OpenNail

Najd

2005-04-05T23:42:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Nejd, region, central Saudi Arabia, comprising a mainly rocky plateau sloping eastward from the mountains of the Hejaz. On the northern, eastern, and southern sides, it is bounded by the sand deserts of an-Nafud, ad-Dahna', and the Rub' al-Khali. It is sparsely settled, except for the fertile oases strung along the escarpment of Jabal (mountains) Tuwayq and the al-'Aramah plateau. The arid

Neo-confucianism

2005-04-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

In Japan, the official guiding philosophy of the Tokugawa period (1603–1867). This philosophy profoundly influenced the thought and behaviour of the educated class. The tradition, introduced into Japan from China by Zen Buddhists in the medieval period, provided a heavenly sanction for the existing social order. In the Neo-Confucian view, harmony was maintained by a reciprocal

West Devon

2005-04-04T23:23:00.000-07:00

The bleak granite mass of Dartmoor comprises about

Hoess, Rudolf Franz

2005-04-03T14:28:00.000-07:00

After serving in World War I, Hoess joined conservative cliques, was arrested and imprisoned (1923–28), and then joined the Nazi Party, becoming a member of the SS. In 1934 he began serving

Bokn Fjord

2005-04-02T14:59:00.000-08:00

Norwegian Boknafjorden, inlet of the North Sea in Rogaland fylke (county), southwestern Norway. At its mouth, between the southern tip of Karm Island and the northern tip of the Tungenes Peninsula, it is 12 miles (20 km) wide. Bokn Fjord proper extends inland for about 28 miles (45 km). Its principal branches include Skjold Fjord and Sandeid Fjord to the north, Sauda Fjord and Hyls Fjord to the northeast, and Lyse

Sashimi

2005-04-01T18:14:00.000-08:00

Specialty of Japanese cuisine, fresh fish served raw. The fish, which must be utterly fresh, is sliced paper thin or alternately one-quarter to one-half inch (0.75–1.5 centimetres) thick, cubed, or cut in strips, according to the nature of the fish. The sashimi is accompanied by wasabi (green horseradish paste) and soy sauce. Sashimi is always part of a formal Japanese meal, served early

Neo-thomism

2005-04-01T09:05:00.000-08:00

Modern revival of the philosophical and theological system known as Thomism (q.v.).

Diamond Cutting

2005-03-31T03:39:00.000-08:00

From the girdler the diamond goes to the lapper, or blocker, who specializes in placing the first 18 main facets on a brilliant-cut diamond. It then goes to the brillianteer, the worker who places and polishes the remaining 40 facets, if the stone is being cut in the standard 58-facet brilliant cut. Placing and polishing are done by setting the stone either in a lead dop or a mechanical

Leakey, Richard

2005-03-30T03:20:00.000-08:00

In full Richard Erskine Frere Leakey Kenyan physical anthropologist, paleontologist, and politician responsible for extensive fossil finds of human ancestral forms in East Africa. His investigations suggested that relatively intelligent, tool-using ancestors of true man lived in eastern Africa as early as 3 million years ago, or almost twice the time span of previous

Aprey Faience

2005-03-29T22:26:00.000-08:00

Tin-glazed earthenware produced by the factory of Jacques Lallemant de Villehaut, Baron d'Aprey, established in 1744 on his estate at Aprey, near Dijon, Fr. The early pieces, which are heavy and rather crude, recall blue-and-white earthenware in the Rouen style or have Rococo forms decorated with chinoiseries (motifs influenced by the Chinese), flowers, and birds. From about

Jordan, Relief and drainage

2005-03-29T01:05:00.000-08:00

The desert is mostly within the Syrian (or North Arabian) Desert and occupies the eastern and southern parts of the country, comprising more than four-fifths of its territory.

Biblical Literature, The divided monarchy: from Jeroboam I to the Assyrian conquest

2005-03-27T23:36:00.000-08:00

Jeroboam I, the first king of the new state of Israel, made his capital first at Shechem, then at Tirzah. Recognizing the need for religious independence from Jerusalem, he set up official sanctuaries at Dan and Bethel, at the two ends of his realm, installing in them golden calves (or bulls), for which he is castigated in the anti-northern account in the First Book of the Kings.

