WhitesilverButton

Eusden, Laurence

2005-04-05T05:56:00.000-07:00

British poet who, by flattering the Duke of Newcastle, was made poet laureate in 1718. He became rector of Coningsby and held the laureateship until his death. Alexander Pope satirized him frequently and derisively.

Jack The Ripper

2005-04-05T02:10:00.000-07:00

Works examining the Jack the Ripper case include Maxim Jakubowski and Nathan Braund (eds.), The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper (1999); Stewart P. Evans and Keith Skinner, The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Companion: An Illustrated Encyclopedia (also published as The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 2000); Stewart P. Evans and Paul Gainey, The Lodger: The Arrest and Escape of Jack the Ripper (1995; also published as Jack the Ripper: First American Serial Killer, 1996, reissued 1998); and Philip Sugden, The Complete History of Jack the Ripper, rev. ed. (1995).

Cohen, Albert

2005-04-03T14:37:00.000-07:00

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

Stone Age, Ax factories and flint mines

2005-04-03T03:20:00.000-07:00

Celts, or axes, were manufactured in factories where specially suitable rock outcrops occurred, and they were traded over great distances. Products of the factories at Graig Lwyd, Penmaenmawr, North Wales, were transported to Wiltshire and Anglesey, those of Tievebulliagh on the Antrim coast to Limerick, Kent, Aberdeen, and the Hebrides. Similarly, large nodules of

Cozens, John Robert

2005-04-02T18:26:00.000-08:00

The son of the watercolourist Alexander Cozens, John began to exhibit drawings with the Society of Artists in 1767. The two long visits he paid to the Continent, 1776–79 and 1782–83, were the formative and decisive events in his career. On the first

Jerne, Niels K.

2005-04-01T07:17:00.000-08:00

Jerne was born of Danish parents and grew up in The Netherlands. After studying physics for two years at the University of Leiden,

Jacobsen, Arne

2005-03-31T19:48:00.000-08:00

Jacobsen received his diploma in 1928 from the Copenhagen Academy

Farlow, William Gilson

2005-03-31T08:37:00.000-08:00

After receiving the M.D. degree from Harvard University (1870), Farlow studied in Europe until 1874, when he became professor of cryptogamic botany (the study of flowerless and seedless plants)

Cellarette

2005-03-30T14:59:00.000-08:00

Small, movable wine cooler and, later, also a deep, metal-lined tray with compartments for holding bottles in a sideboard. The term was first used by 18th-century cabinetmakers. Most movable cellarettes were made of mahogany, and designs were varied, the shape governed to some degree by the shapes of wine bottles. Early wine bottles were short and squat, but in the late 18th

China, Pei (Northern) Sung (9601127)

2005-03-29T09:50:00.000-08:00

The Pei Sung (also known simply as the Sung) was the last major Chinese dynasty to be founded by a coup d'état. Its founder, Chao K'uang-yin (known by his temple name, T'ai-tsu), the commander of the capital area of K'ai-feng and inspector general of the Imperial forces, usurped the throne from the Hou Chou, the last of the Wu-tai.

Scabies

2005-03-29T03:57:00.000-08:00

The female mite, which attains a length of about 0.35 mm (0.014 inch), burrows beneath the superficial layer of the skin to lay two to three eggs a day within a tunnel several millimetres long. These burrows

African Swine Fever

2005-03-28T18:03:00.000-08:00

The virus responsible for African swine fever is classified as an iridovirus. It is physically, chemically,

Mittelfranken

2005-03-28T06:54:00.000-08:00

English Middle Franconia Regierungsbezirk (administrative district), west-central Bavaria Land (state), southern Germany. Mittelfranken is bordered by Baden-Württemberg Land to the west and the Regierungsbezirke of Unterfranken (Lower Franconia) and Oberfranken (Upper Franconia) to the north, Oberpfalz (Upper Palatinate) to the east, and Oberbayern (Upper Bavaria) and Schwaben (Swabia) to

Sweatshop

2005-03-27T11:02:00.000-08:00

Workplace in which workers are employed for long hours at low wages and under unhealthy or oppressive conditions. In England, the word “sweater” was used as early as 1850 to describe an employer or middleman who exacted monotonous work at very low wages. Sweating first became widespread in the United States during the 1880s, when immigrants from eastern and southern Europe

