PastToe

Valence

2005-04-04T01:04:00.000-07:00

Town, capital of Drôme département, Rhône-Alpes région, southeastern France. Valence lies on the left bank of the Rhône River. Built on a succession of terraces bordering the Rhône, the town is dominated by the ancient Cathedral of Saint-Apollinaire, which was consecrated by Pope Urban II in 1095 and completed early in the 12th century. Damage done to the cathedral during the

Narrabri

2005-04-03T03:39:00.000-07:00

Town, northeastern New South Wales, Australia. It lies along Narrabri Creek (tributary of the Namoi River), just west of the Nandewar Range. Surveyed in 1859 and declared a municipality in 1883, it derives its name from an Aboriginal word meaning “big creek” and “forked sticks.” On the Newell Highway, with regular air and rail service to Sydney (264 miles [425 km] southeast) and Brisbane, Narrabri

Poland, History Of, The Saxons

2005-04-02T00:07:00.000-08:00

The “Saxon Era” lasted for more than 60 years and marked the lowest point in Polish history. Research since the 1980s has somewhat corrected the largely negative picture of Augustus II and Augustus III by stressing the context in which they operated: anarchic political life dominated by factions of struggling oligarchs and open to meddling by the neighbouring powers.

Byzantine Empire, The crisis of midcentury

2005-04-01T21:42:00.000-08:00

At last the menace of simultaneous war on two fronts threatened Justinian's plans. During the 550s, his armies were to prove equal to the challenge, but a major disaster prevented them from so doing between 541 and about 548. The disaster was the bubonic plague of 541–543, the first of those shocks, or traumas, mentioned earlier, that would eventually transform East Rome into the medieval

Caricature And Cartoon

2005-04-01T19:34:00.000-08:00

In graphic art, comically distorted drawing or likeness, done with the purpose of satirizing or ridiculing its subject. Cartoons are used today primarily for conveying political commentary and editorial opinion in newspapers and for social comedy and visual wit in magazines.

Amorphous Solid, Melt quenching

2005-03-31T13:52:00.000-08:00

Preparation of metallic glasses requires a quite rapid quench. The technique shown in Figure 4C, called splat quenching, can quench a droplet of a molten metal roughly 1,000° C in one millisecond, producing a thin film of metal that is an amorphous solid. In enormous contrast to this, the silicate

Fahrenheit Temperature Scale

2005-03-31T06:44:00.000-08:00

Scale based on 32° for the freezing point of water and 212° for the boiling point of water, the interval between the two being divided into 180 equal parts. The 18th-century German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit originally took as the zero of his scale the temperature of an equal ice-salt mixture and selected the values of 30° and 90° for the freezing point of water and normal body

North Germanic Languages, Vocabulary

2005-03-30T21:27:00.000-08:00

The everyday stock of Scandinavian words, including most of the high-frequency words, is Indo-European and Germanic in its core. Of the 200,000 or more entries in the large dictionaries of each language, the vast majority are either compounds and derivatives of the simpler words or else borrowings from other languages—mostly of a scientific and cultural nature. At the end

Yadava Dynasty

2005-03-29T05:32:00.000-08:00

Rulers of a 12th–14th-century Hindu kingdom of central India in what is the modern Indian state of Maharashtra. Originally a feudatory of the Eastern Calukyas of Kalyani, the dynasty became paramount in the Deccan under Bhillama (c. 1187–91), who founded Devagiri (later Daulatabad) as his capital. Under Bhillama's grandson Singhana (c. 1210–47) the dynasty reached its height at the expense of the

Distribution

2005-03-29T02:14:00.000-08:00

Also called Distribution Of Terms, in syllogistics, the application of a term of a proposition to the entire class that the term denotes. A term is said to be distributed in a given proposition if that proposition implies all other propositions that differ from it only in having, in place of the original term, any other term whose extension is a part of that of the original term—i.e., if, and only if, the term

Hawaii, University Of

2005-03-28T13:09:00.000-08:00

State university system consisting of the University of Hawaii at Manoa (main campus) in Honolulu, the University of Hawaii–West Oahu in Pearl City, the University of Hawaii at Hilo in Hilo, and seven community colleges on the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii. The main campus at Manoa is a comprehensive, land-grant university offering a wide range of undergraduate

Fuchs, Leonhard

2005-03-27T00:59:00.000-08:00

Fuchs obtained a humanistic education under Catholic guidance

Spooner, John (coit)

2005-03-26T15:03:00.000-08:00

Spooner moved to Wisconsin as a youth. After service in the Union Army during the Civil War, he was admitted to the bar (1867). He began a law practice at Hudson, Wis., and eventually became best known in legal circles as counsel for railroad interests.

