FixedGrass

Razor-billed Auk

2005-04-05T20:54:00.000-07:00

Also called Razorbill (Alca torda), black and white seabird of the North Atlantic, bearing a sharp, heavy, compressed beak. About 40 cm (16 inches) long, it is the largest living member of the auk family, Alcidae (order Charadriiformes), and the nearest kin to the extinct great auk (q.v.). Razor-billed auks are deep divers, feeding on fish (including shellfish). They breed along North Atlantic coasts; some migrate

Agricola, Gnaeus Julius

2005-04-04T10:35:00.000-07:00

After serving as military tribune under Suetonius Paulinus, governor in Britain (59–61), Agricola became, successively, quaestor in Asia (64), people's tribune (66), and praetor (68). In the civil war of 69 he took the side of Vespasian,

Karaikal

2005-04-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

The area was part of the Cola empire in the 10th century,

Mid-indian Ridge

2005-04-02T13:41:00.000-08:00

Submarine ridge of the Indian Ocean that is connected to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; both are segments of the worldwide mid-oceanic ridge system. Entering the Indian Ocean from the South Atlantic, the Mid-Indian Ridge extends north to a point near Rodrigues Island, where it divides into two parts: one segment continues northward toward the Gulf of Aden, where it connects

Shamanism

2005-04-02T11:56:00.000-08:00

The residues of shamanism may be found among peoples who have been converted to religions of a later stage of culture—e.g., Finno-Ugric peoples who became Christians, Turkic peoples in Central Asia and Asia Minor who became Muslim, and Mongols who became Buddhists. Among the Finns, the tietäjä, a figure equivalent to the shaman, also is born with one more tooth than normal.

Colbert, Claudette

2005-04-01T00:07:00.000-08:00

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

Asclepiades Of Bithynia

2005-03-31T19:41:00.000-08:00

He opposed the humoral doctrine of Hippocrates and instead taught that disease results from constricted or relaxed conditions of the solid particles, a doctrine derived from the atomic

Sable Island

2005-03-31T14:59:00.000-08:00

Gently curving sandbar in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, 110 mi (180 km) southeast of Cape Canso. It is treeless, about 20 mi long and 1 mi wide, and comprises the exposed portion of a vast shoal on the outer edge of the continental shelf. Gradually shrinking in size and shifting slowly eastward, the island, because of unexpected shallows, has been the scene of

Atchison

2005-03-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1855) of Atchison county, northeastern Kansas, U.S., on the Missouri River. A French trading post at the site of the present city was the embarkation point, in 1804, for the Lewis and Clark expedition. Founded in 1854 by a group of proslavery settlers, it was named for their leader, David Rice Atchison, a U.S. senator from Missouri. It developed as a focus for rail and river traffic, and

Hydractinia

2005-03-30T13:08:00.000-08:00

Genus of marine hydrozoan polyps (phylum Cnidaria), a group of invertebrate animals with a thin tubelike body that attaches to a surface. Species of the Hydractinia are colonial and usually live on snail shells inhabitated by hermit crabs. The basal stolon (stemlike structure) of a Hydractinia colony is comprised of numerous perisarc-covered tubes coalesced into

West Indies Associated States

2005-03-30T11:40:00.000-08:00

Former political organization of islands in the Caribbean Sea that were British colonies whose status changed to free association with the United Kingdom in 1967. This status provided for internal self-government, with Britain responsible for external affairs and defense. The islands attempted several kinds of federation between 1958 and 1966 (see Leeward Islands), but the

Thun Und Hohenstein, Friedrich, Count (graf) Von

2005-03-28T11:31:00.000-08:00

After the suppression of the 1848–49 revolutions in Germany and Austria, Thun, an astute politician, headed

Affricate

2005-03-28T01:58:00.000-08:00

Also called semiplosive a consonant sound that begins as a stop (sound with complete obstruction of the breath stream) and concludes with a fricative (sound with incomplete closure and a sound of friction). Examples of affricates are the ch sound in English chair, which may be represented phonetically as a t sound followed by sh; the j in English jaw (a d followed by the zh sound heard in French