Denizli

2005-03-27T23:21:00.000-08:00

City, southwestern Turkey. It lies near a tributary of the Menderes River. Set among the gardens at the foot of Mount Gökbel (7,572 feet [2,308 m]), Denizli inherited the economic position of ancient Laodicea ad Lycum, 4 miles (6 km) away, when that town was deserted during wars between the Byzantines and the Seljuq Turks in the 12th century. By the 14th century, as Lâdik (Ladiq), Denizli had emerged

Iran, Abu Muslim's revolution

2005-03-27T23:00:00.000-08:00

Less time was needed before a new Islamic beginning: Abu Muslim's movement, which began in Khorasan in 747 and was caused by Arab assimilation with Iranians in colonized regions. This revolution followed years of conspiracy directed from Medina and across to Khorasan along the trade route that linked East Asia with Merv and thence with the West. Along the route, merchants

Tibet, Administration and culture under the Manchu

2005-03-26T16:42:00.000-08:00

Chinese contacts

Breadalbane And Holland, John Campbell, 1st Earl Of

2005-03-25T23:24:00.000-08:00

The son of Sir John Campbell of Glenorchy, 4th Baronet (d. 1686), he took part in the Royalist uprising under the Earl of Glencairn in 1654 and later encouraged the restoration of Charles II in 1660. Charles created him earl of Caithness and viscount of Breadalbane in 1677; but, when this

Quantity Theory Of Money

2005-03-25T15:45:00.000-08:00

Economic theory relating changes in the price levels to changes in the quantity of money. In its developed form, it constitutes an analysis of the factors underlying inflation and deflation. As developed by the English philosopher John Locke in the 17th century, the Scottish philosopher David Hume in the 18th century, and others, it was a weapon against the mercantilists

Talladega Mountain

2005-03-24T20:49:00.000-08:00

Low-lying segment of the Appalachian Mountains, extending northeastward along the border of Clay and Talladega counties and into Cleburne county in east-central Alabama, U.S. Rising to Cheaha Mountain (2,407 feet [734 metres]), the highest point in Alabama, the pine- and hardwood-covered mountain mass is mainly within the eastern division of the Talladega National Forest. In

Jia

2005-03-23T17:49:00.000-08:00

The jia can either be a form of pottery or it can be bronze. It is a deep, cup-shaped vessel supported on three or four pointed, splayed legs. There is a vertical handle on the body and two small, capped, pillarlike additions on opposite sides

Goat

2005-03-23T09:33:00.000-08:00

Domesticated

Jicarilla Apache

2005-03-23T06:10:00.000-08:00

The early Jicarilla were one of several loosely organized, autonomous bands of Apache living in the Southwest. Their ancient lands included parts of present-day Colorado,

Muhlenberg Family

2005-03-21T21:25:00.000-08:00

Henry Melchior Mühlenberg (b. Sept. 6, 1711, Einbeck, Hanover—d. Oct. 7, 1787, Trappe, Pa., U.S.), the founder of the family, studied theology at Göttingen and Halle. In 1742, in reply to a call from the Lutheran churches

Chagres River

2005-03-21T16:09:00.000-08:00

Spanish Río Chagres stream in Panama forming part of the Panama Canal system. It rises in the Cordillera de San Blas, flows south-southwest, and broadens to form Madden Lake (22 square miles [57 square km]) at Madden Dam, which was built in 1935 for navigation, flood control, and hydroelectric power. Below the dam it continues southwest to Gamboa, where it joins the Panama Canal at the north end of the Gaillard

Sistan

2005-03-21T15:34:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Seistan, extensive border region, eastern Iran and southwestern Afghanistan. Forty percent of its area is in Iran, as well as the majority of its sparse population. The region comprises a large depression some 1,500–1,700 feet (450–520 m) in elevation. Numerous rivers fill a series of lagoons (hamun) and in high flood form a shallow lake that spills into another depression to the south. Three large deltas

Bujalance

2005-03-21T13:37:00.000-08:00

City, Córdoba provincia, in Andalusia comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”), southern Spain, located 24 miles (39 km) east of Córdoba city. There is evidence in Bujalance of early Roman occupation. The ancient city was also the site of a seven-towered castle built in 935 by 'Abd ar-Rahman III, the first caliph and greatest ruler of the Umayyad (Arab Muslim) dynasty of Spain; the castle's

