SmallSpade

Ancient Rome, Barbarian kingdoms

2005-03-24T10:06:00.000-08:00

Several barbarian kingdoms were then set up: in Africa, Gaiseric's kingdom of the Vandals; in Spain and in Gaul as far as the Loire, the Visigothic kingdom; and farther to the north, the kingdoms of the Salian Franks and the Alemanni. The barbarians were everywhere a small minority. They established themselves on the great estates and divided the land to the benefit of

Leguminosae

2005-03-22T14:05:00.000-08:00

Plant family comprising the order Fabales (q.v.).

Paddy

2005-03-19T00:18:00.000-08:00

Also called Rice Paddy, small, level, flooded field used to cultivate rice in southern and eastern Asia. Wet-rice cultivation is the most prevalent method of farming in the Far East, where it utilizes a small fraction of the total land yet feeds the majority of the rural population. Rice was domesticated as early as 3500 BC, and by about 2,000 years ago it was grown in almost all of the present-day cultivation

Pyrargyrite

2005-03-17T22:05:00.000-08:00

A sulfosalt mineral, a silver antimony sulfide (Ag3SbS3), that is an important source of silver, sometimes called ruby silver because of its deep red colour (see also proustite). The best crystallized specimens, of hexagonal symmetry, are from St. Andreasberg in the Harz Mountains and from Freiberg, both in Germany; and Colquechaca, Bol. It is mined at Guanajuato, Mex., and near

Bae Systems

2005-03-13T13:19:00.000-08:00

Major British manufacturer of aircraft, missiles, avionics, and other aerospace and defense products. It was formed in 1999 from the merger of British Aerospace PLC (BAe) with Marconi Electronic Systems, formerly part of General Electric Company PLC. BAe, in turn, dates to the merger in 1977 of British Aircraft Corporation, Hawker Siddeley Aviation, and two other firms. Headquarters

Perga

2005-03-12T17:56:00.000-08:00

In Perga the apostles Paul and Barnabas began their first mission in Anatolia (Acts of the Apostles 13:13). A difficult mountain route into Phrygia began at Perga, and Alexander the Great used it

Amphibian, Adaptations

2005-03-10T05:30:00.000-08:00

The amphibian eye has a lid, associated glands and ducts, and muscles that allow accommodation as well as depth perception and true colour vision. These adaptations are regarded as the first evolutionary improvements in vertebrate terrestrial vision. Green rods in the retina, which permit perception of a wide range of wavelengths, are found only in amphibians.

Gobi, Drainage and soils

2005-03-09T18:16:00.000-08:00

Aridity in the Gobi depends on the relative chalkiness of the soil and has been aggravated by the strong mountain structure to the west. The lakes correspondingly have shrunk, leaving a series of terraces considerably farther from and higher than the present shorelines. Indeed, Lakes Orog and Bööntsagaan, in the easternmost Mongolian Altai, and Lake Ulaan, in the

Gág, Wanda Hazel

2005-03-08T07:52:00.000-08:00

Gág was the daughter of a Bohemian immigrant artist. While attending high school in Minnesota, she helped support her family by contributing

Pacific Islands, Micronesia

2005-03-07T23:38:00.000-08:00

Eight or 10 cultural-linguistic areas in Micronesia attest to its greater heterogeneity. Palau, Yap, and the Mariana Islands, in western Micronesia, suggest affinities with Melanesia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The customary siting of island farmsteads and hamlets near the shore reflects the prevailing interest in fishing, canoeing, and interisland trade. Except

Aniene River

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

Also called Teverone, Latin Anio, major tributary of the Tiber (Tevere) River in central Italy. It rises from two springs in the Simbruini Mountains near Subiaco, southeast of Rome, flows through a narrow valley past Tivoli, and meanders through the Campagna di Roma (territory) to join the Tiber north of Rome. It is 67 miles (108 km) long and has a drainage basin of 569 square miles (1,474 square km). The Roman emperor Nero created

árpád Dynasty

2005-03-05T21:25:00.000-08:00

Rulers of Hungary from the late 9th century until 1301, under whom the Hungarian nation was transformed from a confederation of Hungarian tribes into a powerful state of east-central Europe. The dynasty was named after Árpád (d. 907), who was chosen by seven Hungarian tribes to lead them westward from their dwelling place on the Don River (889). Having crossed the Carpathian Mountains