Tradición

2005-03-26T03:00:00.000-08:00

In Spanish-American literature, short prose sketch in which a historical incident is related in an imaginative and literary style. An evocation of the South American past, the tradición may be set in the precolonial era, the age of discovery and conquest, the prerevolutionary era of romance and political intrigue, or the time of the struggle for self-determination

France, History Of, The Dreyfus affair

2005-03-25T17:44:00.000-08:00

The 1890s also saw the Third Republic's greatest political and moral crisis—the Dreyfus affair. In 1894 Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a career army officer of Jewish origin, was charged with selling military secrets to the Germans. He was tried and convicted by a court-martial and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island off the South American coast. Efforts by the Dreyfus

Ha Long Bay

2005-03-25T02:32:00.000-08:00

Vietnamese Vinh Ha Long (“Where the Dragon Descends to the Sea”),

Interlocutory Decree

2005-03-24T22:23:00.000-08:00

Generally, a judicial decision that is not final or that deals with a point other than the principal subject matter of the controversy at hand. An interlocutory decree of divorce in the United States or a decree nisi in England, for example, is a judicial decree pronouncing the divorce of the parties provisionally but not terminating the marriage until the expiration

Chasles, Michel

2005-03-24T05:51:00.000-08:00

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

Middleton, Thomas

2005-03-24T01:56:00.000-08:00

A popular playwright,

Cotabato City

2005-03-23T15:46:00.000-08:00

City, southern Mindanao, Philippines. The city is located in a swampy area near the southern banks of the Cotabato River (a tributary of the Mindanao River) and just inland of the Moro Gulf. Cotabato City is the primary trade and commercial centre for all of southwestern Mindanao. Rice, corn (maize), coconuts, sugarcane, coffee, and bananas are grown in the region. Transportation

Corbeil-essonnes

2005-03-21T13:08:00.000-08:00

Town, Essonne département, Paris region, north central France, at the confluence of the Seine and Essonnes rivers, just southeast of Paris. Corbeil and Essonnes, formerly separate towns, were united in 1951. Corbeil (ancient Corbilium) has a 14th-century gate and the medieval church of Saint-Spire (originally an abbey). An independent county in the Carolingian period, it was annexed

Henry (vii)

2005-03-21T07:06:00.000-08:00

After apparently spending most of his youth in Germany, Henry was crowned king of Sicily in 1212 and made duke of Swabia in 1216. Pope Innocent III had favoured his coronation as king of Sicily in the hope that the union of Sicily with the empire would be dissolved, and

Bulgaria, Spread of education

2005-03-21T05:39:00.000-08:00

The spread of education was in fact the centrepiece of the Bulgarian national revival. In 1835 Vasil Aprilov founded a Lancasterian school, based on the monitorial system of instruction, in Gabrovo. With the monk Neofit Rilski (Neophyte of Rila) as its teacher, it was the first school to teach in Bulgarian. Its work was facilitated by the appearance of a Bulgarian publishing

Dada

2005-03-21T00:52:00.000-08:00

Several explanations have been given by various members of the movement as to how it received its name. According to the most widely accepted account, the name was adopted at Hugo Ball's Cabaret Voltaire

Rameswaram

2005-03-20T13:05:00.000-08:00

Island, southeastern Tamil Nadu state, southeastern India. It forms part of Adams Bridge, a series of coral reef islands connecting India and Sri Lanka. The island contains a temple that is one of the most venerated of all Hindu shrines. The great Temple of Rameswaram was built in the 17th century on the traditional site said to be sanctified by the god Rama's footprints when

Würzburg, University Of

2005-03-20T05:37:00.000-08:00

German in full Bayerische Julius-maximilians-universität Würzburg, autonomous, state-supported university in Würzburg, Ger., founded in 1582. Early a famous centre for the study of Roman Catholic theology, it was secularized in 1814 and became best known for its medical school. Among its teachers were the philosopher F.W. Schelling, the pathologist Rudolf Virchow, and the physicist Wilhelm Röntgen, who discovered X rays there in 1895.

