ConsciousHorse

Kaf, Al-

2005-04-05T19:50:00.000-07:00

Also spelled El-kef, or Le Kef, town, northwestern Tunisia. The town is situated at an elevation of 2,559 feet (780 m) on the slopes of the Haut (high) Tell, 22 miles (35 km) from the Algerian border. It occupies the site of an ancient Carthaginian town and later Roman colony—Sicca Veneria. Al-Kaf (“The Rock”) was an important stronghold during Turkish rule and is now a regional marketplace and strategic road junction on the

Andreini, Francesco

2005-04-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

Andreini began his career as a soldier but was captured by the Turks and held in slavery by them for several years. Upon his return to Italy,

Wang Xizhi

2005-04-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

It is said that even in his lifetime a few of Wang's characters or his signature were priceless; down through the ages, aspiring students of that most basic yet highest art in China, calligraphy, have copied and preserved traces of his style. The most famous example of his writing is the

Integument, Variations among vertebrates

2005-04-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

The vertebrates belong to the phylum Chordata and are closely related to a small, fishlike, almost transparent invertebrate called amphioxus. Amphioxus represents chordate integument at its simplest: an epidermis, consisting of one layer of columnar or cuboidal epithelial cells and scattered mucous cells, covered by a thin cuticle, and a thin dermis of soft connective

Koda Rohan

2005-04-03T00:39:00.000-08:00

Rohan's early education was strong in the Japanese and Chinese classics, and although he was graduated from a technical school in 1884, before long

Dubbo

2005-04-02T17:34:00.000-08:00

City, east-central New South Wales, Australia, on the Macquarie River. Visited in 1818 by the explorer John Oxley, the district received its first settlers in 1824. Founded in 1841, Dubbo was an established village by 1849. It became a municipality in 1872 and a city in 1966. It is the trade centre of an area producing wheat, livestock, timber, and fruits and vegetables. Dubbo has slaughterhouses, flour

Bavand Dynasty

2005-03-31T14:56:00.000-08:00

The origins and early years of the dynasty

Tyumen

2005-03-31T14:21:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Tiumen, or T'umen ', oblast (province), central Russia, occupying an area of 554,100 square miles (1,435,200 square km) in the Ob-Irtysh Basin. In the extreme west the Ural Mountains attain 6,217 feet (1,895 m) in Mount Narodnaya, but the remainder of the oblast's huge area is a low, exceptionally flat plain, with innumerable lakes and very extensive swamps. The oblast stretches from tundra in the north, with its scanty vegetation

Solomon Islands

2005-03-29T13:27:00.000-08:00

In midyear and at the invitation

Sevilla

2005-03-29T10:47:00.000-08:00

, also spelled Seville , ancient Hispalis city and capital of the provincia of Sevilla, in the Andalusia comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of southern Spain. Sevilla lies on the left (east) bank of the Guadalquivir River at a point about 54 miles (87 km) north of the Atlantic, and about 340 miles (550 km) southwest of Madrid. An inland port, it is the chief city of Andalusia and the fourth largest in Spain. Sevilla was important

Greece, History Of

2005-03-29T01:06:00.000-08:00

Geographically, Greece forms the southernmost extension of the Balkan Peninsula. It is a region dominated by mountain systems, and, although not particularly high, these cover some 80 percent

Thomas, J.h.

2005-03-28T20:41:00.000-08:00

In full James Henry Thomas British trade-union leader and politician, a shrewd and successful industrial negotiator who lost his standing in the labour movement when he joined Ramsay MacDonald's coalition government (August 1931). Later (May 1936) he was found responsible for the leakage of details of a proposed national budget to Stock Exchange speculators,

Sardine

2005-03-27T20:05:00.000-08:00

Any of certain food fishes of the herring (q.v.) family, Clupeidae, especially members of the genera Sardina, Sardinops, and Sardinella; the name sardine can also refer to the common herring (Clupea harengus) and to other small herrings or herringlike fishes when canned in oil. The European sardine (Sardina, or Clupea, pilchardus)—known as pilchard in Britain—occurs in the