Duque De Caxias

2005-03-27T05:55:00.000-08:00

City, Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil, suburb of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Until 1931 it was known as Meriti Station and from 1931 to 1943 as Caxias; it became the seat of the district of Caxias in 1931 and seat of the municipality of Duque de Caxias in 1943. The Duquecaxiense Academy of Letters is located there. The duke for whom the city was named was Luis Alves de Lima e Silva, soldier

Caucasian Languages, Phonology

2005-03-26T10:58:00.000-08:00

The sound system of the Kartvelian languages is relatively uniform, with only the vowel systems exhibiting considerable differences. Apart from the five cardinal vowels a, e, i, o, u, which exist in all the Kartvelian languages, the Svan dialects show several additional vowels: the front (or palatalized) vowels, ä, ö, ü, and a high central vowel, {schwa} (as the a in English “sofa

Oberon, Merle

2005-03-25T05:18:00.000-08:00

The daughter of an Indian mother and a British army officer, Arthur Thompson, stationed in India,

Lippershey, Hans

2005-03-25T01:05:00.000-08:00

On Oct. 2, 1608, he formally offered his invention, which he called a kijker (“looker”), to the Estates of Holland for use in warfare. The Estates granted him 900 florins for the instrument but required its modification into a binocular device. His telescopes

Ironstone China

2005-03-24T17:38:00.000-08:00

Type of stoneware introduced in England early in the 19th century by Staffordshire potters who sought to develop a porcelain substitute that could be mass-produced. The result of their experiments was a dense, hard, durable stoneware that came to be known by several names—e.g., semiporcelain, opaque porcelain, English porcelain, stone china, new stone—all of which were

Wisconsin, Settlement patterns

2005-03-24T07:45:00.000-08:00

The majority of the people live in clusters of cities in the southeast, the area first reached and settled by migrants from the East. There they found soils and climate favourable for agriculture. Those who moved farther on across the state, seeking farmland, in time spread themselves fairly evenly except in the southern part of the Central Plain and the Northern

Epistemology, Tautological versus significant propositions

2005-03-22T11:36:00.000-08:00

A proposition is said to be tautological if its constituent terms repeat themselves or if they can be reduced to terms that do, so that the proposition is of the form “a = a.” In such a case the proposition is said to be trivial and empty of cognitive import. A proposition is said to be significant if its constituent terms are such that the proposition does provide new information

Kachchh, Gulf Of

2005-03-21T21:04:00.000-08:00

Kachchh also spelled Kutch, Cutch , or Kachh northeastern arm of the Arabian Sea, extending between the Rann of Kachchh (a salt waste) and the Kathiawar Peninsula of west-central India. Reaching eastward for some 110 miles (180 km), the gulf varies in width from 10 to 40 miles (16 to 65 km). It is rimmed with mudflats, and many small islands rise from its waters. The port at the entrance to the gulf is Okha; other ports include Mandvi, Bedi, and

Magdalena

2005-03-19T09:46:00.000-08:00

Also called Magdalena Contreras, or Contreras, delegación (district), west-central Federal District, central Mexico. It lies along the Magdalena River near Cerro Ajusco. Although once simply the commercial centre for the cereals, beans, fruits, and livestock produced in the surrounding area, Magdalena gained prominence as the site of a battle (Aug. 19–20, 1847) in the Mexican War (1846–48) that enabled the U.S. general Winfield Scott to

Metalogic, The axiomatic method

2005-03-19T08:58:00.000-08:00

The best known axiomatic system is that of Euclid for geometry. In a manner similar to that of Euclid, every scientific theory involves a body of meaningful concepts and a collection of true or believed assertions. The meaning of a concept can often be explained or defined in terms of other concepts, and, similarly, the truth of an assertion or the reason for believing

Achaean

2005-03-19T05:37:00.000-08:00

Greek Achaios, any of the ancient Greek people, identified in Homer, along with the Danaoi and the Argeioi, as the Greeks who besieged Troy. Their area as described by Homer—the mainland and western isles of Greece, Crete, Rhodes, and adjacent isles, except the Cyclades—is precisely that covered by the activities of the Mycenaeans in the 14th–13th century BC, as revealed by archaeology. From