Pielinen, Lake

2005-03-20T17:56:00.000-08:00

Finnish Pielisjärvi, lake located in Pohjois-Karjalan lääni (province), eastern Finland, near the border with Russia. The lake is approximately 60 miles (100 km) long between the town of Nurmes and the village of Uimaharju and ranges from 1 to 25 miles (1.5 to 40 km) in width. Its area is 335 square miles (868 square km). Lake Pielinen has many islands and is drained southward into the large Saimaa lake system by the Pielis

John I

2005-03-19T21:48:00.000-08:00

Byname The Prince of Fond Memory, or John of Aviz, John the Great, or John the Bastard, Portuguese O Principe de Boa Memória, or João de Aviz, João o Grande, or João o Bastardo king of Portugal from 1385 to 1433, who preserved his country's independence from Castile and initiated Portugal's overseas expansion. He was the founder of the Aviz, or Joanina (Johannine), dynasty.

Yupik

2005-03-19T18:15:00.000-08:00

Also called Asiatic, or Asian, Eskimo, Western Eskimo group of Siberian Asia and of Saint Lawrence Island and the Diomede Islands in the Bering Sea and Strait. They are culturally related to the Chukchi. The traditional economic activity of the Yupik-speaking Eskimo was the hunting of sea mammals, especially seals, walrus, and, until the latter half of the 19th century, whales. Trade with the Russians developed

Stilicho, Flavius

2005-03-19T17:51:00.000-08:00

Stilicho was half-Roman, half-Vandal by birth. Making the army his career, in 383 he served

Biblical Literature, II Enoch

2005-03-18T14:10:00.000-08:00

Similar in content is II Enoch, or The Book of the Secrets of Enoch, which is preserved only in an Old Slavonic translation. The oldest text does not contain any Christian additions nor any passage from which it could be concluded that the book was written in Greek. Thus, the book could have been written originally in Hebrew or Aramaic, probably in the 1st century CE. The hero

Arran

2005-03-18T11:45:00.000-08:00

Arran is called “Scotland in miniature” because of the beauty and variety of its scenery. The north

Yin-yang

2005-03-18T00:38:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Yinyang, Japanese In-yo, in Eastern thought, the two complementary forces, or principles, that make up all aspects and phenomena of life. Yin is conceived of as earth, female, dark, passive, and absorbing; it is present in even numbers, in valleys and streams, and is represented by the tiger, the colour orange, and a broken line. Yang is conceived of as heaven, male, light, active, and penetrating; it is present

Philae

2005-03-18T00:28:00.000-08:00

Arabic Jazirat Filah (“Philae Island”), or Jazirat al-Birba (“Temple Island”),

Switzerland, The impact of the French Revolution

2005-03-16T17:13:00.000-08:00

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

Uttaradit

2005-03-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

Town, northern Thailand. It is a provincial capital and a farming market centre on the Nan River and the Bangkok–Chiang Mai railway. The town centre was rebuilt after being destroyed by a fire in 1967. The Pha Then Buddhist shrine is southwest of the town. Uttaradit is in one of Thailand's foremost fruit-growing regions, producing rambutans, mangosteens, durians, coconuts,

Coir

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

Seed-hair fibre obtained from the outer shell, or husk, of the coconut, the fruit of Cocos nucifera, a tropical plant of the Arecaceae (Palmae) family. The coarse, stiff, reddish brown fibre is made up of smaller threads, each about 0.01 to 0.04 inch (0.03 to 0.1 centimetre) long and 12 to 24 microns (a micron is about 0.00004 inch) in diameter, composed of lignin, a woody plant substance, and cellulose. Sri

Islam

2005-03-15T00:24:00.000-08:00

The third pillar is the obligatory tax called zakat (“purification,” indicating that such a payment makes the rest of one's wealth religiously and legally pure). This is the only permanent tax levied by the Qur'an and is payable annually on food grains, cattle, and cash after one year's possession. The amount varies for different categories. Thus, on grains and fruits it is 10 percent

Ogot, Grace

2005-03-14T20:22:00.000-08:00

One of the few well-known woman writers in Kenya, Ogot was the first woman to have fiction published by the East African Publishing House. Her stories—which appeared in European and African journals such as Black Orpheus and Transition and in collections

