SmoothAngle

Estate Agent Fitzrovia

2006-10-25T19:10:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services. They are a specialist in estate agent fitzrovia, amongst other London areas such as Soho and Oxford Circus.

Pullman, George M(ortimer)

2005-03-30T11:44:00.000-08:00

Pullman moved to Chicago in 1855, accumulated some capital as a contractor, and began to devise a sleeping car. The first real Pullman car, the “Pioneer,” invented jointly with Pullman's friend Ben Field, appeared in 1865. It contained folding upper berths and seat

Abyssal Zone

2005-03-30T01:34:00.000-08:00

Portion of the ocean deeper than about 2,000 m (6,600 feet) and shallower than about 6,000 m (20,000 feet). The zone is defined mainly by its extremely uniform environmental conditions, as reflected in the distinct life forms inhabiting it. The upper boundary between the abyssal zone and the overlying bathyal zone is conveniently defined as the depth at which the water temperature is 4° C (39° F); this

Powys, John Cowper

2005-03-28T19:53:00.000-08:00

Educated at Sherborne School and the University of Cambridge, Powys was a university extension

Grafton

2005-03-27T06:56:00.000-08:00

City and port, northeastern New South Wales, Australia, 42 mi (68 km) from the mouth of the Clarence River (and its Pacific outport of Yamba), in the North Coast district. The site was first settled in 1838 when the area was exploited by cedar getters. The city was proclaimed in 1885 and increased in size in 1956 by merging the municipalities of Grafton and South Grafton (both named after the Duke

Tabriz School

2005-03-27T02:47:00.000-08:00

The early works of the Tabriz school were

La Motta, Jake

2005-03-26T03:58:00.000-08:00

La Motta grew up in a Bronx slum

Grafton

2005-03-25T22:51:00.000-08:00

Guerrilla movement formed originally to oppose the Japanese occupation of Malaya during World War II. In December 1941 a rapid Japanese invasion commenced, and within 10 weeks it had conquered Malaya. British military forces had prepared for this possibility by training small Malayan guerrilla groups. Once war became a reality, the guerrillas organized the MPAJA. This

Yerkes, Charles Tyson

2005-03-25T10:59:00.000-08:00

Yerkes started as a clerk at a Philadelphia commission broker, and by 1862 he was able to purchase his own banking house. In 1871 a stock exchange panic brought on by the Chicago fire found him unable to deliver money that he had received

Ashikaga Takauji

2005-03-24T19:28:00.000-08:00

The Ashikaga family became one of the most powerful in Japan during the Kamakura period (1199–1333). They provided leading retainers of the Hojo regents who, with their capital at Kamakura, dominated the country during that time,

Uzlovaya

2005-03-24T10:40:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Uzlovaja, city and centre of a rayon (sector), Tula oblast (province), western Russia. In Soviet times it developed as a centre of coal mining on the Moscow–Donets Basin railway; it was incorporated in 1938. Lignite (brown coal) is mined there. The city also has chemical industries and manufactures machinery for the mining industry. Pop. (1993 est.) 62,900.

Kailua-lanikai

2005-03-23T20:57:00.000-08:00

Twin residential communities, southeastern Oahu Island, Hawaii, U.S., extending along Kailua Bay. They occupy superb white beach land that was the residence of Oahu's medieval kings. The Kawainui swamplands, to the west, were then royal fishponds. Numerous temple ruins, such as Ulu Po Heiau, are in the vicinity. Many residents commute to Honolulu (10 miles [16 km] southwest) by the

Ichikawa Family

2005-03-22T07:42:00.000-08:00

Kabuki actors flourishing in Edo (modern Tokyo) from the 17th century to the present. The most famous names are Danjuro, Ebizo, Danzo, and Ebijuro, and, according to kabuki convention, these names were assumed by a natural or adopted son of the Ichikawa family when his skill entitled him to inherit the mantle of a famous ancestor. Thus, there have been 12 Danjuros (the highest honorific

Melanesian Languages

2005-03-21T21:47:00.000-08:00

Languages belonging to the Eastern, or Oceanic, branch of the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) language family and spoken in the islands of Melanesia. The Melanesian languages, of which there are about 400, are most closely related to the languages of Micronesia and Polynesia; most have a few hundred or a few thousand speakers, and the total number of speakers of Melanesian

