AbleDoor

Mormon

2005-04-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

In western New York state in 1827, during a time of intense religious revivalism, Joseph Smith, Jr., a farmer's son, claimed an angel called Moroni gave him golden plates whose engraved records Smith translated into English as the Book of Mormon—so called after Mormon, an ancient American prophet who had made an abridgment of many previous plates. Smith published the Book

Zedillo, Ernesto

2005-04-02T07:35:00.000-08:00

Reared in a working-class family in Mexicali, Mexico, just south of the California border, Zedillo returned to his native Mexico City in 1965 to study at the National Polytechnic Institute. In 1971 he joined the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the dominant political party in Mexico since 1929. Zedillo also studied

Arts, Central Asian, Decorative arts

2005-03-31T10:37:00.000-08:00

In the main temple (fo-khang) of Lhasa there is a pre-Buddhist silver jug with a long neck surmounted by a horse's head; and there are textual references to all kinds of articles made of gold: a large golden goose holding seven gallons of wine, a wine vase, a miniature city decorated with gold lions, and golden bowls. Gold animals are mentioned as decorating the camp of King

Saar, Betye

2005-03-29T03:37:00.000-08:00

Saar studied design at the University of California at Los Angeles (B.A., 1949) and education and printmaking at California State University at Long Beach. In the early 1960s she created etchings

Augustus, Caesar

2005-03-25T03:50:00.000-08:00

The inscriptions of the Augustan Age are used to explicate the history of the period in P.A. Brunt and J.M. Moore (eds.), Res Gestae Divi Augusti: The Achievements of the Divine Augustus (1967, reprinted 1988); and Victor Ehrenberg and A.H.M. Jones (compilers), Documents Illustrating the Reigns of Augustus & Tiberius, 2nd ed. (1955, reprinted with addenda, 1976). Books that examine numismatic evidence from the reign of Augustus include C.H.V. Sutherland, Coinage in Roman Imperial Policy, 31 BC–AD 68 (1951, reprinted 1978), and Roman History and Coinage, 44 BC–AD 69 (1987); and Michael Grant, From Imperium to Auctoritas: A Historical Study of Aes Coinage in the Roman Empire, 49 BC–AD 14 (1946, reprinted with corrections, 1969). The art, architecture, and decoration of this period are treated by J.M.C. Toynbee, The Art of the Romans (1965); Axel Boëthius, Etruscan and Early Roman Architecture, 2nd integrated ed., rev. by Roger Ling and Tom Rasmussen (1978); and Paul Zanker, The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus, trans. from (1988).

The Woman Citizen

2005-03-23T02:59:00.000-08:00

American weekly periodical, one of the most influential women's publications of the early decades of the 20th century. It came into existence as a result of a substantial bequest from Mrs. Frank Leslie to Carrie Chapman Catt, the head of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). According to the terms of the bequest, the money was to be used to further the

Fiddle

2005-03-18T09:27:00.000-08:00

German Fiedel, French Vielle, medieval European bowed, stringed musical instrument. The medieval fiddle, a forerunner of the violin, emerged in 10th-century Europe, possibly deriving from the lira, a Byzantine version of the rabab, an Arab bowed instrument. Medieval fiddles varied in size and shape but characteristically had front or back tuning pegs set in a flat and round or heart-shaped peg disk

Ski Jumping

2005-03-16T21:40:00.000-08:00

Competitive skiing event in which contestants ski down a steep ramp that curves upward at the end, or takeoff point. Skiers leap from the end, trying to cover as much horizontal distance in the air as possible. Ski jumping has been included in the Winter Olympics since the 1924 Games in Chamonix, France. Upon addition of a second, much bigger hill to the 1964 Olympics, the event was

Fetter, Frank Albert

2005-03-14T14:24:00.000-08:00

After an interruption of university studies because of illness in his family, Fetter graduated from Indiana University in 1891 and from Cornell University in 1892. He subsequently studied in France and Germany, receiving his Ph.D. (on population)

Adanson, Michel

2005-03-12T16:29:00.000-08:00

In 1749 Adanson left for Senegal to spend four years as an employee with the Compagnie des Indes, a trading company. He returned with a large collection of plant specimens,

Kogi

2005-03-11T20:18:00.000-08:00

The state consists of a wooded savanna region bisected by the southward-flowing

Maurice

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

In full Maurice, Prince Of Orange, Count Of Nassau, Dutch Maurits, Prins Van Oranje, Graaf Van Nassau hereditary stadholder (1585–1625) of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, or Dutch Republic, successor to his father, William I the Silent. His development of military strategy, tactics, and engineering made the Dutch army the most modern in the Europe of his time.

