MilitaryFish

Arabia Felix

2005-04-04T02:31:00.000-07:00

In ancient geography, the comparatively fertile region in southwestern and southern Arabia (in present-day Asir and Yemen), a region that contrasted with Arabia Deserta in barren central and northern Arabia and with Arabia Petraea (“Stony Arabia”) in northwestern Arabia, which came under the suzerainty of imperial Rome. The Greeks and Romans chose the name because

Differential Equation

2005-04-03T20:01:00.000-07:00

Mathematical statement containing one or more derivatives, that is, terms representing the relationships between the rates of change of continuously varying quantities. Differential equations are very common in science and engineering, other fields of quantitative study. The solution of a differential equation is, in general, an algebraic equation expressing

Thun Und Hohenstein, Franz Anton, Prince (fürst) Zu

2005-04-02T20:04:00.000-08:00

Franz Anton was the son of Friedrich, Count von Thun und Hohenstein, and he shared the moderate pro-Czech

Tlaxcala

2005-04-02T15:21:00.000-08:00

In full Tlaxcala De Xicohténcatl, town, capital of Tlaxcala estado (“state”), east-central Mexico. It lies along the Zahuapan River at the northwest foot of La Malinche volcano, 7,388 feet (2,252 m) above sea level. The city lies in the region inhabited by the Tlaxcalan Indians, and the designation “de Xicohténcatl” commemorates a Tlaxcalan chieftain who vigorously opposed his people's aid to the Spanish conquistador

Luthuli, Albert John

2005-03-31T05:08:00.000-08:00

Albert John Mvumbi (Zulu: “Continuous Rain”) Luthuli was born in Rhodesia, where his father, John Bunyan

Baha' Ad-din Zuhayr

2005-03-30T23:59:00.000-08:00

Baha' ad-Din Zuhayr studied at Qus, a centre of trade and scholarship in Upper Egypt, and eventually moved to Cairo. There he entered the service of the Ayyubid prince as-Salih Ayyub, serving as the prince's secretary on a campaign in Syria in 1232. During an Ayyubid family dispute in 1239, as-Sali

Abbey Theatre

2005-03-28T22:14:00.000-08:00

Dublin theatre, established in 1904. It grew out of the Irish Literary Theatre (founded in 1899 by William Butler Yeats and Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory, and devoted to fostering Irish poetic drama), which in 1902 was taken over by the Irish National Dramatic Society, led by W.G. and Frank J. Fay and formed to present Irish actors in Irish plays. In 1903 this became the Irish National Theatre

Tyrone

2005-03-28T05:36:00.000-08:00

Former (until 1973) county, Northern Ireland. It was bounded by the former counties of Londonderry (north) and Fermanagh and Monaghan (south), and by former County Armagh and Lough (lake) Neagh (east). It had an area of 1,260 square miles (3,263 square km). In the north, the Sperrin Mountains rise to 2,224 feet (678 m), the highest peaks being Sawel and Mullaghcloga. To the southwest, Bessy Bell (1,387 feet) and Mary Gray

Aerospace Industry, Secondary and tertiary aerospace systems

2005-03-26T19:46:00.000-08:00

The secondary product line of the aerospace industry comprises the numerous onboard subsystems required by the designs of the various flight vehicles. Propulsion and avionics are the two most important secondary systems. The industry's tertiary product line includes those ground-based items necessary for the support of flight vehicles.

Habash, George

2005-03-26T09:58:00.000-08:00

Habash was forced to flee Palestine in 1948, after the State of Israel was established there, and earned a medical degree at the American University in Beirut, Lebanon. In the early 1950s he was active in the “Youth of Vengeance” group, which advocated violent

Floral Decoration, Other cultures

2005-03-24T21:12:00.000-08:00

Outside the West and the Far East, the arranging of plant materials was more a casual part of everyday life than a formally recognized medium of artistic expression. The elaborate stylistic traditions evolved and formulated in the West and Far East through centuries of sophisticated creative activity are rarely found, therefore, in other cultures. In the Islamic

Daumier, Honoré

2005-03-24T10:50:00.000-08:00

He did not do so, however, for he had become preoccupied with new technical studies; earlier than others, he had discovered Impressionism—faces and bodies devoured by the surrounding light and becoming one with the atmosphere. He painted a great deal, and the more so as his studies in the new technique did not interest the satirical journals to which he now submitted

