity Maps of the Antarctic (1968); and Campbell Craddock et al., Geologic Maps of Antarctica (1969–70), provide maps and texts, the latter work covering most mountain regions at a 1:1,000,000 scale. Other works on the geology of Antarctica are Edmund Stump (ed.), Geological Investigations in Northern Victoria Land (1986); and W.E. LeMasurier and J.W. Thomson (eds.), Volcanoes of the Antarctic Plate and Southern Oceans (1990). Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, vol. 28 (1975), 35 (1976), and 36 (1977), contain results of drilling by the Glomar Challenger in Antarctic waters. Results of drilling by the JOIDES Resolution are contained in Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program: Scientific Results, especially vol. 113 (1990), from the Weddell Sea, vol. 114 (1991), from subantarctic regions and the Falkland Islands, and vol. 119 (1991), from the Kerguelen Plateau. A.L. Graham and John O. Annexstad, “Antarctic Meteorites,” Antarctic Science, 1(1):3–14 (1989), reviews the findings and origins of meteorites in Antarctica. Many details of Antarctic meteorite investigations are also reported in volumes of the Proceedings of the NIPR Symposium on Antarctic Meteorites (annual), published by the National Institute of Polar Research.

Proctitis

2005-02-04T08:59:00.000-08:00

Acute inflammatory infection of the anus and rectum. The most common cause of proctitis is the direct inoculation of pathogenic microorganisms into the rectum during anal intercourse, but it may be caused by sexually transmitted diseases, Crohn disease, or ulcerative colitis. The usual symptoms include anorectal pain, a purulent or bloody discharge, constipation,

Cinco De Mayo

2005-02-02T19:29:00.000-08:00

National holiday in Mexico in honour of a military victory in 1862 over the French forces of Napoleon III. When in 1861 Mexico declared a temporary moratorium on the repayment of foreign debts, English, Spanish, and French troops invaded the country. By April 1862 the English and Spanish had withdrawn, but the French, with the support of wealthy landowners, remained in an attempt

Adamnan, Saint

2005-01-31T01:29:00.000-08:00

Nothing is known of Adamnan's early life. In 679 he was elected abbot of Iona, the ninth in succession from St. Columba, the founder. While on a visit to Northumbria, he adopted the Roman rules on the tonsure and for determining the date of Easter that had been accepted

April Theses

2005-01-30T10:26:00.000-08:00

During the February Revolution two disparate bodies had replaced the imperial government—the Provisional Government and

Christian Front

2005-01-27T20:20:00.000-08:00

In American history, anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi organization active from about 1938 until the United States entered World War II. Under the banner of anticommunism, it openly and clandestinely encouraged boycotts of Jewish merchants, used the slogan “Buy Christian,” and published the Christian Index, a directory of non-Jewish merchants in part of New York City. It received

G.m.

2005-01-26T13:38:00.000-08:00

Recipient of the George Medal, a British decoration for valour. See George Cross.

Nuclear Engineering, Early schools

2005-01-23T11:19:00.000-08:00

In 1946 Clinch College was established at Oak Ridge. In its first year 35 American participants from universities, industry, the

Basie, Count

2005-01-22T21:50:00.000-08:00

Basie studied music with his mother and was later influenced by the Harlem pianists James P. Johnson and Fats Waller, receiving informal tutelage on the organ from the latter.

Toutin, Jean; And Toutin, Henri

2005-01-21T23:34:00.000-08:00

Although the art of enamelwork was hundreds of years old, the elder Toutin developed a revolutionary new technique for enamel painting.

Beisa

2005-01-19T23:27:00.000-08:00

African antelope, a race of the species Oryx gazella. See oryx.