Hamadryas

2005-03-18T21:50:00.000-08:00

Also called Sacred Baboon, or Arabian Baboon (species Papio hamadryas), large, powerful monkey of the plains and open-rock areas of southern Arabia and northeast Africa. It has gray fur, and the male has a full mane over the forepart of the body. Length of the hamadryas is about 60–70 cm (24–28 inches), and weight may be up to 18 kg (40 pounds). The hamadryas is similar in habit to other baboon species but seems to live in smaller

Mime And Pantomime

2005-03-17T22:16:00.000-08:00

Under the Victorians the subjects

Knebel, Karl Ludwig Von

2005-03-16T10:12:00.000-08:00

After serving in the Prussian army, Knebel became tutor to Prince Konstantine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. While traveling with the prince and his older brother,

Ghadamis

2005-03-15T09:48:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ghudamis, Ghadames, or Gadames, oasis, northwestern Libya, near the Tunisian and Algerian borders. It lies at the bottom of a wadi (seasonal river) bordered by the steep slopes of the stony al-Hamra' Plateau. Located at the junction of ancient Saharan caravan routes, the town was the Roman stronghold Cydamus (whose ruins remain). It was an episcopal see under the Byzantines, and columns of the Christian church

Hess, Victor Francis

2005-03-15T03:41:00.000-08:00

Educated at the University of Graz, Hess received his Ph.D. from the University of Vienna in 1906. His research

Ryazan

2005-03-14T17:07:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Riazan, or R'azan ', city and administrative centre of Ryazan oblast (province), western Russia. It lies along the Oka River on the site of the ancient town of Pereyaslavl-Ryazansky, about 120 miles (193 km) southeast of Moscow. The original Ryazan, first recorded in 1095, lay downstream at the Pronya confluence. The seat of the early principality of Ryazan, it was destroyed in 1237 by the Mongols; only the ruins

U Geminorum Star

2005-03-14T01:22:00.000-08:00

Any of a class of irregular variable stars that display sudden increases in brightness so great that they are sometimes called dwarf novae. Some have been observed to brighten by as much as 5 magnitudes (100 times) in a period of hours. The prototype star, U Geminorum, brightens by as much as 4 magnitudes (about 40 times) in a few days, declining again to normal brightness in two or

Furniture, Commercial modern

2005-03-13T10:06:00.000-08:00

Most modern furniture designed between 1930 and 1940 was bulky, bulbous, glowingly coloured, glossily finished, and rich with hardware or shiny fabric. It pleased the public but not critics and connoisseurs. Gradually, and more noticeably after 1945, stylistic details filtered down from more progressive design levels to appear as commercial fads, such as sectional seating and

Ribot, Théodule-armand

2005-03-12T21:13:00.000-08:00

Ribot received his doctorate from the École Normale Supérieure.

Middle American Indian

2005-03-12T18:07:00.000-08:00

The physical spine of Middle America is the broad mountain chain extending from the southern end of the Rockies to the northern tip of the Andes, with Middle America in the area from northern Mexico to Nicaragua. The mountain chain marks off the area into four major regions.

Adams, John

2005-03-11T08:52:00.000-08:00

In 1784 Jefferson arrived in Paris to replace Franklin as the American minister at the French court. Over the next few months, Jefferson became an unofficial member of the Adams family, and the bond of friendship between Adams and Jefferson was sealed, a lifelong partnership and rivalry that made the combative New Englander and the elegant Virginian the odd couple of the American Revolution. Jefferson also visited the Adams family in England in 1785, after Adams had assumed his new post as American ambassador in London. The two men also joined forces, though Adams as the senior figure assumed the lead, in negotiating a $400,000 loan from Dutch bankers that allowed the American government to consolidate its European debts.