Tasmania, Soils

2005-03-27T16:30:00.000-08:00

Most Tasmanian soils are leached, acidic, poorly drained, high in humus, and low in fertility. Least fertile and most extensive are the soils, especially the moor peats, of the west and northeast. Fertile areas occur extensively in the northwest and locally elsewhere, notably in the northeast. Brown earths occupy the drier areas east of the Central Plateau; black earths,

Tsuruya Namboku Iv

2005-03-26T15:02:00.000-08:00

Little is known of his early years, but in 1755 he became an apprentice of the dramatist Sakurada Jisuke I. About 1780 he married the daughter of Tsuruya Namboku III, a well-known Kabuki actor of the time.

Leaf-rolling Weevil

2005-03-25T21:58:00.000-08:00

Any of the beetles of the subfamily Attelabidae of the family Curculionidae (order Coleoptera), so named because of the way in which females protect their newly laid eggs by rolling them up inside a growing leaf. After hatching, the larvae eat the leaf from within. Adults are free-living but associated with certain tree species. Attelabus nitens, for example, is associated

Agora

2005-03-25T13:49:00.000-08:00

In ancient Greek cities, an open space that served as a meeting ground for various activities of the citizens. The name, first found in the works of Homer, connotes both the assembly of the people as well as the physical setting; it was applied by the classical Greeks of the 5th century BC to what they regarded as a typical feature of their life: their daily religious, political,

Wagner, Honus

2005-03-24T14:48:00.000-08:00

The “Flying Dutchman” played for the Louisville Colonels

Azuero Peninsula

2005-03-24T10:02:00.000-08:00

Spanish Península De Azuero, physical region in southwestern Panama, protruding south into the Pacific Ocean between the Gulf of Panama to the east and the Gulf of Montijo to the west. It measures 60 miles (100 km) from east to west and 55 miles (90 km) from north to south. It attains a maximum elevation of 3,068 feet (935 m) at Mount Canajagua, southwest of Las Tablas. The main towns of the region are Chitré and Las Tablas, both

Frederick William Ii

2005-03-24T06:43:00.000-08:00

The son of Frederick the Great's brother Augustus William, he became heir presumptive on his father's death in 1758. He was intellectually receptive and devoted to the

Mellophone

2005-03-22T08:17:00.000-08:00

The mellophone, a circular tenor horn (althorn), is usually built right handed and looks like a French horn. It bears

Dressler, Marie

2005-03-21T22:27:00.000-08:00

The daughter of a piano teacher, Dressler early discovered her ability to make audiences laugh. She made her stage debut in Michigan in 1886 and then performed for three years with the George Baker

Kirkland, Samuel

2005-03-21T14:57:00.000-08:00

While still a student at Princeton, Kirkland began his wilderness treks on snowshoes to preach to the Indians. Gradually he mastered several Indian languages

Leadbelly

2005-03-20T03:44:00.000-08:00

Musical from childhood, Leadbelly played accordion, 6- and 12-string guitar, bass, and harmonica. He led a wandering life, learning songs by absorbing oral tradition.

Aleut

2005-03-19T23:36:00.000-08:00

The Aleuts hunted seals, sea otters, whales,

Mauritania, Climate

2005-03-19T23:32:00.000-08:00

The climate owes its aridity to the northeastern trade winds, which blow constantly in the north and throughout most of the year in the rest of the country; the drying effect produced by these winds is increased by the harmattan, or east wind. With the exception of the few winter rains that occur as a result of climatic disturbances originating in the mid-latitude regions,

Locke, John

2005-03-18T23:47:00.000-08:00

English philosopher who was an initiator of the Enlightenment in England and France, an inspirer of the U.S. Constitution, and the author of, among other works, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, his account of human knowledge, including the “new science” of his day—i.e., modern science.

