OrangeRod

Obolus

2005-04-04T13:49:00.000-07:00

Genus of extinct brachiopod, or lamp shell, of the Cambrian Period (from 540 to 505 million years ago). Obolus was a small animal with a spherical shape; one valve, or shell, was larger than the other. Unlike the shells of its relatives, the lingulids, the obolus shells were composed of calcium carbonate. Obolus inhabited shallow marine waters.

Amos, Valerie Ann, Baroness Amos Of Brondesbury

2005-04-04T08:11:00.000-07:00

British politician, the first woman of African descent to serve in a British cabinet and as leader of the House of Lords. She was educated at Townley Grammar School for Girls and received a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Warwick (1976) and a master's degree in cultural studies from the University of Birmingham (1977). She worked

Cockaigne

2005-04-04T06:45:00.000-07:00

References to Cockaigne are especially prominent in medieval European lore. These accounts describe rivers of wine, houses built of cake and barley sugar, streets paved with pastry, and shops that gratuitously give goods to everyone. Roast geese wander

Domain

2005-04-02T23:39:00.000-08:00

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

Aureole

2005-04-01T21:46:00.000-08:00

Brightly illuminated area surrounding an atmospheric light source, such as the Sun, when the light is propagated through a medium containing many sizes of particles or droplets that are large compared to the wavelength of the light. Because the wavelength of visible light is about 0.00005 cm (0.5 micrometre), particles of size greater than about 0.0001 cm (1 micrometre) will give rise

Yamim Nora'im

2005-04-01T18:16:00.000-08:00

English High Holy Days in Judaism, the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashana (on Tishri 1 and 2) and Yom Kippur (on Tishri 10), in September or October. Though the Bible does not link these two major festivals, the Talmud does. Consequently, yamim nora'im is sometimes used to designate the first 10 days of the religious year: the three High Holy Days, properly so-called, and also the days between. The entire 10-day period

Madhya Pradesh, Transportation

2005-03-31T18:34:00.000-08:00

In comparison with other Indian states, Madhya Pradesh is poorly served with transport and communications facilities. The main railroads that pass through the state were originally laid down to connect the ports of Chennai (Madras), Mumbai (Bombay), and Kolkata (Calcutta) with their hinterlands. Important railway junctions include Bhopal, Ratlam, Khandwa, Bilaspur, and

Karakul

2005-03-31T09:10:00.000-08:00

Sheep breed of central or west Asian origin, raised chiefly for the skins of very young lambs, which are covered with glossy, tightly curled black coats and are called Persian lamb in the fur trade. The wool of mature Karakul sheep, classified as carpet wool, is a mixture of coarse and fine fibres, from 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 cm) long, of colours varying from black to various shades

Law, Crime, And Law Enforcement, Terrorism.

2005-03-31T02:53:00.000-08:00

Throughout the year a relentless international hunt continued to bring to justice those responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S. In September Pakistani authorities arrested a key al-Qaeda operative, 30-year-old Yemen native Ramzi Binalshibh, in Karachi. Binalshibh was believed to have been designated as the 20th hijacker on September 11, but he had failed

Iraq, Alluvial plains

2005-03-29T14:06:00.000-08:00

The plains of lower Mesopotamia extend southward some 375 miles (600 km) from Balad on the Tigris and Al-Ramadi on the Euphrates to the Persian Gulf. They cover more than 51,000 square miles (132,000 square km), almost one-third of the country's area, and are characterized by low elevation, below 300 feet (100 metres), and poor natural drainage. Large areas are subject to widespread seasonal flooding, and

Arguedas Mendieta, Antonio

2005-03-29T02:30:00.000-08:00

Bolivian political leader (b. 1929?, Bolivia—d. Feb. 22, 2000, La Paz, Bol.), rose to become Bolivia's minister of the interior during the 1964–69 military dictatorship of Gen. René Barrientos; recruited by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency in 1965, he aided efforts to defeat a guerrilla group in eastern Bolivia led by Che Guevara. Following the capture and execution of Guevara in 1967, Arguedas became disenchanted

