TrueRat

Salekhard

2005-03-19T09:40:00.000-08:00

Salekhard was founded in 1595 and became a city in 1938. Fish canning and sawmilling reflect the regional economy. It is also a base for the northern gas fields of western Siberia. Teacher-training

Saint, Judaism

2005-03-16T03:33:00.000-08:00

The cult of saints in terms of veneration was not a part of the monotheistic religion of Israel. Saintliness, however, was an ideal that many hoped to exhibit. The model of a pious person is depicted in the righteous one of Psalm 5, “his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” In the Hellenistic period (c. 300 BC—c. AD 300), when many Jews were susceptible to foreign

Digestive System Disease, Roundworms

2005-03-14T06:57:00.000-08:00

Roundworms, particularly Ascaris lumbricoides, may cause intestinal obstruction if present in sufficient numbers. As they mature from the larval state to the adult worm, roundworms migrate through the body, causing ascariasis, an infection characterized by fever, pneumonitis (lung inflammation), cholangitis (inflammation of the bile ducts), and pancreatitis

Wyckoff, Ralph Walter Graystone

2005-03-13T08:36:00.000-08:00

Wyckoff was educated at Cornell University and was an instructor in analytical chemistry from 1917 to 1919. He subsequently worked in the Geophysical Laboratory

Furniture, Mirrors

2005-03-10T13:41:00.000-08:00

The use of mirror glass in furnishings arose during the 17th century. The discoloration of the melted glass because of silvering and, not least, the prohibitive cost and difficulty of manufacturing mirror glass of considerable size restricted the possibilities of large-scale application. The mirror gallery at Versailles was thus an outstanding technical achievement

Arabia, History Of, The gulf states

2005-03-09T09:56:00.000-08:00

In 1835 the Qawasim coastal tribes of the Persian Gulf, earlier conquered and inspired by the Wahhabis, were induced to bind themselves by a maritime truce to end hostilities with the British by sea, and the truce was made permanent in 1853. In Oman, Sultan ibn Ahmad, revolting against his uncle the imam in 1793, gained mastery of the coastal towns. The British made Omani Zanzibar, in East Africa,

Antarctica

2005-03-06T23:35:00.000-08:00

Lying almost concentrically around the South Pole, Antarctica—the name of which means “opposite to the Arctic”—is the southernmost continent, a circumstance that has had momentous consequences for all aspects of its character. It covers about 5.5 million square miles

Displacement Law

2005-03-04T21:20:00.000-08:00

In physics, any of the statements (originally formulated in 1913) that radioactive decay produces daughter atoms whose position in the periodic table of the chemical elements is shifted from that of their parents: two lower for alpha decay and one higher for negative beta decay. See radioactive series.

Managua, Lake

2005-03-02T06:25:00.000-08:00

Spanish Lago De Managua, lake in western Nicaragua, in a rift valley at an elevation of 128 feet (39 m) above sea level. The lake, 65 feet (20 m) in depth, is 36 miles (58 km) from east to west and 16 miles (25 km) from north to south; its area is 400 square miles (1,035 square km). Also known by its Indian name, Xolotlán, the lake is fed by numerous streams rising in the central highlands and the Diriamba Highlands. It is drained by the Tipitapa River,

Mercier, Honoré

2005-03-01T17:32:00.000-08:00

While studying law in the early 1860s Mercier edited the Conservative newspaper Le Courrier de St. Hyacinthe and supported the Conservative administration

Arab Fund For Economic And Social Development

2005-02-26T06:55:00.000-08:00

By financing development projects, the fund encourages investment of public and private capital in Arab economies. It grants loans on easy terms to

Skate

2005-02-25T00:18:00.000-08:00

In zoology, any of numerous flat-bodied, cartilaginous fishes constituting the suborder Rajoidea of the order Batoidei (skates, rays, and others). Skates are found in most parts of the world, from tropical to near-Arctic waters and from the shallows to depths of more than 2,700 metres (8,900 feet). Nine genera of skates are placed in three families: Rajidae, Arynchobatidae,