Chemical Association

2005-03-26T03:29:00.000-08:00

The aggregation of atoms or molecules into larger units held together by forces weaker than chemical bonds that bind atoms in molecules. The term is usually restricted to the formation of aggregates of like molecules or atoms. Polymerization also denotes the formation of larger units by the union of like small units but usually with chemical bonds between the

Tarahumara

2005-03-25T05:49:00.000-08:00

Also called Rarámuri, Middle American Indians of southwestern Chihuahua state in northern Mexico. Their language, which belongs to the Sonoran division of the Uto-Aztecan family, is most closely related to Yaqui and Mayo. Culturally the Tarahumara show similarities to such neighbouring Uto-Aztecan peoples as the Cora, Huichol, Tepehuan, and Pima-Papago. The land inhabited by the Tarahumara

Binary Form

2005-03-24T23:48:00.000-08:00

In music, the structural pattern of many songs and instrumental pieces, primarily from the 17th to the 19th century, characterized by two complementary, related sections of more or less equal duration that may be represented schematically as ab. In 18th-century compositions, including dance-inspired movements by J.S. Bach and keyboard sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, the

Abseron Peninsula

2005-03-23T16:57:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Apsheron , Azerbaijani Abseron Yasaqligi peninsula in Azerbaijan that extends 37 miles (60 km) eastward into the Caspian Sea and reaches a maximum width of 19 miles (30 km). An eastern extension of the Caucasus Mountains, the Abseron Peninsula consists of a gently undulating plain, in part dissected by ravines and characterized by frequent salt lakes and lands flooded by tides. Vineyards and tea plantations are features

France, History Of, The social order of the ancien régime

2005-03-23T11:04:00.000-08:00

In the society of the ancien

Paul Ii

2005-03-22T01:25:00.000-08:00

He was bishop of the Italian cities of Cervia and Vicenza before being made cardinal by Pope Eugenius IV in 1440. After services in the Curia under popes Nicholas V and Calixtus III, he became governor of Campania in 1456. Elected Pope Pius II's successor on Aug. 30, 1464, he immediately declared that “capitulations,” or binding agreements that determined

Iraq, Recurrence of military coups, 196368

2005-03-21T23:29:00.000-08:00

The military faction that brought about the collapse of the Qasim regime preferred to remain behind the scenes rather than assume direct responsibility. The Ba'th Party, a group of young activists who advocated Arab nationalism and socialism, was entrusted with power. Ba'th leaders invited 'Abd al-Salam 'Arif to assume the presidency. A National Council for Revolutionary

Abortion

2005-03-21T19:18:00.000-08:00

Spontaneous abortions, or miscarriages, occur for many

Shah Shoja'

2005-03-20T15:36:00.000-08:00

Shoja' ascended the throne in 1803 after a long fratricidal war. In 1809 he concluded an alliance with the British against an expected Franco-Russian invasion of India but, the following year, was overthrown by his

Hadley, Henry (kimball)

2005-03-19T23:15:00.000-08:00

Hadley studied in Boston and Vienna and in 1904 went to Germany, where in 1909 he conducted his one-act opera Safié. He conducted the Seattle Symphony Orchestra (1909–11), the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (1911–15), and the Manhattan Symphony Orchestra (1929–32) and was associate conductor of the New York

Fw 190

2005-03-19T18:10:00.000-08:00

Abbreviation of Focke-wulf 190 fighter aircraft of Nazi Germany, second in importance only to the Bf 109 (or Me 109) in that nation's air force during World War II. The Fw 190 was a single-seat fighter that first flew in 1938. After some early technical problems, it went into service in 1941 and was superior to all its opponents until 1942–43; it remained a successful fighter and fighter-bomber until the end of World War II. About 20,000 Fw 190s

