AbleHook

Alexis

2005-11-17T15:15:00.000-08:00

The son of Michael, the first Romanov monarch of Russia (reigned 1613–45), Alexis received a superficial education from his tutor Boris Ivanovich Morozov before acceding to the throne at the age of 16. Morozov, who was also Alexis' brother-in-law, initially took charge of state affairs, but in 1648 a popular uprising

Baracoa

2005-10-15T11:05:00.000-07:00

In December 1492 Christopher Columbus stopped at what is now

Abdul Kalam, A.p.j.

2005-07-28T08:55:00.000-07:00

Kalam earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from the Madras Institute of Technology and in 1958 joined the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). He soon moved

Bottome, Margaret Mcdonald

2005-07-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

Née Margaret McDonald American columnist and religious organizer, founder of the Christian spiritual development and service organization now known as the International Order of the King's Daughters and Sons. She attended school in Brooklyn and in 1850 married the Reverend Frank Bottome. Her long-standing practice of giving informal talks on the Bible

Ungava-quebec Crater

2005-07-24T03:25:00.000-07:00

Formerly Chubb Crater, the largest crater on the Earth's surface that is definitely known to be of meteoritic origin. It is located in the northwestern part of the Ungava Peninsula, northern Quebec province, Canada. First studied in 1950, the crater is 2.1 miles (3.3 km) in diameter and 1,203 feet (367 m) deep, with a rim standing 333 feet (101 m) above ground level. Filled by a lake, it is surrounded by many smaller circular lakes.

Voysey, Charles Francis Annesley

2005-07-07T04:50:00.000-07:00

Voysey was the son of Charles Voysey, founder of the Theistic Church. He was articled to J.P. Seddon in 1874, became assistant to George Devey, the eminent country-house designer, in 1880, and set up his own

North Africa, History Of, Geography and prehistory

2005-07-01T07:25:00.000-07:00

North Africa as here used means the area of present-day Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. In ancient times the Greeks used the word Libya, derived from the name of a tribe on the Gulf of Sidra, to describe the land north of the Sahara, the territory whose native peoples were subjects of Carthage, and also as a name for the whole continent. The Romans applied the name Africa

Romanus

2005-06-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

Romanus was a cardinal when elected pope in August amidst the chaotic aftermath of Pope Stephen VI's murder. For exhuming and desecrating Pope Formosus' corpse and annulling his pontificate in the “Cadaver Synod,” Stephen had been imprisoned and probably strangled by Formosus' supporters,

Soho

2005-06-16T22:25:00.000-07:00

It was an area of farmlands in the Middle Ages and was acquired by the crown in the 1530s. The community's development stems from the activities

Liturgical Music

2005-06-13T17:15:00.000-07:00

Also called Church Music, music written for performance in a religious rite of worship; the term is most commonly associated with the Christian tradition. Developing from the musical practices of the Jewish synagogues, which allowed the cantor an improvised charismatic song, early Christian services contained a simple refrain, or responsorial, sung by the congregation. This evolved

Computers, Lady Lovelace: The first programmer

2005-06-02T00:20:00.000-07:00

Augusta Ada King, the countess of Lovelace, was the daughter of the poet Lord George Gordon

Paradoxides

2005-05-31T07:20:00.000-07:00

Genus of trilobites (an extinct group of arthropods) found as fossils in Middle Cambrian rocks of North America and western Europe (the Cambrian Period lasted from 540 to 505 million years ago). Paradoxides has a well-developed head region terminating laterally in pointed spines that vary in development from species to species; the tail region is poorly developed. The body

Saudi Arabia, Transportation

2005-05-16T22:20:00.000-07:00

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

Europe

2005-05-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

Second smallest of the world's continents (after Australia), composed of the westward-projecting peninsulas of Eurasia and occupying nearly one-fifteenth of the world's total land area. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south (west to east) by the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, the Kuma-Manych Depression, and the

Kidney Failure

2005-03-14T11:06:00.000-08:00

Acute kidney failure results in reduced output of urine, abnormally high levels of nitrogenous substances, potassium, sulfates, and phosphates in the blood, and abnormally low blood levels of sodium, calcium, and carbon dioxide (see uremia). Ordinarily

