IllLibrary

Requesens Y Zúñiga, Luis De

2005-04-04T15:38:00.000-07:00

Requesens's early career was as a government official

Biblical Literature, Rule by the Herods

2005-04-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

The Herods who followed were under the control of Rome. Herod the Great, son of Antipater of Idumaea, was made king of Judaea, having sided with Rome, and he ruled with Roman favour (37–4 BC). Though he was a good statesman and architect, he was hated by the Jews as a foreigner and semi-Jew. Jesus was born a few years before the end of his reign, and “the slaughter of the innocents,” young children

Uzaemon Xvii, Ichimura

2005-03-31T01:10:00.000-08:00

Japanese actor (b. 1916, Tokyo, Japan—d. July 8, 2001, Tokyo), was one of the greatest tachiyaku (male-role) actors in Japan's traditional kabuki theatre. Ichimura was the nephew of Kikugoro Onoe VI, one of the foremost interpreters of kabuki plays. After debuting at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo at the age of five, Ichimura went on to star in numerous dramas, one of the most memorable of which

Anouk Aimée

2005-03-29T15:20:00.000-08:00

The daughter of an actor and actress, Anouk Aimée made her first film appearance at the age of 14 in La Maison sous la mer (1946; “The House on the Sea”). After making an impression as a Juliet figure in the 1948 film Les Amants de Vérone (The Lovers of Verona), a role written especially for

Raddall, Thomas Head

2005-03-27T06:24:00.000-08:00

Raddall immigrated to Nova Scotia with his family in 1913 after his father, a military officer, was transferred to Halifax. The younger Raddall was briefly employed as a wireless operator before becoming

Encomienda

2005-03-25T03:12:00.000-08:00

In colonial Spanish America, legal system by which the Spanish crown attempted to define the status of the Indian population in its American colonies. It was based upon the practice of exacting tribute from Muslims and Jews during the Reconquista (“Reconquest”) of Muslim Spain. Although the original intent of the encomienda was to reduce the abuses of forced labour

Kochowski, Wespazjan

2005-03-23T01:37:00.000-08:00

During his years in military service (1650–61), Kochowski fought against the Cossacks and the Swedes. He later became court historian for King John III Sobieski and was present at Sobieski's victory over the Turks at Vienna in 1683. Kochowski developed a deep sense of patriotism, which

Ogooué River

2005-03-22T02:55:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ogowe, stream of west-central Africa, flowing in Gabon for almost its entire course and draining an area of almost 86,000 square miles (222,700 square km). It rises in Congo (Brazzaville) on the eastern slopes of the Massif du Chaillu and flows northwest through Gabon past Franceville and Lastoursville; it then turns west and southwest past Booué, Ndjolé, and Lambaréné, collecting water from

Córdoba

2005-03-21T06:30:00.000-08:00

City, west-central Veracruz estado (“state”), east-central Mexico. It lies at 3,031 feet (924 m) above sea level along the San Antonio River, within sight of the dormant volcano Citlaltépetl. The settlement was founded in 1618 as Villa de Córdoba and was host to the signing of the Treaty of Córdoba on Aug. 24, 1821, giving Mexico its independence from Spain. The city is set in a tropical landscape and

Zamoyski, Jan

2005-03-19T21:36:00.000-08:00

Educated in France and Italy, he returned to Poland in 1565 and was appointed secretary to King Sigismund II. After Sigismund's death (1572), he became one of the best-liked

Priesthood, Ancient Greece and Rome

2005-03-19T02:01:00.000-08:00

The ancient Greeks were devoid of hierarchical institutions composed of men and women through whom the gods were approached, though priests and priestesses could be found in many places engaging in specific sacerdotal functions and ritual acts. Some of them attained considerable social and civic prestige and importance and were attached to particular temples

Airplane, Aerodynamics

2005-03-18T17:54:00.000-08:00

An aircraft in straight-and-level unaccelerated flight has four forces acting on it. (In turning, diving, or climbing flight, additional forces come into play.) These forces are lift, an upward-acting force; drag, a retarding force of the resistance to lift and to the friction of the aircraft moving through the air; weight, the downward effect that gravity has on the aircraft;

Coster, Charles De

2005-03-18T05:13:00.000-08:00

De Coster lived most of his life in poverty and obscurity and took 10 years to write his masterpiece, La Légende et les aventures héroïques, joyeuses, et glorieuses d'Ulenspiegel

Kirkpatrick, Jeane

2005-03-16T04:53:00.000-08:00

Kirkpatrick took an associate's degree from Stephens College, Columbia, Missouri (1946), a bachelor's from Barnard College, New York City, and a master's and doctorate from Columbia University, New York City (1950 and 1968, respectively).