Amphibian

2005-03-04T05:59:00.000-08:00

Amphibians are generally thought to be intermediate between aquatic fishes, whose eggs lack a shell and protective membranes, and terrestrial amniotes (reptiles, birds, and mammals), which have cleidoic (self-contained) eggs with membranes that function in respiration, feeding, and waste disposal. Amniotes and amphibians form the group of four-legged vertebrates

Ore Mountains

2005-03-03T14:54:00.000-08:00

Czech Krušné Hory , German Erzgebirge range of hills bounding the Bohemian Massif, extending 100 miles (160 km) along the German-Czech border, and reaching an average width of 25 miles (40 km). The Bohemian (southeastern) side of the range has a steep scarp face (2,000 to 2,500 feet [600 to 750 metres] high in places); the outer slope to the northwest is gradual. The highest summits, Klínovec (4,081 feet [1,244 metres]) on the Czech side and Fichtel Mountain (3,983 feet

Sunburn

2005-03-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

Acute cutaneous inflammation caused by overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation of the so-called UVB wavelength band (290–320 nanometre; a nanometre is 10-9 metre), which originates from sunlight or artificial sources. Reactions to overexposure range in severity from mild redness and tenderness to intense pain, edema (swelling), and blistering; systemic symptoms include

Cambrai

2005-03-01T04:09:00.000-08:00

Town, Nord département, Nord-Pas-de-Calais région, northern France. It lies along the Escaut River, south of Roubaix. The town was called Camaracum under the Romans, and its bishops were made counts by the German king Henry I in the 10th century. Cambrai was long a bone of contention among its neighbours—the counties of Flanders and Hainaut, the kingdom of France, and the Holy

Narcolepsy

2005-02-27T08:46:00.000-08:00

The syndrome usually occurs in youth or early adult life and is presumably due to dysfunction of the diencephalic reticular system. The narcoleptic can fall asleep anywhere, anytime—while in conversation, at work, while eating,

Mauritania, Climate

2005-02-27T00:17:00.000-08:00

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,

Black Friday

2005-02-25T10:13:00.000-08:00

In U.S. history, Sept. 24, 1869, when plummeting gold prices precipitated a securities market panic. The crash was a consequence of an attempt by financier Jay Gould and railway magnate James Fisk to corner the gold market and drive up the price. The scheme depended on keeping government gold off the market, which the manipulators arranged through political influence. When

Baratieri, Oreste

2005-02-25T02:19:00.000-08:00

Baratieri had been a volunteer for Giuseppe Garibaldi, the popular hero of Italian unification, serving

Double Dactyls

2005-02-24T05:14:00.000-08:00

Also called higgledy-piggledy a light-verse form consisting of eight lines of two dactyls each, arranged in two stanzas. The first line of the poem must be a jingle, often “Higgledy-piggledy” or “Jiggery-pokery”; the second line must be a name; the last lines of each stanza are truncated and they should rhyme; and one line in the second stanza must consist of a single word. The following example by R. McHenry

Aghlabid Dynasty

2005-02-23T15:18:00.000-08:00

Also called Banu al-Aghlab Arab Muslim dynasty that ruled Ifriqiyah (Tunisia and eastern Algeria) from AD 800 to 909. The Aghlabids were nominally subject to the 'Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad but were in fact independent. Their capital city was Kairouan (al-Qayrawan), in Tunisia. The most interesting of the 11 Aghlabid emirs were the energetic and cultured Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab (reigned 800–812), founder of al-Abbasiyya (2 miles

Abegg, Richard Wilhelm Heinrich

2005-02-22T11:51:00.000-08:00

Abegg became professor of chemistry at the University of Breslau, Ger. (now Wroclaw, Pol.), in 1897 and two years later gained

Abakaliki

2005-02-22T08:23:00.000-08:00

Town, Enugu state, southeastern Nigeria. It lies at the intersection of roads from Enugu, Afikpo, and Ogoja. An agricultural trade centre (yams, cassava, rice, and palm oil and kernels) for the Igbo (Ibo) people, the town is located in an area known for its lead, zinc, and limestone deposits. Lead has been mined since precolonial times, and limestone is quarried for a cement plant