To' Kenali

2005-02-22T15:52:00.000-08:00

Muhammad Yusof, born into

Abstraction-création

2005-02-21T03:21:00.000-08:00

The immediate predecessor of the Abstraction-Création group was the Cercle et Carré (“Circle and Square”) group, founded by Michel Seuphor and Joaquin Torres-Garcia in 1930. Artists Georges Vantongerloo, Jean Hélion, and Auguste Herbin worked together

Ibn Zuhr

2005-02-18T03:59:00.000-08:00

An intensely practical man, Ibn Zuhr disliked medical speculation; for that reason, he opposed the teachings of the Persian master physician Avicenna. In his Taysir fi al-mudawat wa al-tadbir (“Practical Manual of Treatments and Diet”), later translated

Durfort Family

2005-02-16T06:28:00.000-08:00

The family, which can be traced back to the 11th century, claims as a member Guy Aldonce I de Durfort (1605–65), Marquis de Duras, who raised three famous sons: Jacques Henri I (1625–1704), marshal of France (1675) and Duke de Duras (1689); Guy Aldonce II (1630–1702), marshal of France (1676) and Duke de Quintin (1691); and Louis (1638–1709), who went to England and became 2nd Earl of Feversham

Trichomoniasis

2005-02-14T13:02:00.000-08:00

The pear-shaped species T.

Waikato River

2005-02-12T15:24:00.000-08:00

River, the longest in New Zealand, in central North Island. Rising on the slopes of Mount Ruapehu in Tongariro National Park as the Tongariro River, it flows north through Lake Taupo and, issuing from the lake's northeastern corner, tumbles over Huka Falls and flows northwest to enter the Tasman Sea south of Auckland. The river is 264 miles (425 km) long. It has a gentle gradient

Perciform, Use as food

2005-02-10T15:46:00.000-08:00

Since early times, the rivers and oceans have provided man with food; fishing was one of man's earliest means for securing food. Archaeological findings among shell mounds of Scotland indicate that the sea bream (family Sparidae) formed part of the diet of early man. The Nile perches (family Latidae) have been found as mummies in ancient tombs in Egypt. The goatfishes

Vaisheshika

2005-02-09T01:52:00.000-08:00

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.

Clackmannanshire

2005-02-06T02:56:00.000-08:00

Also known as Clackmannan council area and historic county, east-central Scotland, bounded on the southwest by the River Forth. The River Devon, flowing east-west before turning to join the Forth, separates the carse (estuarine plain) from the moors of the Ochil Hills in the north. The present council area of Clackmannanshire is nearly coterminous with the historic county of the same name, but

Rayleigh Scattering

2005-02-04T06:39:00.000-08:00

The angle through which sunlight in the atmosphere is scattered by molecules of the constituent gases varies inversely as

Jordan, Relief and drainage

2005-02-02T16:16:00.000-08:00

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.

Doris

2005-01-31T23:29:00.000-08:00

The alleged mother country of the Dorian conquerors of the Peloponnese. It was a small district in central Greece, lying between Mounts Oeta (modern Oiti) and Parnassus and consisting of a narrow valley nowhere exceeding 4 miles (6 km) in breadth, with only four small townships. Doris had some importance because it commanded the road from Heraclea in Trachis to Amphissa,

Alexander Iii

2005-01-29T05:32:00.000-08:00

King of Scotland from 1249 to 1286, the last major ruler of the dynasty of kings descended from Malcolm III Canmore (reigned 1058–93), who consolidated royal power in Scotland. Alexander left his kingdom independent, united, and prosperous, and his reign was viewed as a golden age by Scots caught up in the long, bloody conflict with England after his

Ecology

2005-01-28T23:08:00.000-08:00

Long unfamiliar to the public, and relegated to a second-class status by many in the world of science, ecology emerged in the late 20th century as one of the most popular and most important aspects of biology. It has become painfully evident that some of the most pressing problems in the affairs of

