HighAngle

Alipur Duar

2005-04-04T06:43:00.000-07:00

City, northeastern West Bengal state, northeastern India, just north of the Kalyani River. Connected by road with Jalpaiguri, the city is an important market centre for rice, tobacco, and jute; an annual agricultural produce and stock fair is held there. Rice milling is an important industry. Alipur Duar was declared a municipality in 1951. Pop. (1991) 65,421.

Yeh-lü Ta-shih

2005-04-03T19:15:00.000-07:00

Yeh-lü was a member of the imperial family of the Liao dynasty (907–1125), which had been established by the Khitan tribes and ruled much of Mongolia, Manchuria, and Northeast China. When the Liao dynasty was overthrown by the Juchen, who established the Chin dynasty, Yeh-lü fled west to Turkestan, where he

Belshazzar

2005-04-02T21:36:00.000-08:00

Belshazzar had been known only from the biblical Book of Daniel (chapters 5, 7–8) and from Xenophon's Cyropaedia until 1854, when references to him were found in Babylonian cuneiform inscriptions. Though he is referred to in the Book of Daniel as the son of Nebuchadrezzar, the Babylonian inscriptions

Skeletal System, Human

2005-04-02T11:54:00.000-08:00

The internal skeleton that serves as a framework for the body. This framework consists of many individual bones and cartilages. There also are bands of fibrous connective tissue, the ligaments and tendons, in intimate relationship with the parts of the skeleton. This article is concerned primarily with the gross structure and the function of the skeleton of the

Eadred

2005-03-31T16:26:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Edred king of the English from 946 to 955, who brought Northumbria permanently under English rule. Eadred was the son of the West Saxon king Edward the Elder (ruled 899–924), the half brother of King Athelstan (ruled 924–939), and the brother of King Edmund I (ruled 939–946). Upon Eadred's accession to power, the Northumbrians acknowledged his overlordship, but they soon proclaimed

Ear, Human, Detection of angular acceleration: dynamic equilibrium

2005-03-30T04:17:00.000-08:00

Because the three semicircular canals—superior, posterior, and horizontal—are positioned at right angles to one another, they are able to detect movements in three-dimensional space (see Anatomy of the human ear: Inner ear: Semicircular canals). When the head begins to rotate in any direction, the inertia of the endolymph causes it to lag behind, exerting pressure that

Angular Velocity

2005-03-29T06:53:00.000-08:00

In engineering, angles or angular displacements are commonly expressed in degrees or revolutions (of 360°), and angular velocities in

Contract Bridge

2005-03-28T10:12:00.000-08:00

In 1994 bridge playing and exchanges of information about the game via computerized networks expanded rapidly. Many professionals began using the networks for coaching clients and for gaining match practice with other pros. Duplicate tournaments were open to all. The 1994 NEC world bridge championships were held in Albuquerque, N.M., from September 17 to October 1, and the tournament's

Romanus I Lecapenus

2005-03-27T14:40:00.000-08:00

Byzantine emperor who shared the imperial throne with his son-in-law Constantine VII and exercised all real power from 920 to 944. Romanus was admiral of the Byzantine fleet on the Danube when, hearing of the defeat of the army at Achelous (917), he resolved to sail for Constantinople. Soon after the marriage of his daughter Helena to Constantine he was crowned colleague of his

Canals And Inland Waterways, Boat lifts

2005-03-27T00:23:00.000-08:00

Vessels can be transported floating in a steel tank or caisson between adjacent pounds by a vertical lift, replacing several locks. Vertical lifts can be operated by high-pressure hydraulic rams, by submersible floats, or by geared counterweights. Hydraulic lifts with twin caissons were constructed in 1875 at Anderton, Eng., with a 50-foot lift for 60-ton vessels; in 1888 lifts were

Olympic Games, Montreal, Canada, 1976

2005-03-25T19:56:00.000-08:00

Despite producing 32 new world records and a host of memorable performances, the 1976 Games drew more attention to the apparent problems of the Olympic movement. Twenty-six nations, mostly from Africa, chose to boycott the Games when the IOC denied their request to ban New Zealand, whose national rugby team had recently toured South Africa. Taiwan also boycotted, when Canada,

Singhasari

2005-03-25T13:07:00.000-08:00

Kingdom based in eastern Java that emerged in the first half of the 13th century after the decline of the kingdom of Kadiri. Singhasari's first king, Ken Angrok (or Ken Arok), defeated the king of Kadiri, Kertajaya, in 1222. The last king of Singhasari, Kertanagara (q.v.; 1268–92), was able to unite eastern Java temporarily. Toward the end of Kertanagara's reign, Kublai Khan, the great khan of the Mongols

