TiredBook

Solanales

2005-03-19T17:33:00.000-08:00

Order of dicotyledonous flowering plants, a division of the subclass Asteridae. The order includes the Solanaceae and usually other families from the large 19th-century order Tubiflorae (see below Evolution). Botanists have differed as to which families should be included, but, however the order is construed, it includes some of the plants most important to human

Hojo Yoshitoki

2005-03-17T02:37:00.000-08:00

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

Reformatory

2005-03-15T04:47:00.000-08:00

Correctional institution for the treatment, training, and social rehabilitation of youth. Institutions designated as reformatories are of two general types: residential training schools for school-age delinquents and facilities for the confinement of youthful offenders between the ages of 16 and 25 who have been convicted of criminal acts. The early reformatories,

Lahmu And Lahamu

2005-03-13T22:00:00.000-08:00

Usually, Lahmu and Lahamu represent silt, but in some texts they seem to take the form

Destouches, André Cardinal

2005-03-10T15:45:00.000-08:00

André Cardinal was the son of a wealthy Parisian merchant, Etienne Cardinal, Seigneur des Touches et de Guilleville, but he did not take any form of the patronym until 1694, after which he was known as Destouches. He was educated by the Jesuits and traveled with a priest

Pausanias

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

Before visiting Greece, Pausanias had traveled widely in Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Macedonia, Epirus (now in Greece and Albania), and parts of Italy. His Description takes the form of a tour of Greece starting from Attica.

Beverley

2005-03-07T18:12:00.000-08:00

Town, unitary authority of East Riding of Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, England, just north of Kingston upon Hull. The town of Beverley grew in close association with a monastery established in the 7th century. Destroyed by the Danes in 806, the monastery was refounded by the Anglo-Saxon king Athelstan (reigned 925–939). The great Beverley Minster that dominates the town

Benda, Julien

2005-03-05T10:21:00.000-08:00

Benda graduated from the University of Paris in 1894. Among his first writings were articles (1898) on the Dreyfus affair. His lifelong

Ahmad

2005-03-03T09:54:00.000-08:00

Succeeding his brother as the ruler of Tunis in 1837, Ahmad began at once to modernize his armed forces: Tunisian cadets were sent to France, a military and technical academy was established, and European instructors invited to Tunis. He organized a naval force with 12 frigates purchased from France. He sent

China, Conflict over entry into the war

2005-02-28T00:50:00.000-08:00

In February 1917 the U.S. government severed diplomatic relations with Germany and invited the neutral powers, including China, to do the same. This brought on a crisis in the Chinese government. Li opposed the step, but Tuan favoured moving toward entry into the war. Parliamentary factions and public opinion were bitterly divided. Sun Yat-sen, now in Shanghai, argued that

Tibet, Plateau Of

2005-02-26T05:36:00.000-08:00

Also called Tibetan Highlands or Tsinghai-Tibet Plateau, Chinese (Wade–Giles) Ch'ing-tsang Kao-yuan or (Pinyin) Qing Zang Gaoyuan vast, high plateau in Central Asia and part of China in which the Tibet Autonomous Region, Tsinghai province, western Szechwan province, and southern Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang are located. It lies between the Kunlun Mountains (north) and the Himalayas (south) and is a region of tangled mountains that rise 13,000 to 15,000 feet (4,000 to 5,000 metres). The plateau has an area of about 850,000 square

Free Jazz

2005-02-25T05:11:00.000-08:00

The main characteristic of free jazz is that there are no rules. Musicians do not adhere to a fixed harmonic structure (predetermined chord progressions) as they improvise; instead, they modulate (i.e., change keys) at will. Free

Mordant Dye

2005-02-22T23:02:00.000-08:00

Colorant that can be bound to a material for which it otherwise has little or no affinity by the addition of a mordant, a chemical that combines with the dye and the fibre. As the principal modern mordants are dichromates and chromium complexes, mordant dye usually means chrome dye. Most mordant dyes yield different colours with different mordants. Mordant dyes can

