SameArch

Actinomycete

2005-11-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

Any member of a heterogeneous group of gram-positive, generally anaerobic bacteria noted for a filamentous and branching growth pattern that results, in most forms, in an extensive colony, or mycelium. The mycelium in some species may break apart to form rod- or coccoid-shaped forms. Many genera also form spores; the sporangia, or spore cases, may be found on aerial hyphae,

Rajasthan, Education and welfare

2005-07-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

There are a number of educational establishments in Rajasthan, including state-run universities at Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, and Ajmer; the Open University at Kota; and the Birla Institute of Technology and Science at Pilani. There are several state hospitals and dispensaries. There also are many Ayurvedic, Unani (a medicinal system using prescribed herbs and shrubs), and

Mitre, Bartolomé

2005-07-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

Growing up in Buenos Aires under the dictatorship of Juan Manuel de Rosas, Mitre began a 15-year exile in 1837. Travelling to Uruguay, Bolivia,

Amritsar, Treaty Of

2005-07-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

(April 25, 1809), pact concluded between Charles T. Metcalfe, representing the British East India Company, and Ranjit Singh, head of the Sikh kingdom of Punjab (Pañjab); it settled Indo-Sikh relations for a generation. The immediate occasion was the French threat to northwestern India, following Napoleon's Treaty of Tilsit with Russia (1807) and Ranjit's attempt to bring the Cis-Sutlej

Wiesel, Elie

2005-07-06T03:10:00.000-07:00

Wiesel's early life, spent in a small Hasidic community in the town of Sighet, was a rather hermetic existence of prayer and contemplation. In 1940 Sighet was annexed

Settle

2005-06-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

Long wooden bench with backrest and arms, designed to seat several people. Originating in Europe in the 10th century, it was apparently derived from the chest, a resemblance often retained, with additional elements based on the monastic choir stall. It could be used for a variety of purposes: as a seat, a bed, a chest, and, in examples with a hinged backrest that can be turned

United Nations

2005-06-03T05:30:00.000-07:00

On several occasions during 1999 United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan acknowledged failures in UN actions and risked member states' ire by bringing forward important issues that they had acted badly upon or failed to act upon at all. In September he rebuked the U.S. Senate for rejecting the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and suggested that Israel had been singled

Scalare

2005-05-17T15:05:00.000-07:00

Any of several popular aquarium fishes of the angelfish (q.v.) group.

Aptitude Test

2005-05-15T20:50:00.000-07:00

Examination that attempts to determine and measure those characteristics of a person that are regarded as indices of his capability to acquire, through future training, some specific set of responses (intellectual, motor, and so on). The tests assume that people differ in their special abilities and that these differences are related in a predictable manner to

Amasis Painter

2005-05-13T18:45:00.000-07:00

Signatures of the Amasis Painter have been recognized on eight vessels. Among those thought

Kharijah, Al-

2005-03-15T11:45:00.000-08:00

Town, capital of the muhafazah (governorate) of Al-Wadi al-Jadid (Arabic: �New Valley�) and chief town of Al-Kharijah (Kharga) oasis, Egypt. The town's history dates back to the 25th dynasty (c. 750 - 656 BC), though inscriptions record that the oasis was a place for political exiles from Thebes in the 21st dynasty (c. 1075 - c. 945 BC). The town flourished under Persian and Roman rule, and there are extensive ruins of those

Abu Nidal

2005-03-14T01:33:00.000-08:00

Palestinian militant (b. 1937, Jaffa, Palestine - d. Aug. 16?, 2002, Baghdad, Iraq), was believed to have masterminded countless deadly attacks for nearly two decades, from the early 1970s to the 1990s. Abu Nidal (he took the nom de guerre in the early 1960s) was originally a member of Yasir Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization, but he broke with the PLO in 1974 to form the more radical Fatah Revolutionary