Straits Question

2005-03-11T17:55:00.000-08:00

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

Tiet� River

2005-03-07T21:06:00.000-08:00

Several of the state's

Biosphere, Humidity

2005-03-06T13:06:00.000-08:00

Most terrestrial organisms must maintain their water content within fairly narrow limits. Water commonly is lost to the air through evaporation or, in plants, transpiration. Because most water loss occurs by diffusion and the rate of diffusion is determined by the gradient across the diffusion barrier such as the surface of a leaf or skin, the rate of water loss

F Region

2005-03-05T19:50:00.000-08:00

Highest region of the ionosphere, at altitudes greater than 160 km (100 miles); it has the greatest concentration of free electrons and is the most important of the ionospheric regions. The charged particles in the F region consist primarily of neutral atoms split into electrons and charged atoms. Although its degree of ionization persists with little change through the

Wild Rye

2005-03-04T06:36:00.000-08:00

Sea lyme, or dune, grass (E. arenarius) is a Eurasian species 0.6 to 2.5 m (2 to 8 feet)

Eastern Orthodoxy, Attempts at ecclesiastical union and theological renaissance

2005-03-03T17:31:00.000-08:00

In 1261 the Nicaean emperor Michael Palaeologus recaptured Constantinople from the Latins, and an Orthodox patriarch again occupied the see in Hagia Sophia. From 1261 to 1453 the Palaeologan dynasty presided over an empire that was embattled from every side, torn apart by civil wars, and gradually shrinking to the very limits of the imperial city itself. The church, meanwhile,

Lajvard Ware

2005-03-02T06:32:00.000-08:00

Also called �Lajvardina Ware,� type of vase from Kashan, Iran, mentioned in Abu al-Qasim's treatise on ceramics (1301). Vases were executed in simple red, white, black, and gold leaf designs on a turquoise or dark blue matte glaze. The designs were almost exclusively abstract and floral. Lajvard (Persian: �lapis lazuli,� referring to the blue glaze used) may date from the late 12th century; output increased about the mid-14th

Cahaba

2005-03-01T21:38:00.000-08:00

Historic village, Dallas county, southwest-central Alabama, U.S. It lies at the confluence of the Cahaba and Alabama rivers, 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Selma. Founded in 1819 as the first capital of Alabama, Cahaba thrived until floods forced the state government to move to Tuscaloosa in 1826. The site of a Confederate prison camp during the American Civil War, Cahaba remained the seat

Pigment

2005-02-28T22:19:00.000-08:00

Pigments are insoluble and are applied not as solutions but as finely ground solid particles mixed with a liquid. In general, the same pigments are employed in oil- and water-based paints, printing inks, and plastics. Pigments may be organic (i.e., contain carbon) or inorganic.

Haas, Walter A.

2005-02-27T02:45:00.000-08:00

Haas's association with Levi Strauss

Culteranismo

2005-02-26T07:16:00.000-08:00

To some extent an elaboration of the poetic practice of Louis de G�ngora, the theory of culteranismo was elaborated by Luis Carrillo y Sotomayor in Libro de la erudici�n po�

Asteridae

2005-02-25T21:48:00.000-08:00

The Asteridae, one of the six subclasses in the class Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons), consists of 11 orders, 49 families, and nearly 60,000 species. About one-third of the species of Asteridae belong to the family Asteraceae (of the order Asterales), which is the largest family of dicotyledons and one of the two largest

Abernathy, Ralph David

2005-02-24T14:58:00.000-08:00

The son of a successful farmer, Abernathy was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1948 and graduated with a B.S. degree from Alabama State University in 1950. His interest then shifted from

Gujarat, Education

2005-02-23T17:18:00.000-08:00

Primary schools for all children between the ages of 7 and 11 have been opened in nearly all villages with 500 or more inhabitants. Special schools are run for tribal children and for the teaching of arts and crafts. There are many secondary schools, as well as nine universities and a large number of institutions for higher education. Technical education is provided by engineering