Fields Medal

2005-02-20T06:08:00.000-08:00

The Fields Medal originated from surplus funds

Chadwick, George Whitefield

2005-02-19T11:58:00.000-08:00

Chadwick studied organ and music theory in Boston and in 1877 went to Germany to study under Karl Reinecke, Salomon Jadassohn, and Josef Rheinberger. Returning to the United States in 1880, he was engaged as instructor in music theory

Dôn

2005-02-16T09:28:00.000-08:00

In Celtic mythology, leader of one of two warring families of gods; according to one interpretation, the Children of Dôn were the powers of light, constantly in conflict with the Children of Llyr, the powers of darkness. In another view, the conflict was a struggle between indigenous gods and those of an invading people. Although Dôn and other Welsh deities had Irish

Tsinling Mountains

2005-02-14T10:08:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Ch'in Ling, Pinyin Qin Ling, mountain range in North China, extending east-west from southeast Kansu province into Shensi and Honan provinces. It is considered to be an extension of the Kunlun Mountains. It constitutes a watershed between the Wei and Han rivers and reaches a height of 12,359 feet (3,767 m) at T'ai-pai (mount). The range forms a sharp physical divide, of climatic as well as topographic significance,

Sankt Veit

2005-02-13T08:55:00.000-08:00

Also called Sankt Veit An Der Glan, town, Kärnten Bundesland (federal state), southern Austria. It lies along the Glan River north of Klagenfurt. Sankt Veit was the capital of the duchy of Kärnten (Carinthia) until 1518. Its town hall dates from 1468 and its old ducal castle from the 15th to 16th century. The Romanesque parish church was altered in the Gothic style in the 14th century. There are several castles in the vicinity,

Wyckoff, Ralph Walter Graystone

2005-02-10T14:18:00.000-08:00

Wyckoff was educated at Cornell University and was an instructor in analytical chemistry from 1917 to 1919. He subsequently worked in the Geophysical Laboratory

Carlini, Armando

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

Educated at

Argyll, Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl Of, Lord Campbell, Lord Lorne

2005-02-07T17:12:00.000-08:00

Campbell succeeded his father, Archibald, the 4th earl, in 1558. He was an adherent of John Knox and assisted Lord James Stewart (afterward the regent Moray) in the warfare of the lords of the congregation against the regent Mary of Lorraine, the mother of Mary Stuart. Argyll's support of Mary Stuart after her return

Papp, László

2005-02-04T19:10:00.000-08:00

Papp, a former railway clerk, competed as a middleweight (161 pounds [73 kg]) at the 1948 Olympic Games in London. A hard-hitting left-hander, he won the first of his gold medals by defeating Britain's John Wright in the final match. In 1952, when the

Yamaga Soko

2005-02-03T00:36:00.000-08:00

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),

Literature, Latin America.

2005-02-01T18:28:00.000-08:00

In 2001 many works explored Latin America's past and present social and political realities as well as offering variations on the theme of love. From Mexico, writer Carlos Fuentes returned to fantastic literature and to the theme of love's difficulties in Instinto de Inez. In La piel del cielo, Elena Poniatowska,

Orléans, Ferdinand-louis-philippe-charles-henri, Duc D' (duke Of)

2005-01-29T20:14:00.000-08:00

He was a noted soldier and served in Algeria from 1834 to 1836. In 1837 he married Princess Helena of Mecklenburg. In 1839 he again went to Algeria, but the fatigues of the campaign were too much for him. He died at Neuilly at the age of 31. His sons refused

Binding Energy

2005-01-28T13:53:00.000-08:00

Nuclear binding energy is the energy required to separate an atomic nucleus

Cloete, Stuart

2005-01-26T08:52:00.000-08:00

Cloete farmed in South Africa for several years (1926–35) before turning to writing. His first novel, Turning Wheels (1937), expressed a negative view of Boer life and dealt with interracial love affairs. It stimulated