Dacier, Anne

2005-03-19T00:46:00.000-08:00

Anne Dacier was the

Jammu And Kashmir, The foothills

2005-03-18T04:04:00.000-08:00

The foothills of the Himalayas, rising from about 2,000 to 7,000 feet (600 to 2,100 metres), form outer and inner zones. The outer zone consists of sandstones, clays, silts, and conglomerates, influenced by Himalayan folding movements and eroded to form long ridges and valleys (duns). The inner zone consists of more massive sedimentary rock, including red sandstones of Miocene age (about 5.3 to

Bream, Julian Alexander

2005-03-18T00:09:00.000-08:00

After studying with his father and performing locally from age 14, Bream attended the Royal College of Music while pursuing private extracurricular study of the guitar. He was much influenced by the styles of Andrés Segovia and

Gonionemus

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

Genus of small marine jellyfish of the hydrozoan order Limnomedusae (phylum Cnidaria). Gonionemus species are bell-shaped and measure about 15 mm (0.6 inch) or more in diameter. From the centre of the bell hangs the manubrium, a tubular structure that contains the mouth, and around the bell's rim are hollow tentacles armed with stinging structures called nematocysts. Each

Tzu-jan

2005-03-17T11:24:00.000-08:00

(Chinese: “naturalness”), in Chinese Taoism, an ideal state of human existence that results from living in complete harmony with the forces of nature. Taoists, observing that everything in the world has its natural state, strive to attain a state of complete spontaneity in order to become what nature intended them to be. As a consequence, life becomes exceedingly simple;

Positron

2005-03-16T10:27:00.000-08:00

Also called positive electron, any positively charged subatomic particle having the same mass and magnitude of charge as the electron and constituting the antiparticle of a negative electron. Positrons were the first of the antiparticles to be predicted and discovered. P.A.M. Dirac postulated their existence (1930–31) to account for the otherwise superfluous negative energy states of the electron

Durham

2005-03-15T21:57:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1881) of Durham county, north-central North Carolina, U.S. It is situated about 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Chapel Hill and 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Raleigh, the three cities forming one of the state's major urban areas—the Research Triangle. The first settlement (about 1750) in what is now Durham was called Prattsburg for William Pratt, a landowner. When Pratt refused to give land

Smith, Cyril Stanley

2005-03-15T19:12:00.000-08:00

Obtaining his education in England and the United States, Smith became a research associate (1926–27) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Arnauld Family

2005-03-15T10:33:00.000-08:00

The

Arnold, Matthew

2005-03-14T07:12:00.000-08:00

It was Arnold's expressed desire that his biography should not be written; there are, however, a number of monographs and biographico-critical works, among them Lionel Trilling, Matthew Arnold (1939), the best full-length study; J. Dover Wilson, Leslie Stephen and Matthew Arnold As Critics of Wordsworth (1939); Sir E.K. Chambers, Matthew Arnold: A Study (1947); J.D. Jump, Matthew Arnold, “Men and Books Series” (1955); G. Robert Stange, Matthew Arnold: The Poet As Humanist (1967).

Computers, COBOL

2005-03-14T00:53:00.000-08:00

France, History Of, The Fourth Republic

2005-03-13T20:46:00.000-08:00

Shortly after his return to Paris, de Gaulle announced that the citizens of France would determine their future governmental system as soon as the absent prisoners and deportees could be repatriated. That process was largely completed by midsummer 1945, soon after Germany's defeat, whereupon de Gaulle scheduled a combined referendum and election for October. Women,

Cabbage

2005-03-13T20:34:00.000-08:00

Vegetable and fodder plant the various forms of which are said to have been developed by long cultivation from the wild, or sea, cabbage (Brassica oleracea) found near the seacoast in various parts of England and continental Europe. The common horticultural forms of Brassica oleracea may be classified according to the plant parts used for food and the structure