Habsburg, House Of

2005-02-22T09:27:00.000-08:00

The War of the Austrian Succession cost Maria Theresa most of Silesia, part of Lombardy, and the duchies of Parma and Piacenza (Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748) but left her in possession of the rest of her father's hereditary lands. Moreover, her husband, Francis Stephen of Lorraine, who in 1737 had become hereditary grand duke of Tuscany, was finally recognized as Holy Roman emperor,

Botosani

2005-02-21T07:38:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Botosani judet (county), northeastern Romania. It lies in a rich farming area of northern Moldavia, near the border with Moldova. As a settlement, it was first documented in 1439. The Popauti Church dates from 1496. Long known as a market centre for agricultural produce and wines, Botosani has also become an industrial centre, particularly in textiles. Pop. (1989 est.) 119,563.

Melampus

2005-02-20T18:28:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, a seer who as a child received the understanding of the language of birds after two young snakes, whose lives he had saved, licked his ears when he was asleep. He later helped his brother Bias to marry Pero, daughter of King Neleus of Pylos. According to another legend, Melampus cured the insanity of the daughters of Proitus, prince of Tiryns; he and Bias

Duck

2005-02-19T17:14:00.000-08:00

Any of several genera of relatively small, short-necked, large-billed waterfowl that belong to the subfamily Anatinae, family Anatidae (q.v.), order Anseriformes. In true ducks, i.e., those classified in Anatinae, the legs are placed rearward, as in swans, resulting in a waddling gait. Most true ducks, including a few inaccurately called geese by reason of size and build, differ

Black Hand

2005-02-18T19:44:00.000-08:00

Italian �Mano Nera, � any of several extortion rackets run by immigrant Sicilian and Italian gangsters in the Italian communities of New York City, Chicago, New Orleans, Kansas City, and other U.S. cities from about 1890 to 1920. It consisted of sending threatening notes to local merchants and other well-to-do persons - notes printed with black hands, daggers, or other menacing symbols and extorting

Wichita State University

2005-02-17T23:54:00.000-08:00

Public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Wichita, Kan., U.S. The university comprises the W. Frank Barton School of Business, Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School, and colleges of Education, Engineering, Fine Arts, and Health Professions. In addition to undergraduate studies, Wichita State offers more than 40 master's degree

Ibn Daud, Abraham Ben David Halevi

2005-02-16T00:12:00.000-08:00

Physician and historian who was the first Jewish philosopher to draw on Aristotle's writings in a systematic fashion. He is probably more esteemed today for his history Sefer ha-kabbala (�Book of Tradition�) than for his major philosophic work, Sefer ha-emuna ha-rama (�Book of Sublime Faith�), extant only in Hebrew and German

Murchison River

2005-02-15T19:03:00.000-08:00

Ephemeral river in Western Australia, rising north of Meekatharra on Peak Hill in the Robinson Ranges and fed by its tributaries, the Sandford and Roderick. It flows sporadically (chiefly in winter) west, south, and again west to enter the Indian Ocean at Kalbarri, north of Geraldton, after a course of 440 miles (710 km). The explorer George Grey reached the river in 1839 on a forced march

Judaism, The Lurianic Kabbala

2005-02-14T08:17:00.000-08:00

After the establishment of the Zoharic corpus, no major changes took place in Jewish esoterism until the middle of the 16th century, when in Safed (in Upper Galilee, Palestine; present-day Zefat, Israel) a religious centre of extreme importance for Judaism was established, which was mainly inspired by teachers coming from families expelled from Spain. Until the expulsion

Gonz�lez De Mendoza, Pedro, Cardinal

2005-02-13T07:54:00.000-08:00

Mendoza, the fifth son of the poet I�igo L�pez de Mendoza, marqu�s de Santillana, studied at the University of Salamanca. After serving as chaplain to King John II, he

Arculf

2005-02-12T08:06:00.000-08:00

On his return from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land (c. 680), Arculf was driven by storm to Scotland and so arrived at the Hebridean

Tsugaru Warm Current

2005-02-11T01:48:00.000-08:00

Surface oceanic current, a branch of the East Korea Warm Current flowing into the Pacific Ocean. After flowing from the Sea of Japan through the Tsugaru Strait, the Tsugaru Warm Current passes along the eastern coast of Honshu.

