KindBrush

Biogeography

2005-04-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

Strictly speaking, biogeography is a branch of biology, but physical geographers have made important contributions, particularly in the study of flora. The classification of vegetation

Cylinder

2005-04-05T03:45:00.000-07:00

In mechanical engineering, chamber of an engine in which a piston moves. See piston and cylinder.

Cimon

2005-04-05T02:18:00.000-07:00

Athenian statesman and general who played an active part in building up the Athenian empire in the period following the Greco-Persian Wars and whose conservatism and policy of friendship with Sparta were opposed to the policy of Pericles. His greatest military victory was the defeat of a Persian fleet (manned by Phoenicians) at the mouth of the River Eurymedon

Adams, John, Special topics

2005-04-03T19:13:00.000-07:00

Finally, seminal essays on Adams's personality and ideology can be found in several books that focus on larger themes during the Revolutionary era. These include Bernard Bailyn, Faces of Revolution: Personalities and Themes in the Struggle for American Independence (1990, reissued 1992); Edmund S. Morgan, The Meaning of Independence: John Adams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson (1976, reissued 1978); and Gordon S. Wood, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776–1787 (1969, reissued 1998).

Perspective Scenery

2005-04-02T17:20:00.000-08:00

In theatre, scenery and the scene design technique that represents three-dimensional space on a flat surface, creating an illusion of reality and an impression of distance. Developed during the Italian Renaissance, perspective scenery applied the newly mastered science of linear perspective and brought the craft of illusion to the Italian stage. An initial

Rourke, Constance Mayfield

2005-04-02T14:50:00.000-08:00

After earning an A.B. from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., (1907) and studying at the Sorbonne in Paris, Rourke taught English at Vassar. In 1915 she resigned, thereafter working as a research historian and free-lance writer devoted to defining the historical aspects

Eyespot

2005-04-01T22:27:00.000-08:00

In the green one-celled organism Euglena, the eyespot is located in the gullet, at the base of the flagellum (a whiplike locomotory

Claque

2005-04-01T13:08:00.000-08:00

(French claquer: “to clap”), organized body of persons who, either for hire or from other motives, band together to applaud or deride a performance and thereby attempt to influence the audience. As an institution, the claque dates from performances at the theatre of Dionysus in ancient Athens. Philemon frequently defeated Menander in the 4th century BC in the comedy competitions,

Hess, Germain Henri

2005-04-01T04:44:00.000-08:00

After practicing medicine for several years in Irkutsk, Russia, Hess became professor of chemistry in 1830 at the Technological Institute, University of St. Petersburg. His early investigations concerned minerals and the natural

älvsborg

2005-03-30T22:03:00.000-08:00

Former län (county) of southwestern Sweden, located to the west and south of Lake Vänern. Formed as a county in 1634, it was merged with the counties of Göteborg och Bohus and Skaraborg in 1998 to form the county of Västra Götaland.

Herman, Woody

2005-03-30T10:39:00.000-08:00

Herman was a child prodigy who sang and danced in vaudeville at six years of age. Soon after he began playing the saxophone and later the clarinet. Billed as the Boy

Tobit

2005-03-29T11:49:00.000-08:00

Also called The Book Of Tobias, apocryphal work (noncanonical for Jews and Protestants) that found its way into the Roman Catholic canon via the Septuagint. A religious folktale and a Judaicized version of the story of the grateful dead, it relates how Tobit, a pious Jew exiled to Nineveh in Assyria, observed the precepts of Hebrew Law by giving alms and by burying the dead. In spite of his good works,

Arabia, History Of, The Zaydis and 'Alawis

2005-03-28T07:03:00.000-08:00

In the mid-10th century a refugee from disturbances in Iraq, Ahmad

Davenport Ware

2005-03-28T05:53:00.000-08:00

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

Stage Machinery

2005-03-27T19:52:00.000-08:00

Devices designed for the production of theatrical effects, such as rapid scene changes, lighting, sound effects, and illusions of the supernatural or magical. Theatrical machinery has been in use since at least the 5th century BC, when the Greeks developed deus ex machina (q.v.), by which an actor could be lowered to the stage. During the Hellenistic period, the Greeks also

