PhysicalAnt

Bruchsal

2005-04-04T00:59:00.000-07:00

City, Baden-Württemberg Land (state), southwestern Germany. It lies along the Saalbach (Saal Stream), just northeast of Karlsruhe. First mentioned in 796 as the site of a Frankish royal villa, it was given to the prince-bishops of Speyer in 1056 and became their residence in 1720. Chartered in 1248, it passed to Baden in 1803. The city's magnificent Rococo castle (1722–32), one of the most distinguished in Germany,

Animal Development, The epidermis and its outgrowths

2005-04-02T15:43:00.000-08:00

The major part of the ectodermal epithelium covering the body gives rise to the epidermis of the skin. In fishes and aquatic larvae of amphibians, the many-layered epidermis is provided with unicellular mucous glands. In terrestrial vertebrates, however, the epidermis becomes keratinized; i.e., the outer layers of cells produce keratin, a protein that is hardened

Guyana, Resources

2005-04-01T07:42:00.000-08:00

The most important mineral resource is the extensive bauxite deposits between the Demerara and Berbice rivers. There are also significant deposits of manganese at Matthews Ridge in the northwest, about 30 miles east of the Venezuelan frontier. Diamonds occur in the Mazaruni and other rivers of the Pacaraima Mountains. Gold is found in both alluvial and subsurface

Wright Flyer Of 1903

2005-03-30T20:23:00.000-08:00

First powered airplane to demonstrate sustained flight under the full control of the pilot. Designed and built by Wilbur and Orville Wright in Dayton, Ohio, it was assembled in the autumn of 1903 at a camp at the base of the Kill Devil Hills, near Kitty Hawk, a village on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. After a first attempt failed on December 14, the machine was flown four times

Tai Languages, Syntax

2005-03-27T04:46:00.000-08:00

Word order is generally subject–verb–object (SVO). The verb plus object may be called the verb phrase, which functions as predicate. Nouns also may be used as predicates; an example is wan-níi wan-sak ‘today (is) Friday.' A noun phrase consists of a noun, which may be followed by its modifiers (another noun, an adjective, or a verb phrase), which, in turn, are followed by a numeral with a

Vajpayee, Atal Bihari

2005-03-26T13:19:00.000-08:00

Vajpayee was first elected to Parliament in 1957 as a member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), a forerunner of the BJP. In 1977 the BJS joined three other parties to form the Janata Party, which led a government that lasted until July 1979. As foreign minister

New Hampshire Grants

2005-03-23T21:58:00.000-08:00

In the period before the American Revolution, the territory that subsequently became the state of Vermont. The area was initially claimed by New Hampshire, and the first land grant there was issued in 1749 by the first governor of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth. By 1764, 131 townships had been chartered. New York, which also claimed the territory, began issuing grants of its own

Chand, Dhyan

2005-03-21T11:13:00.000-08:00

Chand is most remembered for his goal-scoring feats and for his three Olympic gold medals (1928, 1932, and 1936) in field hockey, while India was dominant in the sport. He joined the Indian army in 1922 and came to prominence when he toured New Zealand with the

Price, Reynolds

2005-03-20T04:02:00.000-08:00

Price grew up in small towns and attended Duke University in Durham, N.C. (A.B. 1955), where the works of Eudora Welty became a primary influence on his writing. After receiving a B.Litt. degree in 1958 from the University of Oxford in England, he began his

Amphibian, Size range and diversity of structure

2005-03-19T20:31:00.000-08:00

The three living groups of amphibians vary greatly in size and structure. Long tails and two pairs of limbs of about equal size distinguish the salamander, although members of the family Sirenidae have no hindlimbs. Their total length varies greatly; a diminutive terrestrial species in Mexico measures 27 millimetres (1.06 inches) long, and the giant aquatic salamander

Tanzania, Early exploration

2005-03-17T08:53:00.000-08:00

Most of the known history of Tanganyika before the 19th century concerns the coastal area, although the interior has a number of important prehistoric sites, including the Olduvai Gorge. Trading contacts between Arabia and the East African coast existed by the 1st century AD, and there are indications of connections with India. The coastal trading centres were mainly

India, Developments in the Deccan

2005-03-16T17:44:00.000-08:00

Toward the last years of Akbar's reign, the Nizam Shahis of Ahmadnagar in the Deccan had engaged the attention of the emperor considerably. The main objective of his intervention in Ahmadnagar was to gain Berar, which had been recently acquired by Ahmadnagar from Khandesh, and Balaghat, which had been a bone of contention between Ahmadnagar and Gujarat. By 1596 Berar was conquered