Svadilfari

2005-01-23T23:10:00.000-08:00

In Norse mythology, an unusually swift and intelligent horse belonging to a giant who offered to build a great wall around Asgard (the kingdom of the gods) to keep invaders away. The gods stipulated that, if the builder completed the wall in one winter's time, his reward would be the goddess Freyja and possession of the sun and the moon. Svadilfari gave his owner such assistance

Devequt

2005-01-21T19:14:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Devekut (Hebrew: “attachment”), in Jewish religious thought, an adherence to or communion with God that stops short of mystical union. The notion of devequt apparently derived from the biblical reference to “loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him” (Deuteronomy 11:22). As a fundamental concept of the Jewish mystical system called the Kabbala, devequt was

Chédiak-higashi Syndrome

2005-01-20T16:04:00.000-08:00

Persons with Chédiak-Higashi syndrome experience persistent or recurrent infections. Other symptoms associated with the disease include enlargement of the liver and spleen, partial albinism, and depressed activity

Asam, Cosmas Damian; And Asam, Egid Quirin

2005-01-17T23:06:00.000-08:00

Principal late Baroque exponents of illusionist decoration in religious architecture. The Asam brothers were part of a generation of Germans educated in Rome in the Italian Baroque tradition. Their works, primarily produced in collaboration, are notable

Gracchus, Tiberius Sempronius

2005-01-15T00:20:00.000-08:00

Born into an aristocratic Roman family, Tiberius Sempronius was heir to a nexus of political connections with other leading families—most

Fabricius, Johann Christian

2005-01-13T14:12:00.000-08:00

Danish entomologist known for his extensive taxonomic research based upon the structure of insect mouthparts rather than upon their wings. He also advanced theoretical propositions that were progressive for his time, particularly his view that new species and varieties could arise through hybridization and by environmental influence

Kwandebele

2005-01-11T03:43:00.000-08:00

Former nonindependent black state and enclave in central Transvaal province, South Africa, that was a self-governing “national state” for Transvaal Ndebele people from 1981 to 1994. KwaNdebele was located in a 3,500-foot- (1,060-metre-) high dry savanna area about 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Johannesburg. It was established in 1979, when many Transvaal Ndebele were expelled from the nearby Bophuthatswana

Self-fertilization

2005-01-10T11:18:00.000-08:00

Fusion of male and female gametes (sex cells) produced by the same individual. Self-fertilization occurs in bisexual organisms, including most flowering plants, numerous protozoans, and many invertebrates. Autogamy, the production of gametes by the division of a single parent cell, is frequently found in unicellular organisms such as the protozoan Paramecium

Italy, Flag Of

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

A rich history of flags and coats of arms has existed in Italy since at least the 1200s, but the lack of national unification meant that there was no recognized flag representing all Italian-populated areas. The nationalism inspired by the French Revolution led to the formation of political and military groups throughout Italy dedicated to replacing the old autocratic

Moranbah

2005-01-06T06:09:00.000-08:00

New town, east-central Queensland, Australia. It lies about 120 miles (190 km) southwest of Mackay and 490 miles (790 km) northwest of the state capital, Brisbane. It is named after the parish of Moranbah, which itself was named after a local pastoral property, Morambah, which in turn probably took its name from Aboriginal sources. The town of Moranbah was founded in 1969 as the residential and

Religious Symbolism And Iconography, Relation to the literary and visual arts

2005-01-04T23:50:00.000-08:00

Religious symbols and pictures may be identical with, related to, or similar to those of language (metaphors) and to pictorial expressions in prose and poetry. They are related in allegory, parable, fairy tales, fables, and legends in which they can appear in a form that is closely related to that of religious symbolism. Religious symbols are used in the plastic arts, in

Subpoena

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

Formal instrument issued by a court, grand jury, legislative body or committee, or duly authorized administrative agency commanding an individual to appear before it at a specific time to give testimony, oral or written, in the matter identified in the document. The subpoena is used only in common-law countries, but it is similar to the citation or vocatio in jus of