Arabia, Northern Arabia

2005-03-19T03:09:00.000-08:00

The Wadi As-Sirhan, a depression rather than a true wadi, is about 200 miles long and 1,000 feet below the adjacent plateau. Northeast of Wadi As-Sirhan are wide lava fields and chert plains belonging to the southern part of Al-Hamad, the Syrian Desert. The basin containing An-Nafud is rimmed on the north by escarpments, down the northern slope of which run the 'Anizah Wadis (the wadis of the

Ad Valorem Tax

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

Ad valorem rates, which have come into increased use, have the important advantage of adjusting the

Rushcliffe

2005-03-17T20:22:00.000-08:00

Borough (district), administrative and historic county of Nottinghamshire, central England, immediately southeast of the city of Nottingham. Rushcliffe is a rural agricultural area of open, rolling uplands (wolds) and flat plains. The wolds in the south rise to 200–300 feet (60–90 metres) in elevation and are an extension of higher areas in the adjacent county of Leicestershire.

Middle West

2005-03-17T16:38:00.000-08:00

Also called Midwest, or North Central States, region, northern and central United States, lying midway between the Appalachian and Rocky mountains and north of the Ohio River and the 37th parallel. The Middle West, as defined by the federal government, comprises the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Actually composed of

France, History Of, John the Good

2005-03-16T21:05:00.000-08:00

John II the Good (ruled 1350–64) succeeded to a weakened authority and kingdom; he was a mediocrity whose suspicions and impetuosity were ill suited to the changed circumstances. John hoped to rally baronial loyalties to himself. But he failed to reconcile Charles the Bad, king of Navarre, whose strong dynastic claim to the throne (he was the grandson of Louis X) was matched by

Discrimination

2005-03-16T03:21:00.000-08:00

Application of discrimination procedures permits description of the sensory acuities of laboratory

Murad V

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

A man of high intelligence, Murad received a good education and was widely read in both Turkish and European literature. In 1867 he accompanied Abdülaziz

Sadler, Michael Thomas

2005-03-15T15:18:00.000-08:00

An importer of Irish linens in Leeds, Yorkshire, Sadler served as a Tory member of the House

Telescope, Gamma-ray telescopes

2005-03-15T09:45:00.000-08:00

These instruments require the use of grazing-incidence techniques similar to those employed with X-ray telescopes. Gamma rays are the shortest (about 0.1 angstrom or less) known waves in the electromagnetic spectrum. As mentioned above, HEAO-3 was developed to collect data from cosmic gamma-ray sources. NASA and collaborative international agencies have numerous

Minamoto Shitago

2005-03-14T18:49:00.000-08:00

Although he was a descendant of the emperor Saga and was a member of the powerful Minamoto clan, Shitago was barred from high political position because he did not belong to the Fujiwara family, which controlled the government. Instead he devoted himself to scholarly and literary pursuits and became recognized

Croker, Thomas Crofton

2005-03-12T21:58:00.000-08:00

The son of an army major, Croker had little school education but did read widely while working in merchant trade. During rambles in southern Ireland from 1812 to 1816, Croker collected legends, folk songs, and keens (dirges for the

Sholem Aleichem

2005-03-12T19:47:00.000-08:00

Drawn to writing as a youth, he became a private tutor of Russian at the age of 17 and later served as a government rabbi in Lubin. His first writing had been in Russian and Hebrew, but between 1883, when his first story in Yiddish appeared, and his death, he published over 40 volumes of novels, stories, and plays

Dinaric Alps

2005-03-12T10:48:00.000-08:00

Serbo-Croatian Dinarsko Gorje , or Dinara Planina southeastern division of the Eastern Alps, running parallel to the Dalmatian (Adriatic) coast from Trieste and Slovenia south to Albania. Bounded by the Soca (Italian Isonzo) and Sava rivers (north), the Drina River (south), the Kolubara, Ibar, and Sitnica rivers (east), and the Adriatic Sea (west), the Alps rise to 8,274 ft (2,522 m) in Bobotov Kuk of Durmitor. The coast is indented with numerous

Star Cluster, OB and T associations

2005-03-12T10:47:00.000-08:00

The chief distinguishing feature of the members of a stellar association is that the large majority of constituent stars have similar physical characteristics. An OB association consists of many hot, blue giant stars, spectral classes O and B, and a relatively small number of other objects. A T association consists of cooler dwarf stars, many of which exhibit irregular