Wollaston, William Hyde

2005-03-15T19:43:00.000-08:00

Though he was formally educated as

Frieze

2005-03-15T06:43:00.000-08:00

The frieze in

Corbie Step

2005-03-14T22:01:00.000-08:00

Also called crow step stone used for covering any of the steps or indentations in the coping (uppermost, covering course) of a gable; the term is also applied to the step itself. Corbie steps were common in late medieval buildings of the Netherlands and Belgium and occurred frequently in 15th-century Scottish architecture. They also appear in some 15th-century English houses, such as Oxburgh

Hou Chi

2005-03-12T13:46:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Hou Ji, in Chinese mythology, Lord of Millet Grains, who was worshiped for the abundant harvests that he graciously provided for his people. The Chinese honoured him not only for past favours but in the hope that devotion to the deity would guarantee continued blessings. An old tradition explained that Hou Chi was miraculously conceived when his childless mother stepped

Chemical Banking Corporation

2005-03-10T23:25:00.000-08:00

The holding company's principal subsidiary was Chemical Bank, which was chartered in 1824 in New York City as a division of the New York Chemical Manufacturing Company. Manufacturing activities were dropped in 1832. In 1844 the company was reconstituted as a state bank, and the chemical

Utrecht

2005-03-10T01:20:00.000-08:00

Provincie, central Netherlands, the country's smallest, with an area of 514 square miles (1,331 square km). It extends southward from the narrow Lake Eem, which separates Utrecht provincie from the South Flevoland polder of Flevoland provincie. Utrecht provincie lies between the provincies of Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland (west) and Gelderland (east). Its history is closely

Sponge

2005-03-08T02:56:00.000-08:00

Any of the primitive multicellular aquatic animals that constitute the phylum Porifera. They number approximately 5,000 described species and inhabit all seas, where they occur attached to surfaces from the intertidal zone to depths of 8,500 metres (29,000 feet) or more. One family, the Spongillidae, is found in fresh water. Adult sponges lack a definite nervous system and do not show

Jackson, Andrew

2005-03-08T01:55:00.000-08:00

Jackson retired to his home, the Hermitage. For decades in poor health, he was virtually an invalid during the remaining eight years of his life, but he continued to have a lively interest in public affairs.

Clonograptus

2005-03-05T05:48:00.000-08:00

Genus of graptolites (extinct, small floating colonial animals related to the primitive chordates), characterized by a frondlike form. Groups of these animals were connected by stalklike structures to a central region. Various forms or species of Clonograptus are important guide, or index, fossils for the correlation of Ordovician rocks (505 to 438 million years ago).

Aluko, T.m.

2005-03-04T14:44:00.000-08:00

A civil engineer and town planner by profession, Aluko was educated in Ibadan, Lagos, and London and held positions as director of public works for western Nigeria and faculty member at the University of Lagos. He first became known

Watch Fob

2005-03-04T05:58:00.000-08:00

Short ribbon or chain attached to a watch and hanging out of the pocket in which the watch is kept; the term can also refer to ornaments hung at the end of such a ribbon or chain. Until World War I and the development of the wristwatch, most watches designed for men had to be carried in the pocket. About 1772 the fashion of carrying a watch in each waistcoat fob pocket was introduced

Lynchburg

2005-03-02T21:53:00.000-08:00

City, administratively independent of, but located in, Campbell and Bedford counties, south-central Virginia, U.S. It is situated on the James River, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The city grew from a ferry landing settled in 1757 by Quakers; it was named for John Lynch, the ferry operator who owned the original town site. During the American Revolution, John's

Ionosphere

2005-03-02T10:55:00.000-08:00

Region of the Earth's atmosphere in which the number of ions, or electrically charged particles—resulting from the action of extraterrestrial (primarily solar) radiation on the neutral atoms and molecules of the air—is large enough to affect the propagation of radio waves. The ionosphere begins at a height of about 50 km (30 miles) above the surface but is most distinct

Wang Pi

2005-03-01T10:20:00.000-08:00

By the time of his death at the age of 23, Wang was already the author of outstanding commentaries on the Taoist classic, the Tao-te Ching, or Lao-tzu, and the Confucian mystical classic, the I Ching (“Classic of Changes”). Through these commentaries he helped introduce metaphysics into Chinese

World War I, Eastern Europe and the Russian periphery, MarchNovember 1918

2005-02-27T17:37:00.000-08:00

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 3, 1918) gave Germany a free hand to do what it liked with Russia's former possessions in eastern Europe. While they pursued their plan of 1916 for a kingdom of Poland, the Germans took new measures for the other countries. Lithuania, recognized as independent, was to be a kingdom under some German prince. Latvia and Estonia were to be merged into a

