SmoothSky

Agricultural Technology

2005-04-05T18:43:00.000-07:00

Application of techniques to control the growth and harvesting of animal and vegetable products.

Computers, The Internet

2005-04-05T13:53:00.000-07:00

The Internet grew out of funding by the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), later renamed the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), to develop a communication system among government and academic computer-research laboratories. The first network component, ARPANET, became operational in October 1969. With only 15 nongovernment (university) sites

Cochin, Charles-nicolas, The Younger

2005-04-05T03:12:00.000-07:00

The son of Charles-Nicolas the Elder (1688–1754), from whom he learned engraving, Cochin rose to national prominence early in his career. As a member of the academy (admitted in 1751) and the keeper of the king's drawings (a post he was given in 1752), he was officially enabled to exert his influence on the artistic taste of

Maslow, Abraham H.

2005-04-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

Maslow studied psychology at the University of Wisconsin and Gestalt psychology at the New School for Social Research

Bridget Of Sweden, Saint

2005-04-03T19:36:00.000-07:00

The daughter of Birger Persson, governor of Uppland, she had from an early age remarkable religious visions that influenced her entire life and outlook. In

Sotheby's

2005-04-03T03:47:00.000-07:00

The founder, Samuel Baker (died 1778), a London bookseller, held his first auction (under his own name) early in 1744, selling an estate library of 457 books. Establishing the firm in York Street and handling

Bhamo

2005-04-01T21:52:00.000-08:00

In ancient times Bhamo

Belém

2005-03-31T14:55:00.000-08:00

Also called Santa Maria de Belém freguesia (parish) within the western limits of the city of Lisbon, Portugal. A former royal residence, Belém (Bethlehem) is known for its Manueline (early 16th-century) architecture, notably the Jerónimos monastery, founded by Manuel I in 1499 in honour of the explorer Vasco da Gama's discovery of a sea route to India, and the white Tower of Belém, built in 1515–21 to protect the entrance

Bridget Of Sweden, Saint

2005-03-31T03:34:00.000-08:00

To assist and increase individual participation in a fuller Jewish life, the United Synagogue has administrative divisions for youth activities, Jewish

Platt, Orville Hitchcock

2005-03-30T18:50:00.000-08:00

Platt began the practice of law in Meriden, Conn., in 1850 and was active in Connecticut politics, serving as secretary of state (1857), state senator (1861–62), and member of the

Kigali

2005-03-30T03:18:00.000-08:00

The

Khakass

2005-03-29T11:36:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Khakas, or Hakas, people who have given their name to Khakassia republic in central Russia. The general name Khakass encompasses five Turkic-speaking groups that differ widely in their ethnic origin as well as in their culture and everyday life: the Kacha, Sagay (Sagai), Beltir, Kyzyl, and Koybal. Before the Russian Revolution of 1917 the Kacha were seminomadic pastoralists raising cattle,

Ericales

2005-03-27T18:36:00.000-08:00

The fossil record of Ericales is not enormous, especially considering the number of extant species in the order; in fact, many species placed in Ericales require careful reconsideration as their affinities with the order are doubtful. The Cyrillaceae are well documented in the fossil record with pollen grains occurring as far back as the Maastrichtian of the

Eadric Streona

2005-03-27T14:17:00.000-08:00

Little is known of Eadric's origins. His appointment to the office of ealdorman was probably an attempt by Ethelred to unite south-central England under one command. He is generally considered

Anouk Aimée

2005-03-27T09:40:00.000-08:00

The daughter of an actor and actress, Anouk Aimée made her first film appearance at the age of 14 in La Maison sous la mer (1946; “The House on the Sea”). After making an impression as a Juliet figure in the 1948 film Les Amants de Vérone (The Lovers of Verona), a role written especially for

Moreau, Gustave

2005-03-26T21:38:00.000-08:00

The only influence that really affected Moreau's development was that of his master, Théodore Chassériau (1819–56), an eclectic painter whose depictions of enigmatic sea goddesses deeply impressed his student. In the Salon of 1853 he exhibited “Scene