Anthesteria

2005-03-11T21:14:00.003-08:00

One of the several Athenian festivals in honour of Dionysus, the wine god, held annually for three days in the month of Anthesterion (February - March) to celebrate the beginning of spring and the maturing of the wine stored at the previous vintage. On the first day libations were offered to Dionysus from the newly opened casks. The second day was a time of popular merrymaking,

Anthesteria

2005-03-11T21:14:00.002-08:00

Anthesteria

2005-03-11T21:14:00.001-08:00

Anthesteria

2005-03-11T21:14:00.000-08:00

Abe Isoo

2005-03-07T15:31:00.000-08:00

Abe was attracted to socialism while studying for the ministry in the United States, where he graduated from the Hartford (Conn.)

Coincidence Counting

2005-03-06T20:35:00.000-08:00

In physics, the detection of two nuclear or cosmic ray events that occur almost simultaneously (e.g., within a time of 10-5 second). Coincidence counting involves two or more particle counters exposed to the same source of cosmic rays or nuclear radiation and connected to an electronic coincidence circuit. One principal use of the coincidence technique is to detect particles

Radio Direction Finder

2005-03-04T08:40:00.000-08:00

The antenna, usually a loop antenna, rotates and pinpoints the direction from which a

Simeon I

2005-03-03T09:28:00.000-08:00

His dominant ambition, which was to himself ascend the imperial throne of Byzantium - an aspiration

Toad

2005-03-02T06:56:00.000-08:00

Any squat, rough-skinned, tailless amphibian of the order Anura, and especially a member of the family Bufonidae. The true toads (Bufo), with more than 300 species, are found worldwide except in Australasia, Madagascar, polar regions, and Polynesia, though Bufo marinus has been introduced into Australia and some South Pacific islands. Besides Bufo, the family

Triassic Period

2005-03-01T13:39:00.000-08:00

The Triassic Period marked the beginning of major changes that were to take place throughout the Mesozoic Era, particularly in the distribution of continents,

France, History Of, Kingship

2005-02-28T05:56:00.000-08:00

Kingship was the basic institution in the Merovingian kingdom. Since Clovis' reign, the power of the king had extended not only over a tribe or tribes but also over a territory inhabited by Germans of divergent backgrounds and by Gallo-Romans as well. The king exercised power with legal limitations, which, when violated, led to efforts to reestablish political equilibrium

Cohn, Ferdinand (julius)

2005-02-27T07:48:00.000-08:00

Cohn was born in the ghetto of Breslau, the first of three sons of a Jewish merchant. His father spared no effort in the education of his precocious oldest child, and Ferdinand retained a melancholy

Port Gibson

2005-02-26T20:49:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1803) of Claiborne county, southwestern Mississippi, U.S., 28 miles (45 km) south of Vicksburg, near the Mississippi River on a curve of the Bayou Pierre. It was founded in 1788 by Samuel Gibson, whose cotton plantation became a meeting place for early river travelers. The city has many antebellum buildings, which can be viewed during the annual spring pilgrimage. The survival

Encarnaci�

2005-02-25T20:06:00.000-08:00

Formerly �Itap�a� city, southeastern Paraguay. The city was founded in 1614 on the west bank of the Upper Paran� River, opposite Posadas, Arg., to which it is linked by a bridge completed in 1987. Severely damaged by a tornado in 1926, it is now one of the largest cities of Paraguay and a busy commercial, manufacturing, and communications centre. The city is divided into two sectors: the High (old) City and the

Journal

2005-02-24T22:34:00.000-08:00

An account of day-to-day events or a record of experiences, ideas, or reflections kept regularly for private use that is similar to, but sometimes less personal than, a diary.