France, History Of, France since 1815

2005-03-12T22:39:00.000-08:00

Volumes 2 and 3 of the already mentioned Alfred Cobban, A History of Modern France, 3 vol. (1957–62, reprinted 1969), present the period from the First Empire to the Republics in a sophisticated synthesis; and Gordon Wright, France in Modern Times: From the Enlightenment to the Present, 4th ed. (1987), is an interpretive general survey. Appropriate parts of the massive collective work Histoire économique et sociale de la France, 4 vol. in 8 (1970–82), Fernand Braudel and Ernest Labrousse (eds.), provide coverage by some of the best French experts of economic and social developments up to the last quarter of the 20th century. Surveys of special topics on all or most of the period since 1815 include René Rémond, The Right Wing in France from 1815 to De Gaulle, 2nd ed. (1969; originally published in French, 3rd ed., 1968; rev. French ed., 1982), tracing change and continuity of the political right; Gérard Cholvy and Yves-Marie Hilaire, Histoire religieuse de la France contemporaine, 3 vol. (1985–88), an analysis of the role of various religions; and Raoul Girardet, La Société militaire dans la France contemporaine, 1815–1939 (1953), on the changing role and composition of the military corps. The role of France in world affairs is emphasized in Pierre Renouvin, Le XIXe, 2 vol. (1954–55), on the developments of the 19th century, part of the series “Histoire des relations internationales.” François Caron, An Economic History of Modern France, trans. from French (1979, reissued 1983), revises older views about France's rate of growth; Theodore Zeldin, France, 1848–1945, 2 vol. (1973–77), explores modern French society, stressing its complexity and continuity; and Eugen Weber, Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France (1976), argues that a sense of nationhood came to rural France only in the late 19th century. Period studies include Guillaume de Bertier de Sauvigny, The Bourbon Restoration (1966, originally published in French, 1955), the standard work on the period 1815–1830; David H. Pinkney, Decisive Years in France, 1840–1847 (1986), arguing that France changed fundamentally in these years; Roger Price, The French Second Republic: A Social History (1972), a thoughtful reevaluation; Ted W. Margadant, French Peasants in Revolt: The Insurrection of 1851 (1979), suggesting that leftist views remained vigorous after 1848; J.P.T. Bury, Napoléon III and the Second Empire (1964), a well-informed analysis; Michael Howard, The Franco-Prussian War: The German Invasion of France, 1870–1871 (1961, reissued 1981), a model study; and Stewart Edwards, The Paris Commune, 1871 (1971), a balanced reevaluation. Roger Shattuck, The Banquet Years: The Origins of the Avant Garde in France, 1885 to World War I, rev. ed. (1968, reissued 1984), is a brilliant survey of Parisian culture of the period; and Charles Rearick, Pleasures of the Belle Epoque: Entertainment and Festivity in Turn-of-the-Century France (1985), describes the high life in Monmartre. D.W. Brogan, France Under the Republic: The Development of Modern France, 1870–1939 (1940, reprinted 1974), is a classic account; Jacques Chastenet, Histoire de la Troisième République, 7 vol. (1952–63, reissued in 4 vol., 1974), remains the most detailed treatment of the period; David Thomson, Democracy in France Since 1870, 5th ed. (1969), offers a penetrating study of political and social aspects; and Jean-Denis Bredin, The Affair: The Case of Alfred Dreyfus (1986; originally published in French, 1983), provides a highly readable account of the great crisis. For the 20th century, see Eugen Weber, Action Française: Royalism and Reaction in Twentieth Century France (1962), a full analysis of this right-wing movement; Zeev Sternhell, La Droite Révolutionnaire, 1885–1914: les origines françaises du fascisme (1978, reprinted 1984), a controversial argument that fascism was born in France; Marc Ferro, The Great War, 1914–1918 (1973, reissued 1987; originally published in French, 1969), a good synthesis; Robert O. Paxton, Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order, 1940–1944 (1972, reissued 1982), a critical analysis of the Pétain regime; Jean-Baptiste Duroselle, La Décadence, 1932–1939, 3rd rev. ed. (1985), and L'Abîme: 1939–1945, 2nd rev. ed. (1986), two volumes of devastating analysis of French foreign policy before and during World War II; Charles de Gaulle, War Memoirs, 5 vol. (1955–60; originally published in French, 1954–59), and Memoirs of Hope: Renewal and Endeavor (1971; originally published in French, 2 vol., 1970–71), indispensable for an understanding of the Gaullist era; Jean Lacouture, Charles de Gaulle, 3 vol. (1984–86), a full and perceptive biography; Philip M. Williams, Crisis and Compromise: Politics in the Fourth Republic, 3rd ed. (1964, reissued 1972), an excellent account of that system of government; Pierre Viansson-Ponté, Histoire de la république gaullienne, 2 vol. (1970–71, reissued in 1 vol., 1984), on the Fifth Republic's Gaullist phase; Stanley Hoffmann et al., In Search of France (1963), an analysis of postwar France; George Ross, Stanley Hoffmann, and Sylvia Malzacher (eds.), The Mitterrand Experiment: Continuity and Change in Modern France (1987), a study of the socialist years; and Alfred Grosser, Affaires extérieures: la politique de la France, 1944–1989 (1989), a penetrating analysis of postwar France's role in the world.