Saranac Lake

2005-03-26T17:37:00.000-08:00

Saranac Lake lies 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Lake Placid. It originated in 1819 as a lumber community and became an early rendezvous for mountain guides. The name, from the

Eystein I Magnusson

2005-03-26T00:14:00.000-08:00

An illegitimate son of Magnus III Barefoot, Eystein succeeded to the throne in 1103 with his younger brothers Sigurd I and Olaf (IV); the latter, a child, died in 1115, but Sigurd outlived Eystein. While Sigurd was off on crusades in Moorish Spain and the Holy

Vyadhapura

2005-03-24T11:52:00.000-08:00

Its site is 120 miles (190 km) from the mouth of the

Hwange National Park

2005-03-23T18:05:00.000-08:00

Formerly Wankie National Park, park in northwestern Zimbabwe, on the Botswana frontier. It was established in 1928 as a game reserve, and as a national park in 1930. The park's area of 5,657 square miles (14,651 square km) is largely flat and contains fine hardwood forests of mukwa and Zimbabwean teak. Hwange is one of Africa's largest elephant sanctuaries and is also the habitat of thousands of Cape buffalo as well as giraffes,

Pabna

2005-03-21T20:43:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Pubna city, west-central Bangladesh. It lies along the Ichamati River, which is a tributary of the Padma (Ganges). An industrial centre, Pabna has jute mills and is noted for its hosiery and handloomed products. Historical remains include the Hindu temple of Jor Bangla and the Pabna Jubilee tank (water reservoir; excavated 1887). Pabna was incorporated a municipality in 1876; it has Jinnah Park,

Ribes

2005-03-21T11:43:00.000-08:00

Genus of about 150 species of shrubs of two distinct groups, the currants and the gooseberries, constituting the family Grossulariaceae (often included in the family Saxifragaceae). They are native to the temperate regions of North America, extending southward into the Andes. Some authorities separate the gooseberries as the genus Grossularia. Currants usually

International Trade, The European Community

2005-03-20T03:51:00.000-08:00

The EEC remained a leading proponent of economic integration until 1993, when, renamed the European Community (EC), it became the principal component of the European Union (EU), a broader entity seeking economic and political cooperation. The EC was formed by the Maastricht Treaty (formally known as the Treaty on European Union; 1991), which went into force on November 1, 1993. The treaty

Industrial Bank Of Japan

2005-03-19T23:44:00.000-08:00

Japanese Nippon Kogyo Ginko former Japanese commercial bank that operated a general-banking and foreign-exchange business with branches in Japan and overseas. Established in 1902, the bank had specialized in medium- and long-term financing of industrial development, and both its main office and its foreign branches were active in the foreign-exchange markets. In September 2000, Industrial Bank of

Duchesne, Saint Rose Philippine

2005-03-19T07:38:00.000-08:00

Duchesne was born into a wealthy family with high political and financial connections. In 1780 she went to study at a convent and, despite her father's opposition, entered the Visitation Order in Grenoble in 1788. When the community

Tsugaru Strait

2005-03-19T05:23:00.000-08:00

Japanese Tsugaru-kaikyo, strait of the northwest Pacific extending east from the Sea of Japan to the open ocean between the Japanese islands of Honshu (south) and Hokkaido. It is 15 to 25 miles (24 to 40 km) wide. The strait takes the Tsugaru Current, a warmer and saltier flow that is an extension of the Tsushima Drift, and carries it into the Pacific. Hakodate is a port city on Hokkaido; Aomori is its complement

Disney, Walt

2005-03-18T10:25:00.000-08:00

Byname of Walter Elias Disney American motion-picture and television producer and showman, famous as a pioneer of animated cartoon films and as the creator of such cartoon characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. He also planned and built Disneyland, a huge amusement park that opened near Los Angeles in 1955, and before his death he

Abomey

2005-03-17T18:51:00.000-08:00

Town, southern Benin (formerly Dahomey). Probably founded in the early 17th century, it soon became the capital of the kingdom of Abomey (later Dahomey), which dominated production and trade with the European enterprises on the Slave Coast until the late 19th century. The town is located in an area where palm nuts and peanuts (groundnuts) are grown; it is connected by road and