Pachymeres, George

2005-03-10T22:58:00.000-08:00

Upon the fall in 1262 of the Latin Eastern Empire and the return of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus, Pachymeres went to Constantinople and was ordained to the

Geosyncline

2005-03-10T15:50:00.000-08:00

Linear trough of subsidence of the Earth's crust within which vast amounts of sediment accumulate. The filling of a geosyncline with thousands or tens of thousands of feet of sediment is accompanied in the late stages of deposition by folding, crumpling, and faulting of the deposits. Intrusion of crystalline igneous rock and regional uplift along the axis of the

Iron Gate

2005-03-10T04:40:00.000-08:00

Romanian Portile de Fier , Serbo-Croatian Gvozdena Vrata the last gorge of the Djerdap gorge system on the Danube River, dividing the Carpathian and Balkan mountains and forming part of the boundary between Yugoslavia and Romania. It is about 2 miles (3 km) long and 530 feet (162 m) wide, with towering rock cliffs that make it one of the most dramatic natural wonders of Europe. Near the town of Sip a large rock reef (called Perigrada) obstructed

Turdidae

2005-03-08T20:19:00.000-08:00

Members range in size from 11.5 to 33 centimetres (4.5 to 13 inches) long. They have slender bills and stout legs and feet, the lower leg smooth rather than scaly. Included

Theatre

2005-03-08T18:35:00.000-08:00

Also spelled theater in architecture, a building or space in which a performance may be given before an audience. The word is from the Greek theatron, “a place of seeing.” A theatre usually has a stage area where the performance itself takes place. Since ancient times the evolving design of theatres has been determined largely by the spectators' physical requirements for seeing and hearing

Andiron

2005-03-06T16:29:00.000-08:00

One of a pair of horizontal iron bars upon which wood is supported in an open fireplace. The oldest of fireplace furnishings, andirons were used widely from the Late Iron Age. The andiron stands on short legs and usually has a vertical guard bar at the front to prevent logs from rolling off, thus giving it a somewhat doglike appearance (hence the alternative name, firedog).

Céspedes, Pablo De

2005-03-05T08:13:00.000-08:00

Céspedes was educated at Alcalá de Henares, where he studied theology and Oriental languages. On leaving the university he went to Rome. In 1560, while in Rome, proceedings were taken against him by the Inquisition at Valladolid, but they were dropped. He returned to Spain a little before 1577 and received

Mander, Carel Van

2005-03-04T02:12:00.000-08:00

Born of a noble family at Meulebeke,

Silifke

2005-03-03T14:34:00.000-08:00

Also called Seleucia, town, south-central Turkey. It is located along the banks of the Göksu River, overlooking the Taurus Mountains. An irrigation scheme supplying the fertile lowland of the Göksu delta is located at Silifke. The town is a market centre for agricultural produce of its hinterland, including cotton, tobacco, grapes, olives, beans, and lentils. Industrial products include

Axminster Carpet

2005-03-03T10:43:00.000-08:00

Floor covering made originally in a factory founded at Axminster, Devon, Eng., in 1755 by the cloth weaver Thomas Whitty. Resembling somewhat the Savonnerie carpets produced in France, Axminster carpets were Ghiordes knotted in wool on woolen warps and had a weft of flax or hemp. Like the French carpets, they featured Renaissance architectural or floral patterns. Similar

Wyat, Sir Thomas, The Younger

2005-03-03T02:41:00.000-08:00

Wyat's father was the renowned poet and diplomat Sir Thomas Wyat. As a young man he acquired a reputation for recklessness, and in 1543 he was briefly imprisoned for taking part in a London street riot.

Fethiye

2005-03-02T07:59:00.000-08:00

Town, southwestern Turkey. It lies along a sheltered bay in the eastern part of the Gulf of Fethiye on the Mediterranean Sea that is backed by the western Taurus ranges. Fethiye's enlarged port is an outlet for the minerals and timber of the region. The hinterland is a major centre of chromium mining. Fethiye stands on the site of the ancient Lycian city of Telmessus, whose

Anckarsvärd, Carl Henrik, Greve(count)

2005-03-01T23:35:00.000-08:00

Unlike many other “men of 1809,” Anckarsvärd did not retreat from his liberal principles when a democratization of society became a practical possibility.