Ammonium Nitrate

2005-02-10T08:45:00.000-08:00

(NH4NO3), a salt of ammonia and nitric acid, used widely in fertilizers and explosives. The commercial grade contains about 33.5 percent nitrogen, all of which is in forms utilizable by plants; it is the most common nitrogenous component of artificial fertilizers. Ammonium nitrate also is employed to modify the detonation rate of other explosives, such as nitroglycerin

Anthony Of Bourbon

2005-02-09T06:25:00.000-08:00

Son of Charles of Bourbon, duke of Vend�me, he married (1548) Jeanne d'Albret, daughter of Henry II, king of Navarre; as sole heir, she brought her husband the title of king of Navarre. Anthony was involved with his brother, Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Cond�, in the Huguenot conspiracy of Amboise,

Ear Disease

2005-02-08T07:34:00.000-08:00

The child born deaf or with a severe hearing impairment cannot acquire speech by the normal process but must attend special classes or a school for the deaf to be taught speech and lipreading. Most of these children have remnants of the sense of hearing that can be utilized in their schooling by the use of aids to amplify sound. The child with a moderate or mild hearing

Scandinavian Literature, Romanticism

2005-02-07T04:01:00.000-08:00

Political changes in Sweden up to 1804 meant that ardent nationalism emerged as a characteristic of Swedish Romanticism. The idealism at the core of this movement was laid by the Kantian teaching of Benjamin H�ijer and the impact of Friedrich Schiller, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and the German Romantics on Swedish literature. Student societies and their periodicals,

China, Attacks on party members

2005-02-06T00:18:00.000-08:00

Gradual transference of the revolution to top echelons of the party was managed by a group centred on Mao Zedong, Lin Biao, Jiang Qing, Kang Sheng, and Chen Boda. In May 1966 Mao secretly assigned major responsibilities to the army in cultural and educational affairs. Another purpose of the Cultural Revolution, as then conceived, would be a �revolution in the

Bradley, Bill

2005-02-05T05:42:00.000-08:00

Bradley began to play basketball at the age of nine and became one of the best players in Missouri high school basketball history. At Princeton University, Bradley, a forward, was a playmaker and high scorer, averaging 30.1 points a game during three seasons, in each

Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand

2005-02-04T21:29:00.000-08:00

Gandhi was the youngest child of his father's fourth wife. His father, Karamchand Gandhi, who was the dewan (chief

Biblical Literature, The Sadducees

2005-02-03T07:43:00.000-08:00

The Sadducees, more conservative and static, consisted mainly of the old priesthood and landed aristocracy and, perhaps, some Herodians. They were collaborators with Rome. They did not believe in resurrection because they found no Old Testament enunciation of such a doctrine. In a way, they seemed to respect the Pharisees in legal matters; but both the Pharisees - because

Azali

2005-02-02T03:35:00.000-08:00

Any member of the Babi movement (followers of a 19th-century Iranian prophet, the Bab) who chose to remain faithful to the Bab's teachings and to his chosen successor, Mirza Yahya, given the religious title Sobh-e Azal, after a split in the movement occurred in 1863. For about 13 years after the Bab's execution (1850), his followers acknowledged Sobh-e Azal as their lawful leader. In 1863, when Sobh-e Azal's half-brother

Interior Design

2005-02-01T01:34:00.000-08:00

The art of interior design encompasses all of the fixed and movable ornamental objects that form an integral part of the inside of any human habitation. It is essential to remember that much of what today is classified as art and exhibited in galleries and museums was originally used to furnish interiors. Paintings were usually ordered by size and frequently by

Latin Language

2005-01-31T03:17:00.000-08:00

Originally spoken by small groups of people living along the lower Tiber River, Latin spread with the increase of Roman political power, first throughout Italy and then throughout most of western and southern Europe and the central and western Mediterranean