Anastasius Ii

2005-03-28T15:15:00.000-08:00

In notifying the Byzantine emperor Anastasius I of his accession, Anastasius expressed a conciliatory attitude toward the late patriarch Acacius of Constantinople, who had been deposed and excommunicated in 484 by Pope St. Felix III. The Acacian Schism resulted from this act. The pope's reception of the Byzantine deacon Photinus,

Theatre-in-the-round

2005-03-27T10:19:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Theater-in-the-round, also called Arena Stage, Central Stage, or Island Stage, form of theatrical staging in which the acting area, which may be raised or at floor level, is completely surrounded by the audience. It has been theorized that the informality thus established leads to increased rapport between the audience and the actors. Theatre-in-the-round has its roots in rituals such as those performed by the ancient Greeks, which evolved into

Duan

2005-03-27T00:29:00.000-08:00

A poem or song in Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic literature. The word was used by James Macpherson for major divisions of his Ossianic verse and hence was taken to be the Scottish Gaelic equivalent of canto.

Field Hockey

2005-03-26T23:18:00.000-08:00

Hockey is believed to date from the earliest civilizations. The Arabs, Greeks, Persians, and Romans each had their own versions, and traces

Bernicia

2005-03-25T20:48:00.000-08:00

In British history, a northern Anglo-Saxon kingdom that by the last quarter of the 7th century had become permanently united with its neighbour Deira to form the kingdom of Northumbria. Bernicia stretched northward from perhaps as far south as the River Tees, ultimately reaching the Firth of Forth and beyond the Solway Firth. It had a royal residence at Bamburgh on

Stadium

2005-03-24T07:15:00.000-08:00

Enclosure that combines broad space for athletic games and other exhibitions with large seating capacity for spectators. The name derives from the Greek unit of measurement, the stade, the distance covered in the original Greek footraces (about 600 feet [180 metres]). The course for the footrace in the ancient Olympic Games at Olympia was exactly a stade in length, and the

Muhando, Penina O.

2005-03-24T03:39:00.000-08:00

Muhando studied education and theatre in Tanzania at the University of Dar es-Salaam, later joining the faculty of the department of theatre arts. Her plays include Hatia (1972; “Guilt”), Tambueni haki zetu (1973; “Reveal Our

Gnetaceae

2005-03-23T16:41:00.000-08:00

A family of tropical gymnosperms in the order Gnetales, composed of one genus, Gnetum, with 30 or more species. Trees predominate among the African species; most of the Asian varieties are woody vines, but among the exceptions is G. gnemon, a tree about 20 metres (65 feet) tall that yields a useful fibre and an edible, plumlike fruit. The conspicuous, netlike veining of the broad leaves

Mural

2005-03-23T00:21:00.000-08:00

Mural painting is inherently different from all other forms of pictorial art in that it is organically connected

Gypsy Moth

2005-03-22T04:22:00.000-08:00

The European strain was introduced into eastern North America about 1869, and by 1889 it had become a serious pest of forest and fruit trees. (Damage is less severe in Europe, where the moth has several natural enemies.) The

Kharijah, Al-

2005-03-21T11:32:00.000-08:00

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

Daniels, Charles

2005-03-21T03:41:00.000-08:00

At the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis, Missouri, Daniels was America's star swimmer, winning gold medals in the 220-yard and 440-yard freestyle and the 4 ´ 50-yard freestyle relay, a silver in the

Claremore

2005-03-21T02:16:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1907) of Rogers county, northeastern Oklahoma, U.S., northeast of Tulsa. In 1880 John Bullette, a Delaware Indian, settled on the site, which he called Claremore for an Osage chief whose tribe once lived there. In 1882 it was moved from the banks of the Verdigris River to its present location to meet the Frisco Railroad, where pioneer settlement began. Artesian mineral waters,

Adamov, Arthur

2005-03-19T22:14:00.000-08:00

In 1912 Adamov's wealthy Armenian family left Russia and settled in Freudenstadt, Ger. He was subsequently educated in Geneva, Mainz, and Paris, where, having mastered French, he settled in 1924, associating with Surrealist groups. He edited a periodical, Discontinuit

