ProbableHair

Altair

2005-03-18T18:15:00.000-08:00

Also called Alpha Aquilae one of the 15 brightest stars, the brightest star in the constellation Aquila, with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.77. Its distance from the Earth is about 16 light-years. It is a hot white star somewhat larger and more massive than the Sun and giving out about 10 times as much light. The name probably derives from Arabic words meaning “the eagle,” applied to the constellation.

Candidas

2005-03-16T19:51:00.000-08:00

The popularity of Candidas' songs inspired much imitation, making it difficult to establish firmly the identity of the poet.

Alipore

2005-03-14T20:40:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Alipur town, West Bengal state, northeastern India. A southern suburb of Calcutta included within the city municipality, it has major industries, including printing and bookbinding, cement manufacture, oilseed milling, and general engineering works. Alipore is the site of zoological-horticultural gardens and of Belvedere House, onetime residence of the former British

Bedmar, Alonso De La Cueva, Marqués De

2005-03-13T23:56:00.000-08:00

Nominated by Philip III of Spain as ambassador to the Venetian Republic (1607), he was made marqués de Bedmar in 1614. He used his diplomatic privileges to promote the plans of the Spanish viceroys of Naples and Milan and to increase Spanish power in Italy. Resolutely opposed

Computers, COBOL

2005-03-10T17:23:00.000-08:00

Uvarov, Sergey Semyonovich, Count

2005-03-08T06:13:00.000-08:00

Uvarov served as a diplomat (1806–10), head of the St. Petersburg educational district (1811–22), and deputy minister of education (1832) before being named minister of education in 1833. In an important report to the tsar in 1833 he declared

Messenger

2005-03-07T03:09:00.000-08:00

(foaled 1780), racehorse who, though a Thoroughbred who sired many successful Thoroughbred (flat) racers, was most important as the foundation sire of the Standardbred (harness racehorse) breed. A son of Mambrino and grandson of Matchem, he was foaled in England but was taken to Philadelphia in 1788. His descendants became known for their trotting ability, and his great-grandson

Game

2005-03-04T11:25:00.000-08:00

A universal form of recreation generally including any activity engaged in for diversion or amusement and often establishing a situation that involves a contest or rivalry. Card games are the games most commonly played by adults. Children's games include a wide variety of amusements and pastimes primarily for children. See also card game; children's game.

Holy Roman Empire

2005-03-03T19:44:00.000-08:00

German Heiliges Römisches Reich , Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium the varying complex of lands in western and central Europe ruled over first by Frankish and then by German kings for 10 centuries, from Charlemagne's coronation in 800 until the renunciation of the imperial title in 1806. (For histories of the territories governed at various times by the empire, see France, history of; Germany, history of;Italy, history of.)

Lak-dargin Languages

2005-03-01T07:19:00.000-08:00

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

France, History Of, Merovingian and Carolingian age

2005-02-26T00:52:00.000-08:00

Comprehensive introductions to the period are found in Margaret Deanesly, A History of Early Medieval Europe, from 476 to 911, 2nd ed. (1960, reissued 1974); Jean Favier (ed.), Histoire de France, 6 vol. (1984–88), vol. 1; and Karl Ferdinand Werner, Les Origines (avant l'an mil) (1984). The history of invasions, with the archaeological background, is presented in Lucien Musset, The Germanic Invasions: The Making of Europe, AD 400–600 (1975; originally published in French, 1965), and Les Invasions: le second assaut contre l'Europe chrétienne, VIIe–XIe siècles, 2nd ed. (1971); and Patrick Périn and Laure-Charlotte Feffer, Les Francs, 2 vol. (1987). On the Merovingians, see Eugen Ewig, Die Merowinger und das Frankenreich (1988); Bernard S. Bachrach, Merovingian Military Organization, 481–751 (1972); and J.M. Wallace-Hadrill, The Long-Haired Kings and Other Studies in Frankish History (1962, reprinted 1982). For the Carolingians, Louis Halphen, Charlemagne and the Carolingian Empire (1977; originally published in French, 1947), remains the classic work. Later scholarship is reflected in Rosamond McKitterick, The Frankish Kingdoms Under the Carolingians, 751–987 (1983); and F.L. Ganshof, The Carolingians and the Frankish Monarchy, trans. from French (1971). Special studies of the civilization of the period include J.M. Wallace-Hadrill, The Frankish Church (1983); Pierre Riché, Education and Culture in the Barbarian West, Sixth Through Eighth Centuries (1976; originally published in French, 3rd ed., 1973); Suzanne Fonay Wemple, Women in Frankish Society: Marriage and the Cloister, 500 to 900 (1981); and Renée Doehaerd, The Early Middle Ages in the West: Economy and Society (1978; originally published in French, 1971).

Differential Analyzer

2005-02-24T13:38:00.000-08:00

The American electrical engineer Vannevar Bush and others at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology invented the first continuous integraph, later called a differential analyzer, during the early 1930s.