Hurdle Race

2005-03-17T02:36:00.000-08:00

Horse race over a course on which a number of obstacles, called hurdles, must be jumped. Hurdle racing, a kind of preparation for steeplechasing, originated in England and Ireland in the 18th century and by the second half of the 20th century had spread to Commonwealth countries, Europe, and the eastern United States. Its hurdles are light and movable and are lower than steeplechase

Jabal Shammar

2005-03-17T02:13:00.000-08:00

Mountainous area, northwestern Saudi Arabia, bounded by the regions of Hejaz on the west and Ash-Sharqiyah on the east. The principal features of the region are the two great mountain ranges of Aja' (granites) and Salma (basalts) and the immense rolling sand dunes of An-Nafud. The oasis town of Ha'il is situated on the southern flank of the Aja', while an older capital, Fayd, lies in the

Sertorius, Quintus

2005-03-16T00:46:00.000-08:00

After acquiring some reputation in Rome as a jurist and orator, Sertorius fought in Gaul against the invading Cimbri and Teutons (105 and 102) and in 97 served in Spain. In 90 he was quaestor in Cisalpine Gaul and commanded an army in the

Kearny, Stephen Watts

2005-03-15T23:14:00.000-08:00

After serving in the War of 1812, Kearny spent most of the next 30 years on frontier duty. At the beginning of the Mexican War, he was ordered to lead an expedition from Fort Leavenworth, Kan., to seize New Mexico and California for the United States. Lacking

Round Table

2005-03-14T07:49:00.000-08:00

In Arthurian legend, the table of Arthur, Britain's legendary king, which was first mentioned in Wace of Jersey's Roman de Brut (1155). This told of King Arthur's having a round table made so that none of his barons, when seated at it, could claim precedence over the others. The literary importance of the Round Table, especially in romances of the 13th century and afterward, lies in

Sakaida Family

2005-03-14T00:09:00.000-08:00

Also called Kakiemon Family, celebrated family of Japanese potters whose founder, Sakaida Kizaemon (1596–1666), was awarded the name Kakiemon in recognition of his capturing the delicate red colour and texture of the persimmon (kaki) in porcelain. See Kakiemon ware.

Fruit Bat

2005-03-12T11:26:00.000-08:00

Any of numerous tropical Old World bats of the family Pteropodidae (q.v.).

Vajirañanavarorasa

2005-03-11T22:15:00.000-08:00

Vajirañana was a son of King Mongkut and spent, by his own account, a youth of profligate luxury. Early contact with a scholarly and ascetic Scottish physician, Peter Gowan, and Prince

Shubra Al-khaymah

2005-03-11T18:34:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Shubra El-kheima, northern suburb of Cairo, in al-Qalyubiyah muhafazah (governorate), on the east bank of the Nile, Lower Egypt. It was formerly a market town supplying Cairo with agricultural produce from the rich, alluvial delta area. In the 1820s Muhammad 'Ali, the Ottoman viceroy of Egypt, built the country's first European-type factories and schools in Shubra al-Khaymah, and it developed as an industrial

Gamaliel Iii

2005-03-11T18:01:00.000-08:00

A direct descendant of the sage Hillel, Gamaliel became patriarch of the Jewish community in Palestine in approximately AD 220 and, consequently, head of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish legislative body of that time. Beyond the fact that Gamaliel helped complete

Rambouillet

2005-03-10T23:18:00.000-08:00

Breed of sheep, developed from selections of a few hundred of the best Merino sheep of Spain in 1786 and 1799 by the French government at its national sheepfold at Rambouillet, Fr. First imported to the United States in 1840, the breed was successfully molded through selective breeding to meet the needs of a large class of U.S. sheep producers. Rambouillets prevail on the western ranges,

Skanda

2005-03-09T21:19:00.000-08:00

Also called Karttikeya, Kumara, or Subrahmanya, Hindu god of war and the first-born son of Siva (Shiva). The many legends giving the circumstances of his birth are often at variance with one another. One account is given by Kalidasa (4th and 5th centuries AD) in his epic poem Kumarasambhava (“The Birth of the War God”). The versions all generally agree that the gods wished for Skanda to be born in order to destroy the demon Taraka, who had