Maurice

2005-03-06T22:55:00.000-08:00

An abortive attempt by western European powers, with United States support, to counterbalance the overwhelming conventional military ascendancy of the Soviet Union in Europe by the formation of a supranational European army. The idea was originally mooted at the Hague Conference of 1948. Influenced by the Korean War, the French politician René Pleven evolved a plan

Seto Ware

2005-03-05T18:54:00.000-08:00

Ceramics manufactured in Seto by one of the so-called Six Ancient Kilns of Japan. It was first produced in the later Kamakura period toward the close of the 13th century. The origin of Seto ware is usually attributed to Kato Shirozaemon (Toshiro), who is said to have studied ceramic manufacture in southern China and produced pottery of his own in the Seto district upon his return.

Raymond Vi

2005-03-03T13:59:00.000-08:00

The son of Count Raymond V, Raymond VI was a nephew of King Louis VII of France and brother-in-law of King Richard I of England. Tolerant toward the many

Hale, John Parker

2005-03-01T14:59:00.000-08:00

After

Maclaine, Shirley

2005-02-27T00:16:00.000-08:00

After graduating from high school, MacLaine, who had studied ballet since age three, moved to New York City, where she worked as a dancer and model. In 1954 she was hired as a chorus girl and understudy

Berenice Ii

2005-02-24T14:40:00.000-08:00

Magas' queen, who favoured an alliance with the Seleucid dynasty of Syria, tried to thwart the marriage by summoning Demetrius the Fair, a Macedonian prince, as a husband for Berenice. The princess, however, arranged Demetrius' murder and married

Amelung Glass

2005-02-23T00:31:00.000-08:00

American glass produced from 1784 to about 1795 by John Frederick Amelung, a native of Bremen in Germany. Financed by German and American promoters, Amelung founded the New Bremen Glassmanufactory near Frederick, Md., U.S., and attempted to establish a self-sufficient community, importing glassworkers and other craftsmen from Germany. The enterprise was encouraged by such

Rathbone, Basil

2005-02-21T00:40:00.000-08:00

Upon graduating from Repton school in England in 1910, Rathbone made his stage debut in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew in 1911. A number of other Shakespearean roles followed, as well as a part in a London production

Ribose

2005-02-19T07:28:00.000-08:00

Also called D-ribose, five-carbon sugar found in RNA (ribonucleic acid), where it alternates with phosphate groups to form the “backbone” of the RNA polymer and binds to nitrogenous bases. Ribose phosphates are components of the nucleotide coenzymes and are utilized by microorganisms in the synthesis of the amino acid histidine.

Rushworth, John

2005-02-17T02:46:00.000-08:00

Rushworth studied law, perhaps at the University of Oxford (from which he received an M.A. in 1649), and in 1638 was made

Toombs, Robert A(ugustus)

2005-02-15T15:54:00.000-08:00

Born into a wealthy planter family, Toombs entered and withdrew from the University of Georgia before

Gandía

2005-02-12T03:42:00.000-08:00

City, Valencia provincia, in the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Valencia, eastern Spain. It lies south of Valencia city at the mouth of the Serpis River. Once a Greek settlement, Gandía was occupied by the Moors in the 8th century and recaptured in 1252 by James I of Aragon, who ordered it rebuilt. It later became a duchy of the Borgia (Borja) family, whose 14th-century

Chase, Salmon P(ortland)

2005-02-11T07:31:00.000-08:00

Chase received part of his education from his uncle Philander Chase, the first Episcopal bishop of Ohio

Acting

2005-02-08T08:13:00.000-08:00

Acting is generally agreed to be a matter less of mimicry, exhibitionism, or imitation than of the ability to react to imaginary stimuli. Its essential elements remain the twin requisites enunciated by the French