Nova Scotia, Industries

2005-02-23T22:25:00.000-08:00

Mining is another major industry in Nova Scotia. Coal is the leading mined product, and some 70 percent of the province's energy needs are met through thermal coal. Salt and anhydrite production also meet a wide demand, and the provincial gypsum deposits yield 75 percent of Canada's supply. There are also significant supplies of barite and construction materials, such

Both, Jan

2005-02-22T18:15:00.000-08:00

Both first studied with his father, Dirck Both, a glass painter, and then with Abraham Bloemaert. From 1638 to 1641 he lived in Rome with his brother Andries; in the latter year he returned to Utrecht, where he became a prominent

Iron Processing

2005-02-21T04:35:00.000-08:00

Iron (Fe) is a relatively dense metal with a silvery white appearance and distinctive magnetic properties. It constitutes 5 percent by weight of the Earth's crust, and it is the

Induction

2005-02-20T08:18:00.000-08:00

In logic, method of reasoning from a part to a whole, from particulars to generals, or from the individual to the universal. As it applies to logic in systems of the 20th century, the term is obsolete. Traditionally, logicians distinguished between deductive logic (inference in which the conclusion follows necessarily from the premise, or drawing new propositions out

Egyptian Religion

2005-02-19T07:42:00.000-08:00

The king was the centre of human society, the guarantor of order for the gods, the recipient of god-given benefits including life itself, and the benevolent ruler of the world for humanity. He was ultimately responsible for the cults of the dead, both for his predecessors in office and for the dead in general. His dominance in religion corresponded to his central political

Fichte, Johann Gottlieb

2005-02-18T15:46:00.000-08:00

German philosopher and patriot, one of the great transcendental idealists.

China 1

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

Also called �Chicom 1�, or �PRC 1� first Earth satellite orbited by the People's Republic of China. It was launched on April 24, 1970, from the rocket facility at Shuang Cheng Tsu, and it made China the fifth nation to place a satellite into Earth orbit. Little is known about China 1. It weighed approximately 173 kg (381 pounds) and carried a radio transmitter that broadcast a patriotic anthem.

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Modern period

2005-02-16T20:28:00.000-08:00

With the Baroque and Neoclassical periods, allegory began to turn away from cosmology and toward rhetorical ambiguity. John Milton allegorized sin and death in his epic poem Paradise Lost, but allegory for him seems chiefly to lie in the ambiguous diction and syntax employed in the poem. Instead of flashing allegorical emblems before the reader, Milton generates

Biblical Literature, The translation of Miles Coverdale

2005-02-15T23:35:00.000-08:00

A change in atmosphere in England found expression in a translation that, for all its great significance, turned out to be a retrograde step in the manner of its execution, although it proved to be a vindication of Tyndale's work. On October 4, 1535, the first complete English Bible, the work of Miles Coverdale, came off the press either in Z�rich or in Cologne. The edition was soon

Stone, Fred (andrew)

2005-02-14T16:23:00.000-08:00

Stone was raised in Topeka, Kan., making his stage debut there at age 11, and soon joined his brother on tour with a number of small circuses. In the 1890s he teamed up with Dave Montgomery and together they toured in vaudeville and minstrel shows before appearing in their first Broadway

Mammal, Circulatory system

2005-02-13T14:50:00.000-08:00

In mammals, as in birds, right and left ventricles of the heart are completely separated, so that pulmonary (lung) and systemic (body) circulations are completely independent. Oxygenated blood arrives in the left atrium from the lungs and passes to the left ventricle, whence it is forced through the aorta to the systemic circulation. Deoxygenated blood from the tissues

Lorentz Transformations

2005-02-12T10:49:00.000-08:00

Set of equations in relativity physics that relate the space and time coordinates of two systems moving at a constant velocity relative to each other. Required to describe high-speed phenomena approaching the speed of light, Lorentz transformations formally express the relativity concepts that space and time are not absolute; that length, time, and mass depend

Rubinstein, Anton

2005-02-11T21:28:00.000-08:00

In 1835 Rubinstein's father opened a small factory in Moscow, and there in the same year his brother Nikolay was born. Both boys were taught piano, first by their mother and then by Aleksandr Villoing. Anton gave his