San Carlos

2005-03-18T14:30:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern Negros island, Philippines. Set in an area of concentrated sugarcane production, it is the site of a large sugar mill established in 1912. Frequent ferry service across Tanon Strait from Toledo on the island of Cebu brings large numbers of migrant workers to the surrounding sugar plantations. The city has deepwater port facilities and also has an airport.

Paeoniaceae

2005-03-18T11:59:00.000-08:00

The peony family of the order Dilleniales, consisting of the genus Paeonia with about 33 species distributed in Europe, Asia, and western North America. They are perennial herbs or sometimes shrubby plants up to about 2 m (6 feet) tall that grow from stout rootstocks. The leaves are alternately produced along the stems and are divided into three lobes, each lobe being further

Robert Ii

2005-03-17T07:29:00.000-08:00

The eldest son of William I the Conqueror, Robert was recognized in boyhood as his father's successor in Normandy. Nevertheless he twice rebelled against his father (1077/78 and c. 1082–83) and

Kuei River

2005-03-16T11:13:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Kuei Chiang , Pinyin Gui Jiang , conventional Kwei Kiang northern tributary of the Hsi River, southern China. The Kuei River rises in the Mao-erh Mountains to the north of Kuei-lin in the northern part of the Kwangsi Chuang Autonomous Region and flows southward to join the Hsi River at Wu-chou on the border of Kwangsi Chuang and Kwangtung province. The level of the river varies from season to season, and its course has many dangerous

Mauritania

2005-03-16T08:21:00.000-08:00

Officially Islamic Republic of Mauritania , Arabic Muritaniya , or al-Jumhuriyah al-Islamiyah al-Muritaniyah , French Mauritanie , or République Islamique de Mauritanie state in northwestern Africa. With an area of 398,000 square miles (1,030,700 square kilometres), it has the shape of an indented rectangle measuring about 930 miles (1,500 kilometres) from north to south and about 680 miles from east to west. It is bordered to the northwest by the Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara), to the northeast by Algeria, to the east and southeast by Mali, and to the southwest

Macarius Magnes

2005-03-15T17:49:00.000-08:00

Of Macarius' origin and career, nothing is known except that he is probably identified with the bishop of Magnesia, later Manisa, Tur., who, at the Synod of the

Safi Od-din

2005-03-15T17:02:00.000-08:00

Safi od-Din, a descendant of a family of provincial administrators, obtained his early education in Ardabil, where his family held dependencies as a land grant from the central government. Later, in Shiraz, he was influenced by Sufi (mystical) teachings. He then traveled to the province of Gilan (the Iranian

Accra

2005-03-14T19:20:00.000-08:00

When the Portuguese first settled on the coast of what is now Ghana in 1482, the present site of Accra was occupied

Biblical Literature, The succession of Solomon to the throne

2005-03-14T17:51:00.000-08:00

I Kings (chapters 1 and 2) continues the story of David and the struggle for the succession of his throne. The sides were drawn between Adonijah, David's eldest living son, and Solomon, the son of David and Bathsheba. Supporting Adonijah were the “old guard”—the general Joab and the priest Abiathar—and supporting Solomon were the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and the captain

Farm Building

2005-03-13T09:32:00.000-08:00

The basic unit of commercial agricultural operation, throughout history and worldwide, is the farm. Because farming systems differ widely, there are important variations in the nature and arrangements of farm facilities.

Cromwell, Oliver

2005-03-12T16:13:00.000-08:00

As one of the generals on the parliamentary side in the English Civil War against King Charles I, Cromwell helped to bring about

Scholasticism

2005-03-12T10:10:00.000-08:00

But not all of Scholasticism is specifically medieval and therefore definitively belonging to the dead past; there are perennial elements that are meant for every age, the present one included, three of which may be here distinguished. First, not only has Scholasticism held true to the normal historical rule that ideas, once thought and expressed, remain present