Halang Language

2005-03-15T03:50:00.000-08:00

Also called Haleng, Alang, Koyong, or Selong, language spoken chiefly in the central highlands of south-central Vietnam near Kon Tum. The number of speakers in Vietnam is estimated at some 10,000. Halang is a member of the North Bahnaric subbranch of the Mon-Khmer language family, which is a part of the Austroasiatic stock. Other North Bahnaric languages spoken in the region are Sedang, Rengao, Kayong, Monom, and Jeh.

South Africa

2005-03-14T23:24:00.000-08:00

Officially Republic of South Africa, formerly Union of South Africa, the southernmost country on the African continent. It has an area of 470,693 square miles (1,219,090 square kilometres). It measures almost 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) from north to south, as well as from east to west. South Africa is bordered by Namibia to the northwest, by Botswana and Zimbabwe to the north, and by Mozambique and Swaziland to the northeast and east. Lesotho, an independent constitutional

Chares

2005-03-13T06:51:00.000-08:00

In 357 BC Chares regained for Athens the Thracian Chersonese from the Thracian king Cersobleptes. During the Social War (Athens against her allies, 357–355), he commanded the Athenian forces; in 356 he was joined by Iphicrates and Timotheus with reinforcements. Having blamed the subsequent defeat on his colleagues, Chares was

Anticholinesterase

2005-03-12T02:28:00.000-08:00

Any of several drugs that prevent destruction of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine by the enzyme acetylcholinesterase within the nervous system. Acetylcholine acts to transmit nerve impulses within the parasympathetic nervous system—i.e., that part of the autonomic nervous system that tends to induce secretion, to contract smooth muscles, and to dilate

Madinat Ash-sha'b

2005-03-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

Town, southern Yemen, former administrative capital of Yemen (Aden). The town is located on the Little Aden Peninsula on the western side of At-Tawahi Bay (Aden Harbour), across from Aden city. Founded in 1959 as Al-Ittihad (Arabic: “Unity”), it was at first the capital of the Protectorate of South Arabia under British rule. It was renamed after Yemen (Aden) was founded in 1967. Pop. (latest est.) 20,000.

Leveler

2005-03-10T23:34:00.000-08:00

The Leveler movement originated in 1645–46 among radical supporters of Parliament in and around London. The Civil War had been waged in the name

Bradley, Joseph P.

2005-03-10T20:47:00.000-08:00

Associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1870. Bradley was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Electoral Commission of 1877, and his vote elected Rutherford B. Hayes president of the United States. As a justice he emphasized the power of the federal government to regulate commerce. His decisions reflecting this view, rendered during

Far Eastern Economic Review

2005-03-08T01:02:00.000-08:00

Former weekly news magazine covering general, political, and business and financial news of East and Southeast Asia. It was published in Hong Kong, where it was established in 1946. The magazine carried feature articles on the major developments in the region and on outside developments that affected it. The Far Eastern Economic Review was noted for its objectivity

Kocu Bey

2005-03-07T14:30:00.000-08:00

In full Kuricali Kocu Mustafa Bey, Kuricali also spelled Göriceli, Kocu also spelled Koci Turkish minister and reformer, a notable early observer of the Ottoman decline. Originally from Albania, Kocu Bey was sent to Constantinople, where he was educated in the Imperial Palace. He later entered the service of a number of Ottoman sultans, finding particular favour with Murad IV (1623–40) and Ibrahim I (1640–48), whose adviser he became.