Mauritania, Climate

2005-03-26T15:22:00.000-08:00

The climate owes its aridity to the northeastern trade winds, which blow constantly in the north and throughout most of the year in the rest of the country; the drying effect produced by these winds is increased by the harmattan, or east wind. With the exception of the few winter rains that occur as a result of climatic disturbances originating in the mid-latitude regions,

Culavamsa

2005-03-25T23:12:00.000-08:00

The portion of the Culavamsa dealing with Ceylon's

Breccia

2005-03-25T02:48:00.000-08:00

There are three categories of breccia: sedimentary, pyroclastic or igneous, and cataclastic. The constituent fragments may be of one lithology such as a rock fractured in position, or of many

Dozy, Reinhart Pieter (anne)

2005-03-24T08:54:00.000-08:00

Dutch Arabist, best remembered for his monumental Histoire des musulmans d'Espagne, jusqu'à la conquête de l'Andalousie par les Almoravides, 711–1110 (1861; Spanish Islam, 1913). Dozy, of French Huguenot ancestry, spent 33 years (from 1850) as professor of history at the University of Leiden. His history, a graphically written account of Moorish dominion in Spain that

Wüst, Georg

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

Wüst received his doctorate from the University of Berlin in 1919. After the death of his teacher Alfred

Mitiaro

2005-03-23T19:57:00.000-08:00

Island in the lower Cook Islands, a dependency of New Zealand, southwest Pacific Ocean. It is a raised coral atoll, with a land area of 8.6 sq mi (22.3 sq km), and is encircled by a reef. Its interior of fertile volcanic soil, ringed by swamps and limestone, supports copra and citrus fruits. Stands of sandalwood occur. Pop. (1981) 256.

China, Economy

2005-03-22T22:14:00.000-08:00

The Mongol conquest of the Sung Empire had for the first time since the end of T'ang reunified all China. Sung China had traded with its neighbours, the Liao and Chin, but trade had been strictly controlled and limited to authorized border markets. The Mongol conquest therefore reintegrated China's economy. The Mongol administration, in its desire to utilize the resources

Agrarian League

2005-03-22T21:50:00.000-08:00

German Bund Der Landwirte extraparliamentary organization active under the German empire from 1893. Formed to combat the free-trade policies (initiated in 1892) of Chancellor Leo, Graf (count) von Caprivi, the league worked for farmers' subsidies, import tariffs, and minimum prices. Caprivi's successor promised to increase wheat tariffs, but by 1900 the Agrarian League had increased to 250,000 members—50,000 more than

Kearney

2005-03-22T17:15:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Buffalo county, south-central Nebraska, U.S. It lies on the north (left) bank of the Platte River. The first settlers were Swedish immigrants who came there in 1865. The city was founded in 1871 at the junction of the Burlington and the Union Pacific railroads. It was named for nearby Fort Kearny, a U.S. Army post (1848–71) that had been established to protect travelers on the Oregon

Fructosuria

2005-03-22T06:06:00.000-08:00

Disturbance of fructose metabolism resulting from a hereditary disorder or intolerance. Normally, fructose is first metabolized in the body to fructose-1-phosphate by a specific organic catalyst or enzyme called fructokinase. In fructosuria this particular enzyme is defective, and the concentration of fructose increases in the blood and urine. There are no

Road Race

2005-03-20T17:48:00.000-08:00

Usually, all contestants

Eichler, August Wilhelm

2005-03-20T07:58:00.000-08:00

Eichler studied mathematics and natural science at the University of Marburg (Ph.D., 1861). He then went to Munich, where he became a private assistant to the naturalist Karl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, with whom he edited Flora