Paracanthopterygian

2005-02-10T11:40:00.000-08:00

Any member of the superorder Paracanthopterygii, a predatory, primarily marine group that forms one of about six major branches of the Teleostei, or bony fishes, the dominant modern aquatic vertebrates. Approximately 1,160 living species of paracanthopterygian fishes have been described. They range in length from just a few centimetres to roughly two metres (more

France, History Of, Loss of control

2005-02-09T18:24:00.000-08:00

By August 1786 even Necker's successor, the frivolous if intelligent Charles-Alexandre de Calonne (1734 - 1802), had concluded that the French state was coming to a dead end. Although the crown had assured the moneymen that it would not default on the debt, as indeed it could not have done without alienating thousands of its natural supporters, Calonne found that he could no longer raise

Qadiriyah

2005-02-08T10:39:00.000-08:00

Probably the oldest of the Muslim mystic (Sufi) orders, founded by the Hanbali theologian 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (1078 - 1166) in Baghdad. Al-Jilani may have intended the few rituals he prescribed to extend only to his small circle of followers, but his sons broadened this community into an order and encouraged its spread into North Africa, Central Asia, and India. The order, which stresses philanthropy,

Latifundium

2005-02-07T16:16:00.000-08:00

The ancient Roman latifundia originated from the allocation of land confiscated by Rome from certain conquered communities, beginning in the early 2nd century BC. Earlier, in classical Greece of the 5th century BC, sizable estates were cultivated for high profit, based

Yale University

2005-02-06T06:37:00.000-08:00

Private university in New Haven, Conn., one of the Ivy League schools. It was founded in 1701 and is the third oldest university in the United States. Yale was originally chartered by the colonial legislature of Connecticut as the Collegiate School and was held at Killingworth and other locations. In 1716 the school was moved to New Haven, and in 1718 it was renamed Yale College in honour

Thomas, Seth

2005-02-05T01:38:00.000-08:00

Apprenticed as a carpenter and joiner, Thomas worked building houses and barns until 1807, when, because of his woodworking skills, the clockmakers Eli Terry and Silas Hoadley invited him to join them in a wholesale clockmaking enterprise.

Water Treader

2005-02-04T18:44:00.000-08:00

Mesoveliids are predaceous and are usually seen on floating vegetation or on the water surface. One species, Phrynovelia papua of New Guinea, lives in leaves on the forest

Children's Literature, The discovery of the child

2005-02-03T07:22:00.000-08:00

A self-aware literature flows from a recognition of its proper subject matter. The proper subject matter of children's literature, apart from informational or didactic works, is children. More broadly, it embraces the whole content of the child's imaginative world and that of his daily environment, as well as certain ideas and sentiments characteristic of it. The

Medicine

2005-02-02T15:47:00.000-08:00

The subject of medicine is treated in a number of articles, the principal of which is medicine, history of. For a treatment of general considerations and current techniques in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, see diagnosis and therapeutics. For fields

Ambartsumian, Viktor Amazaspovich

2005-02-01T07:42:00.000-08:00

Ambartsumian was born of Armenian parents. His

Bulgakov, Mikhail Afanasyevich

2005-01-31T20:21:00.000-08:00

Beginning his adult life as a doctor, Bulgakov gave up medicine for writing. His first major work was the novel Belaya gvardiya (The White Guard), serialized in 1925 but never published in book form. A realistic and

Varthema, Lodovico De

2005-01-30T08:40:00.000-08:00

De Varthema also spelled �Di Barthema, �Latin �Vartomanus, or Vertomannus, � intrepid Italian traveler and adventurer whose account of his Middle Eastern and Asiatic wanderings was widely circulated throughout Europe and earned him high fame in his own lifetime. He made significant discoveries (especially in Arabia) and made many valuable observations of the peoples he visited; his ready wit enabled

Biography

2005-01-29T19:11:00.000-08:00

Form of nonfictional literature, the subject of which is the life of an individual. One of the oldest forms of literary expression, it seeks to recreate in words the life of a human being, that of the writer himself or of another person, drawing upon the resources, memory and all available evidences - written, oral, pictorial.