Aerodynamics

2005-02-28T08:39:00.000-08:00

Branch of physics that deals with the motion of air and other gaseous fluids and with the forces acting on bodies passing through such a fluid. Aerodynamics seeks, in particular, to explain the principles governing the flight of aircraft, rockets, and missiles. It is also concerned with the design of automobiles, high-speed trains, and ships, as well as with the construction

Maskelyne, John Nevil

2005-02-27T21:19:00.000-08:00

Trained as a watchmaker, Maskelyne became famous in 1865 when he, aided by George A. Cooke, exposed the Davenport Brothers as fraudulent spiritualists.

Integraph

2005-02-27T08:04:00.000-08:00

Mathematical instrument for plotting the integral of a graphically defined function. Two such instruments were invented independently about 1880 by the British physicist Sir Charles Vernon Boys and the Lithuanian mathematician Bruno Abdank Abakanowicz and were later modified and improved by others. The integraph draws the graph of the integral as the user traces

Tonga, Human settlement

2005-02-27T02:59:00.000-08:00

The majority of the population live in

Hades

2005-02-26T18:28:00.000-08:00

Greek Aïdes (“the Unseen”), also called Pluto, or Pluton (“the Rich”), in Greek religion, son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, and brother of the deities Zeus and Poseidon. After Cronus was killed, the kingdom of the underworld fell by lot to Hades. There he ruled with his queen, Persephone, over the infernal powers and over the dead, in what was often called “the House of Hades,” or simply Hades. Though he supervised the trial and punishment

Ashe, Arthur (robert)

2005-02-26T05:55:00.000-08:00

Ashe began to play tennis at the age of seven in a neighbourhood park. He was coached by Walter Johnson of Lynchburg, Va., who had coached tennis champion Althea Gibson. Ashe moved to St. Louis, Mo., where he was coached by Richard Hudlin, before he entered

Gage, Thomas

2005-02-25T09:24:00.000-08:00

Gage's military career in North America began in 1754, when he sailed with his regiment to serve in the last French

Paddlefish

2005-02-24T00:09:00.000-08:00

The American paddlefish (Polyodon spathula; see

Peter V

2005-02-23T22:06:00.000-08:00

He wished to convert the

Amravati

2005-02-22T20:07:00.000-08:00

Also called Amraoti, town, northeastern Maharashtra state, western India. It lies 85 miles (137 km) west of Nagpur. The town occupies an important position near passes through the hills that separate the cotton-growing regions of the Purna River basin (west) and the Wardha River basin (east). A growing industrial centre, it is expanding toward nearby Badnera; its cotton mills supply Bombay, Calcutta, and

Nagaoka

2005-02-21T22:44:00.000-08:00

City, Niigata ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, on the middle reaches of the Shinano River. A castle town in the 1600s, it prospered with the discovery of the Higashiyama oil well in the early 20th century. Despite heavy damage suffered during World War II, the city continued to grow, its industries producing chemicals, machinery, and processed foods. Nagaoka is a hub of rail and road

Sorb

2005-02-21T05:37:00.000-08:00

German Sorben, any member of a Slavic minority living in eastern Germany. The Sorbs are concentrated in the Spree River valley, in the area of Bautzen (Budyšin) and Cottbus. This area was part of the traditional region of Lusatia (q.v.), whose history is intimately bound up with the Sorbs. The Sorbs are descendants of two small Slavic tribes, the Luzici and the Milcani, who were subgroups of the

Tigris-euphrates River System, Agriculture and irrigation

2005-02-20T22:12:00.000-08:00

The rivers are high at the wrong time of year for most crops (except rice), so that cultivation by direct inundation generally cannot be practiced. The initiation of massive irrigation projects in Turkey heralds unprecedented change for the piedmont area of southeastern Anatolia. Historically, the agriculture of this zone, as well as of northern Iraq and Syria, has

Hywel Dda

2005-02-20T03:24:00.000-08:00

Hywel became ruler of Seisyllwg (roughly the area of Dyfed and the Towy Valley) jointly with his brother Clydog after the death of their father, Cadell (c. 910), but after Clydog's death in 920 he ruled alone. Sovereignty

Puebla

2005-02-19T09:58:00.000-08:00

Inland state, east central Mexico. It is bounded on the east by Veracruz; on the south by Oaxaca; on the west by Guerrero, Morelos, and the Federal District; and on the northwest by Tlaxcala and Hidalgo. Its northeast tip reaches into the Gulf lowlands between Veracruz on the east and Tlaxcala and Hidalgo on the west and north. Its 13,090-sq-mi (33,902-sq-km) territory occupies the southeastern