Haldane, Elizabeth Sanderson

2005-03-23T03:16:00.000-08:00

The younger sister of the statesman Richard Burdon Haldane and the physiologist John Scott Haldane, she was educated privately. For much of her adult life she served on various advisory and regulatory boards for nursing. Influenced by the English housing reformer Octavia Hill,

Khons

2005-03-22T08:39:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Khonsu, Khensu, or Chons, in ancient Egyptian religion, moon god who was generally depicted as a youth. A deity with astronomical associations named Khenzu is known from the Pyramid Texts (c. 2350 BC) and is possibly the same as Khons. In Egyptian mythology, Khons was regarded as the son of the god Amon and the goddess Mut. In the period of the late New Kingdom (c. 1100 BC) a major temple was built for Khons in the Karnak

Montserrat

2005-03-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

The original Native American inhabitants of Montserrat began to arrive in the Lesser Antilles about 3000 BC. Carib Indians, who arrived later, are said to have named the island Alliouagana (“Land of the Prickly Bush”). However, Montserrat was uninhabited by the time Christopher Columbus sighted it in November 1493, during his second voyage to the Americas. Columbus named the island

Empiricism, In modern philosophy

2005-03-21T05:32:00.000-08:00

In the earlier and unsystematically speculative phases of Renaissance philosophy, the claims of Aristotelian logic to yield substantial knowledge were attacked by several 16th-century logicians, and, in the same century, the role of observation was stressed. One mildly skeptical Christian thinker, Pierre Gassendi (1592–1655), advanced a deliberate revival of the empirical

Tokyo-yokohama Metropolitan Area, Transportation

2005-03-19T18:37:00.000-08:00

The emergence of modern Tokyo came at the beginning of the transportation revolution of the late 19th century. The first railroad in Japan was put through from Tokyo to Yokohama in 1872. The city continues to be the most important transportation centre in the country. The busiest rail stations are those accommodating commuters to the western suburbs, but the traveler

Ma Yuan

2005-03-19T06:21:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Ma Yüan influential Chinese landscape painter whose work, together with that of Xia Gui, formed the basis of the Ma-Xia school of painting. Ma occasionally painted flowers, but his genius lay in landscape painting, his lyrical and romantic interpretation becoming the model for later painters. He was a master of “one-corner” painting,

Kyoha Shinto

2005-03-19T04:46:00.000-08:00

By 1908, 13 sects had been recognized

Maderno, Carlo

2005-03-17T21:24:00.000-08:00

Maderno began his architectural career in Rome assisting his uncle Domenico Fontana. His first major Roman commission, the facade of Santa Susanna (1597–1603), led to his appointment in 1603 as the chief architect for Saint Peter's. In 1607 he designed the nave

Davenport Ware

2005-03-16T16:54:00.000-08:00

Cream-coloured earthenware made by John Davenport of Longport, Staffordshire, Eng., beginning in 1793. Davenport had great success with pierced openwork-rimmed plates, either painted or transfer printed. He produced domestic bone china from 1800 and by 1810 was operating on a large scale; the business continued until 1887. Gilding, an extensive use of coloured grounds, flower-encrusted

Tu Fu

2005-03-16T06:27:00.000-08:00

Born into a scholarly family, Tu Fu received a traditional Confucian education but failed in the imperial examinations of 736. As a result, he spent much of his youth traveling, during which he won renown as a poet and met the other poets of the period,

Szymanowski, Karol

2005-03-15T09:39:00.000-08:00

Szymanowski began to compose and play the piano at an early age. In 1901 he went to Warsaw and studied harmony, counterpoint, and composition privately until 1904. Finding the musical life in Warsaw limiting, he went to Berlin, where he organized the Young Polish

Culture

2005-03-14T20:28:00.000-08:00

The existence and use of culture depends upon an ability possessed by humans alone. This ability has

Forcados River

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

River, a major navigable channel of the Niger Delta, southern Nigeria. It leaves the main course of the Niger River about 20 miles (32 km) downstream from Aboh and flows through zones of freshwater swamps, mangrove swamps, and coastal sand ridges before completing its 123-mile (198-kilometre) westerly course to the Bight of Benin. Since about 1900 it has been the chief link for small ship