'ar'ar

2005-01-19T15:10:00.000-08:00

Town, northern Saudi Arabia, situated in the Northern region at an elevation of 1,854 feet (565 m). 'Ar'ar was developed in the early 1950s by seminomadic people who were attracted by water made available around the Trans Arabian Pipeline (Tapline). Agriculture and livestock raising are the main economic activities. Crops include alfalfa, dates, fruits, and vegetables. 'Ar'ar has a technical

Williams, Betty

2005-01-17T23:41:00.000-08:00

Williams, an office worker and wife and mother, took little part in public life until August 1976, when she witnessed an incident that moved her to speak out. An Irish Republican Army terrorist was shot by British

Qatar

2005-01-17T03:46:00.000-08:00

A monarchy (emirate) on the Arabian Peninsula, Qatar occupies a desert peninsula and the nearby small Hawar Islands (also claimed by Bahrain) on the west coast of the Persian Gulf. Area (including Hawar Islands): 11,427 sq km (4,412 sq mi). Pop. (1996 est.): 590,000. Cap.: Doha. Monetary unit: Qatar riyal, with (Oct. 11, 1996) an official rate of 3.64 riyals to U.S. $1 (5.73 riyals = £1 sterling). Emir and prime minister in 1996, Sheikh Hamad ibn Khalifah

China, Communist growth

2005-01-15T04:37:00.000-08:00

The Communist armies were growing rapidly in 1943 and 1944. According to U.S. war correspondents visiting the Yen-an area in May 1944 and to a group of U.S. observers that established itself there in July, the Communists professed allegiance to democracy and to continued cooperation with the National Government in the war effort. There was convincing evidence that the areas under

Puerto Vallarta

2005-01-14T20:14:00.000-08:00

Formerly Las Peñas, city, western Jalisco estado (“state”), west-central Mexico. It lies on Banderas Bay, on the Pacific coastal lowland, 6 miles (10 km) south of the mouth of the Ameca River. It is the major port of Jalisco state and exports bananas, coconut oil, hides, and fine woods. Beans and bananas are grown in the hinterland, which is also used for raising pigs, horses, and bees. Puerto Vallarta's population

Aquarium

2005-01-13T22:34:00.000-08:00

The earliest known aquarists were the Sumerians, who kept fishes in artificial ponds at least 4,500 years ago; records of fish keeping also date from ancient Egypt and Assyria. The Chinese, who raised carp for food as early as 1000 BC, were probably the first to breed fish with any degree of success. Their selective breeding of ornamental goldfish was later introduced to Japan, where

Yrjö-koskinen, Sakari

2005-01-13T03:12:00.000-08:00

Forsman—later, when he was made a baron, named Yrjö-Koskinen—was a nationalist scholar and a member of the mid-19th-century Fennoman Party,

Kabila, Laurent Desire

2005-01-12T19:27:00.000-08:00

After having dropped out of sight for nearly a decade, Zairean opposition leader Laurent Kabila reemerged in October 1996 as leader of the newly formed Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire. Supported by a nation outraged by the dictatorial leadership of Mobutu Sese Seko, Kabila rallied forces consisting mostly of Tutsi from eastern Zaire

Cytoplasm

2005-01-11T02:38:00.000-08:00

The protoplasm of a cell external to the nuclear membrane. In eukaryotes (i.e., cells having a nucleus), the cytoplasm contains all of the organelles except for the nucleus itself. Among such organelles are the mitochondria, which are the sites of energy production through ATP (adenosine triphosphate) synthesis; the endoplasmic reticulum, the site of lipid and protein

Nagel, Ernest

2005-01-09T14:52:00.000-08:00

Formerly an exponent of logical realism, Nagel later abandoned a realistic ontology for an empirical and theoretical

Paris, Foundation and medieval growth

2005-01-08T14:56:00.000-08:00

Paris was in existence by the end of the 3rd century BC as a settlement on an island, the modern Île de la Cité, in the Seine River and was inhabited by a Gallic tribe known as the Parisii. The first recorded name for the settlement was Lutetia (Latin: “Midwater-Dwelling”). When the Romans arrived, the Parisii were sufficiently organized and wealthy to have their own gold coinage.

Heirloom

2005-01-08T07:24:00.000-08:00

An item of personal property that by immemorial usage is regarded as annexed by inheritance to a family estate. The owner of such an heirloom may dispose of it during his lifetime, but he cannot bequeath it by will away from the estate. If he dies intestate (without a will), the object goes to his heir at law; otherwise it goes to whoever takes the estate under his will. Such

Cornelius, Peter

2005-01-07T09:24:00.000-08:00

German composer and author, known for his comic opera Der Barbier von Bagdad (The Barber of Bagdad). The son of an actor and an actress, he acted at Mainz and at Wiesbaden in his youth. In 1845 he studied composition and was later music critic for two Berlin journals. From 1853 to 1858 he lived at Weimar in the circle of Liszt and the Princess Sayn-Wittgenstein