Coal, Properties

2005-03-20T06:37:00.000-08:00

Many of the properties of coal are strongly rank-dependent, although other factors such as maceral composition and the presence of mineral matter also influence its properties. Several techniques have been developed for studying the physical and chemical properties of coal, including density measurements, X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron

Wells-barnett, Ida Bell

2005-03-19T10:01:00.000-08:00

Ida Wells was the daughter of slaves. She was educated at Rust University, a freedmen's school in her native Holly Springs, Mississippi, and at age 14 began teaching in a country school. She continued to teach after moving to Memphis, Tennessee,

Argenson, René-louis De Voyer De Paulmy, Marquis D'

2005-03-18T08:28:00.000-08:00

French minister of foreign affairs under King Louis XV from 1744 to 1747. The son of a lawyer, he received legal training and, from 1720 to 1724, served as intendant (royal agent) in Hainaut. As patron of the Club de l'Entresol in Paris, he discussed the political concepts of the Enlightenment with Voltaire and other philosophes. In November 1744, several months after France

Florence, William Jermyn

2005-03-17T04:40:00.000-08:00

Born of Irish parents and reared on the Lower East Side of New York City, Florence worked at various jobs before becoming a call boy at the Old Bowery

Tracery

2005-03-17T02:52:00.000-08:00

In architecture, bars, or ribs, used decoratively in windows or other openings; the term also applies to similar forms used in relief as wall decoration (sometimes called blind tracery), and hence, figuratively, to any intricate line pattern. The term is applicable to the system of window decoration developed in Europe during the Gothic period as well as to the pierced

Croce, Giovanni

2005-03-16T23:35:00.000-08:00

Croce was a priest by 1585. About 1593 he became assistant choirmaster at St. Mark's, and in 1603 choirmaster. His madrigals and canzonets (published in seven books, 1585–1607), though conservative in style, were widely admired for their light touch and alert

Aylesbury Vale

2005-03-16T19:42:00.000-08:00

District in the northern part of the administrative and historic county of Buckinghamshire, southern England. The name comes from the rich clay Vale of Aylesbury, which is situated between the ridges of the Cotswolds and the Chiltern Hills. The district includes both Aylesbury and Buckingham, 16 miles (26 km) farther north, and their surrounding rural countryside. Area

Wade-davis Bill

2005-03-15T09:57:00.000-08:00

(1864), unsuccessful attempt by Radical Republicans and others in the U.S. Congress to set Reconstruction policy before the end of the Civil War. The bill, sponsored by senators Benjamin F. Wade and Henry W. Davis, provided for the appointment of provisional military governors in the seceded states. When a majority of a state's white citizens swore allegiance to the Union, a

Cello

2005-03-15T06:28:00.000-08:00

The earliest cellos were developed during the 16th century

Aqhat Epic

2005-03-14T14:38:00.000-08:00

Ancient West Semitic legend probably concerned with the cause of the annual summer drought in the eastern Mediterranean. The epic records that Danel, a sage and king of the Haranamites, had no son until the god El, in response to Danel's many prayers and offerings, finally granted him a child, whom Danel named Aqhat. Some time later Danel offered hospitality to the divine

Emotion, Experiential relation to increased creativity

2005-03-13T09:41:00.000-08:00

Several studies have demonstrated that positive emotion facilitates creative problem solving. One of these studies showed that positive emotion enabled subjects to name more uses for common objects. Another showed that positive emotion enhanced creative problem solving by enabling subjects to see relations among objects that would otherwise go unnoticed.

