BrownLeaf

Kohima

2005-04-04T06:21:00.000-07:00

Town, capital of Nagaland state, northeastern India. The town lies in the Naga Hills, 30 miles (48 km) southeast of the railroad at Dimapur. Kohima was the point of the farthest Japanese advance into British India during World War II; it was held briefly by Japanese troops in 1944 until retaken by the British. Pop. (1991 prelim.) 53,122.

Karbala'

2005-04-02T19:26:00.000-08:00

The city's religious importance derives from the Battle of Karbala' (AD 680) between the Sunnite and Shi'ite sects of Islam. Husayn ibn 'Ali, the Shi'ite leader and grandson of Muhammad, was killed, and his tomb remains one of the greatest Shi'ite shrines and pilgrimage

Awolowo, Obafemi

2005-04-01T11:57:00.000-08:00

The son of a peasant, Awolowo first studied to be a teacher and later worked as a clerk, trader, and newspaper reporter while organizing trade unions in his

Usair Group, Inc.

2005-03-30T17:57:00.000-08:00

Beginning service in 1939 as a mail carrier over the mountainous

Jacksonville

2005-03-28T13:04:00.000-08:00

City, Morgan county, west-central Illinois, U.S. Laid out in 1825 as the county seat and named in honour of Andrew Jackson, it soon acquired a distinctive educational, institutional, and religious character, which it largely retains. Illinois College (founded there in 1829 and affiliated with the United Church of Christ) was the first in the state to graduate a college class. Other

Chungking, Transportation

2005-03-25T09:22:00.000-08:00

Chungking is served by two great rivers, the Yangtze and the Chia-ling, and is the leading port of southwestern China. As a result of extensive work carried

Tragicomedy

2005-03-23T05:28:00.000-08:00

Dramatic work incorporating both tragic and comic elements. When coined by the Roman dramatist Plautus in the 2nd century BC, the word denoted a play in which gods and men, masters and slaves reverse the roles traditionally assigned to them, gods and heroes acting in comic burlesque and slaves adopting tragic dignity. This startling innovation may be seen in Plautus'

Talcahuano

2005-03-21T00:26:00.000-08:00

City, Concepción provincia, Bío-Bío región, south-central Chile, lying on a small peninsula that forms the southwestern shore of Concepción Bay, just north-northwest of the city of Concepción (q.v.), for which it became the outport after an earthquake in 1730. Talcahuano is now a major port and Chile's main naval station; it is also an important commercial, fishing, and manufacturing

Rathbone, Basil

2005-03-19T06:53:00.000-08:00

Upon graduating from Repton school in England in 1910, Rathbone made his stage debut in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew in 1911. A number of other Shakespearean roles followed, as well as a part in a London production

Beretta Spa

2005-03-18T22:54:00.000-08:00

The founder of the business, Bartolomeo Beretta, was known as a maestro da canne, or master gun-barrel maker, for the republic of

Teriyaki

2005-03-18T04:26:00.000-08:00

(Japanese: “glossy broil”), in Japanese cuisine, foods grilled with a highly flavoured glaze of soy sauce and sake or mirin (sweet wine). Garlic and fresh ginger are sometimes added to the mixture. In westernized Japanese cooking, the teriyaki sauce is frequently used as a marinade as well as a basting sauce. Beef, chicken, and fish are commonly prepared teriyaki style.

Abbott, Grace

2005-03-17T02:33:00.000-08:00

Abbott graduated from Grand Island College in 1898 and for eight years thereafter taught high school in her hometown. During that period she undertook graduate studies at the University of Nebraska

Hammami, Sa'id

2005-03-16T10:05:00.000-08:00

Hammami was born in Jaffa, but his family fled when fighting erupted following Israel's declaration of independence

Shensi, The early modern period

2005-03-14T21:16:00.000-08:00

Under the Mongols in the 13th century Shensi as a provincial unit assumed approximately its present form, incorporating the area formerly known as Shan-nan (literally “South of the Mountains”), or Li-chou. During this era, however, Shensi underwent many changes. In the course of the Yüan, or Mongol, dynasty (1206–1368) the province was devastated and largely depopulated as a result of

Aerospace Industry, World War II

2005-03-14T07:31:00.000-08:00

Germany's aircraft industry after World War I was heavily restricted by the Treaty of Versailles. In 1921–22 the constraints were eased, and a productive light-aircraft industry began to develop. When restrictions were basically abolished in 1926, a number of new ventures were formed; those which survived included such companies as Arado, Dornier, Focke-Wulf, Junkers, and Heinkel.