øverland, Arnulf

2005-01-05T18:32:00.000-08:00

The early death of Øverland's father, an engineer, left the family in economic straits, but his mother managed to support Øverland while he attended school. He studied philology briefly

Variable Star

2005-01-05T06:32:00.000-08:00

In an eclipsing variable, one member of a double, or binary, star system partially

øverland, Arnulf

2005-01-03T13:17:00.000-08:00

Organization that evolved out of an international protest against atmospheric nuclear testing held on November 1, 1961. On that day between 12,000 and 50,000 women in various nations demonstrated to protest nuclear testing and to voice concern, in particular, about the hazards posed by such testing to children's health. In the United States some 1,500 women marched in Washington, D.C., to make

Altiplano

2005-01-03T08:13:00.000-08:00

English High Plateau , also called Puna region of southeastern Peru and western Bolivia. The Altiplano originates northwest of Lake Titicaca in southern Peru and extends about 600 miles (965 km) southeast to the southwestern corner of Bolivia. It is a series of intermontane basins lying at about 12,000 feet (3,650 m) above sea level. Lake Titicaca occupies the northernmost basin; to the south are Lake Poopó and the Coipasa and

Manawatu River

2005-01-02T21:56:00.000-08:00

River, in south-central North Island, New Zealand, rising on the east slopes of the Ruahine Range. The river, 113 miles (182 km) long, flows west and southwest for 30 miles (48 km) to Woodville and turns sharply northwest to pass between the Ruahine and Tararua ranges through the 4-mile- (6.4-kilometre-) long Manawatu Gorge. Emerging from the gorge at Ashhurst, the river runs southwest past Palmerston

Drachma

2005-01-01T02:08:00.000-08:00

Silver coin of ancient Greece and the former monetary unit of modern Greece. Its name derives from the Greek verb “to grasp,” and its original value was equivalent to that of a handful of arrows. The early drachma had different weights in different regions. From the 5th century BC, Athens gained commercial preeminence, and the Athenian drachma became the foremost currency.

July Revolution

2004-12-30T17:39:00.000-08:00

French Révolution De Juillet, also called July Days (1830), insurrection that brought Louis-Philippe to the throne of France. The revolution was precipitated by Charles X's publication (July 26) of restrictive ordinances contrary to the spirit of the Charter of 1814. Protests and demonstrations were followed by three days of fighting (July 27–29), the abdication of Charles X (August 2), and the proclamation of Louis-Philippe as “king of the

Oman, John Wood

2004-12-29T06:02:00.000-08:00

After graduating from Edinburgh University and the theological college of the United Presbyterian Church, Oman studied in Germany. After serving as an assistant pastor in Paisley, Scot., he transferred to the ministry of the Presbyterian Church of England. In 1907 he was appointed

Bark Painting

2004-12-28T05:50:00.000-08:00

Also called Tapa, or Bark Cloth, nonwoven fabric decorated with figurative and abstract designs usually applied by scratching or by painting. The basic clothlike material, produced from the inner bark, or bast, of certain trees (see bast fibre), is made by stripping off the bast, soaking it, and beating it to make the fibres interlace and to reduce thickness. The most popular material is the inner bark

Han-t'eng-ko-li Peak

2004-12-27T10:29:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Hantengri Feng, also called Khan Tengri, peak in the Tien Shan (mountains) of Central Asia, on the boundary between Kazakstan and the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, China. Situated in a heavily glaciated mountain knot, the mountain rises to 22,949 feet (6,995 m). Until Soviet explorers found that nearby Pik Pobeda (Victory Peak; 24,406 feet [7,439 m]) was higher, Han-t'eng-ko-li was thought to be the highest elevation of the Tien Shan. The

Children's Literature, The discovery of the child

2004-12-26T04:27:00.000-08:00

A self-aware literature flows from a recognition of its proper subject matter. The proper subject matter of children's literature, apart from informational or didactic works, is children. More broadly, it embraces the whole content of the child's imaginative world and that of his daily environment, as well as certain ideas and sentiments characteristic of it. The