Kirikane

2005-01-28T18:15:00.000-08:00

In Japanese art, decorative technique used for Buddhist paintings and wooden statues and for lacquerwork. The technique used for paintings and statues employs gold or silver foil cut into thin strips or minute triangular or square pieces, which are laid on designs painted in with glue. The designs consist of straight or curved lines, a wavy vertical stripe pattern

Kuang-hs�

2005-01-27T14:18:00.000-08:00

When the previous emperor died, his mother, the empress dowager Tz'u-hsi, chose her four-year-old nephew

Ahl Al-bayt

2005-01-26T20:37:00.000-08:00

Shi'ites closely identify this family with the imams, whom they regard as the legitimate holders of authority in the Muslim community, the infallible bearers of sacred knowledge, and the source of messianic

Remiremont

2005-01-25T08:21:00.000-08:00

Town, Vosges d�partement, Franche - Comt� region, eastern France. It lies along the Moselle River near the latter's confluence with the Moselotte and is surrounded by wooded heights. Remiremont (Romaraci Mons) is named after St. Romaric, a companion of St. Columban at Luxeuil, who in the 7th century founded a monastery and a convent on the hills above the present town. In 910 an

Vaasa

2005-01-24T05:26:00.000-08:00

In full� Vaasan L��ni, �Swedish �Vasa L�n, � l��ni (province), western Finland, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The province's land rises from a level but indented coastline through generally forested country, with large cultivated plains, toward an eastern lake region. The timber industry and agriculture are important. The city of Vaasa is the province's administrative capital, main seaport, and largest city. Other important

Dagobert Iii

2005-01-23T09:50:00.000-08:00

Merovingian Frankish king who succeeded his father, Childebert III, in 711. For most of his reign the boy was dominated by Pippin II of Herstal, the Austrasian mayor of the palace.

Zonda

2005-01-22T06:05:00.000-08:00

The name zonda in Argentina also refers to a hot, humid wind that blows from the north over the plains and precedes a low-pressure centre.

La Paz

2005-01-21T11:20:00.000-08:00

City, administrative capital of Bolivia, west-central Bolivia, situated some 42 miles (68 km) southeast of Lake Titicaca. La Paz, which lies between 10,650 and 13,250 feet (3,250 and 4,100 metres) above sea level, is the world's highest national capital. Visitors, upon arrival, find exertion difficult because of the rarefied atmosphere found at these elevations. The centre of the city lies in a deep, broad

Biblical Literature, The Gospel According to Mark: background and overview

2005-01-19T03:45:00.000-08:00

Though the author of Mark is

Ear, Human, Descending pathways

2005-01-18T16:29:00.000-08:00

Parallel with the pathway ascending from the cochlear nuclei to the cortex is a pathway descending from the cortex to the cochlear nuclei. In both pathways some of the fibres remain on the same side, while others cross the midline to the opposite side of the brain. There is also evidence of a �spur� line ascending from the dorsal cochlear nucleus to the cerebellum and

Andrade, M�rio De

2005-01-17T20:38:00.000-08:00

Educated at the conservatory in S�o Paulo, Andrade helped organize what proved to be a key event in the

Blondel De Nesle

2005-01-16T20:50:00.000-08:00

Nothing is known about Blondel outside of his poetry. He was probably from Nesle, in Picardy; but the name Blondel may be a nickname, and it is uncertain how many of the 25 songs attributed to him are actually his. His poetry is conventional in its complaints to an unknown lady but contains no references

Duane - hunt Law

2005-01-15T07:20:00.000-08:00

In atomic physics, the relationship between the voltage (V ) applied to an X-ray tube and the maximum frequency n of the X rays emitted from the target. It is named after the American physicists William Duane and Franklin Hunt. The relationship is expressed as n = Ve/h, in which e is the charge of the electron and h is Planck's constant. This law is sometimes called the inverse photoelectric

K-capture

2005-01-14T14:44:00.000-08:00

Also called �Electron Capture, � one of three beta decay processes that affect atomic nuclei. See beta decay.