Adam, Robert

2005-01-25T09:29:00.000-08:00

As a designer of furniture, too, Adam played a leading role and was prolific, turning his hand to everything from organ cases and sedan chairs to saltcellars and door fittings. The furniture style he evolved, popularized by the cabinetmaker George Hepplewhite, was always meant to harmonize with the rest of the home. It is one of the outstanding features of an Adam interior

San Antonio Zoological Gardens And Aquarium

2005-01-24T23:19:00.000-08:00

One of the largest animal collections in the southwestern United States, located in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 1914, the zoo and accompanying aquarium are operated by the San Antonio Zoological Society and occupy a 35-acre (14-hectare) site with natural springs and rock cliffs. More than 3,500 specimens of approximately 750 terrestrial and aquatic species are bred and exhibited.

Biblical Literature, Protestantism

2005-01-21T22:52:00.000-08:00

The term Protestant covers so wide a variety of theological views and religious and cultural groups and so many different ways of worshipping and using the Bible in worship that it is virtually impossible to say anything about the liturgy or the Bible's place in worship that would be true of all Protestants. Among Anglicans, what was said of the Bible in the Roman

France, History Of, The juridical revolution

2005-01-20T18:49:00.000-08:00

Louis XVI's decision to convene the Estates-General in May 1789 became a turning point in French history. When he invited his subjects to express their opinions and grievances in preparation for this event—unprecedented in living memory—hundreds responded with pamphlets in which the liberal ideology of 1789 gradually began to take shape. Exactly how the Estates-General

Bartholin, Caspar Berthelsen

2005-01-17T15:25:00.000-08:00

At the University of Padua (1608–10) Bartholin conducted anatomical studies under the famed Italian anatomist Hieronymus Fabricius ab Aquapendente. These formed the basis for his manual Anatomicae Institutiones Corporis

Nordenflycht, Hedvig Charlotta

2005-01-15T02:23:00.000-08:00

The deaths

Albumen Paper

2005-01-14T05:55:00.000-08:00

Albumen also spelled Albumin, light-sensitive paper prepared by coating with albumen, or egg white, and a salt (e.g., ammonium chloride) and sensitized by an aftertreatment with a solution of silver nitrate. The process was introduced by the French photographer Louis-Désiré Blanquart-Évrard in about 1850 and was widely used for about 60 years thereafter. Early employers of the process applied by hand the

Cheboygan

2005-01-11T16:44:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1853) of Cheboygan county, northern Michigan, U.S. The city lies along the Cheboygan River as it enters Lake Huron near the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac. According to some reports, the site was an Indian camping ground until it was settled by Jacob Sammons in the 1840s. It was first called Duncan and then Inverness, later adopting Cheboygan, an Indian word possibly

Black Mass

2005-01-10T11:05:00.000-08:00

In the Roman Catholic church, a requiem mass during which the celebrant wears black vestments. The term is more commonly used, however, for a blasphemous and usually obscene burlesque of the true mass performed by satanic cults. The naked back of a woman often serves as an altar, and a validly consecrated host is generally used to intensify the mockery. The rite commonly

Philae

2005-01-08T06:39:00.000-08:00

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

Ayr

2005-01-06T03:41:00.000-08:00

Town, northeastern Queensland, Australia, on the delta of the Burdekin River. The settlement was surveyed and gazetted in 1881. Declared a town in 1882 and named after the Scottish birthplace of Sir Thomas McIllwraith, then state premier, it became a shire in 1903. On the north coast rail line and the Bruce Highway to Townsville (45 miles [70 km] northwest) and Brisbane (657 miles [1,057 km] southeast), it

Cola Dynasty

2005-01-03T16:52:00.000-08:00

The legendary king Karikalan was the common ancestor through whom small Deccan and Andhra families called Cola or Coda claimed a connection with the Uraiyur

