LateWalk

Quilon

2005-04-04T10:59:00.000-07:00

Town, administrative headquarters of Quilon district, southern Kerala state, southwestern India. Quilon has existed for many centuries and was called Elancon by early travellers, Kaulam Mall by the Arabs, and Coilum by the 13th-century Venetian traveller Marco Polo. Its location made it commercially important; the first Europeans there were the Portuguese, followed

Piedmont

2005-04-02T21:56:00.000-08:00

In geology, landform created at the foot of a mountain (Italian: ai piede della montagne) or mountains by debris deposited by shifting streams. Such an alluvial region in a humid climate is known as a piedmont for the Piedmont district of Italy; in arid climates such a feature is called a bajada (q.v.).

Pacifism

2005-04-01T01:28:00.000-08:00

In the ancient world, war was taken for granted as a necessary evil by some societies, while in others it was not even regarded as an evil. Individual

Fenestella

2005-03-29T11:18:00.000-08:00

Fenestella's

Theatre

2005-03-28T07:38:00.000-08:00

Also spelled theater in architecture, a building or space in which a performance may be given before an audience. The word is from the Greek theatron, “a place of seeing.” A theatre usually has a stage area where the performance itself takes place. Since ancient times the evolving design of theatres has been determined largely by the spectators' physical requirements for seeing and hearing

Lancet, The

2005-03-26T02:13:00.000-08:00

British medical journal established in 1823. The journal's founder and first editor was Thomas Wakley, considered at the time to be a radical reformer. Wakley stated the intent of the new journal was to report on the metropolitan hospital lectures and to describe the important cases of the day. The Lancet has since played an important role in medical and hospital reform

Animal Communication

2005-03-24T23:14:00.000-08:00

The transmission of information from one animal to another by means of sound, visible sign or behaviour, taste or odour, electrical impulse, touch, or a combination of these mediums. In general, communication is employed by animals to attract or repel other individuals of particular groups and to establish and maintain distinct forms of social organization that

Eni

2005-03-21T11:26:00.000-08:00

Eni is an outgrowth of Agip (Azienda Generale Italiana Petroli), an oil and gas agency set up by the Italian fascist

Rowell, Galen

2005-03-20T18:01:00.000-08:00

American landscape photographer (b. Aug. 23, 1940, Berkeley, Calif.—d. Aug. 11, 2002, Bishop, Calif.), captured breathtaking images of some of the remotest parts of the world. Galen was an avid mountain climber and traveler; his photography was a natural extension of his love for the ever-decreasing wilderness around him. In turn, he used his work to further conservation awareness in an attempt

Malachi, The Book Of

2005-03-18T20:09:00.000-08:00

The book consists of six distinct sections, each in the form of a question-and-answer discussion. With the aid of this unusual discussion technique,

San Blas

2005-03-17T09:42:00.000-08:00

Traditional region, eastern Panama, stretching about 100 miles (160 km) along the Caribbean Sea from the Colombian border to the Gulf of San Blas. The narrow strip of land includes the San Blas (formerly Mulatas) Archipelago. Agriculture—chiefly coconuts, yams, and plantains—and fishing are the principal economic activities in San Blas. The population consists largely of

Nebula, Supergiant nebulae

2005-03-17T03:03:00.000-08:00

The most energetic diffuse nebulae in the Galaxy are revealed only by radio telescope—they are so heavily obscured by dust that they are inconspicuous optically. These nebulae have over 100 times more ionizations per second than does the Orion Nebula, too many to be provided by a single star (unless there are stars more luminous than any known within the Galaxy). Indeed,

Lira

2005-03-15T16:34:00.000-08:00

Plural lire the former monetary unit of Italy. The lira was introduced in Europe by Charlemagne, who based it on the pound (libra) of silver. No lira coins were struck during the Middle Ages, and the lira remained strictly a money of account. By the 16th century several of the Italian states actually struck lira coins, but they varied considerably in weight. One of the states that used

China, Foreign policy

2005-03-13T10:19:00.000-08:00

While taking their principal cues in their foreign policies from domestic developments and generally adhering to the initial pro-Soviet line, the Chinese began to act—on the basis of several important lessons gained during the Korean struggle—to reduce Peking's militant and isolationist attitudes in international affairs. Peking had recognized that the great