Adams, William

2005-03-12T01:17:00.000-08:00

At the age of 12 Adams was apprenticed in the merchant marine, afterward sailing in the British navy and later serving a company of Barbary merchants. In 1598 he shipped as pilot major with five Dutch ships bound from Europe for the East Indies via the Straits of Magellan.

The Hite Report

2005-03-11T18:16:00.000-08:00

The 478-page book contains the self-reported results of about 3,000 of 100,000 questionnaires Hite distributed to women ranging in age from 14 to 78. Like other writings on sexuality, such as the Kinsey Report and the work of William H. Masters

Minbar

2005-03-11T15:57:00.000-08:00

Muhammad originally delivered his khutbahs while leaning against a palm-trunk pillar in the mosque at Medina. Hadith (accounts of

Insurance, Warranties

2005-03-10T21:54:00.000-08:00

Examples of expressed warranties are the FC&S warranty and the strike,

Upasampada

2005-03-10T15:15:00.000-08:00

A candidate for ordination must be at least 20 years old, have the permission of his parents, be exempt from military service, be free from debt and from contagious

Kailua-lanikai

2005-03-09T06:45:00.000-08:00

Twin residential communities, southeastern Oahu Island, Hawaii, U.S., extending along Kailua Bay. They occupy superb white beach land that was the residence of Oahu's medieval kings. The Kawainui swamplands, to the west, were then royal fishponds. Numerous temple ruins, such as Ulu Po Heiau, are in the vicinity. Many residents commute to Honolulu (10 miles [16 km] southwest) by the

Biblical Literature, The fall of Judah

2005-03-09T04:14:00.000-08:00

The southern kingdom of Judah, under the Davidic monarchy, was able to last about 135 years longer, often only as a weak vassal state. Hezekiah (reigned c. 715–c. 687), with the advice of the prophet Isaiah, managed to avoid conflict with or outlast a siege of the Assyrians. Hezekiah was succeeded by his son Manasseh, an apostate king who stilled any prophetic outcries, reintroduced Canaanite

West Haven

2005-03-08T06:58:00.000-08:00

City, coextensive with the town (township) of West Haven, New Haven county, southwestern Connecticut, U.S. It lies on New Haven Harbor and across the West River from New Haven. Early settlement began in the 1640s, when the area was called West Farms. Additional land was divided among veterans of King Philip's War (1675–76). The parish of West Haven, organized about 1720, became part of the town

X-ray Source

2005-03-07T23:49:00.000-08:00

Advances in instrumentation and improved observational techniques have

Aethra

2005-03-07T23:43:00.000-08:00

Later she guarded Helen after she had been stolen from Sparta by Theseus; in retribution

Switzerland, Visual arts

2005-03-07T19:37:00.000-08:00

The Protestantism of 16th-century Switzerland had a strongly inhibiting effect on Swiss painting and sculpture in general. The peculiar lack of either French or Italian Renaissance influence left Swiss artists in a limbo from which they began to emerge only in modern times. Artists of international renown have included Alberto Giacometti, who derived much of

Medicine, Industrial health services

2005-03-05T07:51:00.000-08:00

During the epoch of the Soviet Union and the Soviet bloc, industrial health service generally developed more fully in those countries than in the capitalist countries. At the larger industrial establishments in the Soviet Union, polyclinics were created to provide both occupational and general care for workers and their families. Occupational physicians

Ben-hadad I

2005-03-05T04:17:00.000-08:00

Assyrian Adad-idri king of Damascus who led a coalition against the invading forces of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III, repulsing them at Karkar in 853. In a battle with him King Ahab of Israel was killed (I Kings 22:29–36). Ben-hadad was murdered by the usurper Hazael.