Daffodil

2005-02-18T17:51:00.000-08:00

Also called common daffodil , or trumpet narcissus (species Narcissus pseudonarcissus) bulb-forming flowering plant of the genus Narcissus (q.v.), native to northern Europe and widely cultivated there and in North America. The daffodil grows to about 16 inches (41 cm) in height and has five or six leaves that grow from the bulb and are about 12 inches (30 cm) long. The stem bears one large yellow blossom with a corolla deeply cleft into six lobes and a central bell-shaped

Quantrill, William C.

2005-02-17T18:48:00.000-08:00

Growing up in Ohio, Quantrill taught school in Ohio and then Illinois and, in 1857, moved to Kansas,

Aramaic Alphabet

2005-02-17T02:12:00.000-08:00

The Aramaic language and script were used as a lingua franca over all of the Middle

Baha' Al-din

2005-02-15T17:44:00.000-08:00

In July 1188, after making the pilgrimage to Mecca, Baha' al-Din entered the service of Saladin, who was waging war against the Christians in Palestine. Baha' al-Din sought Saladin's favour by urging him to the vigorous prosecution

Fyodor I

2005-02-15T00:10:00.000-08:00

The son of Ivan IV the Terrible and his first wife, Anastasiya Romanovna Zakharina-Yureva, Fyodor succeeded his father on March 19, 1584. Being both physically weak and feebleminded, however, he took no part in government affairs, which were dominated by his wife's

Skin Cancer

2005-02-14T22:44:00.000-08:00

Most cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer are caused by damage to DNA resulting from exposure to ultraviolet radiation of the sun. People with light complexions have a higher rate of skin cancer than those with dark skin, and males are more likely to develop skin cancer than females. Exposure to substances such as arsenic, coal, and tar has been linked to skin cancer, as

Sarah

2005-02-14T05:16:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Sarai, in the Old Testament, wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac. Sarah was childless until she was 90 years old. God promised Abraham that she would be “a mother of nations” (Genesis 17:16) and that she would conceive and bear a son, but Sarah did not believe. Isaac, born to Sarah and Abraham in their old age, was the fulfillment of God's promise to them. The barrenness of Sarah, cited in the preface

Mark, J. Carson

2005-02-14T00:05:00.000-08:00

Canadian-born American scientist who, as head of the theoretical division at the Los Alamos (N.M.) Scientific Laboratory, was instrumental in the development of the hydrogen bomb (b. July 6, 1913--d. March 2, 1997).

Eye For An Eye

2005-02-12T15:58:00.000-08:00

In law and custom, the principle of retaliation for injuries or damages. In ancient Babylonian, biblical, Roman, and Islamic law, it was a principle operative in private and familial settlements, intended to limit retaliation, and often satisfied by a money payment or other equivalent. See also talion.

Chia-i

2005-02-12T10:50:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Chiayi, hsien (county), west-central Taiwan, with an area of 734 square miles (1,902 square km). It is bounded by the hsien of Yün-lin and Nan-t'ou (north), Kao-hsiung (east), and T'ai-nan (south) and by the Taiwan Strait (west). The A-li Mountains dominate the eastern region, and there are coastal plains in the west. Paddy rice, sugarcane, peanuts (groundnuts), corn (maize), jute, bananas, pineapples, and citrus fruits

Carter Family

2005-02-11T16:32:00.000-08:00

Singing group consisting of Alvin Pleasant Carter, known as A.P. Carter (b. April 15, 1891, Maces Spring, Va., U.S.—d. November 7, 1960, Kentucky),his wife Sara, née Dougherty (b. July 21, 1898, Flatwoods, Virginia—d. Jan. 8, 1979, Lodi, Calif.), and his sister-in-law Maybelle Carter, née Addington (b. May 10, 1909, Nickelsville, Va.—d. Oct. 23, 1978, Nashville, Tenn.), a leading force in the spread and popularization of Appalachian Mountain folk