Canada

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

Second largest country in the world in area (after Russia) but one of the most sparsely populated. Canada occupies roughly two-fifths of the North American continent. Its total area, including the Canadian share of the Great Lakes, is 3,849,674 square miles (9,970,610 square km), of which 291,576 square miles (755,180 square km) are inland water; also included are its adjacent islands, except Greenland, a self-governing

Transportation, History Of, Formation of airlines

2004-12-24T10:19:00.000-08:00

With practical planes in hand in 1918 the organization of an airline to operate these craft on a scheduled basis over a consistent route was attempted. The first airline was formed in Germany; the Deutsche Luftreederie began service from Berlin to Leipzig and Weimar on Feb. 5, 1919, followed only three days later by the French Farman Company on the trans-channel crossing from

Interior Design, The Romantic movement and the battle of the styles, 18351925

2004-12-23T11:22:00.000-08:00

The ordered symbolism of the Roman classic style had been envisaged by Jefferson as a proper expression of the American national ideal; but by 1835 its restraints had grown tedious. Social and economic changes already initiated by the Industrial Revolution encouraged reaction. This found more or less romantic and emotional expression in a series of style revivals

Earth Sciences, Ocean bathymetry

2004-12-22T00:09:00.000-08:00

Modern bathymetric charts show that about 20 percent of the surfaces of the continents are submerged to form continental shelves. Altogether the shelves form an area about the size of Africa. Continental slopes, which slant down from the outer edges of the shelves to the abyssal plains of the seafloor, are nearly everywhere furrowed by submarine canyons. The depths

Binnya Dala

2004-12-19T22:23:00.000-08:00

In 1747 Binnya Dala succeeded Smim Htaw Buddhaketi, who had seven years earlier been set up as king of the Mon in the new capital of Pegu after their successful revolt against the Burmans. Binnya Dala, who was his predecessor's chief minister

Sufetula

2004-12-18T09:09:00.000-08:00

At Sufetula, as elsewhere in the interior of Tunisia, Roman skill in the conservation

Port Antonio

2004-12-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

Chief town of the Parish of Portland, on the northeastern coast of Jamaica, 60 mi (97 km) northeast of Kingston. The island's third largest port, it is a shipping point for bananas, coconuts, and cacao and is one of Jamaica's oldest and least commercialized tourist resorts. It lies on a bay divided by a promontory into East and West Harbours; the latter is sheltered by the small Navy

Radiation

2004-12-16T23:58:00.000-08:00

Either the process by which energy is emitted from a source and propagated through the surrounding medium or the energy involved in this process. Familiar examples of radiant energy include light (a form of electromagnetic radiation) and sound (a form of acoustic radiation). Both electromagnetic and acoustic radiations are commonly described as waves that can

Iran, Ancient, Mithradates II

2004-12-16T14:27:00.000-08:00

The reign of Mithradates II, from 123 to 88 BC, constitutes the most glorious chapter of Parthian history. It put an end to the ambitions of Artabanus's son Himerus, left by his father as governor of Mesopotamia, and brought Hyspaosines, king of Mesene (Characene), who had extended his possessions too far toward the north, back into submission. In the east the Saka were on the move—soon

Caucasian Languages, Mingrelian

2004-12-15T14:33:00.000-08:00

The Mingrelian language (self-designation: margaluri nina) is spoken in the territory north of the Rioni River and west of the Tskhenis-Tskali River and along the Black Sea coast from the mouth of the Rioni up to the city of Ochamchire. The language is unwritten; Georgian is used as a literary language.

Amalgam

2004-12-14T02:43:00.000-08:00

A sodium amalgam is formed during the

Hanabilah

2004-12-12T15:20:00.000-08:00

Also called Madhhab Hanbal , English Hanbalites in Islam, the most fundamentalist of the four Sunni schools of religious law. Based on the teachings of Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855), the Hanbali legal school (madhhab) emphasized virtually complete dependence on the divine in the establishment of legal theory and rejected personal opinion (ra'y), analogy (qiyas), and the Hellenistic dogma of the Mu'tazilah school of theology, on the grounds

Haardt Mountains

2004-12-11T22:19:00.000-08:00

Also called Hardt Mountains, mountain range in Rheinland-Pfalz Land (state), southwestern Germany. They comprise the eastern part of the Pfälzer Forest Mountains and lie west of the Rhine River basin, extending from the French border to a point about 20 miles (30 km) south of Mainz. Their densely forested slopes rise to 2,208 feet (673 m) in Mount Kalmit. Geologically the Haardt Mountains are a continuation of the