Aubignac, François Hédelin, Abbé D'

2005-02-27T09:18:00.000-08:00

Although trained as an advocate, Aubignac

Alchevsk

2005-02-26T09:32:00.000-08:00

Formerly (1931–61) Voroshilovsk , or (1961–92) Kommunarsk city, Luhansk oblast (province), eastern Ukraine. It lies along the railway from Luhansk to Debaltsevo. Alchevsk was founded in 1895 with the establishment of the Donetsko-Yuryevsky ironworks. The plant has developed into a large, integrated ironworks and steelworks, which was expanded greatly in the 1950s and '60s. The city is a major bituminous-coal mining centre, and there are

Elijah

2005-02-24T07:30:00.000-08:00

One of the most important moments in the history of monotheism is the climax of Elijah's struggle with Baalism. His momentous words, “If Yahweh is God, follow him, but if Baal, then follow him”—especially when taken with the prayer “Hear me, Yahweh, that this people may know that you, Yahweh, are God”—show that more is at stake than simply allotting to divinities their particular

Portuguese Literature

2005-02-23T06:38:00.000-08:00

The literature of Portugal is distinguished by a wealth and variety of lyric poetry, which has characterized it from the beginning; by its medieval lack of and later

Margherita Peak

2005-02-23T06:09:00.000-08:00

French Pic Marguerite, highest summit of the Ruwenzori Range in East Africa and the third highest in Africa (after Mounts Kilimanjaro and Kenya). Margherita Peak is the highest peak on Mount Stanley. It rises to 16,795 feet (5,119 m) between Lake Albert (Lake Mobutu Sese Seko) to the north and Lake Edward to the south on the Congo (Kinshasa)–Uganda border. It was first climbed in 1906 by an expedition led by Luigi Amedeo

Alaskan Mountains

2005-02-22T18:23:00.000-08:00

The mountain ranges of Alaska give their state a rugged and beautiful terrain across its entire expanse. They include the highest peak in North America and are characterized by glaciers, earthquakes, and continuing volcanic activity. Structurally, the ranges are

Swamp

2005-02-21T22:58:00.000-08:00

Wetland ecosystem characterized by mineral soils with poor drainage and by plant life dominated by trees. The latter characteristic distinguishes a swamp from a marsh, in which plant life consists largely of grasses. Swamps are found throughout the world. They exist in areas with poor drainage and sufficient water supply to keep the ground waterlogged, and they

Saint Vincent And The Grenadines

2005-02-20T16:46:00.000-08:00

In April 2000 the House of Assembly's passage of a bill that would increase the pensions and gratuities of parliamentarians proved to be the spark that ignited an already tense political situation in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The Organisation in Defence of Democracy (ODD)—which brought together the official opposition Unity Labour Party, trade union leaders, businessmen,

Dai Hyakkajiten

2005-02-18T07:11:00.000-08:00

It was first published from 1931 to 1935 in 28 volumes, with four supplements published in 1939–52, and was reissued in 15 volumes (1951–53). In 1955–63, a successor encyclopaedia, the Sekai dai hyakkajiten (“World Encyclopaedia”), was published in 33 volumes containing approximately 70,000 articles signed by specialists;

Amaranthaceae

2005-02-17T08:14:00.000-08:00

The amaranth family of flowering plants in the order Caryophyllales, with about 60 genera and more than 800 species of herbs, with a few shrubs, trees, and vines, native to tropical America and Africa. The leaves of members of the family usually have nonindented edges. Flowers may be male or female or contain both types of reproductive structures; several

Romanus Iv Diogenes

2005-02-17T02:30:00.000-08:00

In 1068 Romanus married Eudocia Macrembolitissa, widow of the emperor Constantine X Ducas. He led military expeditions against the Seljuq Turks but was defeated and captured by them at the Battle of Manzikert (1071). On his release Romanus found that

Astigmatism

2005-02-15T15:46:00.000-08:00

Lack of symmetry in the curvature of the cornea or, much less commonly, of the crystalline lens (the cornea is the transparent wall of the eye in front of the pupil and iris). The uneven and unequal curvatures on these various refractive surfaces diffuse light rays and interfere with a sharp focus at a point on the retina, the light-sensitive tissue lining the back and

Alaska, Government

2005-02-14T22:50:00.000-08:00

Alaska's economy has been dominated by government since territorial days. From 1940 to 1960 the federal government invested nearly $2 billion in the development of military bases in Alaska. Nothing else in Alaska's history has produced such long-term results, bringing thousands of residents into the territory and creating jobs and a vast array of transportation and communications

Triassic Period, Invertebrates

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

Ammonoids were common in the Permian but suffered drastic reduction at the end of that period. Only a few genera belonging to

Utrecht

2005-02-13T00:49:00.000-08:00

The site of successive Roman, Frisian, and Frankish fortresses, Utrecht became

Philip I

2005-02-12T23:23:00.000-08:00

Philip was the elder son of Henry I of France by his second wife, Anne of Kiev.