Kirovohrad

2005-03-13T09:15:00.000-08:00

Russian Kirovograd oblast (province), south-central Ukraine. It extends from the Dnieper River in the northeast across the rolling hills of the Dnieper Upland to the basin of the Southern (Pivdennyy) Buh River in the southwest. The oblast's natural vegetation of grass steppe on fertile soils has been almost wholly plowed up, and unsound practices have resulted in serious and widespread

Porpora, Nicola (antonio Giacinto)

2005-03-12T15:39:00.000-08:00

Porpora was maestro

Melbourne, University Of

2005-03-12T14:32:00.000-08:00

Coeducational institution of higher learning in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, financed mainly by the national government. One of the oldest universities in Australia, it was founded by the Victoria legislature in 1853 and at first offered a liberal arts course. A law school was added in 1857, engineering instruction in 1860, and a medical school in 1862; a music conservatory, now the

Losey, Joseph

2005-03-11T07:56:00.000-08:00

After graduating from Dartmouth College (B.A., 1929) and Harvard University (M.A., 1930), Losey wrote book and theatre reviews. In 1935, while working as a European-based reporter for Variety, the

Polytheism, Functional deities

2005-03-11T01:46:00.000-08:00

In addition to the various forces operating in nature, various social and other functions are divinized. Thus, the god Brahma in the Vedic tradition, besides being creator, contains and expresses in personal form the power implicit in the Brahmin class. Again, there are gods of healing, such as Asclepius in Greece, and of seafaring, agriculture, and so on. The most elaborate

Bharhut

2005-03-10T19:56:00.000-08:00

The stupa was probably begun in the time

Philae

2005-03-10T11:33:00.000-08:00

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

Arctic, Land transport

2005-03-10T00:02:00.000-08:00

Land transport is less well developed. The expense of building a road or railbed is generally prohibitive in an area with such low population and such great distances between centres. In the American north there is only one railway, the Alaska Railroad, which runs from the port of Seward on the south coast to Fairbanks in the interior. There are more roads, chief among

Spandrel

2005-03-09T09:44:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Spandril, the roughly triangular area above and on either side of an arch, bounded by a line running horizontally through the apex of the arch, a line rising vertically from the springing of the arch, and the curved extrados, or top of the arch. When arches adjoin, the entire area between their crowns and springing line is a spandrel. If it is filled in, as is ordinarily the case, the

Skate

2005-03-08T15:06:00.000-08:00

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,

Fielding, Henry

2005-03-08T13:04:00.000-08:00

Novelist and playwright, who, with Samuel Richardson, is considered a founder of the English novel. Among his major novels are Joseph Andrews (1742) and Tom Jones (1749).

Peter Rabbit

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

In 1993 children of all ages celebrated the 100th birthday of the world's best-known and most beloved lagomorph. The guest of honour was not only long in the tooth, he was also long in the ears. Peter Rabbit, who began his public life in Edwardian times and retained his best-seller status in the postmodern era, proved to be a contemporary centenarian. A nontrendy vegetarian, the

London, Jack

2005-03-07T21:34:00.000-08:00

Deserted by his father, a roving astrologer, London was raised in Oakland, Calif., by his spiritualist mother and his stepfather,

Straight-rail Billiards

2005-03-06T20:52:00.000-08:00

Billiard game played with three balls (one red and two white) on a table without pockets. The object is to score caroms by hitting both object balls with a cue ball. A player may use either white ball as cue ball but not one that has been placed on one of the small spots marked on the table, as at the start of the game or after one is knocked off the table. Only three caroms may be

'adah

2005-03-06T09:16:00.000-08:00

(Arabic: “custom”), in Islamic law, a local custom that is given a particular consideration by judicial authorities even when it conflicts with some principle of canon law (Shari'ah); in Indonesia it is known as adat, in North Africa it is 'urf, and in East Africa, dustur. Muslim communities developed their 'adahs before accepting Islam and did not abandon them entirely afterward.