Wake

2005-02-05T00:04:00.000-08:00

Watch or vigil held over the body of a dead person before burial and sometimes accompanied by festivity; also, in England, a vigil kept in commemoration of the dedication of the parish church. The latter type of wake consisted of an all-night service of prayer and meditation in the church. These services, officially termed Vigiliae by the church, appear to have existed

Spanish Town

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

City, southeastern central Jamaica. It is situated along the Rio Cobre, 10 miles (16 km) west of Kingston. Probably laid out by Diego Columbus (c. 1523), it was originally called Santiago de la Vega (St. James of the Plain) and was Jamaica's capital from 1692 until 1872. It is now a commercial and processing centre for produce of the irrigated Liguanea Plain (bananas, sugarcane, annatto, breadfruit,

Pacheco Pereira, Duarte

2005-01-31T07:00:00.000-08:00

Pacheco Pereira, reared at the Portuguese court, was an educated man, serving as a squire to King John

Basketball, College.

2005-01-29T14:11:00.000-08:00

Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and his Blue Devils were the consensus favourites to win the 2001 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship, but sentimental fans and media alike were pulling for the Arizona Wildcats and their coach, Lute Olson. The death of Olson's wife, Bobbi, on January 1 had brought an outpouring of sympathy from

Priesthood

2005-01-27T14:47:00.000-08:00

Throughout the long and varied history of religion, the priesthood has been the official institution that has mediated and maintained a state of equilibrium between the sacred and the profane aspects of human society

Maxwell's Equations

2005-01-25T23:09:00.000-08:00

The statements of these four equations are, respectively: (1) electric field

Mahé Island

2005-01-21T09:05:00.000-08:00

Largest island of the Seychelles archipelago, Republic of Seychelles, in the western Indian Ocean. The island is 4 miles (6 km) wide and 16 miles (26 km) long and has an area of 57 square miles (148 square km). The island is granitic in origin and mountainous; the highest peak is Morne Seychellois, which rises to 2,969 feet (905 m) and forms part of a national park of the same name. Port Launay Marine National

Ear, Human, Endolymph and perilymph

2005-01-20T09:50:00.000-08:00

The perilymph, which fills the space within the bony labyrinth surrounding the membranous labyrinth, is similar, but not identical, in composition to other extracellular fluids of the body, such as cerebrospinal fluid. The concentration of sodium ions in the perilymph is high (about 150 milliequivalents per litre), and that of potassium ions is low (about 5 milliequivalents

Biblical Literature, Instructions on the Tabernacle

2005-01-18T15:44:00.000-08:00

Also interspersed in the story (chapters 25–31) are God's detailed instructions to Moses for building and furnishing the Tabernacle, the clothing and ordination of priests, and other liturgical matters. According to this segment (evidently P in inspiration), an elaborate structure is to be set up in the desert, in the centre of the camp, taken apart, transported, and assembled

Terman, Lewis M(adison)

2005-01-16T10:37:00.000-08:00

Terman joined the faculty of Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif. (1910), where he became professor of education in 1916, the year he published The Measurement of Intelligence, a guide for his Stanford revision and

Gag Rule

2005-01-14T10:50:00.000-08:00

In U.S. history, any of a series of congressional resolutions that tabled, without discussion, petitions regarding slavery; passed by the House of Representatives between 1836 and 1840 and repealed in 1844. Abolition petitions, signed by more than 2,000,000 persons, had inundated Congress after the establishment of the American Anti-Slavery Society (1833). Gag rules, supported by proslavery congressmen,

Aldehyde

2005-01-12T21:14:00.000-08:00

The carbonyl group is highly polar. That is to say, it exhibits an uneven distribution of electrons, which renders the oxygen

Antarctica, Biological resources

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

Resources of the sea first attracted people to Antarctica and provided the only basis for commercial activity in this region for many years. Commercial fur sealing began about 1766 in the Falkland Islands and rapidly spread to all subantarctic islands in the zeal to supply the wealthy markets of Europe and China. Immense profits were made, but the toll was equally immense.