Gagern, Maximilian (joseph Ludwig) Freiherr Von (baron Of)

2005-03-19T10:39:00.000-08:00

Gagern, like his two prominent brothers, a nationalist

Pottery, Thailand and Annam

2005-03-18T15:27:00.000-08:00

Pottery was made in the old Siamese capitals of Sukhothai and Sawankhalok. It is also thought that potteries persisted at Ayutthaya until the 18th century. Little is known of the early history of the region, and definite information on its pottery is almost nonexistent. Dating of the pottery from these regions for the most part has been by analogy with related Chinese

Actors Studio, The

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

Prestigious professional actors' workshop in New York City whose members have been among the most influential performers in American theatre and film since World War II. It is one of the leading centres for the Stanislavsky method of dramatic training. Founded in New York City in 1947 by directors Cheryl Crawford, Elia Kazan, and Robert Lewis, it provides a place where

Mckay, Donald

2005-03-17T06:08:00.000-08:00

After emigrating to New York City in 1827, he worked as an apprentice to the ship carpenter Isaac Webb. In 1845 he established a shipyard at East Boston, Mass.; there he designed and built his great clipper ships. His first, the Stag Hound, launched in 1850, was

Bel And The Dragon

2005-03-17T04:02:00.000-08:00

In full The History Of The Destruction Of Bel And The Dragon, Greek apocryphal addition to the biblical Book of Daniel. It is a deuterocanonical work in that it is accepted in the Roman canon but not by Jews or Protestants. It tells of the Jewish hero Daniel, who refuses to worship the god Bel and kills the dragon, thus being forced into a den of lions, which he is allowed to leave after seven days because he is unharmed. His enemies,

Bonar, Horatius

2005-03-16T09:07:00.000-08:00

Ordained minister of North Parish church in Kelso, Roxburghshire (1837), Bonar remained there until appointed minister of the Chalmers Memorial Church in Edinburgh (1866). At the disruption of 1843, when the Evangelical party left

Vajrapani

2005-03-16T06:19:00.000-08:00

Vajrapani (Sanskrit: Thunderbolt-Bearer) is believed to be the protector of the nagas (half-man, half-serpent deities) and sometimes assumes the shape of a bird in order to deceive their traditional enemy, the hawklike Garuda. Because of his association

Xenakis, Iannis

2005-03-15T23:08:00.000-08:00

Xenakis was born to a wealthy family of Greek ancestry, and he moved to Greece in 1932. He fought in the Greek resistance movement

Macpherson, Sir David (lewis)

2005-03-14T19:03:00.000-08:00

Macpherson emigrated in 1835 from Scotland to Montreal, where he amassed a large fortune in shipping. He moved to Toronto in 1853 and obtained a contract to build a railway line in Canada West (now in Ontario)

Nivernais

2005-03-14T14:23:00.000-08:00

Having formed part of the duchy of Burgundy, the county of Nevers (Nivernais)

Ankara, Treaty Of

2005-03-14T10:54:00.000-08:00

Also called Franklin-Bouillon Agreement (Oct. 20, 1921), pact between the government of France and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey at Ankara, signed by the French diplomat Henri Franklin-Bouillon and Yusuf Kemal Bey, the Turkish nationalist foreign minister. It formalized the de facto recognition by France of the Grand National Assembly, rather than the government of the Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI, as the sovereign

Calamine

2005-03-13T18:04:00.000-08:00

Either of two zinc minerals. The name has been dropped in favour of the species names hemimorphite (q.v.; hydrous zinc silicate) and smithsonite (q.v.; zinc carbonate).