Eckhel, Joseph Hilarius

2005-02-20T07:47:00.000-08:00

Eckhel was educated at the Jesuit gymnasium in Vienna, where he had entered the Jesuit order at age 14. He taught grammar at various collegiate schools, but because of poor health he gave up teaching to

Korea Bay

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

Korea Bay receives three of the major rivers of North Korea—the Yalu (which rises on Mount Paektu and forms much of the China–North Korea border), the Ch'ongchon, and the Taedong—in addition to a number of China's smaller rivers. The bay

Taoka Kazuo

2005-02-18T16:22:00.000-08:00

Taoka was born to a poor farm family in a village on the island of Shikoku;

Neodymium

2005-02-18T16:05:00.000-08:00

(Nd), chemical element, rare-earth metal of transition Group IIIb of the periodic table. Neodymium is silvery-white colour and tarnishes in air to form an oxide which chips, exposing the metal to further oxidation. The metal must be sealed in a plastic covering or kept in mineral oil for preservation. It reacts gradually with cold water and rapidly with hot water to liberate

Sabin, Albert Bruce

2005-02-15T14:54:00.000-08:00

Sabin immigrated with his parents to the United States in 1921 and became an American citizen nine

Arosa

2005-02-15T06:29:00.000-08:00

Alpine village, health resort, and winter sports centre, Graubünden canton, eastern Switzerland, on the Plessur River. The village, at an elevation of 5,689 feet (1,734 m), stretches along a wooded valley holding two small lakes, the Untersee and the Obersee, that are used for fishing, swimming, and boating in the summer. Arosa is noted as a fashionable winter-sports centre, particularly

Pennsylvania Academy Of The Fine Arts

2005-02-14T11:47:00.000-08:00

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the oldest art academy and museum in the United States, founded 1805. Specializing in American painting and sculpture of the 18th to the 20th century, the Academy's Art Museum was built between 1872 and 1876 according to designs by architect Frank Furness (1839–1912). The building's architectural style is high Victorian. For its centennial year (1976), which coincided

Neosho

2005-02-14T05:57:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1839) of Newton county, southwest Missouri, U.S. It lies in the Ozark Mountains, 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Joplin. Founded in 1839, its name, of Osage Indian derivation, meaning “clear and abundant water,” probably refers to the nine flowing springs (the largest of which is at Big Spring State Park) within the city limits. During the American Civil War, Neosho was the scene of many

Biblical Literature, The Catholic Letters

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

As the history of the New Testament canon shows, the seven so-called Catholic Letters (i.e., James, I and II Peter, I, II, and III John, and Jude) were among the last of the literature to be settled on before the agreement of East and West in 367. During the 2nd and 3rd centuries, only I John and I Peter were universally recognized and, even after acceptance of all seven, their varying positions

Smilodon

2005-02-12T00:36:00.000-08:00

Extinct genus of large carnivores known collectively by the common name sabre-toothed cat (q.v.).

Muris, Jean De

2005-02-09T16:52:00.000-08:00

French philosopher and mathematician who was a leading proponent of the new musical style of the 14th century. In his treatise Ars novae musicae (1319; “The Art of the New Music”) he enthusiastically supported the great changes in musical style and notation occurring in the 14th century and associated with the composer and theorist Philippe de Vitry, whose

Corbel

2005-02-09T00:42:00.000-08:00

In architecture, bracket or weight-carrying member, built deeply into the wall so that the pressure on its embedded portion counteracts any tendency to overturn or fall outward. The name derives from a French word meaning crow, because of the corbel's beaklike shape. Corbels may be individual pieces of stone, separate from each other like brackets, as in the case of

Romanche Gap

2005-02-08T03:30:00.000-08:00

The Romanche Gap is one of the

Florida, Flag Of

2005-02-07T15:54:00.000-08:00

The first flag of Florida was hoisted on June 25, 1845, at the inauguration of its first governor, William D. Moseley. It had five horizontal stripes (blue, orange, red, white, and green) and a ribbon with the inscription “Let us alone.” The U.S. flag served as a canton. The states' rights and antifederalist symbolism in the design is clear, but the associations of the colours are unknown;