Silicon Valley

2005-03-13T14:49:00.000-08:00

Industrial region around the southern shores of San Francisco Bay, California, U.S., with its intellectual centre at Palo Alto, home of Stanford University. Silicon Valley includes northwestern Santa Clara county as far inland as San Jose, as well as the southern bay regions of Alameda and San Mateo counties. Its name is derived from the dense concentration of electronics

Mahesh Yogi, Maharishi

2005-03-12T11:48:00.000-08:00

Little is known of the Maharishi's early life. He studied physics at the University of Allahabad and worked for a time in factories. He later left for the Himalayas, where for 13 years he studied under Guru Dev, the founder of TM. When Guru Dev died in 1952, the Maharishi organized

Laveran, Alphonse

2005-03-10T21:55:00.000-08:00

Educated at the Strasbourg faculty of medicine, he served as an army surgeon in the Franco-German War (1870–71) and practiced and taught

Shensi, Transportation

2005-03-09T18:46:00.000-08:00

The Wei Valley since prehistoric times has formed part of the main east–west route running from the North China Plain in the east to the Kansu Corridor and the steppelands in the west. Sian is a natural centre, where the great route east to west meets the routes that cross the Tsinling Mountains to the south and southeast, an alternative route to the northwest via the

Baltic Religion, Religious personages

2005-03-09T10:01:00.000-08:00

There is no reliable information that the Balts had a priestly class, let alone religious hierarchy. The 11th-century German historian Adam of Bremen, in describing conflicts between Christian missionaries and Latvians, said that “every house is filled with seers, augurers, and necromancers,” which indicates that the Balts had sacral persons, probably the patriarchs

Saudi Arabia

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

Since the bomb attack against the U.S. military housing complex at Al-Khubar in 1996, United States investigators had expressed frustration at the poor cooperation between American and Saudi investigators. The Saudis proposed and later dropped plans to extradite from Canada a

Gabon, History Of

2005-03-07T21:06:00.000-08:00

Early history is presented in David E. Gardinier, “The Beginnings of French Catholic Evangelization in Gabon and African Responses, 1844–1883,” French Colonial Studies, no. 2 (1978), pp. 49–74, on the planting of Catholicism in Gabon, and “Les Frères de Saint-Gabriel au Gabon, 1900–1918, et la naissance d'une nouvelle élite africaine,” Mondes et Cultures, 46(3):593–606 (1986), on the education of the anticolonialist elite prominent in Gabon's political life since 1944. K. David Patterson, The Northern Gabon Coast to 1875 (1975), examines the economic and political evolution of northern Gabon. Brian Weinstein, Gabon: Nation-building on the Ogooue (1966), describes political development, especially from the 1940s to the early '60s. Charles F. Darlington and Alice B. Darlington, African Betrayal (1968), is an account by the American ambassador to Libreville who witnessed the coup of 1964 and the French intervention. François Gaulme, Le Gabon et son ombre (1988), traces the political, economic, and social evolution since 1960. Michael C. Reed, “Gabon: A Neo-Colonial Enclave of Enduring French Interest,” The Journal of Modern African Studies, 25(2):283–320 (June 1987), focuses on the recent modern period. David E. Gardinier, Historical Dictionary of Gabon (1981), concentrates on the political evolution in the 20th century, with a large bibliography.

Skeet Shooting

2005-03-05T08:09:00.000-08:00

Sport in which marksmen use shotguns to shoot at clay targets thrown into the air by spring devices called traps. It differs from trapshooting (q.v.), from which it derived, in that in skeet, traps are set at two points on the field and targets may be thrown diagonally across the shooter's field of vision as well as directly away from him (see illustration). The sport was developed

Malay Archipelago

2005-03-03T16:36:00.000-08:00

Largest group of islands in the world, consisting of the more than 13,000 islands of Indonesia and the some 7,000 islands of the Philippines. The regional name “East Indies” is sometimes used as a synonym for the archipelago. New Guinea is usually arbitrarily included in the Malay Archipelago while the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the northwest and the Bismarck Archipelago