Taboo

2005-03-11T21:46:00.000-08:00

Also spelled tabu , Tongan tabu , Maori tapu the prohibition of an action or the use of an object based on ritualistic distinctions of them either as being sacred and consecrated or as being dangerous, unclean, and accursed. The term taboo is of Polynesian origin and was first noted by Captain James Cook during his visit to Tonga in 1771; he introduced the term into the English language, from which it achieved widespread

Race, The institutionalizing of race

2005-03-11T14:20:00.000-08:00

Slavery by nature creates social distance between masters and slaves, and intellectuals are commonly called upon to affirm and justify such distinctions. As learned men began to write a great deal about the “racial” populations of the New World, Indians and Negroes were increasingly projected as alien. In this way did the Enlightenment thinkers help pro-slavery

Interior Design, Governmental interiors

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

A notable characteristic of interior design for public buildings—such as court rooms, assembly halls (on all levels of government including the United Nations), city halls, and cultural buildings—is that the consumer is excluded from participation in decision making. Another is that in all cases the interiors try to present a very definite image or symbol. Governmental

Computers, Early experiments

2005-03-10T00:21:00.000-08:00

As the technology for realizing a computer was being honed by the business machine companies in the early 20th century, the theoretical foundations were being laid in academia. During the 1930s, two important strains of computer-related research were being pursued at two universities in Cambridge, Massachusetts. One strain produced the Differential Analyzer, the other

Puelche

2005-03-09T10:17:00.000-08:00

Little is known of the Puelche prior to the

Sachs, (ferdinand Gustav) Julius Von

2005-03-09T07:43:00.000-08:00

Sachs became an assistant to the physiologist Jan Evangelista Purkinje at the University of Prague, where he received the Ph.D. in 1856. In 1859 he was appointed

Aegean Civilizations, Eastward explorations

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

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

Novara, Battle Of

2005-03-08T09:07:00.000-08:00

(March 23, 1849), battle of the first Italian War of Independence in which 70,000 Austrian troops under Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky thoroughly defeated 100,000 poorly trained Italian troops (not all of whom were actually employed in the battle) under Charles Albert, king of Sardinia-Piedmont. It was fought at Novara, 28 miles (45 km) west of Milan, 11 days after Charles Albert had denounced the armistice

New Guinea

2005-03-07T17:03:00.000-08:00

Interior Design, Design and presentation

2005-03-06T20:30:00.000-08:00

After the completion of a program and the acceptance of the program by the clients, the actual design work can begin. Designers usually work on many alternative schemes. A single space such as a restaurant or a carefully designed store takes many days of preliminary design studies. As the size of the job increases, the interrelation of individual spaces increases

Packard, David

2005-03-06T13:13:00.000-08:00

After receiving his B.A. from Stanford University in 1934, Packard worked for the General Electric Company in Schenectady, N.Y. In 1938 he returned to Stanford,

Latin Averroism

2005-03-05T22:48:00.000-08:00

The teachings of a number of Western Christian philosophers who, in the later Middle Ages and during the Renaissance, drew inspiration from the interpretation of Aristotle put forward by Averroës, a Muslim philosopher. The basic tenet of Latin Averroism was the assertion that reason and philosophy are superior to faith and knowledge founded on faith. The Latin

Cole, Nat King

2005-03-05T15:25:00.000-08:00

Cole grew up in Chicago where, by age 12, he sang and played organ in the church

Low-temperature Phenomena, Specific heat and thermal conductivity

2005-03-05T00:37:00.000-08:00

When a small amount of heat is put into a system, some of the energy is used to increase the lattice vibrations (an amount that is the

Irish Sweepstakes

2005-03-04T10:51:00.000-08:00

In full Irish Hospitals' Sweepstakes one of the largest lotteries promoted internationally; it was authorized by the Irish government in 1930 to benefit Irish hospitals. A private trust was formed to run the lottery and market tickets throughout the world. During the 57 years of its existence, the contest derived more revenue from the United States than from any other country, although all the tickets were

Chronology

2005-03-03T18:48:00.000-08:00

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

Pyrethrum

2005-03-03T14:06:00.000-08:00

Any of certain plant species of the genus Chrysanthemum, native to southwestern Asia, whose aromatic flower heads, when powdered, constitute the active ingredient in the insecticide called pyrethrin, or pyrethrum. The plants were formerly considered a separate genus, Pyrethrum. The typical species, the perennial C. coccineum, is the florists' pyrethrum, commonly

Fabales

2005-03-02T21:44:00.000-08:00

The origin of the Fabales and its relationship to other plant families and orders are speculative. Traditionally the Fabales have been thought to have derived from the order Rosales, and even specific groups of the Rosaceae family have been postulated. A careful evaluation by the American botanist William C. Dickison has compared the Fabales with three families

Fuel Cell

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

Any of a class of devices that convert the chemical energy of a fuel directly into electricity by electrochemical reactions. A fuel cell is much more efficient than most other types of energy converters.