Anthony Of Novgorod

2005-03-23T21:11:00.000-08:00

Anthony's importance derives mainly from his Pilgrim's

Theatrical Production, Dramatist and director domination

2005-03-22T14:20:00.000-08:00

During certain periods the work of the dramatist, regardless of his subsequent involvement, determined the creative process in production. In ancient Greece the selection of a play was the first step in production. In the 19th and 20th centuries the acquisition of a script was also the preliminary step in establishing the single-show association. Only occasionally,

Ten Days Of Penitence

2005-03-21T18:32:00.000-08:00

Hebrew Aseret Yeme Teshuva, the first 10 days of the Jewish religious year. See yamim nora'im.

Randstad

2005-03-19T18:34:00.000-08:00

Industrial and metropolitan conurbation occupying an area of peat and clay lowlands, west-central Netherlands. The Randstad (“Ring City”) consists of major Dutch industrial cities extending in a crescent (open to the southeast) from Utrecht in the east to Dordrecht in the south and including Hilversum, Amsterdam, Haarlem, Leiden, The Hague, and Rotterdam. It encompasses

Graveyard School

2005-03-19T14:01:00.000-08:00

Genre of 18th-century British poetry that focused on death and bereavement. The graveyard school consisted largely of imitations of Robert Blair's popular long poem of morbid appeal, The Grave (1743), and of Edward Young's celebrated blank-verse dramatic rhapsody Night Thoughts (1742–45). These poems express the sorrow and pain of bereavement, evoke the horror of death's physical

Sileru River

2005-03-19T10:33:00.000-08:00

Also called Machkund river, Andhra Pradesh state, southern India. The river rises as the Machkund in the Eastern Ghats in northeastern Andhra Pradesh. Leaving the Machkund reservoir, it flows (as the Sileru) parallel to the mountain ranges at an elevation of 2,000–3,000 feet (600–900 m) in a northeast-to-southwest direction to empty into the Sabari River, opposite Konta, in Madhya Pradesh state, 60 miles (100 km) north-northwest

Biblical Literature, Pesharim

2005-03-16T21:25:00.000-08:00

An important source of knowledge about the history of the Dead Sea sect is the pesharim (“commentaries”; singular pesher). The sectarian authors commented on the books of Old Testament prophets and the book of Psalms and in the commentaries explained the biblical text as speaking about the history of the sect and of events that happened in the time of its existence.

Arts, Islamic, The new style

2005-03-16T10:18:00.000-08:00

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

To' Kenali

2005-03-15T08:11:00.000-08:00

Muhammad Yusof, born into

Andrada E Silva, José Bonifácio De

2005-03-14T22:33:00.000-08:00

Andrada went to Portugal as a student and became a distinguished scholar there, earning an international reputation as a naturalist and geologist. He remained in Portugal until

Salem

2005-03-14T20:02:00.000-08:00

Town, north-central Tamil Nadu state, southeastern India. It is on the Tirumanimuttar River near Attur Gap between the Kalrayan and Pachamalai hills. Situated at the junction of the Bangalore, Tiruchchirappalli, and Cuddalore roads, 200 miles (332 km) southwest of Madras, the town's name derives from sela nad (a corruption of cera nad), a term denoting the visit of an early Cera king. Well-known

Apure

2005-03-13T14:46:00.000-08:00

The state is famous for its llaneros (cowboys), who were key fighters in the independence movement of the early 19th century. Mounted llaneros

World War Ii, The Eastern Front, October 1943April 1944

2005-03-13T10:19:00.000-08:00

By the end of the first week of October 1943, the Red Army had established several bridgeheads on the right bank of the Dnepr River. Then, while General N.F. Vatutin's drive against Kiev was engaging the Germans' attention, General Ivan Stepanovich Konev suddenly pushed so far forward from the Kremenchug bridgehead (more than halfway

Chronology

2005-03-12T09:35:00.000-08:00

The Christian Era is the era now in general use throughout the world. Its epoch, or commencement, is January 1, 754 AUC (ab urbe condita—“from the foundation of the city [of Rome]”—or anno urbis conditae—“in the year of the foundation of the city”). Christ's birth was at first believed to have occurred on the December 25 immediately preceding. Years are reckoned as before or after the Nativity,