Wren-babbler

2005-01-02T22:27:00.000-08:00

Any of about 20 species of small Asian birds belonging to the babbler family Timaliidae (order Passeriformes). They are 10 to 15 centimetres (4 to 6 inches) long, rather short-tailed, and have a rather short and straight bill. These features differentiate wren-babblers from the closely related scimitar-babblers. Wren-babblers occur chiefly in southern Asia. An example is the streaked

Pithoragarh

2004-12-30T13:09:00.000-08:00

City, northern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It lies east of Almora, on a ridge of the Himalayan foothills. The surrounding area lies entirely within the Himalayan Range and is bordered by Nepal to the east and China to the north. Rice, barley, and wheat are grown. Pop. (1991 prelim.) city, 27,753.

Alaska, Economic growth

2004-12-28T15:10:00.000-08:00

A dispute between the United States and Canada over the boundary between British Columbia and the Alaska panhandle was decided by an Alaska Boundary Tribunal in 1903. The U.S. view that the border should lie along the crest of the Boundary Ranges was accepted and boundary mapping was completed in 1913. Between 1898 and 1900 a narrow-gauge railroad was built across White Pass to link

Hood, Raymond M(athewson)

2004-12-27T18:13:00.000-08:00

Educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the École des Beaux-Arts (Paris), Hood gained national recognition in 1922 when the Neo-Gothic design submitted by John Mead Howells and his associate, Hood, won first prize in the Chicago Tribune

Metalloid

2004-12-24T23:33:00.000-08:00

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

Romance

2004-12-22T22:51:00.000-08:00

The Old French word romanz

Aschelminth, Distribution and abundance

2004-12-21T17:22:00.000-08:00

Nematodes are the most abundant of all multicellular animals and are found wherever life can be supported. They reach their greatest numbers in estuarine mud flats, up to 20,000,000 per square metre, decreasing in density in marine muds and sands but often reaching one to several million per square metre. Typical densities for terrestrial soils, including forests, grasslands,

Rachidia, Er-

2004-12-18T22:47:00.000-08:00

The surrounding region

Andreotti, Giulio

2004-12-16T15:21:00.000-08:00

Andreotti took a degree in law at the University of Rome and was president of the Catholic students' federation. In 1942 he became a protégé of Alcide De

Muri

2004-12-15T10:47:00.000-08:00

Town and traditional emirate, northwestern Taraba state, eastern Nigeria. Originally part of the 17th-century Jukun kingdom called Kororofa, the region now known as Muri emirate was conquered in the 1804 jihad (holy war) conducted by the Fulani people. By 1817 Hamman Ruwa, a brother of the emir of Gombe, an emirate to the north, had consolidated Fulani control over the non-Muslim

Beyers, C.f.

2004-12-12T10:17:00.000-08:00

A graduate of Victoria College (now Stellenbosch University), Beyers migrated to the Transvaal, where he was naturalized and practiced as a lawyer. Joining the Boer forces in 1899, he rose

Adynaton

2004-12-11T04:35:00.000-08:00

A kind of hyperbole in which the exaggeration is so great that it refers to an impossibility, as in the following lines from Andrew Marvell's “To His Coy Mistress”:Had we but world enough, and timeThis coyness, lady, were no crime.We would sit down, and think which way To walk, and pass our long love's day.Thou by the Indian Ganges' sideShouldst rubies find; I by the tideOf Humber

Spanish Literature, The novel

2004-12-09T20:53:00.000-08:00

In Ramón Pérez de Ayala, the novel was at once a polished art form and a forum for philosophical discussion. Belarmino y Apolonio (1921; Belarmino and Apolonio), a projection of the old debate between faith and reason, made its characters almost symbolic, as did Tigre Juan (1926; Tiger Juan), on the traditional theme of honour. Gabriel Miró's perfect descriptive prose retarded the