Monaghan

2005-03-11T19:22:00.000-08:00

Irish Muineachán (Place of Thickets) one of the three counties of Ireland forming part of the historic province of Ulster. It projects northward into Northern Ireland, and has an area of 498 sq mi (1,291 sq km). Most of the northern boundary winds through cultivated lowlands except on Slieve (mountain) Beagh, a desolate upland rising to 1,221 ft (372 m). For many miles the boundary with Northern Ireland runs along the River

China, The Imperial succession

2005-03-08T19:21:00.000-08:00

The succession of emperors was hereditary, but it was complicated to a considerable extent by a system of Imperial consorts and the implication of their families in politics. Of the large number of women who were housed in the palace as the emperor's favourites, one was selected for nomination as the empress; and while it was theoretically possible for an emperor

Kshitigarbha

2005-03-07T21:20:00.000-08:00

Bodhisattva (“buddha-to-be”) who, though known in India as early as the 4th century CE, became immensely popular in China as Dicang and in Japan as Jizo. He is the saviour of the oppressed, the dying, and the dreamer of evil dreams, for he has vowed not to stop his labours until he has saved the souls of all the dead condemned to hell. In China he is considered the overlord of hell and is

Anderson, Leroy

2005-03-04T01:54:00.000-08:00

The son of Swedish immigrants, Anderson studied composition under Walter Piston and Georges Enesco at Harvard University (B.A., 1929; M.A., 1930), where

Epistemology, Relation of epistemology to other branches of philosophy

2005-03-02T18:11:00.000-08:00

Philosophy viewed in the broadest possible terms divides into many branches: metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics, logic, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, and a gamut of others. Each of these disciplines has its special subject matter: for metaphysics it is the ultimate nature of the world; for ethics, the nature of the good life and how people

Lancret, Nicolas

2005-03-01T22:45:00.000-08:00

Lancret was influenced by both Antoine Watteau and Claude Gillot. Much admired as a decorator, he executed numerous commissions for the mansions of many great collectors.

Fairfield

2005-02-26T02:41:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Solano county, north-central California, U.S., adjoining Suisun City to the south, 45 miles (72 km) northeast of San Francisco. Lying between the Coast Range foothills and Suisun Bay, Fairfield was founded as the county seat in 1859 by Robert Waterman, a clipper-ship captain who named it for his hometown in Connecticut. After 1957 traditional crop production (fruits, cereals)

Kahn, Robert Elliot

2005-02-25T04:36:00.000-08:00

After receiving an engineering degree from City College of New York in 1960, Kahn received his M.A. (1962) and Ph.D. (1964) in electrical engineering from Princeton University. Immediately after completing his doctorate, Kahn worked for Bell Laboratories and subsequently

Zile

2005-02-23T15:35:00.000-08:00

The town is an important local commercial

Ambikapur

2005-02-21T00:14:00.000-08:00

The surrounding region once consisted of the princely states of Surguja, Changbhakar,

Habituation

2005-02-19T05:38:00.000-08:00

The waning of an animal's behavioral response to a stimulus, as a result of a lack of reinforcement during continual exposure to the stimulus. It is usually considered to be a form of learning involving the elimination of behaviours that are not needed by the animal. Habituation may be separated from most other forms of decreased response (not including changes caused

Arrastra

2005-02-16T17:23:00.000-08:00

Crude drag-stone mill for pulverizing ores such as those containing silver or gold or their compounds. See patio process.

Artemisa

2005-02-14T00:35:00.000-08:00

City, western La Habana provincia, western Cuba, situated east of the Sierra del Rosario. Artemisa is a key commercial and processing centre of the region. Sugarcane, tobacco, and pineapples and other fruits are its major agricultural products. Liquor and soap are made in the city, and sugar refineries are nearby. Artemisa lies on the main highway and main railroad line

Crabeater Seal

2005-02-13T13:49:00.000-08:00

(species Lobodon carcinophagus), southern seal of the family Phocidae found among drifting ice packs around the Antarctic continent. A slender animal measuring about 2–2.5 m (6.6–8.2 feet) long and up to about 225 kg (500 pounds) in weight, the crabeater seal feeds on krill (planktonic crustaceans and larvae), rather than on crabs as its name implies. Its teeth are elaborately