Hale Telescope

2005-03-11T16:11:00.000-08:00

In full George Ellery Hale Telescope, one of the world's largest and most powerful reflecting telescopes, located at the Palomar Observatory, Mount Palomar, Calif. Having a diameter of 5 m (200 inches), it is second only to the 6-metre (236-inch) reflector of the Special Astrophysical Observatory, Zelenchukskaya, Russia. Financed by the Rockefeller Foundation, the telescope at Palomar was completed in 1948 and named in honour

Abercromby, Sir Ralph

2005-03-11T05:13:00.000-08:00

Entering the army in 1756, Abercromby served in the Seven Years' War. When war

Xavier University

2005-03-11T04:21:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. It is affiliated with the Jesuit order of the Roman Catholic church. The university comprises colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, and Social Sciences. In addition to undergraduate studies, Xavier offers about 25 master's degree programs, notably in the fields of education

Black Rock Desert

2005-03-10T23:28:00.000-08:00

Arid region of lava beds and alkali flats composing part of the Basin and Range Province and lying in Humboldt and Pershing counties of northwestern Nevada, U.S. With an area of about 1,000 square miles (2,600 square km), the desert is 70 miles (110 km) long and up to 20 miles (32 km) wide. Once occupied by ancient Lake Lahontan, it serves as the sink of the Quinn River and, at times, is largely covered with

Alagoas

2005-03-10T21:39:00.000-08:00

Estado (“state”) of northeastern Brazil. It is the second smallest of Brazil's states and is an agricultural region in the early stages of industrialization. Situated on the northern bank of the São Francisco River, it is bounded on the north and west by the state of Pernambuco, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Sergipe, and on the west by Bahia. It has an area

Bantu Languages

2005-03-10T20:13:00.000-08:00

A group of some 500 languages belonging to the Bantoid subgroup of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. The Bantu languages are spoken in a very large area, including most of Africa from southern Cameroon eastward to Kenya and southward to the southernmost tip of the continent. Twelve Bantu languages are spoken by more than five million people,

T'ien

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

As a god, T'ien is sometimes perceived to be an impersonal power in contrast to Shang-ti (“Supreme Ruler”), but the two are closely identified and the terms frequently used synonymously. Evidence suggests

Arts, South Asian, Mughal style: Aurangzeb and the later Mughals (16591806)

2005-03-08T11:33:00.000-08:00

From the reign of Aurangzeb (1659–1707), a few pictures have survived that essentially continue the cold style of Shah Jahan; but the rest of the work is nondescript, consisting chiefly of an array of lifeless portraits, most of them the output of workshops other than the imperial atelier. Genre scenes, showing gatherings of ascetics and holy men, lovers in a garden or on a terrace,

Yamaga Soko

2005-03-07T14:14:00.000-08:00

Original name Yamaga Takasuke , also called Jingozaemon military strategist and Confucian philosopher who set forth the first systematic exposition of the missions and obligations of the samurai (warrior) class and who made major contributions to Japanese military science. Yamaga's thought became the central core of what later came to be known as Bushido (Code of Warriors),

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Fable

2005-03-07T08:53:00.000-08:00

Fables teach a general principle of conduct by presenting a specific example of behaviour. Thus, to define the moral that “People who rush into things without using judgment run into strange and unexpected dangers,” Aesop—the traditional “father” of the fable form—told the following story:There was a dog who was fond of eating eggs. Mistaking a shell-fish for an egg one

Peter Iii

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

Son of Anna, one of Peter I the Great's daughters, and Charles Frederick, duke of Holstein-Gottorp, the young duke was brought to Russia by his aunt Elizabeth shortly after she became empress of Russia (Dec. 5–6, 1741). Renamed Peter (Pyotr Fyodorovich), he was

Anti-fascist Council For The National Liberation Of Yugoslavia

2005-03-06T11:20:00.000-08:00

AVNOJ was first convened at the Bosnian town of Bihac (Nov. 26–27, 1942). The participation of noncommunists allowed a National Liberation Movement