San Cristóbal

2005-02-10T21:46:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Táchira estado (“state”), western Venezuela. Situated in an isolated intermontane basin of the Mérida Mountains, at 2,700 feet (820 m) above sea level, the city occupies three sloping alluvial terraces overlooking the Torbes River. Founded in 1561, it retains a colonial atmosphere despite its being the largest of the cities in the so-called Andean Region of Venezuela.

Pyramid Lake

2005-02-09T23:42:00.000-08:00

Lake within Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation, western Nevada, U.S., between the Lake Range and the Virginia Mountains. A remnant of ancient Lake Lahontan, Pyramid Lake was formed during the Pleistocene Epoch (which began about 1.6 million years ago). It is the largest natural lake in the state, about 30 miles (48 km) long and 7 to 9 miles (11 to 14 km) wide, and is fed from the south by the Truckee

Kyushu

2005-02-09T04:55:00.000-08:00

Japanese Kyushu (“Nine Provinces”) southernmost and third largest of the four main islands of Japan. It is bordered by the East China Sea on the west and the Pacific Ocean on the east. Its name refers to the nine ancient provinces (kuni) into which the island was divided. It is separated from the island of Honshu to the north by the Shimonoseki Strait and from Korea to the northwest by the Tsushima Strait,

Régence Style

2005-02-08T09:22:00.000-08:00

Transition in the decorative arts from the massive rectilinear forms of Louis XIV furniture to those prefiguring the Rococo style of Louis XV. The style encompasses about the first 30 years of the 18th century, when Philippe II, duc d'Orléans, was regent of France. The restraint arrived at during this period resulted from a strong reaction against the pomposity of the

Gaelic Revival

2005-02-07T20:50:00.000-08:00

Resurgence of interest in Irish language, literature, history, and folklore inspired by the growing Irish nationalism of the early 19th century. By that time Gaelic had died out as a spoken tongue except in isolated rural areas; English had become the official and literary language of Ireland. The discovery by philologists of how to read Old Irish (written prior to 900) and

Genesee River

2005-02-06T22:14:00.000-08:00

River mainly in New York state, U.S. The Genesee flows generally north from its headwaters in Pennsylvania, crosses the New York State Canal System, and bisects Rochester to enter Lake Ontario after a course of 158 miles (254 km). At Portageville, midway along its course, the river flows into a 17-mile- (27-km-) long postglacial, winding, rocky gorge with sides rising as high as 600 feet (180 metres)

Rand, Ayn

2005-02-05T04:54:00.000-08:00

Rand graduated from the University of Petrograd in 1924 and two years later immigrated to the United States. She initially worked as a screenwriter

Argentina, The Northwest

2005-02-04T15:29:00.000-08:00

Vegetation in the Northwest region includes that of the high puna desert, the forested slopes of the Andes, and the subtropical scrub forests of the Pampean Sierras, the latter merging with the deciduous scrub woodlands of the Gran Chaco. Vegetation on the mostly exposed soil of the puna consists of dwarf shrubs and tough grasses, notably bunchgrass; these and other

Literature, United Kingdom.

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

The Booker Prize chairman of judges, Lord Kenneth Baker, reported that the many entries he had read during 2001 proved that the novel was thriving and keeping abreast of developments within British life. Displacement, often depicted through the uprooted feelings of émigrés or refugees, was a strong presence

Adams, John

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

Early advocate of American independence from Great Britain, major figure in the Continental Congress (1774–77), author of the Massachusetts constitution (1780), signer of the Treaty of Paris (1783), first American ambassador to the Court of St. James (1785–88), first vice president (1789–97) and second president (1797–1801) of the United States. Although Adams was regarded by his contemporaries as one of the most significant statesmen of the revolutionary era, his reputation faded in the 19th century, only to ascend again during the last half of the 20th century. The modern edition of his correspondence prompted a rediscovery of his bracing honesty and pungent way with words, his importance as a political thinker, his realistic perspective on American foreign policy, and his patriarchal role as founder of one of the most prominent families in American history. (For a discussion of the history and nature of the presidency, see presidency of the United States of America. See also Cabinet of President John Adams.)