Extremum

2005-03-21T15:20:00.000-08:00

Plural Extrema, in calculus, any point at which the value of a function is largest (a maximum) or smallest (a minimum). There are both absolute and relative (or local) maxima and minima. At a relative maximum the value of the function is larger than its value at immediately adjacent points, while at an absolute maximum the value of the function is larger than its value at any other point in

Cola

2005-03-20T05:49:00.000-08:00

Genus of tropical trees of the chocolate family (Sterculiaceae, order Malvales) that bear fruits enclosing large kola, or cola, nuts containing caffeine, tannin, and theobromine. Though native to Africa, two species especially, Cola acuminata and C. nitida, are grown commercially in various tropical regions around the world, the dried kola nuts being used in manufacturing

Domain

2005-03-20T05:05:00.000-08:00

In Anglo-American law, the absolute and complete ownership of land, or the land itself which is so owned. Domain is the fullest and most superior right of property in land. Domain as a legal concept is derived from the dominium of the Roman law, which included the right of property as well as the right of possession or use of the property. The English common-law adoption

Eckstine, Billy

2005-03-19T00:43:00.000-08:00

Eckstine left Howard University after winning an amateur contest in 1933 and began singing in nightclubs and with xance bands. From 1939 to 1943 he sang with Earl Hines's band, and at his urging Hines hired

Chianciano Terme

2005-03-18T17:33:00.000-08:00

Town and mineral spa, Siena provincia, Toscana (Tuscany) regione, central Italy. It lies at an elevation of 1,500 feet (450 m), just southeast of Montepulciano. The mineral springs, which have been frequented since Etruscan times, are located about 1.25 miles (2 km) from the town; they are a popular tourist attraction, and there are numerous hotels for the accommodation of visitors. The town

Latin League

2005-03-18T05:42:00.000-08:00

Originally a confederation of about 30 villages and tribes in the neighbourhood of ancient Rome that joined for mutual protection and defense against hostile adjoining communities. The city of Alba Longa, the leader of this federation, was the site of religious ceremonies, which included worship of Jupiter on the Alban Mount. It was also the place where league members

Kamehameha Iii

2005-03-17T22:33:00.000-08:00

Only 10 years of age when he succeeded to the throne, he was initially under the regency of Kamehameha I's favourite wife, Kaahumanu, who had been regent ever since Kamehameha II had visited England in 1824 and died there. Converted to Christianity in 1824, she became known for her wise and beneficent

Journal Des Débats, Le

2005-03-16T19:17:00.000-08:00

Moderately liberal in its viewpoint, Débats

Apure

2005-03-16T05:56:00.000-08:00

The state is famous for its llaneros (cowboys), who were key fighters in the independence movement of the early 19th century. Mounted llaneros

Hormuz, Strait Of

2005-03-16T03:21:00.000-08:00

Also called Strait Of Ormuz, channel linking the Persian Gulf (west) with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea (southeast). The strait is 35 to 60 mi (55 to 95 km) wide and separates Iran (north) from the Arabian Peninsula (south). It contains the islands of Qeshm (Qishm), Hormuz, and Hengam (Henjam) and is of great strategic and economic importance, especially as oil tankers collecting from various ports on the Persian Gulf

Theobald Iv

2005-03-15T21:39:00.000-08:00

Also called Theobald The Great, French Thibaud Le Grand count of Blois and of Chartres (from 1102) and count of Champagne (from 1125) as Theobald II. He was the grandson of Theobald III of Blois. Theobald IV reunited Champagne with Blois and thus again made his house a threat to the royal domains of France from both east and west. He became in effect the second person of France, alternatively the ally and the enemy

Alani

2005-03-15T05:05:00.000-08:00

Also called Alans, an ancient nomadic pastoral people that occupied the steppe region northeast of the Black Sea. The Alani were first mentioned in Roman literature in the 1st century AD and were described later as a warlike people that specialized in horse breeding. They frequently raided the Parthian empire and the Caucasian provinces of the Roman Empire. About AD 370, however, they were