Aubusson Carpet

2005-03-05T03:50:00.000-08:00

Floor covering, usually of considerable size, handwoven at the villages of Aubusson and Felletin, in the département of Creuse in central France. Workshops were established in 1743 to manufacture pile carpets primarily for the nobility, to whom the Savonnerie court production was not available. Carpets were, however, also made for the royal residences. Soon after the

Tectonic Basins And Rift Valleys

2005-03-05T00:51:00.000-08:00

Landforms characterized by relatively steep, mountainous sides and flat floors. The steep sides are created by displacement on faults such that the valley floor moves down relative to the surrounding margins, or, conversely, the margins move up relative to the floor. Differences in the elevations of valley floors and surrounding mountains or plateaus range from

Cumberland, William Augustus, Duke Of

2005-03-04T17:56:00.000-08:00

During the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48), he became commander of the allied forces (1745) and was severely defeated by France's Marshal Maurice

Roba'i

2005-03-04T02:36:00.000-08:00

The most famous example of this genre known in the Western world

Dorgon

2005-03-03T05:10:00.000-08:00

Dorgon was the 14th of the 16 sons of Nurhachi, founder of the Manchu state, who

Bedford

2005-03-03T04:18:00.000-08:00

Borough (town), seat (1771) of Bedford county, southern Pennsylvania, U.S., on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Raystown Branch Juniata River, in the Allegheny Mountains, 38 miles (61 km) south of Altoona. A settlement made on the site about 1750 by John Wray (or Ray), a Scottish trader, was known as Raystown. Fort Bedford (built 1758 and apparently named for John Russell, 4th duke of Bedford) was a frontier

Ten Days Of Penitence

2005-03-02T16:27:00.000-08:00

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

Strategy

2005-03-02T08:49:00.000-08:00

In warfare, the science or art of employing all the military, economic, political, and other resources of a nation to achieve the objects of war.

Mahavira

2005-03-01T16:04:00.000-08:00

Also known as Vardhamana Epithet of Vardhamana, the last of the 24 Tirthankaras (“Ford-makers,” i.e., saviours who promulgated Jainism), and the reformer of the Jain monastic community. According to the traditions of the two main Jain sects, the Shvetambara (“White-robed”) and the Digambara (“Sky-clad,” i.e., naked), Mahavira became

Andradite

2005-03-01T07:05:00.000-08:00

Calcium-iron garnet, perhaps the most spectacular garnet because of its high dispersion (separation of light into colours), even greater than that of diamond, and refractive index. It is found in various colours, some of the most beautiful being yellowish (termed topazolite, because of its resemblance to topaz) and yellowish green or emerald-green (Uralian emeralds,

Oman, Gulf Of

2005-02-28T20:21:00.000-08:00

Northwest arm of the Arabian Sea, between the eastern portion (Oman) of the Arabian Peninsula to the southwest and Iran to the north. The gulf is 200 miles (320 km) wide between Cape al-Hadd in Oman and Gwadar Bay on the Pakistan–Iran border. It is 350 miles (560 km) long and connects with the Persian Gulf to the northwest through the Strait of Hormuz. The small ports along the gulf include Suhar,

Poland, History Of

2005-02-28T15:59:00.000-08:00

History of the area from the 10th century to the present.

Caxias

2005-02-27T11:58:00.000-08:00

City, east central Maranhão state, northeastern Brazil, on the Rio Itapicuru, at 207 ft (63 m) above sea level. Formerly known as São José das Aldeias Altas, it was renamed to honour Luis Alves de Lima e Silva, duque de Caxias, governor and military commander in Maranhão (1837). The city is the commercial centre of eastern Maranhão and processes rice, cotton, carnauba and babassu palms

Ice Skating

2005-02-27T06:31:00.000-08:00

Rintje Ritsma of The Netherlands coped with hazardous weather conditions to claim the overall title in the men's world championships at the small Italian mountain resort of Baselga di Pinè on February 11-12. Keiji Shirahata of Japan finished second, and Roberto Sighel of Italy was third. Gunda Niemann of Germany captured the women's crown at Savalen, Norway, on March 4-5, ahead

Abramov, Fyodor

2005-02-26T23:47:00.000-08:00

Of peasant ancestry, Abramov studied at Leningrad State University, interrupting his schooling to serve as a soldier

West Australian Current

2005-02-26T00:25:00.000-08:00

Relatively cold surface current of the southeast Indian Ocean, part of the general counterclockwise movement in the southern section of that ocean. As the South Indian Current (part of the West Wind Drift) approaches the west coast of Australia, it turns north to parallel that coast as the West Australian Current. The current, which is much affected by winds, is weak