Kyneton

2005-03-11T05:55:00.000-08:00

Town, central Victoria, Australia, on the Campaspe River, about 50 mi (85 km) northwest of Melbourne. Squatters settled in the region in 1836–41; the town was surveyed in 1849 and named after Kineton (now known as Kington) in Hertfordshire, England. Kyneton is the service centre for an area producing wool, beef, dairy products, oats, wheat, and potatoes. There are abattoirs, knitting and timber

Aramaic Language

2005-03-11T01:49:00.000-08:00

Aramaic is thought to have first appeared among the Aramaeans about the late 11th century

Heiberg, Gunnar (edvard Rode)

2005-03-10T13:36:00.000-08:00

Left alone as a child when his parents separated, he was educated at King Frederick's University, Kristiania. Heiberg's plays were always highly provocative, and their opening nights caused the greatest scandals in the history of

Kardelj, Edvard

2005-03-09T04:28:00.000-08:00

The son of a railroad worker, Kardelj graduated from the Ljubljana Teachers' College. From the age of 16 he was a member of the outlawed Communist

Lowe, Sir Hudson

2005-03-08T23:55:00.000-08:00

Lowe held several important commands in the war with France from 1793. He was knighted in 1814. He arrived on the island of St. Helena, Napoleon's last place of exile, in April 1816. Many persons,

Diesel Engine

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

Any internal-combustion engine in which air is compressed to a temperature sufficiently high to ignite fuel injected into the cylinder, where combustion and expansion actuate a piston. It converts the chemical energy stored in the fuel into mechanical energy, which can be used to power freight trucks, large tractors, locomotives, and vessels. A limited number of

Black Duck

2005-03-07T23:01:00.000-08:00

(Anas rubripes), highly prized game bird (family Anatidae) of eastern North America, inhabiting salt, brackish, and freshwater marshes, as well as lakes, rivers, and beaver ponds. These ducks winter from Nebraska to Texas and along the Atlantic coast from Nova Scotia to Florida; their preference for seafoods such as periwinkles and mussels enables them to winter so far

Da Lat

2005-03-07T18:39:00.000-08:00

Municipality, southern Vietnam, northeast of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). On a lake on the Lam Vien Plateau at 4,920 feet (1,500 m) above sea level, it sits among pine-covered hills with picturesque waterfalls nearby. Founded in the 19th century and named for the Da (now Cam Ly) River, which traverses the town, and the Lat population, it was developed by the French as a hill station (resort),

Advertising Coloration

2005-03-06T08:24:00.000-08:00

In animals, the use of biological coloration to make an organism unique and highly visible as compared with the background, thereby providing easily perceived information as to its location, identity, and movement. Such advertisement may serve the function of attracting individuals in order to enter into some advantageous interaction (e.g., courtship for reproductive

Beak Style

2005-03-05T11:12:00.000-08:00

Distinctive use of birdlike forms in human figures carved in wood in the lower Sepik and Ramu regions of Papua New Guinea. The head of the figure is generally placed on a short neck that connects it to a thick body, over which a long, beaklike nose often projects. Facial features have a thin, linear quality that emphasizes the downward thrust of the nose and contrasts

Salerno, University Of

2005-03-05T10:35:00.000-08:00

Italian Università Degli Studi Di Salerno, institution of higher learning in Salerno, Italy. Much of the historic interest of the university derives from an antecedent medical school in Salerno that was the earliest and one of the greatest medical schools of the Middle Ages. In fact, some scholars have called this school medieval Europe's first university. The medical school was noted for its physicians

Andean Peoples

2005-03-03T01:44:00.000-08:00

Studies of the pre-Columbian history and culture of this area may be found in the bibliography of the article pre-Columbian civilizations. The best account of Andean cultures as they appeared to an eyewitness of the early years (16th century) of European rule is Pedro de Cieza de León, The Incas (1959, reissued 1969; originally published in Spanish, 1554). An introduction to Andean archaeology may be found in John Howland Rowe and Dorothy Menzel (eds.), Peruvian Archaeology (1967), with selections mainly by American scholars. The role of irrigation in the cultural and political elaboration of coastal kingdoms is well illustrated in Paul Kosok, Life, Land, and Water in Ancient Peru (1965). Special regional problems are introduced in Louis C. Faron, Mapuche Social Structure (1961), a study of the reintegration of these people of Chile since the time of conquest; L.C. Faron, Hawks of the Sun (1964), on the Southern Andes; Betty J. Meggers, Ecuador (1966); Donald W. Lathrap, The Upper Amazon (1970); Paul T. Baker and Michael A. Little (eds.), Man in the Andes: A Multidisciplinary Study of High-Altitude Quechua (1976); Kevin Kling, Ecuador: Island of the Andes (1988; originally published in French, 1987), focusing on Indian culture and life and illustrated with photographs; and Steve J. Stern, Peru's Indian Peoples and the Challenge of Spanish Conquest: Huamanga to 1640, 2nd ed. (1993).

