SmoothCircle

organic bed linen

2006-10-29T00:40:00.000-07:00

Livs range of soft luxurious bed linenis sourced ethically from India and using a fair trade policy. Liv also provide duvet cover set and bath towel set.

Sortition

2005-04-04T11:04:00.000-07:00

Election by lot, a method of choosing public officials in some ancient Greek city-states. It was used especially in the Athenian democracy, from which most information about the practice is derived. With few exceptions, all magistrates were chosen by lot, beginning with the archons in 487–486 BC; likewise the Boule (council) of 500 and the juries of the law courts were chosen by lot.

Blaby

2005-04-04T01:40:00.000-07:00

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

Sucket Fork

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

Small metal utensil used for eating sweetmeats, or sucket, with a two- or three-pronged fork at one end of the handle and a spoon bowl, usually of teaspoon size, at the other. A sucket fork is mentioned in Edward VI's inventory of 1549, but most of the few surviving English and American examples, which are usually made of silver, date from the late 17th century.

Minch, The

2005-04-01T09:14:00.000-08:00

Also called North Minch, Atlantic sea channel between the Outer Hebrides island group on the west and the mainland of Scotland on the east. The channel varies in width between 25 and 45 miles (40 and 70 km) and has both great depth and a rapid current. The Little Minch, its southerly extension, lies between the island groups of the Outer and Inner Hebrides, separating the islands of Harris and North Uist

Waterford Glass

2005-03-31T21:04:00.000-08:00

Heavy cut glassware produced in Waterford, Ire., from 1729. Waterford glass, particularly the early variety, is characterized by thick walls, deeply incised geometric cutting, and brilliant polish. The smoky, bluish gray colour of early Waterford glass was considered a drawback, and a clear crystal was produced after 1830. It is the darkened glass, however, that is most prized

Forbes-robertson, Sir Johnston

2005-03-30T13:35:00.000-08:00

Educated at Charterhouse School, he studied art before turning to the theatre in 1874, when he first appeared on the London stage. He acted with the Bancrofts—Squire

Merced

2005-03-29T14:26:00.000-08:00

City, Merced county, central California, U.S., on Bear Creek in the San Joaquin valley, 55 miles (89 km) northwest of Fresno. It was founded in 1872 by the Central Pacific Railroad, and it became county seat in the same year. It was named for the Nuestra Señora de la Merced River. It developed as a processing and shipping point for agricultural produce of the valley, irrigated by the Tri-Dam

Allison, William B.

2005-03-28T06:35:00.000-08:00

Allison practiced law in his hometown of Ashland, Ohio, and (from 1857) in Dubuque, Iowa. In the House of Representatives he was a partisan of railroad interests,

Scylla And Charybdis

2005-03-26T10:13:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, two immortal and irresistible monsters who beset the narrow waters traversed by the hero Odysseus in his wanderings (later localized in the Strait of Messina). Scylla was a supernatural creature, with 12 feet and 6 heads on long, snaky necks, each head having a triple row of sharklike teeth, while her loins were girt with the heads of baying dogs. From her

Aguán River

2005-03-26T04:42:00.000-08:00

Spanish Río Aguán, river in northern Honduras, 150 mi (240 km) in length. After rising in the central highlands west of Yoro, it descends to the northeast between the Cerros de Cangreja and the Sierra de la Esperanza to the coastal lowlands, on which it forms a maze of channels and empties into the Caribbean Sea near the towns of Santa Rosa de Aguán and Limón. The lands along the river, although periodically

Yard-of-ale Glass

2005-03-25T10:51:00.000-08:00

Tall, extremely narrow drinking glass that was known in England from the 17th century. It is approximately 1 yard (90 cm) long and holds about 1 pint (0.5 litre). The glass has a trumpet-shaped opening at one end and either a foot at the other or a trick bulb, which makes drinking more difficult, for when air gets into it the ale is forced out in a rush. Impractical for ordinary use, it appears