Pemberton, John Clifford

2005-03-01T17:33:00.000-08:00

Pemberton grew up and was educated in Philadelphia, entered West Point in 1833, and graduated four years later. He fought in the Mexican War and was cited for bravery while participating in many of

Wankel, Felix

2005-03-01T15:57:00.000-08:00

German engineer and inventor of the Wankel rotary engine. The Wankel engine is distinguished by the presence of an orbiting rotor in the shape of a curved equilateral triangle that does the work done by the moving pistons in other internal-combustion engines. Advantages of the Wankel engine include light weight, few moving parts, compactness,

Art And Architecture, Mesopotamian, Architecture

2005-02-28T18:51:00.000-08:00

The beginnings of monumental architecture in Mesopotamia are usually considered to have been contemporary with the founding of the Sumerian cities and the invention of writing, in about 3100 BC. Conscious attempts at architectural design during this so-called Protoliterate period (c. 3400–c. 2900 BC) are recognizable in the construction of religious buildings. There is, however,

Zemes Mate

2005-02-28T04:48:00.000-08:00

(Latvian), Lithuanian Zemyna the Earth Mother of Baltic religion. Zemes mate represents the female aspect of nature and the source of all life—human, animal, and plant. Interacting with Dievs (the sky), Zemes mate stimulates and protects the power of life. Libations of beer were offered to her at the opening of every festival, and such products of the earth as bread, ale, and herbs were buried in the ground

China, Land and people

2005-02-27T21:08:00.000-08:00

Physical geography is surveyed in The Physical Geography of China, 2 vol., trans. from Russian (1969), prepared by the Institute of Geography, U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences; Songqiao Zhao, Physical Geography of China (1986); and Shih-hsun Ch'en, The Climate of China (1962). Studies of population include June Teufel Dreyer, China's Forty Millions (1976), an examination of China's minorities and their integration into society since 1949; C.K. Leung and Norton Ginsburg (eds.), China: Urbanization and National Development (1980); Liu Zheng et al., China's Population: Problems and Prospects (1981), containing surveys and case studies; Judith Banister, China's Changing Population (1987), an analysis of modern demographic trends; and New China's Population (1988), studies by Chinese demographers of three censuses. Atlases include Chiao-min Hsieh, Atlas of China, ed. by Christopher L. Salter (1973); P.J.M. Geelan and D.C. Twitchett (eds.), The Times Atlas of China (1974); Caroline Blunden and Mark Elvin, Cultural Atlas of China (1983); The Population Atlas of China (1987), on the 1982 census, prepared by the Population Census Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Academy of Sciences; and Nathan Sivin (ed.), The Contemporary Atlas of China (1988), including maps, illustrations, essays, and a chronology.

Flodden, Battle Of

2005-02-27T09:09:00.000-08:00

(Sept. 9, 1513), English victory over the Scots, fought near Branxton, Northumberland. To honour his alliance with France (1512) and divert troops from the main English army, which was then in France under Henry VIII, James IV of Scotland crossed the border (Aug. 22, 1513) with an army of about 30,000 men supported by artillery. Thomas Howard, earl of Surrey, Henry's lieutenant in the north, gathered an army

Amora

2005-02-26T19:09:00.000-08:00

(Hebrew and Aramaic: “interpreter,” or “reciter”), plural Amoraim, in ancient times, a Jewish scholar attached to one of several academies in Palestine (Tiberias, Sepphoris, Caesarea) or in Babylonia (Nehardea, Sura, Pumbedita). The amoraim collaborated in writing the Gemara, collected interpretations of and commentaries on the Mishna (the authoritative code of Jewish oral laws) and on its critical marginal notes, called Tosefta (Addition).