Biblical Literature, The Aramaic Targums

2005-03-02T18:17:00.000-08:00

In the course of the 5th and 6th centuries BCE, Aramaic became the official language of the Persian Empire. In the succeeding centuries it was used as the vernacular over a wide area and was increasingly spoken by the postexilic Jewish communities of Palestine and elsewhere in the Diaspora. In response to liturgical needs, the institution of a turgeman (or meturgeman, “translator

Marsh Mallow

2005-03-02T08:10:00.000-08:00

(Althaea officinalis), perennial herbaceous plant of the mallow family (Malvaceae), native to eastern Europe and northern Africa. It has also become established in North America. The plant is usually found in marshy areas, chiefly near the sea. It has strongly veined heart-shaped or oval leaves. The pinkish flowers, borne on stalks about 1.8 m (6 feet) tall, are about 5 cm (2 inches)

Ramjet

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

Air-breathing jet engine that operates with no major moving parts. It relies on the craft's forward motion to draw in air and on a specially shaped intake passage to compress the air for combustion. After fuel sprayed into the engine has been ignited, combustion is self-sustaining. As in other jet engines, forward thrust is obtained as a reaction to the rearward rush

Cullman

2005-02-28T19:36:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1877) of Cullman county, on Brindley Mountain, northern Alabama, U.S., about 45 miles (70 km) north of Birmingham. It was founded in 1873 by German settlers led by Johann Gottfried Cullmann. The Cullman area is the top agricultural producer in Alabama, with poultry being most important. Industry is also a major factor in the local economy; it includes the manufacture of automotive

Transportation, History Of, Formation of airlines

2005-02-28T13:46:00.000-08:00

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

Ataxite

2005-02-27T10:49:00.000-08:00

Any iron meteorite containing less than about 6 percent nickel (nickel-poor ataxites) or more than about 11 percent nickel (nickel-rich ataxites). Ataxites, containing plessite, troilite, and kamacite as their main minerals, show neither the Widmanstätten pattern nor Neumann lines. Nickel-poor ataxites generally have the same nickel content as hexahedrites but have

Béziers

2005-02-26T18:29:00.000-08:00

City, Hérault département, Languedoc-Roussillon région, southern France, 9 miles (14 km) from the Mediterranean Sea, on a hilly site overlooking the Orb River where it is intersected by the Canal of the Midi, southwest of Montpellier. There are remains of an arena from the Roman colony Beterrae. In the 12th century it was a stronghold of the viscounts of Carcassonne. In 1209 Simon

Tara Singh

2005-02-26T02:42:00.000-08:00

Tara Singh was born a Hindu, but while a student in Rawalpindi he became attracted to Sikhism and underwent the required initiation ceremony.

African Hunting Dog

2005-02-25T06:31:00.000-08:00

Also called Cape Hunting Dog, or Hyena Dog (Lycaon pictus), wild African carnivore that differs from the rest of the members of the dog family (Canidae) in having only four toes on each foot. Its coat is short, sparse, and irregularly blotched with yellow, black, and white. The African hunting dog is about 76–102 cm (30–41 inches) long, exclusive of its 31–41-centimetre tail, stands about 60 cm (24 inches) at the shoulder, and weighs

Hale Observatories

2005-02-24T18:19:00.000-08:00

The Palomar and Wilson observatories were operated

Black Mass

2005-02-24T05:31:00.000-08:00

In the Roman Catholic church, a requiem mass during which the celebrant wears black vestments. The term is more commonly used, however, for a blasphemous and usually obscene burlesque of the true mass performed by satanic cults. The naked back of a woman often serves as an altar, and a validly consecrated host is generally used to intensify the mockery. The rite commonly

Roman Catholicism, History Of, Religious life in the 17th and 18th centuries

2005-02-22T23:42:00.000-08:00

Yet it would be a mistake to allow the narrative of these controversies to monopolize one's attention. Less dramatic but no less important was the continuing life of the Roman Catholic Church during these centuries as “mother and teacher.” Bossuet was not only the formulator of Gallican ideology but also one of the finest preachers of Christian history. He addressed