Cambridge

2004-12-31T14:04:00.000-08:00

City, Middlesex county, eastern Massachusetts, U.S., situated on the north bank of the Charles River, partly opposite Boston. Originally settled as New Towne in 1630 by the Massachusetts Bay Company, it was organized as a town in 1636 when it became the site of Harvard College (now an undergraduate school of Harvard University). The town was renamed for Cambridge, England, in 1638 and became

Ekoi

2004-12-29T18:03:00.000-08:00

Group of peoples situated in extreme southeastern Nigeria and extending eastward into neighbouring Cameroon. Ekoid Bantu languages are spoken by many groups, including the Atam, Boki, Mbembe, Ufia, and Yako. The Ekoi live in proximity to the Efiks of southeastern Nigeria and claim to have migrated from the north to that area. The inhabitants of Kwa, located near Calabar,

Sete Lagoas

2004-12-26T02:25:00.000-08:00

City, central Minas Gerais estado (“state”), Brazil. Sete Lagoas lies in the highlands near the Espinhaço Mountains. It is a commercial centre for an agricultural region that raises corn (maize), feijão (beans), sugarcane, cassava, and rice, as well as livestock. Manufacturing and dairy and food-processing plants are in the city, which is on the Rio de Janeiro–Brasília highway

Saavedra Lamas, Carlos

2004-12-25T23:38:00.000-08:00

Educated in law, Saavedra Lamas taught at the National University of La Plata and at the University of Buenos Aires,

Insurance, Inland marine insurance

2004-12-23T04:38:00.000-08:00

Although there are no standard forms in inland marine insurance, most contracts follow a typical pattern. They are usually written on a named-peril basis covering such perils of transportation as collision, derailment, rising water, tornado, fire, lightning, and windstorm. The policies generally exclude losses resulting from pilferage, strike, riot, civil commotion,

Boieldieu, François-adrien

2004-12-21T02:56:00.000-08:00

In Rouen he studied under the organist Charles Broche and composed two operas and numerous piano sonatas, remarkable for their form, which constitute the first important body of piano works by a French composer. In 1796 he settled in Paris,

Sol

2004-12-18T14:29:00.000-08:00

In physical chemistry, a colloid (aggregate of very fine particles dispersed in a continuous medium) in which the particles are solid and the dispersion medium is fluid. If the dispersion medium is water, the colloid may be called a hydrosol; and if air, an aerosol. Lyophobic (Greek: “liquid-hating”) sols are characterized by particles that are not strongly attracted to

Palana

2004-12-16T23:44:00.000-08:00

Urban settlement and administrative centre of Koryak autonomous okrug (district), Kamchatka oblast (province), far eastern Russia. The settlement is situated on the western coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula and lies along the Palana River, 5 miles (8 km) from its mouth on the Sea of Okhotsk. The district was formed in 1930. The settlement has a regional museum. Pop. (1993 est.) 4,100.

Arculf

2004-12-15T02:41:00.000-08:00

On his return from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land (c. 680), Arculf was driven by storm to Scotland and so arrived at the Hebridean

Ouaddaï

2004-12-13T07:47:00.000-08:00

Crossed by caravans linking the Sahara with equatorial Africa and by Muslim pilgrim routes from West Africa toward Mecca,

Medicine

2004-12-10T10:00:00.000-08:00

It is generally the goal of most countries to have their health services organized in such a way to ensure that individuals, families, and communities obtain the maximum benefit from current knowledge and technology available for the promotion, maintenance, and restoration of health. In order to play their part in this process, governments and other agencies are