Waialeale, Mount

2004-12-06T23:56:00.000-08:00

Peak, central Kauai Island, Hawaii, U.S. Waialeale (“Rippling Water”), with a height of 5,148 feet (1,569 m), is a dissected (eroded) dome that is part of a central mountain mass which includes Kawaikini (5,243 feet [1,598 m]), the island's highest peak, immediately south. Waialeale is located at the southeastern edge of an extinct caldera that is now a plateau called Alakai Swamp. Shrouded in clouds, Waialeale

César

2004-12-05T16:55:00.000-08:00

Departamento, northern Colombia, bounded on the northeast by Venezuela and on the southwest by the Magdalena River. Created in 1967, the departamento, with an area of 8,844 square miles (22,905 square km), descends from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in the north and the Sierra de Perijá in the northeast to the lowlands of the Magdalena River valley. It is traversed by the César River,

Devizes

2004-12-02T13:35:00.000-08:00

Town (“parish”), Kennet district, administrative and historical county of Wiltshire, England. It lies along the disused Kennet and Avon Canal, at the edge of Roundway Down. It was the site of a Roman fortification, Castrum Divisarum; and Roger, bishop of Salisbury, built a castle there about 1132. The name Devizes possibly came from a medieval Latin reference to the castle ad

Philipp, Isidor

2004-12-01T16:08:00.000-08:00

Philipp was brought to Paris as an infant. As a piano student of Georges Mathias at the Conservatoire, he won the first prize in 1883. After study with Saint-Saëns and Stephen Heller, he began a brief solo concert career, making his London debut in 1890. From 1903 to 1934 he was professor

Terauchi Masatake, Count (hakushaku)

2004-11-28T15:18:00.000-08:00

He was born into a family of retainers of the Choshu clan and originally was named Tada Jusaburo. Masatake changed his name when he was adopted into the Terauchi family during his youth. He entered the military at the age of 12 and became

Console

2004-11-26T13:17:00.000-08:00

In architecture, type of bracket or corbel, particularly one with a scroll-shaped profile: usually an ogee (S or inverted S curve) or double-ogee terminating in volutes (spirals) above and below. A console projects about one-half its height or less to support a windowhead, cornice, shelf, or sculpture. The difference between a console and other varieties of bracket has more

Pipe

2004-11-22T02:06:00.000-08:00

In music, specifically, the three-holed flute played with a tabor drum (see pipe and tabor); generically, any aerophonic (wind) instruments consisting of pipes, either flutes or reed pipes (as a clarinet), and also the reed and flue pipes of organs. A pipe's pitch depends on its length, a long pipe having a low pitch. Pipes stopped at one end sound an octave lower than open pipes

Sard And Sardonyx

2004-11-20T09:53:00.000-08:00

Translucent, light- to dark-brown varieties of the silica mineral chalcedony, historically two of the most widely used semiprecious stones. Sard and its close relative carnelian have been used in engraved jewelry for centuries. Sard (from Sardis, the ancient capital of Lydia) was originally called sardion, which included both sard and carnelian until the Middle

Deniliquin

2004-11-16T13:15:00.000-08:00

Chief town of the fertile southern Riverina region, south-central New South Wales, Australia, on the Edward River (a branch of the Murray), 22 miles (35 km) from the Victoria border. Established in 1845 by Benjamin Boyd as a personal holding, it was made a town in 1848 under the name Sandhills. Two years later it was officially gazetted as Deniliquin, a corruption of the name of a local Aboriginal

Baule

2004-11-14T02:48:00.000-08:00

The ancestors of the Baule were a section of the Asante who immigrated to their present location under the leadership of Queen Awura Pokou about 1750, following a dispute over the chieftaincy,

Malang

2004-11-13T06:41:00.000-08:00

Kotamadya (municipality) and kabupaten (regency), Jawa Timur provinsi (“province”), Indonesia. Malang regency has an area of 3,391 square miles (8,782 square km). It is principally agricultural and known for its production of vegetables, fruits, and flowers. Malang is located on a plateau between Mount Kawi (8,697 feet [2,651 m]) and the Tengger Mountains, and the city enjoys a comfortable climate. The