Ararat, Mount

2005-03-06T03:56:00.000-08:00

Turkish Agri Dagi, extinct volcanic massif in extreme eastern Turkey overlooking the point at which the frontiers of Turkey, Iran, and Armenia converge. Its northern and eastern slopes rise from the broad alluvial plain of the Aras River, about 3,300 ft (1,000 m) above sea level; its southwestern slopes rise from a plain about 5,000 ft above sea level; and on the west a low pass separates it from a long range

Episcopal Church In Scotland

2005-03-03T23:34:00.000-08:00

The development of Protestantism in Scotland went through confusing periods, with control alternating between the Presbyterian Party (those who believed in the presbyterian form of church government) and the Episcopal Party (those who

Sacheverell, Henry

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

Early in the reign of Queen Anne

D-day

2005-03-03T07:51:00.000-08:00

(in World War II), first day of the Allied landing in Normandy, France. See Normandy Invasion.

Painting, Western, The 17th century

2005-03-03T00:07:00.000-08:00

English painting during the 17th century had been dominated by a series of foreign-born practitioners, mostly portraitists (e.g., Rubens and Van Dyck), even before the Civil War. Sir Peter Lely and Sir Godfrey Kneller continued this trend after the Restoration. The vast majority of the painting executed by native artists remained thoroughly provincial. Lely began his

Trident Missile

2005-03-02T22:03:00.000-08:00

American-made submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) that succeeded the Poseidon and Polaris missiles in the 1980s and '90s. Under development from the late 1960s, the Trident developed into two models. The Trident I, or C-4, is 34 feet (10.4 m) long and 6 feet (1.8 m) in diameter. It can deliver eight independently targetable 100-kiloton nuclear warheads to a range of 4,600 miles (7,400 km). The Trident II, or D-5, is

Stone, Fred (andrew)

2005-03-01T14:52:00.000-08:00

Stone was raised in Topeka, Kan., making his stage debut there at age 11, and soon joined his brother on tour with a number of small circuses. In the 1890s he teamed up with Dave Montgomery and together they toured in vaudeville and minstrel shows before appearing in their first Broadway

Wu San-kuei

2005-03-01T11:11:00.000-08:00

Wu had been the Ming general in charge of defending the northeast frontier against the Manchus. When the Imperial

Argentina, The rise of radicalism

2005-02-28T04:07:00.000-08:00

A new party, the Radical Civic Union, was formed in response to the difficulties of the 1890s. It was strongly opposed to the ruling regime and to the compromise candidate, Luis Sáenz Peña, who was accepted in 1892 by Mitre and the more moderate opponents of the Roca–Juárez Celman regime. Sáenz was in turn replaced in 1895 by José Evaristo Uriburu. In 1898 Roca returned to the presidency for

Episome

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

In bacteria, one of a group of extrachromosomal genetic elements called plasmids, consisting of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and capable of conferring a selective advantage upon the bacteria in which they occur. Episomes may be attached to the bacterial cell membrane (such a cell is designated F+) or become integrated into the chromosome (such a cell is designated

Karadjordjevic Dynasty

2005-02-27T19:08:00.000-08:00

The first prince, Alexander (son of Karadjordje), reigned from 1842 to 1858. Thereafter, for

Pohnpei

2005-02-27T11:39:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ponape, also called Ascension, high coral-capped volcanic island, eastern Caroline Islands; it and nearby atolls constitute a state in the Federated States of Micronesia, in the western Pacific. Pohnpei island is roughly square and has a land area of 129 square miles (334 square km). It is well watered, hilly (rising to Mount Totolom, 2,593 feet [790 m]), and is surrounded by a barrier reef with many small islets. Its fertile

West Berlin

2005-02-26T14:45:00.000-08:00

The western half of the German city of Berlin (q.v.), which until the reunification of the German state in 1990 was treated as a city and Land (state) of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), though it was not constitutionally part of that nation.