Pole Of Inaccessibility

2004-12-11T06:16:00.000-08:00

The term is also used occasionally

Memory Abnormality

2004-12-10T23:03:00.000-08:00

Disorders of memory must have been known to the ancients and are mentioned in several early medical texts, but it was not until the closing decades of the 19th century that serious attempts were made to analyze them or to seek their explanation in terms of brain disturbances. Of the early attempts, the most influential

Alliance

2004-12-08T18:56:00.000-08:00

In international relations, a formal agreement between two or more states for mutual support in case of war. Contemporary alliances provide for combined action on the part of two or more independent states and are generally defensive in nature, obligating allies to join forces if one or more of them is attacked by another state or coalition. Although alliances

Africanus, Sextus Julius

2004-12-07T15:34:00.000-08:00

His life is not well documented, but evidence indicates that Africanus traveled considerably in Asia, Egypt, and Italy and later lived chiefly at Emmaus, in Palestine, where he served as prefect. He was named regional ambassador to Rome about 222, when he became a protégé of the emperor Severus

Babenberg, House Of

2004-12-06T01:12:00.000-08:00

Austrian ruling house in the 10th–13th century. Leopold I of Babenberg became margrave of Austria in 976. The Babenbergs' power was modest, however, until the 12th century, when they came to dominate the Austrian nobility. With the death of Duke Frederick II in 1246, the male line of the Babenbergs ended, and the family's power declined rapidly.

Lanarkshire

2004-12-05T23:46:00.000-08:00

Also called Lanark historic county of south-central Scotland, roughly coinciding with the basin of the River Clyde. It is bounded to the south by the historic county of Dumfriesshire, to the east by Peeblesshire, Midlothian, and West Lothian, to the north by Stirlingshire and Dunbartonshire, and to the west by Renfrewshire and Ayrshire. It encompasses all of the council areas of South

Media And Publishing, Amateur Radio.

2004-12-04T03:32:00.000-08:00

Despite the rise of the Internet, more than two million people throughout the world in 1997 continued to communicate over the air as amateur radio operators. Most of these hams--nearly 700,000, by the FCC's count--were in the U.S. The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) reported that it started off the year with 175,000 members, the most in its 83-year history. Hams used their radios mostly for personal

Valencia

2004-12-03T10:07:00.000-08:00

Capital of Valencia province and the autonomous community (region) of Valencia, and of the former kingdom of Valencia, eastern Spain. Located on the Mediterranean coast at the mouth of the Río Turia (Guadalaviar), it is surrounded by orchards in a region known as the Huerta de Valencia. The earliest mention (Valentia) is by the Roman historian Livy, who states that the consul

Tasmania, Health and welfare

2004-12-02T20:35:00.000-08:00

The state government controls directly or through hospital boards the general hospitals at Hobart, Launceston, Latrobe, and Burnie-Wynyard; numerous district hospitals; a mental hospital at New Norfolk; a maternity hospital at Launceston; district nursing centres; and nursing homes for the aged and invalid. It also provides district medical officers for the more

Dahlbergh, Eric, Count (greve)

2004-12-02T19:57:00.000-08:00

After serving as an engineer (1655–57) in Sweden's Polish campaign, Dahlbergh returned to fight

Local Church, The

2004-12-01T10:53:00.000-08:00

The Local Church grew out of the ministry of Watchman Nee (1903–72), a Chinese Christian who had been strongly influenced by the Plymouth Brethren, a British fundamentalist free church. In the 1930s Nee wrote several books presenting his beliefs

Earth, Paleontological research

2004-11-30T11:39:00.000-08:00

Many paleontological observations are most easily explained by continental drift and/or polar wandering. For example, fossils of the freshwater reptile Mesosaurus, which lived 270,000,000 years ago, are found only in South America and Africa. The reptile's bone structure was such that it probably could not have swum across the Atlantic, but if South America and Africa had been

Subway

2004-11-28T21:19:00.000-08:00

Also called Underground, Tube, or Métro, underground railway system used to transport large numbers of passengers within urban and suburban areas. Subways are usually built under city streets for ease of construction, but they may take shortcuts and sometimes must pass under rivers. Outlying sections of the system usually emerge aboveground, becoming conventional railways or elevated transit lines.