Kerr, Deborah

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

Kerr trained as a dancer in her aunt's drama school in Bristol, England. She won a scholarship

Insurance, General average clause

2005-02-08T18:16:00.000-08:00

The general average clause in ocean marine insurance obligates the insurers of various interests to share the cost of losses incurred voluntarily to save the voyage from complete destruction. Such sacrifices must be made voluntarily, must be necessary, and must be successful. For example, if a shipper's cargo is voluntarily jettisoned in a storm in order to save

Biblical Literature, The Megillot (the Scrolls)

2005-02-07T09:10:00.000-08:00

The five books known as the Megillot or Scrolls are grouped together as a unit in modern Hebrew Bibles according to the order of the annual religious festivals on which they are read in the synagogues of the Ashkenazim (central and eastern European Jews and their descendants). They did not originally form a unit and were found scattered in the Bible in their supposed

Guernsey

2005-02-05T02:30:00.000-08:00

In the south, Guernsey rises in a plateau to about 300 ft (90 m), with ragged coastal cliffs. It descends in steps and is drained

Bohemian Confession

2005-02-03T10:19:00.000-08:00

Latin Confessio Bohemica, Protestant doctrinal statement formulated in Bohemia by the Czech Utraquists (moderate Hussites) in 1575 and subscribed to by the Unitas Fratrum, Lutherans, and Calvinists in the kingdom. The document was based on the Augsburg Confession, and it upheld the Lutheran position on justification and the Calvinist interpretation of the Eucharist. Though Emperor Maximilian

Gage, Frances Dana Barker

2005-01-31T07:15:00.000-08:00

Gage began her public involvement in the three prominent reform causes of the time—the abolition of slavery, temperance, and women's rights—by contributing letters to newspapers and speaking

Gage, Frances Dana Barker

2005-01-29T04:22:00.000-08:00

International cooperative agency of Lutheran churches, organized at Lund, Swed., in 1947. It developed from the Lutheran World Convention, which held conventions in 1923, 1929, and 1935. The effectiveness of the Lutheran World Convention during the war years was hampered because it had no constitution or defined organization. At the Lund conference in 1947 the Lutheran World Convention

Van Duyn, Mona

2005-01-28T02:16:00.000-08:00

Van Duyn attended Iowa State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Iowa; B.A., 1942) and

Afghanistan, Habibollah Khan (190119)

2005-01-25T11:03:00.000-08:00

Habibollah Khan visited British

Robert Ii

2005-01-23T06:19:00.000-08:00

The eldest son of William I the Conqueror, Robert was recognized in boyhood as his father's successor in Normandy. Nevertheless he twice rebelled against his father (1077/78 and c. 1082–83) and

Silhak

2005-01-22T23:08:00.000-08:00

The Silhak school attacked Neo-Confucianism, particularly its formalism and concern with ritual. Members of the

Vendôme

2005-01-19T13:08:00.000-08:00

Historic town and capital of an arrondissement in the département of Loir-et-Cher, Centre région, north-central France. It lies southwest of Paris and 20 miles (30 km) northwest of Blois. Vendôme stands on the Loir River, which there divides and intersects the town. To the south stands a hill on which are ruins of the 11th-century castle of the counts (later dukes) of Vendôme. The town

Arts, South Asian, Epics

2005-01-17T11:23:00.000-08:00

The age of the Pallavas (300?–900), a warrior dynasty of Hindu kings, is known for its epics, beginning with Cilappatikaram (“The Jewelled Anklet”) and Manimekalai (“The Girdle of Gems”) and including an incomplete narrative, Perunkatai (“The Great Story”), the Civakacintamani (“The Amulet of Civakan”) by Tiruttakkatevar, and Culamani (“The Crest Jewel”) by Tolamolittevar. The last three works depict Jaina kings

Maderno, Carlo

2005-01-16T17:28:00.000-08:00

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

Yizkor

2005-01-13T17:31:00.000-08:00

(Hebrew: “may he [i.e., God] remember”), the opening word of memorial prayers recited for the dead by Ashkenazic (German-rite) Jews during synagogue services on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), on the eighth day of Passover (Pesah), on Shemini Atzeret (the eighth day of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles), and on the second day of Shavuot (Feast of Weeks). The prayers, recited after the reading