Bay Bridge

2005-03-12T18:44:00.000-08:00

In full San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge complex crossing that spans San Francisco Bay from the city of San Francisco to Oakland via Yerba Buena Island. One of the preeminent engineering feats of the 20th century, it was built during the 1930s under the direction of C.H. Purcell. The double-deck crossing extends 8 miles (13 km) and consists of two end-to-end suspension bridges of 2,310-foot (704-metre) main spans and 1,160-foot (354-metre) side

Pala Dynasty

2005-03-12T14:41:00.000-08:00

Ruling dynasty in Bihar and Bengal, India, from the 8th to the 12th century. Its founder, Gopala, was a local chieftain who rose to power in the mid-8th century during a period of anarchy. His successor, Dharmapala (reigned c. 770–810), greatly expanded the kingdom and for a while was in control of Kannauj. Pala power was maintained under Devapala (reigned c. 810–850), who carried out raids in the north, the

Port Angeles

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

City, seat (1890) of Clallam county, northwestern Washington, U.S., on Juan de Fuca Strait, linked by ferry to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, 18 miles (29 km) north across the strait. Located at the base of Ediz Hook (a 3.5-mile- [5.6-km-] long, curving sand bar), the site was visited in 1791 by the Spanish explorer Francisco Eliza, who named the harbour Puerto de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles. Permanently

Turberville, George

2005-03-11T19:05:00.000-08:00

After attending the University of Oxford, Turberville went to Russia (1568–69) as secretary to Thomas Randolph, the first English ambassador there, and later settled at Shapwick, Dorset. In Epitaphes, Epigrams, Songs and

Nora

2005-03-11T08:02:00.000-08:00

Ancient site about 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Cagliari (Caralis) on the island of Sardinia. Although tradition ascribes its foundation to Iberians from Tartessus, the site, which lies on a triangular promontory ending in a steep cliff, is characteristically Phoenician. Apart from remains of a Sardinian nuraghe, or towerlike monument, the earliest antiquities discovered

Balantidium

2005-03-10T11:23:00.000-08:00

Genus of ovoid protozoans of the holotrichous order Trichostomatida. Uniformly covered with longitudinal rows of minute, hairlike projections (cilia), Balantidium exists as a parasite in the intestines of pigs, apes, and other animals. The species B. coli can, in rare cases, infect humans and cause balantidiosis (balantidial dysentery), a relatively severe disease

Indre River

2005-03-10T06:12:00.000-08:00

River, west-central France, a left-bank tributary of the Loire River. Rising on the northern flanks of the Massif Central, it flows 165 miles (265 km) northwestward through Indre and Indre-et-Loire départements, joining the Loire northwest of Chinon and draining a basin of about 5,200 square miles (13,500 square km). It flows exclusively through agricultural regions, crossing La Châtre, and

Fain, Sammy

2005-03-09T23:22:00.000-08:00

Fain was a self-taught pianist who played by ear. He began working as a staff

Morazán, Francisco

2005-03-09T17:28:00.000-08:00

Self-educated, Morazán began his political career in his native Honduras. In 1827, at age 35, he led the Liberal Party's forces in a revolt against Manuel José Arce, first president

Einsiedeln

2005-03-09T07:18:00.000-08:00

French Notre-dame-des-ermites, town, Schwyz canton, northeast central Switzerland, on the right bank of the Alp stream, northeast of Schwyz city. It developed around the Benedictine abbey, founded in 934. The abbey became a principality of the Holy Roman Empire in 1274 and belonged to Schwyz after 1386. Its wooden statue, the “Black Virgin” (which owes its name to the discoloration caused by the candles burned before

Reggio Nell'emilia

2005-03-08T13:10:00.000-08:00

Founded in the 2nd century BC on the Roman road Via Aemilia by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus as Regium Lepidi, it was later the seat of a Lombard duchy and then was ruled by its bishops. Under the protection of the

Weber, Carl Maria Von

2005-03-07T19:33:00.000-08:00

In full Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst, Freiherr (baron) Von Weber German composer and opera director during the transition from Classical to Romantic music, noted especially for his operas Der Freischütz (The Freeshooter, 1821), Euryanthe (1823), and Oberon (1826). Der Freischütz, the most immediately and widely popular German opera that had then been written, established German Romantic