Cambridge

2005-03-06T03:07:00.000-08:00

City (district), administrative and historic county of Cambridgeshire, England, home of the internationally known University of Cambridge. The city lies immediately south of the fen country (a flat alluvial region only slightly above sea level) and is itself only 20 to 80 feet (6 to 24 metres) above sea level. Most of the city is built on the east bank of the River Cam, a tributary

Schenker, Heinrich

2005-03-05T01:46:00.000-08:00

Austrian music theorist whose insights into the structural hierarchies underlying much of 18th- and 19th-century music led to a new understanding of the laws of melodic and harmonic construction and form. Schenker was not well known in his time; he worked as a private teacher in Austria. He studied composition with Anton Bruckner

Artiodactyl, Modifications of the skin

2005-03-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

Pigs are covered with rather sparse, coarse hairs, and peccaries with a denser coat of coarse hairs. Except for those of the warthog and the babirusa (Babyrousa babirussa), piglets have longitudinal stripes or flecks. Hippopotamuses are naked. Tragulids have light-coloured flecks and stripes in their fur. The coats of camelids and deer are much thicker in species living

Acta

2005-03-03T04:29:00.000-08:00

The Acta Senatus, or Commentarii Senatus, were the minutes of the proceedings of the Senate. The emperor Augustus continued to keep them but forbade their publication. From the reign of his successor, Tiberius, in the

General Staff

2005-03-02T11:16:00.000-08:00

In the military, a group of officers that assists the commander of a division or larger unit by formulating and disseminating his policies, transmitting his orders, and overseeing their execution. Normally a general staff is organized along functional lines, with separate sections for administration, intelligence, operations, training, logistics, and other categories.

Yezhov, Nikolay Ivanovich

2005-03-02T07:08:00.000-08:00

Nothing is known of his early life (he was nicknamed the “Dwarf” because he was but five feet tall and lame). Joining the Communist Party in March

Anthony, Susan B.

2005-02-27T19:11:00.000-08:00

Anthony was reared in the Quaker tradition in a home pervaded by a tone of independence

Earth, Structure and composition of the solid Earth

2005-02-27T05:59:00.000-08:00

David G. Smith (ed.), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences (1981), is a highly readable, illustrated collection of articles on the Earth's surface and interior. Two collections of articles from Scientific American are The Dynamic Earth (1983), on the geologic processes occurring inside and around the planet; and Robert Decker and Barbara Decker (eds.), Volcanoes and the Earth's Interior (1982), on volcanoes and the rocks occurring in the mantle. Minoru Ozima, The Earth: Its Birth and Growth (1981; originally published in Japanese, 1979), gives a general account of the evolution of the Earth based on geochemical research. Martin H.P. Bott, Interior of the Earth: Its Structure, Constitution, and Evolution, 2nd ed. (1982), provides a thorough summary of the nature of the Earth's interior. Two works with a more technical slant are Jean-Claude De Bremaecker, Geophysics, the Earth's Interior (1985), an introductory textbook; and Donald L. Turcotte and Gerald Schubert, Geodynamics: Applications of Continuum Physics to Geological Problems (1982), a mathematical text on processes occurring within the Earth. See also G.C. Brown and A.E. Mussett, The Inaccessible Earth (1981), on both geophysics and geochemistry.

Alba, Fernando álvarez De Toledo Y Pimentel, 3er Duque De

2005-02-26T18:45:00.000-08:00

Alba was born into a rich family

San Bernardino Mountains

2005-02-25T10:37:00.000-08:00

Segment of the Pacific Coast Ranges, extending southeastward for 55 mi (90 km) from Cajon Pass to San Gorgonio Pass in southern California, U.S. The two main peaks, San Bernardino (10,630 ft [3,240 m]) and San Gorgonio (11,502 ft; highest point in southern California), lie east of the city of San Bernardino. Much of the range is embraced by a division of the San Bernardino National Forest, where the main

Judaism, Creativity

2005-02-24T14:53:00.000-08:00

As has been noted, this “creed,” or “confession of faith,” underscores in the first benediction the relation of God to the world as that of Creator to creation. “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who forms light and creates darkness, who makes peace and creates all things.” It adds the assertion that his activity is not in the past but is ongoing and continuous,

