WaitingBaby

China, Economic policies

2005-04-05T05:21:00.000-07:00

In the 1950s and '60s a number of far-reaching changes occurred in China's economic policies and priorities. During the First Five-Year Plan period (1953–57), emphasis was placed on rapid industrial development, partly at the expense of other sectors of the economy. The bulk of the state's investment was channeled into the industrial sector, while agriculture, which occupied more than

'abdor Rahman Khan

2005-04-04T14:27:00.000-07:00

'Abdor Rahman was the son of Afzal Khan, whose father, Dost Mohammad Khan, had established the Barakzai dynasty in Afghanistan. Shir 'Ali's victory in 1869 drove 'Abdor Rahman into

Céline, Louis-ferdinand

2005-04-04T02:22:00.000-07:00

Pseudonym of Louis-ferdinand Destouches French writer and physician. Céline received his medical degree in 1924 and travelled extensively on medical missions for the League of Nations. In 1928 he opened a practice in a suburb of Paris, writing in his spare time. He became famous with his first novel, Voyage au bout de la nuit (1932; Journey to the End of Night, 1934), the story of a man's tortured

Amalaric

2005-04-03T18:35:00.000-07:00

Amalaric was a child when his father fell in battle against Clovis, king of the Franks (507). He was carried for safety into Spain, which country, with southern Languedoc and Provence, was thenceforth ruled by his maternal grandfather Theodoric the Great through his vice-regent, an Ostrogothic nobleman named Theudis. On Theodoric's death

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Japan

2005-04-02T17:11:00.000-08:00

In Japan the Koji-ki (712; “Records of Ancient Matters”) and the Nihon-shoki (8th century; “Chronicles of Japan”), both of them official histories of Japan, were studded with fables, many of them on the theme of a small intelligent animal getting the better of a large stupid one. The same is true of the fudoki (local gazetteers dating from 713 and later). The form reached its height in the Kamakura

Babylonian Exile

2005-04-02T15:19:00.000-08:00

Also called Babylonian Captivity, the forced detention of Jews in Babylonia following the latter's conquest of the kingdom of Judah in 598/7 and 587/6 BC. The exile formally ended in 538 BC, when the Persian conqueror of Babylonia, Cyrus the Great, gave the Jews permission to return to Palestine. Historians agree that several deportations took place (each the result of uprisings in Palestine), that not all Jews were forced

Price River

2005-04-01T19:25:00.000-08:00

River that rises in the Wasatch Range near Scofield, central Utah, U.S. It flows generally southeastward through Carbon and northeast Emery counties, past Price and through Price Canyon, to join the Green River after a course of 130 miles (210 km). Scofield Dam (1946), near the river's source, impounds water for irrigation. The river was “discovered” in 1869 by the Mormon bishop William

Genetic Disease, Human, Techniques

2005-04-01T14:53:00.000-08:00

One of the major applications of somatic cell genetics to clinical medicine is in the area of prenatal diagnosis by genetic amniocentesis. This procedure permits the accurate prediction of some fetal diseases. The procedure is usually performed under a local anesthetic during the 15th to 17th week of pregnancy. By means of a needle introduced into the uterus, some

Masson, André

2005-03-31T20:27:00.000-08:00

Masson studied painting in Brussels and then in Paris. He fought in World War I and was severely wounded. He joined the emergent Surrealist group in the mid-1920s after one of his paintings had attracted the attention of the movement's leader, André Breton. Masson soon became the foremost

Län

2005-03-30T06:08:00.000-08:00

Administrative subdivision (county) of Sweden; see landskap.