Orangery

2005-03-07T10:41:00.000-08:00

The great period of the orangery,

Toprakkale

2005-03-06T20:21:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Topra Kaleh, ancient Urartian fortress located near modern Van in southeastern Turkey. The walls of Toprakkale, erected in the 8th century BC, were of cyclopean masonry and sloped slightly inward, perhaps as a defense against earthquakes. Excavations at the site, carried out primarily by British and German teams, have revealed the high level of artistic achievement of ancient

Epistemology, Skepticism

2005-03-06T17:31:00.000-08:00

Until the beginning of Part IV of Book I

Athenry

2005-03-05T13:42:00.000-08:00

Irish Baile Átha An Rí (“Town of the King's Ford”) market town, County Galway, Ireland. It was founded in the 13th century during the Anglo-Norman colonization. Much of the medieval town wall (1211) survives, together with the keep of the castle (1235) and part of the Dominican priory (founded 1241), which was specifically exempted from Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries. Pop. (1986) 1,642.

More, Sir Anthony

2005-03-04T16:34:00.000-08:00

More studied his art under Jan van Scorel, and, after making a professional visit to Italy, he began to paint portraits in the style of Hans Holbein. His rise to eminence was rapid. In 1552 he was invited to Madrid by the emperor Charles V. In 1554 he

Inselberg

2005-03-04T00:05:00.000-08:00

(from German Insel, “island,” and Berg, “mountain”), isolated hill that stands above well-developed plains and appears not unlike an island rising from the sea. The early German explorers of southern Africa were impressed by such features, and they dubbed the domed or castlelike highlands inselbergs. Spectacular examples include Ayers Rock and the Olga Rocks in central

Ligeti, György

2005-03-03T20:33:00.000-08:00

Ligeti, of Hungarian ancestry, studied and taught music in Hungary until 1956. Later he was associated with centres of new music in Cologne and Darmstadt, Ger., Stockholm, and Vienna, where he composed

Heilungkiang, Relief

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

The province of Heilungkiang occupies about half of the huge Manchurian Plain, surrounded on three sides by old mountain ranges of medium elevation. Its central part is the Sungari–Nen river plain, delimited by the Greater Khingan (Ta-hsing-an) Range of Inner Mongolia on the west, the Lesser Khingan (Hsiao-hsing-an) Range on the north, and the Chang-kuang-ts'ai and Lao-yeh

Empiricism, In modern philosophy

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

In the earlier and unsystematically speculative phases of Renaissance philosophy, the claims of Aristotelian logic to yield substantial knowledge were attacked by several 16th-century logicians, and, in the same century, the role of observation was stressed. One mildly skeptical Christian thinker, Pierre Gassendi (1592–1655), advanced a deliberate revival of the empirical

Iasi

2005-03-01T17:49:00.000-08:00

There were recognizable settlements at the site in the 7th century. The town received its German name (perhaps from the Cuman jagers, or bowmen) in the

Arabian Sea, Transportation

2005-03-01T14:18:00.000-08:00

The Arabian Sea, with its strategic location vis-à-vis the Red Sea (including the Suez Canal) and the Persian Gulf, contains some of the world's busiest shipping lanes; and the chief routes originate in those two extensions. Persian Gulf shipping largely consists of tankers, some of immense capacity, that transit the Arabian Sea en route to destinations in East Asia, Europe,

Aid

2005-02-28T15:44:00.000-08:00

A feudal lord could ask his vassals for an aid because they owed him help and counsel. In the course of time, however, the occasions on which

Felicitas

2005-02-28T06:48:00.000-08:00

Roman goddess of good luck to whom a temple was first built in the mid-2nd century BC. She became the special protector of successful commanders. Caesar planned to erect another temple to her, and it was built by the triumvir M. Aemilius Lepidus. The emperors made her prominent as symbolizing the blessings of the imperial regime.