Gir Range

2005-02-23T20:54:00.000-08:00

Low mountain range in western Gujarat state, west-central India, on the southern Kathiawar Peninsula. The range is extremely rugged with a steep slope seaward to the south and a gradual slope inland to the north. From it to the north runs a low, narrow, dissected range rising to Gorakhnath (3,665 feet [1,117 m], believed to be an extinct volcano) in the broad mass of the Girnar Hills. The Gir Range

Clock

2005-02-22T17:18:00.000-08:00

The origin of the all-mechanical escapement clock is unknown; the first such devices may have been invented and used in monasteries to alert the sacristan

Grabbe, Christian Dietrich

2005-02-22T03:57:00.000-08:00

Grabbe studied law in Leipzig and made unsuccessful attempts at acting and directing in Berlin. After quarrelling with the poet Heinrich Heine and members of Young Germany (a politically radical literary movement) and failing in attempts to get

Wolcott, Oliver

2005-02-20T09:19:00.000-08:00

Descended from an old Connecticut family long active in public affairs, he was the son of Roger Wolcott, who was the colonial governor in 1750–54. Settling in Litchfield county, where he practiced law and was

Allspice

2005-02-19T01:17:00.000-08:00

Tropical evergreen tree (Pimenta diocia, formerly P. officinalis) of the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), native to the West Indies and Central America and valued for its berries, the source of a highly aromatic spice. Allspice was so named because the flavour of the dried berry resembles a combination of cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It is widely used in baking

Mott, Sir Nevill Francis

2005-02-17T04:55:00.000-08:00

British physicist (b. Sept. 30, 1905, Leeds, Eng.--d. Aug. 8, 1996, Milton Keynes, Eng.), shared the 1977 Nobel Prize for Physics with Philip Anderson and John Van Vleck for research into the electronic properties of noncrystalline, or amorphous, solids. This work showed that amorphous materials, which are easier and less expensive to manufacture than crystalline substances, could be used in such

Riverina

2005-02-17T02:42:00.000-08:00

Predominantly rural region, south-central New South Wales, Australia. Occupying 26,509 square miles (68,658 square km), it is bounded on the north and northwest by the Lachlan and Murrumbidgee rivers, on the south by the Murray River, and on the east by an imaginary line connecting the towns of Condobolin, Junee, and Albury. Most of the Riverina comprises level alluvial plains laced

Earth Sciences, Desalinization, tidal power, and minerals from the sea

2005-02-16T13:53:00.000-08:00

For ages a source of food and common salt, the sea is increasingly becoming a source of water, chemicals, and energy. In 1967 Key West, Fla., became the first U.S. city to be supplied solely by water from the sea, drawing its supplies from a plant that produces more than 2,000,000 gallons of refined water daily. Magnesia was extracted from the Mediterranean in the late 19th century; at present

Boteti River

2005-02-15T21:15:00.000-08:00

Formerly Botletle River, river of Botswana. It emerges near Maun and the Thamakalane River, developing from the outflow of the Okavango Delta, Botswana. It flows in a southeasterly direction to Lake Xau (Dow), then north to enter the Makgadikgadi Pans after a course of 190 miles (305 km).

Pugachov, Yemelyan Ivanovich

2005-02-14T15:41:00.000-08:00

An illiterate Don Cossack, Pugachov fought in the Russian Army in the final battles of the Seven Years' War (1756–63), in Russia's campaign in Poland (1764), and in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–74. Following the siege and conquest of Bendery (1769–70), however, he returned

Re

2005-02-13T07:15:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ra, or Phra, in ancient Egyptian religion, god of the sun and creator god. He was believed to travel across the sky in his solar bark and, during the night, to make his passage in another bark through the underworld, where, in order to be born again for the new day, he had to vanquish the evil serpent Apopis (Apepi). As the creator, he rose from the ocean of chaos on the primeval hill, creating

Mark

2005-02-12T19:25:00.000-08:00

Former German monetary unit. In the 19th century the mark was a common small coin in the German states, but its value varied between states. In 1873, soon after the creation of the German empire, the gold mark, equal to 100 pfennigs, was adopted as the standard of value and the money of account for the empire. In 1948 the deutsche mark (DM; “German mark”) was introduced in West Germany, and in 1990 it