Rio Grande Do Sul

2005-02-11T03:07:00.000-08:00

The region was originally thinly inhabited by Tupí-Guaraní, Ge, and Guaycurú Indians. It

Mollien, Gaspard-théodore

2005-02-10T17:12:00.000-08:00

Mollien reached the French colonial station of Saint-Louis, Senegal, in 1817 and in January 1818 began his expedition to discover the sources of the Sénégal, Gambia,

Murmansk

2005-02-09T22:06:00.000-08:00

Oblast (province), northwestern Russia, with an area of 55,950 sq mi (144,900 sq km) occupying the Kola Peninsula between the White and Barents seas. Its upland blocks and mountain massifs, rising to 3,907 ft (1,191 m) in the Khibiny Mountains, are covered by tundra in the north and swampy forest, or taiga, in the south. The economy is dominated by mineral exploitation, principally apatite, nepheline,

Loch (of Drylaw), Henry Brougham Loch, 1st Baron

2005-02-09T06:26:00.000-08:00

A career soldier, Loch began his service in India (1844–53) and fought in the Crimean War (1853–56) and in the second and third China wars (1857–58 and 1860). After 1860 he held civil appointments. From

Van Diemen's Land

2005-02-08T23:27:00.000-08:00

(1642–1855), the southeastern Australian island colony that became the commonwealth state of Tasmania. Named for Anthony van Diemen, governor general of the Dutch East Indies, the island was discovered and named in 1642 by Abel J. Tasman, a celebrated navigator under Van Diemen's command. The first British settlers in the early 19th century retained the name. After being a part of the

Domestic Service

2005-02-07T04:09:00.000-08:00

In ancient Greece, Rome, and various other early civilizations, domestic

Great Bahama Bank

2005-02-07T00:48:00.000-08:00

Large shoal off The Bahamas, separated from Little Bahama Bank (north) by Northwest Providence Channel. Its shallow waters extend southeast from Miami, across the Straits of Florida, in a broad curve about 330 miles (530 km) long, between Cuba and Andros Island. The edge of the bank drops off precipitously into great depths. The marine life is abundant and varied, making it a prized

Sato Haruo

2005-02-06T02:01:00.000-08:00

Sato came from a family of physicians with scholarly and literary interests. He entered Keio University in Tokyo to study with the novelist Nagai Kafu in 1910, but he had already joined the Myojo group of poets revolving

More, Sir Anthony

2005-02-05T02:56:00.000-08:00

More studied his art under Jan van Scorel, and, after making a professional visit to Italy, he began to paint portraits in the style of Hans Holbein. His rise to eminence was rapid. In 1552 he was invited to Madrid by the emperor Charles V. In 1554 he

Factor, Max, Jr.

2005-02-04T21:42:00.000-08:00

(FRANCIS FACTOR), U.S. cosmetician who, with his father, developed Pan-Cake makeup so actors would not appear green in colour motion pictures and, when it began to be worn offscreen as well, mass-produced it and built their company into an international cosmetics empire (b. Aug. 18, 1904--d. June 7, 1996).

Amratian Culture

2005-02-04T10:58:00.000-08:00

Also called Naqadah I culture Egyptian predynastic cultural phase, centred in Upper Egypt, its type-site being al-'Amirah near Abydos in Qina muhafazah (governorate). Numerous sites, dating to about 3600 BC, have been excavated and reveal an agricultural way of life similar to that of the preceding Badarian culture, but with advanced skills and techniques, including mud-brick structures in fair-sized towns.

Young, Andrew

2005-02-04T04:21:00.000-08:00

Young was reared in a middle-class black family, attended segregated Southern schools, and later entered Howard University (Washington, D.C.) as a premed student. But he turned to the ministry and graduated in 1955 from the Hartford Theological Seminary (Hartford, Conn.) with a divinity

Salzkammergut

2005-02-03T02:06:00.000-08:00

Region, comprising parts of the Bundesländer (federal states) of Oberösterreich, Steiermark, and Salzburg, north-central Austria. The region consists mainly of the Traun River basin and is renowned for its lake and mountain scenery. Often called the Austrian “Lake District,” it has more than 30 lakes, including the Atter, Traun, Mond, Wolfgang (Aber), and Hallstätter. The highest