Wampanoag

2005-01-11T00:05:00.000-08:00

Algonquian-speaking Indians of eastern North America who formerly occupied parts of the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, Martha's Vineyard, and adjacent islands. They were semisedentary, with seasonal movements between fixed sites. Corn (maize) was the staple of their diet, supplemented by fish and game. They were divided into several subtribes, each with

Arabia, Animal life

2005-01-10T11:18:00.000-08:00

The camel has traditionally been the chief support of nomadic life in Arabia. Without the camel, the Bedouin could never have moved far from water fit for human beings; with the camel, he could survive for months on its milk and penetrate deep into the deserts. The camel also furnished food, clothing, fuel (dung), transportation, and power for drawing water or for plowing.

Byte

2005-01-07T15:44:00.000-08:00

The basic unit of information in computer storage and processing. A byte consists of 8 adjacent binary digits (bits), each of which consists of a 0 or 1. The string of bits making up a byte is processed as a unit by a computer; bytes are the smallest operable units of storage in computer technology. A byte can represent the equivalent of a single character, such as the letter B,

Macaroni

2005-01-06T11:29:00.000-08:00

In art, Late Paleolithic finger tracings in clay, the oldest form of art known. Innumerable examples appear on the walls and ceilings of limestone caves associated with human habitation in France and Spain, the oldest dating from about 30,000 BC. They range from simple scratchings and jumbled aimless lines to deliberate meanders and arabesques and outline drawings of

More, Paul Elmer

2005-01-04T21:08:00.000-08:00

More was educated at Washington University, St. Louis, Mo., and at Harvard, where he met Irving Babbitt and where, from 1894 to 1895, he was assistant in Sanskrit. In 1895–97 he was associate in Sanskrit and classical literature at Bryn Mawr

Cylinder Machine

2005-01-01T10:48:00.000-08:00

Device for producing paper, paperboard, and other fibreboards, invented in 1809 by John Dickinson. It consists of one or more tubes of wire screen partially immersed and rotated in a vat containing a mixture of pulp and water; the screen picks up a film from which the water drains, leaving a wet sheet that is transferred from the cylinder onto a felt in a continuous web. Cylinders

Swartberg

2004-12-28T03:02:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Swartberge, mountain range in Western Cape province, South Africa, extending east-west for 150 mi (240 km) from near the town of Willowmore to the edge of the Witteberge, roughly parallel with the Indian Ocean coast. The Swartberg is the barrier dividing the semiarid Great Karoo (north) and Little Karoo (south) plateaus. Highest elevations range from between 5,500 and 7,500 ft (1,650 and 2,300 m). Small reservoirs

Colette

2004-12-27T18:17:00.000-08:00

Colette

Canal Zone

2004-12-24T08:55:00.000-08:00

Also called Panama Canal Zone, historic administrative entity in Panama over which the United States exercised jurisdictional rights from 1903 to 1979. It was a strip of land 10 miles (16 km) wide along the Panama Canal, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean and bisecting the Isthmus of Panama. It covered 553 square miles (1,432 square km), of which about one-third was water (principally Gatun Lake). The Canal Zone

Haratin

2004-12-22T21:31:00.000-08:00

Scholars speculate that the Haratin came into being as a result of ancient interbreeding between indigenous blacks and Indo-Europeans, possibly Berbers. In the 17th century they were forcibly recruited

Scandinavian Literature, The development of the Icelandic drama

2004-12-20T19:11:00.000-08:00

Icelandic drama really started to develop through Jóhann Sigurjónsson, whose first success was Fjalla-Eyvindur (1911; Eyvind of the Hills), followed by Galdra-Loftur (1915; “Loftur the Sorcerer”); both plays were based on powerful folktales. Gudmundur Kamban's Hadda-Padda (1914) was highly praised by Georg Brandes, and he remained important in Scandinavian drama for the next quarter

'abbas I

2004-12-19T02:32:00.000-08:00

'Abbas, distrustful of Europeans and European-educated Egyptians, reacted to the reforms of Muhammad 'Ali by closing down or neglecting the public and military