Lahun, Al-

2005-03-24T09:56:00.000-08:00

Also spelled El Lahun, or Illahun, ancient Egyptian site situated just north of the turn of the Bahr Yusuf canal into the Fayum in al-Fayyum muhafazah (governorate); it was the location of a Middle Kingdom (1938–c. 1600? BC) pyramid and of a workmen's village of approximately the same date. The pyramid, built by King Sesostris II (reigned 1844–37 BC), fourth of the eight kings of the 12th dynasty, was unusual in that the entrance to the burial chamber

Shigella

2005-03-23T22:43:00.000-08:00

Genus of rod-shaped bacteria in the family Enterobacteriaceae, species of which are normal inhabitants of the human intestinal tract and can cause dysentery, or shigellosis. Shigella are microbiologically characterized as gram-negative, non-spore-forming, nonmotile bacteria. Their cells are 0.4 to 0.6 micrometre across by 1 to 3 micrometres long. S. dysenteriae, spread

Spotlight: Latin America's New Transportation Links

2005-03-23T16:20:00.000-08:00

By 1998 the common market concept within Latin America, as exemplified by Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, with Chile and Bolivia joining as associate members), several bilateral trade agreements, and the rejuvenation of the Andean Community and the Central American Common Market, was contributing to a diminution of old geopolitical rivalries in

Nepali Language

2005-03-21T19:08:00.000-08:00

Eastern Pahari dialect spoken in Nepal. See Pahari languages.

Tephroite

2005-03-20T10:02:00.000-08:00

Olivine mineral found only in iron-manganese ore deposits and skarns and in metamorphosed manganese-rich sediments, such as those of Cornwall, Eng., and Franklin, N.J., in the United States. Tephroite (manganese silicate; Mn2SiO4) forms a solid solution series with the olivine fayalite in which iron completely replaces manganese in the molecular structure. Minerals intermediate

Ringgold, Faith

2005-03-18T18:50:00.000-08:00

Ringgold grew up in New York City's Harlem, and while still in high school she decided to be an artist. She attended City College of New York, where she received B.S. (1955) and M.A. (1959) degrees. In the mid-1950s she began teaching art in New York

Shehu Ahmadu Lobbo

2005-03-18T13:35:00.000-08:00

Influenced by the teachings of the Islamic reformer Usman dan Fodio, he began a holy war (jihad) in 1818 or possibly as early as 1810. He defeated the forces of the pagan Fulani and Bambara chiefs and established a capital at Hamdallahi. His rule extended to the cities

Moral Re-armament

2005-03-18T03:42:00.000-08:00

In 1922 Buchman resigned his position

Opera, Viennese masters

2005-03-17T05:37:00.000-08:00

Italian opera buffa strongly attracted Viennese audiences, and Austrian composers were naturally influenced by it. Perhaps the most interesting of the Vienna-born composers of 18th-century comic opera was Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf, whose Italianate Doktor und Apotheker (1786; libretto by Gottlieb Stephanie), though successful and lively, was overshadowed by the

Turaco

2005-03-17T00:02:00.000-08:00

Turacos are remarkable for their coloration. Some are predominantly gray, brown, and white, but the 10 species of the

Staged Rocket

2005-03-16T04:16:00.000-08:00

Vehicle driven by several rocket systems mounted in vertical sequence. The lowest, or first stage, ignites and then lifts the vehicle at increasing velocity until exhaustion of its propellants. At that point the first stage drops off, lightening the vehicle, and the second stage ignites and accelerates the vehicle further. Most space launch vehicles have three

Argolís

2005-03-15T15:20:00.000-08:00

Nomós (department), northeastern Peloponnese, southern Greece. It is a narrow, mountainous peninsula projecting eastward into the Aegean Sea between the Saronic Gulf, (to the northeast) and the Gulf of Argolis (to the southwest). Bordered on the north by Kórinthos (Corinth) and on the west by the mountains of Arcadia, it has been inhabited since Neolithic times. A limestone

Zakopane

2005-03-15T07:34:00.000-08:00

City, Nowy Sacz województwo (province), south-central Poland. The city is situated in the Carpathian Mountains near the Slovakian border. Its location at the foot of the Alpine-like Tatras Mountains makes it a major winter-sports and health-resort centre. Situated on good rail and highway routes, Zakopane also serves as the cultural centre for the area. The Chalubinski

Leakey, Louis S.b.