Biblical Literature, The Revised Standard Version

2005-01-30T11:27:00.000-08:00

The American Standard Version had been an expression of sensitivity to the needs of the American public. At the same time, several individual and unofficial translations into modern speech made from 1885 on had gained popularity, their appeal reinforced by the discovery that the Greek of the New Testament used the common nonliterary variety of the language spoken

Nitra

2005-01-30T01:16:00.000-08:00

The centre of the Nitra principality in the beginning of the 9th century, it was later a stronghold and religious centre. The first Christian church in what is now Slovakia was established there in AD 830 and consecrated by Saints Cyril and Methodius. Town privileges were acquired in 1248. The town's dominant

Saale Glacial Stage

2005-01-28T23:11:00.000-08:00

Division of Pleistocene deposits and time in northern Europe (the Pleistocene Epoch began about 1,600,000 years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago). The Saale Glacial Stage followed the Holstein Interglacial Stage and preceded the Eemian Interglacial Stage, both relatively mild climatic periods. The extensive and complex Saale deposits are correlated with the Gipping Glacial

Rameswaram

2005-01-28T18:37:00.000-08:00

Island, southeastern Tamil Nadu state, southeastern India. It forms part of Adams Bridge, a series of coral reef islands connecting India and Sri Lanka. The island contains a temple that is one of the most venerated of all Hindu shrines. The great Temple of Rameswaram was built in the 17th century on the traditional site said to be sanctified by the god Rama's footprints when

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Fable

2005-01-26T17:07:00.000-08:00

Fables teach a general principle of conduct by presenting a specific example of behaviour. Thus, to define the moral that “People who rush into things without using judgment run into strange and unexpected dangers,” Aesop—the traditional “father” of the fable form—told the following story:There was a dog who was fond of eating eggs. Mistaking a shell-fish for an egg one

Midgard

2005-01-26T15:02:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Midgardr (Old Norse: Middle Abode) , also called Manna-Heim (“Home of Man”) in Norse mythology, the Middle Earth, the abode of mankind, made from the body of the first created being, the giant Aurgelmir (Ymir). According to legend, the gods killed Aurgelmir, rolled his body into the central void of the universe, and began fashioning the Midgard. Aurgelmir's flesh became the land, his blood the oceans, his bones the mountains, his teeth the cliffs, his

Igneous Rock, Inclusions

2005-01-25T09:10:00.000-08:00

These are rounded to angular masses of solid material enclosed within a rock of recognizably different composition or texture. Those consisting of older material not directly related to that of their host are known as xenoliths, and those representing broken-up and detached older parts of the same igneous body that encloses them are termed cognate xenoliths

Abu Jirab

2005-01-23T21:59:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Abu Gurab ancient Egyptian site, about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Abu Sir, between Saqqarah and Giza; it is known as the location of two 5th-dynasty (c. 2465–c. 2325 BC) sun temples. The first part of the 5th dynasty is recognized as a period of unusually strong emphasis on the worship of the sun god Re, contemporary inscriptions recording that six sun temples were built. Only those of King Userkaf and King Neuserre

Marcello, Benedetto

2005-01-21T20:24:00.000-08:00

Italian composer and writer, especially remembered for two works: the satirical pamphlet Il teatro alla moda (1720); and Estro poeticoarmonico (1724–26), a setting for voices and instruments of the first 50 psalms in an Italian paraphrase by G. Giustiniani. Il teatro alla moda is an amusing pamphlet in which Marcello vented his opinions on the

Dysentery

2005-01-20T19:41:00.000-08:00

There are two major types of dysentery: bacillary and amebic, caused, respectively, by bacteria and amoebas. Bacillary dysentery, or shigellosis, is caused by bacilli of the genus Shigella. Symptomatically,

Epistemology, Contemporary philosophy

2005-01-20T11:58:00.000-08:00

Contemporary philosophy begins in the late 19th and early 20th century. Much of what sets contemporary philosophy off from modern philosophy is its explicit criticism of the modern tradition and sometimes its apparent indifference to it. There are two basic strains of contemporary philosophy: Continental philosophy, which designates the philosophical style

Swansea

2005-01-19T23:04:00.000-08:00

In the early 12th century the Norman Henry de Newburgh built a castle there, which was later destroyed by the Welsh rebel Owen Glendower. Up to the early 18th century Swansea