Uddevalla

2004-12-17T06:37:00.000-08:00

Town, Västra Götaland län (county), southwestern Sweden. It lies along the Bäve River, at the head of By Fjord (an inlet of the Skagerrak), north of Göteborg. The site has been identified with Odensvold, a pagan place of sacrifice. The town was incorporated in 1498. On several occasions during the Danish-Swedish wars, large parts of it were destroyed and ravaged by fire. Uddevalla

Abu'l-wafa'

2004-12-14T04:03:00.000-08:00

Abu'l-Wafa' worked in a private observatory in Baghdad, where he made observations to determine, among other astronomical parameters, the obliquity of the ecliptic, the length of the seasons, and the latitude of the city.

Anne Of Denmark

2004-12-12T10:56:00.000-08:00

Ethel C. Williams, Anne of Denmark (1970).

P-47

2004-12-10T22:52:00.000-08:00

Also called Thunderbolt, fighter and fighter-bomber aircraft used by the Allied air forces during World War II. A single-seat, single-engine, low-wing monoplane, it was developed in the United States by Republic Aviation to meet the need for a high-speed long-range fighter. It first flew in 1941 and went into production the following March; it was in action from British bases a year later. Variously

Aristeas, Letter Of

2004-12-08T02:55:00.000-08:00

Pseudepigraphal work of pseudo-history produced in Alexandria, probably in the mid-2nd century BC, to promote the cause of Judaism. Though the size and prestige of the Jewish community had already secured for itself a definite place in Alexandrian society and serious anti-Semitism had not yet gained currency, the Jewish community was in conflict. While some Jews embraced

Lorentz, Hendrik Antoon

2004-12-02T04:17:00.000-08:00

In his doctoral thesis at the University of Leiden (1875), Lorentz refined the electromagnetic theory of James

Rabat

2004-11-30T22:48:00.000-08:00

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

Marriage Law

2004-11-29T06:25:00.000-08:00

The body of legal specifications and requirements and other laws that regulate the initiation, continuation, and validity of marriages. Marriage is a legally sanctioned union usually between one man and one woman. At the beginning of the 21st century, marriage between people of the same sex was legally recognized in two countries, The Netherlands (2001) and Belgium (2003), and

Brown, Trisha

2004-11-27T14:13:00.000-08:00

Brown studied modern dance at Mills College in Oakland, California (B.A., 1958). Her style began developing after she met choreographer Yvonne

Wilkes, Charles

2004-11-25T22:48:00.000-08:00

Wilkes entered the navy as a midshipman in 1818, became a lieutenant in 1826, and in 1830 was placed in charge of the depot of instruments and charts from which the Naval Observatory and Hydrographic Office developed. From 1838 to 1842 he commanded an exploring and surveying expedition

Annelid, Critical appraisal

2004-11-23T17:17:00.000-08:00

Most authors accept the annelids as having three major classes: Polychaeta, Oligochaeta, and Hirudinea. Older systems would place the polychaetes and oligochaetes under the class Chaetopoda because both groups possess setae. Other systems would join the oligochaetes and leeches in a single class, called the Clitellata, because both groups possess a clitellum

Babylon

2004-11-21T23:14:00.000-08:00

Babylonian Bab-ilu , Old Babylonian Bab-ilim , Hebrew Bavel or Babel , Arabic Atlal Babil one of the most famous cities of antiquity. It was the capital of southern Mesopotamia (Babylonia) from the early 2nd millennium to the early 1st millennium BC and capital of the Neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) empire in the 7th and 6th centuries BC, when it was at the height of its splendour. Its extensive ruins, on the Euphrates River about 55 miles (88 km) south of Baghdad, lie near the modern

White Plains

2004-11-18T03:45:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1778) of Westchester county, New York, U.S. It lies along the Bronx and Hutchinson rivers. Known to the Wappinger Indians as Quarropas (“White Marshes”), probably for the area's heavy fogs, the site was sold twice (in 1660 and in 1683) by them to different groups, causing long litigation over the title and delays in the settlement of the area. An established community by 1735 within the town

Licchavi

2004-11-17T03:25:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Lichchhavi, a people who settled (6th–5th century BC) on the north bank of the Ganges River in modern Bihar state, India, with its capital city at Vaisali. The Licchavis were renowned for their republican government, having a general assembly of the heads of the leading Kshatriya-caste families. They were, for a time, of considerable importance and rivaled the rising power of Magadha, forming