Ozier Pattern

2005-02-25T21:20:00.000-08:00

In tableware, molded basket-weave pattern produced in Germany in the 1730s on Meissen porcelain tableware. It was probably one of the numerous inventions of the celebrated modeler Johann Joachim Kändler. There are four basic types of ozier molding: the ordinair-ozier (“ordinary ozier”), a kind of zigzag basket weave; the alt-ozier (“old ozier”), which has radial ribs; the neu-ozier

Tracy, Spencer

2005-02-25T04:26:00.000-08:00

As a youth Tracy was bored by schoolwork and joined the navy at age 17. Despite his distaste for academics, he eventually became a premed

Gumel

2005-02-24T19:09:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Gummel town and traditional emirate, northern Jigawa state, northern Nigeria. The emirate was founded about 1750 by Dan Juma of Kano city (75 miles [121 km] southwest) and his followers of the Manga (Mangawa) tribe. Shortly after his death in 1754, it became a tributary state of the Bornu kingdom. The emirate survived the Fulani attacks of Usman dan Fodio's jihad (“holy war”) in the early 19th century and

Valenciennes Lace

2005-02-24T06:33:00.000-08:00

The

France, History Of, Louis I the Pious

2005-02-23T22:43:00.000-08:00

Only chance ensured that the empire remained united under Louis I the Pious, the last surviving son of Charlemagne (the latter had anticipated the partitioning of his empire among his sons). The era of great conquests had ended, and, on the face of it, Louis's principal preoccupation was his relations with the peoples to the north. In the hope of averting the threat posed

Grace

2005-02-23T20:11:00.000-08:00

Greek Charis, plural Charites, Latin Gratia, in Greek religion, one of a group of goddesses of fertility. The name refers to the “pleasing” or “charming” appearance of a fertile field or garden. The number of Graces varied in different legends, but usually there were three: Aglaia (Brightness), Euphrosyne (Joyfulness), and Thalia (Bloom). They are said to be daughters of Zeus and Hera (or Eurynome, daughter of Oceanus) or of

Circassian

2005-02-21T18:22:00.000-08:00

From ancient times Circassia, comprising roughly the northwestern region of the Caucasus, acquired the exotic reputation common to lands occupying a crucial area between rival empires. The early history of the Circassian peoples is fairly obscure. Though no Greek

Armstrong, Neil (alden)

2005-02-21T13:51:00.000-08:00

Armstrong became a licensed pilot on his 16th birthday and a naval air cadet in 1947. His studies in aeronautical engineering at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., were interrupted in 1950 by the Korean War, in which he was shot down once and was awarded three Air Medals. In 1955 he became a civilian research

Johansson, Christian

2005-02-21T11:37:00.000-08:00

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

Strapwork

2005-02-20T23:26:00.000-08:00

Decorative motif, in flat relief, consisting variously of interlaced scrollwork, braiding, shield forms, or cross-hatching, often pierced with circular or oval holes. At times strapwork is bordered with a raised fillet (band). The whole design is usually formed of connected units, all on the same plane, as though made by an elaborately cut and pierced strap that has been

Veneto

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

Also called Venezia Euganea regione, northern and northeastern Italy, comprising the provincie of Venezia, Padova, Rovigo, Verona, Vicenza, Treviso, and Belluno. It is bounded by Trentino-Alto Adige (north), Emilia-Romagna (south), Lombardia (west), Austria (northeast), and Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the Adriatic Sea (east). The northern limit of Veneto is marked by a mountainous area, including the Dolomites,

Salem

2005-02-20T01:27:00.000-08:00

Capital of Oregon, U.S., and the seat (1849) of Marion county. It lies along the Willamette River, 43 miles (69 km) southwest of Portland. Methodist missionaries, led by Jason Lee, settled the site in 1840. Its Kalapuya Indian name, Chemeketa, meaning “place of rest,” was translated into the biblical name of Salem (from Hebrew shalom, “peace”). A settlement was laid out in 1844, and home sites were sold by the

Château-thierry

2005-02-19T18:04:00.000-08:00

Town, northeast France, Aisne département, Picardie region, east-northeast of Paris. It is situated on the Marne River on the slopes of a hill, at the top of which are the ruins of an old castle, said to have been built in about 720 by the Frankish ruler Charles Martel for his puppet Thierry IV (the Merovingian king Theodoric). Close to the castle walls stands the 16th-century mansion

Biblical Literature, The New Testament Apocryphal writings

2005-02-18T10:21:00.000-08:00

This section will classify these documents in relation to their literary forms: gospels, acts, letters, and apocalypses.