Allon, Yigal

2005-02-06T15:34:00.000-08:00

Allon was one of the first commanders of the Palmach, an elite branch of the Haganah, a Zionist military organization

Papyrology

2005-02-05T19:52:00.000-08:00

Most papyrus documents have been found in Egypt, where the papyrus plant was cultivated for the manufacture of writing material and the dry climate favoured preservation. Papyrus documents have been

Russell, Pee Wee

2005-02-03T16:32:00.000-08:00

Reluctantly trained in violin as a child, Russell also tried piano and drums before settling on the clarinet, on which he became a distinctive stylist. Russell developed a quirky, chance-taking style that employed a generally plaintive tone punctuated by growls, squeaks, and breathy mutterings.

Argentina, Immigration and ethnicity

2005-02-03T00:19:00.000-08:00

Heavy immigration, particularly from Spain and Italy, has produced in Argentina a people who are almost all of European ancestry. In the colonial period, though, the Spanish explorers and settlers encountered a number of native peoples. Among these were the Diaguita tribes of the Andean Northwest, a town-dwelling, agricultural people who were forced into labour

Oral

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

Russian Uralsk , also spelled Ural'sk city, western Kazakhstan, along the Ural (Zhayyq) River. Founded in 1613 or 1622 by Cossacks fleeing a tsarist punitive campaign, it was known as Yaitsky Gorodok until 1775, when its name was changed following the Pugachov Rebellion. The town was a centre of both the Stenka Razin (1667) and Yemelyan Pugachov (1773) uprisings and was the headquarters of the Ural Cossacks. It had a lively trade with

Le Maistre, Antoine

2005-02-01T09:42:00.000-08:00

Important figure in the Jansenist religious movement in France, a member of the Arnauld family (q.v.).

Abydos

2005-01-31T10:15:00.000-08:00

The history of Abydos is intimately associated with the political and religious development of Egypt

Kara-yo

2005-01-31T04:21:00.000-08:00

(Japanese: “Chinese style”), one of the three main Japanese styles of Buddhist temple architecture in the Kamakura period (1192–1333). Kara-yo originally followed Chinese forms that featured strict symmetry on a central axis. The word kara-yo is written with the character that stands for the Chinese T'ang dynasty (618–907), but the style seems to have represented the official building code

Sidqi, Isma'il

2005-01-28T03:07:00.000-08:00

Sidqi earned his diploma at the Collège des Frères and won honours at the Khedivial Law school. He joined the public prosecutor's office but in 1899 became administrative secretary of the Alexandria municipal commission. In 1914 he was appointed minister of agriculture and then

China, Relations with the Juchen

2005-01-26T22:21:00.000-08:00

In spite of Kao-tsung's personal inclination, his artful guiding hand, and the success of his efforts to consolidate the empire, the impulse remained strong among many idealistic Confucians to attempt to recover the central plains. Even when silenced, they were potentially critical of court policies. Kao-tsung eventually decided to abdicate. He left the matter to

Marquette University

2005-01-26T14:49:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Milwaukee, Wis., U.S. It is affiliated with the Jesuit order of the Roman Catholic church. It offers degree programs at the bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional levels. Marquette comprises 12 schools, colleges, and programs, including a school of law and a physical therapy program. The School of Dentistry

Dis Pater

2005-01-25T19:53:00.000-08:00

(Latin: Rich Father), in Roman religion, god of the infernal regions, the equivalent of the Greek Hades (q.v.), or Pluto (Rich One). Also known to the Romans as Orcus, he was believed to be the brother of Jupiter and was greatly feared. His wife, Proserpina (a Roman corruption of the Greek Persephone [q.v.]), was identified with vegetation, being regarded as a goddess of death during her

Cambon, Paul

2005-01-25T19:27:00.000-08:00

A law graduate (1870) and an ardent republican, Cambon served as secretary to the future statesman Jules Ferry, then mayor of Paris. Sent to the département of Bouches-du-Rhône as secretary-general of the prefecture