Kyd, Thomas

2004-11-11T02:09:00.000-08:00

English dramatist who, with his The Spanish Tragedie (sometimes called Hieronimo, or Jeronimo, after its protagonist), initiated the revenge tragedy of his day. Kyd anticipated the structure of many later plays, including the development of middle and final climaxes. In addition, he revealed an instinctive sense of tragic situation,

óbidos

2004-11-09T05:55:00.000-08:00

Town, west-central Pará estado (“state”), northern Brazil. It was founded in 1697 as a fortified town. Óbidos overlooks the left (north) bank of the Amazon River 70 miles (110 km) upstream from Santarém near the confluence of the Trombetas River, where the Amazon narrows to a width of 1.25 miles (2 km). River steamers and hydroplanes utilize the facilities at the town, which ships tobacco, cacao,

Orléans, Louis-philippe-robert, Duc D' (duke Of)

2004-11-07T17:12:00.000-08:00

The eldest son of Louis-Philippe-Albert, comte de Paris, and great-grandson of King Louis-Philippe, Orléans was banished from France in 1886 as a threat to the republican regime. Returning in 1890, he was arrested and given a prison sentence but was released after a few months

Ghardaïa

2004-11-05T04:43:00.000-08:00

Chief town of the M'zab (q.v.) Oasis, north-central Algeria. It lies along the left bank of the Oued (wadi) Mzab in the northern Sahara (Desert). Founded in the 11th century, it was built around the cave (ghar) reputedly inhabited by the female saint Daïa (the cave is still venerated by M'zabite women). Ghardaïa is a fortified town with white and red clay houses that rise in terraces and

Abbot, Charles Greeley

2004-11-03T18:40:00.000-08:00

An informal autobiography is provided by Charles Greeley Abbot, Adventures in the World of Science (1958). David H. DeVorkin, “Charles Greeley Abbot,” in Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 73, pp. 3–23 (1998), is a short biography; and David H. DeVorkin, “Defending a Dream: Charles Greeley Abbot's Years at the Smithsonian,” Journal for the History of Astronomy, vol. 21, part 1, no. 63, pp. 121–136 (February 1990), discusses Abbot's influence on the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

Lippe River

2004-10-31T23:48:00.000-08:00

River, a right-bank tributary of the Rhine, that flows through North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state) in Germany. Rising near Bad Lippspringe on the western edge of the Teutoburger Wald, the Lippe follows a westerly course of 155 miles (250 km) and flows into the Rhine near Wesel. The river lies along the northern border of the Ruhr industrial region. By the aid of locks it is navigable

Caucasian Languages, Grammatical characteristics

2004-10-29T22:19:00.000-07:00

The grammatical characteristics of the Abkhazo-Adyghian languages include an extremely simple noun system and a relatively complicated system of verb conjugation. There are no grammatical cases in Abkhaz and Abaza, and in the other languages only two principal cases occur: a direct case (nominative) and an oblique case, combining the functions of several

France, History Of, The failure of reunification (613714)

2004-10-28T05:57:00.000-07:00

Territorial crisis was partially and provisionally averted during the first third of the 7th century.

Kerala

2004-10-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

State of India. It has an area of 15,005 square miles (38,863 square kilometres), only about 1 percent of the total area of the country. The state stretches for 360 miles (580 kilometres) along the Malabar Coast on the southwestern side of the Indian peninsula; its width varies from 20 to 75 miles. It is bordered by the states of Karnataka (formerly Mysore) to the north and Tamil Nadu to the east and by the Arabian

Byrnes, James F.