Kyrgyzstan, Plant and animal life

2005-02-11T02:27:00.000-08:00

Woodlands run along the lower valleys and on slopes of the north-facing ranges. These are coniferous forests, containing the striking Tien Shan white spruce and occupying 3 to 4 percent of the country's area. The brown bear, wild pig, lynx, gray wolf, and ermine live in the woodlands. Wooded ravines and the valleys of the mountainous steppe regions provide the abode of the

Dehon, Léon-gustave

2005-02-10T06:42:00.000-08:00

Educated at the Sorbonne, Dehon was ordained priest in 1868 at Rome. After attending the first Vatican Council

Maine De Biran, Marie-françois-pierre

2005-02-09T03:01:00.000-08:00

After defending King Louis XVI at

France, History Of, Urban prosperity

2005-02-08T23:34:00.000-08:00

Town life continued to flourish. A few places, favoured by political and ecclesiastical as well as by economic circumstances, grew far larger than the rest. Paris could probably count more than 100,000 inhabitants by the late 13th century, possibly many more than that; some great provincial centres—e.g., Toulouse, Bordeaux, Arras, Rouen—may have surpassed 25,000, but most of the older cities

Aging

2005-02-08T11:43:00.000-08:00

Aging has many facets. Hence there are a number of theories, each of which many explain one or more aspects of aging; there is, however, no single theory that explains all of the phenomena of aging.

Biblical Literature, Overview

2005-02-06T07:25:00.000-08:00

The Ketuvim (the Writings or the Hagiographa), the third division of the Hebrew Bible, comprises a miscellaneous collection of sacred writings that were not classified in either the Torah or the Prophets. The collection is not a unified whole: it includes liturgical poetry (Psalms and Lamentations of Jeremiah), secular love poetry (Song of Solomon), wisdom literature

Alternation Of Generations

2005-02-05T19:01:00.000-08:00

In algae, fungi, mosses, ferns, and seed plants, alternation of generations is common; it is not always easy to observe, however, since one or the other of the generations is often

Cosmas And Damian, Saints

2005-02-03T09:27:00.000-08:00

According to Christian tradition, Cosmas and Damian were educated in Syria and became distinguished

Culture Area

2005-02-03T02:29:00.000-08:00

Among the most important writers on the subject of culture areas were Sir Halford Mackinder

Zach, Franz Xaver, Freiherr Von

2005-02-01T21:40:00.000-08:00

Zach built an observatory on the Seeberg near Gotha and directed the observatory—one of the most important of the time—from 1791, when it was completed, until 1806. During this period Zach enlisted 24 astronomers throughout Europe in making a systematic

Melanin

2005-02-01T16:57:00.000-08:00

A dark biological pigment (biochrome) found in skin, hair, feathers, scales, eyes, and some internal membranes; it is also found in the peritoneum of many animals (e.g., frogs), but its role there is not understood. Formed as an end product during metabolism of the amino acid tyrosine, melanins are conspicuous in dark skin moles of humans; in the black dermal melanocytes (pigment

Nordjylland

2005-01-30T22:52:00.000-08:00

Amtskommune (county commune), northern Jutland, Denmark, created in 1970 from the former counties of Ålborg and Hjørring, with an area of 2,383 square miles (6,173 square km). It comprises most of the Himmerland region between Mariager Fjord and Lim Fjord and extends to the northernmost tip of the Jutland peninsula at Skagen. It has soil of generally poor quality with large areas of moorland

Moses, Edwin

2005-01-30T14:24:00.000-08:00

Moses competed in cross-country, track, and gridiron football in high school and studied physics at Morehouse College (B.S., 1978) in Atlanta, Georgia. There he first ran the 400-metre race and the 120-yard high hurdles but began running

Alliluyeva, Svetlana

2005-01-29T16:14:00.000-08:00

Alliluyeva was Stalin's only daughter and a product of his second marriage with Nadezhda Alliluyeva, who committed suicide in 1932. Alliluyeva graduated from Moscow University (1949), where she taught Soviet literature and