Adams, Samuel Hopkins

2004-12-09T20:49:00.000-08:00

One of the so-called muckrakers of the period, Adams

Percussion

2004-12-06T08:12:00.000-08:00

In medicine, diagnostic procedure that entails striking the body directly or indirectly with short, sharp taps of a finger or, rarely, a hammer. The procedure was first described in 1761 by the Austrian physician Leopold Auenbrugger von Auenbrugg. Although generally ignored by his contemporaries, it is now routinely employed. The sounds produced by the procedure are

Mercerization

2004-12-05T08:36:00.000-08:00

The treatment consists of immersing the yarn or

Yang Yen

2004-12-02T15:00:00.000-08:00

Yang introduced a new system of taxation into China that helped reduce the power of the aristocratic classes and eliminate their large tax-free estates. Yang abolished the various land, labour, produce, and other taxes to which the Chinese peasantry had been subject and the upper classes immune. In their place

Franz, Robert

2004-12-01T13:52:00.000-08:00

Franz studied organ at Dessau from 1835 to 1837. Later he returned to Halle, where he became a friend of Wilhelm Osterwald, many of whose poems he set to music. About the time he published his first

Lignum Vitae

2004-11-28T23:11:00.000-08:00

Guaiacum officinale occurs from the southern United States to northern South America. It grows about 9 m (30 feet) tall and reaches a diameter of about 25 cm (10 inches). The evergreen leaves are opposite, divided into leaflets

Arminius, Jacobus

2004-11-26T05:23:00.000-08:00

His father died when Arminius was an infant, and one Theodore Aemilius adopted the child and provided for his schooling in Utrecht. On the death of

Nicaea, Council Of

2004-11-25T03:28:00.000-08:00

(787), the seventh ecumenical council of the Christian church, meeting in Nicaea (now Iznik, Tur.). It attempted to resolve the Iconoclastic Controversy, initiated in 726 when Emperor Leo III issued a decree against the worship of icons. The council declared that icons deserved reverence and veneration but not adoration. Convoked by the patriarch Tarasius, the council was attended

Biblical Literature, Wanderings in the desert of Paran

2004-11-23T02:53:00.000-08:00

This section apparently combines various traditions of how the Israelites came into Palestine, and J, E (or JE), and P sources have been discerned in these chapters. The traditional “40 years” in the wilderness (38 or 39, according to critical calculations) were spent mostly in the wilderness of Paran, with a short stay in the oasis of Kadesh, according to P; while, according to J, they

Demosthenes

2004-11-21T22:37:00.000-08:00

From this point on (354), Demosthenes' career is virtually the history of Athenian foreign policy. It was not very long before his oratorical skill made him, in effect, the leader of what today might be called the democratic party. Some interests, especially the wealthy, would have preferred an oligarchy instead of a democracy; many merchants would have preferred peace at

Trichocyst

2004-11-19T22:08:00.000-08:00

A structure in the cortex of certain ciliate and flagellate protozoans consisting of a cavity and long, thin threads that can be ejected in response to certain stimuli. Trichocysts may be widely distributed over an organism or restricted to certain areas (e.g., tentacles, papillae, around the mouth). There are several types. Mucoid trichocysts are elongated

Armstrong, Neil (alden)

2004-11-14T11:53:00.000-08:00

Armstrong became a licensed pilot on his 16th birthday and a naval air cadet in 1947. His studies in aeronautical engineering at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., were interrupted in 1950 by the Korean War, in which he was shot down once and was awarded three Air Medals. In 1955 he became a civilian research

Lipscomb, Gene

2004-11-13T04:32:00.000-08:00

Byname of Eugene Allen Lipscomb American gridiron football player and larger-than-life “character” whose exploits helped make professional football the most popular sport in the United States during the late 1950s. A 6-foot 6-inch (2-metre), 284-pound (129-kg) defensive tackle, Lipscomb joked that he gathered up all the opponent's players and “peeled them off” until