Egypt, The Valley

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

The cultivated portion of the Nile Valley between Cairo and Aswan varies from five to 10 miles in width, although there are places where it narrows to a few hundred yards and others where it broadens to 14 miles. Since the completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1970, the 2,500,000-acre valley has been under perennial irrigation. The inhabitants of the Valley from Cairo up to Aswan muhafazah are referred

Szent-györgyi, Albert

2005-01-05T16:26:00.000-08:00

Szent-Györgyi earned a medical degree from the University of Budapest in 1917. He became interested

Puerto Rico Trench

2005-01-03T03:59:00.000-08:00

Submarine depression in the North Atlantic Ocean, roughly parallel to the northern coast of the island of Puerto Rico and lying about 75 miles (120 km) to the north. The Puerto Rico Trench is about 1,090 miles (1,750 km) long and 60 miles (100 km) wide. The deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean, the Milwaukee Depth, lies at a depth of 27,493 feet (8,380 m) in the western end of the trench, about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Puerto

Floral Decoration

2005-01-02T15:25:00.000-08:00

Many different kinds of plant materials are used in floral decorations, among them flowers, foliage, grasses, grains, branches, berries, seeds, nuts, cones, fruits, and vegetables. The materials may be living, dried, or artificial. Initially, man was restricted to using native wildings, or uncultivated plants, but as civilization developed over a period of thousands of

Fairbairn, Sir William, 1st Baronet

2004-12-31T09:36:00.000-08:00

From 1817 to 1832 he was a millwright at Manchester, in partnership with James Lillie. In 1835 he established a shipbuilding yard at Millwall, London,

Gorbachev, Mikhail

2004-12-29T03:52:00.000-08:00

In full Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev Soviet official, the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1985 to 1991 and president of the Soviet Union in 1990–91. His efforts to democratize his country's political system and decentralize its economy led to the downfall of communism and the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. In part because he ended the Soviet

Hou T'u

2004-12-26T02:04:00.000-08:00

At various times and in various

Sarasota

2004-12-24T22:32:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1921) of Sarasota county, west-central Florida, U.S. It lies along Sarasota Bay (an arm of the Gulf of Mexico), about 60 miles (95 km) south of Tampa. Sarasota, variously spelled Sara Zota, Sarazota, and Sarasote, appeared on maps in the 1700s, but the origin of the place-name is uncertain; one explanation is that it may have been derived from a Spanish term meaning “a place of dancing.” The

Malwa Plateau

2004-12-22T22:07:00.000-08:00

Plateau in north central India, bounded by the Gujarat Plains on the west, the Vindhya Range on the south, the Madhya Bharat Plateau and Bundelkhand Upland on the north, and the Vindhya Range on the east. Of volcanic origin, the plateau comprises central Madhya Pradesh state and southeastern Rajasthan state. The name Malwa is derived from the Sanskrit term Malav and means

Pidyon Ha-ben

2004-12-20T19:09:00.000-08:00

Plural Pidyon Ha-bonin, or Pidyon Ha-bens, Jewish ceremony in which the father redeems his wife's firstborn son by offering to a cohen (a male Jew descended from the first priest, Aaron) the equivalent of five silver shekels (ancient coins). The ceremony, which normally takes place 30 days after the child's birth, dates from Old Testament times, when the firstborn sons of the Israelites were spared from death on the

Computers, IBM's Personal Computer

2004-12-18T18:30:00.000-08:00

The entry of International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) did more to legitimize personal computers than any event in the industry's history. By 1980 the personal computer field was starting to interest the large computer companies. Hewlett-Packard, which had earlier turned down Stephen G. Wozniak's proposal to enter the personal computer field, was now ready to

Cipher

2004-12-16T11:29:00.000-08:00

All ciphers involve either transposition or substitution, or a combination of these two mathematical operations—i.e., product ciphers. In transposition cipher systems, elements of the plaintext

Rovenky

2004-12-15T05:58:00.000-08:00

Russian Rovenki, city, Luhansk oblast (province), southeastern Ukraine. Rovenky is 37 miles (60 km) south of the city of Luhansk on the Debaltseve-Likhovsky rail line. It was incorporated as a city in 1934. Rovenky is located in a coal-mining area and has an ore-enrichment plant. Food processing, woodworking, and stone products manufacturing are other important industries. The city has a mining tekhnikum

Bad Gandersheim

2004-12-12T17:17:00.000-08:00

Also called Gandersheim, city, Lower Saxony Land (state), north-central Germany. It lies in the Leine River valley. Bad Gandersheim is remarkable for an 11th-century convent church containing the tombs of famous abbesses and for the former abbey, which was moved there in 852 by the duke of Saxony, whose daughters were the first two abbesses. Louis III granted a privilege by which the office of abbess