Moscow State University

2005-01-13T15:19:00.000-08:00

In full� Moscow M.V. Lomonosov State University�, Russian �Moskovsky Gosudarstvenny Universitet Imeni M.V. Lomonosova � state-controlled institution of higher learning at Moscow, the oldest-surviving, largest, and most prestigious university in Russia. It was founded in 1755 by the linguist M.V. Lomonosov and was modeled after German universities, its original faculty being predominantly German. In the second half of the 19th century, Moscow State University became the most important centre

Paper Pulp

2005-01-11T17:22:00.000-08:00

Rags and other fibres, such as straw, grasses, and bark of the mitsumata and paper mulberry (kozo), have been used as paper pulp. Except for certain special papers (e.g., asbestos paper), nearly all papers are made of cellulosic

Henry

2005-01-10T02:13:00.000-08:00

Unit of either self-inductance or mutual inductance, abbreviated h (or hy), and named for the American physicist Joseph Henry. One henry is the value of self-inductance in a closed circuit or coil in which one volt is produced by a variation of the inducing current of one ampere per second. One henry is also the value of the mutual inductance of two coils arranged such that

Syria, Flag Of

2005-01-09T10:53:00.000-08:00

In 1917 Husayn ibn 'Ali, king of the Hejaz (now in Saudi Arabia), adopted the Arab Revolt Flag, intended to represent all Arab lands. It consisted of three horizontal stripes of black, green, and white with a red triangle at the hoist. The four colours recalled the major dynasties of Arab history - the 'Abbasids, Fatimids, Umayyads, and Hashimites. In March 1918 the Arab Revolt Flag was raised in

Heinz Company

2005-01-08T07:11:00.000-08:00

The company was founded in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1869 by Henry John Heinz (1844 - 1919), who was later to become nationally known as the �Pickle

Itajub�

2005-01-07T20:07:00.000-08:00

City, southern Minas Gerais estado (�state�), Brazil. It lies along the Sapuca� River, in the Mantiquiera Mountains, at 2,769 feet (844 m) above sea level. It was made the seat of a municipality in 1848 and given city status in 1862. Although basically a textile centre, it has other industries and serves a region of agriculture (coffee, rice, corn [maize], and sugarcane) and cattle ranching. Goods are

Adams, Charles Follen

2005-01-06T16:52:00.000-08:00

During the American Civil War he was wounded and taken prisoner. In 1872 he began writing humorous verses for periodicals and newspapers in a Pennsylvania German dialect. Collections of his verse are Leedle Yawcob Strauss, and Other Poems (1877) and

Tippecanoe River

2005-01-05T10:23:00.000-08:00

River rising in Tippecanoe Lake in Kosciusko county, northern Indiana, U.S. The river flows 166 miles (267 km) generally southwest into the Wabash River north of Lafayette. Tippecanoe is probably derived from the Miami Indian name for buffalo fish. Between the towns of Buffalo and Brookston on the river's lower course, Lakes Shafer and Freeman are impounded by power dams. At

Discus Throw

2005-01-04T01:24:00.000-08:00

The sport was known in the days of the Greek poet Homer, who mentions it in both the

Episcopacy

2005-01-03T00:22:00.000-08:00

In some Christian churches, the office of a bishop and the system of church government based on the three orders, or offices, of the ministry: bishops, priests, and deacons. The origins of episcopacy are obscure, but by the 2nd century AD it was becoming established in the main centres of Christianity. It was closely tied to the idea of apostolic succession, the belief that

Rob Roy

2005-01-02T09:05:00.000-08:00

Rob's father, Donald MacGregor, a younger

Beast Tale

2005-01-01T07:20:00.000-08:00

A prose or verse narrative similar to the beast fable in that it portrays animal characters acting as humans but unlike the fable in that it usually lacks a moral. Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings (1880) derived many episodes from beast tales carried to the United States by African slaves. Animal Farm (1945), an anti-utopian satire by George Orwell, is

Performing Arts, Australia.