Wang T'ao

2005-03-13T10:34:00.000-08:00

Wang's sympathy with the long, widespread Taiping Rebellion in South China (1850–64) aroused the enmity of officials in the Ch'ing dynasty (1644–1911) government. Forced to flee to British-controlled Hong

Utah, Mormon settlement and territorial growth

2005-03-13T10:07:00.000-08:00

When wagonloads of Mormon pioneers under the leadership of Brigham Young first entered

Peter Martyr, Saint

2005-03-13T09:19:00.000-08:00

Peter's parents were members of the Cathari, and there was some family opposition to Peter's

Ovid

2005-03-11T03:25:00.000-08:00

Latin in full Publius Ovidius Naso Roman poet noted especially for his Ars amatoria and Metamorphoses. His verse had immense influence both by its imaginative interpretations of classical myth and as an example of supreme technical accomplishment.

Murat River

2005-03-10T23:53:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Murad River, Turkish Murat Nehri, river, the major headstream of the Euphrates. In antiquity it was called Arsanias. The river rises north of Lake Van near Mount Ararat, in eastern Turkey, and flows westward for 449 miles (722 km) through a mountainous region to unite with the Karasu Çayi and form the Upper Euphrates near Malatya. Turkey's largest dam, the Keban, west of Elâzig, completed in 1974, is designed to provide electric

Nepheline

2005-03-10T10:17:00.000-08:00

Also called nephelite , or eleolite the most common feldspathoid mineral, an aluminosilicate of sodium and potassium (Na3KAl4Si4O16). It is sometimes used as a substitute for feldspars in the manufacture of glass and ceramics. Nepheline is the characteristic mineral of alkaline plutonic rocks, particularly nephelinesyenites and nephelinegneisses. It occurs in beautiful crystal form with mica, garnet,

Smith, Red

2005-03-09T07:54:00.000-08:00

Byname of Walter Wellesley Smith American sports columnist whose literary craftsmanship, humorous and iconoclastic approach, and deep knowledge of sports made him one of the United States' most popular sportswriters. His columns were literate, and he shunned the jargon of the genre. His popularity persisted nevertheless, and his work profoundly influenced

Likasi

2005-03-08T15:56:00.000-08:00

Formerly (until 1966) Jadotville, city, southeastern Congo (Kinshasa). It lies along the Likasi River, 86 miles (138 km) northwest of Lubumbashi, to which it is connected by road and rail. In 1892 Belgians discovered copper deposits at Likasi and at Kambove, 15 miles (24 km) northwest. Likasi was founded in 1917 and was designated an urban district in 1943. It is now one of the nation's most important mineral-processing centres, with plants

Chaillu Massif

2005-03-08T13:40:00.000-08:00

Mountain range in south-central Gabon, rising to more than 3,300 feet (1,000 m) between the Ngounié and the Ogooué rivers; it forms the country's main watershed. The range contains Mount Milondo (3,346 feet [1,020 m]), the highest peak in Gabon, 53 miles (85 km) southwest of Koula-Moutou. Other high points in the range are Mount Iboundji (3,215 feet [980 m]) and Mount Mimongo (2,822 feet [860 m]). The granite massif is named for the explorer

Aspergillus

2005-03-07T14:03:00.000-08:00

Genus of the Fungi Imperfecti (form-class Deuteromycetes). Those species for which the sexual phase is known are placed in the order Eurotiales. A. niger causes black mold of foodstuffs; A. flavus, A. niger, and A. fumigatus cause aspergillosis in humans. A. oryzae is used to ferment sake, and A. wentii to process soybeans. Three genera of the class Ascomycetes have

Bry, Theodor De

2005-03-07T04:00:00.000-08:00

De Bry fled the Spanish persecution of Flemish Protestants and lived in Strassburg (Strasbourg) from 1570 to 1578 and then in Frankfurt am Main, where he established an engraving and publishing business. He twice visited London, where he executed such works as 12 plates for The Procession