Lipetsk

2005-02-26T07:31:00.000-08:00

Oblast (province), western Russia. It is situated on the rolling hills of the Central Russian Upland and, in the east, the low Oka-Don Plain. The Don and Voronezh rivers cross the centre of the oblast from north to south. The local agriculture has caused most of the natural oak forest cover and grass steppe to be ploughed up, resulting in severe gully erosion. Agriculture

John Ii

2005-02-25T22:48:00.000-08:00

John was a younger son of Ferdinand of Antequera, elected king of Aragon (as Ferdinand I) in 1412. John and his brothers retained their positions and revenues in Castile,

Hyperthyroidism

2005-02-25T16:45:00.000-08:00

The thyroid gland's oversecretion of hormones is usually accompanied by enlargement of the gland itself, thus forming the swelling, known as a goitre, in the neck region. The increased levels of thyroid hormones cause an increased

Tizi Ouzou

2005-02-24T13:23:00.000-08:00

Town, north-central Algeria, in the Great Kabylie. It lies in a narrow valley of the Wadi Tizi Ouzou, separated from the Wadi Sébaou Valley by Mount Beloua. Named for the flowering broom (ouzou) that grows in the pass (tizi) connecting the two valleys, Tizi Ouzou was built by the Turks and enlarged by the French. The town is a regional trade centre noted for basketry; it is the

Ribeiro, Aquilino (gomes)

2005-02-23T17:35:00.000-08:00

Ribeiro's revolutionary activism forced him to flee Portugal several times between 1908 and 1932. Much of his time in exile was spent in Paris. Although he is one of his country's most prolific writers, he is less widely read than many

Tseng-tzu

2005-02-22T22:09:00.000-08:00

Tseng-tzu was highly influential in reaffirming the Confucian emphasis on the virtue of hsiao

Wapiti

2005-02-22T10:59:00.000-08:00

Also called American Elk (species Cervus canadensis), North American deer, family Cervidae (order Artiodactyla), considered by some authorities to be of the same species as the red deer (C. elaphus) of Eurasia. Once common over most of North America, the elk now is confined to the Rocky Mountains and southern Canada. The second largest living deer, it is exceeded

John Ii

2005-02-22T08:44:00.000-08:00

The massive body measured nearly 9 metres (30 feet) long and must have weighed four to five

Alamo

2005-02-21T18:45:00.000-08:00

The building was originally the chapel of the Mission San Antonio de Valero, which had been founded between 1716 and 1718 by Franciscans. Before the end of the century the mission was abandoned

Bream

2005-02-21T18:09:00.000-08:00

The

Adam, Robert

2005-02-21T02:43:00.000-08:00

Having nearly exhausted his money and anxious to return to England, Adam had to forgo the pleasures of further expeditions to Greece and Egypt. He returned to London in January 1758, his head full of details of Roman antiquities. Palladianism was losing its appeal, and the public was ready for a new architectural style. Adam lost no time in making his reputation, and by the

Xochicalco

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

Xochicalco was built primarily during the 8th and 9th centuries AD and soon became an important trading centre. Although it also served for many years as a prominent religious centre, it was apparently turned

Euripus

2005-02-19T16:49:00.000-08:00

Modern Greek Euripos, Evrípos, or Porthmós Evrípou, narrow strait in the Aegean Sea (an arm of the Mediterranean Sea), between the Greek island of Euboea (Évvoia) and the mainland of central Greece. It is 5 miles (8 km) long and varies from 130 feet (40 m) to 1 mile (1.6 km) in width. It has strong tidal currents (often reaching velocities of 12 knots) that reverse directions seven or more times a day. According to popular tradition, the ancient Greek

Consistory

2005-02-18T22:24:00.000-08:00

(from Latin consistorium, “assembly place”), a gathering of ecclesiastical persons for the purpose of administering justice or transacting business, particularly meetings of the Sacred College of Cardinals with the pope as president. From the 11th century, when the institution of the cardinalate became more important, the Sacred College of Cardinals, assembled in

Rovaniemi

2005-02-18T11:51:00.000-08:00

Town, capital of Lapin lääni (Lappi province), northern Finland, at the junction of the Kemijoki and Ounasjoki (rivers), northeast of Tornio, on the Arctic Circle. Incorporated in 1929, it became the administrative centre of Lappi in 1939, when the government of Lapland was reorganized. Road building between 1920 and 1940 spurred its development, but near the end of World War II the retreating