Landau

2005-03-29T18:34:00.000-08:00

In full Landau In Der Pfalz, city, Rhineland-Palatinate Land (state), southwestern Germany. It is picturesquely situated along the Queich River, at the slope of the Haardt Mountains. The settlement was first mentioned in 1106, and an Augustinian monastery was founded there in 1276. Landau became an imperial free town in 1291. It was occupied by the French (1680–1815) and granted to Bavaria in 1816. The city's Gothic Protestant

Gherkin

2005-03-29T09:58:00.000-08:00

Also called Bur Gherkin, or West Indian Gherkin (Cucumis anguria), trailing vine, of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), grown for its edible fruit. The gherkins sold in pickle mixtures are not C. anguria but rather are small pickled immature cucumbers (Cucumis sativus). A true gherkin has palmately lobed leaves with toothed edges, small flowers, and furrowed, prickly fruits about five centimetres (two

Jacksonville

2005-03-28T09:35:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1822) of Duval county, northeastern Florida, U.S., the centre of Florida's “First Coast” region. It lies along the St. Johns River near its mouth on the Atlantic Ocean, about 25 miles (40 km) south of the Georgia border. Jacksonville consolidated (1968) with most of Duval county and thereby became one of the nation's largest cities in area (841 square miles [2,178 square km]). The city is the focus of

Abomey

2005-03-27T17:33:00.000-08:00

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

Rush, Richard

2005-03-26T17:05:00.000-08:00

The son of the noted physician Benjamin Rush, Richard graduated from Princeton in 1797 and was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia in 1800. He served as attorney general of Pennsylvania (1811), attorney

Racine, Jean

2005-03-25T15:13:00.000-08:00

In full Jean-baptiste Racine French dramatic poet and historiographer renowned for his mastery of French classical tragedy. His reputation rests on the plays he wrote between 1664 and 1677, notably Andromaque (1667), Britannicus (1669), Bérénice (1670), Bajazet (1672), and Phèdre (1677).

National Anthem

2005-03-24T00:24:00.000-08:00

Hymn or song expressing patriotic sentiment and either governmentally authorized as an official national hymn or holding that position in popular feeling. The oldest national anthem is Great Britain's “God Save the Queen,” which was described as a national anthem in 1825, although it had been popular as a patriotic song and used on occasions of royal ceremonial since

Ribot, Théodule-armand

2005-03-23T16:13:00.000-08:00

Ribot received his doctorate from the École Normale Supérieure.

Carney, Arthur William Matthew

2005-03-23T00:37:00.000-08:00

American actor (b. Nov. 4, 1918, Mount Vernon, N.Y.—d. Nov. 9, 2003, Chester, Conn.), had a long and varied career in radio, television, theatre, and film, including an Academy Award-winning dramatic leading role in the movie Harry and Tonto (1974), but it was with one TV character that he would be most identified—sewer worker (or “underground sanitation expert”) Ed Norton, second banana to Jackie Gleason's

Cosgrave, Liam

2005-03-22T18:54:00.000-08:00

His father, W.T. Cosgrave, was president of the Executive Council and head of the government of the Irish Free State during the first 10 years of its existence (1922–32). Liam, the elder son, was educated at Castlenock College, Dublin, and King's Inns, studied law, and was called to the Irish bar

Chase Manhattan Corporation, The

2005-03-22T05:05:00.000-08:00

The firm originated in the final days of the 18th century. On April 2, 1799, at the urging of such civic leaders as Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton (later noted rivals), the New York state legislature chartered the Manhattan Company to build a water supply system for New York City. The original

Literature

2005-03-21T05:04:00.000-08:00

The most distinctive feature of Italian literature in 2001 was the publication of several novels whose settings in the recent past served as a framework for a reflection on history. Davide Longo's Un mattino a Irgalem takes place during the Italian colonization of Ethiopia, a topic traditionally neglected by historians and creative writers. In the action a short and

National Archaeological Museum

2005-03-19T09:55:00.000-08:00

Among the

Qatar

2005-03-19T07:37:00.000-08:00

A monarchy (emirate) on the Arabian Peninsula, Qatar occupies a desert peninsula and the nearby small Hawar Islands (also claimed by Bahrain) on the west coast of the Persian Gulf. Area (including Hawar Islands): 11,427 sq km (4,412 sq mi). Pop. (1996 est.): 590,000. Cap.: Doha. Monetary unit: Qatar riyal, with (Oct. 11, 1996) an official rate of 3.64 riyals to U.S. $1 (5.73 riyals = £1 sterling). Emir and prime minister in 1996, Sheikh Hamad ibn Khalifah