Paralysis

2005-03-14T11:08:00.000-08:00

Also called palsy loss or impairment of voluntary muscular movement caused by structural abnormalities of nervous or muscular tissue or by metabolic disturbances in neuromuscular function. Paralysis can affect the legs and lower part of the body (paraplegia) or both arms and both legs (quadriplegia). Sometimes the muscles of the lower face, arm, and leg on only one side of the body

Kidder, Alfred V(incent)

2005-03-14T02:29:00.000-08:00

In 1907 Kidder began his career of fieldwork with studies in Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University

Warfare In The 21st Century

2005-03-13T03:23:00.000-08:00

The war that began in Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001, demonstrated both the capabilities and the limitations of modern military technology. It should have come as no surprise that the U.S.-led 17-member coalition toppled the Taliban regime in only a few weeks. In conventional terms, the Taliban were a pushover; they possessed no air force, had very limited air defenses, and were an unpopular

Cordierite

2005-03-12T21:01:00.000-08:00

Also called dichroite or iolite blue silicate mineral that occurs as crystals or grains in igneous rocks, only as a result of contamination of the magma by aluminous sediment. Most typical, however, are its occurrences in thermally altered clayey sediments surrounding igneous intrusions and in schists and paragneisses. Precambrian deposits of the Laramie Range, Wyo., U.S., contain more than 500,000 tons

Aerospace Industry, Missiles

2005-03-12T13:42:00.000-08:00

Missiles (see rocket and missile system), which are unpiloted, rocket- or jet-powered delivery systems for munitions, have assumed an important role in military strategy and tactics. Originally conceived as powered artillery shells and therefore the purview of munitions manufacturers, they rapidly became products of the aerospace industry by virtue of the ranges

Eliot, Sir Charles

2005-03-12T04:49:00.000-08:00

A scholar and linguist, Eliot served in diplomatic posts in Russia (1885), Morocco (1892), Turkey (1893), and Washington, D.C. (1899). In 1900 he was knighted and appointed commissioner and consul

Burgess Shale

2005-03-10T18:13:00.000-08:00

Fossil formation containing remarkably detailed traces of soft-bodied biota of the Middle Cambrian Epoch (520 to 512 million years ago). Collected from a fossil bed in the Burgess Pass of the Canadian Rockies, the Burgess Shale is one of the best preserved and most important fossil formations in the world. Since it was discovered in 1909, over 60,000 specimens have been retrieved from

Denbigh

2005-03-10T08:53:00.000-08:00

Welsh Dinbych market town, historic and present county of Denbighshire (Sir Ddinbych), Wales. After the English king Edward I conquered Wales, Henry de Lacy, 3rd earl of Lincoln, founded a borough there in 1283 and built a castle, which withstood attack in 1402 by the rebel Owen Glendower, though the town itself was razed. In the 15th and 16th centuries Denbigh was one of the most important towns in Wales.

Argentina, Diet

2005-03-10T07:07:00.000-08:00

The combination of Old and New World cultures is also seen in the Argentine diet. Southern European influences appear especially in the cities, where breakfast is generally a serving of three sweet rolls (medialunas) and coffee, and supper is taken, in the Spanish tradition, after 9:00 PM. The Italian influence is seen in the popularity of pasta dishes. But the New World asserts

Lancaster, Sir James

2005-03-09T15:35:00.000-08:00

In 1588 Lancaster served under Sir Francis Drake as commander of the Edward Bonaventure against the Spanish Armada. On April 10, 1591, commanding the same ship, he sailed from Plymouth for the

Port Arthur

2005-03-09T08:11:00.000-08:00

City, Jefferson county, southeastern Texas, U.S., 90 miles (145 km) east of Houston. It is a major deepwater port on Sabine Lake and the Sabine-Neches and Gulf Intracoastal waterways, 9 miles (14 km) from the Gulf of Mexico. With Beaumont and Orange, it forms the “Golden Triangle,” an important petrochemical complex. Atakapa Indians occupied the region before 1800. Several early settlements,

Hydrologic Sciences, Groundwater

2005-03-08T22:41:00.000-08:00

Some rocks allow little or no water to flow through; these are known as impermeable rocks, or aquicludes. Others are permeable and allow considerable storage of water and act as major sources of water supply; these are known as aquifers. Aquifers overlain by an impermeable layer are called confined aquifers; aquifers overlain by an unsaturated, or vadose, zone of permeable

Lancaster

2005-03-08T20:11:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Lancaster county, southeastern Pennsylvania, U.S., and the centre of a metropolitan area comprising a number of small towns and boroughs, 71 miles (114 km) west of Philadelphia. The original site on Conestoga Creek, known as Gibson's Pasture, or Hickory Town, was made the county seat in 1729, the year after Lancaster county (named for the English city and shire) was created.