Romanian Literature

2005-03-14T13:43:00.000-08:00

The first landmark of this period was the uprising of Tudor Vladimirescu (1821) in Walachia against the Ottoman Turks and the return of the national rulers. Romanticism carried forward the falling wave of the Latinist movement. In the second half of the 19th century a serious literary criticism, which originated in German philosophy and French culture, inaugurated modern

Rachmaninoff, Sergey

2005-03-13T07:01:00.000-08:00

Rachmaninoff was born on an estate belonging to his grandparents, situated near Lake Ilmen in the Novgorod district. His father was a retired army officer and his mother the daughter of a general. The boy was destined to become an army officer until his father lost the entire family fortune through risky financial ventures and then deserted the family. Young Sergey's

Lenya, Lotte

2005-03-12T19:01:00.000-08:00

Lenya studied ballet and drama in Zurich from 1914 to 1920, was a member of the corps de ballet at the Zürich Stadttheater, and played

Rabat

2005-03-12T05:14:00.000-08:00

The history of Rabat is closely connected to that of neighbouring Salé, the site of which was first occupied by the Roman settlement of Sala (Shella). During the 10th century, Salé was established by the Zenata Berbers, who were orthodox

Zeuxis

2005-03-12T04:26:00.000-08:00

Zeuxis was, in one ancient account, a pupil of Demophilus of Himera in Sicily; other sources refer to him as a pupil of Neseus of Thasos (an island in the northern Aegean Sea). He seems to have been a panel

Chandrapur

2005-03-11T21:09:00.000-08:00

Located on major rail and road routes,

Sanjo Sanetomi, Koshaku

2005-03-10T14:02:00.000-08:00

In his youth he was a political leader of the court nobles gathered around the Emperor. In 1862, when the Emperor tried to reassert his

Peruzzi, Baldassarre (tommaso)

2005-03-10T09:46:00.000-08:00

A contemporary of Raphael and Donato Bramante, Peruzzi began his career as a painter of frescoes in the Cappella San Giovanni in Siena Cathedral.

Allen, Bog Of

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

Irish Móin Alúine group of peat bogs between the Liffey and the Shannon rivers in east-central Ireland in Counties Kildare, Offaly, Laoighis, and Westmeath. Some 370 square miles (958 square km) in area, it is developed extensively for fuel for power stations; the cutover land is used for grazing. The bogs are traversed by the Grand and Royal canals, the latter no longer in use. An early monastic site

Haley, Margaret Angela

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

Haley attended public and convent schools and from 1876 taught in a succession of schools around Chicago. She was an early member of the Chicago Teachers' Federation, formed in March 1897, and rose quickly in the organization to become

Antequera

2005-03-08T04:01:00.000-08:00

City, Málaga province, in the autonomous community (region) of Andalusia, southern Spain, northwest of Málaga, at the foot of the Sierra del Torcal. Neolithic dolmens (Menga, Viera, and El Romeral) attest to prehistoric occupation of the site. The city, known to the Romans as Anticaria and to the Moors as Madinah Antakira, was reconquered for Christian Spain by the infante

Naracoorte

2005-03-07T18:14:00.000-08:00

Town and rail junction, southeastern South Australia. It lies 190 miles (310 km) southeast of Adelaide, near the Victoria border. Founded as Kincraig in 1845, it took its present name in 1869 from an Aboriginal word meaning “large waterhole.” During the 1850s Naracoorte was an important stopping place along the route to the Victorian goldfields. Created a municipality in 1924, it now serves as a

G.c.v.o.

2005-03-07T17:15:00.000-08:00

Knight grand cross, or dame grand cross, of the Royal Victorian Order, member of the highest rank of a British order of knighthood. See Royal Victorian Order.