Cádiz, Gulf Of

2005-03-19T01:44:00.000-08:00

Spanish and Portuguese Golfo De Cádiz, wide embayment of the Atlantic Ocean along the southwestern Iberian Peninsula, stretching about 200 miles (320 km) from Cape Saint Vincent (Portugal) to Gibraltar. At the Portuguese end—the south-facing area of the Algarve—the coastline consists of bold headlands and high cliffs interrupted by bay beaches, small river mouths, and numerous settlements. Continuing southward

Hardee, William J(oseph)

2005-03-18T20:19:00.000-08:00

When Georgia seceded from the Union in

Sturdza, Dimitrie Alexandru

2005-03-18T03:41:00.000-08:00

The scion of a great boyar family, Sturdza participated through 1857–58 in the Moldavian organizational commissions that prepared the ground

Berdychiv

2005-03-17T04:45:00.000-08:00

Russian Berdichev, or Berdicev, city, Zhytomyr oblast (province), northwestern Ukraine. Founded in 1482 as a Lithuanian fortress, Berdychiv was Polish from 1569 until 1793. The 16th-century fortress walls survive, as does the Roman Catholic church in which the French novelist Honoré de Balzac married Eveline Hanska, a wealthy Russian widow, in 1850 after an 18-year courtship. Before 1917 an important trading centre, Berdychiv

Melanesian Languages

2005-03-17T03:20:00.000-08:00

Languages belonging to the Eastern, or Oceanic, branch of the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) language family and spoken in the islands of Melanesia. The Melanesian languages, of which there are about 400, are most closely related to the languages of Micronesia and Polynesia; most have a few hundred or a few thousand speakers, and the total number of speakers of Melanesian

Sara

2005-03-16T15:31:00.000-08:00

Cluster of peoples living on the fringe of the southern Sudan, especially in the northwestern regions of the Central African Republic and the south-central area surrounding Sarh, south of Lake Chad in Chad. They include the Gula, Kara, Kreish, Nduka, Ngama, and Sara proper. The Sara peoples all speak Central Sudanic languages of the Nilo-Saharan language family, and their

Aldan River

2005-03-15T13:17:00.000-08:00

River in eastern Siberia, Russia. It rises in the Stanovoy Range and flows northwestward in a huge curve to join the Lena River at Batamay. The Aldan River is 1,412 miles (2,273 km) long, the second largest tributary (after the Vilyuy) of the Lena, and drains more than 281,500 square miles (729,000 square km). Its annual discharge varies considerably both seasonally and annually. The river is navigable

Radiation

2005-03-14T20:20:00.000-08:00

Flow of atomic and subatomic particles and of waves, such as those that characterize heat rays, light rays, and X rays. All matter is constantly bombarded with radiation of both types from cosmic and terrestrial sources. This article delineates the properties and behaviour of radiation and the matter with which it interacts and describes how energy is transferred

Murad I

2005-03-13T15:08:00.000-08:00

Murad ascended the throne in succession to his father, Orhan. Shortly after Murad's accession, his forces penetrated

Wars Of Yahweh, Book Of The

2005-03-13T13:33:00.000-08:00

Lost document referred to and quoted in the Old Testament (Num. 21:14ff.). The book is probably a collection of early Israelite war songs including hymns of victory, curses, mocking songs, and other literary genres recounting the victories of Yahweh, the God of Israel, over his enemies; it indicates that biblical books rely on both written and oral tradition. Similar to the Book

Turing, Alan M.

2005-03-12T23:25:00.000-08:00

In full Alan Mathison Turing British mathematician and logician who made major contributions to mathematics, cryptanalysis, logic, philosophy, and biology and to the new areas later named computer science, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and artificial life.