Piedras Negras

2004-11-11T00:52:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern Coahuila estado (“state”), northeastern Mexico. It lies at 722 feet (220 m) above sea level on the Rio Grande (Bravo del Norte River), just across from Eagle Pass, Texas, U.S., with which it is connected by two bridges. Founded in 1849, it was renamed Ciudad Porfirio Díaz in 1888; after that dictator's downfall, the original name was restored. Much of the city's prosperity is due to its

Pre-columbian Civilizations, The Middle Horizon

2004-11-09T05:48:00.000-08:00

Both Pucará and Tiwanaku were early forms of what became known as the Middle Horizon, an expansion of multiple-valley political rule that had two centres: one in the southern Altiplano, the other centred on Huari (Wari), near the modern Peruvian city of Ayacucho. This development is usually dated about AD 600. Some Tiwanaku effigy vessels have been discovered at Huari, but

Armstrong, Lance

2004-11-06T17:50:00.000-08:00

Armstrong entered sports at a young age, excelling in both swimming and cycling, and, by the time he was a teenager, he was competing in triathlons and swimming competitions. Before his high-school graduation, the Junior National Cycling Team, part of the U.S. Cycling

Pembroke, Richard Fitzgilbert, 2nd Earl Of

2004-11-04T20:56:00.000-08:00

The son of Gilbert FitzGilbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, he succeeded to his father's estates in southern Wales in 1148/49. Pembroke had evidently lost these lands by 1168; it was probably in that year that he agreed to aid Dermot MacMurrough, king of Leinster, who had

Ethiopic Languages

2004-11-03T21:33:00.000-08:00

The Semitic languages of Ethiopia and Eritrea, including Ge'ez, the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox church; Amharic, one of the principal languages of modern Ethiopia; Tigre; Tigrinya, or Tigrai; Argobba; Hareri; and Gurage. Although some scholars formerly considered Ethiopic to be a separate branch of Semitic, these languages are now generally grouped

France, History Of, Gaul under the late Roman Empire (c. 250c. 400)

2004-11-01T18:40:00.000-08:00

High Roman Gaul came to an end in an empirewide crisis characterized by foreign invasions and a rapid succession of rulers, as increased pressure on the empire's frontiers exacerbated its internal economic and political weaknesses. Priority was given to holding the Danube and the East; despite sporadic visits by emperors, the West was neglected. In 260 and 276 Gaul suffered

Lutetium

2004-10-29T19:46:00.000-07:00

(Lu), chemical element, rare-earth metal of transition Group IIIb of the periodic table; the hardest and densest rare-earth element, last member of the lanthanide series. Lutetium was discovered (1907–08) by Carl Auer von Welsbach and Georges Urbain, working independently. Urbain derived the name for the element from Lutetia, which was the ancient Roman name for Paris. The name

Furniture, Historical forms and styles

2004-10-28T19:47:00.000-07:00

Round stone tables on low pedestal legs are known in Egypt from the time of the pyramids (c. 2700 BC). Egyptian limestone reliefs also show tables of normal height. Dating from the later dynasties, crude wooden tables with architectonic molding have been preserved. No tables have survived from ancient Greece. From the Roman ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum, however, there are

Van Lew, Elizabeth L.

2004-10-26T03:13:00.000-07:00

Van Lew was the daughter of a prosperous family of Northern antecedents. She was educated in Philadelphia and grew up to hold strong antislavery views. During the 1850s, under her influence,

Turina, Joaquín

2004-10-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

After studying in Sevilla (Seville) and Madrid, Turina went in 1905 to Paris, where he was a pupil of Moritz Moszkowski for piano and Vincent d'Indy for composition. Though he absorbed elements of the French style, he was inspired in Paris by Isaac

Han

2004-10-22T17:39:00.000-07:00

The han evolved during the 15th century when local daimyo gradually came into military and civil control of their own domains. In the warfare that took place among them at the end of the century, the size of the han gradually increased; many assumed the boundaries of one or