Kamba

2005-01-17T01:52:00.000-08:00

Though primarily agriculturists, the Kamba keep considerable numbers of cattle, sheep, and goats. Their main staple crops are millet, sorghum, and corn (maize). Overcrowding and soil erosion in the Machakos district have driven many to work in Nairobi. The Kamba have long been known

Nova Lima

2005-01-16T17:45:00.000-08:00

City, east-central Minas Gerais estado (“state”), Brazil. It lies along the Cristais River at 2,444 feet (745 m) above sea level. Nova Lima was made the seat of a municipality in 1891 and became a city in 1936. It is known for its Mineração Morro Velho (“Old Mountain Mine”), British-owned from 1834 until 1959, when it was sold to a Brazilian concern. The air-cooled shaft, which penetrates 8,501 feet (2,591 m), is one of the deepest

Newman, Arnold

2005-01-15T15:00:00.000-08:00

Newman studied art at the University of Miami in Florida from 1936 to 1938 and then took a job as an assistant in a photography

Arts, Islamic, Architectural decoration

2005-01-15T04:39:00.000-08:00

Early Islamic architecture is most original in its decoration. Mosaics and wall paintings followed the practices of antiquity and were primarily employed in Syria, Palestine, and Spain. Stone sculpture existed, but stucco sculpture, first limited to Iran, spread rapidly throughout the early Islamic world. Not only were stone or brick walls covered with large panels

Thaw, John Edward

2005-01-14T04:16:00.000-08:00

British actor (b. Jan. 3, 1942, Manchester, Eng.—d. Feb. 21, 2002, Luckington, Wiltshire, Eng.), was a respected actor who starred in several British television series but achieved international recognition for one of his roles—the crusty, cerebral Chief Inspector Morse, the title character in a series of 33 two-part dramas based on the novels of British detective writer Colin Dexter. Thaw trained

Religion, Study Of, The Chicago school

2005-01-12T23:17:00.000-08:00

The phenomenological method was brought to the United States primarily by the German-American historian of religions Joachim Wach (1898–1955), who established Religionswissenschaft (Science of Religion) in Chicago and was thus the founder of the modern “Chicago school” (though his successor, Mircea Eliade, has a rather different slant). Wach was concerned with emphasizing

I-lan

2005-01-12T18:25:00.000-08:00

Shih (municipality) and seat of I-lan hsien (county), northeastern Taiwan, the centre of the only sizable alluvial basin on the island's mountainous eastern coast. The basin itself was largely formed as the delta of the Cho-Shui River and is about 30 miles (50 km) from north to south. I-lan city lies in the centre of this plain on the Lan River. The plain is a fertile rice-producing region,

Weld, Sir Frederick Aloysius

2005-01-11T15:33:00.000-08:00

Born into a landed Roman Catholic family and educated at Stonyhurst and the University

Blaby

2005-01-09T23:20:00.000-08:00

District, county of Leicestershire, south-central England. It covers the southern and western suburbs of the city of Leicester, in an arc around the city boundary from southeast to northwest, and extends southwest across a mostly rural area almost to the county boundary with Warwickshire on the southwest. Blaby district is administered from Narborough. Other important

Roberts, Richard J.

2005-01-09T22:18:00.000-08:00

Roberts received a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Sheffield, Eng., in 1968. After postdoctoral research at Harvard University, he took a post at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York in 1972. In 1992 he

France, History Of, The monarchy

2005-01-08T10:44:00.000-08:00

The kingdom of France was descended directly from the west Frankish realm ceded to Charles the Bald in 843. Not until 987 was the Carolingian dynastic line set aside, but there had been portentous interruptions. The reunited empire of Charles the Fat (884–888) proved unworkable: the Viking onslaught was then at its worst, and the king proved incapable of managing defenses, which fell

Habsburg, House Of, Power and weakness

2005-01-06T17:29:00.000-08:00

The Habsburgs reached the zenith of their power before the end of the 16th century: the duchy of Milan, annexed by Charles V in 1535, was assigned by him to his son, the future Philip II of Spain, in 1540; Philip II conquered Portugal in 1580; and the Spanish dominions in America were ever expanding. There were, however, three faults in the power structure—two of them historical accidents, the

Rudolf, Lake

2005-01-05T08:34:00.000-08:00

Also called Lake Turkana fourth largest of the eastern African lakes. It lies mainly in northern Kenya, with its northern end stretching into Ethiopia. The lake lies in the eastern arm of eastern Africa's Rift Valley. It covers an area of 2,473 square miles (6,405 square km) and lies at 1,230 feet (375 m) above sea level. Together with Lake Baringo (south), Lake Rudolf once formed a larger body of water drained by the Sobat

Mineral

2005-01-05T04:50:00.000-08:00

Naturally occurring homogeneous solid with a definite chemical composition and a highly ordered atomic arrangement; it is usually formed by inorganic processes. There are several thousand known mineral species, about 100 of which constitute the major mineral components of rocks; these are the so-called rock-forming minerals.