Price, Vincent

2005-03-07T08:11:00.000-08:00

Price was the son of the owner of the National Candy Company and the grandson of the inventor of baking powder. He graduated from Yale University in 1933 and spent a year as a schoolteacher before, as Price himself put it, “I had the extraordinary experience

Atatürk, Kemal

2005-03-06T15:39:00.000-08:00

Vamik D. Volkan and Norman Itzkowitz, The Immortal Atatürk (1984, reissued 1986), is a psychobiography. Lord Kinross (Patrick Kinross), Atatürk: The Rebirth of a Nation (1964, reissued 1998; also published as Atatürk: A Biography of Mustafa Kemal, Father of Modern Turkey, 1965, reissued 1992), is still worthwhile. Abraham Bodurgil (comp.), Kemal Atatürk: A Centennial Bibliography (1881–1981) (1984), is a comprehensive bibliography. Andrew Mango, Atatürk: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey (2000), reexamines Turkish sources.

Manchuria

2005-03-06T11:33:00.000-08:00

Also called Northeast , Wade-Giles Tung-pei , Pinyin Dongbei historical region of northeastern China. Strictly speaking, it consists of the modern provinces (sheng) of Liaoning (south), Kirin (central), and Heilungkiang (north); often, however, the northeastern portion of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region also is included. Manchuria is bounded by Russia (northwest, north, and east), North Korea (south), and the province of Hopeh (southwest).

Ch'ang-chih

2005-03-06T00:54:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Changzhi , formerly (until 1912) Lu-an city in southeast Shansi Province (sheng), China. It is situated in the Lu-an plain—a basin surrounded by the western highlands of the T'ai-hang Shan (mountains), watered by the Cho-chang-pei Yüan (stream), a tributary of the Wei Ho. It is a communication centre; to the east a route via Li-ch'eng, in Shansi, crosses the T'ai-hang Shan to Han-tan, Hopeh, on the North China Plain. To the northwest

Golden Gate

2005-03-05T23:55:00.000-08:00

Strait, in California, western coastal U.S., connecting San Francisco Bay with the Pacific Ocean and separating San Francisco from Marin County. An ancient river mouth, it is about 3 miles (5 km) long, from 1 to 3 miles wide, and 300 feet (90 m) deep and serves as the ocean gateway to the port cities of the bay and the Sacramento–San Joaquin river system. The strait, now spanned by the Golden

Yverdon

2005-03-05T22:31:00.000-08:00

German Iferten, city, Vaud canton, western Switzerland, on the southern shore of Lake Neuchâtel, at the mouth of La Thielle River, north of Lausanne. It originated as the Roman camp Eburodunum, and the ruined Roman walls remain. The castle (1260–78) of the dukes of Savoy was the seat of the boarding school established in 1805 by the Swiss educator Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, which flourished for 20 years;

Biblical Literature, Redaction criticism

2005-03-04T04:47:00.000-08:00

Redaction criticism concentrates on the end product, studying the way in which the final authors or editors used the traditional material that they received and the special purpose that each had in view in incorporating this material into his literary composition. It has led of late to important conclusions about the respective outlooks and aims of Matthew,

Sorokin, Pitirim Alexandrovitch

2005-03-03T21:14:00.000-08:00

Russian-American sociologist who founded the department of sociology at Harvard University in 1930. In the history of sociological theory, he is important for distinguishing two kinds of sociocultural systems: “sensate” (empirical, dependent on and encouraging natural sciences) and “ideational” (mystical, anti-intellectual, dependent

Subsidy

2005-03-03T05:44:00.000-08:00

A direct or indirect payment, economic concession, or privilege granted by a government to private firms, households, or other governmental units in order to promote a public objective. Identification of a subsidy is often complicated because of the variety of subsidy instruments, the multiplicity of the objectives they are designed to serve, and the complexity