Vilar, Jean

2004-11-14T00:21:00.000-08:00

Vilar trained as an actor and stage manager, then toured with an acting company throughout France. In 1943 he began his career as a director with a season in a small Paris theatre. Invited to direct the first

Hagia Sophia

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

Also called Church Of The Holy Wisdom, Turkish Ayasofya, cathedral built at Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) under the direction of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. It is a unique building and one of the world's great monuments, despite time's ravages. The structure, a domed basilica, was built in the amazingly short time of about six years, being completed in AD 537. The architects were Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus.

Kinship, The incest taboo

2004-11-11T15:52:00.000-08:00

All societies have a concept of incest, and all societies have a prohibition, or taboo, against it. Definitions of incest vary according to definitions of who is close kin. Reactions to violations of the taboo also vary from society to society. In some cases incest is thought of with abhorrence; in other cases, with mild amusement. The vehemence of its condemnation may

Jewelry

2004-11-09T20:08:00.000-08:00

It is probable that prehistoric

Issa

2004-11-06T06:02:00.000-08:00

A branch of the Somali (q.v.) people living in the Republic of Djibouti (formerly the French Territory of the Afars and Issas) on the east coast of Africa.

Biblical Literature, Types of biblical hermeneutics

2004-11-04T20:09:00.000-08:00

As has been said, the importance of biblical hermeneutics has lain in the Bible's status as a sacred book in Judaism and Christianity, recording a divine revelation or reproducing divine oracles. The “oracles” are primarily prophetic utterances, but often their narrative setting has also come to acquire oracular status. Quite different hermeneutical principles,

Silky Terrier

2004-11-03T02:35:00.000-08:00

Australian breed of toy dog, first shown in 1907. It originated in Sydney and was once known as the Sydney Silky. A rather low-set dog, the silky terrier stands 9 to 10 inches (23 to 25.5 centimetres) and weighs 8 to 10 pounds (3.5 to 4.5 kilograms). Its silky, fine coat is glossy blue-gray and tan, with a silver-gray or tan topknot. Developed as a companion dog, the silky is generally friendly and responsive,

Rockwell International Corporation

2004-11-01T23:56:00.000-08:00

The main company was incorporated in 1928 as North American Aviation, Inc., a holding company for a number of aviation companies, but it switched to aircraft manufacturing when it received a contract

Argentina, Sports

2004-10-30T23:17:00.000-07:00

Argentina's worldwide preeminence on the polo field reflects the nation's divided social base, the hardiness of its horses, and the skills of its riders. Steeped in the gaucho tradition and with the open fields of the Pampas on which to practice, a ranch hand with the necessary talent can attain high renown and modest wealth at either polo or horse racing. Both the wealthy

Argentina, The return to democracy

2004-10-28T23:15:00.000-07:00

The subsequent process of democratization is discussed in Philip O'Brien and Paul Cammack (eds.), Generals in Retreat: The Crisis of Military Rule in Latin America (1985); Jimmy Burns, The Land that Lost its Heroes: The Falklands, the Post-War, and Alfonsín (1987); Mónica Peralta-Ramos and Carlos H. Waisman (eds.), From Military Rule to Liberal Democracy in Argentina (1987); Colin M. Lewis and Nissa Torrents (eds.), Argentina in the Crisis Years, 1983–1990: From Alfonsín to Menem (1993); and Peter Calvert, “Argentina: Decline and Revival,” in Jan Knippers Black (ed.), Latin America, Its Problems and Its Promise: A Multidisciplinary Introduction, 3rd ed. (1998).