Dyson, Sir Frank (watson)

2005-03-06T07:39:00.000-08:00

In 1894 Dyson became chief assistant at the Royal Greenwich Observatory and

Myanmar (burma)

2005-03-05T00:54:00.000-08:00

Myanmar's ruling junta met with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Sept. 20, 1994; it was their

Anti-atlas

2005-03-04T23:35:00.000-08:00

Also called Lesser Atlas, mountain range in Morocco running parallel to and southward of the central range of the Atlas Mountains of North Africa. Although it has a mean elevation of 5,000 feet (1,500 m), some peaks and passes exceed 6,000 feet (1,800 m). This rugged, arid region, which encloses the Sous lowland and reaches the Atlantic coast at Sidi Ifni, is linked to the Haut (High) Atlas by Mount Siroua, a volcanic peak rising

Randstad

2005-03-04T16:06:00.000-08:00

Industrial and metropolitan conurbation occupying an area of peat and clay lowlands, west-central Netherlands. The Randstad (“Ring City”) consists of major Dutch industrial cities extending in a crescent (open to the southeast) from Utrecht in the east to Dordrecht in the south and including Hilversum, Amsterdam, Haarlem, Leiden, The Hague, and Rotterdam. It encompasses

Madonie, Le

2005-03-04T07:51:00.000-08:00

Also called Monti Madonie, mountain range in Palermo provincia, northwest-central Sicily. The range extends for 30 miles (48 km) between the Torto River and the Nebrodi Mountains. Of limestone formation, its highest peaks are Antenna Peak, 6,480 feet (1,975 m), and Carbonara Peak, 6,493 feet (1,979 m). The Madonie is the source of several rivers and is known for its underground drainage system, which provides drinking water for

Mashriq Al-adhkar

2005-03-03T14:26:00.000-08:00

(Arabic: “place where the uttering of the name of God arises at dawn”), temple or house of worship in the Baha'i faith. The mashriq is characterized by a nine-sided construction, in keeping with the Baha'i belief in the mystical properties of the number nine. Free of ritual and clergy, the mashriq is open to adherents of all religions and offers a simple service consisting of readings

Balcon, Sir Michael

2005-03-02T21:28:00.000-08:00

He began his career as a producer in 1922, founded and directed Gainsborough Pictures, Ltd., in 1928, and became the director of production for Gaumont-British Pictures, Ltd., in 1931. From 1936 to 1938 he worked as producer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and from 1938 to 1959 as executive producer

Chibchan Languages

2005-03-02T10:17:00.000-08:00

A group of South American Indian languages that were spoken before AD 1500 in the area now comprising Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, western Colombia, and Ecuador. A now extinct Chibchan language sometimes known as Muisca was the language of a powerful Indian empire with its centre near Bogotá. Important present-day Chibchan languages include Guaymí and Move in Panama,

Tsushima, Battle Of

2005-03-02T00:23:00.000-08:00

The Japanese had been unable to secure the complete command of the sea because the Russian naval squadrons at Port Arthur and Vladivostok made sorties and both sides suffered losses in the ensuing engagements. Meanwhile, the Russian government decided

John Carroll University

2005-03-01T02:22:00.000-08:00

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

Gracias

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

City, southwestern Honduras. It lies in the valley of the Mejocote River, at the foot of Las Minas Hill in the Celaque Mountains. Founded in 1536, it is one of the oldest cities in Honduras. In the 16th and 17th centuries, it was a major mining and administrative centre, but it declined in the 18th century. Destroyed in 1915 by an earthquake, it has been rebuilt. Gracias is now the commercial

Burger, Die

2005-02-28T02:08:00.000-08:00

(Afrikaans: “The Citizen”), daily newspaper published in Cape Town, S.Af., the largest of the country's newspapers written in Afrikaans. Die Burger is known both for its generally balanced presentation of the news and for its support of policies of the South African government. It firmly supported the ruling Nationalist Party. It is published mornings except Sundays.