Painting, Western, Germany

2005-02-26T14:40:00.000-08:00

In Germany also there was a reaction against classicism and the academies, and, as elsewhere, it involved all aspects of the arts. Again, as elsewhere, theory preceded practice: Herzensergiessungen eines kunstliebenden Klosterbruders (“Effusions of an Art-Loving Monk”), by Wilhelm Heinrich Wackenroder, had an immediate and widespread influence upon its publication

Stein, Johann Andreas

2005-02-26T02:51:00.000-08:00

The son of an organ builder, Stein apprenticed with the famous instrument maker Johann Andreas Silbermann in 1748–49. For a time he evidently lived in Paris, but he was most active in Augsburg,

Azaïs, Pierre-hyacinthe

2005-02-25T07:08:00.000-08:00

Philosopher whose optimism was rooted in the idea that human experience is imbued with a natural and harmonious balance between joy and sadness and that it is in this balance that meaning can be discovered. He advocated the idea in the work that first brought him fame, Des compensations dans les destinées humaines, 3 vol. (1809). In a following work,

Epimenides

2005-02-25T05:17:00.000-08:00

Cretan seer, reputed author of religious and poetical writings. He conducted purificatory rites at Athens about 500 BC according to Plato (about 600 according to Aristotle). All surviving fragments, including a line quoted by St. Paul (Titus 1:12), are attributable to other sources. Stories of his advanced age (157 or 299 years), his miraculous sleep of 57 years, and his wanderings outside

Scythe

2005-02-24T20:38:00.000-08:00

One of the most important of all agricultural hand tools, consisting of a curved blade fitted at an angle to a long, curved handle and used for cutting grain. In modern scythes the handle has a projecting peg that is grasped by one hand, facilitating control of the swinging motion by which grass and grain are cut. The exact origin of the scythe is unknown, but it was little

Guernsey

2005-02-24T01:43:00.000-08:00

In the south, Guernsey rises in a plateau to about 300 ft (90 m), with ragged coastal cliffs. It descends in steps and is drained

Romanus Iii Argyrus

2005-02-23T22:14:00.000-08:00

He was an undistinguished Byzantine patrician, who was compelled by the dying emperor, Constantine VIII, to marry his daughter Zoe and to become his successor. Romanus showed great eagerness to make his mark as a ruler but was mostly unfortunate in his enterprises; and in his endeavour to relieve the pressure of taxation he disorganized

Indian Philosophy, Religious consequences

2005-02-23T14:43:00.000-08:00

The one religious consequence of the Samkhya-Yoga is an emphasis on austere asceticism and a turning away from the ritualistic elements of Hinduism deriving from the Brahmanical sources. Though they continue to remain as an integral part of the Hindu faith, no major religious order thrived on the basis of these philosophies.

Procaine Hydrochloride

2005-02-22T18:00:00.000-08:00

Also called Novocain, or Novocaine, synthetic organic compound used in medicine as a local anesthetic. Introduced in 1905 under the trade name Novocaine, it became the first and best-known substitute for cocaine in local anesthesia. Generally used in a 1 to 10 percent saline solution, procaine hydrochloride is administered by injection for infiltration (area flooding as in dental anesthesia), nerve-block,

Tracheophyte

2005-02-22T13:09:00.000-08:00

Any of the vascular plants, members of the division, or phylum, Tracheophyta, numbering some 260,000 species and including all of the conspicuous flora of the Earth today. Tracheophyte, meaning “tracheid plant,” refers to the water-conducting cells (called tracheids, or tracheary elements) that show spiral bands like those in the walls of the tracheae, or air tubes, of

Didot Family

2005-02-22T05:22:00.000-08:00

The founder of the family business was François Didot (1689–1757), who began business as a printer and bookseller in Paris in 1713. He was best known for publishing a 20-volume collection of the works of the Abbé Prévost. Didot's eldest son, François-Ambroise (1730–1804), altered

United Arab Emirates

2005-02-21T21:09:00.000-08:00

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the dominant tribal faction was the Al-Qawasim (singular: Qasimi), whose ships controlled the maritime commerce (notably fishing and pearling) concentrated in