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Old Testament

2004-12-10T03:16:00.000-08:00

The Old Testament, including its prophetic books, has a core of historical record focusing on the trials of the tribes of Israel. In their own view an elect nation, the Israelites believe their history spells out a providential design. The Prophets understand the earliest texts, Genesis and Exodus, in terms of this providential scheme. Hebraic texts are interpreted

Adamkus, Valdas

2004-12-09T05:17:00.000-08:00

During World War II Adamkus fought with Lithuanian insurrectionists against Soviet rule, published an underground newspaper during the Nazi occupation, and then resumed the fight against the returning Soviet army. In 1944 he fled to Germany, where he attended the University of

Hesse-darmstadt

2004-12-07T05:10:00.000-08:00

Hesse-Darmstadt was originally only the small territory of Upper Katzenelnbogen with Darmstadt, being situated in what is now the extreme southern portion of the present-day

Ibex

2004-12-04T19:15:00.000-08:00

Any of several surefooted, sturdy wild goats of the genus Capra, family Bovidae (order Artiodactyla), found in the mountains of Europe, Asia, and northeastern Africa. The European, or Alpine, ibex (C. ibex ibex) is typical. It stands about 90 cm (3 feet) at the shoulder and has brownish gray fur, darker on the underparts. The male has a beard and large, semicircular horns with broad, transversely

Caroline

2004-12-03T06:23:00.000-08:00

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

Friuli-venezia Giulia

2004-12-01T05:56:00.000-08:00

Regione of northeastern Italy, bordering north and east on Austria and Slovenia, south on the Adriatic Sea, and west on Veneto regione; it has an area of 3,030 square miles (7,847 square km) and comprises the provincias of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, and Trieste. In the north the solid wall of the Carnine Alps, broken only by the Plöcken Pass (Passo di Monte Croce) and the low Tarvisio saddle,

Moss Animal

2004-11-28T22:42:00.000-08:00

The Bryozoa have a long history. From the Lower Ordovician (500,000,000 to 430,000,000 years ago) onward, most limestone formations, especially those with shale alternations, are rich in bryozoan fossils. The skeletons of calcified bryozoans are easily preserved. Stenolaemates are abundant fossils; after their appearance in the Upper Jurassic (140,000,000 years ago), cheilostome fossils also are abundant.

Talbot

2004-11-26T04:04:00.000-08:00

County, east-central Maryland, U.S. It adjoins Chesapeake Bay to the west, the Choptank River to the south and southeast, and Tuckahoe Creek to the northeast and includes Tilghman and Poplar islands. The jagged coast is carved by the Wye East, Tred Avon, and Miles rivers and by Harris and Broad creeks. Parklands include Seth Demonstration Forest and Wye Oak State Park, the

Burges, William

2004-11-25T01:51:00.000-08:00

During Burges' apprenticeship he studied medieval architecture, visiting the Continent to gain firsthand impressions. In 1856 he received the first award in an international competition for the Cathedral of Lille, France. He designed the Cathedral

Cystitis

2004-11-23T10:25:00.000-08:00

Acute or chronic inflammation of the urinary bladder. The bladder, the storage sac for urine, is lined with a mucous membrane and is highly resistant to infection. Occasionally, however, infections arise from such neighbouring organs as the kidneys and (in females) the vagina and urethra and (in males) the urethra and the prostate. Other conditions such as obstructions,

Cheng Ch'eng-kung

2004-11-20T09:35:00.000-08:00

Earl Swisher, “Chêng Ch'êng-kung,” in A.W. Hummel (ed.), Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period, 1644–1912, vol. 1, pp. 108–110 (1943, reprinted 1970), is a very brief but reliable biography. See also the articles on Cheng Ching and Cheng Chih-lung. W. Campbell, Formosa Under the Dutch (1903), is still the most detailed English-language account of the Cheng regime on Taiwan.