2005-03-15T06:17:00.000-08:00

In full Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey Kenyan archaeologist and anthropologist whose fossil discoveries in East Africa proved that man was far older than had previously been believed and that human evolution was centred in Africa, rather than in Asia, as earlier discoveries had suggested. Leakey was also noted for his controversial interpretations of these archaeological

Olympic Games, Oslo, Norway, 1952

2005-03-13T09:21:00.000-08:00

With the awarding of the sixth Winter Olympics to Oslo, the Games were held for the first time in a Scandinavian country. While some questioned the country's ability to stage the competition, the worries proved unfounded. New facilities were built and existing ones were refurbished to meet the high Olympic standard. Oslo saw the Winter Games debut of the Olympic torch,

Kogi

2005-03-12T10:26:00.000-08:00

The state consists of a wooded savanna region bisected by the southward-flowing

Miracle, Judaism

2005-03-12T08:18:00.000-08:00

Miracles are taken for granted throughout the Old Testament. God does “wondrous things” according to Psalms, chapter 72, and “great things and unsearchable, marvellous things without number” according to the Book of Job, chapter 5; these things are done in his creation in general and in the history of his people in particular (e.g., the 10 plagues of Egypt and the events of the Exodus).

Arnold, Harold Deforest

2005-03-11T14:40:00.000-08:00

Arnold studied at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where he received a Ph.B. (1906) and a M.S. (1907), and in 1911 he earned a doctorate at the University of Chicago. While working for the Western Electric

Apraxia

2005-03-11T09:56:00.000-08:00

Ideational

Artificial Organ

2005-03-10T23:41:00.000-08:00

Any machine, device, or other material that is used to replace the functions of a faulty or missing organ or other part of the human body. Artificial organs include the artificial heart and pacemaker (qq.v.), the use of dialysis (q.v.) to perform kidney functions, and the use of artificial substitutes for missing limbs (see prosthesis).

Scandinavian Literature, Skaldic verse

2005-03-09T13:59:00.000-08:00

Norwegians and Icelanders of the 9th to the 13th century also composed skaldic poetry (from the Icelandic word skáld, “poet”). It was not composed in the free variable metres of the Poetic Edda but was strictly syllabic: every syllable had to be counted and every line had to end in a given form. Like Eddaic lines, the skaldic lines were joined in pairs by alliteration, often using

Pedrell, Felipe

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

When Pedrell was a choirboy, his imagination was first fired by contact with early Spanish church music. Largely self-taught, he composed several operas,

Yuzu Nembutsu

2005-03-07T08:29:00.000-08:00

Japanese Buddhist sect that stresses the permeating effect (yuzu) of nembutsu, the invocation of the name of the Buddha Amida (Amitabha). Thus, the belief was that not only the person who chants the name but all humanity benefits from the practice of nembutsu. The sect was founded in the early 12th century by an evangelistic Tendai monk, Ryonin, and was a forerunner of the devotional

Oman

2005-03-06T19:47:00.000-08:00

The sultanate of Oman occupies the southeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula, facing the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Arabian Sea. A small part of the country lies to the north and is separated from the rest of Oman by the United Arab Emirates. Area: 306,000 sq km (118,150 sq mi). Pop. (1994 est.): 2,048,000. Cap.: Muscat. Monetary unit: rial Omani, with (Oct. 7, 1994) a par value of 0.38 rial to U.S. $1 (free rate of 0.60 rial = £1 sterling).