Mauchline

2005-01-28T16:29:00.000-08:00

Village, situated near the River Ayr in East Ayrshire council area, historic county of Ayrshire, Scotland, and closely associated with the Scottish national poet, Robert Burns. It is the site of the Burns National Memorial. Mauchline has many links with the poet, who lived with his brother Gilbert at nearby Mossgiel from 1784 to 1788. In Castle Street stands a house, now a museum,

Cartilage

2005-01-27T20:18:00.000-08:00

Dense connective tissue forming the skeleton of mammalian embryos before bone formation begins and persisting in parts of the human skeleton into adulthood. Cartilage is the only component of the skeletons of certain primitive vertebrates, including lampreys and sharks. It is composed of a dense network of collagen fibres embedded in a firm, gelatinous ground

Arnauld Family

2005-01-27T05:31:00.000-08:00

The

Salam, Abdus

2005-01-24T11:39:00.000-08:00

Salam attended the Government College at

Babirusa

2005-01-24T09:39:00.000-08:00

The stout-bodied, short-tailed babirusa stands 65–80 cm (25–30 inches) at the shoulder. It has a rough, grayish hide and is almost hairless. Its most notable feature is the exaggerated development of the upper and lower canine teeth, or tusks, of

Cohen, Albert

2005-01-22T22:55:00.000-08:00

From 1900 Cohen was reared in Marseilles, France. He studied law in Geneva, became a Swiss citizen, and began a career as a writer and as a civil servant, notably with the International Labour Organisation

Nagaland

2005-01-22T17:09:00.000-08:00

State of India. It lies in the hills and mountains of the northeastern part of the country. One of the smallest states of India, it has a total area of just 6,401 square miles (16,579 square kilometres). It is bordered by the states of Manipur on the south, Assam on the west and northwest, and Arunachal Pradesh on the northeast. Myanmar (Burma) lies to the east. The capital is Kohima.

Siamese Fighting Fish

2005-01-21T18:54:00.000-08:00

(Betta splendens), freshwater tropical fish of the family Belontiidae (classified by some authorities as Anabantidae; order Perciformes), noted for the pugnacity of the males toward one another. The Siamese fighting fish, a native of Thailand, was domesticated there for use in contests. Combat consists mainly of fin nipping and is accompanied by a display of extended

Judaism, The making of the Kabbala (c. 11501250)

2005-01-20T20:56:00.000-08:00

It was in these circumstances that, starting around 1150, manifestations of markedly theosophic ideologies appeared in the south of present-day France (in the regions of Provence–Languedoc–Roussillon). Two types can be distinguished at the outset, which are very different as to their manner of appearance, their form, and their content.

China, Temperature

2005-01-19T13:59:00.000-08:00

Temperatures generally decrease from south to north. The mean annual temperature is above 68 °F (20 °C) in the Pearl River Valley. It decreases to between 59 and 68 °F (15 and 20 °C) in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze, to about 50 °F (10 °C) in North China and the southern part of Sinkiang, and to 41 °F (5 °C) in the southern area of the Northeast, the northern part of Sinkiang, and places near the Great Wall.

Nagorno-karabakh

2005-01-19T05:31:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Nagorno-karabach, region of southwestern Azerbaijan. It occupies an area of 1,700 square miles (4,400 square km) on the northeastern flank of the Karabakh Range of the Lesser Caucasus and extends from the crest line of the range to the margin of the Kura River lowland at its foot. Nagorno-Karabakh's environments vary from steppe on the Kura lowland through dense forest of oak, hornbeam, and beech

Sandeau, Léonard-sylvain-julien

2005-01-17T14:59:00.000-08:00

As a young man, Sandeau became the lover of Amandine-Aurore-Lucie Dudevant (later known as George Sand) and worked with her on the novel Rose et Blanche (1831; “Red and White”), which was published under the pseudonym Jules Sand. At the end of 1832, she broke off the

Galba

2005-01-17T14:50:00.000-08:00

Galba was the son of the consul Gaius Sulpicius Galba and Mummia Achaica, and in addition to great wealth and ancient lineage he enjoyed the favour of the emperors Augustus and Tiberius. He began his senatorial career before