Soil Mechanics

2005-03-08T09:42:00.000-08:00

The first scientific study of soil mechanics was undertaken by French physicist Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, who published a theory of earth pressure in 1773. Coulomb's work and a theory of earth masses published by Scottish

Béjart Family

2005-03-08T03:02:00.000-08:00

Joseph Béjart (c. 1617–59) was a strolling player and later a member of Molière's first company (the Illustre Théâtre). Joseph accompanied Molière in his theatrical wanderings and was with him when

Levene, Phoebus (aaron Theodor)

2005-03-07T20:16:00.000-08:00

On receiving his M.D. degree from the St. Petersburg Imperial Medical Academy in 1891, Levene fled from Russian anti-Semitism and settled in New York City. While practicing medicine there, he studied chemistry at Columbia University and ultimately decided to devote

Harald Ii Eiriksson,

2005-03-07T11:43:00.000-08:00

The son of Erik Bloodax, who was the half brother of Haakon I, Harald took refuge in Denmark following his father's death. Aided by his uncle, the Danish king Harald Bluetooth (Blåtand), Harald

Moro, Aldo

2005-03-06T13:38:00.000-08:00

A professor of law at the University of Bari, Moro published several books on legal subjects and served also as president of the Federazione

La Noue, François De

2005-03-06T06:08:00.000-08:00

La Noue became a Protestant in 1558 and soon began fighting for the Huguenot cause. Wounded at Fontenay (1570), he had one arm replaced by an iron device and was thereafter nicknamed Bras-de-Fer (“Arm of Iron”). After the Peace of

Butler, Benjamin F(ranklin)

2005-03-05T13:47:00.000-08:00

A prominent attorney at Lowell, Mass., Butler served two terms in the state legislature (1853, 1859), where he distinguished himself by vigorously supporting the cause of labour and of naturalized citizens. Though he

Plisetskaya, Maya (mikhaylovna)

2005-03-04T20:52:00.000-08:00

A niece of the dancers Asaf and Sulamith Messerer, Plisetskaya studied with Paul Gerdt's daughter Yelizaveta and with Agrippina Yakovlevna Vaganova and graduated from the Bolshoi

Biblical Literature, Form criticism

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

Form criticism has become one of the most valuable tools for the reconstruction of the preliterary tradition. This discipline classifies the literary material according to the principal “forms”—such as legal, poetic, and other forms—represented in its contents, and examines these in order to discover how they were handed down and what their successive life settings

Dinosaur, Pachycephalosauria

2005-03-02T19:06:00.000-08:00

In important respects the pachycephalosaurs conformed to the basic ornithopod body plan, and there is some evidence that pachycephalosaurs actually evolved from (and are therefore members of) ornithopods, perhaps similar to hypsilophodontids. All of them appear to have been bipedal. They bore the typical ornithopod ossified tendons along the back, and they

Taconic Range

2005-03-01T03:00:00.000-08:00

Part of the Appalachian mountain system, U.S., extending southward for 150 miles (240 km) from a point southwest of Brandon, Vt., to northern Putnam county, New York. It rises to Mount Equinox (3,816 feet [1,163 m]) in Vermont and includes Mount Frissell (2,380 feet [725 m]), the highest point in Connecticut. In Massachusetts the mountains constitute the western section of the Berkshire Hills. Taconic State

'abd Al-qadir Al-jilani

2005-03-01T02:55:00.000-08:00

He studied Islamic law in Baghdad and was introduced to Sufism rather late in life, first appearing as a preacher in 1127. His great reputation as a preacher and teacher attracted disciples from the entire Islamic world, and he is said to have converted numerous Jews and Christians

China, The Chinese Communist Party

2005-02-28T18:25:00.000-08:00

The CCP grew directly from the May Fourth Movement. Its leaders and early members were professors and students who came to believe that China needed a social revolution and who began to see Soviet Russia as a model. Chinese students in Japan and France had earlier studied socialist doctrines and the ideas of Karl Marx, but the Russian Revolution of 1917 stimulated a fresh