China, Political institutions

2005-03-12T07:16:00.000-08:00

The Ch'ing had come to power because of their success at winning Chinese over to their side; in the late 17th century they adroitly pursued similar policies to win the adherence of the Chinese literati. Ch'ing emperors learned Chinese, addressed their subjects using Confucian rhetoric, reinstated the civil service examination system and the Confucian curriculum,

Pierce, John Davis

2005-03-11T10:39:00.000-08:00

Though denied an extensive education as a youth because of his father's early death and consequent family financial limitations, Pierce decided at age 20 to educate himself. He succeeded so well that he was

Stiller, Mauritz

2005-03-10T03:24:00.000-08:00

Motion-picture director who during the early 1920s was a leader in the internationally preeminent Swedish cinema. He was influenced by D.W. Griffith's epic style and Thomas Harper Ince's integral use of landscape but most of all by the typically Swedish mysticism and passionate love of nature reflected in the novels of Selma Lagerlöf, many of which

Pyroxenite

2005-03-09T22:03:00.000-08:00

Dark-coloured, intrusive igneous rock that consists chiefly of pyroxene. Pyroxenites are not abundant; they occur in discrete inclusions, in layered sills (tabular bodies inserted between other rocks) and lopoliths (laccoliths with basin-shaped bases), in branching veins, in narrow dikes (tabular bodies injected in fissures), and at the edges of silica-poor plutons

Carlowitz, Treaty Of

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

In the late summer of 1697, the Ottoman

Prichard, Katherine Susannah

2005-03-07T22:25:00.000-08:00

Prichard's father was editor of the Fiji Times, and she grew up mostly in Australia. She first worked as a newspaper journalist in Melbourne and Sydney and then as a free-lance journalist in London before concentrating

Susanoo

2005-03-07T17:38:00.000-08:00

Susanoo descended into the land of Izumo in western Japan

De Baca

2005-03-06T19:50:00.000-08:00

In 1541 explorer Francisco

Nahum, Book Of

2005-03-05T16:59:00.000-08:00

The fall of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, provided the occasion for this prophetic oracle. The mighty Assyrian

Radial Keratotomy

2005-03-04T09:39:00.000-08:00

Surgical procedure to correct myopia (nearsightedness) by reducing the radius of curvature of the cornea and astigmatism (asymmetrical curvature of the cornea). A series of 4 to 8 equally spaced deep cuts are made in the peripheral cornea, leaving the central cornea above the pupil clear. Intraocular pressure then pushes the weakened central cornea outward, flattening

Ancient Rome, The Illyrian emperors

2005-03-04T06:03:00.000-08:00

After Claudius II's unexpected death, the empire was ruled from 270 to 284 by several “Illyrian” emperors, who were good generals and who tried in an energetic way to restore equilibrium. The most remarkable was Aurelian. He first gained hard-won victories over the Alemanni and the Juthungi, who had invaded the Alpine provinces and northern Italy. To cheer the inhabitants of

Crockford, William

2005-03-04T02:54:00.000-08:00

Crocker was the son of a fishmonger, and he himself practiced the trade in his youth. After winning a large sum of money (£100,000, according to one story) either at cards or by running a gambling establishment, he built in 1827 a luxuriously decorated gambling house at 50 St. James's Street in London.

Silvassa

2005-03-02T23:04:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Silvasa town, capital of Dadra and Nagar Haveli Union Territory, western India. The town is located about 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Daman on the Daman Ganga River some 15 miles (25 km) inland from the Arabian Sea. It is the economic centre of the territory, which is primarily agricultural and produces rice, pulses, and fruit crops. Pop. (1991 prelim.) 11,720.

Shabaka

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

Succeeding his brother Piankhi, in Cush (in the modern Sudan), Shabaka moved north, captured Bocchoris, the second king of the 24th dynasty, and, according to tradition, burned him alive. He probably made Memphis, near Cairo, his capital and adopted the titles of the

Fürstenwalde

2005-03-01T01:14:00.000-08:00

City, Brandenburg Land (state), eastern Germany, on the Spree River near its junction with the Oder-Spree Canal, east of Berlin. Founded between 1252 and 1258 by the margraves of Brandenburg and chartered in 1285, it was the seat of the bishops of Lebus from 1385 to 1571. The cathedral, begun in 1446, was destroyed in 1945. Fürstenwalde's largest enterprise is the nationally owned tire plant; chemicals, metal

Rabassa, Gregory

2005-02-28T16:02:00.000-08:00

Rabassa graduated from Columbia University (Ph.D., 1954) and taught

Lungwebungu River

2005-02-28T06:30:00.000-08:00

Largest headwater tributary of the Zambezi River, in southwest central Africa. It rises in the central plateau of Angola as the Lungué-Bungo River to flow east and southeast into Zambia. There it joins the Zambezi 65 miles (105 km) north of Mongu, after a course of 400 miles (645 km).