Biblical Literature, Division of the land and renewal of the Covenant

2005-02-20T18:11:00.000-08:00

The division of the land among the tribes is recounted in chapters 13–22. Two sources were apparently used by the Deuteronomist in dealing with the division of the land: a boundary list from the pre-monarchical period (i.e., before the late 11th century BCE) and a list of cities occupied by several tribes from the 10th to the 7th century BCE. The tribes who occupied territories were: Reuben,

Uesugi Family

2005-02-20T16:37:00.000-08:00

The Uesugi were already dominant in the Kanto region of Honshu when the appointment of the head of the family to the hereditary post of governor-general of Kanto in 1439 made them the second most powerful clan in Japan and the dominant power in the western part of the

Sill

2005-02-19T20:22:00.000-08:00

Also called sheet tabular igneous intrusion emplaced parallel to the bedding of the enclosing rock. Although they may have vertical to horizontal orientations, nearly horizontal sills are the most common. Sills may be a fraction of an inch to hundreds of feet thick and up to hundreds of miles long. Rock compositions of all types are found in sills; the famous basic sills have received

Ibrahim Müteferrika

2005-02-18T15:19:00.000-08:00

A Hungarian by origin, Ibrahim converted to Islam and entered the Ottoman diplomatic service. He took

Differential Psychology

2005-02-18T11:51:00.000-08:00

Branch of psychology that deals with individual and group differences in behaviour. Charles Darwin's studies of the survival capabilities of different species and Sir Francis Galton's researches on individual visual and auditory skills, as well as more recent experiments, have shown that both individual and group differences are quantitative rather than

Fusion Reactor

2005-02-18T08:05:00.000-08:00

A fusion reaction occurs when two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form the nucleus of a heavier element. When the two nuclei fuse, a small amount of mass is converted into a large amount of energy. For a fusion reaction to occur, the two nuclei must be moving at high speed in

Laveran, Alphonse

2005-02-17T02:47:00.000-08:00

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

Aldington, Richard

2005-02-16T23:26:00.000-08:00

Educated at Dover College and London University, Aldington early attracted attention through his volumes of Imagist verse (see Imagists). In 1913 he married Hilda

Manawatu River

2005-02-15T21:50:00.000-08:00

River, in south-central North Island, New Zealand, rising on the east slopes of the Ruahine Range. The river, 113 miles (182 km) long, flows west and southwest for 30 miles (48 km) to Woodville and turns sharply northwest to pass between the Ruahine and Tararua ranges through the 4-mile- (6.4-kilometre-) long Manawatu Gorge. Emerging from the gorge at Ashhurst, the river runs southwest past Palmerston

Fuller, Ray W.

2005-02-15T11:13:00.000-08:00

U.S. biochemist who, as a pharmacological researcher at Eli Lilly & Co. from 1963, helped to create fluoxetine--the popular antidepressant drug known by the trademark Prozac. The drug, which combated depression by slowing the reabsorption of serotonin in the brain, was synthesized in 1972 and marketed in 1987 (b. Dec. 16, 1935--d. Aug. 11, 1996).

Wyre

2005-02-15T10:34:00.000-08:00

Borough (district), administrative and historic county of Lancashire, northwestern England, bordering on the Irish Sea north and east of the resort of Blackpool. The borough, named for the River Wyre, which crosses and drains it, is generally a low coastal plain. Formerly occupied by pockets of marshland, much of the plain has been reclaimed and is now intensively cultivated.