Crime And Punishment, Incapacitation

2005-01-04T20:22:00.000-08:00

Incapacitation is an object of punishment that has been known since early times. The idea is simply that the offender should be dealt with in a manner that will make it impossible for him to repeat his offense—by execution or banishment in earlier times, in more modern times by execution or lengthy periods of incarceration. This is the only objective of punishment

Eastern Orthodoxy, Modern theological developments

2005-01-03T16:31:00.000-08:00

Until the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks (1453), Byzantium was the unquestioned intellectual centre of the Orthodox Church. Far from being monolithic, Byzantine theological thought was often polarized by a Humanistic trend, favouring the use of Greek philosophy in theological thinking, and the more austere and mystical theology of the monastic circles. The

Fair Labor Standards Act

2005-01-01T00:31:00.000-08:00

Also called Wages and Hours Act the first act in the United States prescribing nationwide compulsory federal regulation of wages and hours, sponsored by Sen. Robert F. Wagner of New York and signed on June 14, 1938, effective October 24. The law, applying to all industries engaged in interstate commerce, established a minimum wage of 25 cents per hour for the first year, to be increased to 40 cents within seven years.

Pierce, John Davis

2004-12-31T18:02:00.000-08:00

Though denied an extensive education as a youth because of his father's early death and consequent family financial limitations, Pierce decided at age 20 to educate himself. He succeeded so well that he was

Frueh, Al

2004-12-29T04:26:00.000-08:00

Reared variously to be a farmer and then a brewer and also studying at a business school in his home town (learning shorthand), Frueh turned to cartooning professionally after being hired by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1904–08) in its art department. After a trip to Europe

Alcman

2004-12-28T17:08:00.000-08:00

Alcman's work survives in fragments, the longest being a parthenion (a choir song for girls) discovered in a 1st-century papyrus in Egypt in 1855. In the Suda lexicon (late 10th century AD) Alcman is described as a man “of an extremely amorous disposition and the inventor of love poems.” He was clearly

Crochet

2004-12-27T23:31:00.000-08:00

Craft that developed in the 19th century out of a form of chain-stitch embroidery done with a hook instead of a needle. In crochet work the hook is used, without a foundation material, to make a texture of looped and interlinked chains of thread. In the late 1840s crochet was introduced into Ireland as a famine relief measure. In southern Ireland the industry centred in Cork,

Pluvial Regime

2004-12-27T14:49:00.000-08:00

Averaged zonally, regions of excessive precipitation, in which annual precipitation exceeds annual evaporation, exist in the tropics and at latitudes poleward of 40° in both hemispheres. In the subtropics, dominated by high atmospheric pressure, annual

Pacific Ocean, Early exploration and settlement

2004-12-26T01:57:00.000-08:00

The Pacific Islands are thought to have been peopled by influxes from both mainland and archipelagic Southeast Asia. The earliest migrations were to what is now generally referred to as Melanesia. From there generations of voyagers ranged northward into eastern Micronesia and eastward into Polynesia. The peopling of Polynesia, by means of long-range seagoing

France, History Of, The cultural scene

2004-12-24T14:26:00.000-08:00

Paris after World War II quickly regained its stature as one of the world's great centres of intellectual creativity. A cluster of brilliant thinkers and writers competed for influence, attracting acolytes both in France and abroad. The first postwar wave was led by Jean-Paul Sartre, whose influence made existentialism the leading ideology of the time. Sartre saw

Tibet, Education

2004-12-23T21:18:00.000-08:00

There were a few secular schools in Tibet before the Chinese established control. The monasteries were the main seats of learning, and some of the larger ones were similar in operation to theological universities. Secular facilities were established in the 1950s, including government-run primary schools, community primary schools, and secondary technical and tertiary

Fargo

2004-12-22T23:51:00.000-08:00

Seat (1873) of Cass county and the largest city of North Dakota, U.S., on the Red River of the North, opposite Moorhead, Minn. Founded in 1871 by the Northern Pacific Railway, it served as an outfitting post for settlers, with its rail, steamboat, and stagecoach facilities. It was named for William George Fargo (of Wells, Fargo & Company), a pioneer in the shipment of goods by express. The development