Typhus

2005-03-03T03:48:00.000-08:00

Acute, infectious series of diseases that are characterized by a sudden onset with headache, chills, fever, and general pains, a rash appearing on the third to fifth day, and toxemia (toxic substances in the blood), and terminating after about two to three weeks. Originally considered a single clinical entity, it is now regarded as a group of closely related diseases caused

Waimakariri River

2005-03-01T21:44:00.000-08:00

River in east-central South Island, New Zealand. It rises in the Southern Alps and flows 100 miles (160 km) southeast to Pegasus Bay of the Pacific Ocean, 8 miles (13 km) north of Christchurch. Fed by its principal tributaries—the Bealey, Poulter, and Esk—the river drains a basin of about 1,000 square miles (2,600 square km). The delta formed at its mouth constitutes a major portion of Banks Peninsula

Lowe, Doug

2005-02-28T06:35:00.000-08:00

Lowe was a champion runner at Highgate School and also at the University of Cambridge, where he studied law. He came in fourth in the 1,500-metre race at the 1924 Olympics. After his final Olympics performance, he went to Berlin

Scandinavian Literature, Denmark

2005-02-25T17:27:00.000-08:00

The 18th century was a fertile period in Danish literature. The great name in the first half of the century was that of Ludvig Holberg, a Norwegian by birth. His most important contributions, written for the Danish theatre, which opened in 1722, were 32 comedies of character and manner, including some moral allegories in his old age. His aim was to create a modern Danish literature

China, Agriculture

2005-02-23T06:54:00.000-08:00

Neofeudal land-tenure developments of late Sung and Yüan times were arrested with the establishment of the Ming dynasty. Great landed estates were confiscated by the government, fragmented, and rented out; and private slavery was forbidden. In the 15th century, consequently, independent peasant landholders dominated Chinese agriculture. But the Ming rulers were

Overweg, Adolf

2005-02-21T08:03:00.000-08:00

In 1849 Overweg joined an expedition, headed by the English explorer James

Arabian Religion, South Arabia

2005-02-20T21:29:00.000-08:00

From the middle of the 2nd millennium BC a sedentary agrarian civilization developed in Yemen in the oases along the edge of the desert. The people of this civilization had gradually mastered techniques enabling them to accumulate water from seasonal mountain rivers and distribute it into extensive irrigation systems. At the end of the 8th century appeared the oldest

Seleucus Iv Philopator

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

Although the empire that Seleucus inherited was not so great as the one over which his father had ruled before the war with Rome (190–189), it was still large, consisting of Syria (including Cilicia and Palestine), Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and nearer Iran (Media and Persia). Because of financial difficulties,

Hindu, The

2005-02-15T21:06:00.000-08:00

Established in 1878 as a weekly, The Hindu became a daily in 1889. While India was under British rule, the paper spoke out for independence—but in a moderate vein. After 1947, when India achieved independence, The Hindu built a network of foreign bureaus, while extending

Taraori, Battles Of

2005-02-13T17:57:00.000-08:00

Muhammad had taken Lahore from the last of the

Arabia, Dhofar (Zufar)

2005-02-11T23:28:00.000-08:00

The Qara' Mountains in Dhofar, the southern province of the sultanate of Oman, are about 3,000 feet high, with one peak higher than 5,000 feet. The monsoon keeps the seaward (southern) side of the mountains, as well as the coastal plain, fertile. A gradual slope leads northward from the water divide to the Rub' al-Khali; valleys from the slope converge on Ramlat Al-Mughshin at the desert's

Andrew, John Albion

2005-02-10T01:45:00.000-08:00

Andrew entered political life as a Whig opposed to the Mexican War (1846–48). In 1848 he joined the Free-Soil movement against the spread of slavery. After the passage of the Kansas–Nebraska Act (1854), which permitted those

Sogn Fjord

2005-02-07T22:23:00.000-08:00

Fjord, Sogn og Fjordane fylke (county), western Norway. It is the longest and deepest fjord in Norway, and its mouth is located 45 miles (72 km) north of Bergen. Its length, from Solund on the offshore island of Sula in the North Sea to Skjolden, at the head of its longest branch, Lustra Fjord, is 127 miles (204 km). The fjord's maximum depth is 4,291 feet (1,308 m), and its main axis is east-west. Its narrow, deep tributary

Hooks, Benjamin L.