Pacific Islands, Agriculture and natural resources

2005-02-27T20:30:00.000-08:00

Coconut products, including copra, from which oil is extracted, form the principal export from most islands. Agricultural production depends as much on native family enterprise as it does on plantation systems, which predominate in the larger islands. Perishable fruits, such as pineapples, bananas, and citrus fruits, require markets close at hand unless they are

Kyoto, Climate

2005-02-27T13:55:00.000-08:00

During spring and fall Kyoto is in its prime; the rainy season (June–July), lasting three to four weeks, is unavoidable; and summers are hot and humid. Winter brings two or three light snows and a unique “chilling from below” (sokobie), which must be tolerated. The yearly mean temperature of Kyoto is about 59° F (15° C); the highest monthly mean, 80° F (27° C), is in August, and the lowest, 38° F (3° C), is in January.

Eichler, August Wilhelm

2005-02-27T07:56:00.000-08:00

Eichler studied mathematics and natural science at the University of Marburg (Ph.D., 1861). He then went to Munich, where he became a private assistant to the naturalist Karl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, with whom he edited Flora

Ta-pieh Mountains

2005-02-25T06:52:00.000-08:00

Wade–Giles romanization Ta-pieh Shan, Pinyin Dabie Shan, mountain range in central China. It has a roughly northwest-to-southeast axis, which forms the watershed between the upper Huai River and the Yangtze River and also marks the boundary between Hupeh province and its eastern and northern neighbours, the provinces of Honan and Anhwei. The name Ta-pieh Mountains properly belongs to the southeastern, higher section

Agrínion

2005-02-25T06:40:00.000-08:00

Chief town of the nomós (department) of Aetolia and Acarnania, west-central Greece. It lies 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Lake Trikhonís, about midway between the Ionian Sea and the Gulf of Patras. Formerly called Vrakhóri (an abbreviation of Evrekori, “Town of the Jews”), it has reverted to the name of an ancient Aetolian centre on the Achelous River that was just northwest of the

Campaign Furniture

2005-02-24T17:21:00.000-08:00

Case furniture was usually teak,

Mindelo

2005-02-23T20:42:00.000-08:00

Portuguese Porto Grande, city and main port of Cape Verde, in the Atlantic Ocean. It lies on the northwest shore of São Vicente Island, about 560 miles (900 km) off the west African coast. The city's deepwater harbour on Porto Grande Bay is an important refueling point for transatlantic freighters. Mindelo port has been a submarine cable station since 1875. A new shipyard, financed by a loan from the European

Giri, Varahagiri Venkata

2005-02-23T10:55:00.000-08:00

Giri began his education at Khallikote College, Berhampore, and then went to Dublin to study law. There he became engaged in the Sinn Féin movement and was expelled from Ireland in 1916. Upon his return to India, he joined the nascent labour movement. He became general secretary and

Cartoon

2005-02-23T02:25:00.000-08:00

Originally, and still, a full-size sketch or drawing used as a pattern for a tapestry, painting, mosaic, or other graphic art form, but also, since the early 1840s, a pictorial parody utilizing caricature, satire, and usually humour. Cartoons are used today primarily for conveying political commentary and editorial opinion in newspapers and for social comedy and visual wit

Gray, Asa

2005-02-22T19:14:00.000-08:00

American botanist whose extensive studies of North American flora did more than the work of any other botanist to unify the taxonomic knowledge of plants of this region. His most widely used book, Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States, from New England to Wisconsin and South to Ohio and Pennsylvania Inclusive (1848), commonly

Wakayama

2005-02-21T10:54:00.000-08:00

Ken (prefecture), south-central Honshu, Japan. It occupies the Kii Peninsula, which faces the Kii Strait (west) and the Pacific Ocean (south). Most of its area of 1,824 square miles (4,725 square km) is mountainous and broken by deep river valleys, such as the Toro Gorge on the Kumano River. Despite frequent typhoons in summer, the climate is mild, and the coastal plain and some large valleys

Aesthetics

2005-02-21T05:21:00.000-08:00

Also spelled esthetics, the philosophical study of beauty and taste. To define its subject matter more precisely is, however, immensely difficult. Indeed, it could be said that self-definition has been the major task of modern aesthetics. We are acquainted with an interesting and puzzling realm of experience: the realm of the beautiful, the ugly, the sublime, and the elegant; of taste, criticism,

Saidpur

2005-02-19T15:12:00.000-08:00

Town, northwestern Bangladesh. A jute-processing and export centre, it is a major railway terminus containing large railway workshops. It has a college affiliated with the University of Rajshahi. Pop. (1981 prelim.) 128,085.