Phase Diagram

2005-02-27T13:31:00.000-08:00

Graph showing the limiting conditions for solid, liquid, and gaseous phases of a single substance or of a mixture of substances while undergoing changes in pressure and temperature or in some other combination of variables, such as solubility and temperature. The Figure shows a typical phase diagram for a one-component system (i.e., one consisting of a single pure

Alabama, Agriculture

2005-02-27T02:01:00.000-08:00

The Alabamian rural economy challenges the traditional view of a dependency on cotton. Although cotton still remains of local importance, it suffered a heavy blow with the onset of the boll weevil blight in 1915, and acreage continued to decline. Mechanization and consolidation increased the average farm size after the 1930s. The diversification of agricultural production

Nicaro

2005-02-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

City, Holguín province, eastern Cuba. It is situated on the Bahía (bay) de Levisa, a nearly landlocked arm of the Atlantic Ocean, at the base of the Lengua de Pájara peninsula. Nicaro is Cuba's major centre for the refining of nickel and cobalt from nickel oxide, which is mined nearby in the foothills of the Sierra del Cristal. Other economic activities include motor repairing

Claudius

2005-02-25T17:24:00.000-08:00

Claudius' general policy increased the control of the emperor over the treasury and the provincial administration and apparently gave jurisdiction in fiscal matters to his own governors in the senatorial provinces. He created a kind of cabinet of freedmen, on whom he bestowed honours, to superintend various branches of the administration. An impressive series

Sachs, Curt

2005-02-25T08:38:00.000-08:00

In his youth Sachs took lessons in piano, theory, and composition. Later, at Berlin University—although he included music history in his studies—he took his doctorate in the history of art (1904). After several years as an art critic and historian, during which time

Seaborg, Glenn T.

2005-02-24T22:08:00.000-08:00

Seaborg was educated at the University of California at Los Angeles (A.B., 1934) and the University

Rio De Janeiro Botanical Garden

2005-02-23T05:38:00.000-08:00

Portuguese Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro one of the great tropical botanical gardens and arboretums of the world. It was founded in 1808 by John, prince regent of the United Kingdom of Brazil and Portugal (later King John VI), for introducing and acclimatizing economically beneficial plants brought from other tropical regions of the world. The garden, located on a 350-acre (141-hectare) site below high peaks, has a collection

Cabral De Melo Neto, João

2005-02-22T15:43:00.000-08:00

Cabral was born to a distinguished family of landowners. He had a brief stint as a public servant before he moved in 1940 to Rio de Janeiro. In 1942 he published his first collection of poems, Pedra do sono (“Stone of Sleep”). Although his early

Rasmussen, Poul Nyrup

2005-02-22T04:56:00.000-08:00

When Prime Minister Poul Schlüter was forced from office by Denmark's ongoing "Tamilgate" affair on Jan. 14, 1993, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, the leader of the Social Democrats, was faced not only with the challenge of forming a new government but also with the task of overseeing Denmark's key second referendum on the Maastricht Treaty. Furthermore, the country had just taken over

Jackson, Andrew

2005-02-21T00:53:00.000-08:00

Jackson retired to his home, the Hermitage. For decades in poor health, he was virtually an invalid during the remaining eight years of his life, but he continued to have a lively interest in public affairs.