United States, The European background

2005-03-06T20:36:00.000-08:00

During the years separating the failure of the Roanoke colony and the establishment in 1607 of the English settlement in Jamestown, English propagandists worked hard to convince the public that a colony in America would yield instant and easily exploitable wealth. Even men like the English geographer Richard Hakluyt were not certain that the Spanish colonization experience could or should be imitated but hoped nevertheless that the English colonies in the New World would prove to be a source of immediate commercial gain. There were, of course, other motives for colonization. Some hoped to discover the much-sought-after route to the Orient in North America. English imperialists thought it necessary to settle in the New World in order to limit Spanish expansion. Once it was proven that America was a suitable place for settlement, some Englishmen would travel to those particular colonies that promised to free them from religious persecution. There were also Englishmen, primarily of lower- and middle-class origin, who hoped the New World would provide them with increased economic opportunity in the form of free or inexpensive land. These last two motives, while they have been given considerable attention by historians, appear not to have been so much original motives for English colonization as they were shifts of attitude once colonization had begun.

Agni

2005-03-05T20:56:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit: “Fire”), fire-god of the Hindus, second only to Indra in the Vedic mythology of ancient India. He is equally the fire of the sun, of lightning, and of the hearth that men light for purposes of worship. As the divine personification of the fire of sacrifice, he is the mouth of the gods, the carrier of the oblation, and the messenger between the human and the divine orders.

Obstfelder, Sigbjørn

2005-03-04T18:57:00.000-08:00

Most of Obstfelder's works appeared in the 1890s: his first volume of poetry, Digte (1893; Poems); a play, De røde draaber (1897; “The Red Drops”); several novellas; and the posthumously published

Black Hole Of Calcutta

2005-03-04T06:35:00.000-08:00

Scene of an incident (June 20, 1756) in which the remaining European defenders of Calcutta were shut away and many died, following the capture of the city by the nawab Siraj-ud-Dawlah, of Bengal, and the surrender of the East India Company's garrison under a member of the council, John Z. Holwell. The incident became a cause célèbre in the idealization of British imperialism in India

Domrémy-la-pucelle

2005-03-03T08:54:00.000-08:00

Village, Vosges département, Lorraine région, northeastern France. It lies on the banks of the Meuse River, 38 miles (61 km) southeast of Bar-le-Duc. Domrémy was where St. Joan of Arc (“la Pucelle”) was born about 1412. The village still has several medieval buildings, including St. Joan's birthplace, now a museum. Nearby is the church containing the font at which she was baptized. Pop. (1990) 190.

Nigeria, Relief

2005-03-03T08:34:00.000-08:00

In general, the topography of Nigeria consists of plains in the north and south interrupted by plateaus and hills in the centre of the country. The Sokoto Plains are in the northwestern corner of the country, while the Borno Plains in the northeastern corner surround the Lake Chad region. The Lake Chad basin and the coastal areas, including the Niger River delta and

Aerobics

2005-03-03T05:23:00.000-08:00

System of physical conditioning developed to increase the efficiency of the body's intake of oxygen. Typical aerobic exercises (e.g., walking, running, swimming, dancing, and cycling) stimulate heart and lung activity long enough to produce beneficial changes in the body. To be effective, aerobic training must include a minimum of three sessions per week. During each

Baramula

2005-03-01T13:12:00.000-08:00

Town in the northwestern part of the Indian-held sector of Jammu and Kashmir state, in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. It is situated on the Jhelum River about 7 miles (11 km) beyond the river's emergence from Wular Lake. Located some 28 miles (45 km) west and slightly north of Srinagar, the capital of the Indian-held sector of Jammu and Kashmir, Baramula is surrounded by

Olomouc

2005-03-01T01:49:00.000-08:00

Olomouc possibly originated as a Roman fort (Mons Iulii) and by the 9th century was an important stronghold. A bishopric, established there in 1063, was raised to an archbishopric in 1777. At the Peace

Austral Islands

2005-03-01T01:09:00.000-08:00

French Îles Australes, also called Tubuai Islands, southernmost archipelago of French Polynesia. Volcanic in origin, they are part of a vast submerged mountain chain (probably a southeasterly extension of the Cook Islands) in the central South Pacific. Scattered for 800 miles (1,300 km), they comprise five inhabited islands—Raivavae (6 square miles [16 square km]), Rapa (15 square miles [39 square km]), Rimatara, (3 square miles [8 square km]), Rurutu

Celebes Sea

2005-02-27T22:57:00.000-08:00

Indonesian Laut Sulawesi sea of the western Pacific Ocean, bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sea and Mindanao Island, on the east by the Sangi Islands chain, on the south by Celebes (Sulawesi), and on the west by Borneo. It extends 420 miles (675 km) north-south by 520 miles (837 km) east-west and occupies a total surface area of 110,000 square miles (280,000 square km). The sea, opening southwest through the Makassar Strait