Guitar

2005-03-06T05:15:00.000-08:00

Plucked stringed musical instrument that probably originated in Spain early in the 16th century, deriving from the guitarra latina, a late-medieval instrument with a waisted body and four strings. The early guitar was narrower and deeper than the modern guitar, with a less pronounced waist. It

China, Early power struggles

2005-03-06T03:38:00.000-08:00

During the first years of the republic there was a continuing contest between Yüan and the former revolutionaries over where ultimate power should lie. The contest began with the election of parliament (National Assembly) in February 1913. The Nationalist Party (Kuomintang; KMT), made up largely of former revolutionaries, won a commanding majority of seats. Parliament

Djibouti

2005-03-05T03:52:00.000-08:00

Officially Republic of Djibouti, French République de Djibouti, Arabic Jumhuriyah Jibuti, formerly (until 1977) French Territory of the Afars and Issas, strategically located nation on the northeast coast of the Horn of Africa. It is situated on the Strait of Mandeb, which lies to the east and separates the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden. Small in size (8,950 square miles [23,200 square kilometres]), Djibouti is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Ethiopia to the west and southwest, and Somalia to the south. The Gulf of Tadjoura, which opens

Montfaucon, Bernard De

2005-03-04T02:20:00.000-08:00

He joined the Benedictine Congregation of Saint-Maur in 1676 and in 1687 was sent to Paris to edit the works of the Church Fathers. His major publications in this field were editions of Athanasius, 3 vol. (1698) and John Chrysostom, 13 vol. (1718–38). As a student of manuscripts

Polenta

2005-03-03T09:52:00.000-08:00

A porridge or mush usually made of ground corn (maize) cooked in salted water. Cheese and butter or oil are often added. Polenta can be eaten hot or cold as a porridge; or it can be cooled until firm, cut into shapes, and then baked, toasted, panfried, or deep-fried. It is a traditional food of northern Italy, especially the Piedmont region, and of Corsica, where chestnut flour is

Effen, Justus Van

2005-03-03T08:22:00.000-08:00

Dutch essayist and journalist whose straightforward didactic pieces, modelled on foreign examples, had a wholesome influence on the contemporary Dutch fashion of rococo writing. His other occupations included private tutor, secretary at the Netherlands embassy in London (1715 and 1727), and clerk in the Dutch government's warehouses

Scandinavian Literature, Translations from Latin

2005-03-01T22:26:00.000-08:00

A quantity of secular literature was translated from Latin between the 12th and 14th centuries. The “Prophecies of Merlin,” already translated in verse by a Thingeyrar monk, were combined with a complete translation of Geoffrey of Monmouth's history and titled Breta sögur (“Stories of the Britons”). In one 14th-century manuscript this was preceded by the Trójumanna saga (“Story

Berenice Ii

2005-03-01T10:14:00.000-08:00

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

Bloch, Jean-richard

2005-03-01T05:58:00.000-08:00

In 1910, while teaching in Poitiers, Bloch started L'Effort libre, a “review of revolutionary civilization.” His essay Naissance d'une culture (1936; “Birth of a Culture”) called for an art that would associate the democratic tradition with a proletarian culture. The stories in

Ear, Human, Tuning-fork tests

2005-03-01T05:54:00.000-08:00

In the Rinne test the sounding tuning fork is placed on the mastoid process, and the person

Tracy, Benjamin F(ranklin)

2005-02-28T06:52:00.000-08:00

Tracy began his career as a lawyer; he was admitted to the bar in 1851 and served as district attorney of Tioga County, N.Y., from 1853 to 1859. A founder of the local Republican Party, he served briefly in the state legislature (1862) and fought for the Union

Fusel Oil

2005-02-27T13:35:00.000-08:00

A mixture of volatile, oily liquids produced in small amounts during alcoholic fermentation. A typical fusel oil contains 60–70 percent of amyl alcohol (q.v.), smaller amounts of n-propyl and isobutyl alcohols, and traces of other components. Before industrial production of synthetic amyl alcohols began in the 1920s, fusel oil was the only commercial source of these compounds,

Tocharian Languages

2005-02-27T11:06:00.000-08:00

Tocharian also spelled Tokharian, small group of extinct Indo-European languages that were spoken in the Tarim River Basin (in the centre of the modern Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, China) during the latter half of the 1st millennium AD. Documents from AD 500–700 attest to two: Tocharian A, from the area of Turfan in the east; and Tocharian B, chiefly from the region of Kucha in the west but also from the Turfan

Argentina, Independence

2005-02-26T11:53:00.000-08:00

In Argentina the independence movement began in 1806–07, when British attacks on Buenos Aires were repelled in the two battles known as the Reconquista and the Defensa. Also important there, as elsewhere in Spanish America, were the ramifications of Napoleon I's intervention in Spain, beginning in 1808, which plunged that country into a civil war between two rival