Burano

2005-02-28T00:53:00.000-08:00

Northeastern suburb of Venice, Venezia province, northeastern Italy, comprising four islets in the Laguna Veneta (Venice Lagoon). The settlement is thought to have been founded in the 5th century by refugees from nearby Altino, fleeing in the path of Attila. The 16th-century church of S. Martino has paintings by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. In the 16th century, lacemaking was

Saint-pierre And Miquelon

2005-02-27T11:51:00.000-08:00

Officially Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon , French Collectivité Territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon archipelago about 15 miles (25 km) off the southern coast of the island of Newfoundland, Canada, a collectivité of France since 1985. The area of the main islands is 93 square miles (242 square km), 83 square miles (215 square km) of which are in the Miquelons (Miquelon and Langlade, sometimes known as Great and Little Miquelon, connected by the slim, sandy Isthmus of Langlade). But the island of Saint-Pierre,

Abyssinian

2005-02-26T17:42:00.000-08:00

Breed of domestic cat, probably of Egyptian origin, that has been considered to approximate the sacred cat of ancient Egypt more closely than any other living cat. The Abyssinian is a lithe cat with relatively slender legs and a long, tapering tail. The short, finely textured coat is ruddy reddish brown, with individual hairs of the back, sides, chest, and tail distinctively

Arabia, History Of, Dedan and Al-Hijr

2005-02-26T15:59:00.000-08:00

It is possible that the Minaean settlement at Dedan (see above) coexisted with a native Dedanite town. But only one “king of Dedan” is recorded. This kingdom seems to have been replaced quite soon by a kingdom of Lihyan (Greek: Lechienoi). The entire area, however, was not long in coming under the rule of the Nabataean kings of a dynasty (centred at Petra) covering the 1st century BC and

Hengstenberg, Ernst Wilhelm

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

Hengstenberg studied at Bonn and at Berlin, where he was professor of theology most of his life. In 1827 he founded the Evangelische Kirchen-Zeitung (“Protestant

Switzerland, The postwar period

2005-02-25T05:04:00.000-08:00

Switzerland's wartime relations with Germany compromised its postwar standing. In a 1946 agreement, the Western Allies, especially the United States, compelled Switzerland to compensate the looted Western central banks. Because Switzerland would have received no special recognition of its neutrality, the Federal Council decided not to join the United

Theobald I

2005-02-24T05:03:00.000-08:00

Theobald earned his nickname “the Cheat” fighting with his neighbours, among them the kings of France, the dukes of Normandy, and the church of Reims. He seized the area around Blois about 940 and later augmented his holdings with the counties of Chartres and Châteaudun. In 945 Hugh the Great made Theobald responsible for holding the French

Alabama, Settlement patterns

2005-02-23T19:38:00.000-08:00

By 1980 less than two-fifths of the population of Alabama was classified as rural, and the proportion was declining still further as rural residents sought homes in the state's cities. Eight counties had a population loss during the 1970s. Much of the loss was from the old cotton region of the Black Belt, which had been largely depopulated by the 1980s. By the 1970s, however, the state had

Bracton, Henry De

2005-02-23T08:40:00.000-08:00

Bracton also spelled Bratton or Bretton leading medieval English jurist and author of De legibus et consuetudinibus Angliae (c. 1235; “On the Laws and Customs of England”), one of the oldest systematic treatises on the common law. While depending chiefly on English judicial decisions and the methods of pleading required by English judges, Bracton enlarged the common law with principles

Downey, June Etta

2005-02-23T05:22:00.000-08:00

Downey graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1895. After a year of teaching school in Laramie, she resumed her education at the University of Chicago, where in 1898 she took a master's degree in philosophy and

Lenngren, Anna Maria

2005-02-22T20:53:00.000-08:00

Educated by her father, a lecturer at Uppsala University, Lenngren began to publish poetry at age 18. In 1780 she married Carl Lenngren, founder (with

Ekistics

2005-02-22T20:38:00.000-08:00

Science of human settlements. Ekistics involves the descriptive study of all kinds of human settlements and the formulation of general conclusions aimed at achieving harmony between the inhabitants of a settlement and their physical and sociocultural environments. Descriptive study involves the examination of the content, such as man alone or in societies,

Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Of Antioch And All The East

2005-02-22T11:14:00.000-08:00

The authority of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East was limited after the Council of Chalcedon (451) to the community known as Romans,

Gyda Peninsula

2005-02-21T16:38:00.000-08:00

Also called Gydan Peninsula, Russian Gydansky Poluostrov, peninsula, northern Russia. It is a northern extension of the West Siberian Plain reaching into the Kara Sea and situated between the bays of Ob and Tazovsky to the west and the estuary of the Yenisey River to the east. The peninsula is about 250 miles (400 km) long and is similar in width. It is predominantly low-lying, varying in elevation between 165 and 525 feet (50 and 160 m). The peninsula is

Singh Sabha

2005-02-20T18:41:00.000-08:00

Educational and literary movement among the Sikhs, a religious group of northern India, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It began as a defense against the proselytizing activities of Christians and Arya Samajists (Hindu reformists) and sought the reconversion of many Sikhs back to Hinduism. Its chief aims were the revival of the teachings of the Sikh

Bacau

2005-02-19T23:36:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Bacau judet (county), eastern Romania, near the confluence of the Bistrita and Siret rivers, 150 miles (240 km) northeast of Bucharest. Bacau was an early customs post, where trade routes came together at a ford over the Bistrita. It was first mentioned in documents in 1408. The manufacture of fighter airplanes has become the city's most important industry. Other industries

Mercy, Franz, Freiherr Von

2005-02-19T21:37:00.000-08:00

Mercy entered the Austrian army around 1606. Wounded in the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631), he made his name in the five-month defense of Rheinfelden (1634) against the formidable Bernhard

Scaliger, Julius Caesar

2005-02-19T20:33:00.000-08:00

Scaliger became known as a scholar through

Tamil Literature

2005-02-18T14:51:00.001-08:00

Body of writings in Tamil, a Dravidian language of India and Sri Lanka. Apart from literature written in classical (Indo-Aryan) Sanskrit, Tamil is the oldest literature in India. Some inscriptions on stone have been dated to the 3rd century BC, but Tamil literature proper begins around the 1st century AD. Much early poetry was religious or epic; an exception was the secular court

English Literature, Locke

2005-02-18T14:51:00.000-08:00

One other late 17th-century figure with a formidable influence in the 18th century demands consideration: the philosopher John Locke. His Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) rejects a belief in innate ideas and argues that the mind at birth is a tabula rasa. Experience of the world can only be accumulated through the senses, which are themselves prone to unreliability.

Biblical Literature, II Maccabees

2005-02-17T09:48:00.000-08:00

The Second Book of the Maccabees, or its source, was probably written in the same period as I Maccabees. The book is preceded by two letters to the Jews of Egypt: the first from the year 124 BCE and the second one written earlier (164 BCE) commemorating the rededication of the Temple. In the preface of the book, the author indicates that he has condensed into one book the lost five-volume

Avicenna

2005-02-17T05:56:00.000-08:00

Arabic Ibn Sina, in full Abu 'Ali al-Husayn ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Sina Iranian physician, the most famous and influential of the philosopher-scientists of Islam. He was particularly noted for his contributions in the fields of Aristotelian philosophy and medicine. He composed the Kitab ash-shifa' (“Book of Healing”), a vast philosophical and scientific encyclopaedia, and the Canon of Medicine, which is among the most

Furniture, Italy

2005-02-16T19:16:00.000-08:00

Though it was in Italian architecture, painting, and sculpture that the Baroque style was evolved, Italy was not the first to apply this style to furniture. But by the mid-17th century Italy was producing flamboyantly carved, painted, and gilded furniture, decorated with such typical motifs as cupids, acanthus, shells, and boldly drawn scrolls, and was further enriching

Perseus

2005-02-16T02:45:00.000-08:00

The elder son of King Philip V of Macedonia, Perseus commanded troops in his father's wars against Rome (199) and Aetolia (189). After three years of intriguing against his brother Demetrius, accusing

Resita

2005-02-15T18:34:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Caras-Severin judet (county), southwestern Romania, near the Yugoslavian border. In a coal- and metal-mining region, it is a long-established metalworking centre. After World War II the ironworks and steelworks of Resita were modernized, and there are several associated heavy-engineering works and a factory producing diesel engines for railway locomotives.