2004-12-31T23:42:00.000-08:00

Several directors looked critically at the recent history of Aboriginal Australians. Philip Noyce's Rabbit-Proof Fence recalled the true story of three young girls who fled from incarceration under the official policy of the first three-quarters of the 20th century of seizing quarter- and half-caste children from their Aboriginal families so they could be �civilized

Burckhardt, Jacob (christopher)

2004-12-30T05:25:00.000-08:00

Jacob Christopher also spelled �Jakob Christoph � one of the first great historians of art and culture, whose Die Kultur der Renaissance in Italien (1860; The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy, 1878, reprinted 1945) became a model for the treatment of cultural history in general.

Berenice Iii

2004-12-29T17:45:00.000-08:00

Daughter of either Cleopatra Selene or Cleopatra IV, Berenice first married her uncle, Ptolemy X, sometime before 101. After the death in 101 of the dowager queen, Cleopatra III, the widow of Ptolemy VIII, Berenice became full queen. In 87 Ptolemy

Gnotobiosis

2004-12-28T04:47:00.000-08:00

(from the Greek meaning �known life�), condition of life in which only known kinds of organisms are present. Gnotobiotic organisms are of two major types: germfree, that is, free of all known contaminants; and gnotophoric, bearing a single known contaminant, usually administered as part of an experiment. The term �germfree,� however, is often used loosely to indicate all organisms

Jewelry

2004-12-27T08:43:00.000-08:00

It is probable that prehistoric

Zaltys

2004-12-26T19:01:00.000-08:00

On special occasions the snake was asked to the table to share the family meal from their

Gaulle, Charles De

2004-12-25T17:18:00.000-08:00

In full �Charles Andr� Joseph Marie de Gaulle� French soldier, writer, statesman, and architect of France's Fifth Republic.

West Chester

2004-12-24T17:15:00.000-08:00

Borough (town), seat (1786) of Chester county, southeastern Pennsylvania, U.S. It lies 27 miles (43 km) west of Philadelphia. Settlement began in the early 1700s, and Turk's Head Inn was established there in 1761; but the town's growth was delayed by a prolonged dispute with Chester (now in Delaware county) over the permanent location of the county seat. During the American Revolution, the Battle

Huysum, Jan Van

2004-12-22T17:29:00.000-08:00

He was the eldest son of Justus van Huysum, a versatile painter whose subjects included landscapes, seascapes, battle scenes, portraits, and flowers. Jan van Huysum studied under his father but soon surpassed him in skill. He specialized in exquisitely detailed, dramatically

Claudius, Matthias

2004-12-21T22:37:00.000-08:00

After studying at Jena, Claudius held a series of editorial and minor official positions until in 1788 he acquired a sinecure in the Schleswig-Holstein bank. He edited the Wandsbecker Bote (1771 - 75), popular not only

Christensen, Harold

2004-12-20T02:47:00.000-08:00

Christensen studied dancing with the famous choreographer George Balanchine and appeared with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet (1934), Ballet Caravan (1936 - 40), San Francisco Opera Ballet (1942), and San

Ahmad Ibn Hanbal

2004-12-19T04:06:00.000-08:00

For bibliography and information pertaining to Ibn Hanbal's works, see Fuat Sezgin, Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums, vol. 1 (1967); for his life and works generally, see W.M. Patton, Ahmed ibn Hanbal and the Mihna (1897); and H. Laoust, �Le Hanbalisme sous le califat de Bagdad,� in Revue des �tudes Islamiques (1959); and the Encyclopaedia of Islam, vol. 1 (1960). On Sufism in the Hanbali school of thought, see G. Makdisi, �L'Isnad initiatique soufi de Muwaffaq ad-Din Ibn Qudama,� in L'Herne: Louis Massignon (1970).