Italy

2005-02-27T16:42:00.000-08:00

The first major power in the peninsula was the Etruscans. From Etruria, Etruscan

Allan, Sir Hugh

2005-02-26T03:42:00.000-08:00

Allan emigrated to Canada in 1826 and in 1831 began work for a shipbuilding company in Montreal. By 1839 he was a senior partner, and by 1853 he and his brother

China, Government and party

2005-02-24T21:02:00.000-08:00

Despite its size, the People's Republic of China is organized along unitary rather than federal principles. Both the government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP; Pinyin: Zhongguo Gongchan Dang; Wade–Giles romanization: Chung-kuo Kung-ch'an Tang), moreover, operate “from the top down,” arrogating to the “Centre” all powers that are not explicitly delegated to lower levels.

Aschelminth, Size range and diversity of structure

2005-02-24T19:24:00.000-08:00

The five classes of aschelminths are of different sizes and varying importance. The nematodes are by far the largest group, with 13,000 to 14,000 named species and many times that number undescribed. Most of the described species are parasites of human beings, domestic animals, or cultivated plants and are therefore of great importance in medicine and agriculture. Typically,

Ascanian Dynasties

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

Albert the Bear (see Albert I under Albert [Brandenburg]) was the first to raise the family's rank from that of

Fabales

2005-02-23T22:11:00.000-08:00

The rationale for plant family classification derives not only from conspicuous morphological features but from numerous cryptic characters as well. Chromosome numbers are often useful in evaluating the relationship of plant taxa. The legumes are no exception. The legumes produce many kinds of chemical substances—e.g., alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, and the

Näfels, Battle Of

2005-02-23T18:14:00.000-08:00

(April 9, 1388), major victory for the Swiss Confederation in the first century of its struggle for self-determination against Habsburg overlordship. Though the catastrophic defeat of the Austrians at Sempach in 1386 had been followed by a truce, hostilities against the Habsburgs were subsequently continued by the rebellious men of Glarus, a district that had adhered to the

Wu Changshuo

2005-02-22T15:05:00.000-08:00

Wu was born into a scholarly family and began writing poems and carving seals by age 10. As a young man, Wu passed the civil service examinations and started a family, while still pursuing art and poetry during his free

Aerospace Industry, Tertiary systems

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

One major group of ground-based support products comprises simulation devices—systems used for training aircraft and spacecraft crews and for research-and-development processes. The simulators built in the largest quantities are chiefly for civil transport aircraft and military fighters and are used to train pilots for operating specific aircraft and

Fukien, Settlement patterns

2005-02-20T05:03:00.000-08:00

About one-fifth of Fukien's population lives in cities and towns, the rest in rural areas. Population densities are lowest in the mountain uplands, increase in the river valleys, and are highest on the coastal plains and estuaries near Amoy, Ch'üan-chou, and Fu-chou.

The Protestant Heritage

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

Protestantism originated in the 16th-century Reformation, and its basic doctrines, in addition to those of the ancient Christian creeds, are justification by grace alone through faith, the priesthood of all believers, and the supremacy of Holy Scripture in matters of faith and order. Variation in sacramental doctrine exists among Protestants, but most limit the

Existentialism, Manner and style of human existence

2005-02-19T22:12:00.000-08:00

Existentialism is never a solipsism in the proper sense of the term (that I alone exist), because every existential possibility relates man to things and to other men. Sometimes it is presented as humanism in the sense that it places human destiny in the hands of men themselves. But this version is rejected by all of the currents of the movement that, starting with Heidegger,

Pohjanmaa

2005-02-19T21:45:00.000-08:00

Also called Ostrobothnia, or Ostrobothnian Plain, Swedish Österbotten, lowland plain in Vaasa and Oulu läänit (provinces), western Finland, along the Gulf of Bothnia. Pohjanmaa is about 60 miles (100 km) wide and 160 miles (257 km) long. It consists of flat plains of sand and clay soil that are broken by rivers and bog areas. It is drained mainly by the Lapuan, Kyrön, and Iso rivers, which flow to the Gulf of Bothnia. The lowlands are divided between agricultural

Calama

2005-02-18T02:31:00.000-08:00

Capital of El Loa province, Antofagasta region, northern Chile, on the Río Loa in an extremely arid region. It lies on the western slope of the Andes at an altitude of 7,435 ft (2,266 m) and is linked to Antofagasta city, 125 mi (200 km) southwest, by aqueduct. The oasis town is a mining and agricultural marketing centre and a receiving station for cattle brought across the mountains from Argentina.

