GoodCushion

Lebanon, Drainage

2005-10-15T15:55:00.000-07:00

Lebanese rivers, though numerous, are mostly winter torrents, draining the western slopes of the Lebanon Mountains. The only exception is the Litani (90 miles long), which rises near the famed ruins of Baalbek (Ba'labakk) and flows southward in al-Biqa' to empty into the Mediterranean near historic Tyre. The two other important rivers are the Orontes (Nahr al-'Asi), which rises in the north

Seto-guro Ware

2005-07-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

Japanese ceramic ware created at Mino during 1573–96. A black ware, it stands in contrast to the contemporary pure-white Shino ware. Seto-guro (“black Seto”) was produced by a process that involved firing the iron-glaze ware in an oxidizing kiln from which it was suddenly removed and immediately cooled. The shade of black achieved was far richer than had been achieved in the earlier

Physical Sciences, Organic Chemistry.

2005-07-26T19:20:00.000-07:00

Chemists missed the mark when they picked the original name—inert gases—for a family of six elements that compose group 18 of the periodic table. They thought that helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon were inert and never combined with other elements to form chemical compounds. That notion was upset in the 1960s when researchers made the first xenon compounds and

Roman-fleuve

2005-07-24T08:15:00.000-07:00

(French: “novel stream”), series of novels, each one complete in itself, that deals with one central character, an era of national life, or successive generations of a family. Inspired by Honoré de Balzac's Comédie humaine and Émile Zola's Rougon-Macquart cycle, the roman-fleuve was a popular literary genre in France during the first half of the 20th century. Examples include

Uto-aztecan Languages

2005-07-07T09:45:00.000-07:00

The languages

Feme Sole

2005-07-05T15:15:00.000-07:00

In Anglo-American common law, a woman in the unmarried state or in the legally established equivalent of that state. The concept derived from feudal Norman custom and was prevalent through periods when marriage abridged women's rights. Feme sole (Norman French meaning “single woman”) referred to a woman who had never been married or who was divorced or widowed or to

Eckermann, Johann Peter

2005-06-17T03:15:00.000-07:00

Reared

Wilder, Laura Ingalls

2005-06-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

Laura Ingalls grew up in a family that moved frequently from one part of the American frontier to another. Her father took the family by covered wagon to Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Indian Territory, and Dakota Territory. At age 15 she began teaching

Essen

2005-06-02T17:20:00.000-07:00

City, North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state), western Germany, between the Rhine-Herne Canal and the Ruhr River. It was originally the seat of an aristocratic convent (founded 852), still represented by the cathedral (the seat of a Roman Catholic bishop), completed in the 15th century. In the suburb of Werden, the abbey church was founded in 796 as part of a monastery. The convent and the

Ramenskoye

2005-05-31T00:05:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Ramenskoje , or Ramenskoe city and centre of a rayon (sector), Moscow oblast (province), western Russia. It lies southeast of the city of Moscow. In the 1820s Ramenskoye became the site of one of Russia's first cotton factories and soon developed as an industrial village. Incorporated in 1926, the city is now a textile and engineering centre as well as a residential suburb of Moscow. It has a medical school and

Aurangzeb

2005-05-17T03:10:00.000-07:00

Aurangzeb was the third son of the emperor Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal (for whom the Taj Mahal was built). He grew up as a serious-minded and devout youth, wedded to the Muslim orthodoxy of the day and free from the royal Mughal traits of sensuality and drunkenness. He early showed signs of military and administrative ability; and these qualities, combined with a taste for power,

Elf Owl

2005-03-15T06:27:00.000-08:00

(Micrathene whitneyi), tiny bird of prey of the family Strigidae (order Strigiformes) of Mexico and the southwestern United States. It is the smallest owl and is about the size of a sparrow. In the cactus deserts, elf owls are among the most common birds, but they also inhabit forested areas, dry grasslands, and wet savanna. They nest in holes in cacti

San Crist�bal

2005-03-14T20:28:00.000-08:00

In full �Benem�rita de San Crist�bal� city, south-central Dominican Republic. It is situated in the coastal lowlands close to the Caribbean Sea. Founded by Spaniards in 1575, when gold was discovered in the area, it was the site of the signing of the Dominican Republic's first constitution (1844) and of the birth of dictator Rafael Trujillo Molina (1891). San Crist�bal is now a prosperous commercial centre for its agricultural