Amin, Idi

2004-12-18T20:34:00.000-08:00

Ugandan military officer and president (b. 1924/25, near Koboko, Uganda British Protectorate - d. Aug. 16, 2003, Jiddah, Saudi Arabia), took control of Uganda in a military coup in 1971 and for eight years ruled with despotic power until he was overthrown by Ugandan nationalists supported by Tanzanian troops. Amin's often arbitrary and capricious rule of Uganda was characterized by fierce

Brahmana

2004-12-17T09:08:00.000-08:00

Any of a number of prose commentaries attached to the Vedas, the most ancient Hindu sacred literature, explaining the significance of the Vedas as used in the ritual sacrifices and the symbolic import of the priests' actions. The word brahmana may mean either the utterance of a Brahman (priest) or an exposition on the meaning of the sacred word; the latter is more commonly

Kiriath-sepher

2004-12-16T23:53:00.000-08:00

Also called �Debir�, or �Lo-debar�, modern �Tall Bayt Mirsham� ancient town of Palestine, located near Hebron (in the Israeli-occupied West Bank). According to the Bible, the town was taken from the Canaanites either by Caleb's son-in-law Othniel or by Joshua himself. Tall Bayt Mirsham (Tell Beit Mirsim) was excavated (1926 - 32) by W.F. Albright, who uncovered exceptionally clear stratification from which he was able to give the first comprehensive

Romanov Dynasty

2004-12-15T16:16:00.000-08:00

Rulers of Russia from 1613 until the Russian Revolution of February 1917. Descendants of Andrey Ivanovich Kobyla (Kambila), a Muscovite boyar who lived during the reign of the grand prince of Moscow Ivan I Kalita (reigned 1328 - 41), the Romanovs acquired their name from Roman Yurev (d. 1543), whose daughter Anastasiya Romanovna Zakharina-Yureva was the first wife of Ivan IV the Terrible (reigned

Carnivore, Importance to humans

2004-12-14T14:35:00.000-08:00

The raccoon is the only procyonid of major economic significance. Raccoon hunting has been a sport of substantial importance in the United States, and in some parts of the United States many people own dogs trained to hunt raccoons. The coatimundi also is hunted with dogs and its flesh is also eaten. Meat of the raccoon is in more demand as food than that of any other

Hancock, Joy Bright

2004-12-13T15:44:00.000-08:00

Joy Bright enlisted in the Naval Reserve after graduating from the Pierce School of Business Administration in Philadelphia in 1918. From 1919 she worked as a civilian for the U.S. Navy at various stations and at the Department of the Navy in Washington, D.C.

Robert Ii

2004-12-12T11:36:00.000-08:00

The son of Hugh Capet, founder of the Capetian dynasty, and Adelaide of Aquitaine, Robert was educated at the episcopal school of Reims under Gerbert of Aurillac, later Pope Sylvester II. Soon after his own coronation (July 987), Hugh prudently arranged the election and coronation (December 987) of

Karat

2004-12-11T18:47:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Carat, � a measure of the fineness (i.e., purity) of gold. It is spelled carat outside the United States but should not be confused with the unit used to measure the weight of gems, also called carat. A gold karat is 1/24 part, or 4.1667 percent, of the whole, and the purity of a gold alloy is expressed as the number of these parts of gold it contains. Thus, an object that contains 16 parts gold and 8 parts alloying

Mordenite

2004-12-10T21:17:00.000-08:00

Hydrated sodium, potassium, and calcium aluminosilicate mineral (Na2,K2,Ca) Al2Si10O24�7H2O, in the zeolite family. It is one of the most abundant zeolites in altered volcanic deposits, and it commonly occurs as white, glassy needles filling veins and cavities in igneous rocks. It is also found in marine sediments, as in the Ural Mountains and in dikes where water has attacked and