Abse, Dannie

2005-02-17T05:44:00.000-08:00

Abse was reared in Cardiff. He trained as a physician and qualified as a doctor in 1950. From 1949 to 1954 he edited a literary magazine, Poetry and Poverty, and from 1951 to 1955 he served in the Royal Air Force. Thereafter he worked part-time as a physician

Islam, The teachings of Twelver Shi'ism and the school of Esfahan

2005-02-17T01:33:00.000-08:00

After Ibn al-'Arabi, the new wisdom developed rapidly in intellectual circles in eastern Islam. Commentators on the works of Avicenna, as-Suhrawardi, and Ibn al-'Arabi began the process of harmonizing and integrating the views of the masters. Great poets made them part of every educated man's literary culture. Mystical fraternities became the custodians of such works, spreading

Metalmark

2005-02-16T13:51:00.000-08:00

Most males possess reduced front legs; females have functional

China, Tung (Eastern) Han

2005-02-15T09:24:00.000-08:00

The Han house was restored by Liu Hsiu, better known as Kuang-wu ti, who reigned from AD 25 to 57/58. His claim had been contested by another member of the Liu house, Liu Hsüan—better known as Liu Keng-shih—who had been actually enthroned for two years, until his death in the course of turbulent civil fighting. Ch'ang-an had been virtually destroyed by warfare, and Kuang-wu ti established

Paul Of Venice

2005-02-14T06:09:00.000-08:00

Paul studied at the universities of Oxford and Padua, where he also lectured (1408–15), and became Venetian ambassador to Poland (1413), but difficulties with the Venetian authorities prompted

Alcohol

2005-02-14T02:01:00.000-08:00

Any of a class of organic compounds characterized by one or more hydroxyl (OH) groups attached to a carbon atom of an alkyl group (hydrocarbon chain). Alcohols may be considered as derivatives of water (H2O) in which one of the hydrogen atoms has been replaced by an alkyl group. Alcohols are among the most common organic compounds and are valuable intermediates in the synthesis

Bantu Languages

2005-02-13T17:20:00.000-08:00

A group of some 500 languages belonging to the Bantoid subgroup of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. The Bantu languages are spoken in a very large area, including most of Africa from southern Cameroon eastward to Kenya and southward to the southernmost tip of the continent. Twelve Bantu languages are spoken by more than five million people,

Yacht

2005-02-12T20:16:00.000-08:00

Ocean racing began in 1866 with a match race held under NYYC rules from Sandy Hook, Conn., to Cowes, Isle of Wight, Eng., by three schooners of 32- to 32.6-metre length: Fleetwing, Vesta, and Henrietta. Henrietta, owned by the American newspaper publisher James Gordon Bennett, won in 13 days of sailing. The first single-sailor transatlantic voyage was made in a 6-metre boat by Alfred Johnson in

Cranbrook

2005-02-12T02:37:00.000-08:00

City, southeastern corner of British Columbia, Canada. It lies in the Kootenay River valley on the western edge of the Rocky Mountain Trench. The region was first settled about 1863 by gold prospectors. Cranbrook was probably named for a town near the farm home in Kent, Eng., of one of the settlers, Colonel James Baker. The Canadian Pacific Railroad's Crowsnest branch line reached

Raby, Al

2005-02-11T21:33:00.000-08:00

Raby, a grade-school dropout, taught himself to read when he was a teenager. He later graduated from Chicago Teachers College (1960) and attended the University of Chicago

Kabane

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

The imperial Japanese Yamato line arose as the most powerful members of this kabane system,

Afghanistan, Nadir Shah

2005-02-11T08:19:00.000-08:00

In 1738, after a year's siege, the city of Kandahar fell to Nadir Shah's army of 80,000 men. Nadir Shah seized Ghazna and Kabul and occupied the Mughal capital at Delhi in 1739. His booty included