Floor Covering

2005-03-06T17:24:00.000-08:00

Material made from textiles, felts, resins, rubber, or other natural or man-made substances applied or fastened to, or laid upon, the level base surface of a room to provide comfort, durability, safety, and decoration. Such materials include both handmade and machine-made rugs and carpets and smooth-surfaced floor coverings. Although the words carpet and rug are frequently

Atchison, Topeka And Santa Fe Railway Company, The

2005-03-05T06:49:00.000-08:00

Byname Santa Fe Railway, former railway that was one of the largest in the United States. Chartered in Kansas as the Atchison and Topeka Railroad Company in 1859, it later exercised great influence on the settlement of the southwestern United States. It was renamed the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad in 1863 and acquired its modern name in 1895. Its founder was Cyrus K. Holliday, a Topeka lawyer and

Jacobs, W(illiam) W(ymark)

2005-03-05T05:56:00.000-08:00

His early home was a house on a Thames River wharf, where his father was manager. A landsman himself, Jacobs drew on his boyhood memories of seafaring men and dockworkers to create the stories that were to establish him as a writer. His first volume, Many

Andong

2005-03-04T13:55:00.000-08:00

City, North Kyongsang do (province), east-central South Korea. It lies 215 miles (345 km) from the mouth of the Naktong River, at the terminus of its navigable section, near a multipurpose dam. The city has been in existence since the Three Kingdoms period (beginning c. 57 BC) under various names, and since the Koryo period (935–1392) it has been known by its present name. Until the end of the Choson (Yi) dynasty

Hohenlohe-ingelfingen, Friedrich Ludwig, Fürst Zu

2005-03-03T14:37:00.000-08:00

Hohenlohe entered the Prussian Army in 1768, distinguishing himself in the War

Switzerland, Dynastic Switzerland

2005-03-03T09:29:00.000-08:00

The Swiss area became united again in the 11th century under a German-dominated Holy Roman Empire; however, the gradual decline of the empire gave rise to a loose confederation of quasi-independent states, enabling feudal dynasties of the Zähringen, Savoy, Kyburg, and Habsburg families to emerge as territorial powers by the beginning of the 13th century. During the 11th

Rodeo

2005-03-03T06:29:00.000-08:00

The five standard rodeo events are calf roping, bull riding, steer wrestling (bulldogging), saddle bronc-riding, and bareback bronc-riding. (A bronc [bronco,

Grafton

2005-03-01T01:54:00.000-08:00

City and port, northeastern New South Wales, Australia, 42 mi (68 km) from the mouth of the Clarence River (and its Pacific outport of Yamba), in the North Coast district. The site was first settled in 1838 when the area was exploited by cedar getters. The city was proclaimed in 1885 and increased in size in 1956 by merging the municipalities of Grafton and South Grafton (both named after the Duke

Switzerland, Barbarian invasions

2005-02-28T19:48:00.000-08:00

The first of the barbaric incursions took place in AD 259. By AD 400 Roman Switzerland had disintegrated and the lands of the Romanized Celts were occupied by Germanic tribes such as the Burgundians and Alemannians. The Burgundians, few in number, occupied the lands of western Switzerland. Although they retained political control, they lost contact with their former homelands

Capablanca, José Raúl

2005-02-28T09:52:00.000-08:00

Capablanca learned the moves of chess at the age of four by watching his father play, and he went on to defeat Cuba's best player in 1901. He attended Columbia University in New York City in

Ardhanarisvara

2005-02-26T03:57:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit: Lord Who Is Half Woman), composite male–female figure of the Hindu god Siva, together with his consort Parvati. As seen in many beautiful Indian and Southeast Asian sculptures, the right (male) half of the figure is adorned with the traditional ornaments of Siva. Half of the hair is piled in a hairdress of matted locks, half of a third eye is visible on the forehead, a tiger

Tyrosine

2005-02-26T03:56:00.000-08:00

An amino acid comprising about 1 to 6 percent by weight of the mixture obtained by hydrolysis of most proteins. First isolated from casein (1849), tyrosine is particularly abundant in insulin (a hormone) and papain (an enzyme found in fruit of the papaya), which contain 13 percent by weight. Tyrosine is one of several so-called essential amino acids for certain animals; i.e., they cannot

Baumgarten, Alexander Gottlieb

2005-02-26T01:24:00.000-08:00

As a student at Halle, Baumgarten was strongly influenced by the works of G.W. Leibniz and by Christian Wolff, a professor and systematic philosopher. He was appointed