Paulician

2005-01-15T09:23:00.000-08:00

The fundamental

Sail

2005-01-15T00:16:00.000-08:00

The first sails were most likely animal skins that were used to harness wind power for rafts or boats consisting of a single log. The next probable step was the use of woven reed mats stretched between poles. Depictions of cloth sails appear in predynastic (c. 3300 BC) Egyptian art, and

Wycombe

2005-01-12T14:40:00.000-08:00

District, administrative and historic county of Buckinghamshire, England, in the southern part of the wooded Chiltern Hills. The River Thames forms its southern boundary. The predominantly rural district overlaps the designated Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Prehistoric burial mounds and earthworks are visible. Towns include High Wycombe,

Offa's Dyke

2005-01-12T09:06:00.000-08:00

Great English earthwork extending linearly, with some gaps, from the River Severn near Chepstow to the seaward end of the Dee estuary, passing for 169 miles (270 kilometres) through the counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Radnorshire, Montgomeryshire, Shropshire, Denbighshire, and Flintshire. It was built at the orders of Offa, the great Mercian king of the second

Chelcický, Peter

2005-01-11T00:31:00.000-08:00

A member of the south Bohemian gentry, Chelcický was much influenced by the thought of the English heretic John Wycliffe and the martyred Czech Reformer Jan Hus. An early recruit to the radical wing of the

Sabbath

2005-01-09T00:40:00.000-08:00

The sacredness of the Sabbath has served to unite Jews during the long course of their history and has been for them a joyous

Pacific Ocean, Temperature

2005-01-08T01:30:00.000-08:00

The surface zone, where temperature variations are perceptible, is between 300 and 1,000 feet thick. It is more compressed in the temperate Eastern Pacific, along the coasts of North and Central America,

Gnateater

2005-01-07T07:28:00.000-08:00

Any of certain bird species (genus Conopophaga) usually classified with the antbirds. See antbird; antpipit.

Wangaratta

2005-01-06T20:35:00.000-08:00

City, northern Victoria, Australia. It lies at the confluence of the Ovens and King rivers, northeast of Melbourne. The site was first settled in 1837 by a sheepherder, George Faithfull, and was proclaimed a town in 1845. Its name is derived from an Aboriginal term meaning either “meeting of the rivers” or “home of the cormorants.” The city is a junction of the Hume and Ovens highways

Ufa Plateau

2005-01-05T07:45:00.000-08:00

Russian Ufimskoye Plato, plateau lying immediately to the west of the central Ural Mountains in Bashkortostan and in Sverdlovsk oblast (province), west-central Russia. The plateau embraces parts of the basins of the Ufa, Yuryuzan, and Ay rivers. It has a total north-south length of 95 miles (150 km). The plateau varies in elevation from 1,300 to 1,650 feet (400 to 500 m), reaching its highest point at 2,270 feet. It is a gentle anticline

Madero, Francisco (indalécio)

2005-01-05T02:46:00.000-08:00

The son of a wealthy landowning

Reproductive System, Animal, Sponges, coelenterates, flatworms, and aschelminths

2005-01-03T15:54:00.000-08:00

Sponges are at a cellular level of organization and thus do not have organs or even well-developed tissues; nevertheless, they produce sperm and eggs and also reproduce asexually. Some species of sponge are monoecious, others are dioecious. Sperm and eggs are formed by aggregations of cells called amoebocytes in the body wall; these are not considered gonads because

Hachioji

2005-01-02T16:26:00.000-08:00

After

Hand Tool, Ax and adz

2005-01-01T20:37:00.000-08:00

The ax and adz are similar enough to be considered together. This is especially the case with ancient tools that were small and ineffective because they were made of brittle stone or had unsatisfactory hafting. The difference between the tools lies in the relation of the cutting edge to the handle. In the ax the cutting edge and handle are parallel, whereas in the adz

Lockyer, Sir Joseph Norman

2004-12-31T03:42:00.000-08:00

Lockyer became a clerk in the War Office in 1857, but his interest in astronomy eventually led to a career in that field. He initiated in 1866 the spectroscopic observation of sunspots, and in 1868 he found that solar