Nabokov, Vladimir

2005-01-30T02:26:00.000-08:00

Vladimir Nabokov, Speak, Memory (1967), the author's autobiography up to 1940; three books by Andrew Field, Nabokov: His Life in Art (1967), Nabokov: A Bibliography (1972), and Nabokov: His Life in Part (1977); C. Newman and Alfred Appel, Jr. (eds.), For Vladimir Nabokov on His Seventieth Birthday (1971), a Festschrift of reminiscences of Nabokov and critical articles and tributes; Alfred Appel Jr., Nabokov's Dark Cinema (1974), on Nabokov's work in film; Peter Quennell (ed.), Vladimir Nabokov, His Life, His Work, His World: A Tribute (1980).

Korsakov

2005-01-29T01:45:00.000-08:00

City, Sakhalin oblast (province), far eastern Russia. It lies in the southern part of Sakhalin Island on the Aniva Gulf. Founded in 1853 as a fortified post, it was the first Russian military post on the island. Its port opened in 1909. The settlement was ruled by Japan from 1905 to 1945 and was called Otomari. In 1946 it became a city and was given its present name. It is the largest port on the island, with

Sayers, Gale

2005-01-28T05:17:00.000-08:00

Sayers first gained national attention as a two-time

Canute (i)

2005-01-27T14:52:00.000-08:00

Neither the place nor date of Canute's birth is known. As a youth he accompanied his father, Sweyn I Forkbeard, king of Denmark, on his invasion of England in 1013. Canute was left in charge of the fleet at Gainsborough, Lincolnshire,

Wells, Henry

2005-01-26T17:12:00.000-08:00

Wells gained experience as an agent for Harnden's Express at Albany, N.Y., and then as a founder of Livingston, Wells, and Pomeroy's Express, operating between Albany and Buffalo. In 1844, together with William Fargo (q.v.) and Daniel Dunning,

Biblical Literature, The canon of the Prophets

2005-01-25T11:28:00.000-08:00

The Hebrew canon of the section of the Old Testament known as the Nevi'im, or the Prophets, is divided into two sections: the Former Prophets and the Latter Prophets. The Former Prophets contains four historical books - Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings; the Latter Prophets includes four prophetic works - the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve (Minor) Prophets.

Smith, Cyril Stanley

2005-01-24T14:37:00.000-08:00

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

Mineral, Cyclosilicates

2005-01-23T08:37:00.000-08:00

Silicon-oxygen tetrahedrons are linked into rings in cyclosilicate structures, which have an overall Si:O ratio of 1:3. There are three closed cyclic configurations with the following formulas: Si3O9, Si4O12, and Si6O18. The rare titanosilicate benitoite (BaTiSi3O9) is the only mineral that is built with the simple Si3O9 ring. Axinite [(Ca, Fe, Mn)3Al2(BO3)(Si4O12)(OH)] contains Si4O12 rings, along with

Switzerland, The impact of the French Revolution

2005-01-22T19:33:00.000-08:00

In spite of economic expansion, Switzerland's political institutions were poorly prepared to meet the violent forces set loose by the French Revolution. The 13 cantons of the Helvetic Association had no central government; each had its own army; religious antagonisms still existed; the rural cantons were suspicious of the towns; and the small cantons were jealous

Athenodorus Cananites

2005-01-21T05:52:00.000-08:00

Also called �Athenodorus Son Of Sandon � Greek Stoic philosopher who was the teacher of the younger Octavian, who later became the emperor Augustus. He is to be distinguished from Athenodorus Cordylion, also a Stoic, who became keeper of the library in Pergamum. Athenodorus acquired a lasting influence over Octavian and probably followed him to Rome in 44 BC, later returning

Facet

2005-01-20T14:53:00.000-08:00

Flat, polished surface on a cut gemstone, usually with three or four sides. The widest part of a faceted stone is the girdle; the girdle lies on a plane that separates the crown, the stone's upper portion, from the pavilion, the stone's base. The large facet in the crown parallel to the girdle is the table; the very small one in the pavilion also parallel to the girdle is the culet.