Wolf

2005-02-26T09:20:00.000-08:00

The gray wolf has a larger natural

Argentina, Discovery and settlement

2005-02-25T10:46:00.000-08:00

The main Atlantic outline of Argentina was revealed to European explorers in the early 16th century. The Río de la Plata estuary was discovered years before Ferdinand Magellan traversed the Strait of Magellan in 1520, although historians dispute whether the estuary was first reached by Amerigo Vespucci in 1501–02 or by Juan Díaz de Solís in his ill-fated voyage of 1516. Solís and a

Aphrodisias

2005-02-24T11:03:00.000-08:00

Ancient city of the Caria region of southwestern Asia Minor (Anatolia, or modern Turkey), situated on a plateau south of the Maeander River (modern Büyük Menderes). Remains of an Ionic temple of Aphrodite and of a stadium and portions of a bathhouse have long been evident, but, beginning in 1961, excavations revealed such structures as a theatre, an odeon, a basilica, a market,

Robbins, Tom

2005-02-24T07:51:00.000-08:00

Robbins was educated at Washington and Lee University, Richmond Professional Institute, and the University of Washington. He served in the U.S. Air Force, hitchhiked across the United States, and worked as a journalist and art critic. His first

Mauch, Karl

2005-02-24T00:22:00.000-08:00

After an unsatisfying few years as a private tutor, Mauch gave up teaching and hired on with a shipping company. He arrived in South Africa in 1865, found

Ziyadid Dynasty

2005-02-23T05:38:00.000-08:00

The 'Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun transferred the rule of Yemen to the Ziyad family to offset the intrigues of the 'Alids—the Shi'ite opponents of the 'Abbasids—who had made southern Arabia their headquarters. The first Ziyadid, Muhammad ibn Ziyad, firmly established himself along the Yemeni coast (Tihamah) with

Fen River

2005-02-22T15:09:00.000-08:00

The Fen River and its tributaries

Ramie

2005-02-21T16:32:00.000-08:00

The ramie plant has been cultivated

Culiacán

2005-02-21T10:41:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Sinaloa estado (“state”), western Mexico. It is on a small coastal plain (276 feet [84 m] above sea level) at the foot of the lofty Sierra Madre Occidental, on the Culiacán River. Founded in 1531, Culiacán played an important role in early colonial days as a base for Spanish expeditions. An elaborate irrigation system in the valley provides for a great variety of crops, including

John Carroll University

2005-02-21T04:59:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in University Heights, Ohio, U.S. It is affiliated with the Jesuit order of the Roman Catholic church. The university comprises the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business, and the Graduate School. The university offers both bachelor's and master's degree programs. Research facilities include the

Sarcee

2005-02-20T19:12:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Sarsi, North American Plains Indian people of Athabascan linguistic stock who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries near the upper Saskatchewan and Athabaska rivers. They probably moved southward to this region near the end of the 17th century when they became the northern neighbours of the Blackfoot Indians, from whom they received some protection from enemies. Their name

Aguinaldo, Emilio

2005-02-20T13:35:00.000-08:00

Born of Chinese and Tagalog parentage, he completed his education at the University of Santo Tomás, Manila. In August 1896 he was mayor of Cavite Viejo and was the local leader of the Katipunan, a revolutionary

Silicic Acid

2005-02-19T01:17:00.000-08:00

A compound of silicon, oxygen, and hydrogen, regarded as the parent substance from which is derived a large family—the silicates—of minerals, salts, and esters. The acid itself, having the formula Si(OH)4, can be prepared only as an unstable solution in water; its molecules readily condense with one another to form water and polymeric chains, rings, sheets, or three-dimensional

Music, Western, Solo and ensemble instruments

2005-02-18T18:15:00.000-08:00

The four major vehicles for instrumental music of the period were the lute, the organ, stringed keyboard instruments, and instrumental ensembles. Most popular by far was the lute, which could produce the major elements of instrumental style except for long, sustained tones. Noteworthy composers of lute music included Luis Milán in Spain, Arnold Schlick in Germany,