Hyesan

2004-11-18T17:43:00.000-08:00

City, northern North Korea. As a frontier city lying on the upper stream of the Yalu River (Amnok-kang), it was a fortress during the Yi dynasty (1392–1910), under the name of Hyesanjin. In winter it is one of the coldest places in Korea; a temperature of -44° F (-42° C) was recorded in 1915. It is the starting point of water transportation on the Yalu. Logs from the nearby Paektu Mountain area, which contains

Gsung-'bum

2004-11-16T15:40:00.000-08:00

The writings of the lamas include commentaries on Indian texts together with essays on

Table Tennis

2004-11-14T19:45:00.000-08:00

At the 1997 world table tennis championships in Manchester, Eng., China again dominated play, winning six of the seven titles. The men's team from China defeated France (the first time since 1948 France had reached the final), while the women's team downed North Korea. Deng Yaping, the 24-year-old 1992 and 1996 Olympic champion, won her third world singles championship, then announced her retirement.

Hui-kuan

2004-11-13T13:49:00.000-08:00

The hui-kuan were originated at Peking by the provincial guild of the southern Chinese province of Kwangtung.

Chan Ii

2004-11-10T11:13:00.000-08:00

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

Earth, Magnetohydrodynamic wavesmagnetic pulsations

2004-11-09T21:49:00.000-08:00

A major source of variations in the Earth's magnetic field is magnetohydrodynamic waves. These waves originate in the outer magnetic field and propagate along field lines to the Earth's surface. On reaching the surface they cause minute oscillations in the magnetic field (hence their older name, micropulsations). These waves typically have amplitudes ranging

Resistencia

2004-11-06T11:55:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Chaco provincia, northeastern Argentina, on a stream that flows into the Paraná River at the river port of Barranqueras, 4 miles (6 km) southeast. Originally founded in the mid-18th century as San Fernando del Río Negro (a Jesuit reducción [work mission] abandoned in 1773 after the order was suppressed), it was later reestablished in 1878 as a frontier colony settled by

Ba Maw

2004-11-05T10:23:00.000-08:00

Ba Maw was educated at Rangoon College, Calcutta University, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Bordeaux, Fr., where he received a doctorate in 1924. Admitted to

Greece, History Of

2004-11-02T11:34:00.000-08:00

Geographically, Greece forms the southernmost extension of the Balkan Peninsula. It is a region dominated by mountain systems, and, although not particularly high, these cover some 80 percent

Acadia

2004-10-31T21:18:00.000-08:00

The first organized French settlement in Acadia was founded in 1604 on an island in Passamaquoddy Bay, on the present U.S.-Canadian

Quinone

2004-10-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

Any member of a class of cyclic organic compounds containing two carbonyl groups, > C = O, either adjacent or separated by a vinylene group, -CH = CH-, in a six-membered unsaturated ring. In a few quinones, the carbonyl groups are located in different rings. The term quinone also denotes the specific compound para- (p-)benzoquinone (C6H4O2). The quinone structure

Stringed Instrument

2004-10-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

The violin family at present comprises the violin, viola, violoncello, and double bass; it forms the backbone of the modern symphony orchestra. In addition, the violin and viola are widely used in the music of South India and North Africa, in modern Greek and Arab music, in European and American folk music, and by Romany musicians. The term violin, a diminutive of viola (itself

Znojmo

2004-10-23T13:08:00.000-07:00

German Znaim, city, Jihomoravský kraj (region), Czech Republic, on the Dyje River, southwest of Brno, near the Austrian border. It originated in the 11th century as a fortified residence and was the stronghold of the Premyslid princes until the mid-13th century. Many medieval buildings, as well as houses of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, are preserved in the old town, which is designated

Ghaziabad

2004-10-22T09:48:00.000-07:00

Formerly Ghaziuddinnagar, town, administrative headquarters of Ghaziabad district, Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. Founded in 1740, it is located on the Grand Trunk Road 12 mi (19 km) east of New Delhi. Modern Ghaziabad is a rapidly developing industrial town. Many workers commute daily to New Delhi, where goods produced in Ghaziabad are also marketed. Manufacturing and processing industries include vegetable

Palayankottai

2004-10-19T07:34:00.000-07:00

Also called Palamcottah, city, southern Tamil Nadu state, southeastern India. It lies across the Tambraparni River from its twin city of Tirunelveli. Palayankottai is a residential and educational centre in the Tirunelveli urban agglomeration. It is a major centre of Christian missions in southern India and has private Christian schools and Christian and other colleges affiliated with