Aleksandrovsk-sakhalinsky

2005-02-15T04:29:00.000-08:00

City, Sakhalin oblast (province), far-eastern Russia, on the western coast of Sakhalin Island. It was founded in 1881 as a centre for penal settlements. In 1890 the writer Anton Chekhov lived there while gathering material about convict life for his book Ostrov Sakhalin (“Sakhalin Island”). It became a city in 1926 and from 1932 to 1947 was the centre of an oblast. Pop. (1991 est.) 19,600.

Ibn Zuhr

2005-02-14T07:51:00.000-08:00

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

Biblical Literature, Hebrew prophecy

2005-02-13T18:29:00.000-08:00

Hebrew prophecy was rooted in the prophetic activities of various individuals and groups from the nations and peoples of the ancient Near East. Though prophecy among ancient Egyptians, Mesopotamians, and Canaanites—as well as among the peoples of the Aegean civilization—generally was connected with “foretelling” (or predicting) the future, the Hebrew view of prophecy

Kermadec Islands

2005-02-13T16:05:00.000-08:00

Volcanic island group in the South Pacific Ocean, 600 mi (1,000 km) northeast of Auckland, New Zealand; they are a dependency of New Zealand. They include Raoul (Sunday), Macauley, and Curtis islands and l'Esperance Rock and have a total land area of 13 sq mi (34 sq km). Raoul, the largest (11.3 sq mi), has rugged coastal cliffs that rise to Mt. Mumukai (1,723 ft [525 m]). It is heavily wooded and fertile, but its indigenous

Biblical Literature, The divided monarchy

2005-02-13T01:30:00.000-08:00

After Solomon died (922 BCE), he was succeeded by Rehoboam, who proved to be unfit for the task of reigning. Prior to Solomon's death, Jeroboam the Ephraimite, a young overseer of the forced labour battalions of the “house of Joseph” in the north, had encountered Ahijah, a prophet from the old shrine of the confederacy at Shiloh, and Ahijah had torn a new garment into 12 pieces, prophesying

Vivaldi, Antonio

2005-02-12T22:34:00.000-08:00

In full Antonio Lucio Vivaldi Italian composer and violinist who left a decisive mark on the form of the concerto and the style of late Baroque instrumental music.

Computers, IBM's Personal Computer

2005-02-12T15:41:00.000-08:00

The entry of International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) did more to legitimize personal computers than any event in the industry's history. By 1980 the personal computer field was starting to interest the large computer companies. Hewlett-Packard, which had earlier turned down Stephen G. Wozniak's proposal to enter the personal computer field, was now ready to

T4 Program

2005-02-12T13:36:00.000-08:00

In October 1939, Adolf Hitler empowered his personal physician

Béjart Family

2005-02-11T14:45:00.000-08:00

Joseph Béjart (c. 1617–59) was a strolling player and later a member of Molière's first company (the Illustre Théâtre). Joseph accompanied Molière in his theatrical wanderings and was with him when

Sokoto River

2005-02-10T22:05:00.000-08:00

Also called Kebbi River, river in northwestern Nigeria, rising just south of Funtua on the northern plateau. It flows northwestward in a wide arc for 200 miles (320 km) to Sokoto town, west of which the Rima River joins it in its lower course to its confluence with the Niger River east of Illo. The alluvial valley and plains formed by the Sokoto River are extensively cultivated; peanuts (groundnuts), cotton,