Amsdorf, Nikolaus Von

2005-01-23T22:57:00.000-08:00

Educated at Leipzig and then at Wittenberg, where he became a theology professor in 1511, Amsdorf attended the Leipzig Debate with Luther in 1519 and the Diet of Worms two years later, where he participated in the plan to protect Luther from his detractors by pretending to kidnap

Gonyaulax

2005-01-22T11:04:00.000-08:00

Genus of dinoflagellates (single-celled aquatic organisms) that inhabit fresh, salt, or brackish water. Members are covered by closely fitting cellulose plates and have two flagella: one extends downward from a longitudinal groove in the armour, and the other, in an encircling groove, appears to keep the animal afloat. There is no eyespot (stigma), and the pigment-containing

Theileriasis

2005-01-20T15:40:00.000-08:00

Any of a group of livestock diseases caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Theileria (Gonderia), transmitted by tick bites. The most serious is East Coast fever of cattle, caused by T. parva; it has 90–100 percent mortality in Africa. Tropical theileriasis, from T. annulata (T. dispar), is a milder disease of cattle along the Mediterranean and in the Middle East. Theileriases

Hirah, Al-

2005-01-20T04:44:00.000-08:00

(from Syriac hirta, “camp”), English Hira, ancient city located south of al-Kufah in south-central Iraq; it was prominent in pre-Islamic Arab history. The town was originally a military encampment, but in the 5th and 6th centuries AD it was the capital of the Lakhmids, who were Arab vassals of Sasanian Persia (Iran). As such it was a centre of diplomatic, political, and military activities

Kohala Mountains

2005-01-19T04:26:00.000-08:00

Volcanic range, northern Hawaii Island, Hawaii, U.S. The mountains extend 21 miles (34 km) north from Waimea to Upolu Point and reach a high point at Kaunu-o-Kaleoohie (5,505 feet [1,678 m]). The mountains consist of an eroded dome, 22 miles long and 15 miles wide, and cover an area of 234 square miles (606 square km). The younger western slopes have a thin soil covering, in contrast with the eastern slopes. The southern

K'ang-ting

2005-01-18T14:14:00.000-08:00

Until the Sung period (960–1279) the area was beyond Chinese control.

'awali

2005-01-17T22:25:00.000-08:00

Municipality in the state and emirate of Bahrain, on central Bahrain island, in the Persian Gulf. Founded in the 1930s by the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO), it is situated just north of Bahrain's oil fields and southwest of the country's oil refinery, one of the largest in the world. The municipality was built to house the main offices, headquarters staff, and foreign executives

Goajiro

2005-01-17T07:35:00.000-08:00

Indian people of the Guajira Peninsula in northern Colombia and adjacent Venezuela. Numbering about 127,000 in the late 20th century, they speak an Arawakan language and are linguistically and culturally distinct from their neighbours to the south, the Arhuaco. The Goajiro are mainly a pastoral people, growing only a little corn (maize) to make chicha (beer). Besides raising

Bone Cyst

2005-01-15T23:37:00.000-08:00

Circumscribed, benign (noncancerous) lesion, usually saclike and filled with fluid. Unicameral bone cyst affects the long bones or heel bones in children and adolescents and is frequently detected as a result of a pathological fracture. Treatment is by excision and bone graft, but spontaneous healing is common. Aneurysmal bone cyst, usually occurring in young males,

Both, Jan

2005-01-15T03:00:00.000-08:00

Both first studied with his father, Dirck Both, a glass painter, and then with Abraham Bloemaert. From 1638 to 1641 he lived in Rome with his brother Andries; in the latter year he returned to Utrecht, where he became a prominent

Lukas, J(ay) Anthony

2005-01-13T22:40:00.000-08:00

American journalist and author (b. April 25, 1933, New York, N.Y.--d. June 5, 1997, New York), wrote meticulous examinations of the societal and racial fissures in the U.S. He was known and highly regarded for his tenacity, perfectionism, and painstaking research and won a number of the country's top literature and journalism awards, including two Pulitzer Prizes. Lukas was educated at Harvard

Alaska, The economy

2005-01-12T11:59:00.000-08:00

The Alaskan economy is conditioned strongly by the state's frontier stage of development, but its formerly inadequate tax base for state and municipal growth ended with the development of the North Slope oil fields. High costs of labour and transportation and complicated environmental and land-use constraints still tend to discourage outside investment. Nonetheless,

Kresge, S.s.