Yew

2005-02-25T23:10:00.000-08:00

Any tree or shrub of the genus Taxus (family Taxaceae), approximately eight species of ornamental evergreens, distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Other trees called yew but not in this genus are the plum-yew (q.v.), Prince Albert yew (see Podocarpaceae), and stinking yew (q.v.). Two species are always shrubby, but the others may become trees up to 25 metres (about 80 feet)

English Literature, Courtly poetry

2005-02-25T19:42:00.000-08:00

The numerous 15th-century followers of Chaucer continued to treat the conventional range of courtly and moralizing topics, but only rarely with the intelligence and stylistic accomplishment of their distinguished predecessors. The canon of Chaucer's works began to accumulate delightful but apocryphal trifles such as “The Flower and the Leaf” and “The Assembly

Biblical Literature, Form and content of John

2005-02-24T11:02:00.000-08:00

In John there is a mixture of long meditational discourses on definite themes and concrete events recalling the structure of Matthew (with events plus discourses); and, although the source problem is complex and research is still grappling with it, there can be little doubt that John depended on a distinct source for his seven miracles (the sign [or semeia] source): (1) turning

Rosenzweig, Franz

2005-02-22T17:31:00.000-08:00

German-Jewish religious Existentialist who, through his fresh handling of traditional religious themes, became one of the most influential modern Jewish theologians. In 1913, although his conversion to Christianity had seemed imminent, a religious experience caused him to devote his life to the study, teaching, and practice of

Arabia, History Of, World War I

2005-02-22T11:01:00.000-08:00

The Ottoman Empire entered World War I holding all of western Arabia and supported in central northern Arabia by the Rashidis of Ha'il. Earlier Ottoman attempts to extend the empire to eastern Arabia, however, had been countered by the British, who were then paramount in the gulf and in treaty relation with the Arab sheikhdoms there. Sharif Husayn ibn 'Ali of Mecca, with assurance

Empiricism, In medieval philosophy

2005-02-22T02:32:00.000-08:00

Most medieval philosophers after St. Augustine (see below, Criticism and evaluation) took an Empiricist position, at least about concepts, even if they recognized much substantial but nonempirical knowledge. The standard formulation of this age was: “There is nothing in the intellect that was not previously in the senses.” Thus St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–74) altogether rejected

Additive

2005-02-21T22:23:00.000-08:00

In foods, any of various chemical substances added to foods to produce specific desirable effects. The term additive may also be expanded to include substances—possibly useless or deleterious—that enter foods unintentionally. Additives include such substances as artificial or natural colourings and flavourings; stabilizers, emulsifiers, texturizers, and

Koch, Robert

2005-02-20T18:27:00.000-08:00

In full Robert Heinrich Hermann Koch German physician and one of the founders of bacteriology. He discovered the anthrax disease cycle (1876) and the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis (1882) and cholera (1883). For his discoveries in regard to tuberculosis, he received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1905.

Moravian Karst

2005-02-20T14:03:00.000-08:00

Czech Moravský Kras karst in Jihomoravský kraj (region), eastern Czech Republic. It is a limestone area containing a labyrinth of swallow holes, underground passages and lakes, caverns, and calcareous formations. One of several small, disconnected karst areas, it is situated north of Brno, along the eastern bank of the Svitava River, and eastward along the latter's underground tributaries,

Star, Variations in stellar size

2005-02-19T21:57:00.000-08:00

Table 1 lists data pertaining to the 20 brightest

Ibn Tufayl

2005-02-18T07:06:00.000-08:00

Moorish philosopher and physician who is known for his Hayy ibn yaqzan (c. 1175; Eng. trans. by L.E. Goodman, Hayy ibn Yaqzan by Ibn Tufayl, 1972), a philosophical romance in which he describes the self-education

Hay Fever

2005-02-18T07:03:00.000-08:00

Also called rose fever or allergic rhinitis seasonally recurrent bouts of sneezing, nasal congestion, and tearing and itching of the eyes caused by allergy to the pollen of certain plants, chiefly those depending upon the wind for cross-fertilization, such as ragweed in North America and timothy grass in Great Britain. In allergic persons contact with pollen releases histamine from the tissues, which irritates

Race, General histories

2005-02-17T00:29:00.000-08:00

Histories dealing with the origin of the concept of race include Ivan Hannaford, Race: The History of an Idea in the West (1996); and Audrey Smedley, Race in North America: Origin and Evolution of a Worldview, 2nd ed. (1999).