Wryneck

2005-02-27T11:29:00.000-08:00

Either of two species of birds that constitute the subfamily Jynginae of the woodpecker family (Picidae) but may be separated as the family Jyngidae. Wrynecks are gray-brown birds of open woods and brushlands, named for their habit of twisting their necks snakily when alarmed. They flick up ants from the ground or insects from trees with their long tongues, and they

China, Foreign relations

2005-02-27T06:34:00.000-08:00

The Manchu inherited the tributary system of foreign relations from previous dynasties. This system assumed that China was culturally and materially superior to all other nations, and it required those who wished to trade and deal with China to come as vassals to the emperor, who was the ruler of “all under Heaven.” The tributary system was used by the Ch'ing Board of

Hoover Commission

2005-02-26T15:17:00.000-08:00

Formally Commission on Organization of the U.S. Executive Branch (1947–49, 1953–55), either of two temporary advisory bodies, both headed by the former president Herbert Hoover. They were appointed to find ways to reduce the number of federal government departments and increase their efficiency in the post-World War II and post-Korean War periods. The commissions were composed equally of Democratic and Republican members. Their recommendations,

Dance Notation

2005-02-26T14:00:00.000-08:00

The written recording of dance movements. The earliest surviving attempt at dance notation was in the form of letter-symbols found in the municipal archives of Cervera, Spain, from the last half of the 15th century. Also during this period, word abbreviations were found as dance notations in two documents from the library of Margaret of Austria—Livre des basses

Earth, Mid-oceanic ridges

2005-02-25T21:08:00.000-08:00

These structures represent the spreading axes of plate tectonics, along which hot volcanic material is ejected to become new oceanic lithosphere. Bathymetrically, the ridges are striking topographic features, rising one to three kilometres above the deep ocean floor on either side. That they are associated with geoidal highs can be seen on the global map of the

China, Trade

2005-02-25T20:26:00.000-08:00

Trade constitutes a fairly small portion of China's overall economy. It became important, however, in the country's attempt to modernize its economy, especially before 1985, when China consistently ran trade surpluses. The direction of China's foreign trade has undergone marked changes since the early 1950s. In 1950 more than 70 percent of the total was accounted for by trade with

Wyat, Sir Thomas

2005-02-25T19:14:00.000-08:00

Wyat was educated at St. John's, Cambridge, and became a member of the court circle of Henry VIII, where he seems to have been popular and admired for his attractive appearance and skill in music, languages,

Marées, Hans Von

2005-02-24T10:30:00.000-08:00

In 1853 Marées went to Berlin, where he studied for two years. For the next eight years he worked chiefly in Munich, coming under the influence of the historical school, and in 1864 he went to Italy, where he lived for about 20 years. In 1873 he received his most important commission, the painting of frescoes

Ker

2005-02-23T10:29:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Cer, in ancient Greek religion, a destructive spirit. Popular belief attributed death and illness to the action of impersonal powers, often spoken of in the plural (Keres). The word was also used of an individual's doom, with a meaning resembling the notion of destiny. In the Attic festival of the Anthesteria, when the spirits of the dead were expelled from the house, they were

Gong

2005-02-22T23:04:00.000-08:00

A circular metal plate-like percussion instrument having a turned-down rim. It is struck in the centre with a felt- or leather-covered beater, producing a sound of either definite or indefinite pitch. Its vibrations issue from the centre, in contrast to bells, which vibrate principally at the rim.

Ba'al Shem Tov

2005-02-22T10:48:00.000-08:00

The Besht's life has been so adorned with fables and legends that a biography in the ordinary historical sense is not possible. He came from humble and obscure beginnings in a village known to contemporary Jews as Okop or Akuf, depending on the Hebrew vocalization. As a young orphan he held various semi-menial posts connected with synagogues and Hebrew elementary

Sarcoidosis

2005-02-22T09:50:00.000-08:00

Systemic disease of unknown cause that is characterized by the formation of granulation (scarlike) tissue. Sarcoidosis often disappears spontaneously within two or three years but may progress to involve more than one organ. It is observed in the lungs, lymph nodes, eyes, salivary glands, muscles, liver, spleen, and the connective tissues of the nervous system. Skin