2005-02-05T02:27:00.000-08:00

Hooks attended Le Moyne College in Memphis (1941–43) and Howard University, Washington, D.C. (1943–44; B.A., 1944), served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and later studied law at De Paul University in Chicago (J.D., 1948); no

Wilson, Edith

2005-02-04T13:33:00.000-08:00

A leader in Washington society for more than half a century, Edith Wilson owes her place in history to the few short years she served as first lady. Although controversial, she made no important changes in the role of the president's wife—except to show more clearly than any of her predecessors that the way the first lady guards her husband's health and well-being can become a matter of national interest.

Nephrology

2005-02-01T16:48:00.000-08:00

Branch of medicine concerned with the study of kidney functions and the treatment of kidney diseases. The first scientific observations of the kidney were made by Lorenzo Bellini and Marcello Malpighi in the middle of the 17th century, but true physiological understanding of the kidney began with Carl Ludwig's 1844 hypothesis that blood pressure forces waste fluids

Iberville, Pierre Le Moyne D'

2005-01-31T11:46:00.000-08:00

The son of prominent Montreal fur trader Charles Le Moyne, Iberville spent his young manhood in raids against English trading posts on

Bruner, Jerome S(eymour)

2005-01-28T11:33:00.000-08:00

Bruner's father, a watch manufacturer, died when Bruner was 12 years old. Bruner studied at Duke University in Durham, N.C. (B.A., 1937), and then

China, The Dzungarian Basin

2005-01-26T13:44:00.000-08:00

North of the Tarim Basin is another large depression, the Dzungarian. It is enclosed by the Tien Shan on the south, while to the northeast it is cut off from the Mongolian People's Republic by the Altai Mountains. The surface of the basin is flat, with a gentle slope to the southwest. The larger portion of the land lies at elevations between 1,000 and 1,500 feet, and in the lowest part

K.b.e.

2005-01-26T08:34:00.000-08:00

Knight commander of the British Empire, member of the second highest class of a British order of knighthood. See British Empire, The Most Excellent Order of the.

Nixon, Richard M.

2005-01-24T19:34:00.000-08:00

In full Richard Milhous Nixon 37th president of the United States (1969–74), who, faced with almost certain impeachment for his role in the Watergate Scandal, became the first American president to resign from office. He was also vice president (1953–61) under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. (For a discussion of the history and nature of the presidency, see presidency of the United States of America. See also Cabinet of President Richard M. Nixon.)

Harmony, Rise of the intervals of the third and the sixth

2005-01-24T06:26:00.000-08:00

Until the late 14th century the attitude toward consonance, especially among continental composers, adhered largely to the Pythagorean ideal, which accepted as consonances only intervals expressible in the simplest numerical ratios—fourths, fifths, and octaves. But in England the interval of the third (as from C to E) had been in common use for some time, although it

Albanian Language

2005-01-22T02:22:00.000-08:00

The origins of

Muhammadi

2005-01-22T00:14:00.000-08:00

A native of western Iran, he was a son of the painter Sultan Muhammad, who was one of his teachers. A master of line, Muhammadi (so called after his great father) began to paint while still young and while Tabriz was still the capital. The surviving examples of his work were

Hawera

2005-01-20T18:14:00.000-08:00

Town, Taranaki local government region, western North Island, New Zealand. The original settlement, situated on the east Waimate Plain, 2 miles (3 km) from the coast of South Taranaki Bight, on the Tasman Sea, grew around a blockhouse built in 1870 for protection from hostile Maoris. The settlement became a borough in 1882, and in the late 1970s the borough was amalgamated with the surrounding

Switzerland, Social welfare

2005-01-19T06:10:00.000-08:00

Public welfare services have developed in a typically federalistic way: first in the communes, then in the cantons, and later in the confederation. Support for the indigent remains mainly a communal task, sometimes in cooperation with the cantons; this poses particular budgetary problems for cities and small rural communities, which have the highest poverty rates.