Islam, The teachings of Ibn al-'Arabi

2005-01-19T19:28:00.000-08:00

The account of the doctrines of Ibn al-'Arabi (12th - 13th centuries) belongs properly to the history of Islamic mysticism. Yet his impact on the subsequent development of the new wisdom was in many ways far greater than was that of as-Suhrawardi. This is true especially of his central doctrine of the �unity of being� and his sharp distinction between the absolute One, which is undefinable

Vaal River

2005-01-18T13:32:00.000-08:00

Northern tributary of the Orange River, South Africa. Rising at Sterkfontein Beacon near Breyten, in Mpumalanga province, it flows 750 miles (1,210 km) southwest to its confluence with the Orange near Douglas; the Vaal's middle section forms most of the Free State's northern provincial boundary. It is basically a plateau river and occupies a shallow bed. Most of the year its flow

Anjo

2005-01-17T14:39:00.000-08:00

City, Aichi ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, in the middle of the Hekkai Terrace. Irrigation was introduced into the area in the late 19th century, permitting cultivation of two crops of rice and wheat annually. In 1891 the Anjo station on the railroad between Tokyo and Kobe was opened, and the new town developed around it. With far-sighted planning and the early establishment of

La Fontaine, Jean De

2005-01-16T03:49:00.000-08:00

Though he never secured the favour of Louis XIV, La Fontaine had many well-wishers close to the throne and among the nobility. He moved among churchmen, doctors, artists, musicians, and actors. But it was literary circles that he especially frequented. Legend has exaggerated the closeness of his ties with Moli�re, Nicholas Boileau, and Jean Racine, but he certainly numbered

Reserpine

2005-01-15T02:50:00.000-08:00

Drug derived from the roots of certain species of the tropical plant Rauwolfia. The powdered whole root of the Indian shrub Rauwolfia serpentina historically had been used to treat snakebites, insomnia, hypertension (high blood pressure), and insanity. Reserpine, isolated in 1952, was the first of many Rauwolfia alkaloids found in the crude drug. Because the drug produces

Basf Aktiengesellschaft

2005-01-14T14:39:00.000-08:00

(German: BASF Limited-liability Company), German chemical and plastics manufacturing company originally founded in 1865 and today operating in some 30 countries. The BASF Group produces oil and natural gas, chemicals, fertilizers, plastics, synthetic fibres, dyes and pigments, potash and salt, inks and printing accessories, electronic recording accessories, cosmetic

�pernon, Jean-louis De Nogaret De La Valette, Duke (duc) D'

2005-01-13T07:56:00.000-08:00

Of obscure nobility, La Valette rose to prominence as a favourite of Henry III, who created him duke and peer of France in 1582. He and Anne de Joyeuse acted virtually as prime ministers in the 1580s. His rapacity was notorious, but he also showed great political ability

Colbert, Claudette

2005-01-12T14:45:00.000-08:00

Colbert moved with her family to New York City about 1910. While studying fashion design, she landed a small role in the Broadway play The Wild Westcotts (1923) after

Athens

2005-01-11T17:35:00.000-08:00

Annecy

2005-01-10T02:57:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Haute-Savoie d�partement, Rh�ne-Alpes r�gion, southeastern France. It lies along the northwestern shore of Lake Annecy at the entrance to one of the cluses (transverse gorges) of the Savoy Pre-Alps, south of Geneva. Traces of the Gallo-Roman Boutae have been found nearby. The seat of the counts of Genevois from the 10th century, Annecy was attached to the dukedom

Talbot, Mary Anne

2005-01-09T17:23:00.000-08:00

Talbot's mother died at her birth, and she believed herself to be the illegitimate child of William Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot. She was seduced in 1792 by Captain Essex Bowen and accompanied him to Santo Domingo in the Caribbean, disguised

Interior Design, Islamic countries

2005-01-08T21:25:00.000-08:00

The Arab conquest in the 7th century AD and, in the 8th century, Muslim expansion into India and Spain had profound influence on the decorative arts throughout the known world, especially as most of the long-distance trading routes passed through Arab lands. The skills of the conquerors fused with the traditional skills of their subject peoples, and because Islam forbade