Peter Iv

2005-02-22T13:59:00.000-08:00

Peter was the most cultivated of Spanish 14th-century kings but was also an inveterate political intriguer whose ability to dissemble was notorious. Through his voluminous correspondence, the workings of his mind are far better known than those of any contemporary Spanish

Tigre

2005-02-22T05:02:00.000-08:00

The partido is bordered to the north by an important branch of the Paraná River, the

Adenauer, Konrad

2005-02-21T20:59:00.000-08:00

First chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany; 1949–63), presiding over its reconstruction after World War II. A Christian Democrat and firmly anticommunist, he supported NATO, and he worked to reconcile Germany with its former enemies, especially France.

Gabes, Gulf Of

2005-02-20T22:05:00.000-08:00

Arabic Khalij Qabis, French Golfe De Gabès, Latin Syrtis Minor, inlet, on the east coast of Tunisia, northern Africa. It is 60 miles (100 km) long and 60 miles wide and is bounded by the Qarqannah (Kerkena) Islands on the northeast and by Jarbah (Djerba) Island on the southeast. Except for the Strait of Gibraltar and the Gulf of Venice, it is the only part of the Mediterranean with a substantial tidal range (about 8 feet [2 1/2 m] at spring tides), causing the uncovering

Rowell, Galen

2005-02-20T05:42:00.000-08:00

American landscape photographer (b. Aug. 23, 1940, Berkeley, Calif.—d. Aug. 11, 2002, Bishop, Calif.), captured breathtaking images of some of the remotest parts of the world. Galen was an avid mountain climber and traveler; his photography was a natural extension of his love for the ever-decreasing wilderness around him. In turn, he used his work to further conservation awareness in an attempt

Aqtöbe

2005-02-19T21:32:00.000-08:00

Formerly Aktyubinsk, city, northwestern Kazakstan, on the Ilek River. It was founded in 1869 as Aktyube (“White Hill”), a small Russian fort; the first Russian peasant settlers arrived in 1878. In 1891 it became the capital of an uyezd (canton) and in 1932 of an oblast (province). During World War II a ferroalloys plant was built to smelt the nickel and chromium ores of the Mughalzhar (Mugodzhar) Hills. Now an important

Hormone, Neurohypophysis and the polypeptide hormones of the hypothalamus

2005-02-19T04:29:00.000-08:00

Another neurosecretory system, which involves the hypothalamic region of the brain and the neurohypophysis of the pituitary gland, originates in groups of neurosecretory cells in the hypothalamus called, in mammals, the nucleus supraopticus and the nucleus paraventricularis and, in lower vertebrates, the nucleus preopticus. Neurohormones from these regions

Dinosaur, The asteroid theory

2005-02-18T17:35:00.000-08:00

The discovery of an abnormally high concentration of the rare metal iridium at, or very close to, the K–T boundary provides what has been recognized as one of those rare instantaneous geologic time markers that seem to be worldwide. This iridium anomaly, or spike, was first found by Walter Alvarez in the Cretaceous–Tertiary stratigraphic sequence at Gubbio, Italy,

Daehlie, Bjørn

2005-02-17T11:31:00.000-08:00

Involved in many sports growing up, Daehlie was not serious about cross-country

Indian Philosophy, Vaisnava schools

2005-02-17T09:51:00.000-08:00

The main philosophers of the medieval Vaisnavism have been noted above. Vaisnavism, however, has a long history, traceable to the Vishnu worship of the Rigveda, the Bhakti conception of the epics, and the Vasudeva cult of the pre-Christian era. Of the two main Vaisnava scriptures, or agamas, the Pañcaratra (“Relating to the Period of Five Nights”) and the Vaikhanasa (“Relating to a Hermit

Triassic Period, Invertebrates

2005-02-17T00:34:00.000-08:00

Ammonoids were common in the Permian but suffered drastic reduction at the end of that period. Only a few genera belonging to

Hou Chi

2005-02-15T11:54:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Hou Ji, in Chinese mythology, Lord of Millet Grains, who was worshiped for the abundant harvests that he graciously provided for his people. The Chinese honoured him not only for past favours but in the hope that devotion to the deity would guarantee continued blessings. An old tradition explained that Hou Chi was miraculously conceived when his childless mother stepped