Wagner, Otto

2005-01-18T01:00:00.000-08:00

As a teacher, Wagner

Antarctica, Post-IGY research

2005-01-17T21:43:00.000-08:00

In order to continue and coordinate the international Antarctic scientific effort in the post-IGY period, ICSU in September 1957 organized the Special Committee on Antarctic Research, or SCAR. (In 1961 the word Scientific was substituted for Special.) The foundations for the committee were laid at its first meeting in The Hague in 1958. SCAR, a nonpolitical body, coordinates not

United Nations

2005-01-16T19:40:00.000-08:00

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

Furniture, Kitchen furniture and furnishings

2005-01-15T23:48:00.000-08:00

Kitchen furniture and furnishings go back to antiquity. In the Middle Ages, the kitchen, with its fireplace, was the most centrally placed room in the home. Later, closed fireplaces were constructed in the form of stoves; and cupboards, sinks, and plate racks were fixed to the wall. The kitchen in a modern home, if not combined with a dining area, is a small room filled with

Amatique Bay

2005-01-15T02:12:00.000-08:00

Spanish Bahía De Amatique, inlet of the Gulf of Honduras in the Caribbean Sea, indenting eastern Guatemala and southeastern Belize (formerly British Honduras). Extending northwestward for about 40 miles (64 km) from Santo Tomás de Castilla, Guatemala, it is some 15 miles (24 km) from northeast to southwest. Amatique Bay receives the Dulce River, which drains Izabal Lake; the Sarstoon (Sarstún) River, which

Constable

2005-01-13T11:22:00.000-08:00

Officer of state in western European countries from medieval times and also of certain executive legal officials in Great Britain and the United States. The title comes stabuli is found in the Roman and particularly in the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire from the 5th century AD as that of the head of the stables at the imperial court. The Franks borrowed the title,

Duby, Georges

2005-01-12T01:30:00.000-08:00

Although a Parisian by birth, Duby became enthralled at an early age with the history and culture of southern France. Educated

Ch'ungch'ong, South

2005-01-11T02:25:00.000-08:00

With one-third of its land area under cultivation, South Ch'ungch'ong is one of the best granaries in the country, producing rice, ginseng, tobacco, and peppermint.

Water Buffalo

2005-01-09T13:05:00.000-08:00

(Bubalus bubalis), also called Indian Buffalo, a ruminant mammal of the ox family (Bovidae). The water buffalo was domesticated in Asia from earliest recorded times. Large and massively built, the animal stands 1.5–1.8 m (5–6 feet) or more at the shoulder, reaches a length of 2.4–2.8 m, and weighs about 1,000 kg (2,200 pounds). It has a dull black or dark gray body with little hair and huge horns, which may measure

Beethoven, Ludwig, Van, Wider recognition

2005-01-09T07:30:00.000-08:00

In 1810 E.T.A. Hoffmann in Berlin produced an appreciation of the Fifth Symphony, which undoubtedly did much to launch that work on its triumphant career throughout the world and, above all, to interest the Romantics in its composer. The same year, Beethoven made the acquaintance of the writer Bettina Brentano, the sister of the German poet and novelist Clemens Brentano

Rupert

2005-01-08T23:34:00.000-08:00

A member of the Wittelsbach dynasty, he was chosen king by the German ecclesiastical electors on Aug. 22, 1400, to succeed Wenceslas, who had been deposed the day before by the German princes. After being crowned at Cologne on Jan.

New England Range

2005-01-06T22:36:00.000-08:00

Also called Northern Tableland, section of the Eastern Highlands, or Great Dividing Range, northeastern New South Wales, Australia. The range extends 200 mi (320 km) north from the Moonbi Range (near Tamworth) to the Queensland border and 80 mi from east to west (10–50 mi inland from the coast). It is Australia's largest plateau, having 9,000 sq mi (23,000 sq km) above an elevation of 3,000 ft (900 m). The loftiest point is at Round Mountain (5,300 ft) on the eastern

Cullinan Diamond

2005-01-06T22:28:00.000-08:00

World's largest gem diamond, which weighed about 3,106 carats in rough form when found in 1905 at the Premier mine in Transvaal, S.Af. Named for Sir Thomas Cullinan, who had discovered the mine three years earlier, the colourless stone was purchased by the Transvaal government and was presented (1907) to the reigning British monarch, King Edward VII. It was cut into 9 large stones and about