Kudurru

2005-02-20T20:04:00.000-08:00

The original kudurrus were kept in temples, while clay copies were given to the landowners. On the stone were engraved the clauses of the contract, the images or symbols of

Auersperg, Adolf (karl Daniel), Prince (fürst) Von, Duke (herzog) Von Gottschee

2005-02-20T02:08:00.000-08:00

After 14 years' active duty as an imperial cavalry officer, Auersperg was elected to the Bohemian Landtag (provincial assembly) as a member of the Constitutional Great Lords Party (1860). In 1867 he was appointed

Oak Harbor

2005-02-19T23:07:00.000-08:00

Town, Island county, northwestern Washington, U.S., on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. It was settled in 1849 by seafaring men, and its first industry was shipbuilding. Dutch immigrants arrived in 1890 and began developing the rich farmland; their presence on the island is celebrated in the town's annual Holland Happenings festival. The chief agricultural products are dairy foods,

Menippus

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

Menippus was allegedly a slave by birth who became rich by begging or by usury, afterward

Culture

2005-02-18T02:00:00.000-08:00

The existence and use of culture depends upon an ability possessed by humans alone. This ability has

Offroad Racing

2005-02-18T01:03:00.000-08:00

Numerous offroad race circuits have developed, notably Score International Off Road Racing, which hosts the

Liddell, Eric

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

The son of Scottish missionaries, Liddell was born in China. His family returned to Scotland when he was five years old. A gifted athlete, he excelled at rugby as well as running. He first gained national recognition by winning

Literature

2005-02-17T03:45:00.000-08:00

The existence and use of culture depends upon an ability possessed by humans alone. This ability has

Hennig, Willi

2005-02-16T18:18:00.000-08:00

According to this school of thought, taxonomic classifications should reflect exclusively, so far as possible, genealogical relationships. In effect, organisms would be grouped strictly on the

Skeena River

2005-02-16T13:15:00.000-08:00

River in western British Columbia, Canada. It rises in the Skeena Mountains in the northern part of the province and flows generally southwestward, receiving its two major tributaries, the Babine and Bulkley rivers, before emptying into Chatham Sound (an arm of the Pacific Ocean), south of Prince Rupert, after a course of about 360 miles (580 km). The Skeena is an important salmon-fishing

Epistemology

2005-02-15T11:15:00.000-08:00

The study of the nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge. The name is derived from the Greek episteme (“knowledge”) and logos (“reason”), and accordingly the field is sometimes referred to as the theory of knowledge. Epistemology has had a long history, spanning the time from the pre-Socratic Greeks to the present. Along with metaphysics, logic, and ethics, it is one of the four

Antwerp

2005-02-14T23:01:00.000-08:00

Flemish Antwerpen , French Anvers province, northern Belgium, adjoining the Dutch frontier (north). It has an area of 1,107 square miles (2,867 square km) and is drained by the Scheldt (Flemish: Schelde), Dijle, Nete, and Rupel rivers. The province of Antwerp was formerly part of the old duchy of Brabant and became part of the French province of Deux-Nèthes after the French occupation of 1795; its present boundaries were established

'alenu

2005-02-14T08:55:00.000-08:00

(Hebrew: “it is our duty”), the opening word of an extremely old Jewish prayer, which has been recited at the end of the three periods of daily prayer since the European Middle Ages. The first section of the 'alenu is a prayer of thanks for having set Israel apart for the service of God; the second section, omitted by those who follow the Sephardic (Spanish) rite, expresses a hope

Lovell, James A(rthur), Jr.