Vermeer, Johannes

2005-02-20T13:14:00.000-08:00

Since Vermeer's name is not mentioned in Delft archival records during the late 1640s or early 1650s, it is possible

Usolye-sibirskoye

2005-02-19T17:06:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Usolje-Sibirskoje, or Usole-Sibirskoe, city, Irkutsk oblast (province), east-central Russia. It lies along the Angara River and the Trans-Siberian Railroad. The city is an old centre of salt production that continues as a major producer of caustic soda. Other plants produce machinery and synthetic rubber. A health resort is nearby. Pop. (1995 est.) 106,000.

Celery-top Pine

2005-02-18T13:46:00.000-08:00

Also called Adventure Bay Pine (species Phyllocladus asplenifolius), slow-growing ornamental and timber conifer of the family Podocarpaceae, native to temperate rain forests of Tasmania at elevations from sea level to 750 m (2,500 feet). The tree is shrubby at high elevations but may grow to 18 m (60 feet) and occasionally 30 m (100 feet) in lower areas. The irregularly arranged branches bear

Peter Of Castelnau

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

Peter became an archdeacon in 1199 and in 1202 joined the Cistercian order. In 1207 Pope

Strabismus

2005-02-18T06:38:00.000-08:00

Also called squint , or heterotropia failure of the eyes to align properly on the object toward which a person seeks to direct his gaze. The deviant eye may be directed inward, toward the other eye (cross-eye, or esotropia); outward, away from the other eye (walleye, or exotropia); upward (hypertropia); or downward (hypotropia). The squint is called comitant if the deviation remains constant no matter in what direction

Yambol

2005-02-17T02:27:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Jambol town, east-central Bulgaria, on the Tundzha (Tundja) River. North of the present town are the ruins of Kabyle (or Cabyle), which originated as a Bronze Age settlement in the 2nd millennium BC and was conquered by the Macedonians under Philip II in 342–341 BC. Taken by Rome in 72 BC, Kabyle became a city in the Roman province of Thrace, governing the middle reaches of the Tundzha (ancient Tonsus)

Felix

2005-02-16T21:34:00.000-08:00

When Archbishop Elipandus of Toledo promulgated the Adoptionist doctrine, he was condemned by Pope Adrian I. Elipandus then sought the support of Felix, who expressed agreement, whereupon Charlemagne in 792 summoned Felix to the Council of Ratisbon (Regensburg, Bavaria [Germany]), where Felix was induced

Zaghwan

2005-02-15T21:41:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Zaghouan, town, northeastern Tunisia. It lies on the fertile, northern slope of Mount Zaghwan at an elevation of 4,247 feet (1,295 m). It is built on the ancient Roman site of Zigus. Parts of a Roman aqueduct and canal network built in the 2nd century BC under the emperor Hadrian are still used to bring water from Zaghwan to Tunis. The importance of Zaghwan water is reflected in the location there of a Roman

Earth Exploration

2005-02-15T17:28:00.000-08:00

By the beginning of the 20th century most of the Earth's surface had been explored, at least superficially, except for the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Today the last of the unmarked areas on land maps have been filled in by radar and photographic mapping from aircraft and satellites. One of the last areas

Van Dyke, Henry

2005-02-14T07:00:00.000-08:00

Educated at Princeton, Van Dyke graduated from its theological seminary in 1877 and became a Presbyterian minister. His early works, “The Story of the Other Wise Man” (1896) and “The First Christmas Tree” (1897), were first read aloud to his congregation in New York

International Trade, The European Community

2005-02-13T06:38:00.000-08:00

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

Africa

2005-02-13T04:19:00.000-08:00

Initially, the province comprised the territory that had been subject to Carthage in 149 BC; this was an area of about 5,000 square miles (13,000 square km), divided from the kingdom of

Hooghly-chinsura

2005-02-12T21:24:00.000-08:00

Hooghly, also spelled Hugli, was founded by the Portuguese in 1537 following the decline of Satgaon, the mercantile capital of lower Bengal; it was also the first