Extensor Muscle

2005-02-18T06:03:00.000-08:00

Any of the muscles that increase the angle between members of a limb, as by straightening the elbow or knee or bending the wrist or spine backward. The movement is usually directed backward, with the notable exception of the knee joint. In humans, certain muscles of the hand and foot are named for this function. In the hand these include the extensor carpi radialis brevis,

Bohemond Vii

2005-02-17T05:08:00.000-08:00

The son of Bohemond VI by Sibyl, sister of Leo III of Armenia, he succeeded to the county of Tripoli in 1275, with his mother as regent. He had trouble with the Templars, who were established in Tripoli; and in the very year of his death he lost Laodicea to the sultan of Egypt. He died without issue, and within two years Tripoli was captured by the Egyptians

Performing Arts, Spain and Portugal.

2005-02-17T04:43:00.000-08:00

Spain maintained a substantial popular production. Notable films included José Luis Garci's Una historia de entonces (You're the One), the story of an aspiring woman writer in the 1940s who returns to her home village after the death of her lover; Álex de la Iglesia's high-spirited comic group portrait of the denizens of a rundown old Madrid tenement, La comunidad; and

Cosmology

2005-02-17T02:29:00.000-08:00

Three great ages of scientific cosmology can be distinguished. The first began in Greece in the 6th century BC when the Pythagoreans introduced the concept of a spherical Earth and, unlike the Babylonians

Teaching

2005-02-17T01:20:00.000-08:00

Measured in terms of its members, teaching is the world's largest profession. In the late 20th century it was estimated that there were 30,000,000 teachers throughout the world. Though their roles and functions vary from country to country, the variations among teachers

Kigali

2005-02-15T19:55:00.000-08:00

The

Switzerland, Geography

2005-02-15T09:43:00.000-08:00

Emil Egli, Switzerland: A Survey of Its Land and People, trans. from German (1978), provides a description of landscape, climate, settlement patterns, and economy. Swiss National Tourist Office, Switzerland and Her Glaciers: From the Ice Age to the Present (1981), gives a vivid portrayal, with detailed text and excellent colour photographs. Jaro Stvan, Les Alpes apprivoisées (1991), is an illustrated analysis of the infrastructural impact on the Swiss Alpine environment. Max Iklé, Switzerland: An International Banking and Finance Center (1972; originally published in German, 1970), chronicles the history of the country's financial institutions. Kenneth D. McRae, Conflict and Compromise in Multilingual Societies, vol. 1, Switzerland (1983); and Carol L. Schmid, Conflict and Consensus in Switzerland (1981), offer historical insight into the reasons why relative social and political stability exists in Switzerland.

Iberian Peninsula

2005-02-14T20:17:00.000-08:00

Peninsula in southwestern Europe, occupied by Spain and Portugal. Its name derives from its ancient inhabitants whom the Greeks called Iberians, probably after the Ebro (Iberus), the peninsula's second longest river (after the Tagus). The Pyrenees form an effective land barrier in the northeast from the rest of Europe, and in the south at Gibraltar the peninsula is separated

China, The development of the Republic (191220)

2005-02-14T04:05:00.000-08:00

The first half of the 20th century saw the gradual disintegration of the old order in China and the turbulent preparation for a new society. Foreign political philosophies undermined the traditional governmental system, nationalism became the strongest activating force, and civil wars and Japanese invasion tore the vast country and retarded its modernization.

Amelung Glass

2005-02-13T11:00:00.000-08:00

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

Sankuru River

2005-02-13T00:06:00.000-08:00

Main tributary of the Kasai River (itself a tributary of the Congo River) in Congo (Kinshasa), central Africa. About 750 miles (1,200 km) long, it begins in the western highlands of Katanga (Shaba), where it is known as the Lubilash River, and flows 285 miles (460 km) north and northwest, where it becomes the Sankuru proper and where it flows northward and then almost directly westward to the Kasai.