2005-02-14T06:12:00.000-08:00

Lovell, a graduate (1952) of the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., became a test pilot and, at the time (1963) he was selected for the manned space program, was serving as a flight instructor and safety officer. He accompanied Frank Borman on the record-breaking 14-day flight of Gemini 7. Launched

Aldanov, Mark

2005-02-13T05:56:00.000-08:00

In 1919 Aldanov emigrated to France, which he left for the United States in 1941. He wrote an essay on Lenin (1921); Deux Révolutions (1921; “Two Revolutions”), a work comparing the Russian and French revolutions; Actinochimie (1936; “Actinic Chemistry”), a scientific

Pitcher Plant

2005-02-12T22:55:00.000-08:00

Any carnivorous plant with pitcher-shaped leaves. Old World pitcher plants are members of the family Nepenthaceae (order Nepenthales; q.v.). New World pitcher plants belong to the family Sarraceniaceae (q.v.; order Nepenthales). The fly-catcher plant (Cephalotus follicularis) of southwestern Australia is the only species of the family Cephalotaceae

Spandau

2005-02-12T21:31:00.000-08:00

District of Berlin, Germany, on the Havel River at the mouth of the Spree. Originally the site of a Sorbian (Wendish) fortress, Spandau became German c. 1230 and was granted civic rights in 1232. It was incorporated into Berlin in 1920. The citadel (1560–94, including the 12th-century Julius Tower) is one of the oldest well-preserved Italian-style Renaissance fortifications in northern Germany,

Qadi

2005-02-12T19:50:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Cadi, or Kadi, Arabic Qadi, a Muslim judge who renders decisions according to the Shari'ah, the canon law of Islam. The qadi hears only religious cases such as those involving inheritance, pious bequests (waqf), marriage, and divorce, though theoretically his jurisdiction extends to both civil and criminal matters. Originally, the qadi's work was restricted to nonadministrative tasks—arbitrating

Baga

2005-02-11T20:07:00.000-08:00

People who inhabit the swampy coastal region between Cape Verga and the city of Conakry in Guinea. They speak a language of the Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo family. The women cultivate rice; the men fish and tend palm and kola trees. Some Baga are employed as wage labourers in the bauxite mines of the Los Islands off Conakry. Houses are typically cylindrical mud

Gabon

2005-02-11T17:03:00.000-08:00

Protesting the disparity between living conditions in the capital and those in the regional towns,

Switzerland, Visual arts

2005-02-11T07:20:00.000-08:00

The Protestantism of 16th-century Switzerland had a strongly inhibiting effect on Swiss painting and sculpture in general. The peculiar lack of either French or Italian Renaissance influence left Swiss artists in a limbo from which they began to emerge only in modern times. Artists of international renown have included Alberto Giacometti, who derived much of

Ha

2005-02-10T19:11:00.000-08:00

Also called Abaha, or Waha, a Bantu-speaking people belonging to the Interlacustrine Bantu ethnolinguistic family who live in western Tanzania bordering on Lake Tanganyika. Their country, which they call Buha, comprises grasslands and open woodlands. Agriculture is their primary economic activity. Sorghum, millet, corn (maize), cassava, yams, peanuts (groundnuts), and other crops were cultivated

Cro-magnon

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

In 1868 in a shallow cave at Cro-Magnon in the Dordogne area of southern France, a number of obviously ancient human skeletons were found. The cave was investigated by the French geologist Louis Lartet, who uncovered five archaeological layers. The human bones found

Altranstädt, Treaties Of

2005-02-09T02:41:00.000-08:00

Shortly after Augustus was crowned king of Poland (Sept. 15, 1697), he formed an alliance with Denmark and Russia against Sweden (autumn 1699) that precipitated the Second Northern War. Charles,

Bead

2005-02-09T02:32:00.000-08:00

Small, usually round object made of glass, wood, metal, nut, shell, bone, seed, or the like, pierced for stringing. Among primitive peoples, beads were worn as much for magical as for decorative purposes; hence, little variation was allowed in their shapes and materials. In Arab countries in the 20th century, single blue talismanic beads are attached to domestic animals, children,

Mana

2005-02-08T17:07:00.000-08:00

Town, northwestern French Guiana, on the south bank of the Mana River, near its mouth on the Atlantic coast. It originated in 1830 around an orphanage founded by a French nun and, after 1848, also served as a refuge for runaway and newly emancipated slaves. The site of a large leprosarium, its economy is basically agricultural, including sugarcane and cattle. Pop. (1982) mun. 1,721.