Trans-kalahari Highway

2004-10-20T03:06:00.000-07:00

In March 1998 the residents of Botswana and Namibia met at Buitepos on the border between the two countries to inaugurate formally the Trans-Kalahari Highway. The new road formed part of the strategic coast-to-coast route that linked Maputo, Mozambique, on the Indian Ocean to Walvis Bay on the Atlantic coastline of Namibia. It was designed to serve as the backbone of an

Gobi, Climate

2004-10-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

The climate is acutely continental and dry: winter is severe, spring is dry and cold, and summer is warm. The annual temperature range is considerable, with average lows in January reaching -40° F (-40° C) and average highs in July climbing to 113° F (45° C); daily temperature ranges also can be quite large. The annual total precipitation varies from less than three inches in the west to more

Cranbrook Academy Of Art

2004-10-17T02:31:00.000-07:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., U.S. The school and its associated museum were designed largely by Finnish-American architect Eliel Saarinen. Cranbrook Academy of Art is devoted solely to graduate study in the arts, offering master's degree programs in fine arts and architecture. Areas of study include architecture,

Arena

2004-10-16T22:49:00.000-07:00

Central area of an amphitheatre (q.v.).

Museums, History Of, Specialized personal collections

2004-10-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

The developing interest in human as well as natural history in the 16th century led to the creation of specialized collections. In Italy alone more than 250 natural history collections are recorded in that century, including the fine herbarium of Luca Ghini at Padua and the more eclectic collection of Ulisse Aldrovandi at Bologna. Other notable natural history collections

Carajá

2004-10-13T11:31:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Karajá, tribe of South American Indians living along the Araguaia River, near the inland island of Bananal, in central Brazil. Their language may be distantly related to Ge, which is spoken by most of the surrounding tribes. The three subtribes of the Carajá—the Carajá proper, the Shambioá, and the Javahé—have almost identical cultures and are all oriented toward the river

Meynell, Sir Francis

2004-10-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

The son of Wilfrid and Alice Meynell, he was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. In 1914 he set up the Romney Street

Quillwork

2004-10-11T19:54:00.000-07:00

Type of embroidery done with the quills of a porcupine, or sometimes with bird feathers. This type of decoration was used by American Indians from Maine to Virginia and westward to the Rocky Mountains. For all practical purposes the art has died out. Quills were used on tobacco and tinder bags, knife and paintstick cases, cradles, armulets, burden straps, tunics, shirts,

Azhar University, Al-

2004-10-10T07:09:00.000-07:00

Chief centre of Islamic and Arabic learning in the world, centred on the mosque of that name in the medieval quarter of Cairo, Egypt. It was founded by the Fatimids in AD 970 and was formally organized by 988. The basic program of studies was, and still is, Islamic law, theology, and the Arabic language. Late in the European Middle Ages philosophy and medicine were added to the curriculum,

Pre-columbian Civilizations, The earliest Maya civilization of the lowlands

2004-10-09T04:26:00.000-07:00

By the Late Formative, the lowland Maya had begun to shape a civilization that was to become the greatest in the New World. The Petén-Yucatán Peninsula lacks many raw materials and has a relatively low agricultural potential. But what it does have in limitless quantities is readily quarried limestone for building purposes and flint for stonework. Cement and plaster

Perch

2004-10-09T00:34:00.000-07:00

The common and yellow perches are found, respectively, in the fresh waters of Eurasia

Medicine, Industrial medicine

2004-10-08T00:06:00.000-07:00

The Industrial Revolution greatly changed, and as a rule worsened, the health hazards caused by industry, while the numbers at risk vastly increased. In Britain the first small beginnings of efforts to ameliorate the lot of the workers in factories and mines began in 1802 with the passing of the first factory act, the Health and Morals of Apprentices Act. The factory act

Beethoven, Ludwig, Van, Wider recognition

2004-10-06T19:59:00.000-07:00

In 1810 E.T.A. Hoffmann in Berlin produced an appreciation of the Fifth Symphony, which undoubtedly did much to launch that work on its triumphant career throughout the world and, above all, to interest the Romantics in its composer. The same year, Beethoven made the acquaintance of the writer Bettina Brentano, the sister of the German poet and novelist Clemens Brentano