Harden, Sir Arthur

2005-02-16T04:43:00.000-08:00

After studies at Manchester and at Erlangen, Germany, Harden became a lecturer-demonstrator at the University of Manchester (1888–97). He took charge of the

Baracoa

2005-02-15T07:16:00.000-08:00

In December 1492 Christopher Columbus stopped at what is now

Ussuri River

2005-02-14T11:24:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Wu-su-li Chiang, or (Pinyin) Wusuli Jiang, northward-flowing tributary of the Amur River that for a considerable distance forms the boundary between China (Heilungkiang province) and Russia (Siberia). The Ussuri is formed by the confluence of the Ulakhe and Arsenyevka rivers, both of which rise on the southwestern slopes of the Sikhote-Alin mountains. Its length from the source of the Ulakhe is 565 miles (909 km), and

De Toth, André

2005-02-14T09:01:00.000-08:00

Hungarian-born film and television director (b. May 15, 1913?, Mako, Austria-Hungary—d. Oct. 27, 2002, Burbank, Calif.), made a number of raw, violent, and psychologically disturbing B movies, including Ramrod (1947), Pitfall (1948), and Crime Wave (1954), that gained him a cult following, but he became best known to the general public for House of Wax (1953), considered the best of the 3-D films.

Bahr Al-ghazal

2005-02-13T23:00:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Bahr el-Ghazal, English Gazelle River, river, The Sudan, chief western affluent of the Nile River. It is 445 miles (716 km) long and joins the upper Nile (Bahr al-Jabal) through Lake No, from which it flows eastward as the White Nile (Bahr al-Abyad). Vaguely known to early Greek geographers, the river was mapped in 1772 by the French geographer Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville. It is known as the Bahr al-Ghazal only after joining with

Talat Pasa

2005-02-13T10:27:00.000-08:00

The son of a minor Ottoman official, Talat joined the staff of the telegraph company in Edirne, but he was soon arrested (1893) for subversive political activity. Released two years later, he was appointed chief

Powys, John Cowper

2005-02-12T06:25:00.000-08:00

Educated at Sherborne School and the University of Cambridge, Powys was a university extension

Hokinson, Helen

2005-02-11T07:12:00.000-08:00

Hokinson attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and began a career

Füssen

2005-02-11T04:24:00.000-08:00

City, Bavaria Land (state), extreme southern Germany. It lies along the Lech River, at the east foot of the Allgäu Alps, near the Austrian border. The site of a Roman frontier station, the city developed around the Benedictine abbey of St. Magnus (founded 628) and was chartered about 1294. A treaty concluded there in 1745 led to the withdrawal of Bavaria from the War of the Austrian Succession.

Fabry, Charles

2005-02-09T22:39:00.000-08:00

Fabry joined the staff of Marseilles University in 1894. His early studies centred on light interference, in which a primary research instrument

Allen, Hervey

2005-02-09T15:56:00.000-08:00

Allen was wounded in World War

Roche, Kevin

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

Roche graduated in 1945 with a bachelor's degree in architecture from the National University of Ireland in Dublin. After short-term employment with firms in Dublin and London, he did postgraduate

Paeligni

2005-02-07T15:15:00.000-08:00

Ancient people of central Italy, whose territory lay inland on the eastward slopes of the Apennines. Though akin to the Samnites, they formed a separate league with their neighbours the Marsi, Marrucini, and Vestini. This league appears to have broken up after the Second Samnite War (304 BC), when each tribe came into an alliance with the Romans that lasted until the Social

Nitrite

2005-02-06T17:14:00.000-08:00

Any member of either of two classes of compounds derived from nitrous acid. Salts of nitrous acid are ionic compounds containing the nitrite ion, NO-2, and a positive ion such as Na+ in sodium nitrite (NaNO2). Esters of nitrous acid are covalent compounds having the structure R-O-N-O, in which R represents a carbon-containing combining group such as ethyl (C2H5) in ethyl nitrite.