Interior Design, Origins in Western antiquity

2005-02-19T08:20:00.000-08:00

Excavations in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt suggest that the earliest equivalent of furniture consisted of platforms of bricks, which served as chairs, tables, and beds, no doubt spread with textiles or animal skins. There is also good reason to think that walls were painted and, in the case of more important buildings, decorated with mural paintings. Movable furniture

Gsung-'bum

2005-02-18T05:51:00.000-08:00

The writings of the lamas include commentaries on Indian texts together with essays on

Smith, Charlotte

2005-02-18T00:48:00.000-08:00

English novelist and poet, highly praised by the novelist Sir Walter Scott. Her poetic attitude toward nature was reminiscent of William Cowper's in celebrating the “ordinary” pleasures of the English countryside. Her radical attitudes toward conventional morality (the novel Desmond tells of the innocent

Industrial Polymers, Major, Aldehyde condensation polymers

2005-02-17T09:26:00.000-08:00

The polymerization reactions of these monomers produce complex, thermosetting network polymers with the following

Interior Design, Primitive peoples

2005-02-16T23:45:00.000-08:00

Although the practices of present-day primitive peoples sometimes shed light on the historical origins of those practices, there is too little art and decoration in such communities today to illuminate the beginnings of interior decoration. No clear-cut progressions of styles, like those that occurred in Europe, can be identified except among peoples who could

Sarcoidosis

2005-02-16T16:25:00.000-08:00

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

Arts, Central Asian, Social role of music

2005-02-15T16:27:00.000-08:00

Three basic functions of music are common throughout most of the region: music as ritual, with magical connotations (shamanism); music as tribal record, aiding group solidarity (epic recitation); and music as entertainment (itinerant performers, festivals). Music is the medium of the shaman, or priest-medicine man, as he performs his role as mediator between the seen, or

Dryden, John

2005-02-13T20:01:00.000-08:00

The abdication of James II in 1688 destroyed Dryden's political prospects, and he lost his

Empiricism

2005-02-13T02:17:00.000-08:00

Classic texts for Empiricism include John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, 2 vol. (1690); David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature, book 1, pt. 1 (1739); Immanuel Kant, Kritik der reinen Vernunft (1781; Eng. trans., Critique of Pure Reason, 1929); and John Stuart Mill, A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive, books 1 and 2 (1843). W.H. Walsh, Reason and Experience (1947); and H.H. Price, Thinking and Experience, 2nd ed. (1969), are good general surveys. For a comprehensive selection of standard works from Locke to J.S. Mill, see A.J. Ayer and R. Winch (eds.), The British Empirical Philosophers (1952). Modern works in the Empiricist tradition include Bertrand Russell, Human Knowledge (1948); W.T. Stace, Theory of Knowledge and Existence (1932); Rudolf Carnap, Der logische Aufbau der Welt (1928; Eng. trans., The Logical Structure of the World, 1967); and A.J. Ayer, Language, Truth and Logic, 2nd ed. (1946), a short exposition of the extreme Empiricist position. Harold Morick (ed.), Challenges to Empiricism (1980), is a collection of essays.

Vowel

2005-02-12T19:30:00.000-08:00

In human speech, sound in which the flow of air from the lungs passes through the mouth, which functions as a resonance chamber, with minimal obstruction and without audible friction; e.g., the i in “fit,” and the a in “pack.” Although usually produced with vibrating vocal cords, vowels may be pronounced without such vibration, resulting in a voiceless, or whispered, sound. From

Banner System

2005-02-12T13:07:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade–Giles romanization) Ch'i-ping, Pinyin Qibing, the military organization used by the Manchu tribes of Manchuria (now Northeast China) to conquer and control China in the 17th century. The Banner system was developed by the Manchu leader Nurhachi (1559–1626), who in 1601 organized his warriors into four companies of 300 men each. The companies were distinguished by banners of different colours—yellow, red, white, and blue. In 1615 four more