La T�ne

2005-03-07T04:00:00.000-08:00

(French: The Shallows), archaeological site at the eastern end of Lake Neuch�tel, Switz., the name of which has been extended to distinguish the Late Iron Age culture of European Celts. La T�ne culture originated in the mid-5th century BC, when the Celts came into contact with Greek and Etruscan influences from south of the Alps. This culture passed through several phases

Ecstasy

2005-03-06T05:05:00.000-08:00

MDMA (3,4, Methylenedioxymethamphetamine), euphoria-inducing stimulant and hallucinogen. The use of Ecstasy, commonly known as �E,� has been widespread despite the drug's having been banned worldwide in 1985 by its addition to the international Convention on Psychotropic Substances. It is a derivative of the amphetamine family and a relative of the stimulant methamphetamine

Ecstasy

2005-03-05T00:49:00.000-08:00

Also called �cocoa� tropical tree, whose scientific name means �food of the gods� in Latin. Originating in the lowland rainforests of the Amazon and Orinoco river basins, cacao is grown commercially in the New World tropics as well as western Africa and tropical Asia for its seeds called cocoa beans, which are processed into cocoa powder, cocoa butter, and chocolate. This

Eisenhower Trophy

2005-03-04T00:23:00.000-08:00

Golf trophy awarded to the winner of a biennial international amateur competition open to teams of three or four players from all nations. The competition was first held, under sponsorship of the World Amateur Golf Council, in 1958, and the trophy was named for President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a golf enthusiast. The contest consists of 72 holes of stroke play (the team with the

Schaffner, Franklin (james)

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

The son of Protestant American missionaries, Schaffner lived in the United States after the age of five and attended Franklin

Thomas, Isiah

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

Thomas developed exceptional basketball skills at an early age and became

Epistemology, Analytic philosophy

2005-03-01T16:54:00.000-08:00

Analytic philosophy, the prevailing philosophy in the Anglo-American world in the 20th century, has its origins in symbolic logic on the one hand and in British empiricism on the other. Some of its important contributions have been nonepistemological in character, but in the area of epistemology its contributions have also been of the first order. Its main characteristics

Szczecinek

2005-02-28T21:46:00.000-08:00

Szczecinek is the commercial centre for the surrounding district; its industry includes dairying,

Cabot, John

2005-02-27T14:39:00.000-08:00

Cabot's voyages are treated specifically in James A. Williamson, The Voyages of the Cabots and the English Discovery of North America (1929, reprinted 1971), and The Cabot Voyages and Bristol Discovery Under Henry VII (1962, reprinted 1986); while David B. Quinn, England and the Discovery of America, 1481 - 1620 (1973); and Samuel Eliot Morison, The European Discovery of America, vol. 1 (1971, reissued 1993), place the voyages in the broader historical context.

Mosconi, Willie

2005-02-26T23:07:00.000-08:00

The son of a billiards parlour owner, Mosconi showed a precocious talent for the game. When his father forbade him to play, hoping that

Vostok Island

2005-02-25T21:44:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Vostock�, formerly �Staver Island� coral atoll in the Southern Line Islands, part of Kiribati, southwestern Pacific Ocean. It lies 400 miles (640 km) northwest of Tahiti. A low formation, with a land area of only 0.1 square mile (0.3 square km), it has no anchorage in its lagoon. Vostok was sighted in 1820 by the Russian Antarctic explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and was named for his ship. It was claimed by the United

Howe, E.w.

2005-02-24T18:34:00.000-08:00

Howe went to work at age seven on his father's homestead near Bethany, Mo. An apprentice printer at 12, he worked at the trade in Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Utah (1867 - 72). At 19 he was publisher of the Golden (Colo.) Globe and in 1877 founded the Atchison (Kan.) Daily Globe, made famous

New Iberia

2005-02-23T21:33:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1868) of Iberia parish, southern Louisiana, U.S., on Bayou Teche (connected via canal with the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway), 23 miles (37 km) southeast of Lafayette. Founded in the late 18th century by French, Spanish, and Acadian settlers, it was laid out in 1835. It was first called Iberia, the ancient name for Spain, but the name was changed when the parish was created. The city was occupied