Diesel, Rudolf (christian Karl)

2005-02-06T10:58:00.000-08:00

Diesel, the son of German-born parents, grew up in Paris until the family was deported to England in 1870 following the outbreak of the Franco-German

Quiché

2005-02-05T06:58:00.000-08:00

Department, northwestern Guatemala, bounded on the north by Mexico. The 3,235 sq mi (8,378 sq km) of the department extend from the valley of the upper Río Motagua across the Sierra de Chuacús and the Altos (mountains) Cuchumatanes to the lowlands of the Río Lacantum, at the Mexican border. Most of the inhabitants, many of whom are Maya Indians, are farmers, raising livestock, corn (maize),

Cartridge

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

In weaponry, unit of small-arms ammunition, composed of a metal (usually brass) case, a propellant charge, a projectile or bullet, and a primer. The first cartridges, appearing in the second half of the 16th century, consisted merely of charges of powder wrapped in paper; the ball was loaded separately. During the next century, methods of including the ball with the powder were

Mathematics, Foundations Of, Nonconstructive arguments

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

Another criticism of the Cantor-Frege program was raised by Kronecker, who objected to nonconstructive arguments, such as the following proof that there exist irrational numbers a and b such that ab is rational. If

Uusimaa

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

In full Uudenmaan Lääni , Swedish Nylands Län lääni (province), southern Finland, on the Gulf of Finland. Helsinki, the national capital and also the provincial administrative capital, is located midway along the Uusimaa coast. Other important towns include Porvoo (Borgå), Kerava, Lovisa (Loviisa), Hyvinkää, Hangö (Hanko), and Ekenäs (Tammisaari). In some areas the population is mainly Swedish-speaking. The area is low

Mathematics, Foundations Of, Nonconstructive arguments

2005-02-01T02:01:00.000-08:00

At the end of World War II, Christian Democratic parties

Newton

2005-01-31T05:10:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1872) of Harvey county, central Kansas, U.S. Founded in 1871 and named for Newton, Massachusetts, it was a railhead for the Chisholm Trail cattle drives from 1871 to 1873, when it was designated a division point of the Santa Fe Railroad. In the 1870s Russian Mennonite settlers began raising Turkey Red hard winter wheat brought from their homeland, and this variety became Kansas's principal

Saransk

2005-01-31T04:23:00.000-08:00

City and capital of Mordvinia, in western Russia. It lies along the upper Insar River and on the western flank of the Volga River uplands. The city was founded in 1641 as a stronghold on the Saransk defensive line. It is an important route centre, with railways to Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Samara, and Penza. Industrial development was greatly stimulated in World War II,

Melchizedek

2005-01-29T19:24:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Melchisedech, in the Old Testament, a figure of importance in biblical tradition because he was both king and priest, was connected with Jerusalem, and was revered by Abraham, who paid a tithe to him. He appears as a person only in an interpolated vignette (Gen. 14:18–20) of the story of Abraham rescuing his kidnapped nephew, Lot, by defeating a coalition of Mesopotamian kings under

Wake Island

2005-01-29T17:55:00.000-08:00

Formerly Halcyon Island, or Helsion Island, an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, 2,300 miles (3,700 km) west of Honolulu. An unincorporated territory of the United States, it comprises three low-lying coral islets (Wilkes, Peale, and Wake) that rise to 21 feet (6 m) and occupy a total land area of 2.5 square miles (6.5 square km). Linked by causeways, they lie in a crescent configuration on a reef (4.5 miles [7.2 km] long and 2 miles [3.2 km] wide) surrounding a lagoon.