2005-01-11T00:24:00.000-08:00

Kresge worked as a traveling salesman before going into business with one of his customers, John G. McCrory, the owner of several department and five-and-ten-cent stores. They became partners in 1897 in two new five-and-dime

Art, African, Igbo

2005-01-10T10:57:00.000-08:00

On both sides of the Niger, but mainly to the east, live the Igbo. Traditionally they have lived in small and often isolated settlements scattered through the forest. Only on the northern and western edges of the area, under influence from Igala and Benin, are hereditary rulers found. In Igbo society there is strong social pressure toward individual distinction, and

Discount Rate

2005-01-09T23:35:00.000-08:00

The discount rate serves as an important indicator

Hojo Yoshitoki

2005-01-09T19:17:00.000-08:00

Yoshitoki succeeded his father, Hojo Tokimasa (q.v.), as regent, making this office the hereditary post of the Hojo family. Thereafter, although the emperor at Kyoto was the official

Ford Motor Company

2005-01-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

American automotive corporation founded in 1903 by Henry Ford (q.v.) and 11 associate investors. In 1919 the company was reincorporated, with Ford, his wife, Clara, and his son, Edsel, acquiring full ownership; they, their heirs, and the Ford Foundation (formed 1936) were sole stockholders until January 1956, when public sale of the common stock was first offered. The company today is chiefly engaged

Alexis

2005-01-07T02:23:00.000-08:00

Alexis was a hemophiliac, and at that time there was no medical treatment that could alleviate his condition or lessen his vulnerability

Turin, Shroud Of

2005-01-05T13:08:00.000-08:00

Also called Holy Shroud , Italian Santa Sindone a length of linen that for centuries was purported to be the burial garment of Jesus Christ; it has been preserved since 1578 in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista in Turin, Italy. Measuring 14 feet 3 inches long and 3 feet 7 inches wide, it seems to portray two faint brownish images, those of the back and front of a gaunt, sunken-eyed, 5-foot 7-inch man—as if a body had

House Sparrow

2005-01-05T09:58:00.000-08:00

Also called English Sparrow (Passer domesticus), one of the world's best-known and most abundant small birds, sometimes classified in the family Ploceidae (q.v.; order Passeriformes) or separated as Passeridae. It lives in towns and on farms, worldwide, having accompanied Europeans from its original home—most of Eurasia and northern Africa. It was introduced into North America

Philip Iv

2005-01-02T13:42:00.000-08:00

Byname Philip The Fair, French Philippe Le Bel king of France from 1285 to 1314 (and of Navarre, as Philip I, from 1284 to 1305, ruling jointly with his wife, Joan I of Navarre). His long struggle with the Roman papacy ended with the transfer of the Curia to Avignon, Fr. (beginning the so-called Babylonian Captivity, 1309–78). He also secured French royal power by wars on barons and neighbours and by restriction of

North Germanic Languages, Norwegian

2005-01-02T00:31:00.000-08:00

Old Norwegian writing traditions gradually died out in the 15th century after the union of Norway with Denmark and the removal of the central government to Copenhagen. After independence was achieved in 1814, the linguistic union with Danish persisted, but educational problems due to the linguistic distance between Danish and spoken Norwegian and socio-political

Hood River

2005-01-01T21:24:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1908) of Hood River county, northern Oregon, U.S., on the Columbia River, there bridged to White Salmon, Washington, 60 miles (97 km) northeast of Portland. It lies at the mouth of the Hood River, which was named for British Admiral Lord Hood. Settled in 1854, and platted in 1881, the city began to develop after the railroad arrived in the 1880s. Vast acreages of land were planted in orchards in

Aquinas, Thomas, Saint

2005-01-01T09:29:00.000-08:00

The biography of Thomas Aquinas is one of extreme simplicity; it chronicles little but some modest travel during a career devoted entirely to university life: at Paris, the Roman Curia, Paris again, and Naples. It would be a mistake, however, to judge that his life was merely the quiet life of a professional teacher untouched by the social and political affairs of his