Computers, The Jacquard loom

2005-01-07T17:09:00.000-08:00

Calculators such as the Arithmometer remained a fascination after 1820, and their potential for commercial use was well understood. Many other mechanical devices built during the 19th century also performed repetitive functions more or less automatically, but few had any application to computing. There was one major exception: the Jacquard loom, invented in 1804 - 05 by a French

Utrillo, Maurice

2005-01-06T16:57:00.000-08:00

Utrillo was the illegitimate son of the model and artist Suzanne Valadon (1865 - 1938). His father was not known, and he was given a name by a Spanish art critic, Miguel Utrillo. The young Utrillo had no instruction as an artist

Deep-sea Trench

2005-01-05T13:10:00.000-08:00

Trenches generally lie seaward of and parallel to adjacent island arcs or mountain ranges

Pachisi

2005-01-04T11:08:00.000-08:00

Also called �Ludo, or Parcheesi, � board game, sometimes called the national game of India. Four players in opposing partnerships of two attempt to move pieces around a cross-shaped track. Moves are determined by throws of cowrie shells or dice. Each player has four pieces, which begin at the centre space, move down the middle track nearest the player, and counterclockwise around the outer track of the

Na-den� Languages

2005-01-03T14:26:00.000-08:00

Major grouping (phylum or superstock) of North American Indian languages, consisting of three language families - Athabascan (or Athapascan), Haida, and Tlingit - with a total of 22 languages. Of these languages 20 belong to the Athabascan family; they are spoken in the Northwest Territory, the Yukon, and adjacent parts of Canada, west to Cook Inlet in Alaska; in two isolated areas

Metalloid

2005-01-02T13:42:00.000-08:00

A chemical element with properties intermediate between those of typical metals and nonmetals. Usually considered under this classification are the chemical elements boron, silicon, germanium, arsenic, antimony, and tellurium. The rare elements polonium and astatine are also sometimes included. Most of these elements are important industrial materials, being

Baha'i Temple

2005-01-01T02:56:00.000-08:00

In the Baha'i faith, house of worship open to adherents of all religions. See mashriq al-adhkar.

Herder, Johann Gottfried Von

2004-12-31T04:40:00.000-08:00

German critic, theologian, and philosopher, who was the leading figure of the Sturm und Drang literary movement and an innovator in the philosophy of history and culture. His influence, augmented by his contacts with the young J.W. von Goethe, made him a harbinger of the Romantic movement.

Gary

2004-12-30T09:50:00.000-08:00

City, Lake county, extreme northwest Indiana, U.S. It lies at the southern end of Lake Michigan in the Calumet district east of Chicago. In 1906 the town (named for Elbert H. Gary, chief organizer of the United States Steel Corporation) was laid out as an adjunct of the company's vast new manufacturing complex. The site was chosen because it lay on navigable water midway between

Carter, Elliott (cook, Jr.)

2004-12-29T08:43:00.000-08:00

Born of a wealthy family, Carter was educated at Harvard University, where he first majored in English and later studied music under Walter Piston and Gustav Holst.

Biblical Literature, Later and modern versions: English

2004-12-28T04:50:00.000-08:00

Knowledge of the pre-Wycliffite English renditions stems from the many actual manuscripts that have survived and from secondary literature, such as booklists, wills, citations by later authors, and references in polemical works that have preserved the memory of many a translation effort.

Hengist And Horsa

2004-12-27T10:18:00.000-08:00

Hengist also spelled �Hengest� (respectively d. c. 488; d. 455?), brothers and legendary leaders of the first Anglo-Saxon settlers in Britain who went there, according to the English historian and theologian Bede, to fight for the British king Vortigern against the Picts between AD 446 and 454. The brothers are said to have been Jutes and sons of one Wihtgils. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that they landed at Ebbsfleet,

China, Industrialization for �self-strengthening�

2004-12-26T16:17:00.000-08:00

Stimulated by the military training and techniques exhibited during the Westerners' cooperation against the Taiping and supported by Prince Kung in Peking, the Self-Strengthening Movement was launched by the anti-Taiping generals Tseng Kuo-fan, Li Hung-chang, and Tso Tsung-t'ang, who sought to consolidate the Ch'ing power by introducing Western technology. The

Lahbabi, Mohammed Aziz

2004-12-25T05:02:00.000-08:00

Lahbabi taught philosophy at the University of Rabat, where he was dean of the faculty of letters as well as professor, and at the University of Algiers. He also founded the Union of Arab Writers

Intermediate Vector Boson

2004-12-23T04:49:00.000-08:00

Type of boson associated with the electromagnetic and weak forces in unified form. See W particle.