Poznan

2005-01-29T16:04:00.000-08:00

Beginning as a small stronghold in the 9th century, Poznan became the capital of Poland (with Gniezno) and the residence of Poland's first two sovereigns. The first Polish cathedral was erected there

Valdivia

2005-01-28T21:49:00.000-08:00

Capital of Valdivia provincia, Los Lagos región, southern Chile. It lies at the confluence of the Callecalle and Cruces rivers, which there form the Valdivia River, 11 miles (18 km) from the Pacific Ocean. Although it was founded in 1552 and was a strategically significant outpost during the colonial era, Valdivia did not flourish until after the mid-19th century, when a large influx

Ursuline

2005-01-27T21:01:00.000-08:00

Member of Order of Saint Ursula (O.S.U.) a Roman Catholic religious order of women founded at Brescia, Italy, in 1535, by St. Angela Merici, as the first institute for women dedicated exclusively to the education of girls. Angela and her 28 companions placed themselves under the protection of St. Ursula, a legendary 4th-century martyr whose cult was popular in medieval Europe. The original Ursulines remained in their

Sunderland, Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl Of, Baron Spencer Of Wormleighton

2005-01-27T11:58:00.000-08:00

Spencer was the only son and heir of the 1st Earl of Sunderland, and in 1679 he became secretary

La Rioja

2005-01-26T17:17:00.000-08:00

City, capital of La Rioja provincia, northwestern Argentina, on La Rioja River at the foot of the Velasco Mountains. Founded in 1591 by explorers for gold and silver, it long remained a small commercial and administrative centre close to intermittently worked deposits of copper, silver, and lead ores in the high Andes to the west. Its destruction by earthquake in 1894 led to its

Ascii-type Printing Telegraphs

2005-01-25T21:20:00.000-08:00

As embodied in the AT&T Teletype model 37 of 1968, the seven-level ASCII code was signaled by holes punched in an eight-level tape, as illustrated in the Figure. The circles in the Figure represent the holes, which were punched when the operator depressed keys located on a four-row keyboard. The top row of the keyboard consisted of control keys;

Italian Literature

2005-01-25T05:48:00.000-08:00

The body of written works produced in the Italian language that had its beginnings in the 13th century. Until that time nearly all literary work composed in the Middle Ages was written in Latin. Moreover, it was predominantly practical in nature and produced by writers trained in ecclesiastical schools. Literature in Italian developed later than literature in French

Arnhem Land

2005-01-24T20:03:00.000-08:00

Historical region of Northern Territory, Australia. It consists of the eastern half of the large peninsula that forms the northernmost portion of the Northern Territory. The region, with a total area of about 37,000 square miles (95,900 square km), consists of a ruggedly dissected plateau and associated lowlands lying between the Roper and Alligator rivers. The coast of Arnhem

Hamid Dynasty

2005-01-24T19:09:00.000-08:00

Turkmen dynasty (c. 1300–1423) that ruled in southwestern Anatolia. It was founded by Felekuddin Dündar, whose father, Ilyas, was a frontier ruler under the Seljuqs and who named it after his grandfather; Dündar governed the Hamid principality jointly with his brother Yunus, with two capitals, one at Egridir and one at Antalya (Attalia). Dündar was defeated and killed (1324) by Demirtas, the

Ficino, Marsilio

2005-01-24T04:15:00.000-08:00

Ficino was the son of a physician who was acquainted

Owens, Jesse

2005-01-22T08:19:00.000-08:00

As a student in a Cleveland,

Kama River

2005-01-22T00:19:00.000-08:00

Russian Reka Kama, river in west-central Russia. Rising in the Upper Kama Upland of Udmurtia, it flows north, then east, south, and southwest for 1,122 miles (1,805 km) until it enters the Volga River below Kazan, in the Samara Reservoir. It drains a basin of 202,000 square miles (522,000 square km). The spring maximum flow following the snowmelt accounts for nearly 60 percent of the annual flow; freeze-up lasts from mid-November

Swimming

2005-01-21T13:51:00.000-08:00

Fu took the women's 3-m springboard

Moraceae

2005-01-20T23:26:00.000-08:00

The mulberry family of the nettle order (Urticales), with about 40 genera and some 1,000 species of deciduous or evergreen trees and shrubs, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. Plants of the family contain a milky latex and have alternate or opposite leaves and small, petalless male or female flowers. The fruits of many species are multiple because fruits