Ariaramnes

2004-12-29T17:06:00.000-08:00

The son of the previous king, Teispes, Ariaramnes ruled over Persis (modern Fars, in southwestern Iran); his brother Cyrus I was given control of Anshan in Elam, north of the Persian Gulf. A campaign by the Medes, however, broke the power of Ariaramnes, and he and his son Arsames, who succeeded him, became vassals of Media

Argentina, The arts

2004-12-29T15:14:00.000-08:00

The fine arts of Argentina historically found their inspiration in Europe, particularly in France and Spain, but the turbulence and complexity of Argentine national life—and of Latin America in general—have also found expression in the arts. In literature the Modernismo movement of the late 19th century and the Ultraísmo of the early 20th were both influenced by the

Geography, Aerial photography and remote sensing

2004-12-27T19:08:00.000-08:00

During the 20th century immense strides have been made in observing features on the Earth's surface, first by the development of aerial photography and later by satellite imagery. Aerial photography was first used extensively during World War I for reconnaissance. A new profession of photographic interpretation evolved in which the identification of both natural

Bronson, Charles

2004-12-27T13:36:00.000-08:00

Bronson was one of 15 children of a Lithuanian coal miner, became a miner himself at age 16, and during World War II claimed to have served in the air force as a tail gunner (later reports suggest that he was stationed

Cosmas

2004-12-26T20:55:00.000-08:00

Also called Indicopleustes merchant, traveler, theologian, and geographer whose treatise Topographia Christiana (c. 535–547; “Christian Topography”) contains one of the earliest and most famous of world maps. In this treatise, Cosmas tried to prove the literal accuracy of the Biblical picture of the universe, asserting in particular that the Earth is flat and trying to refute

Procrustes

2004-12-25T08:21:00.000-08:00

Also called Polypemon, Damastes, or Procoptas, in Greek legend, a robber dwelling somewhere in Attica—in some versions, in the neighbourhood of Eleusis. His father was said to be Poseidon. Procrustes had an iron bed (or, according to some accounts, two beds) on which he compelled his victims to lie. Here, if a victim was shorter than the bed, he stretched him by hammering or racking the body to fit. Alternatively, if the victim

Insurance, Direct losses

2004-12-24T16:03:00.000-08:00

Losses may be settled on a replacement-cost

Permafrost, Agriculture

2004-12-21T19:19:00.000-08:00

Permafrost affects agricultural developments in many parts of the discontinuous permafrost zone. Its destructive effect on cultivated fields in both Russia and North America results from the thawing of large masses of ice in the permafrost. If care is not exercised in selecting areas to be cleared for cultivation, thawing of the permafrost may necessitate

Trade, Board Of

2004-12-21T02:11:00.000-08:00

The first grain futures exchange in the United States, organized in 1848 in Chicago. The Board of Trade began as a voluntary association of prominent Chicago grain merchants. In 1849 it received a charter from the Illinois legislature, and in 1859 it was incorporated by a special legislative act. At first grain was sold by sample, but soon a system of inspection and grading was introduced

Afram River

2004-12-20T11:35:00.000-08:00

River, in southern Ghana, western Africa. It rises 16 miles (26 km) northwest of Mampong and flows southeast into Lake Volta (formerly the Afram was a tributary of the Volta River). The Afram is about 55 miles (90 km) long. The river is important for fishing, despite its running dry from October to March, and it collects nearly all the drainage of the Kwahu Plateau. In the river valley the

Mahendra

2004-12-20T07:59:00.000-08:00

When Asoka, a convert to Buddhism from Hinduism, sent Mahendra and Princess Sanghamittha as missionaries to Ceylon about 251 BC, they converted

Nepali Language

2004-12-18T19:20:00.000-08:00

Eastern Pahari dialect spoken in Nepal. See Pahari languages.