Usumacinta River

2005-02-21T23:07:00.000-08:00

The Usumacinta River flows northwestward, receiving the Lacantum River and forming the border between

Abdul Razak Bin Hussein, Tun Haji

2005-02-17T06:33:00.000-08:00

A lawyer by training, Abdul Razak joined the civil service in 1950, entered politics in 1955, and was a key figure in gaining his country's independence from Britain in 1957. As deputy prime minister and defense minister (1957–70) and as minister

Gauge Theory

2005-02-15T06:06:00.000-08:00

Class of quantum field theory, a mathematical theory involving both quantum mechanics and Einstein's special theory of relativity that is commonly used to describe subatomic particles and their associated wave fields. In a gauge theory there is a group of transformations of the field variables (gauge transformations) that leaves the basic physics of the quantum

Mitchell, Margaret

2005-02-12T04:39:00.000-08:00

Mitchell attended Washington Seminary in her native Atlanta, Georgia, before enrolling at Smith College in 1918. When her mother died the next year, she returned home. Between 1922 and 1926 she was a writer and reporter for the Atlanta Journal. After an ankle injury in

Displacement Activity

2005-02-11T13:57:00.000-08:00

The performance by an animal of an act inappropriate for the stimulus or stimuli that evoked it. Displacement behaviour usually occurs when an animal is torn between two conflicting drives, such as fear and aggression. Displacement activities often consist of comfort movements, such as grooming, scratching, drinking, or eating. In courtship, for example, an individual

Glaucoma

2005-02-09T00:11:00.000-08:00

Disease caused by an increase in pressure within the eye as a result of blockage of the flow of aqueous humour, a watery fluid produced by the ciliary body. (The ciliary body is a ring of tissue directly behind the outer rim of the iris; besides being the source of aqueous humour, it contains the muscle that flattens the curvature of the lens for far vision.) The normal flow

Danegeld

2005-02-06T15:06:00.000-08:00

A tax levied in Anglo-Saxon England to buy off Danish invaders in the reign of Ethelred II (978–1016); it also designates the recurrent gelds, or taxes, collected by the Anglo-Norman kings. The word is not recorded before the Norman Conquest, the usual earlier (Old English) term being gafol (“gavel,” or “tribute”). Though the Danes were sometimes bought off in the 9th century, the word Danegeld

Ubs Ag

2005-02-03T05:19:00.000-08:00

The Swiss Bank Corporation was founded in 1854 as the Basler Bank-Verein (Basel Bank Corporation) and became a joint-stock company in 1872. It specialized in investment banking. In 1895 its name was changed to Basler und Zürcher Bankverein when it

Padilla, Heberto

2005-01-31T09:33:00.000-08:00

After elementary and secondary education in his native province of Pinar del Río, Padilla studied law at the University of Havana but did not finish a degree. From 1949 to 1952 and 1956 to 1959, he lived in the United

Ventifact

2005-01-30T02:20:00.000-08:00

Stone that has received one or more highly polished, flattened facets as a result of erosion by windblown sand. The facets are cut in sequence and correlate with the dominant wind direction. As one surface is cut, the stone may become out of balance and may turn to expose another surface to the wind. A ventifact that has been eroded to three curved facets is called a dreikanter.

Ventifact

2005-01-28T10:52:00.000-08:00

Spanish Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo international organization founded in 1959 by 20 governments in North and South America to finance economic and social development in the Western Hemisphere. The largest charter subscribers were Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, and the United States. Subscribers now include nearly 30 countries in North and South America and more than 15 countries in Europe, as well

Potresov, Aleksandr Nikolayevich

2005-01-25T23:54:00.000-08:00

Potresov, the son of a general, joined the Marxists in the early 1890s and was briefly exiled in 1898. In 1900 he helped V.I. Lenin found the newspaper Iskra, which was intended to unite

Visser 't Hooft, Willem Adolph

2005-01-23T20:38:00.000-08:00

Visser 't Hooft was educated at the Haarlem Gymnasium and prepared for the ministry of the Netherlands Reformed Church at the University of Leiden. His long career as a leader of Christian organizations began with the post of

Rushworth, John

2005-01-21T15:46:00.000-08:00

Rushworth studied law, perhaps at the University of Oxford (from which he received an M.A. in 1649), and in 1638 was made

Wellhausen, Julius

2005-01-20T10:34:00.000-08:00

Wellhausen studied at the University of Göttingen and taught there briefly before becoming professor of the Old Testament at Greifswald in 1872, a position he resigned 10 years later because of conflicts with his academic

Abdul Rahman, Tuanku (king)

2005-01-17T20:42:00.000-08:00

The son of Tuanku Mohammed,

Independence

2005-01-16T22:25:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Jackson county, western Missouri, U.S., immediately east of Kansas City. It is the hometown of President Harry S. Truman (who was born at Lamar [q.v.], 100 miles [160 km] south). Settled in 1827, the county was named for Andrew Jackson, and the city recalled his love of independence. Near the western terminus of transportation on the Missouri River, Independence was the starting point