Architecture, History Of Western, From the 17th to the 19th century

2005-02-11T23:26:00.000-08:00

A Gothic Revival was in a sense initiated early in England during the late 16th century under the influence of Elizabethan and Jacobean notions of chivalry and again between 1620 and 1630 under the impetus of William Laud's Anglicanism; but it is in the Gothic experimentalism of the late 17th century, particularly that of Wren's circle, in which seeds of a Gothic Revival can be discerned.

Qatar

2005-02-10T14:24:00.000-08:00

The Qatar peninsula is about 100 miles (160 km) from north to south, 50 miles (80 km) from east to west, and is generally rectangular in shape. Most of its area is flat, low-lying desert, which rises from the east to a central limestone plateau; hills rise to about 130 feet (40 metres) along the western and northern coasts. Sand dunes and salt flats, or sabkhahs, are the chief topographical features

Silchester

2005-02-10T00:29:00.000-08:00

Village (“parish”) in Basingstoke and Deane borough, in the northern part of the administrative and historic county of Hampshire, England, southwest of Reading. Near the small modern village is the deserted site of the important Roman-British town of Calleva Atrebatum, a node of the Roman road system in Britain. Most of the antiquities recovered from the site are in the

Hyperion

2005-02-09T08:27:00.000-08:00

One of the smaller satellites of Saturn, discovered in 1848 independently by the astronomers William Bond and George Bond of the United States and William Lassell of England. Hyperion orbits Saturn once every 21.3 days at a distance of 1,482,000 km (918,840 miles), between the orbits of the major satellites Titan and Iapetus. Its orbit is unusual in that it is somewhat eccentric (e = 0.104°) yet uninclined

Amide

2005-02-08T09:09:00.000-08:00

Any member of either of two classes of nitrogen-containing compounds related to ammonia and amines. The covalent amides are neutral or very weakly acidic substances formed by replacement of the hydroxyl group (OH) of an acid by an amino group (NR2, in which R may represent a hydrogen atom or an organic combining group such as methyl, CH3). The carboxamides (R¢CONR2), which are

Gwadar

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

Town and seaport, Balochistan province, southwestern Pakistan. Located on the sandy Nuh headland that juts southward into the Arabian Sea, the town is an important fishing (sardines and sharks) and trade centre. The main industrial concern is a fish-processing factory; salt is obtained by the evaporation of seawater. Gwadar became part of the sultanate of Muscat and Oman

Middlesex

2005-02-07T03:02:00.000-08:00

County, south-central Connecticut, U.S. It is bordered to the south by Long Island Sound and to the southwest by the Hammonasset River, and the Connecticut River bisects the county from north to south. Other waterways are the Menunketesuck River, the Moodus Reservoir, and Bashan Lake. The topography is mostly upland terrain, with river valleys and coastal lowlands. Parklands

Biblical Literature, The canon at Qumran.

2005-02-07T00:42:00.000-08:00

In the collection of manuscripts from the Judaean Desert—discovered from the 1940s on—there are no lists of canonical works and no codices (manuscript volumes), only individual scrolls. For these reasons nothing can be known with certainty about the contents and sequence of the canon of the Qumran sectarians. Since fragments of all the books of the Hebrew Bible (except

Eyelid

2005-02-05T08:21:00.000-08:00

Movable shield of skin and tissue that protects the eyeball from mechanical injury and helps to provide the moist chamber essential for the normal functioning of the conjunctiva and cornea. The conjunctiva is the mucous membrane that lines the eyelid and covers all the visible portion of the eyeball except the cornea, the transparent part of the eyeball that

Oral Surgery

2005-02-04T11:52:00.000-08:00

Dental specialty that deals with the diagnosis and surgical treatment of the diseases, injuries, and defects of the human mouth, jaw, and associated structures. The most common oral surgery procedure is tooth extraction. Other dental problems that require the skill of an oral surgeon include treatment of cysts (liquid- or semisolid-filled sacs), tumours, lesions, and