Ursa Major

2005-02-18T11:30:00.000-08:00

Also called The Great Bear, in astronomy, a constellation of the Northern Hemisphere, at about 10 hours 40 minutes right ascension (the coordinate on the celestial sphere analogous to longitude on the Earth) and 56° north declination (angular distance north of the celestial equator). It was referred to in the Old Testament (Job 9:9; 38:32) and mentioned by Homer in the Iliad (xviii, 487). The Greeks identified this constellation

Abbott, Bud; And Costello, Lou

2005-02-17T13:32:00.000-08:00

Abbott was born into a circus

Rio De Janeiro Botanical Garden

2005-02-17T01:15:00.000-08:00

Portuguese Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro one of the great tropical botanical gardens and arboretums of the world. It was founded in 1808 by John, prince regent of the United Kingdom of Brazil and Portugal (later King John VI), for introducing and acclimatizing economically beneficial plants brought from other tropical regions of the world. The garden, located on a 350-acre (141-hectare) site below high peaks, has a collection

Pathum Thani

2005-02-16T20:15:00.000-08:00

Town and changwat (province) in the Central region of Thailand. The provincial capital, Pathum Thani town, is a rice-collecting and milling centre north of Bangkok on the west bank of the Mae Nam (river) Chao Phraya. The province, with an area of 589 sq mi (1,526 sq km), occupies the low, well-irrigated plains of the Chao Phraya and is intensively farmed in rice. Fishing is a secondary economic

Haboob

2005-02-16T03:15:00.000-08:00

Hot and moist, strong wind that occurs along the southern edges of the Sahara in The Sudan and is associated with large sandstorms and duststorms and may be accompanied by thunderstorms and small tornadoes. It usually lasts about three hours, is most common during the summer, and may blow from any direction. A haboob may transport huge quantities of sand or dust, which

Vaisheshika

2005-02-15T22:10:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Vaisesika, Sanskrit Vaisesika (“Particular”), one of the six orthodox systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy, significant for its naturalism, a feature that is not characteristic of most Indian thought. The Sanskrit philosopher Kanada Kasyapa (2nd–3rd century AD?) expounded its theories and is credited with founding the school. Important later commentaries were written by Prasastapada, Udayana, and Sridhara.

Qalamkari Textile

2005-02-15T04:20:00.000-08:00

The textile designs reflect the Persianized tastes of the wealthy ruling class and also

Chebyshev, Pafnuty Lvovich

2005-02-14T18:40:00.000-08:00

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

Biblical Literature, Papyri

2005-02-14T04:40:00.000-08:00

The earliest New Testament manuscript witnesses (2nd–8th centuries) are papyri mainly found preserved in fragments in the dry sands of Egypt. Only in the latter decades of the 20th century have the relatively recently discovered New Testament papyri been published. Of those cataloged to date, there are about 76 New Testament manuscripts with fragments of various parts

Architecture And Civil Engineering, Exhibitions.

2005-02-13T20:25:00.000-08:00

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City staged the largest exhibit ever held of the work of the Scottish designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Originating in Glasgow, Scot., the exhibit later traveled to Chicago and Los Angeles. It focused on 250 items, including furniture, watercolours, posters, and other objects by the noted architect, one of the founders of the

Epistemology, Substance

2005-02-13T04:47:00.000-08:00

One of the cornerstones of philosophy from Plato to Berkeley was the notion of substance, that which exists in itself and does not depend upon anything else for its existence. Substance is contrasted with accident or modes of being, which exist in substances and depend on them for their existence. A dog is a substance, and its colour, shape, weight, and bark exist in the

Epistemology, Substance

2005-02-12T18:57:00.000-08:00

British national governing organization for the sport of track and field (athletics). Founded in 1880, it took over as the governing power from the Amateur Athletic Club, founded in 1866. The association was the first such organization in the world. The AAA was one of the first groups to reject the requirement of upper-class background that had previously been necessary to achieve

Polanski, Roman

2005-02-12T08:09:00.000-08:00

Shortly after the young Polanski's family settled in Kraków, Poland, his parents were interned in a Nazi concentration camp, where his mother died. Polanski escaped internment and survived the war years by

World War I, Mesopotamia, summer 1916winter 1917

2005-02-12T01:07:00.000-08:00

The British forces in Mesopotamia, neglected hitherto and discouraged by the disaster at al-Kut (see above Mesopotamia, 1914–April 1916), received better attention from London in the second half of 1916; and Sir Frederick Stanley Maude, who became commander in chief in August, did so much to restore their morale that by December he was ready to undertake the recapture of al-Kut as a first