Baia Mare

2005-01-14T07:26:00.000-08:00

Hungarian Nagybánya, city, capital of Maramures judet (county), northwestern Romania. It is situated in the Sasar River valley, surrounded by mountains. This location affords the city protection from the cold northeastern winds and sustains a quasi-Mediterranean vegetation. Founded in the 12th century by Saxon immigrants, it was first known as Neustadt. The first document mentioning the name

Sudan, The, Muslim peoples

2005-01-12T01:58:00.000-08:00

A major cleavage exists between the northern and the southern parts of the country. The north is dominated by Muslims, most of whom speak Arabic and identify themselves as “Arabs,” while the people of the south are “Africans” (i.e., blacks) who for the most part follow traditional African religions, though there are also some Christians among them. Those who identify themselves

Scandinavian Literature, Norwegian

2005-01-09T18:44:00.000-08:00

In the 1890s established Norwegian writers came under fire from the new generation. The manifesto of new ideas was an essay published in 1890 in the periodical Samtiden (“The Present Age”) by Knut Hamsun, “Fra det ubevidste Sjaeleliv” (“From the Unconscious Life of the Mind”), which demanded attention to what was individual and idiosyncratic rather than typical. Hamsun was impatient

Blood Serum

2005-01-07T13:56:00.000-08:00

The part of blood plasma remaining after coagulation, during which process the plasma protein fibrinogen is converted to fibrin and remains behind in the clot. Immune serum or antitoxin, serum prepared from the blood of animals or humans that have been exposed to a disease and have developed specific antibodies, is used to protect persons against diseases to which

Mammal, Muscles

2005-01-05T01:19:00.000-08:00

The panniculus carnosus is a sheath

Sashimi

2005-01-04T06:05:00.000-08:00

Specialty of Japanese cuisine, fresh fish served raw. The fish, which must be utterly fresh, is sliced paper thin or alternately one-quarter to one-half inch (0.75–1.5 centimetres) thick, cubed, or cut in strips, according to the nature of the fish. The sashimi is accompanied by wasabi (green horseradish paste) and soy sauce. Sashimi is always part of a formal Japanese meal, served early

Buzkashi

2005-01-02T19:58:00.000-08:00

Buzkashi has two main forms: the traditional, grassroots game, known as tudabaray (Persian [Dari]: “coming out of the crowd”), and the modern government-sponsored version, qarajay (“black place”). Both feature mounted

Paella

2004-12-31T19:10:00.000-08:00

In Spanish cuisine, a dish of saffron-flavoured rice cooked with meats, seafood, and vegetables. Originating in the rice-growing areas on Spain's Mediterranean coast, the dish is especially associated with the region of Valencia. Paella takes its name from the paellera, the utensil in which it is cooked, a flat round pan with two handles; paella is traditionally eaten

Iberville

2004-12-29T21:25:00.000-08:00

Town, Montérégie region, southern Quebec province, Canada, on the east bank of the Richelieu River, opposite Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Originally called Christieville, it was renamed in 1854 for the French explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville. The town is a rail and highway hub and a residential district of Saint-Jean. Economic activities include woodworking, dairying,

Steen, Jan (havickszoon)

2004-12-26T01:56:00.000-08:00

Dutch painter, ranked immediately after Rembrandt and Hals as a painter of everyday scenes. Steen is unique among leading 17th-century Dutch painters for his humour; he has often been compared to the French comic playwright Molière, his contemporary, and indeed both men treated life as a vast comedy of manners. Some of the artist's biblical and

Steen, Jan (havickszoon)

2004-12-25T22:26:00.000-08:00

The NLC,

Prickly Pear

2004-12-22T16:07:00.000-08:00

Any member of a genus (Opuntia) of flat-stemmed spiny cacti (family Cactaceae), native to the Western Hemisphere. The name refers to the edible fruit of certain species, especially the Indian fig (Opuntia ficus-indica), which is an important food for many peoples in tropical and subtropical countries. When Opuntia species were first introduced to Australia and southern

Scharnhorst, Gerhard Johann David Von

2004-12-21T19:44:00.000-08:00

Prussian general who developed the modern general staff system. With another reformer of army procedures, August von Gneisenau, he devised the “shrinkage system” (Krümpersystem), in which army recruits were quickly trained and sent into the reserves so that more men could be trained. This system increased the actual number of trained

Burns, George; And Allen, Gracie

2004-12-19T10:30:00.000-08:00

Both came from theatrical backgrounds. Burns began his career at age seven as a singer in the PeeWee Quartet and later performed

Roman Catholicism, History Of, Religious life in the 17th and 18th centuries

2004-12-17T04:06:00.000-08:00

Yet it would be a mistake to allow the narrative of these controversies to monopolize one's attention. Less dramatic but no less important was the continuing life of the Roman Catholic Church during these centuries as “mother and teacher.” Bossuet was not only the formulator of Gallican ideology but also one of the finest preachers of Christian history. He addressed