Mittelland Canal

2005-02-12T03:39:00.000-08:00

Also called Ems-weser-elbe Canal, German waterway begun in 1905 and completed in 1938. It extends from the Dortmund-Ems Canal east of Rheine, Ger., eastward along the northern border of the Central Uplands, to the Elbe River north of Magdeburg (a distance of about 199 miles [321 km]), linking there with the Havel Canal eastward to Berlin. Side canals connect it with Osnabrück, Hannover, Salzgitter, and Hildesheim. Peine, between

Primate

2005-02-11T02:04:00.000-08:00

Traditionally, the order Primates was divided into Prosimii (the primitive primates: lemurs, lorises. and tarsiers) and Anthropoidea (the bigger-brained monkeys and apes, including humans). It is now known that one of the “prosimians,” the tarsier, is actually more closely related to the “anthropoids,” so the classification of the primates has had to be revised. The two suborders

Hughes, Richard (arthur Warren)

2005-02-10T05:07:00.000-08:00

Hughes was educated at Charterhouse School, near Godalming, Surrey, and at Oriel College, Oxford, from which he graduated in 1922, the same year in which his one-act

'abd Al-malik

2005-02-09T11:44:00.000-08:00

In full 'abd Al-malik Ibn Marwan fifth caliph (685–705) of the Umayyad Arab dynasty centred in Damascus. He reorganized and strengthened governmental administration and, throughout the empire, adopted Arabic as the language of administration.

Lipps, Theodor

2005-02-08T06:21:00.000-08:00

At the University of Bonn (1877–90) Lipps wrote a comprehensive account of psychology of the time, Grundtatsachen des

Pyroelectricity

2005-02-08T05:43:00.000-08:00

Development of opposite electrical charges on different parts of a crystal that is subjected to temperature change. First observed (1824) in quartz, pyroelectricity is exhibited only in crystallized nonconducting substances having at least one axis of symmetry that is polar (that is, having no centre of symmetry, the different crystal faces occurring on opposite

Beak Style

2005-02-07T09:29:00.000-08:00

Distinctive use of birdlike forms in human figures carved in wood in the lower Sepik and Ramu regions of Papua New Guinea. The head of the figure is generally placed on a short neck that connects it to a thick body, over which a long, beaklike nose often projects. Facial features have a thin, linear quality that emphasizes the downward thrust of the nose and contrasts

Lama

2005-02-06T05:35:00.000-08:00

Tibetan Bla-ma (“superior one”) in Tibetan Buddhism, a spiritual leader. Originally used to translate “guru” (Sanskrit: “venerable one”) and thus applicable only to heads of monasteries or great teachers, the term is now extended out of courtesy to any respected monk or priest. The common Western usage of “lamaism” and “lamasery” are, in fact, incorrect terms of reference for Tibetan Buddhism and a Tibetan

Soil Chemistry

2005-02-06T00:54:00.000-08:00

Discipline embracing all chemical and mineralogical compounds and reactions occurring in soils and soil-forming processes. The goals of soil chemistry are: (1) to establish, through chemical analysis, compositional limits of natural soil types and optimal growth conditions for the various plant communities, (2) to derive principles governing development of soil

Irkutsk

2005-02-05T22:21:00.000-08:00

Oblast (province), east-central Russia, occupying an area of 296,500 square miles (767,900 square km) west and north of Lake Baikal. It consists mostly of the hills and broad valleys of the Central Siberian Plateau and of its eastern extension, the Patom Plateau. In the south the oblast extends to the eastern crestline of the Sayan Mountains. Dense taiga dominated by Siberian and Dahurian

Columbia Encyclopedia

2005-02-05T11:36:00.000-08:00

First published in 1935 and continuing its indirect but important relationship with Columbia University, the encyclopaedia underwent major revisions in 1950 and 1963. The fourth edition (1975), with the present title, met a crucial

Baratynsky, Yevgeny Abramovich

2005-02-04T22:39:00.000-08:00

Of noble parentage, Baratynsky was expelled from the imperial corps of pages, entered the army, was commissioned,

Akriyavada

2005-02-04T01:33:00.000-08:00

Pali >Akiriyavada set of beliefs held by heretic teachers in India who were contemporaries of the Buddha. The doctrine was a kind of antinomianism that, by denying the orthodox karmic theory of the efficacy of former deeds on a person's present and future condition, also denied the possibility of a person's influencing his own destiny through preferring righteous to bad conduct. The