Earth Exploration

2005-02-11T06:19:00.000-08:00

Texts on methodology and discoveries in Earth exploration include Arthur W. Rose, Herbert E. Hawkes, and John S. Webb, Geochemistry in Mineral Exploration, 2nd ed. (1979); Robert F. Legget and Allen W. Hatheway, Geology and Engineering, 3rd ed. (1988); Sampling of Soil and Rock (1971), published by the American Society for Testing and Materials; Martin H.P. Bott, Interior of the Earth: Its Structure, Constitution, and Evolution, 2nd ed. (1982); George D. Garland, Introduction to Geophysics: Mantle, Core, and Crust, 2nd ed. (1979); Robert E. Sheriff (compiler), Encyclopedic Dictionary of Exploration Geophysics, 3rd ed. (1991); Robert E. Sheriff, Geophysical Methods (1989); Robert E. Sheriff and L.P. Geldart, Exploration Seismology, 2 vol. (1982–83); W.M. Telford, L.P. Geldart, and Robert E. Sheriff, Applied Geophysics, 2nd ed. (1980); Chuji Tsuboi, Gravity (1983; originally published in Japanese, 1979); W.D. Parkinson, Introduction to Geomagnetism (1983); J.A. Jacobs, A Textbook on Geonomy (1974); and Floyd F. Sabins, Jr., Remote Sensing: Principles and Interpretation, 2nd ed. (1987).

Arts, East Asian, Painting and pictorial arts

2005-02-10T21:33:00.000-08:00

Practically nothing survives of Chou painting, although from literary evidence it seems that the art developed considerably, particularly during the period of the Warring States. Palaces and ancestral halls were decorated with wall paintings. Late Chou texts tell of a craftsman working for the Duke of Chou (Chou Kung) who covered the stock of a whip with minute

Lochgilphead

2005-02-10T20:23:00.000-08:00

Burgh (town) and holiday resort, Argyll and Bute council area, historic county of Argyllshire, Scotland, situated at the head of Loch Gilp (a marine inlet of Loch Fyne) by the side of the Crinan Canal (built 1793–1801). The burgh developed from an older herring fishing village and is now a tourist centre and the administrative centre of Argyll and Bute. Pop. (1991) 2,421.

United States, The coming of the war

2005-02-10T09:01:00.000-08:00

Faced with a fait accompli, Lincoln when inaugurated was prepared to conciliate the South in every way but one: he would not recognize that the Union could be divided. The test of his determination came early in his administration, when he learned that the Federal troops under Major Robert Anderson in Fort Sumter, South Carolina—then one of the few military installations in the South still in Federal hands—had to be promptly supplied or withdrawn. After agonized consultation with his cabinet, Lincoln determined that supplies must be sent even if doing so provoked the Confederates into firing the first shot. On April 12, 1861, just before Federal supply ships could reach the beleaguered Anderson, Confederate guns in Charleston opened fire upon Fort Sumter, and the war began.

Differential Psychology

2005-02-09T05:26:00.000-08:00

Branch of psychology that deals with individual and group differences in behaviour. Charles Darwin's studies of the survival capabilities of different species and Sir Francis Galton's researches on individual visual and auditory skills, as well as more recent experiments, have shown that both individual and group differences are quantitative rather than

Balash

2005-02-08T06:50:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Valakhsh Sasanian king (reigned 484–488), succeeding his brother Firuz I. Soon after he ascended the throne, Balash was threatened by the dominance of invading Hephthalites, a nomadic eastern tribe. Supported by Zarmihr, a feudal chief, Balash suppressed an uprising by his rebel brother Zareh. Later, however, he was abandoned by Zarmihr, and shortly afterward he was deposed and blinded.

Pyx

2005-02-08T04:13:00.000-08:00

In Christianity, vessel containing the consecrated bread used in the service of Holy Communion. Although pyxes were made in various shapes, such as that of a dove, the most common form was that of a small, cylindrical box fitted with a cover, which is generally conical. An English pyx dating from the first half of the 14th century, known as the Godsfield Pyx, is of gilt bronze