Arabesque

2004-12-15T02:48:00.000-08:00

Style of decoration characterized by intertwining plants and abstract curvilinear motifs. Derived from the work of Hellenistic craftsmen working in Asia Minor, the arabesque originally included birds in a highly naturalistic setting. As adapted by Muslim artisans about AD 1000, it became highly formalized; for religious reasons, no birds, beasts, or human

Handlin, Oscar

2004-12-12T19:17:00.000-08:00

The son of Jewish immigrant parents, Handlin graduated from Brooklyn College in 1934 and earned his M.A. degree from Harvard University in 1935. He then taught history at Brooklyn College (1936–38) and joined the history faculty at Harvard in

Argentina, The land and the people

2004-12-10T10:46:00.000-08:00

Patterns of settlement are the subject of Carl-Christoph Liss, Die Besiedlung und Landnutzung Ostpatagoniens unter besonderer Berücksichtgung der Schafestancien (1979); Robert C. Eidt, Pioneer Settlement in Northeast Argentina (1971); Mark Jefferson, Peopling the Argentine Pampa (1926, reprinted 1971); and Richard W. Slatta, Gauchos and the Vanishing Frontier (1983, reissued 1992).

Hanabusa Itcho

2004-12-09T11:00:00.000-08:00

Also called Itcho , original name Taga Shinko Japanese painter who broke away from the orthodox style of the Kano school to experiment with humorous subjects from everyday life. Because of his subject matter, his work is sometimes classified with the ukiyo-e school of paintings and prints, and, indeed, some of his designs were used by later ukiyo-e wood-block printers. Unlike most of the

Gumbo

2004-12-06T03:11:00.000-08:00

A gumbo begins with a roux, a mixture of fat and flour slowly browned over low heat. To this base are

Cartier, Jacques

2004-12-04T22:02:00.000-08:00

When King Francis I of France decided in 1534 to send an expedition to explore the northern lands in the hope of discovering gold, spices, and a passage

Ghiberti, Lorenzo

2004-12-03T23:46:00.000-08:00

Important early Italian Renaissance sculptor, whose doors (“Gates of Paradise”; 1425–52) for the Baptistery of the cathedral of Florence are considered one of the greatest masterpieces of Italian art in the Quattrocento. Other works include three bronze statues for Or San Michele (1416–25) and the reliefs for Siena cathedral (1417–27). Ghiberti also wrote three

Pacific Ocean, Principal ridges and basins

2004-12-01T21:07:00.000-08:00

To the east of 150° W the relief of the ocean floor is considerably less pronounced than it is to the west. In the eastern Pacific the Cocos Ridge extends southwestward from the Central American isthmus to the Galápagos Islands. To the south of the Galápagos lies the Peru Basin, which is separated by the extensive Sala y Gomez Ridge from the Southeast Pacific Basin, which,

Madanin

2004-11-29T18:18:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Médenine, town, southern Tunisia. The town lies in the semiarid plain of al-Jifarah (Jeffara). It was the capital of the Ouerghemma League of three Berber groups and was the chief town of the Southern Military Territories during the French Protectorate (1881–1955). The honeycomb-like, aboveground granaries (ghorfas) that belonged to the Ouerghemma are features of the locality. The town is

Kaolinite

2004-11-27T03:01:00.000-08:00

Kaolinite, nacrite, and dickite occur as minute, sometimes elongated, hexagonal

Palau

2004-11-25T03:30:00.000-08:00

A republic in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, Palau comprises a 640-km (400-mi)-long chain of some 340 volcanic and coralline islands. The main islands of Babelthuap and Koror are situated about 900 km east of the Philippines. Area: 488 sq km (188 sq mi). Pop. (1995 est.): 16,900. Provisional cap.: Koror, on Koror; a site on Babelthuap was designated to be the eventual permanent capital. Monetary unit:

Smith, George Washington

2004-11-23T09:27:00.000-08:00

Smith's talents were developed by studying with various visiting European teachers in his native Philadelphia, then a mecca for theatre and dance. His performing debut was made in 1832, and he soon grew into a versatile dancer, admired

Judaism, Sa'adia ben Joseph

2004-11-20T23:07:00.000-08:00

This belief in reason, as well as some of the tenets of Mu'tazilite theology, were taken over by Sa'adia ben Joseph, who was also influenced, either directly or through the intermediary of an Arabic philosopher, by the arguments of a Christian 6th-century philosopher, John Philoponus, against certain Aristotelian and Neoplatonic positions. Sa'adia's main theological

Bracton, Henry De

2004-11-19T10:12:00.000-08:00

Bracton also spelled Bratton or Bretton leading medieval English jurist and author of De legibus et consuetudinibus Angliae (c. 1235; “On the Laws and Customs of England”), one of the oldest systematic treatises on the common law. While depending chiefly on English judicial decisions and the methods of pleading required by English judges, Bracton enlarged the common law with principles

Gregory, Dick

2004-11-17T22:56:00.000-08:00

Byname of Richard Claxton Gregory African-American comedian, civil rights activist, and spokesman for health issues, who became nationally recognized in the 1960s for a biting brand of comedy that attacked racial prejudice. By addressing his hard-hitting satire to white audiences, he gave a comedic voice to the rising Civil Rights Movement. In the 1980s his nutrition business venture targeted