France, History Of, The Franco-German War

2005-02-15T10:13:00.000-08:00

Napoleon, meanwhile, had become uncomfortably involved in a diplomatic poker game with Bismarck. Prussian victories over Denmark (1864) and Austria (1866) indicated a serious shift in the European balance of power. Napoleon, aware that he faced a severe challenge, set out to strengthen his armed forces; he proposed a tighter conscription law that would increase the size of the

Necker, Suzanne

2005-02-14T17:48:00.000-08:00

Née Curchod Swiss wife of the French finance minister under Louis XVI, Jacques Necker; mother of Madame de Staël; and mistress of a brilliant Parisian salon. At first she was engaged to the English historian Edward Gibbon, but his father broke off the match. In 1764 she married Necker, then a banker, and encouraged him in his political career.

Xenarthran

2005-02-13T18:44:00.000-08:00

Sloths and anteaters are the living members of the order Pilosa, whose name refers to the animals' hairiness. Three families exist today, encompassing five genera and nine species. Six families, primarily ground sloths, are extinct. The order Pilosa is further subdivided into the suborder Vermilingua, literally “worm-tongue,” which is

Oat Grass

2005-02-13T00:46:00.000-08:00

Any of the perennial plants of two genera of grasses, Arrhenatherum and Danthonia (family Poaceae). Approximately six species of tall grasses, native to temperate Europe and Asia, constitute the genus Arrhenatherum. Tall oat grass (A. elatius), which has been introduced into various countries as a pasture grass, grows wild in many areas and is considered a weed, especially

Eagles, The

2005-02-12T10:40:00.000-08:00

Marc Shapiro, The Story of the Eagles: The Long Run (1995), is a biography. Marc Eliot, To the Limit: The Untold Story of the Eagles (1997), contains copious information on the band's formation and business dealings. James Hunter, “The Eagles,” in Paul Kingsbury (ed.), Country on Compact Disc (1993), pp. 55–56, is an evaluative recordings entry with special emphasis on how the Eagles' studio style affected some Nashville artists during the 1990s. “The Eagles,” in Patricia Romanowski, Holly George-Warren, and Jon Pareles (eds.), The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, completely rev. and updated (1995), pp. 293–295, includes a discography, career chronologies, and band history.

France, History Of, Opportunist control

2005-02-10T20:20:00.000-08:00

Between 1879 and 1899 the Opportunists, with only brief interruptions, controlled the machinery of government. Gambetta, their most dynamic leader, had begun his career as an outspoken Radical, but in time his political instincts had prevailed. The other Opportunist leaders—men such as President Grévy and Jules Ferry—disliked Gambetta's flamboyance, however, and feared

Booth, Maud Ballington

2005-02-10T14:43:00.000-08:00

Maud Charlesworth grew up from the age of three in London. The examples of her father, a clergyman, and her mother, who worked with her husband in his slum parish, predisposed Maud to social service, and in 1882 she joined the Salvation Army. Organizing work in France

Saudi Arabia, Transportation

2005-02-10T01:48:00.000-08:00

About one-third of the country's roads are paved. The first coast-to-coast road connection, from Ad-Dammam on the gulf to Jiddah on the Red Sea, by way of Riyadh, was opened in 1967; it includes a spectacular descent of the western escarpment from At-Ta'if to Mecca. Other important connections are from Riyadh northwestward through Najd to Ha'il, from Riyadh southwestward to the

Devo

2005-02-09T10:20:00.000-08:00

Formed

Neel, James Van Gundia

2005-02-09T08:09:00.000-08:00

American geneticist (b. March 22, 1915, Hamilton, Ohio—d. Feb. 1, 2000, Ann Arbor, Mich.), was a pioneer in the field of genetics; his studies provided evidence of the genetic basis of numerous diseases, including sickle-cell anemia. In the late 1940s, as acting director of field studies for the National Research Council's Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission, he led studies of the effects of radiation

E Region

2005-02-09T00:11:00.000-08:00

Also called Kennelly-heaviside Layer, ionospheric region that extends from an altitude of 90 kilometres (60 miles) to about 160 kilometres (100 miles). As in the D region (70–90 kilometres), the ionization is primarily molecular—i.e., resulting from the splitting of neutral molecules—oxygen (O2) and nitrogen (N2)—into electrons and positively charged molecules. Unlike that of the D region, the ionization of the E region remains at

Matsushita Electric Industrial Company, Ltd.