2004-10-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

A self-taught lawyer, Byrnes entered public life in

Tuwim, Julian

2004-10-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

Closely associated with and cofounder of Skamander, Tuwim began his career in 1915 with the publication of a flamboyant Futurist manifesto that created a scandal. His poetry was marked by explosive energy,

Caroline

2004-10-18T20:51:00.000-07:00

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

Cadillac, Antoine Laumet De La Mothe

2004-10-16T17:13:00.000-07:00

With permission

Tasmania, Climate

2004-10-13T02:44:00.000-07:00

Tasmania, located in the mid-latitude westerly wind belt and dominated by southern maritime air masses, enjoys a moist, equable climate, with mild to warm summers, mild winters in most settled areas, and rain during all seasons. Yet the occasional incursion, in summer, of tropical continental air masses and, in spring and autumn, of tropical Tasman air masses along the

Earring

2004-10-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

A personal ornament worn pendent from the ear, usually suspended by means of a ring or hook passing through a pierced hole in the lobe of the ear or, in modern times, often by means of a screwed clip on the lobe. The impulse to decorate or to modify the appearance of the ear seems to be almost universal. In general, usage appears to call for wearing earrings in pairs, the two

Enderby Land

2004-10-10T06:32:00.000-07:00

Region of Antarctica, bordering on the Indian Ocean and extending from Prince Olav Coast of Queen Maud Land (west) to Edward VIII Bay and Kemp Coast (east). Primarily a barren, ice-capped plateau in the interior sections, it rises to rugged peaks along the coast, where the Napier Mountains exceed 7,400 feet (2,260 m). The English navigator John Biscoe, sailing for Enderby Brothers, a London

Anomalous Water

2004-10-07T17:46:00.000-07:00

Also called Orthowater, or Polywater, liquid water generally formed by condensation of water vapour in tiny glass or fused-quartz capillaries and with properties very different from those well established for ordinary water; e.g., lower vapour pressure, lower freezing temperature, higher density and viscosity, higher thermal stability, and different infrared and Raman spectra. For a few years after

Interior Design, Primitive peoples

2004-10-06T02:01:00.000-07:00

Although the practices of present-day primitive peoples sometimes shed light on the historical origins of those practices, there is too little art and decoration in such communities today to illuminate the beginnings of interior decoration. No clear-cut progressions of styles, like those that occurred in Europe, can be identified except among peoples who could

Race, Scientific classifications of race

2004-10-03T21:59:00.000-07:00

In publications issued from 1735 to 1759, Linnaeus classified all of the then-known animal forms. He included humans with the primates and established the use of both genus and species terms for identification of all animals. For the human species, he introduced the still-current scientific name Homo sapiens. He listed four major subdivisions of this species, H.

Condorcet, Marie-jean-antoine-nicolas De Caritat, Marquis De

2004-10-02T07:55:00.000-07:00

He was descended from the ancient family of Caritat, who took their title from Condorcet, a town in Dauphiné. He was educated

Bonaparte, Charles Joseph

2004-09-29T20:31:00.000-07:00

After graduating from Harvard Law School (1872), Bonaparte began the practice of law in Baltimore in 1874. He was active in organizations advocating municipal and civil

Rodin, Auguste

2004-09-27T16:01:00.000-07:00

In full François-Auguste-René Rodin French sculptor of sumptuous bronze and marble figures, considered by some critics to be the greatest portraitist in the history of sculpture. His La Porte de l'Enfer (The Gates of Hell; see photograph), commissioned in 1880 for the future Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, remained unfinished at his death but nonetheless

Anjo

2004-09-25T07:06:00.000-07:00

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

Marquand, J(ohn) P(hillips)

2004-09-24T22:02:00.000-07:00

Marquand grew up in New York City and suburban Rye in comfortable circumstances until his father's business failure, when he was sent to live with relatives in Newburyport. This experience of reduced status and

Carter, Elizabeth

2004-09-22T01:30:00.000-07:00

Carter was the daughter of a learned cleric who taught her Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. She was not a precocious child, but she persevered with an industry that affected her health, studying also French, German, Italian,

Indonesia, Animal life

2004-09-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

Indonesia is located in the transitional zone between two of the world's major faunal regions: the Oriental of Asia in the west and the Australasian of Australia and New Guinea in the east. The boundary of these realms, called Wallace's Line, runs between Borneo and Celebes in the north and Bali and Lombok in the south. To the west the Asian animal community includes such

Buyantu

2004-09-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

Also known as Ayurparibhadra , Chinese temple name (yüan) Jen Tsung , Pinyin romanization Yuan Renzong (reigned 1311–20), Mongol emperor of the Yüan dynasty of China, who was a patron of literature. He distributed offices more equitably between Chinese and Mongols than had his predecessors, and during his reign commercial ties with Europe increased.