Gabon, Ethnic and linguistic composition

2004-11-12T18:40:00.000-08:00

All of Gabon's 40 or so ethnic groups, except the few thousand Pygmies, speak Bantu languages and, on that basis, can be classified into 10 larger groups. The Myene group (including the Mpongwe and Orungu), though only a small part of the population today, has played an important role in the history of the country as a result of its location along the northern coasts. The Fang, who

Earth Sciences, Understanding of clouds, fog, and dew

2004-11-10T20:37:00.000-08:00

After Guericke's experiments it was

Toccoa

2004-11-09T06:05:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1905) of Stephens county, northeastern Georgia, U.S. It lies on the Dahlonega Upland, northwest of Hartwell Dam and Lake near the South Carolina border, about 50 miles (80 km) north of Athens. Toccoa was laid out in 1873 and is at the edge of Chattahoochee National Forest in a prosperous agricultural area. The city has some industry, including the manufacture of textiles, heavy

Toccoa

2004-11-07T16:47:00.000-08:00

British honorary institution founded by Edward VII in 1902 to reward those who provided especially eminent service in the armed forces or particularly distinguished themselves in science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. The order is limited to only 24 members, although the British monarch can appoint foreigners as “honorary members.” The order carries no

Industrial Espionage

2004-11-05T04:56:00.000-08:00

A considerable amount of data on what the

Spotted Tail

2004-11-02T08:15:00.000-08:00

Spotted Tail was not a member of a ruling family, but he won the chieftainship over the hereditary claimant on the basis of his prowess as a warrior. In 1855 he, along with two other warriors,

ávila

2004-10-31T05:58:00.000-08:00

Province, in the Castile-León comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”), central Spain, on the plateau of Old Castile. It has an area of 3,107 square miles (8,048 square km) and is separated from Madrid province (east) by the Sierra de Guadarrama and from Toledo province (south) by the Sierra de Gredos. Agriculture predominates on the level ground in the north, but the soils are poor, resting

Pittsburgh, University Of

2004-10-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

Coeducational state system of higher learning in Pennsylvania, U.S., comprising a main campus in Pittsburgh and branches in Bradford, Greensburg, Johnstown, and Titusville. The Pittsburgh campus is a comprehensive research institution of higher learning and includes 16 schools that offer more than 360 degree programs. Among these schools are those of Medicine, Dental

Middlesex

2004-10-27T04:55:00.000-07:00

County, northeastern Massachusetts, U.S., west and northwest of Boston and bordered on the north by New Hampshire. The county consists of an upland region drained by the Merrimack, Nashua, Assabet, Concord, Sudbury, and Shawsheen rivers. Other waterways include Whitehall and Cambridge reservoirs, Lake Cochituate, and historic Walden Pond. Parklands include more than

Alamein, El-

2004-10-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

Coastal town in northwestern Egypt, about 60 miles (100 km) west of Alexandria, that was the site of two major battles between British and Axis forces in 1942 during World War II. El-Alamein is the seaward (northern) end of a 40-mile-wide bottleneck that is flanked on the south by the impassable Qattara Depression. This crucial east-west corridor became a vital defensive line held by

Bohemian Massif

2004-10-23T18:33:00.000-07:00

Dissected quadrangular plateau, with an area of about 60,000 square miles (about 158,000 square km), occupying Bohemia, Czech Republic. Centring on Prague, it reaches a maximum elevation of 5,256 feet (1,602 m) and is bounded by four ranges: the Ore Mountains (Krušné hory, or Erzgebirge) in the northwest, the Giant Mountains (Krkonoše, or Riesengebirge) in the northeast, the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands

La Mancha

2004-10-21T08:59:00.000-07:00

Barren, elevated plateau (2,000 ft [610 m]) of central Spain, stretching between the Montes (mountains) de Toledo and the western spurs of the Cerros (hills) de Cuenca, and bounded on the south by the Sierra Morena and on the north by La Alcarria region. It includes portions of the modern provinces of Cuenca, Toledo, and Albacete, and most of Ciudad Real province. It constitutes the southern

Time Warner Inc.

2004-10-20T18:37:00.000-07:00

The largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world. Time Warner's products encompass magazines, hardcover books, comic books, recorded music, motion pictures, online services, and broadcast and cable television programming and distribution. Its headquarters are in New York City.

United Nations

2004-10-17T14:10:00.000-07:00

Under an agreement signed on July 3 on Governors Island, N.Y., by Lieut. Gen. Raoul Cédras, the Haitian army commander, and the Rev. Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the president deposed in September 1991, UN personnel were supposed to help the transition to democratic government by separating the police force from the army. On October 11, however, 40 or 50 "toughs" protected by police prevented

Cheke, Sir John

2004-10-16T22:52:00.000-07:00

Cheke also spelled Cheek English humanist and supporter of the Protestant Reformation who, as the poet John Milton said, “taught Cambridge and King Edward Greek” and who, with his friend Sir Thomas Smith, discovered the proper pronunciation of ancient Greek. Through his teaching he made the University of Cambridge the centre of the “new learning” and the Reformed religion.