France, History Of, Industrial production

2004-10-17T03:47:00.000-07:00

After 1740 overall production in France rose annually by about 2 percent, and even more in some sectors. During the later decades of the 18th century, French industrial production grew rapidly, although not on the same scale as in Britain, whose industrial development had begun 60 years before that of the French. Coal mining was a major industry by 1789, its production being nearly

Insurance, Contract law

2004-10-13T16:30:00.000-07:00

To meet the requirement of legal purpose, the insurance contract must

Weiss, Theodore Russell

2004-10-11T08:10:00.000-07:00

American poet and editor (b. Dec. 16, 1916, Reading, Pa.—d. April 15, 2003, Princeton, N.J.), was the founding editor in 1943 (with Warren Carrier) of the Quarterly Review of Literature, which published works by poets William Carlos Williams, E.E. Cummings, and Ezra Pound, as well as those of little-known poets, non-English-language writers, and especially women, including the then-unknown writers Anne Sexton,

Médéa

2004-10-09T18:40:00.000-07:00

Also called Lemdiyya, town, north-central Algeria. It is situated on a plateau 56 miles (90 km) south of Algiers. Shadowed by Mount Nador (3,693 feet [1,126 m]) to the northwest, the town is surrounded by fertile, well-watered soil that forms the watershed for the Chelif River and the Wadis Chiffa and Isser. Located on the site of Lambdia, a Roman military post, Médéa was founded in the 10th century by Yusuf Buluggin I ibn

Arabia, History Of, Resistance to the Ottomans

2004-10-08T03:51:00.000-07:00

Propagating the doctrines of 'Abd al-Wahhab, Ibn Sa'ud and his son mastered all Najd. Late in the 18th century the Wahhabis began raiding Iraq and then besieged Mecca, which they definitively conquered in 1806. The Ottomans became so alarmed at the Sa'udi-Wahhabi peril that they urged Muhammad 'Ali, viceroy of Egypt, to drive the Wahhabis from the Holy Cities. Egyptian troops invaded Arabia,

Straits Question

2004-10-06T04:03:00.000-07:00

The straits were in Turkish territory, but when Russia gained control of the north shore of the

Enceladus

2004-10-04T02:07:00.000-07:00

Second major satellite outward from Saturn. Little was known about this object other than its orbit until the flyby of the American planetary probe Voyager 2 in 1981. Approaching as close as 87,140 km (54,146 miles), the spacecraft revealed that Enceladus is complex geologically; observations of its surface indicate that the satellite has undergone five distinct evolutionary periods.

Laine, Dame Cleo

2004-10-01T15:23:00.000-07:00

Laine was born to a Jamaican father and an English mother. She quit school at age 14 and took a variety of jobs while auditioning for singing jobs. Her first break came in 1951, when she was hired as a vocalist for the Johnny Dankworth Seven, a

Aesthetics, The origins of modern aesthetics

2004-09-28T21:26:00.000-07:00

Francis Bacon wrote essays on beauty and deformity, but he confined his remarks to the human figure. René Descartes produced a treatise on music, although it contains little that would be recognized as aesthetics in the modern sense. During the first decades of modern philosophy, aesthetics flourished, not in the works of the great philosophers, but in the writings

Ricardo, David

2004-09-26T13:24:00.000-07:00

Ricardo was the

Alaska Purchase

2004-09-23T17:57:00.000-07:00

William Henry Seward, secretary of state under President Andrew Johnson, had as early as 1860 dreamed of acquiring Alaska. The territory was considered an economic liability by the Russians, and in December 1866 Baron Eduard de Stoeckl, Russian

Rjr Nabisco, Inc.

2004-09-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

Former conglomerate corporation formed by the merger in 1985 of R.J. Reynolds Industries, Inc. (a diversified company specializing in tobacco and food products), and Nabisco Brands, Inc., an international manufacturer of snack foods. In what was the biggest merger of its time, RJR Nabisco became privately owned in 1989 when it was merged into investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts

Aegean Civilizations, Eastward explorations

2004-09-19T20:40:00.000-07:00

From the 15th century, the mainland Greeks explored eastward and replaced the Cretan settlers in such outpost towns as Triánda on Rhodes or Miletus on the coast of Anatolia. There are Hittite records that apparently mention the maneuvers and political meddling of Greeks in coastal states; they refer to them under the name of Ahhíyawa, probably the equivalent to Homer's