2005-02-06T18:41:00.000-08:00

The company was founded in 1918 by Matsushita Konosuke to manufacture and market the electric lamp sockets and plugs he designed. It was incorporated in 1935, when it took its present name, and began expanding rapidly into a number of varied electrical

Cohen, Hermann

2005-02-06T14:01:00.000-08:00

Cohen was the son of a cantor, and he studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau and at the University of Berlin before receiving his Ph.D. at the University of Halle in

Frederick I

2005-02-06T10:02:00.000-08:00

He was the second son of Frederick V, burgrave of Nürnberg. After his father's death, in 1398, he obtained Ansbach and, in 1420, on the death of his elder brother John, the principality of Bayreuth. In 1410 Sigismund, younger son of

Powell, Anthony

2005-02-05T09:49:00.000-08:00

As a child, Powell lived wherever his father, a regular officer in the Welsh Regiment, was stationed. He attended Eton College from 1919 to 1923 and Balliol College, Oxford, from 1923 to 1926. Thereafter he joined the London

Manawatu-wanganui

2005-02-05T05:07:00.000-08:00

Local government region, southern North Island, New Zealand. It includes a major portion of one of the largest plains of the North Island and encompasses the Whanganui River valley. The region rises northward to the Kaimanawa Mountains and stretches along the Tasman Sea to include the Rangitikei River (noted for its steep-walled gorge) and the Manawatu River. The

Allen, Stephen Valentine Patrick William

2005-02-04T15:48:00.000-08:00

American entertainer, composer, and author (b. Dec. 26, 1921, New York, N.Y.—d. Oct. 30, 2000, Encino, Calif.), was a prolific, versatile, creative, and influential modern-day renaissance man. Although he could be considered to have made his greatest impact when he created and hosted what became The Tonight Show—the mold for television talk shows—he also composed thousands of songs (his best known:

Furniture, Bookcases

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

Bookcases or bookshelves are a less interesting form of storage furniture from the viewpoint of furniture history. Perhaps the most significant innovation appeared in 18th-century England in the bookcase with adjustable shelves and a closed-off lower section for folio files. The shelves were protected by glass doors consisting of an ingenious trelliswork of

Aksum

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

Despite common belief to the contrary, Aksum did not originate from one of the Semitic Sabaean kingdoms of southern Arabia but instead developed as a local power. At its apogee (3rd–6th century AD), Aksum became the greatest market of northeastern Africa; its merchants traded as far as Alexandria and

Latin-american Literature

2005-02-02T08:18:00.000-08:00

The national literatures of the Spanish-speaking countries of the Western Hemisphere and of Portuguese-speaking Brazil. Historically, it also includes the literary expression of the highly developed American Indian civilizations conquered by the Spaniards. Over the years, Latin-American literature has developed a rich and complex diversity of themes, forms,

Tobit

2005-02-01T21:19:00.000-08:00

Also called The Book Of Tobias, apocryphal work (noncanonical for Jews and Protestants) that found its way into the Roman Catholic canon via the Septuagint. A religious folktale and a Judaicized version of the story of the grateful dead, it relates how Tobit, a pious Jew exiled to Nineveh in Assyria, observed the precepts of Hebrew Law by giving alms and by burying the dead. In spite of his good works,

Alcmaeonid Family

2005-02-01T03:25:00.000-08:00

A powerful Athenian family, claiming descent from the legendary Alcmaeon, that was important in 5th- and 6th-century-BC politics. During the archonship of one of its members, Megacles (632? BC), a certain Cylon failed in an attempt to make himself tyrant, and his followers were slain at an altar sanctuary. Accused of sacrilege and murder, the Alcmaeonids incurred the bloodguilt that

Bacau

2005-01-31T22:49:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Bacau judet (county), eastern Romania, near the confluence of the Bistrita and Siret rivers, 150 miles (240 km) northeast of Bucharest. Bacau was an early customs post, where trade routes came together at a ford over the Bistrita. It was first mentioned in documents in 1408. The manufacture of fighter airplanes has become the city's most important industry. Other industries

Lennox, Charlotte

2005-01-29T21:07:00.000-08:00

Charlotte Ramsay was the daughter of a British army officer who was said to have been lieutenant governor of the colony of New York.