Allen, Sir James

2005-03-02T21:06:00.000-08:00

Allen was elected to the New Zealand Parliament in 1887, serving as a leader of the opposition from 1892 to 1912. When the Reform Party took

Regiment

2005-03-01T19:32:00.000-08:00

In most armies, a body of troops headed by a colonel and organized for tactical control into companies, battalions, or squadrons. French cavalry units were called regiments as early as 1558. The word is derived from the Latin regimen, a rule or system of order, and describes the regiment's functions of raising, equipping, and training troops. As a regiment acquired individuality,

Fu'ad I

2005-03-01T10:52:00.000-08:00

After serving in a number of administrative posts, Fu'ad became sultan of Egypt in 1917, at which time Egypt was still a British protectorate. In 1919 Britain indicated a willingness to negotiate a treaty that would give Egypt more independence. Most Egyptians welcomed this prospect,

Catch

2005-02-28T11:47:00.000-08:00

Also called Round, perpetual canon designed to be sung by three or more voices, especially popular in 17th- and 18th-century England. Like all rounds, catches are indefinitely repeatable pieces in which all voices begin the same melody on the same pitch but enter at different time intervals. The name may derive from caccia, a 14th-century canonic form, or may refer to each singer's “catching” the

Ahab

2005-02-28T09:00:00.000-08:00

Omri left to Ahab an empire that comprised not only territory east of the Jordan River, in Gilead and probably Bashan, but also the land of Moab, whose king was tributary. The southern kingdom of Judah, if not actually subject to Omri, was certainly a

Ta-pieh Mountains

2005-02-27T08:23:00.000-08:00

Wade–Giles romanization Ta-pieh Shan, Pinyin Dabie Shan, mountain range in central China. It has a roughly northwest-to-southeast axis, which forms the watershed between the upper Huai River and the Yangtze River and also marks the boundary between Hupeh province and its eastern and northern neighbours, the provinces of Honan and Anhwei. The name Ta-pieh Mountains properly belongs to the southeastern, higher section

Encamp

2005-02-26T05:23:00.000-08:00

Village, Andorra, on a headstream of the Riu (river) Valira. Its agricultural economy is supplemented by tourism, especially skiing. Encamp has a broadcasting transmitter of Radio Andorra. Above the village is Engolasters Lake, accessible by cable car. There are facilities for generating hydroelectric power. In the locality is the Pic (peak) des Pessons (9,400 ft [2,865 m]). Pop. (1990) 7,489.

Chadwick, Sir Edwin

2005-02-26T03:54:00.000-08:00

As secretary of the royal commission on reform of the poor laws (1834–46), Chadwick was largely responsible for devising the system under which the country was divided into groups of parishes administered by elected boards of guardians,

F Region

2005-02-25T08:56:00.000-08:00

Highest region of the ionosphere, at altitudes greater than 160 km (100 miles); it has the greatest concentration of free electrons and is the most important of the ionospheric regions. The charged particles in the F region consist primarily of neutral atoms split into electrons and charged atoms. Although its degree of ionization persists with little change through the

Ta-pieh Mountains

2005-02-25T00:17:00.000-08:00

At the end of World War II, Christian Democratic parties

Sokol

2005-02-24T15:44:00.000-08:00

City and river port, centre of Sokol rayon (sector), Vologda oblast (province), northwestern Russia. The port lies along the Sukhona River. Before the Russian Revolution of October 1917 it was the site of only two small factories, but it grew rapidly in the early Soviet period and was incorporated in 1932. Today it is a centre of paper, woodworking, and food industries and has a

Typography

2005-02-23T16:44:00.000-08:00

The design, or selection, of letter forms to be organized into words and sentences to be disposed in blocks of type as printing upon a page. Typography and the typographer who practices it may also be concerned with other, related matters—the selection of paper, the choice of ink, the method of printing, the design of the binding if the product at hand is a book—but the word

Tigre

2005-02-23T14:17:00.000-08:00

The largest federation of Tigre is that of the Amer (Beni Amer), a branch of the historically important Beja peoples. These Muslims all recognize the religious

Gunn, Thom

2005-02-23T04:21:00.000-08:00

The son of a successful London journalist, Gunn attended University College School in London and Trinity College in Cambridge, where he received a B.A. (1953) and M.A. (1958). In 1954 he moved to San Francisco, California, to study