Hypnosis

2004-10-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

A special psychological state with certain physiological attributes, resembling sleep only superficially and marked by a functioning of the individual at a level of awareness other than the ordinary conscious state. This state is characterized by a degree of increased receptiveness and responsiveness in which inner experiential perceptions are given

Arraiolos Rug

2004-10-12T23:02:00.000-07:00

Embroidered floor covering made at Arraiolos, north of Évora in Portugal. The technique is herringbone or cross-stitch on a linen cloth foundation. Early Arraiolos rugs utilized designs derived from the Persians, from whom the Portuguese learned the craft. Portuguese artisans soon replaced these Persian designs with Portuguese folk-art patterns in more limited

General Council Of Congregational Christian Churches

2004-10-09T08:28:00.000-07:00

The Congregational churches developed from the churches established by the settlers at Plymouth,

John (xx)

2004-10-08T15:54:00.000-07:00

Nonexistent pope. A confusion in the numbering of popes named John after John XIV resulted because Marianus Scotus and other 11th-century historians mistakenly believed that there had been a pope named John between antipope Boniface VII and the true John XV. Therefore they mistakenly numbered the real popes John XV to XIX as John XVI to XX. These popes have since customarily

Tea Production

2004-10-06T09:04:00.000-07:00

Cultivation of the tea plant, usually done in large commercial operations. The plant, a species of evergeen (Camellia sinensis), is valued for its young leaves and leaf buds, from which the tea beverage is produced. This article treats the cultivation of the tea plant. For information on the processing of tea and the history of its use, see the article tea.

Botanical Garden

2004-10-03T17:11:00.000-07:00

Also called Botanic Garden, originally, a collection of living plants designed chiefly to illustrate relationships within plant groups. In modern times, most botanical gardens are concerned primarily with exhibiting ornamental plants, insofar as possible in a scheme that emphasizes natural relationships. Thus, the two functions are blended: eye appeal and taxonomic order. Plants that

Wynyard

2004-10-01T05:58:00.000-07:00

Town, northern Tasmania, Australia, at the mouth of the River Inglis on Bass Strait. Founded in 1841, it was made a municipality in 1856 and named Table Cape for a high promontory (380 feet [116 m]) to the south. It was gazetted a town in 1861, when its name was changed to honour Major General Edward Wynyard, commander in chief in 1850 of British forces in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania). Located on a rail line

Interactionism

2004-09-29T23:39:00.000-07:00

In Cartesian philosophy and the philosophy of mind, those dualistic theories that hold that mind and body, though separate and distinct substances, causally interact. Interactionists assert that a mental event, as when John Doe wills to kick a brick wall, can be the cause of a physical action, his leg and foot moving into the wall. Conversely, the physical event of his

Interior Design, United States

2004-09-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

The story of the domestic interior and its decoration in the United States is inseparable both from its own architectural development and from the story of English architecture and decoration, from which it was largely derived even long after the American Revolution. Any discussion of United States decorative design, therefore, must refer constantly to the

Hawk

2004-09-26T02:02:00.000-07:00

Any of many small to medium-sized diurnal birds of prey, particularly those in the genus Accipiter, known as the true hawks, and including the goshawks and sparrowhawks. The term hawk is often applied to other birds in the family Accipitridae (such as the kites, buzzards, and harriers) and sometimes is extended to include certain members of the family Falconidae (falcons

Andean Peoples

2004-09-23T04:42:00.000-07:00

Studies of the pre-Columbian history and culture of this area may be found in the bibliography of the article pre-Columbian civilizations. The best account of Andean cultures as they appeared to an eyewitness of the early years (16th century) of European rule is Pedro de Cieza de León, The Incas (1959, reissued 1969; originally published in Spanish, 1554). An introduction to Andean archaeology may be found in John Howland Rowe and Dorothy Menzel (eds.), Peruvian Archaeology (1967), with selections mainly by American scholars. The role of irrigation in the cultural and political elaboration of coastal kingdoms is well illustrated in Paul Kosok, Life, Land, and Water in Ancient Peru (1965). Special regional problems are introduced in Louis C. Faron, Mapuche Social Structure (1961), a study of the reintegration of these people of Chile since the time of conquest; L.C. Faron, Hawks of the Sun (1964), on the Southern Andes; Betty J. Meggers, Ecuador (1966); Donald W. Lathrap, The Upper Amazon (1970); Paul T. Baker and Michael A. Little (eds.), Man in the Andes: A Multidisciplinary Study of High-Altitude Quechua (1976); Kevin Kling, Ecuador: Island of the Andes (1988; originally published in French, 1987), focusing on Indian culture and life and illustrated with photographs; and Steve J. Stern, Peru's Indian Peoples and the Challenge of Spanish Conquest: Huamanga to 1640, 2nd ed. (1993).