Quintet

2004-11-28T06:16:00.000-08:00

Musical composition for five instruments or voices; also the group of musicians engaged in the performance of such a composition. The string quintet normally includes two violins, two violas, and a cello. Mozart's six works for this medium are usually considered his greatest achievement in chamber music. The composer and virtuoso cellist Luigi Boccherini favoured

Kokkola

2004-11-27T11:43:00.000-08:00

Founded in 1620, Kokkola became the major seaport and trade centre of Ostrobothnia during the 18th century. In 1854 the British tried unsuccessfully to capture the city. Notable buildings include a 15th-century stone church of Kaarlela, the town hall (1845), and the Renlund

Race, History

2004-11-25T11:56:00.000-08:00

The history of race in science is discussed in Thomas F. Gossett, Race: The History of an Idea in America (1965); Elazar Barkan, The Retreat of Scientific Racism (1992); Nancy Stepan, The Idea of Race in Science: Great Britain 1800–1960 (1992).

Manchu

2004-11-24T01:03:00.000-08:00

Also called Man, people who lived for many centuries in Manchuria and adjacent areas and who in the 17th century conquered China and ruled that country for more than 250 years. The term Manchu dates from the 16th century, but it is certain that the Manchu are descended from a group of peoples collectively called the Tungus (the Even and Evenk [Evenki] are also descended from that group). The Manchu,

Chagall, Marc

2004-11-23T22:48:00.000-08:00

Belorussian-born French painter, printmaker, and designer. He composed his images based on emotional and poetic associations, rather than on rules of pictorial logic. Predating Surrealism, his early works, such as I and the Village (1911), were among the first expressions of

Goblin

2004-11-22T04:42:00.000-08:00

In Western folklore, a wandering sprite that is usually mischievous but often malicious. Goblins supposedly live in grottoes but attach themselves to households, where they are believed to bang upon pots and pans, snatch nightclothes off the bodies of sleeping people, move furniture at night, and flee after rapping on walls and doors. They are

Earth Sciences, Charles Lyell and uniformitarianism

2004-11-19T20:15:00.000-08:00

In opposition to the catastrophist school of thought, the British geologist Charles Lyell proposed a uniformitarian interpretation of geologic history in his Principles of Geology (3 vols., 1830–33). His system was based on two propositions: the causes of geologic change operating include all the causes that have acted from the earliest time; and these causes have always

Uíge

2004-11-19T15:52:00.000-08:00

Formerly Carmona, town, northwestern Angola. Uíge grew from a small market centre in 1945 to become Angola's major centre for coffee production in the 1950s. The Portuguese designated Uíge a city in 1956. Its prosperity was short-lived, however, as recurrent fighting between the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), one of three preindependence guerrilla movements, and Portuguese forces

North Germanic Languages, Norwegian

2004-11-18T08:43:00.000-08:00

Old Norwegian writing traditions gradually died out in the 15th century after the union of Norway with Denmark and the removal of the central government to Copenhagen. After independence was achieved in 1814, the linguistic union with Danish persisted, but educational problems due to the linguistic distance between Danish and spoken Norwegian and socio-political

Eye Rhyme

2004-11-16T14:38:00.000-08:00

In poetry, an imperfect rhyme in which two words are spelled similarly but pronounced differently (such as move and love, bough and though, come and home, and laughter and daughter). Some of these (such as flood and brood) are referred to as historical rhymes because at one time they probably had the same pronunciation.

Qadariyah

2004-11-16T13:03:00.000-08:00

In Islam, adherents of the doctrine of free will (from qadar, “power”). The name was also applied to the Mu'tazilah, the Muslim theological school that believed that man, through his free will, can choose between good and evil. But as the Mu'tazilah also stressed the absolute unity of God (tawhid), they resented the designation because of a saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad,

Novi Pazar

2004-11-15T07:40:00.000-08:00

Town, southern Serbia, Yugoslavia. It lies in the Raška River valley, in rough and hilly country near the site of Ras, which was the capital city of the medieval Serbian state in the 12th–14th century. In the vicinity are Roman baths, and the Church of St. Peter, one of the oldest in Yugoslavia (7th or 8th century), is an interesting example of early Slav architecture. A few miles west is

Neoprene

2004-11-14T17:43:00.000-08:00

The neoprenes,

'alenu

2004-11-13T00:58:00.000-08:00

(Hebrew: “it is our duty”), the opening word of an extremely old Jewish prayer, which has been recited at the end of the three periods of daily prayer since the European Middle Ages. The first section of the 'alenu is a prayer of thanks for having set Israel apart for the service of God; the second section, omitted by those who follow the Sephardic (Spanish) rite, expresses a hope

Pit Bull Terrier

2004-11-11T19:42:00.000-08:00

Fighting dog developed in 19th-century England out of the bulldog and a terrier. See Staffordshire terrier.