Skåne Question

2005-02-22T14:40:00.000-08:00

Although contiguous with the Swedish polity, Skåne belonged to Denmark when the Middle Ages began

Galen, Clemens August, Graf (count) Von

2005-02-22T05:34:00.000-08:00

Galen was ordained in 1904 in Münster, where, as a priest at St. Lambert's, he published his Die Pest des Laizismus und ihre Erscheinungsformen (1932; “The Plague of Laicism and Its Manifestations”), deploring what

Matruh

2005-02-21T22:29:00.000-08:00

Desert muhafazah (governorate) of Egypt that includes all of Egypt west of al-Jizah governorate and north of latitude 26°20¢ N. Only one percent of its area is inhabited. It is mostly a plateau area of sedimentary rock such as limestone, averaging 700–800 feet (215–245 m) in elevation and nowhere surpassing 1,500 feet (460 m). Surface dissection results from wind erosion on the stone-covered wastes and sandy

Packing

2005-02-21T00:05:00.000-08:00

In mathematics, a type of problem in combinatorial geometry that involves placement of figures of a given size or shape within another given figure—with greatest economy or subject to some other restriction. The problem of placement of a given number of spheres within a given volume of space is an example of a packing problem.

Sea Walnut

2005-02-20T10:18:00.000-08:00

Any member of a common genus (Mnemiopsis) of gelatinous, planktonic marine invertebrates of the class Tentaculata (phylum Ctenophora). The sea walnut resembles the sea gooseberry morphologically, but as in many ctenophores the body is prolonged into eight lobes. Full-grown individuals may be as long as 15 cm (6 inches). They lead a wholly planktonic existence and are found

Absolutism

2005-02-20T06:47:00.000-08:00

The political doctrine and practice of unlimited, centralized authority and absolute sovereignty, as vested especially in a monarch. The essence of such a system is that the ruling power is not subject to regularized challenge or check by any other agency, be it judicial, legislative, religious, economic, or electoral. Louis XIV, who ruled France during the late 17th

Sanddab

2005-02-20T04:07:00.000-08:00

Any of certain edible, American Pacific flatfishes of the genus Citharichthys (family Bothidae). As in other flatfishes, sanddabs have both eyes on the same side of the head; as in other bothids, the eyes are usually on the left side. The most common species of sanddab is the Pacific sanddab (C. sordidus), a brownish fish mottled, in the male, with dull orange. It grows to about

Argentina, The Pampas

2005-02-19T16:34:00.000-08:00

Pampa is a Quechua Indian term meaning “flat surface.” As such it is widely used in southeastern South America from Uruguay, where grass-covered plains commence south of the Brazilian Highlands, to Argentina. In Argentina the Pampas broaden out west of the Río de la Plata to meet the Andean forelands, blending imperceptibly to the north with the Chaco Austral and southern

Ayacucho, Battle Of

2005-02-17T18:24:00.000-08:00

(Dec. 9, 1824), in the Latin-American wars of independence, revolutionary victory over royalists on the high plateau near Ayacucho, Peru. It freed Peru and ensured the independence of the nascent South American republics from Spain. The revolutionary forces, numbering about 6,000 men—among them Venezuelans, Colombians, Argentines, and Chileans, as well as Peruvians—were under the

Amphibolite

2005-02-17T16:22:00.000-08:00

A rock composed largely or dominantly of minerals of the amphibole group. The term has been applied to rocks of either igneous or metamorphic origin. In igneous rocks, the term hornblendite is more common and restrictive; hornblende is the most common amphibole and is typical of such rocks. Hornblendite is an ultramafic rock (dominantly dark minerals) and is also

Mckeesport

2005-02-16T21:40:00.000-08:00

City, Allegheny county, southwestern Pennsylvania, U.S. It is situated at the junction of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers, 14 miles (23 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. First settled about 1769 by David McKee, a ferry operator, the town was laid out in 1795 by his son John. In 1794 it was a centre of dissident activity during the Whiskey Rebellion (an insurrection against an excise tax on