Rhythm

2004-09-17T18:02:00.000-07:00

In poetry, the patterned recurrence, within a certain range of regularity, of specific language features, usually features of sound. Although difficult to define, rhythm is readily discriminated by the ear and the mind, having as it does a physiological basis. It is universally agreed to involve qualities of movement, repetition, and pattern and to arise from the poem's

Amin, Idi

2004-09-14T21:29:00.000-07:00

A member of the small Kakwa ethnic group of northwestern Uganda, Amin had little formal education and joined the King's African Rifles of the British colonial army in 1946 as an assistant cook. He quickly rose through the ranks, serving in the Allied

La Rochefoucauld-liancourt, François-alexandre-frédéric, Duke (duc) De

2004-09-10T16:01:00.000-07:00

La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, the son of François-Armand de La Rochefoucauld, Duke d'Estissac, served in the army and, after going to England

China, Food production

2004-09-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

The primary Neolithic crops, domesticated by the 5th millennium BC, were drought-resistant millet (usually Setaria italica), grown on the eolian or alluvial loess soils of the northwest and the north, and glutenous rice (Oryza sativa), grown in the wetlands of the southeast. These staples were supplemented by a variety of fruits, nuts, legumes, vegetables, and aquatic plants.

Ada

2004-09-05T21:23:00.000-07:00

City, seat (1907) of Pontotoc county, south-central Oklahoma, U.S. It lies along Clear Boggy Creek, south of the Canadian River, and was named for the daughter of the first postmaster, William J. Reed, who built a log store there in 1889. The railroad arrived in 1900, and the city developed as a marketing and trading centre for a large cattle and grain area. The discovery of oil in the vicinity

Cataract

2004-09-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

A waterfall (q.v.), especially one containing great volumes of water rushing over a precipice.

Yang Chu

2004-09-01T07:20:00.000-07:00

Pinyin Yang Zhu one of the early Taoist philosophers. Yang has been infamous in Chinese history for what was thought to be his extreme hedonism. This characterization of Yang was fostered by the great Confucian philosopher Mencius (c. 371–289 BC), the second Sage (after Confucius) of China, who condemned Yang Chu for upholding the principle of “each for himself.” According to Mencius,

Latin-american Literature

2004-08-31T07:42:00.000-07:00

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,

AbleDoor

Mormon

Zedillo, Ernesto

Arts, Central Asian, Decorative arts

Saar, Betye

Augustus, Caesar

The Woman Citizen

Fiddle

Ski Jumping

Fetter, Frank Albert

Adanson, Michel

Kogi

Maurice

Maurice

Seto Ware

Raymond Vi

Hale, John Parker

Maclaine, Shirley

Berenice Ii

Amelung Glass

Rathbone, Basil

Ribose

Rushworth, John

Toombs, Robert A(ugustus)

Gandía

Chase, Salmon P(ortland)

Acting

Wake

Spanish Town

Pacheco Pereira, Duarte

Basketball, College.

Priesthood

Maxwell's Equations

Mahé Island

Ear, Human, Endolymph and perilymph

Biblical Literature, Instructions on the Tabernacle

Terman, Lewis M(adison)

Gag Rule

Aldehyde

Antarctica, Biological resources

Egypt, The Valley

Szent-györgyi, Albert

Puerto Rico Trench

Floral Decoration

Fairbairn, Sir William, 1st Baronet

Gorbachev, Mikhail

Hou T'u

Sarasota

Malwa Plateau

Pidyon Ha-ben

Computers, IBM's Personal Computer

Cipher

Rovenky

Bad Gandersheim

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Old Testament

Adamkus, Valdas

Hesse-darmstadt

Ibex

Caroline

Friuli-venezia Giulia

Moss Animal

Talbot

Burges, William

Cystitis

Cheng Ch'eng-kung

Hyesan

Gsung-'bum

Table Tennis

Hui-kuan

Chan Ii

Earth, Magnetohydrodynamic wavesmagnetic pulsations

Resistencia

Ba Maw

Greece, History Of

Acadia

Quinone

Stringed Instrument

Znojmo

Ghaziabad

Palayankottai

Earth, Magnetohydrodynamic wavesmagnetic pulsations