Huila

2005-01-05T07:23:00.000-08:00

Departamento, southwestern Colombia, occupying the Andean Cordilleras (mountains) Oriental and Central, which are separated by the upper Magdalena River valley. Created in 1905, it was named for the snowcapped mountain Nevado del Huila (17,844 feet [5,439 m]), which dominates much of the landscape. Since colonial times, this part of the upper Magdalena valley has been mostly a livestock-raising

Epistemology, A priori versus a posteriori knowledge

2005-01-04T00:23:00.000-08:00

A sharp distinction has been drawn since at least the 17th century between two types of knowledge: a priori knowledge and a posteriori knowledge. The distinction plays an especially important role in the philosophies of David Hume (1711–76) and Immanuel Kant (1724–1804). It is also found in many contemporary, empirically oriented theories of knowledge, which typically hold that all knowledge

Water Mold

2005-01-02T11:50:00.000-08:00

Also spelled water mould any of about 150 species of fungi belonging to the order Saprolegniales within the class Oomycetes. Many of them live in fresh or brackish water or wet soils. Most species are saprobic (i.e., they live on dead or decaying organic matter), although some cause diseases in certain fishes, higher plants, algae, protozoans, and marine invertebrates. The mycelium (filaments composing

Baker, Sir Benjamin

2005-01-02T07:40:00.000-08:00

In 1861 Baker became an assistant to the consulting engineer John Fowler and by 1875 was his partner. Baker became Fowler's chief assistant in 1869 and as such was responsible for the construction of the subterranean District

T'ien-shui

2004-12-31T19:55:00.000-08:00

The area,

Rabbinic Judaism

2004-12-31T10:38:00.000-08:00

The normative form of Judaism that developed after the fall of the Temple of Jerusalem (AD 70). Originating in the work of the Pharisaic rabbis, it was based on the legal and commentative literature in the Talmud, and it set up a mode of worship and a life discipline that were to be practiced by Jews worldwide down to modern times.

Insurance, Aviation insurance

2004-12-29T08:13:00.000-08:00

Aviation insurance normally covers physical damage to the aircraft and legal liability arising out of its ownership and operation. Specific policies are also available to cover the legal liability of airport owners arising out of the operation of hangars or from the sale of various aviation products. These latter policies are similar to other types of liability

Traube, Isidor

2004-12-28T11:02:00.000-08:00

In 1882 Traube joined the faculty of the Technische Hochschule, Berlin, and there became professor of chemistry in 1900. He left Germany in 1939 and accepted a position

Brazil, Guiana Highlands

2004-12-27T13:51:00.000-08:00

Brazil shares the rugged Guiana Highlands with Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. Forested mesas and mountain ranges, scenic waterfalls, and white-water rivers characterize the area. The highest point in Brazil is Neblina Peak, which reaches 9,888 feet (3,014 metres) along the Venezuelan border in the Serra do Imeri. The Serra da Pacaraima, farther east, rises to 9,094 feet

China, Phase one

2004-12-27T00:04:00.000-08:00

As never before in modern times, the Chinese united themselves against a foreign enemy. China's standing armies in 1937 numbered some 1,700,000 men, with 500,000 in reserve. Japan's naval and air superiority were unquestioned. But Japan could not commit its full strength to campaigns in China; the main concern of the Japanese Army was the Soviet Union, while for the Japanese Navy it was the

Hyades

2004-12-25T08:23:00.000-08:00

Cluster of several hundred stars in the zodiacal constellation Taurus. As seen from Earth, the bright star Aldebaran appears to be a member of the cluster, but in fact Aldebaran is much closer to the Earth than the Hyades' distance of about 130 light-years. Five genuine members of the group are visible to the unaided eye. Their name (Greek: “the rainy ones”) is derived from the

Ponte Vecchio

2004-12-25T04:28:00.000-08:00

(Italian: “Old Bridge”), first segmental arch bridge built in the West, which crosses over the Arno River at Florence and is an outstanding engineering achievement of the European Middle Ages. Its builder, Taddeo Gaddi, completed the bridge in 1345. Requiring fewer piers in the stream than the Roman semicircular-arch design, the segmental arch offered less obstruction to

Equestrian Sports, International.