Genesee River

2004-09-21T21:07:00.000-07:00

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

France, History Of, The Wars of Religion

2004-09-19T19:01:00.000-07:00

Guise forces occupied Paris and took control of the royal family, while the Huguenots rose in the provinces, and their two commanders, Louis I de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, and Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, established headquarters at Orléans. The deaths of the opposing leaders—the Protestant Antoine de Bourbon, King Consort of Navarre, and the Catholic marshal Jacques

Carnivore, Natural history

2004-09-17T01:37:00.000-07:00

The family Mustelidae contains a variety of animals unmatched by any other family in the Carnivora except the civets (Viverridae). The family includes the weasels, ferrets, mink (see photograph), marten, fisher, skunks (see photograph), wolverine (see photograph), otters (see photograph), badgers (see

Clove

2004-09-15T05:38:00.000-07:00

Small, reddish-brown flower bud of the tropical evergreen tree Syzygium aromaticum (sometimes Eugenia caryophyllata) of the family Myrtaceae, important in the earliest spice trade and believed indigenous to the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, of Indonesia. Strong of aroma and hot and pungent in taste, cloves are used to flavour many foods, particularly

Dmitry (ii) Donskoy

2004-09-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

Son of Ivan II the Meek of Moscow (reigned 1353–59), Dmitry became ruler of Muscovy when he was only nine years old; three years later he convinced his suzerain, the great khan

Cadenza

2004-09-11T04:19:00.000-07:00

(Italian: “cadence”), unaccompanied bravura passage introduced at or near the close of a movement of a composition and serving as a brilliant climax, particularly in solo concerti of a virtuoso character. Until well into the 19th century such interpolated passages were often improvised by the performer at suitable openings left for that purpose by the composer. They

Servite

2004-09-09T15:55:00.000-07:00

Member of Order of the Servants of Mary (O.S.M.) a Roman Catholic order of mendicant friars—religious men who lead a monastic life, including the choral recitation of the liturgical office, but do active work—founded in 1233 by a group of seven cloth merchants of Florence. These men, known collectively as the Seven Holy Founders, left their families and occupations to withdraw outside the gates of Florence and live

France, History Of, France since 1815

2004-09-07T09:48:00.000-07:00

Volumes 2 and 3 of the already mentioned Alfred Cobban, A History of Modern France, 3 vol. (1957–62, reprinted 1969), present the period from the First Empire to the Republics in a sophisticated synthesis; and Gordon Wright, France in Modern Times: From the Enlightenment to the Present, 4th ed. (1987), is an interpretive general survey. Appropriate parts of the massive collective work Histoire économique et sociale de la France, 4 vol. in 8 (1970–82), Fernand Braudel and Ernest Labrousse (eds.), provide coverage by some of the best French experts of economic and social developments up to the last quarter of the 20th century. Surveys of special topics on all or most of the period since 1815 include René Rémond, The Right Wing in France from 1815 to De Gaulle, 2nd ed. (1969; originally published in French, 3rd ed., 1968; rev. French ed., 1982), tracing change and continuity of the political right; Gérard Cholvy and Yves-Marie Hilaire, Histoire religieuse de la France contemporaine, 3 vol. (1985–88), an analysis of the role of various religions; and Raoul Girardet, La Société militaire dans la France contemporaine, 1815–1939 (1953), on the changing role and composition of the military corps. The role of France in world affairs is emphasized in Pierre Renouvin, Le XIXe, 2 vol. (1954–55), on the developments of the 19th century, part of the series “Histoire des relations internationales.” François Caron, An Economic History of Modern France, trans. from French (1979, reissued 1983), revises older views about France's rate of growth; Theodore Zeldin, France, 1848–1945, 2 vol. (1973–77), explores modern French society, stressing its complexity and continuity; and Eugen Weber, Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France (1976), argues that a sense of nationhood came to rural France only in the late 19th century. Period studies include Guillaume de Bertier de Sauvigny, The Bourbon Restoration (1966, originally published in French, 1955), the standard work on the period 1815–1830; David H. Pinkney, Decisive Years in France, 1840–1847 (1986), arguing that France changed fundamentally in these years; Roger Price, The French Second Republic: A Social History (1972), a thoughtful reevaluation; Ted W. Margadant, French Peasants in Revolt: The Insurrection of 1851 (1979), suggesting that leftist views remained vigorous after 1848; J.P.T. Bury, Napoléon III and the Second Empire (1964), a well-informed analysis; Michael Howard, The Franco-Prussian War: The German Invasion of France, 1870–1871 (1961, reissued 1981), a model study; and Stewart Edwards, The Paris Commune, 1871 (1971), a balanced reevaluation. Roger Shattuck, The Banquet Years: The Origins of the Avant Garde in France, 1885 to World War I, rev. ed. (1968, reissued 1984), is a brilliant survey of Parisian culture of the period; and Charles Rearick, Pleasures of the Belle Epoque: Entertainment and Festivity in Turn-of-the-Century France (1985), describes the high life in Monmartre. D.W. Brogan, France Under the Republic: The Development of Modern France, 1870–1939 (1940, reprinted 1974), is a classic account; Jacques Chastenet, Histoire de la Troisième République, 7 vol. (1952–63, reissued in 4 vol., 1974), remains the most detailed treatment of the period; David Thomson, Democracy in France Since 1870, 5th ed. (1969), offers a penetrating study of political and social aspects; and Jean-Denis Bredin, The Affair: The Case of Alfred Dreyfus (1986; originally published in French, 1983), provides a highly readable account of the great crisis. For the 20th century, see Eugen Weber, Action Française: Royalism and Reaction in Twentieth Century France (1962), a full analysis of this right-wing movement; Zeev Sternhell, La Droite Révolutionnaire, 1885–1914: les origines françaises du fascisme (1978, reprinted 1984), a controversial argument that fascism was born in France; Marc Ferro, The Great War, 1914–1918 (1973, reissued 1987; originally published in French, 1969), a good synthesis; Robert O. Paxton, Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order, 1940–1944 (1972, reissued 1982), a critical analysis of the Pétain regime; Jean-Baptiste Duroselle, La Décadence, 1932–1939, 3rd rev. ed. (1985), and L'Abîme: 1939–1945, 2nd rev. ed. (1986), two volumes of devastating analysis of French foreign policy before and during World War II; Charles de Gaulle, War Memoirs, 5 vol. (1955–60; originally published in French, 1954–59), and Memoirs of Hope: Renewal and Endeavor (1971; originally published in French, 2 vol., 1970–71), indispensable for an understanding of the Gaullist era; Jean Lacouture, Charles de Gaulle, 3 vol. (1984–86), a full and perceptive biography; Philip M. Williams, Crisis and Compromise: Politics in the Fourth Republic, 3rd ed. (1964, reissued 1972), an excellent account of that system of government; Pierre Viansson-Ponté, Histoire de la république gaullienne, 2 vol. (1970–71, reissued in 1 vol., 1984), on the Fifth Republic's Gaullist phase; Stanley Hoffmann et al., In Search of France (1963), an analysis of postwar France; George Ross, Stanley Hoffmann, and Sylvia Malzacher (eds.), The Mitterrand Experiment: Continuity and Change in Modern France (1987), a study of the socialist years; and Alfred Grosser, Affaires extérieures: la politique de la France, 1944–1989 (1989), a penetrating analysis of postwar France's role in the world.