Tiepolo, Giovanni Battista

2004-11-10T15:58:00.000-08:00

Great Italian painter of the 18th century. His luminous, poetic frescoes (e.g., “The Banquet of Anthony and Cleopatra,” before 1750), while extending the tradition of Baroque ceiling decoration, epitomize the lightness and elegance of the Rococo period (see photograph).

Piero Della Francesca

2004-11-09T01:28:00.000-08:00

Painter whose serene, disciplined exploration of perspective had little influence on his contemporaries but came to be recognized in the 20th century as a major contribution to the Italian Renaissance. The fresco cycle “The Legend of the True Cross” (1452–66) and the diptych portrait of Federico

Offal

2004-11-08T00:40:00.000-08:00

Also called Variety Meats, any of various nonmuscular parts of the carcasses of beef and veal, mutton and lamb, and pork, which are either consumed directly as food or used in the production of other foods. Variety meats have been a part of the human diet since the invention of cooking, which rendered the otherwise indigestible animal parts edible. In nutritional terms, several variety meats

Industrial Glass, Tableware

2004-11-07T11:31:00.000-08:00

Tableware tumblers are made by blowing glass at the end of a blowing pipe into a split paste-mold. The paste-mold is made of cast iron and is lined with a wetted cork-type or pasted-sawdust material. The resulting steam cushion gives a smooth finish to the glass, which is rotated in the mold during the blowing step. The formed ware is then gently knocked off the pipe by a light

Abbott, George

2004-11-07T09:59:00.000-08:00

After graduating from the University of Rochester, N.Y., in 1911, Abbott began acting on Broadway in 1913. He soon began writing and directing plays as well, and he achieved

PresentRod

Table Talk

Natha

Mammal, Respiratory system

Ambrose, Saint

Diego Garcia

Little Saint Bernard Pass

Halston

Lignite

Irish Sea

Chuuk Islands

Viet-muong Languages

Dafla

Athelney

Daulatabad

Rajasthan, Education and welfare

Alabama, European rivalry, settlement, and growth

Wolframite

Interlaken

Goddard Family

Antarctica, Geologic record

Proctitis

Cinco De Mayo

Adamnan, Saint

April Theses

Christian Front

G.m.

Nuclear Engineering, Early schools

Basie, Count

Toutin, Jean; And Toutin, Henri

Beisa

'ar'ar

Williams, Betty

Qatar

China, Communist growth

Puerto Vallarta

Aquarium

Yrjö-koskinen, Sakari

Kabila, Laurent Desire

Cytoplasm

Nagel, Ernest

Paris, Foundation and medieval growth

Heirloom

Cornelius, Peter

øverland, Arnulf

Variable Star

øverland, Arnulf

Altiplano

Manawatu River

Drachma

July Revolution

Oman, John Wood

Bark Painting

Han-t'eng-ko-li Peak

Children's Literature, The discovery of the child

Canada

Transportation, History Of, Formation of airlines

Interior Design, The Romantic movement and the battle of the styles, 18351925

Earth Sciences, Ocean bathymetry

Binnya Dala

Sufetula

Port Antonio

Radiation

Iran, Ancient, Mithradates II

Caucasian Languages, Mingrelian

Amalgam

Hanabilah

Haardt Mountains

Pole Of Inaccessibility

Memory Abnormality

Alliance

Africanus, Sextus Julius

Babenberg, House Of

Lanarkshire

Media And Publishing, Amateur Radio.

Valencia

Tasmania, Health and welfare

Dahlbergh, Eric, Count (greve)

Local Church, The

Earth, Paleontological research

Interior Design, The Romantic movement and the battle of the styles, 18351925