Algeria, The Sahara

2004-10-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

The Algerian Sahara may be divided roughly into two depressions of different elevation, separated from one another by a central north-south rise called the M'zab (Mzab). Each zone is covered by a vast sheet of sand dunes called an erg. The Great Eastern Erg (Grand Erg Oriental) and the Great Western Erg (Grand Erg Occidental), which average 1,300 to 2,000 feet (400 to 600 metres) in height, decline

Antarctica

2004-10-24T14:50:00.000-07:00

Ice averaging 2,160 m (7,087 ft) in thickness covers 98% of the continent of Antarctica, which has an area of 14 million sq km (5.4 million sq mi). There is no indigenous human population. Human activity consists mainly of scientific research at approximately 40 year-round stations and additional summer-only camps; the population is about 4,100 in summer and 1,000 in winter. In addition, several thousand

Shimazu Hisamitsu, Koshaku

2004-10-21T15:09:00.000-07:00

In 1858 Hisamitsu succeeded to the head of Satsuma han, one of the largest feudal fiefs into which

Fabrizi, Nicola

2004-10-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

As a young man, Fabrizi helped plan and execute the 1831 Milan rising against the Austrians. Unsuccessful in his attempt to revive the revolution in Modena, he was forced to flee but was captured by the Austrians and

Swan River

2004-10-18T23:48:00.000-07:00

Town, western Manitoba, Canada, on the Swan River near the Saskatchewan border and west of Lake Winnipegosis, 310 miles (500 km) northwest of Winnipeg. In the early 1800s there was intense fur-trading rivalry in the area between the Hudson's Bay and the North West companies. Homesteaders of varied nationalities moved to the locality after the Canadian Northern Railway reached

Caudata, Annotated classification

2004-10-15T16:49:00.000-07:00

Tailed amphibians with 2 or 4 legs; moist, usually

Israel

2004-10-14T06:36:00.000-07:00

After nearly three years of relentless bloodletting, Israel and the Palestinians responded in mid-2003 to international efforts to promote peace. The early promise of a breakthrough proved illusory, however, and the cycle of violence continued. Intense Israeli military pressure, following reoccupation of Palestinian cities in the West Bank and a determined hands-on

Self-fertilization

2004-10-11T16:43:00.000-07:00

Fusion of male and female gametes (sex cells) produced by the same individual. Self-fertilization occurs in bisexual organisms, including most flowering plants, numerous protozoans, and many invertebrates. Autogamy, the production of gametes by the division of a single parent cell, is frequently found in unicellular organisms such as the protozoan Paramecium

Olympic Mountains

2004-10-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

Segment of the Pacific mountain system of western North America. They extend across the Olympic Peninsula south of the Juan de Fuca Strait and west of Puget Sound in northwestern Washington, U.S. The mountains began to form about 35 million years ago when the Juan de Fuca Plate collided with and was forced under (subducted) the North American Plate, scraping off vast quantities

Alcidamas

2004-10-08T06:54:00.000-07:00

Prominent Sophist and rhetorician who taught in Athens. He was a pupil of Gorgias and a rival of Isocrates. His only extant work, Peri sophiston (“Concerning Sophists”), stresses the superiority of extempore (though prepared) speeches over written ones. The oration attributed to him entitled Odysseus is spurious. Only fragments of his other works survive. Aristotle

Floral Decoration, 18th century

2004-10-06T21:38:00.000-07:00

The floral arrangements of the early 18th century were dominated by French and English taste. In France, cultural and social life centred in the intimate rooms of Parisian town houses rather than in the vast rooms and halls of Louis XIV's Versailles palace. Bouquets, therefore, were comparatively small, to be in scale with their setting. The more delicate colouring and

Rashalom

2004-10-03T05:06:00.000-07:00

Asteroid whose orbit is the smallest of any such object so far discovered; it takes only 278 days to circle the Sun. Ra–Shalom was detected in 1978 by Eleanor Helin, a U.S. planetary scientist, at a distance of 29,000,000 kilometres (18,000,000 miles) from the Earth in a region of the solar system that was previously thought to be swept clean of asteroids. It measures about 4 km (2.5 mi) in diameter and is the largest

Madhva

2004-10-01T16:23:00.000-07:00

Born into a Brahman family, his life in many respects parallels the life of Jesus Christ. Miracles attributed to Christ in the New Testament were also attributed

Mau Mau

2004-09-29T06:05:00.000-07:00

Militant African nationalist movement that originated in the 1950s among the Kikuyu people of Kenya. The Mau Mau (origin of the name is uncertain) advocated violent resistance to British domination in Kenya; the movement was especially associated with the ritual oaths employed by leaders of the Kikuyu Central Association to promote unity in the independence