Likasi

2004-09-05T00:12:00.000-07:00

Formerly (until 1966) Jadotville, city, southeastern Congo (Kinshasa). It lies along the Likasi River, 86 miles (138 km) northwest of Lubumbashi, to which it is connected by road and rail. In 1892 Belgians discovered copper deposits at Likasi and at Kambove, 15 miles (24 km) northwest. Likasi was founded in 1917 and was designated an urban district in 1943. It is now one of the nation's most important mineral-processing centres, with plants

Welkom

2004-09-04T14:51:00.000-07:00

City, Free State province, South Africa, southwest of Johannesburg. It was founded in 1947 amid goldfields, the development of which brought rapid growth, quickly making it the province's second largest town. It attained municipal status in 1961 and was declared a city in 1968. Unlike many gold-mining towns, it was carefully planned from the beginning around a horseshoe-shaped shopping

Aerospace Industry, Unmanned aerial vehicles

2004-09-02T19:56:00.000-07:00

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), a class of aircraft akin to radio-controlled models and cruise missiles, have become significant factors in military reconnaissance. Carrying sensors for surveillance, they are designed to fly either for long duration at very high altitudes or for shorter periods at low altitudes and to transmit their acquired data to orbiting

Giordano, Umberto

2004-08-30T15:11:00.000-07:00

Giordano, the son of an artisan, studied music at Foggia and Naples. His early operas, among them Mala vita (1892; Evil Life), were written in the forceful, melodramatic style introduced by Pietro Mascagni in his verismo opera Cavalleria rusticana (1890). In Andrea

Lockwood, Margaret (mary)

2004-08-29T05:50:00.000-07:00

Lockwood studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, England's leading drama school, and made her film debut in Lorna Doone (1935). A vivacious brunette with a beauty spot on her left cheek, she starred in a wide

Nova Scotia, Flag Of

2004-08-26T03:35:00.000-07:00

The flag is based on the provincial coat of arms, which was itself inspired by the Scottish Cross of St. Andrew (white saltire on a blue field) and the royal arms of Scotland. The “reverse-colour” Cross of St. Andrew on the Nova Scotia flag provides a more visible contrast for the Scottish shield. The Nova Scotia coat of arms was created on May 28, 1625, but it was not recorded by heraldic

Distinguished Service Order

2004-08-24T00:40:00.000-07:00

British military decoration awarded to officers who have performed meritorious or distinguished service in war. The decoration, instituted by Queen Victoria in 1886, entitles recipients to add D.S.O. after their names. Foreign officers associated with British forces can become holders of the award as “honorary members.” The badge of the order is a white and gold cross