Jacksonville

2004-09-15T03:51:00.000-07:00

City, Morgan county, west-central Illinois, U.S. Laid out in 1825 as the county seat and named in honour of Andrew Jackson, it soon acquired a distinctive educational, institutional, and religious character, which it largely retains. Illinois College (founded there in 1829 and affiliated with the United Church of Christ) was the first in the state to graduate a college class. Other

Playa

2004-09-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

Enclosed basins of salt and clay accumulation may originate from numerous causes. Tectonic causes include faulting, as in the East African Rift Valley and Death Valley, and warping, as in Lake Eyre in Australia, Lake Chad in central Africa, and Shatt al-Jarid (Chott Djerid) in Tunisia. Wind deflation can produce shallow basins with downwind dunes, as in southeastern Australia.

Malatesta, Errico

2004-09-11T14:10:00.000-07:00

Malatesta became politically active while still in his teens, joining the First International in 1871. A dynamic

Agunah

2004-09-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

Hebrew 'aguna (“deserted woman”) , plural agunahs, 'agunot , or agunoth in Orthodox and Conservative Judaism, a woman who is presumed to be widowed but who cannot remarry because evidence of her husband's death does not satisfy legal requirements. The plight of the agunah has generated voluminous and complex treatment in Halakhic literature. Although religious courts are not empowered to grant remarriage without indisputable

Alabaster, William

2004-09-08T22:24:00.000-07:00

Alabaster was educated at the University of Cambridge and in 1596 accompanied the

Basil The Great, Saint

2004-09-06T18:06:00.000-07:00

Latin Basilius early Church Father who defended the orthodox faith against the heretical Arians. As bishop of Caesarea he wrote several works on monasticism, theology, and canon law. He was declared a saint soon after his death.

Petermann Ranges

2004-09-03T23:19:00.000-07:00

Low mountains extending for 200 miles (320 km) from east-central Western Australia southeast to the southwest corner of Northern Territory. A continuation of the granite and gneiss formations in the Musgrave Ranges to the southeast, the Petermanns rise to a height of 3,800 feet (1,158 metres). Visited (1874) by Ernest Giles, the mountains were named after August Petermann, a German geographer.

Abomey

2004-09-02T02:46:00.000-07:00

Town, southern Benin (formerly Dahomey). Probably founded in the early 17th century, it soon became the capital of the kingdom of Abomey (later Dahomey), which dominated production and trade with the European enterprises on the Slave Coast until the late 19th century. The town is located in an area where palm nuts and peanuts (groundnuts) are grown; it is connected by road and

Silicon

2004-08-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

Silicon was first isolated and described as an element in 1824 by Jöns Jacob Berzelius, a Swedish chemist. Silicon does not occur uncombined in nature; but

Episcopal Church In Scotland

2004-08-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

The development of Protestantism in Scotland went through confusing periods, with control alternating between the Presbyterian Party (those who believed in the presbyterian form of church government) and the Episcopal Party (those who

Banda Sea

2004-08-27T21:12:00.000-07:00

Bahasa Indonesia Laut Banda portion of the western South Pacific, bounded by the southern islands of the Moluccas of Indonesia (Alor, Timor, Wetar, Babar, Tanimbar, and Kai on the south and Ceram, Buru, and Sula on the north). It occupies a total of 180,000 square miles (470,000 square km) and opens to the Flores (west), Savu (southwest), Timor (south), Arafura (southeast), and Ceram and Molucca (north) seas. The sea's North Banda Basin,