Tigray

2005-02-16T04:38:00.000-08:00

The Tigray are descendants of a Semitic people who intermixed with the Cushitic inhabitants of the region and founded the Christian kingdom

Lord Howe Island

2005-02-16T00:22:00.000-08:00

Island dependency of New South Wales, Australia, situated in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, 436 miles (702 km) northeast of Sydney. Volcanic in origin, it has an area of 7 square miles (17 square km). The island is well wooded but has little arable land. National parks cover 70 percent of the island, which harbours rare vegetation and bird life. It was discovered in 1788 and named after Admiral

Kaden-bandrowski, Juliusz

2005-02-15T08:38:00.000-08:00

After working as a foreign correspondent and studying music in Brussels, Kaden-Bandrowski joined the military in 1914 in order to serve under Józef Pilsudski, the

Pacific Islands, Trade

2005-02-15T03:18:00.000-08:00

Pacific islanders, as producers of agricultural, marine, and mineral commodities, face problems of market demand, labour supply, management skills, and transport that restrict them to an insignificant role in world export trade. Neither do the small, scattered populations present an attractive consumer market to overseas entrepreneurs. The combination of limited

Annelid, Ecology

2005-02-13T18:15:00.000-08:00

There are no marine habitats containing specific polychaetes as there are for mollusks and echinoderms. Many species, such as Neanthes arenaceodentata and Capitella capitata, cosmopolitan in distribution, are found throughout the world. Aquatic oligochaete species are widespread in suitable environments; terrestrial forms are less widely distributed,

Gonçalves Dias, Antônio

2005-02-13T10:32:00.000-08:00

Though Gonçalves Dias lived much of the time abroad following his education at the University of Coimbra in

Carl Xvi Gustaf

2005-02-13T07:04:00.000-08:00

The only son of King Gustav VI Adolf's eldest son, Prince Gustav Adolf (who died in an air crash in 1947), Carl Gustaf became crown prince in 1950, when his grandfather acceded to the throne. He studied at military cadet schools, at the University of Uppsala, and in France and was commissioned as a naval officer in 1968. He married Silvia Sommerlath

Ahmad

2005-02-12T23:33:00.000-08:00

Succeeding his brother as the ruler of Tunis in 1837, Ahmad began at once to modernize his armed forces: Tunisian cadets were sent to France, a military and technical academy was established, and European instructors invited to Tunis. He organized a naval force with 12 frigates purchased from France. He sent

Space Exploration, Earth survey satellites

2005-02-12T11:10:00.000-08:00

This broad category of satellites has progressed from relatively simple photography to include many forms of observation of the Earth. Meteorological, or weather, satellites operate globally. From a polar orbit, photographs of the Earth's surface are taken by television scanning and transmitted to Earth receiver stations. In addition, meteorological satellites

Bacchelli, Riccardo

2005-02-12T04:19:00.000-08:00

Bacchelli attended the University of Bologna but left without a degree in 1912. He became a contributor to literary journals. Bacchelli published a

Bear Grass

2005-02-11T22:59:00.000-08:00

Also called Turkey Beard, one of two species of North American plants comprising the genus Xerophyllum of the lily family (Liliaceae). The western species, X. tenax, also is known as elk grass, squaw grass, and fire lily. It is a smooth, light-green mountain perennial with a stout, unbranched stem, from 0.6 to 2 metres (2 to 6 feet) high, which rises from a woody, tuber-like rootstock and cordlike roots. The stem bears

Lancashire

2005-02-11T20:42:00.000-08:00

The administrative, geographic, and historic counties occupy somewhat different areas. The administrative

Pythian Games

2005-02-10T13:18:00.000-08:00

In ancient Greece, various athletic and musical competitions held in honour of Apollo, chiefly those at Delphi. The musicians' contest there dated from very early times. In 582 BC it was made quadrennial, and athletic events including foot and chariot races were added in emulation of the Olympic Games. Open to all Greeks, the contests were held either at the Delphic shrine

Neotropical Region

2005-02-09T13:35:00.000-08:00

Also called Neogaean Realm, or South American Region, one of the six major biogeographic areas of the world defined on the basis of its characteristic animal life. It extends south from the Mexican desert into South America as far as the subantarctic zone. It includes such animals as the llama, tapir, deer, pig, jaguar, puma, a variety of opossums, many rodents and fishes, and extremely rich insect and bird populations. The