Berain, Jean, The Elder

2005-02-09T18:22:00.000-08:00

Trained under the great French decorator Charles Le Brun, Berain was working at the Louvre when appointed, in 1674, royal designer to King Louis XIV of France. After the death

Argentina, Government

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

Argentina is a federal union of 23 provincias and a federal capital district, the city of Buenos Aires. Federalism came to Argentina only after a long struggle between proponents of a central government and supporters of provincial interests. The constitution of 1853 was modeled on that of the United States. The constitution promulgated in 1994 provided for consecutive

Scanlon, John Patrick

2005-02-08T07:53:00.000-08:00

American public relations consultant (b. Feb. 27, 1935, New York, N.Y.—d. May 4, 2001, New York), specialized in representing high-profile and often controversial clients. He worked as a press spokesman for various New York City government agencies and corporations before embarking on a career as an independent consultant. Among other notable clients, Scanlon represented the tobacco

Kafue

2005-02-07T16:10:00.000-08:00

Town, south-central Zambia, about 25 miles (40 km) south of Lusaka, the national capital. The town is located on the northern bank of the Kafue River, whose water is diverted northward by channel to Chilanga and Lusaka. The town's industrial area, which gets its power supply from the Kafue hydroelectric scheme, houses an ammonium nitrate fertilizer plant, a textile mill, an iron

Dafla

2005-02-06T07:27:00.000-08:00

The Dafla support themselves with a slash-and-burn agriculture and with hunting and fishing. They live at elevations of 3,000 to 6,000 feet (900 to 1,800 m) in houses built on pilings. Descent

Malamud, Bernard

2005-02-06T05:25:00.000-08:00

His first novel, The Natural (1952), is a fable

Port Dickson

2005-02-05T16:32:00.000-08:00

Town, south-central West Malaysia (Malaya), on the Strait of Malacca. The port, now in decline, was used extensively during the late 19th century to export the tin mined in the foothills of the state. Now chiefly a seaside resort with a fishing village, it is connected by rail with the inland entrepôt of Seremban, 17 miles (27 km) northeast. Oil refineries are concentrated along the

Dracaena

2005-02-05T15:09:00.000-08:00

Genus of ornamental foliage plants in the family Agavaceae, consisting of about 50 to 80 species native primarily to the Old World tropics. Most species have short stalks and narrow, sword-shaped leaves, but some have taller stalks and resemble trees with crowns of leaves. The small flowers are red, yellow, or green. The berrylike fruit contains one to three

Wanganui River

2005-02-04T02:54:00.000-08:00

River in central North Island, New Zealand. It rises on the western slopes of Mount Ngauruhoe and flows northwest to Taumarunui and then south to empty into the Tasman Sea at South Taranaki Bight. Draining a basin of 2,850 square miles (7,380 square km), the Wanganui, 180 miles (290 km) long, is fed by the Ongarue, Tangarakau, and Ohura rivers. A sandbar at its mouth, near Wanganui city, blocks the

Daniels, Charles

2005-02-03T11:51:00.000-08:00

At the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis, Missouri, Daniels was America's star swimmer, winning gold medals in the 220-yard and 440-yard freestyle and the 4 ´ 50-yard freestyle relay, a silver in the

Pacific Mountain System, Geology

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

In general, the movement of tectonic plates has been responsible for the development of the Pacific mountain system. The coastal mountains from the Queen Charlotte Islands southward to southern California have been folded, faulted, and intruded with molten rock as a result of this movement. The most significant activity has been the lateral, northerly movement

Ahmed, Fakhruddin Ali

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

The son of an army doctor from Assam, Ahmed was educated in India and studied history at the University of Cambridge, graduating in 1927. After returning to India, he was elected to the Assam legislature (1935). As Assam's minister of finance and revenue in 1938, he was responsible for some radical taxation measures.