Ferreira, António

2004-12-22T05:34:00.000-08:00

Ferreira was a disciple of the poet Francisco de Sá de Miranda, who had introduced Renaissance styles of poetry into Portugal, and Ferreira did more

Mclaughlin, John

2004-12-21T21:09:00.000-08:00

McLaughlin began his career playing blues and rock in London in the early 1960s and went on to play free jazz with important British figures before moving to the United States in 1969. There

Karakalpakstan

2004-12-19T15:02:00.000-08:00

On the east Karakalpakstan occupies the western half of the Kyzylkum Desert, a vast plain covered with shifting sands. The central part consists of the valley and delta of the Amu Darya (river), a low-lying area intersected by watercourses and canals. On the west the republic includes

Italy, Literature

2004-12-19T05:54:00.000-08:00

Italian literature, and indeed standard Italian, have their origins in the 14th century Tuscan dialect, the language of its three founding fathers, Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio. After unification, writers began to explore subjects theretofore considered too lowly for literary consideration, such as poverty and living conditions in the Mezzogiorno. Writers such

Astorga, Emanuele D'

2004-12-17T18:51:00.000-08:00

Astorga belonged to a family of Spanish descent that won a barony in Sicily in the 17th century. The family eventually settled in Palermo. Astorga's first opera, La moglie nemica (“The Hostile Wife”), was

Lak-dargin Languages

2004-12-17T07:03:00.000-08:00

Also called Lak-dargwa, two related languages spoken in central Dagestan in the Caucasus—Lak and Dargin. Both are written languages. The dialects of Dargin differ considerably from one another and are considered by some scholars to be separate languages. The Lak-Dargin languages are often placed in the Dagestanian group of the Nakho-Dagestanian (Northeast Caucasian) languages, together

Obrecht, Jakob

2004-12-16T15:46:00.000-08:00

He was the son of Willem Obrecht, a trumpeter. His first known appointment was in 1484 as instructor

Crompton, Rookes Evelyn Bell

2004-12-15T18:18:00.000-08:00

After military service in India, where he had introduced steam-driven road transport, Crompton in 1875 became a partner in an engineering firm at Chelmsford, Essex, and soon broadened its activity to the construction of dynamos and arc

Table Tennis

2004-12-14T02:44:00.000-08:00

In the years between the biennial world championships, attention focused on regional events, the largest of which were the European championships. At the 19th staging of this tournament, in Birmingham, England, during March-April 1994, Jean-Michel Saive of Belgium became the new European men's singles champion by defeating Olympic gold medalist Jan-Ove Waldner of Sweden

PhysicalAnt

Bruchsal

Animal Development, The epidermis and its outgrowths

Guyana, Resources

Wright Flyer Of 1903

Tai Languages, Syntax

Vajpayee, Atal Bihari

New Hampshire Grants

Chand, Dhyan

Price, Reynolds

Amphibian, Size range and diversity of structure

Tanzania, Early exploration

India, Developments in the Deccan

Wollaston, William Hyde

Frieze

Corbie Step

Hou Chi

Chemical Banking Corporation

Utrecht

Sponge

Jackson, Andrew

Clonograptus

Aluko, T.m.

Watch Fob

Lynchburg

Ionosphere

Wang Pi

World War I, Eastern Europe and the Russian periphery, MarchNovember 1918

Aubignac, François Hédelin, Abbé D'

Alchevsk

Elijah

Portuguese Literature

Margherita Peak

Alaskan Mountains

Swamp

Saint Vincent And The Grenadines

Dai Hyakkajiten

Amaranthaceae

Romanus Iv Diogenes

Astigmatism

Alaska, Government

Triassic Period, Invertebrates

Utrecht

Philip I

San Cristóbal

Pyramid Lake

Kyushu

Régence Style

Gaelic Revival

Genesee River

Rand, Ayn

Argentina, The Northwest

Literature, United Kingdom.

Adams, John

Biblical Literature, The Revised Standard Version

Nitra

Saale Glacial Stage

Rameswaram

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Fable

Midgard

Igneous Rock, Inclusions

Abu Jirab

Marcello, Benedetto

Dysentery

Epistemology, Contemporary philosophy

Swansea

Kamba

Nova Lima

Newman, Arnold

Arts, Islamic, Architectural decoration

Thaw, John Edward

Religion, Study Of, The Chicago school

I-lan

Weld, Sir Frederick Aloysius

Blaby

Roberts, Richard J.

France, History Of, The monarchy

Habsburg, House Of, Power and weakness

Rudolf, Lake

Mineral

World War I, Eastern Europe and the Russian periphery, MarchNovember 1918

Religion, Study Of, The Chicago school