2004-12-24T06:56:00.000-08:00

In 2003 the introduction of North American-style alternatives to turf courses was accelerating in European Thoroughbred racing. Sweden, Germany, and Belgium had been the first European countries to introduce dirt racing, and Lingfield Park had opened the first British “all-weather” track in October 1989. Cagnes-sur-Mer and Pau, two winter courses in the south of France, first

Tuwim, Julian

2004-12-22T00:26:00.000-08:00

Closely associated with and cofounder of Skamander, Tuwim began his career in 1915 with the publication of a flamboyant Futurist manifesto that created a scandal. His poetry was marked by explosive energy,

Allen, Bog Of

2004-12-21T05:04:00.000-08:00

Irish Móin Alúine group of peat bogs between the Liffey and the Shannon rivers in east-central Ireland in Counties Kildare, Offaly, Laoighis, and Westmeath. Some 370 square miles (958 square km) in area, it is developed extensively for fuel for power stations; the cutover land is used for grazing. The bogs are traversed by the Grand and Royal canals, the latter no longer in use. An early monastic site

Kadamba Family

2004-12-21T03:42:00.000-08:00

Their chroniclers claim that the family migrated from northern India, but other records suggest that they were indigenous to Kuntala (Northern Kanara). An early inscription, the accuracy of which is unknown, describes the dynastic

Acts Of The Apostles, The

2004-12-19T17:54:00.000-08:00

Abbreviation Acts, fifth book of the New Testament, a valuable history of the early Christian church. Acts was written in Greek, presumably by the Evangelist Luke, whose gospel concludes where Acts begins, namely, with Christ's Ascension into heaven. Acts was apparently written in Rome, perhaps between AD 70 and 90, though some think a slightly earlier date is also possible. After an introductory

Dardanus

2004-12-18T17:02:00.000-08:00

According to tradition, having slain his brother Iasius, or Iasion, Dardanus fled from Arcadia across the sea to Samothrace. When that island was visited by a flood, he crossed over to

Oberon

2004-12-18T03:29:00.000-08:00

Outermost of the five major satellites of Uranus. It was discovered in 1787 by the English astronomer Sir William Herschel, who had found Uranus in 1781. The mean distance of the satellite from the centre of Uranus is about 583,520 kilometres (361,780 miles), and its orbital period is 13.46 days. Oberon's estimated diameter is 1,630 km (1,010 mi), and its mass is about 6.9 ´ 10-5 that of Uranus. The satellite is thought to consist

Swallow-tanager

2004-12-17T02:29:00.000-08:00

(Tersina viridis), bird of northern South America, the sole member of the subfamily Tersininae, family Emberizidae; some authors give it family rank (Tersinidae). About 15 cm (6 inches) long, it resembles a tanager with long wings and a swallowlike bill. The male is light blue, with black markings; the female is mostly green. Swallow-tanagers catch insects on the

Chile, Geography

2004-12-15T16:32:00.000-08:00

Works on the social conditions include Arturo Valenzuela and J. Samuel Valenzuela (eds.), Chile: Politics and Society (1976); Barbara Stallings, Class Conflict and Economic Development in Chile: 1958–1973 (1978); Brian H. Smith, The Church and Politics in Chile: Challenges to Modern Catholicism (1982); and Cesar Caviedes, The Politics of Chile: A Sociogeographical Assessment (1979). The military's role in Chilean politics is treated in J. Samuel Valenzuela and Arturo Valenzuela (eds.), Military Rule in Chile: Dictatorship and Oppositions (1986); Cesar Caviedes, The Southern Cone: Realities of the Authoritarian State in South America (1984); and Frederick M. Nunn, The Military in Chilean History: Essays on Civil-Military Relations, 1810–1973 (1976), and Chilean Politics, 1920–1931: The Honorable Mission of the Armed Forces (1970). Contemporary culture is discussed in Hernán Godoy Urzúa, Apuntes sobre la cultura en Chile (1982).