Mcneill, William H(ardy)

2005-02-01T14:37:00.000-08:00

McNeill attended the University of Chicago (B.A., 1938; M.A., 1939) and Cornell University (Ph.D., 1947). During World War II he served in the U.S. Army (1941–46); part of that time he was the assistant military attaché to Greece (1944–46). McNeill taught history

Loren, Sophia

2005-01-31T18:52:00.000-08:00

Before working in the cinema, Sofia Scicolone changed her name to Sofia Lazzaro for work in the foto-romanzo, popular pulp magazines that used still photographs

Melville Island

2005-01-31T13:53:00.000-08:00

Island in the Timor Sea, 16 miles (26 km) off the coast of Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. It is separated from the Australian mainland by Clarence Strait. Measuring about 80 by 55 miles (130 by 88 km), it has an area of 2,240 square miles (5,800 square km) and rises from sandy beaches and shoreline mangrove swamps to low wooded hills. It is divided from Bathurst Island (west) by the narrow Apsley

Alveolar Proteinosis

2005-01-30T07:32:00.000-08:00

Respiratory disorder caused by the filling of large groups of alveoli with protein and lipid (fat) particles. The alveoli are air sacs, minute structures in the lungs in which the exchange of respiratory gases occurs. The gas molecules must pass through a cellular wall, the surface of which is generally covered by a thin film of fatty material secreted from the alveolar

Tata

2005-01-30T07:17:00.000-08:00

Oasis, southwestern Morocco. Situated in an arid region at the extreme northwestern edge of the Sahara, Tata oasis is located in a canyon watered by three wadis descending from Mount Bani, an outlier of the Anti-Atlas mountains. The oasis contains about 30 ksars (fortified villages) with houses built out of pink clay. The inhabitants of the region include the Shluh Berbers,

Aerospace Industry, Internationalization

2005-01-29T02:06:00.000-08:00

In the 1960s the high development cost of wide-body jets started a trend toward international risk sharing and cost sharing in aircraft development. American firms sought foreign partners because international cooperation was not subject to antitrust regulations and provided an excellent entry into overseas markets. This kind of partnership proved particularly

Taidu

2005-01-28T23:48:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ta-tu , Mongol Khanbaliq the city of Peking (q.v.) under the Mongols.

Reproductive System Disease, Inflammatory conditions

2005-01-28T23:16:00.000-08:00

Balanitis, or inflammation of the glans penis, and posthitis, or infection of the prepuce, result from the retention of secretions and bacteria beneath the foreskin and can be prevented with good sexual hygiene. Balanitis can also develop as a complication of certain sexually transmitted diseases. Acute prostatitis, inflammation of the prostate gland, may be caused

Beyer, Absalon Pederssøn

2005-01-28T18:50:00.000-08:00

Born on a farm, Beyer was adopted by a bishop after the death of his parents and educated at the universities of Copenhagen and Wittenberg, where he studied under the famous Protestant Reformation scholar Philipp Melanchthon. Beyer was a lecturer at the Bergen Cathedral

Fox, Vicente

2005-01-26T13:46:00.000-08:00

Fox, the second of nine children, was born to parents of Spanish and Irish descent and raised on a 1,100-acre (445-hectare) ranch in the state of Guanajuato. After earning a degree in business administration from the Ibero-American

Spokane River

2005-01-26T04:33:00.000-08:00

River rising in Coeur d'Alene Lake, Kootenai county, northern Idaho, U.S., and flowing west across the Washington border through Spokane for about 50 miles (80 km) to the Columbia River. The Spokane is 100 miles (160 km) long and has several dams, including Long Lake Dam (1915).

Asyndeton

2005-01-25T20:56:00.000-08:00

The omission of the conjunctions that ordinarily join coordinate words or clauses, as in the phrase “I came, I saw, I conquered” or in Matthew Arnold's poem The Scholar Gipsy:Thou hast not lived, why should'st thou perish, so?Thou hadst one aim, one business, one desire; Else wert thou long since numbered with the dead!

Davenport, Edward Loomis

2005-01-24T04:03:00.000-08:00

In spite of family opposition, Davenport went on the stage, making his debut in 1836 under the stage name Mr. E. Dee, playing Parson

Butterfly Weed

2005-01-24T01:44:00.000-08:00

Unlike most milkweeds, this plant has a scanty milky juice. It is native to dry fields and

Sicilian Vespers

2005-01-21T14:59:00.000-08:00

(1282) massacre of the French with which the Sicilians began their revolt against Charles I, Angevin king of Naples and Sicily; it precipitated a French-Aragonese struggle for possession of that kingdom. Its name derives from a riot that took place in a church outside Palermo at the hour of vespers on Easter Monday, March 30, 1282. Peter III of Aragon, Charles's rival for the Neapolitan