Elizabeth Islands

2005-02-03T20:45:00.000-08:00

Chain of small islands in southeastern Massachusetts, U.S. They extend southwestward for 16 miles (26 km) from the southwestern tip of Cape Cod, between Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound. Administratively a part of Dukes county, the islands constitute Gosnold town (a township area settled in 1641 and incorporated in 1864). The larger islands are Nonamesset, Naushon, Pasque, Nashawena,

Andover

2005-02-02T18:26:00.000-08:00

Andover's earliest-known

Hawkshaw, Sir John

2005-02-01T01:19:00.000-08:00

In 1845 Hawkshaw became chief engineer of the Manchester and Leeds Railway, introducing steeper gradients than any previously

Metatheory

2005-01-31T22:22:00.000-08:00

The most notable example of a metatheory was provided by David Hilbert, a German mathematician, who in 1905 set out to construct an elementary proof of the consistency of mathematics. For this purpose he needed a theory that studies

Rayonism

2005-01-31T22:13:00.000-08:00

Russian Luchism (Rayism) Russian art movement founded by Mikhail F. Larionov, representing one of the first steps toward the development of abstract art in Russia. Larionov exhibited one of the first Rayonist works, Glass, in 1912 and wrote the movement's manifesto that same year (though it was not published until 1913). Explaining the new style, which was a synthesis of Cubism, Futurism, and Orphism, Larionov

Aspergillus

2005-01-30T17:21:00.000-08:00

Genus of the Fungi Imperfecti (form-class Deuteromycetes). Those species for which the sexual phase is known are placed in the order Eurotiales. A. niger causes black mold of foodstuffs; A. flavus, A. niger, and A. fumigatus cause aspergillosis in humans. A. oryzae is used to ferment sake, and A. wentii to process soybeans. Three genera of the class Ascomycetes have

Family

2005-01-29T16:18:00.000-08:00

A group of persons united by the ties of marriage, blood, or adoption, constituting a single household and interacting with each other in their respective social positions, usually those of spouses, parents, children, and siblings. The family group should be distinguished from a household, which may include boarders and roomers sharing a common residence. It should

Calais

2005-01-28T23:39:00.000-08:00

City, Washington county, eastern Maine, U.S., on the St. Croix River (there spanned by an international bridge to St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada), 98 miles (158 km) east-northeast of Bangor. The river is noted for its tidal surges, which can vary by 28 feet (9 metres). Settlers were attracted to the area in 1779 by the abundance of natural resources. The community developed as a lumbering centre;

Paul, Lewis

2005-01-28T17:27:00.000-08:00

Paul was the son of a Huguenot refugee, at whose death he became a ward of the Earl of Shaftesbury. He began working with Wyatt about 1730, and they patented their machine in 1738. The idea was evidently Paul's, and the skilled Wyatt translated it into working machinery. The

Cheirolepis

2005-01-28T02:09:00.000-08:00

Extinct genus of primitive fishes whose fossils are found in European and North American rocks of the Devonian period (408 to 360 million years ago). The genus Cheirolepis is representative of the paleoniscoids, a group of primitive bony fishes, and may represent the common ancestor of the later, more progressive bony fishes. Cheirolepis was slim and streamlined,

Nitric Acid

2005-01-26T02:40:00.000-08:00

The preparation and use of nitric acid were known to the early alchemists. A common laboratory process used for

Han River

2005-01-25T13:00:00.000-08:00

Wade–Giles romanization Han Chiang, Pinyin Han Jiang, river in eastern Kwangtung Province (sheng), China. The Han River rises in the Wu-i Shan (mountains) in southwest Fukien Province to the north of Ch'ang-t'ing. Its upper course is known as the T'ing Chiang, and it flows south to Feng-shih, below which it is joined by the Yung-ting Chi (river). Flowing south over the border into Kwangtung Province, it is joined at San-ho-pa by its principal