Amati Family

2004-12-22T10:09:00.000-08:00

Andrea (c. 1520 - c. 1578), the founder of the Cremona school of violin making, was perhaps originally influenced by the work of slightly earlier makers from Brescia. His earliest-known violins are dated about 1564. In essentials, they set the style for all the models made by later members of the family and,

Essex, Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl Of, Viscount Hereford Lord Ferrers, Lord Bourchier

2004-12-21T19:11:00.000-08:00

Because his father, Robert Devereux, 2nd earl of Essex, had been executed for treason (1601), Devereux had to obtain special permission from Parliament to succeed (1604) to his family titles

Acanthaceae

2004-12-20T11:11:00.000-08:00

One of 18 families in the figwort order of flowering plants (Scrophulariales), containing approximately 250 genera and at least 2,500 species distributed predominantly in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The greater part of the Acanthaceae family are herbs or shrubs, but climbers (vines) and trees occur as well. The range of habitats extends from marshes to extremely

Chamberlain, Owen

2004-12-19T18:30:00.000-08:00

Chamberlain worked on the U.S. atom bomb project from

Water Flea

2004-12-18T05:22:00.000-08:00

Any member of the crustacean order Anomopoda (class Branchiopoda), a large group containing about 450 species distributed worldwide. Most forms are found in freshwater habitats, but a few occur in marine environments. The best known genus is Daphnia, ubiquitous in ponds and streams in Europe and North America. The water flea is microscopic in size, typically

Nixon, Pat

2004-12-17T06:12:00.000-08:00

Richard Nixon was forced to resign as president for his involvement in the Watergate affair, and on August 9, 1974, the Nixons retired, first to California and then to New Jersey. She died of lung cancer in 1993 at her New Jersey home and was buried at the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda, California.

Aterian Industry

2004-12-16T17:26:00.000-08:00

Stone tool tradition of the Middle and Late Paleolithic, found widespread in the late Pleistocene throughout northern Africa. The Aterian people were among the first to use the bow and arrow. Aterian stone tools are an advanced African form of the European Levalloisian tradition, adapted to desert use. A distinctive Aterian sign is the formation of stems, or tangs,

Denitrifying Bacteria

2004-12-15T04:07:00.000-08:00

Microorganisms whose action results in the conversion of nitrates in soil to free atmospheric nitrogen, thus depleting soil fertility and reducing agricultural productivity. Thiobacillus denitrificans, Micrococcus denitrificans, and some species of Serratia, Pseudomonas, and Achromobacter are implicated as denitrifiers. Pseudomonas aeruginosa can,

Infection, Temperature regulation

2004-12-14T01:19:00.000-08:00

Although it has been generally accepted that the usual range of deep body temperature is from 97.2� F to 100� F (36.2� C to 37.8� C), temperatures of 95.9� F to 101.2� F (35.5� C to 38.4� C) have been reported in normal individuals. The rectal temperature of a person may read 101� F (38.3� C) in the afternoon or after exercise. Core body temperature, in fact, varies with time of day, environmental temperature, physical activity, food intake,

Infection, Temperature regulation

2004-12-13T07:37:00.000-08:00

Set of multilateral trade agreements aimed at the abolition of quotas and the reduction of tariff duties among the contracting nations. When GATT was concluded by 23 countries at Geneva, in 1947 (to take effect on Jan. 1, 1948), it was considered an interim arrangement pending the formation of a United Nations agency to supersede it. When such an agency failed to emerge, GATT was amplified