Ansermet, Ernest

2004-09-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

Ansermet studied at Lausanne and from 1906 to 1910 taught mathematics there. Later he studied composition under the Swiss-born composer

Quenching

2004-09-26T05:35:00.000-07:00

Rapid cooling, as by immersion in oil or water, of a metal object from the high temperature at which it has been shaped. This usually is undertaken to maintain mechanical properties associated with a crystalline structure or phase distribution that would be lost upon slow cooling. The technique is commonly applied to steel objects, to which it imparts hardness. On

Hooke's Law

2004-09-22T18:21:00.000-07:00

Law of elasticity discovered by the English scientist Robert Hooke in 1660, which states that, for relatively small deformations of an object, the displacement or size of the deformation is directly proportional to the deforming force or load. Under these conditions the object returns to its original shape and size upon removal of the load. Elastic behaviour of solids

Cole, Sir Henry

2004-09-18T16:09:00.000-07:00

At the age of 15 Cole started clerking for the public-records historian, and eventually he became assistant keeper of the public-records office. In 1845 the Society

Chicago

2004-09-16T06:21:00.000-07:00

Rock band, among the most popular American recording artists of all time, with sales of more than 100 million records. Initially a jazz-rock unit, Chicago thrived as it moved toward a lighter, ballad-oriented rock style. Its original members were Terry Kath (b. Jan. 31, 1946, Chicago, Ill., U.S.— d. Jan. 23, 1978, Los Angeles, Calif.), Peter Cetera (b. Sept. 13, 1944, Chicago), Robert Lamm (b. Oct. 13, 1944, New York, N.Y.), Walter

Switzerland, Trade and finance

2004-09-14T17:43:00.000-07:00

Switzerland must export finished products in order to pay for the imports of raw materials, oil, foodstuffs, and manufactured goods. The Swiss have traditionally been among the forerunners in liberalizing and facilitating international trade. The geographic distribution of the country's trade shows dependence on western Europe and especially on the EC countries.

Japan, Flag Of

2004-09-11T13:20:00.000-07:00

According to tradition, the sun goddess Amaterasu founded Japan in the 7th century BC and was an ancestor of the first of its emperors, Jimmu. Even today the emperor is known as the “Son of the Sun,” and a popular name for the country is “Land of the Rising Sun.” The first concrete evidence that testifies to use of a sun flag for Japan dates from 1184, but there are oral traditions going

LateWalk

Quilon

Piedmont

Pacifism

Fenestella

Theatre

Lancet, The

Animal Communication

Eni

Rowell, Galen

Malachi, The Book Of

San Blas

Nebula, Supergiant nebulae

Lira

China, Foreign policy

Monaghan

China, The Imperial succession

Kshitigarbha

Anderson, Leroy

Epistemology, Relation of epistemology to other branches of philosophy

Lancret, Nicolas

Fairfield

Kahn, Robert Elliot

Zile

Ambikapur

Habituation

Arrastra

Artemisa

Crabeater Seal

Kerr, Deborah

Insurance, General average clause

Biblical Literature, The Megillot (the Scrolls)

Guernsey

Bohemian Confession

Gage, Frances Dana Barker

Gage, Frances Dana Barker

Van Duyn, Mona

Afghanistan, Habibollah Khan (190119)

Robert Ii

Silhak

Vendôme

Arts, South Asian, Epics

Maderno, Carlo

Yizkor

Wampanoag

Arabia, Animal life

Byte

Macaroni

More, Paul Elmer

Cylinder Machine

Swartberg

Colette

Canal Zone

Haratin

Scandinavian Literature, The development of the Icelandic drama

'abbas I

Uddevalla

Abu'l-wafa'

Anne Of Denmark

P-47

Aristeas, Letter Of

Lorentz, Hendrik Antoon

Rabat

Marriage Law

Brown, Trisha

Wilkes, Charles

Annelid, Critical appraisal

Babylon

White Plains

Licchavi

Vilar, Jean

Hagia Sophia

Kinship, The incest taboo

Jewelry

Issa

Biblical Literature, Types of biblical hermeneutics

Silky Terrier

Rockwell International Corporation

Argentina, Sports

Argentina, The return to democracy

Afghanistan, Habibollah Khan (190119)

Rashalom