Ann Arbor

2005-01-29T18:43:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1827) of Washtenaw county, southeastern Michigan, U.S., on the Huron River. John Allen and Elisha W. Rumsey founded the community in 1824, which they named for their wives (both called Ann) and the local natural groves, or arbors. The settlement developed as an agricultural trading centre after the arrival in 1839 of the Michigan Central Railroad, which connected it with Detroit

Chasles, Michel

2005-01-29T00:23:00.000-08:00

French mathematician who, independently of the Swiss German mathematician Jakob Steiner, elaborated on the theory of modern projective geometry, the study of the properties of a geometric line or other plane figure that remain unchanged when the figure is projected onto a plane from a point not on either the plane or the

Oannes

2005-01-28T17:26:00.000-08:00

In Mesopotamian mythology, an amphibious being who taught mankind wisdom. Oannes, as described by the Babylonian priest Berosus, had the form of a fish but with the head of a man under his fish's head and under his fish's tail the feet of a man. In the daytime he came up to the seashore of the Persian Gulf and instructed mankind in writing, the arts, and the sciences. Oannes was

Aras River

2005-01-27T14:48:00.000-08:00

Armenian Araks, Persian Rud-e Aras, Turkish Aras Nehri, Greek Araxes river rising south of Erzurum in the Bingöl Daglari (mountains) of Turkey; it flows eastward, forming for approximately 275 miles (440 km) the international boundary between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the north and Turkey and Iran on the south. Below the eastern boundary of Armenia, the stream emerges into a broad valley and then crosses the Mugan Steppe. After a course of about

Brân

2005-01-27T06:12:00.000-08:00

(Celtic: “Raven”), gigantic Celtic deity who figured in the Mabinogion (a collection of medieval Welsh tales) as “crowned king over this Island” (i.e., Britain). Because of his stature, he and his court had to live in a tent, as no house had ever been built large enough to contain him. The most important aspect of Brân's myth concerned his wondrous severed head. The ancient Celts worshiped

Jourdan, Jean-baptiste, Count

2005-01-26T17:01:00.000-08:00

After being a soldier in King Louis XVI's army and serving in the West Indies (1778–84), Jourdan retired and became a draper in Limoges. He supported the Revolution, however; and, having been elected

Haldi

2005-01-26T16:43:00.000-08:00

The national god of the ancient kingdom of Urartu, which ruled the plateau around Lake Van, now eastern Turkey, from about 900 to about 600 BC. Haldi was represented as a man, with or without wings, standing on a lion; in the absence of religious texts his attributes are otherwise unknown. A Urartian temple at ancient Musasir dedicated to Haldi and to the goddess Bagbartu, or Bagmashtu,

Busnois, Antoine

2005-01-25T16:21:00.000-08:00

Busnois entered the service of Charles the Bold (later duke of Burgundy) as a singer sometime before 1467. He traveled with Charles on his various campaigns, and after Charles's death in 1477, he remained a

Pabst, G.w.

2005-01-25T00:37:00.000-08:00

In full Georg Wilhelm Pabst German film director whose films were among the most artistically successful of the 1920s. Pabst's films are marked by social and political concerns, deep psychological insight, memorable female protagonists, and human conflicts with culture and society. He is also noted for

Ring-necked Duck

2005-01-24T19:40:00.000-08:00

(species Aythya collaris), diving duck (family Anatidae), a popular game bird that is considered excellent table fare. The ring-necked duck is about 43 cm (17 inches) long. The male has a purplish black, iridescent head, a black back, and gray sides with a vertical wedge-shaped white patch in front of the wing. The female is brown with a white eye ring. Both sexes have an inconspicuous

Bantock, Sir Granville

2005-01-23T16:41:00.000-08:00

After preparing for the Indian civil service, Bantock studied at Trinity College of Music, London, and the Royal Academy of Music, London. He was active as a conductor, founded and edited the New Quarterly Music Review (1893–96), and succeeded Sir Edward Elgar as professor

Disciples Of Christ

2005-01-23T15:55:00.000-08:00

The Churches of Christ emphasize rigorous adherence to the New Testament as the model for Christian faith, practice, and fellowship. They

Cineas

2005-01-22T21:32:00.000-08:00

Thessalian who served as chief adviser to Pyrrhus, king of Epirus in Greece. In 281 Cineas attempted, without success, to dissuade Pyrrhus from invading Italy. After Pyrrhus defeated the Romans at Heraclea in Lucania (280), Cineas was sent to Rome to negotiate a peace. According to the 2nd-century-AD Greek historian Appian, he demanded that the Romans halt their aggression

Algeria, Mining

2005-01-22T17:57:00.000-08:00

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