Mugla

2004-12-17T08:10:00.000-08:00

City, southwestern Turkey, on the edge of a small plain about 12 miles (20 km) north of the Gulf of Gökova. A favourite residence of the emirs of the 14th-century Turkmen Mentese principality, it was annexed to the Ottoman Empire in 1425. It is a local market for the agricultural products of the region and is linked by road with Izmir and Denizli. The surrounding region borders on both the

Znaniecki, Florian (witold)

2004-12-15T16:57:00.000-08:00

Znaniecki's earliest work was as a poet. After being expelled from

Yakovlev, Aleksandr Sergeyevich

2004-12-15T09:36:00.000-08:00

After graduation from the Air Force Engineering Academy in 1931, Yakovlev immediately began to design aircraft, both piston- and jet-engined. Just before World War II he designed the Yak-1 fighter. His first jet

Tintern Abbey

2004-12-14T05:36:00.000-08:00

Ecclesiastical ruin in Monmouthsire, Wales, on the west bank of the River Wye. Founded for Cistercian monks in 1131, Tintern Abbey was almost entirely rebuilt and enlarged between 1220 and 1287. The building was finally completed, except for minor additions, in the early 14th century. The abbey was dissolved in 1537, and its property was granted to the lord of Chepstow; the crown bought it

Yogacara

2004-12-13T05:14:00.000-08:00

Also called Vijñanavada (“Doctrine of Consciousness”), an important idealistic school of Mahayana Buddhism. Yogacara attacked both the complete realism of Theravada Buddhism and the provisional practical realism of the Madhyamika school of Mahayana Buddhism. The name of the school is derived from the title of an important 4th- or 5th-century text of the school, the Yogacarabhumi-sastra (“The Science of the

Epiphyte

2004-12-11T02:54:00.000-08:00

Any plant that grows upon or is in some manner attached to another plant or object merely for physical support. Epiphytes are primarily tropical in distribution and are often known as air plants because they have no attachment to the ground or other obvious nutrient source. They obtain water and minerals from rain

Abu Al-'atahiyah

2004-12-10T02:16:00.000-08:00

Abu al-'Atahiyah (“Father of Craziness”) came from a family of mawlas, poor non-Arabs who were clients of the 'Anaza Arab tribe. The family's poverty prevented Abu al-'Atahiyah from receiving

Mannar Island

2004-12-08T22:57:00.000-08:00

Dry, barren island that lies at the eastern end of Adam's Bridge, a chain of shoals off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. Mannar Island has an area of about 50 square miles (130 square km). Fishing is economically important. The small port of Mannar is on the southeastern shore. Pop. (1990 est.) 132,000.

Lågen

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

Also called Gudbrandsdalslågen, river, south-central Norway. The name Lågen is applied to the portion of the river in Oppland fylke (county); it rises in small lakes and streams in the Dovre Plateau at the northern end of Gudbrands Valley and flows southeast for 122 miles (199 km) through Gudbrands Valley to Mjøsa Lake at Lillehammer. It flows out from Mjøsa as the Vorma River (in Akershus fylke) southeast to its

Aurobindo, Sri

2004-12-05T19:00:00.000-08:00

Aurobindo's education began in a Christian convent school in Darjeeling, and then, still a boy, he was sent to England for further schooling. He entered the University of Cambridge, where he became proficient in two

Jhelum River

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

The Jhelum rises from a deep spring at Vernag, in the Indian-held sector of Jammu and Kashmir state. The river meanders northwestward from the northern slope of the Pir Panjal Range through the Vale of Kashmir to Wular Lake, which controls its flow. Emerging from the

China, Archaeology in China

2004-12-04T10:34:00.000-08:00

The practice of archaeology in China has been rooted in modern Chinese history. The intellectual and political reformers of the 1920s challenged the historicity of the legendary inventors of Chinese culture, such as Shen Nung, the divine farmer, and Huang Ti, the Yellow Emperor. At the same time, scientific study of the prehistoric period was being sponsored by Western

Pielinen, Lake

2004-12-02T22:22:00.000-08:00

Finnish Pielisjärvi, lake located in Pohjois-Karjalan lääni (province), eastern Finland, near the border with Russia. The lake is approximately 60 miles (100 km) long between the town of Nurmes and the village of Uimaharju and ranges from 1 to 25 miles (1.5 to 40 km) in width. Its area is 335 square miles (868 square km). Lake Pielinen has many islands and is drained southward into the large Saimaa lake system by the Pielis