Earth, Secular variation of the main field

2004-12-14T14:01:00.000-08:00

The main magnetic field of the Earth, as observed at the surface, changes continuously with time. Changes of very short duration compared with geologic processes are called secular variation. Observations of declination made in London since 1540, for example, show that the direction of the field at that site has nearly completed a full cycle with a peak-to-peak amplitude

Arrowhead

2004-12-14T03:57:00.000-08:00

Any freshwater plant of the genus Sagittaria, consisting of about 20 species distributed worldwide, having leaves resembling arrowpoints. Arrowhead is a perennial herb with fleshy, or tuberous, roots that grows in shallow lakes, ponds, and streams. The flowers have three rounded petals. The tubers of some North American species were eaten by Indians and

God, Truce Of

2004-12-12T21:34:00.000-08:00

It is traceable to at least the Synod of Elne (1027), which suspended all warfare from Saturday night until prime on Monday. By 1042 the truce extended from Wednesday evening to Monday morning in every week and also, in most

Durkheim, émile

2004-12-12T20:35:00.000-08:00

French social scientist who developed a vigorous methodology combining empirical research with sociological theory. He is widely regarded as the founder of the French school of sociology.

Nador

2004-12-11T08:36:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern Morocco. The city is a small Mediterranean port on the Bou Areg Lagoon and a trading centre for fish, fruits, and livestock. It is linked to the Spanish plaza (North African enclave) of Melilla, 9 miles (15 km) north, by road and railway. Pop. (1994) 112,450.

Furniture, Modern

2004-12-09T13:46:00.000-08:00

Modern furniture design after World

Abu Al-faraj Al-isbahani

2004-12-09T03:44:00.000-08:00

Abu al-Faraj was a descendant of Marwan II, the last Umayyad caliph of Syria. Despite the enmity of this family and the 'Alids, he was a Shi'ite Muslim, upholding the rights of the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law

Kadoma

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

Formerly Gatooma, town, central Zimbabwe. Named for nearby Kadoma (Gatooma) Hill, it was constituted a village in 1907 and received municipal status in 1917. Located in a fertile area and on the main road and railway between Harare (formerly Salisbury) and Bulawayo, the town is a commercial centre for agricultural products (cattle, cotton, corn [maize], and tobacco) and manufactures cotton textiles.

Faraday, Michael

2004-12-06T09:11:00.000-08:00

Faraday, who became one of the greatest scientists of the 19th century, began his career as a chemist. He wrote a manual of practical chemistry that reveals his mastery of the technical aspects

Egypt, Arabization

2004-12-05T10:03:00.000-08:00

The Arabization of Egypt continued at a gradual pace. The early Fatimids' reliance on Berber troops was soon balanced by the importation of Turkish, Sudanese, and Arab contingents. The Fatimids are said to have used thousands of nomadic Arabs in the Egyptian cavalry and to have further stimulated Arabization by settling large numbers of Arabian tribesmen in Upper Egypt

Páez, José Antonio

2004-12-04T16:41:00.000-08:00

Páez was a part-Indian llanero, one of the horsemen of the plains. Beginning as a ranch hand, he quickly

Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli

2004-12-02T03:27:00.000-08:00

Scholar and statesman who was president of India from 1962 to 1967. He served as professor of philosophy at Mysore (1918–21) and Calcutta (1921–31; 1937–41) universities and as vice chancellor of Andhra University (1931–36). He was professor of Eastern religions and ethics at the University of Oxford (1936–52) and vice chancellor of Benares Hindu University (1939–48), India. From 1953 to 1962 he was chancellor

Kagawa

2004-12-01T21:36:00.000-08:00

Smallest ken (prefecture) of Shikoku, Japan, facing the Inland Sea opposite Okayama prefecture, Honshu. Its area of 727 square miles (1,883 square km) includes Shodo and other offshore islands. The climate is warm with little rain; the prefecture is drained by numerous rivers (including the Koto and Doki) and is dotted with lakes. The Yashima promontory, overlooking the Inland Sea, was

Wilcox, Ella Wheeler

2004-11-30T06:12:00.000-08:00

Ella Wheeler from an early age was an avid reader of popular literature, especially the novels of E.D.E.N. Southworth, Mary Jane Holmes, and Ouida

Brentano, Lujo

2004-11-29T10:32:00.000-08:00

Brentano received his Ph.D. in economics in 1867 from the University of Göttingen and was professor of political theory from 1871 to 1931, successively, at the Universities

Hyalophane

2004-11-28T17:11:00.000-08:00

A barium-rich variety of potassium feldspar; see celsian.