Torga, Miguel

2004-10-05T02:21:00.000-07:00

Torga embarked on his literary career while a medical student at the University of Coimbra. After graduation he continued to write and publish

Moscheles, Ignaz

2004-10-04T19:10:00.000-07:00

Moscheles studied at the Prague Conservatory and later at Vienna under J.G. Albrechtsberger and Antonio Salieri. In 1814, commissioned by Artaria & Co., publishers, he made the first piano arrangement of Ludwig van

Harun Ar-rashid

2004-10-01T23:00:00.000-07:00

In full Harun ar-Rashid ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ibn al-Mansur al-'Abbasi fifth caliph of the 'Abbasid dynasty (786–809), who ruled Islam at the zenith of its empire with a luxury in Baghdad memorialized in The Thousand and One Nights (The Arabian Nights Entertainment).

Amelung Glass

2004-09-30T10:50:00.000-07:00

American glass produced from 1784 to about 1795 by John Frederick Amelung, a native of Bremen in Germany. Financed by German and American promoters, Amelung founded the New Bremen Glassmanufactory near Frederick, Md., U.S., and attempted to establish a self-sufficient community, importing glassworkers and other craftsmen from Germany. The enterprise was encouraged by such

Butaritari Atoll

2004-09-28T13:09:00.000-07:00

Also called Makin Atoll, formerly Pitt Island, coral atoll of the Gilbert Islands, part of Kiribati, in the west-central Pacific Ocean. Located in the northern Gilberts, it comprises a central lagoon (11 miles [18 km] wide) ringed by islets, with a total area of 5.2 square miles (13.5 square km), which provides a good deep anchorage with three passages to the open sea. Occupied by Japanese forces from 1941 to 1943, the atoll served as a U.S. air and naval

Subatomic Particle

2004-09-25T04:53:00.000-07:00

Subatomic particles are, literally, particles that are smaller than atoms. The physical study of such particles

Hohenstaufen Dynasty

2004-09-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

Also called Staufer Dynasty, German dynasty that ruled the Holy Roman Empire from 1138 to 1208 and from 1212 to 1254. The founder of the line was the count Frederick (died 1105), who built Staufen Castle in the Swabian Jura Mountains and was rewarded for his fidelity to Emperor Henry IV by being appointed duke of Swabia as Frederick I in 1079. He later married Henry's daughter Agnes. His two sons, Frederick II, duke of Swabia, and Conrad,

Graysby

2004-09-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

Species of sea bass (q.v.).

Airplane, Devices for aerodynamic control

2004-09-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

In some flight conditions—descent, preparing to land, landing, and after landing—it is desirable to be able to increase drag to decelerate the aircraft. A number of devices have been designed to accomplish this. These include speed brakes, which are large flat-plate areas that can be deployed by the pilot to increase drag dramatically and are most often found on military

Saptamatrka

2004-09-18T20:05:00.000-07:00

Representations of the goddesses are found in shrines throughout

Allingham, Margery (louise)

2004-09-16T01:02:00.000-07:00

Campion's career was begun with a group of ingenious, popular thrillers: The Crime at Black Dudley (1928; U.S. title, The Black Dudley

Earth, Earthquakes

2004-09-13T08:44:00.000-07:00

Most Earth scientists believe that virtually all naturally produced earthquakes occur as a result of movements along faults. The reason that the majority of such earthquakes occur along plate boundaries is that most faults lie along those boundaries.

France, History Of, The cities

2004-09-10T21:45:00.000-07:00

Urban society was also troubled. The walled town stood out ever more starkly against the countryside as siege warfare intimidated or destroyed the suburbs that had been built in a less anxious day. Royal taxation, often inequitably administered, exacerbated old tensions in the towns; fiscal policy or the regulation of wages or supplies was largely at issue in the