Philadelphia

2005-02-03T13:15:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1833) of Neshoba county, east-central Mississippi, U.S., and headquarters of the Choctaw Indian Agency, 80 miles (130 km) northeast of Jackson. It was settled on an old Native American site, Aloon Looanshaw, following the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek (1830) and named for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The agency was established in 1918, and the majority of the state's several thousand

Black And Tan

2005-02-03T04:16:00.000-08:00

Member of a British auxiliary police force employed in Ireland against the republicans from July 1920 to July 1921. Their popular name derived from the name of a variety of hunting dogs, applied to the police because of their attire of khaki coats, black belts, and dark green trousers and caps. When Irish nationalist agitation intensified after World War I, a large proportion

Togo, Transportation

2005-02-02T21:36:00.000-08:00

The government-owned national railway consists of four lines, all of which emanate from Lomé. One line connects Kpalimé with the capital; other lines run to Ané

Middletown

2005-02-02T09:51:00.000-08:00

Borough (town), Dauphin county, central Pennsylvania, U.S., just southeast of Harrisburg, at the confluence of Swatara Creek and the Susquehanna River. George Fisher settled the site in 1752 and in 1755 laid out the town, which he named Middletown for its location midway between Lancaster and Carlisle. In 1809 Fisher's son, George, laid out another town (Harborton) at the juncture of the

Cumberland

2005-02-01T20:22:00.000-08:00

County, south-central Pennsylvania, U.S. It consists of a hilly region in the Appalachian Ridge and Valley physiographic province bounded to the north by Blue Mountain, to the east by the Susquehanna River, to the southeast by Yellow Breeches Creek, and to the south by the Blue Ridge Mountains. Conodoguinet Creek and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail cross the

Switzerland, Barbarian invasions

2005-02-01T19:50:00.000-08:00

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

Nicodemus The Hagiorite, Saint

2005-01-31T15:34:00.000-08:00

Forced to flee Turkish persecution in the midst of his studies at Smyrna (now Izmir, Turkey), Nicodemus entered a monastery on Mount

Ujigami

2005-01-30T10:31:00.000-08:00

In the Shinto religion of Japan, the tutelary deity of a village or geographic area. The meaning of ujigami has undergone considerable evolution over the centuries, mainly because of the historical migrations of clan communities in Japan. Originally the term referred to the ancestral deity (kami) of a family or clan (uji), blood kinship forming the basis of the spiritual

Wolfsburg

2005-01-29T22:40:00.000-08:00

The village of Hesslingen, dating from about 700, was the first settlement near the site of Wolfsburg; the

Valencia

2005-01-29T00:32:00.000-08:00

Capital of Valencia province and the autonomous community (region) of Valencia, and of the former kingdom of Valencia, eastern Spain. Located on the Mediterranean coast at the mouth of the Río Turia (Guadalaviar), it is surrounded by orchards in a region known as the Huerta de Valencia. The earliest mention (Valentia) is by the Roman historian Livy, who states that the consul

Alabama State University

2005-01-28T23:54:00.000-08:00

Public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Montgomery, Alabama, U.S. It is a historically black school, and its enrollment is predominantly African American. Alabama State offers bachelor's and master's degree programs in the schools of Music and Graduate Studies and colleges of Business Administration, Education, and Arts and Sciences. An educational

China, Rainfall

2005-01-28T05:27:00.000-08:00

Rainfall in China generally decreases from the southeast to the northwest. The annual precipitation of certain places along the southeastern coast amounts to more than 80 inches. The Yangtze Valley receives about 40 inches. Farther north, in the Huai River Valley the annual rainfall decreases to 30 inches. In the lower reaches of the Huang Ho only 20 inches of precipitation

Ogoja

2005-01-27T15:36:00.000-08:00

Town, Cross River state, southeastern Nigeria, on the road from Abakaliki. A major trade centre (yams, cassava, corn [maize], rice, palm oil and kernels, kola nuts), it is mainly inhabited by the Ekoi peoples. Ogoja is the headquarters of a local government council and the site of a teacher-training college, a secondary school, and several hospitals and clinics. Pop. (1982 est.) 22,020.