Encamp

2005-02-09T08:58:00.000-08:00

Deception Bay

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

Bay and resort town, southeastern Queensland, Australia. In 1823 the explorer John Oxley named the local stream the Deception River (now called the Caboolture River), because of the numerous shoals at its mouth. The river gave its name to the bay into which it flows, which in turn gave its name to the community. The town of Deception Bay offers safe swimming areas, fishing, boating,

Schaffner, Franklin (james)

2005-02-08T00:31:00.000-08:00

The son of Protestant American missionaries, Schaffner lived in the United States after the age of five and attended Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania (A.B., 1942). During World War II he served as a U.S. Navy lieutenant. In 1948 he became a director for CBS television;

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Old Testament

2005-02-08T00:17:00.000-08:00

The Old Testament, including its prophetic books, has a core of historical record focusing on the trials of the tribes of Israel. In their own view an elect nation, the Israelites believe their history spells out a providential design. The Prophets understand the earliest texts, Genesis and Exodus, in terms of this providential scheme. Hebraic texts are interpreted

Brunel, Isambard Kingdom

2005-02-07T05:52:00.000-08:00

The only son of the engineer and inventor Sir Marc Isambard Brunel, he was appointed resident engineer when work on the Thames Tunnel began, under his father's direction, in 1825. He held the post until 1828, when

China, Buddhism

2005-02-07T00:54:00.000-08:00

The spokesmen of Chinese Buddhism under the early Mongol rulers came from the Ch'an sect (meditation Buddhism). Their high intellectuality and refined aestheticism, however, did not appeal to the Mongols, who felt more attracted by the mixture of magic practices, rather nebulous metaphysics, and impressive symbolism in the visual arts of Tibetan Buddhism. Kublai

Sacrifice, Religions of India

2005-02-06T00:37:00.000-08:00

Speculations regarding sacrifice and prescribed rituals seem to have been worked out more fully in the Vedic and later Hindu religion in India than anywhere else. These rites, laid down in a complicated system known mainly from the Brahmana texts, included obligatory sacrifices following the course of the year or the important moments in the life of an individual

Olympus Mons

2005-02-05T17:27:00.000-08:00

Volcano on the planet Mars, the highest point on the planet and the largest known volcano in the solar system. Centred at 19° N, 133° W, Olympus Mons consists of a central edifice 21 km (13 miles) high and 540 km (335 miles) across. Around its perimeter an outward-facing cliff ascends as high as 10 km (6 miles) above the surrounding area. At the summit is an 85-km- (53-mile-) diameter crater, or caldera, comprising

Uterine Cervix

2005-02-05T05:18:00.000-08:00

Lowest region of the uterus; it attaches the uterus to the vagina and provides a passage between the vaginal cavity and the uterine cavity. The cervix, only about 4 centimetres (1.6 inches) long, projects about 2 centimetres into the upper vaginal cavity. The cervical opening into the vagina is called the external os; the cavity running the length of the cervix is the endocervical

China, Political institutions

2005-02-04T21:49:00.000-08:00

The Ch'ing had come to power because of their success at winning Chinese over to their side; in the late 17th century they adroitly pursued similar policies to win the adherence of the Chinese literati. Ch'ing emperors learned Chinese, addressed their subjects using Confucian rhetoric, reinstated the civil service examination system and the Confucian curriculum,

Coleopteran, Beetles as prey

2005-02-04T09:56:00.000-08:00

In general, beetles are very well armoured insects and thus are reasonably protected against enemies; most, however, have parasites. Some tachinid flies, for example, lay their eggs on adult beetles, and the larvae feed inside their bodies. Beetle larvae also often have hymenopterous parasites; e.g., wasps. Wood-boring long-horned beetle larvae (Cerambycidae) are parasitized

Philip Iii

2005-02-04T07:48:00.000-08:00

Philip, the second son of Louis IX of France (Saint Louis), became heir to the throne on the death of his elder brother Louis (1260). Accompanying his father's crusade against

Ottoman Empire, The 187578 crisis

2005-02-03T00:16:00.000-08:00

Drought in 1873 and floods in 1874 had produced widespread discontent and even famine among the Ottoman peasantry, who