Raccoon Dog

2004-12-30T07:31:00.000-08:00

(Nyctereutes procyonoides), member of the dog family (Canidae) native to eastern Asia and introduced into Europe. Some authorities place it in the raccoon family, Procyonidae. It resembles the raccoon in having dark facial markings that contrast with its yellowish brown coat, but it does not have a ringed tail. It has short, brown or blackish limbs, a heavy body, and rounded

Colebrook, Leonard

2004-12-30T04:46:00.000-08:00

Colebrook joined researcher Almroth Wright in 1907 at St. Mary's Hospital. In 1926 Colebrook became interested

Glassware, Venice and the façon de Venise

2004-12-28T00:51:00.000-08:00

A glass industry was already established near Venice in the 7th century, and vessel glass was made there by the last quarter of the 10th century. In 1291 the glass furnaces were removed to the neighbouring island of Murano to remove the risk of fire from the city. Although Venice had constant contact with the East, there is no evidence that it was indebted to that source for its

Cohen, Paul Joseph

2004-12-27T08:13:00.000-08:00

Cohen attended the University of Chicago (M.S., 1954; Ph.D., 1958). He held appointments at the University of Rochester, N.Y. (1957–58), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1958–59) before joining the Institute

Tectonics

2004-12-25T04:20:00.000-08:00

Scientific study of the deformation of the rocks that make up the Earth's crust and the forces that produce such deformation. It deals with the folding and faulting associated with mountain building; the large-scale, gradual upward and downward movements of the crust (epeirogenic movements); and sudden horizontal displacements along faults. Other phenomena studied

Sohyo

2004-12-24T00:04:00.000-08:00

In full Nihon Rodo Kumiai So Hyogikai , English General Council of Trade Unions trade-union federation that was the largest in Japan. Sohyo was founded in 1950 as a democratic trade-union movement in opposition to the communist leadership of its predecessor organization. It rapidly became the most powerful labour organization in postwar Japan and formed close ties with the Japan Socialist Party. The major affiliates of Sohyo included unions of government

Kennelly, Arthur Edwin

2004-12-21T09:54:00.000-08:00

After working as an office boy for a London engineering society, as an electrician, and on a cable-engineering ship, in 1887 Kennelly joined Thomas Edison's

Piceni

2004-12-21T00:25:00.000-08:00

English Picenes Early Iron Age inhabitants of the Adriatic coast of Italy from Rimini to the Sangro River. Men and women dressed in wool; men wore armour, weapons, and ornaments of bronze or iron; women had numerous fibulae, torques, bracelets, girdles, and ornamental pendants. They had two main centres, one at Novilara in the north, and another around Belmonte and Fermo farther south. The

Cramlington

2004-12-20T02:25:00.000-08:00

Town, Blyth Valley borough, administrative and historic county of Northumberland. It lies north-northeast of Newcastle upon Tyne on the northern edge of the Tyne and Wear (Tyneside) metropolitan area. Cramlington is a new town developed to provide alternative, diversified employment in a former coal-mining area. Nearby is the noted country house Seaton Delaval

Dieback

2004-12-19T07:00:00.000-08:00

Common symptom or name of disease, especially of woody plants, characterized by progressive death of twigs, branches, shoots, or roots, starting at the tips. Staghead is a slow dieback of the upper branches of a tree; the dead, leafless limbs superficially resemble a stag's head. Dieback and staghead are caused by many fungi and a few bacteria that produce cankers, anthracnose,

Sundew

2004-12-17T14:11:00.000-08:00

Any plant of the family Droseraceae (order Nepenthales), which contains four genera (Aldrovanda, Dionaea, Drosera, and Drosophyllum) and about 100 annual and perennial species of flowering plants notable for their ability to trap insects. They are widely distributed in tropical and temperate regions. One of the best-known sundews is the Venus's-flytrap

Skiing

2004-12-17T00:13:00.000-08:00

The 15th Nordic World Cup overall title for men's cross-country racing was clinched by Vladimir Smirnov of Kazakhstan, the previous season's runner-up. Defending champion Bjørn Dæhlie of Norway was second, and Jari Isometsae of Finland placed third. The women's crown was won by Manuela Di Centa of Italy, followed by two Russians, Lyubov Yegorova (see BIOGRAPHIES) and Yelena