Küçük Kaynarca, Treaty Of

2005-02-17T22:23:00.000-08:00

The territorial provisions of the treaty extended the Russian frontier to the southern Bug River,

Wilson, Harriet E.

2005-02-17T20:26:00.000-08:00

Almost nothing is known of Wilson's personal history until

Lilac

2005-02-17T11:42:00.000-08:00

The common lilac

Spanish Civil War

2005-02-16T18:36:00.000-08:00

(1936–39), military revolt against the Republican government of Spain, supported by conservative elements within the country. When an initial military coup failed to win control of the entire country, a bloody civil war ensued, fought with great ferocity on both sides. The Nationalists, as the rebels were called, received aid from fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. The Republicans

Stresemann, Gustav

2005-02-16T17:54:00.000-08:00

After completing his studies, Stresemann began his professional career in a trade association. Unusually rapid success in commerce gave him a springboard into politics. As an administrative assistant in the German Chocolate Makers' Association from 1901 to 1904, he gained a reputation as an accomplished organizer and negotiator. By 1902 he had founded the Saxon Manufacturers'

Alismatidae

2005-02-16T14:07:00.000-08:00

Subclass of flowering plants belonging to the class Lilopsida.

Al-

2005-02-16T01:19:00.000-08:00

Arabic definite article, meaning “the.” It often prefixes Arabic proper nouns, especially place-names; an example is Al-Jazirah (Arabic: “The Island”), the name of an interfluvial region in The Sudan. The article is often used in lowercase form, hence al-Jazirah. Reference works, including Encyclopædia Britannica, often alphabetize names beginning with al- under the main part

Radioactive Series

2005-02-14T04:46:00.000-08:00

Any of four independent sets of unstable heavy atomic nuclei that decay through a sequence of alpha and beta decays until a stable nucleus is achieved. These four chains of consecutive parent and daughter nuclei (shown in the figure) begin and end among elements with atomic numbers higher than 81, which is the atomic weight of thallium; the members of each set are genetically

Judaism, In eastern Europe

2005-02-13T07:29:00.000-08:00

By the mid-18th century Orthodoxy in eastern Europe, having been convulsed by frantic messianism and stifled by the sterility of purely legalistic scholarship, was ripe for revival. The experience of Shabbetaianism (the first messianic movement to excite virtually all of world Jewry) had revealed in the mid-17th century the pervasiveness of Jewish exhaustion with

Frunze, Mikhail Vasilyevich

2005-02-13T06:36:00.000-08:00

Frunze took part in the Moscow insurrection in 1905 and, after frequent arrests for revolutionary activity, escaped in 1915 to conduct agitation in the Russian army, first on the western front

Murillo, Bartolomé Esteban

2005-02-13T00:22:00.000-08:00

Among Murillo's earliest works is the Virgin of the Rosary (c. 1642). In the vestigial

Chebyshev, Pafnuty Lvovich

2005-02-12T20:39:00.000-08:00

Chebyshev became assistant professor of mathematics at the University of St. Petersburg (now St.

Peru, Drainage

2005-02-12T15:02:00.000-08:00

Distinctive drainage patterns dissect the Costa, Sierra, and Montaña. Of the more than 50 rivers that flow west from the Andes across the Costa, most are short (usually less than 200 miles long) and precipitous, with highly seasonal rates of flow. Most have a period of peak flow (usually during the December to March rainy season) followed by a long dry period; only the largest of

Meramec River

2005-02-11T20:22:00.000-08:00

Tributary of the Mississippi River rising in the Ozark Mountains, near Salem in Dent county, southeast Missouri, U.S. The river winds 207 miles (333 km) generally north, northeast, and southeast through the limestone Meramec Caverns and Meramec State Park (near Sullivan) to enter the Mississippi River 20 miles (32 km) below St. Louis. Lead was mined along its banks in the 1700s, and the river

Domovoy

2005-02-11T11:27:00.000-08:00

The domovoy is the guardian of the family and its wealth, but he is partial to conscientious and

Gene Flow

2005-02-10T09:40:00.000-08:00

Also called gene migration the introduction of genetic material (by interbreeding) from one population of a species to another, thereby changing the composition of the gene pool of the receiving population. The introduction of new alleles through gene flow increases variability within the population and makes possible new combinations of traits. In human beings gene flow usually comes