Asian Games

2005-02-12T02:51:00.000-08:00

The first games were held in 1951 at New Delhi; from 1954 they were held every four years. Athletes from 11 nations participated in the inaugural

Taranaki

2005-02-12T01:55:00.000-08:00

Taranaki's first European settlement was New Plymouth (1841), the name used when the area

Anno Mundi

2005-02-11T20:49:00.000-08:00

Abbreviation Am the year dating from the year of creation in Jewish chronology, based on rabbinic calculations. Since the 9th century AD, various dates between 3762 and 3758 BC have been advanced by Jewish scholars as the time of creation, but the exact date of Oct. 7, 3761 BC, is now generally accepted in Judaism. However, critical dates that underlie the calculations are uncertain. Rabbis used the genealogy

Costbenefit Analysis

2005-02-10T19:07:00.000-08:00

In governmental planning and budgeting, the attempt to measure the social benefits of a proposed project in monetary terms and compare them with its costs. The procedure, which is equivalent to the business practice of cost-budgeting analysis, was first proposed in 1844 by the French engineer A.-J.-E.-J. Dupuit. It was not seriously applied until the 1936 U.S. Flood Control Act, which

Roberts, Elizabeth Madox

2005-02-10T06:55:00.000-08:00

Educated in schools in Springfield, a village near her birthplace, Roberts taught school from 1900 to 1910. After 1910 she stayed for a time in

Hormone, Neurohypophysis and the polypeptide hormones of the hypothalamus

2005-02-10T02:11:00.000-08:00

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

Thompson, David

2005-02-09T22:12:00.000-08:00

Thompson was apprenticed to the Hudson's Bay Company

Clarke, T.e.b.

2005-02-09T11:38:00.000-08:00

Clarke worked as a free-lance journalist and novelist before joining Ealing Studios as a writer in 1943. He scripted several dramatic motion pictures, notably The Blue Lamp (1950), but received international fame

Dygasinski, Adolf

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

Dygasinski was a teacher by profession and a worshiper of science. He published about 50 volumes of short stories of uneven literary quality, the best pieces of which deal with the lives of domestic and wild animals.

Hadramawt

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

Also spelled Hadhramaut ancient South Arabian kingdom that occupied what are now southern and southeastern Yemen and the present-day Sultanate of Oman (Muscat and Oman). Hadramawt maintained its political independence until late in the 3rd century AD, when it was conquered by the kingdom of Saba'.

PastToe

Valence

Narrabri

Poland, History Of, The Saxons

Byzantine Empire, The crisis of midcentury

Caricature And Cartoon

Amorphous Solid, Melt quenching

Fahrenheit Temperature Scale

North Germanic Languages, Vocabulary

Yadava Dynasty

Distribution

Hawaii, University Of

Fuchs, Leonhard

Spooner, John (coit)

Chemical Association

Tarahumara

Binary Form

Abseron Peninsula

France, History Of, The social order of the ancien régime

Paul Ii

Iraq, Recurrence of military coups, 196368

Abortion

Shah Shoja'

Hadley, Henry (kimball)

Fw 190

Arabia, Northern Arabia

Ad Valorem Tax

Rushcliffe

Middle West

France, History Of, John the Good

Discrimination

Murad V

Sadler, Michael Thomas

Telescope, Gamma-ray telescopes

Minamoto Shitago

Croker, Thomas Crofton

Sholem Aleichem

Dinaric Alps

Star Cluster, OB and T associations

Taboo

Race, The institutionalizing of race

Interior Design, Governmental interiors

Computers, Early experiments

Puelche

Sachs, (ferdinand Gustav) Julius Von

Aegean Civilizations, Eastward explorations

Novara, Battle Of

New Guinea

Interior Design, Design and presentation

Packard, David

Latin Averroism

Cole, Nat King

Low-temperature Phenomena, Specific heat and thermal conductivity

Irish Sweepstakes

Chronology

Pyrethrum

Fabales

Fuel Cell

Pemberton, John Clifford

Wankel, Felix

Art And Architecture, Mesopotamian, Architecture

Zemes Mate

China, Land and people

Flodden, Battle Of

Amora

Lipetsk

John Ii

Hyperthyroidism

Tizi Ouzou

Ribeiro, Aquilino (gomes)

Tseng-tzu

Wapiti

John Ii

Alamo

Bream

Adam, Robert

Xochicalco

Euripus

Consistory

Rovaniemi

Iraq, Recurrence of military coups, 196368

China, The development of the Republic (191220)

Costbenefit Analysis