Patristic Literature, Monastic literature

2005-02-02T21:42:00.000-08:00

Both Anthony (c. 250–355), the founder of eremitical, or solitary, monasticism in

Mason, John Mitchell

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

Mason developed a plan for theological education and in 1804 founded a seminary of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in New York City. He believed that the

Hounslow

2005-02-01T20:17:00.000-08:00

Outer borough of London, part of the historic county of Middlesex. It lies in the valley of the River Thames, on the western periphery of the metropolis. It was made a borough in 1965 by the amalgamation of the former metropolitan boroughs of Brentford and Chiswick and Heston and Isleworth with the Feltham Urban District. Hounslow includes the areas of (from west to east)

Becquerel, Henri

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

He was a member of a scientific family extending through several generations, the most notable being his grandfather Antoine-César Becquerel (1788–1878), his father,

Komisarjevsky, Theodore

2005-01-30T17:44:00.000-08:00

Komisarjevsky studied architecture in Russia

Trafalgar Square

2005-01-30T17:16:00.000-08:00

Plaza in the City of Westminster, London, named for Lord Nelson's naval victory (1805) in the Battle of Trafalgar. Possibly the most famous of all London squares, Trafalgar Square has always been public and has had no garden. Seven major arteries pump automobiles around the great paved space, which is dominated by Nelson's Column (1839–43), a 185-foot- (56-metre-) high monument to Lord Nelson that

Danegeld

2005-01-29T18:14:00.000-08:00

A tax levied in Anglo-Saxon England to buy off Danish invaders in the reign of Ethelred II (978–1016); it also designates the recurrent gelds, or taxes, collected by the Anglo-Norman kings. The word is not recorded before the Norman Conquest, the usual earlier (Old English) term being gafol (“gavel,” or “tribute”). Though the Danes were sometimes bought off in the 9th century, the word Danegeld

Swallowing

2005-01-29T14:32:00.000-08:00

The first begins in the mouth. There, food is mixed with saliva for lubrication and placed on the back of the tongue. The mouth closes, and the soft portion of the roof of the mouth (soft palate) rises so that the passageway between

López Michelsen, Alfonso

2005-01-27T07:10:00.000-08:00

The son of Alfonso López Pumarejo, who was twice president of Colombia (1934–38 and 1942–45), López Michelsen was educated in Bogotá, Paris, London, and Brussels, with postgraduate studies at Georgetown University and the University of Chile. Returning to Colombia from voluntary exile in Mexico in 1958, he organized a new party of dissident Liberals, the

Light

2005-01-27T02:28:00.000-08:00

Electromagnetic radiation that can be detected by the human eye. In terms of wavelength, electromagnetic radiation occurs over an extremely wide range, from gamma rays with a wavelength of 3 10-14 centimetre to long radio waves measured in millions of kilometres. In that spectrum the wavelengths visible to humans occupy a very narrow band, from about 7 10-5 centimetre (red light)

Advisory Opinion

2005-01-26T09:58:00.000-08:00

In law, the opinion of a judge, a court, or a law official, such as an attorney general, upon a question of law raised by a public official or legislative body. Advisory opinions adjudicate nothing and are not binding, though courts sometimes cite them as evidence of the law. Federal courts in the United States will not issue advisory opinions, but such opinions are issued

Shield-backed Katydid

2005-01-25T17:48:00.000-08:00

Any orthopteran of the insect subfamily Decticinae, within the long-horned grasshopper (or katydid) family Tettigoniidae. They are cricketlike in appearance, are more than 2.5 cm (1 inch) long, and are brown or black in colour. They have a pronotum (dorsal surface of the prothorax) that extends back to the abdomen. Most species have short wings, and some species are

Malevich, Kazimir (severinovich)

2005-01-25T00:39:00.000-08:00

Malevich was trained at the Kiev School of Art and the Moscow Academy of Fine Arts. In his early work he followed Impressionism as well as Fauvism, and, after a trip to Paris in 1912, he was influenced by Picasso and Cubism. As a member of the Jack of