Botswana, Transport

2005-02-15T08:24:00.000-08:00

The 400-mile railway along the eastern side of the country was completed in 1897, linking South Africa and Zimbabwe, but had limited impact on the Botswana economy until the 1970s, when the first branch lines were opened to serve mining areas. At independence in 1966, there were only a few miles of paved roads—all inside town boundaries. Since then the major towns have been linked by paved

Middletown

2005-02-14T18:59:00.000-08:00

City, Butler county, southwestern Ohio, U.S., on the Miami River (bridged). With nearby Hamilton, it forms a standard metropolitan statistical area. Founded in 1802, it was named for its location midway between Dayton (35 mi [56 km] north) and Cincinnati. It soon became a lively agricultural trading community, with its products (wheat, corn, tobacco, livestock, fruits, and vegetables) transported

Marey, étienne-jules

2005-02-13T13:50:00.000-08:00

Marey wrote extensively on the circulation of the blood, cholera, terrestrial and aerial locomotion, experimental physiology,

Amstetten

2005-02-12T23:49:00.000-08:00

Town, Niederösterreich Bundesland (federal state), northeastern Austria. It is situated near the Ybbs River, northeast of Steyr. Recorded in 996 as a possession of the bishops of Passau, it was fortified and granted market rights when it passed to the Habsburgs in 1276. It achieved town status in 1897. The 14th-century parish church in the town incorporates an earlier Romanesque basilica.

Ariadne

2005-02-12T05:54:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, daughter of Pasiphae and the Cretan king Minos. She fell in love with the Athenian hero Theseus and, with a thread or glittering jewels, helped him escape the Labyrinth after he slew the Minotaur, a beast half bull and half man that Minos kept in the Labyrinth. Here the legends diverge: she was abandoned by Theseus and hanged herself; Theseus carried

Ubico (castañeda), Jorge

2005-02-11T23:50:00.000-08:00

Ubico received a commission in the Guatemalan army in 1897, distinguished himself in several campaigns, and rose to the rank of colonel. In 1907 he was appointed governor of Alta Verapaz and in 1911 governor of Retalhuleu, where he served with efficiency and honesty. In the following

Rove-over

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

Having an extrametrical syllable at the end of one line that forms a foot with the first syllable of the next line. The term is used to describe a type of verse in sprung rhythm, Gerard Manley Hopkins's method of counting only the stressed syllables of a line. Thus, the metre of a verse is determined by feet of varying length but always having the accent on the first syllable.

Hope, Anthony

2005-02-11T07:04:00.000-08:00

Educated at Marlborough and at Balliol College, Oxford, he became a lawyer in 1887. The immediate success of The Prisoner of Zenda (1894), his fourth work—and its sequel, Rupert of Hentzau (1898)—turned him entirely to writing. These novels describe the perilous adventures

Procellariiform

2005-02-10T04:02:00.000-08:00

Also called tubinares (order Procellariiformes), any of the seabirds that include the albatrosses (family Diomedeidae); shearwaters, fulmars, prions, and large petrels (Procellariidae); storm petrels (Hydrobatidae); and diving petrels (Pelecanoididae). There are approximately 87 living and 36 fossil species of diverse sizes and ranges. All Procellariiformes are recognizable by their conspicuous

Terbium

2005-02-09T17:03:00.000-08:00

(Tb), chemical element, rare-earth metal of transition Group IIIb of the periodic table. One of the least abundant of the rare earths, terbium, when reduced to metallic form, is silvery white and is slowly oxidized by air at room temperatures and by cold water. The element was discovered in 1843 by Carl Gustaf Mosander in a heavy rare-earth fraction called yttria, but its existence

Walsingham, Sir Francis

2005-02-09T05:17:00.000-08:00

English statesman and the principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I from 1573 to 1590. He was a skilled diplomat whose knowledge of languages and capacity to organize espionage activities made him invaluable in the execution of Elizabeth's foreign policy. In addition, he was a staunch Puritan who uncovered a number of dangerous

âli Pasa, Mehmed Emin

2005-02-08T20:09:00.000-08:00

The son of a shopkeeper, Âli Pasa entered government service as a boy. Without

Durant

2005-02-08T09:54:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1907) of Bryan county, southern Oklahoma, U.S., in the Red River valley, a few miles north of the Texas border. Settled about 1870 and named for a well-known Choctaw family, the city grew steadily after the arrival of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad in 1872. Durant developed as a service centre for a diversified farming area, and in 1909 Southeastern State Normal (teacher-training)