Haley, Margaret Angela

2005-02-22T09:20:00.000-08:00

Haley attended public and convent schools and from 1876 taught in a succession of schools around Chicago. She was an early member of the Chicago Teachers' Federation, formed in March 1897, and rose quickly in the organization to become

Argentina, The Northwest

2005-02-21T16:14:00.000-08:00

This part of the Andes region includes the northern half of the main mountain mass in Argentina and the transitional terrain, or piedmont, merging with the eastern lowlands. The region's southern border is the upper Colorado River. Within the region, the Andean system of north-south-trending mountain ranges varies in elevation from 16,000 to 22,000 feet (4,900 to 6,700 metres) and is interrupted

Kean, Edmund

2005-02-20T09:47:00.000-08:00

Though no official record of his birth exists, it has been well established that he was the bastard son of Ann Carey, who described herself as an itinerant

Charles I

2005-02-19T02:52:00.000-08:00

Charles was the second surviving son of James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark. He was a sickly child, and, when his father became king of England in March 1603, he was temporarily

Epistemology, Contemporary philosophy

2005-02-18T22:34:00.000-08:00

Contemporary philosophy begins in the late 19th and early 20th century. Much of what sets contemporary philosophy off from modern philosophy is its explicit criticism of the modern tradition and sometimes its apparent indifference to it. There are two basic strains of contemporary philosophy: Continental philosophy, which designates the philosophical style

Azurite

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

Also called �Chessylite, � basic copper carbonate [Cu3(OH)2(CO3)2]. It is ordinarily found with malachite in the oxidized zone of copper lodes. Notable deposits are Tsumeb, Namibia; Chessy, Fr.; and Bisbee, Ariz., U.S. Azurite was used as a blue pigment in ancient Eastern wall painting and, from the 15th to the middle of the 17th century, in European painting. For detailed physical properties, see carbonate

Gona�ves

2005-02-16T08:57:00.000-08:00

Capital of L'Artibonite d�partement, western Haiti, on the northeastern shore of the Golfe de la Gon�ve (Gulf of Gona�ves). Originally an Indian village called Gonaibo, it is now the commercial centre and port of the fertile Artibonite Plain, with a natural harbour; coffee, cotton, sugar, bananas, mangoes, and cabinet woods are exported. In 1802 the French captured the revolutionary

Radiation Therapy

2005-02-15T23:45:00.000-08:00

Also called �Radiotherapy, or Therapeutic Radiology, � use of radiation sources in the treatment or relief of diseases. Radiation therapy almost always makes use of ionizing radiation, deep tissue-penetrating rays, which can physically and chemically react with diseased cells to destroy them. The other forms of radiation, infrared and ultraviolet, can be employed in heat lamps for neuritis and arthritis conditions

Venezuela

2005-02-14T23:05:00.000-08:00

Officially �Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, �Spanish �Rep�blica Bolivariana de Venezuela� country located at the northern end of South America. It occupies a roughly triangular area of 352,144 square miles (912,050 square km) - larger than the combined areas of France and Germany. Venezuela is bounded by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Guyana to the east, Brazil to the south, and Colombia to the southwest and west. The national capital, Caracas, is Venezuela's

Nebraska, Plant and animal life

2005-02-13T15:18:00.000-08:00

A wide variety of grasses originally covered Nebraska's prairies, and the slopes of the river valleys were well covered with deciduous trees. Cottonwood, elm, and some oak and walnut are found along the bluffs of eastern Nebraska, while conifers grow in the Wild Cat and Pine Ridge highlands and the Niobrara valley. The Nebraska National Forest in west central Nebraska

Ayrer, Jakob

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

A lawyer by profession, Ayrer spent

Ecuador

2005-02-11T20:53:00.000-08:00

Officially �Republic of Ecuador, �Spanish �Rep�blica del Ecuador, � country of northwestern South America. It straddles part of the Andes Mountains and occupies part of the Amazon basin. Lying on the Equator, from which its name derives, it borders Colombia to the north, Peru to the east and the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west; it includes the Pacific island group of the Gal�pagos Islands, or the Archipi�lago de Col�n. It is a relatively

Molasse

2005-02-10T10:39:00.000-08:00

Thick association of continental and marine clastic sedimentary rocks that consists mainly of sandstones and shales formed as shore deposits. The depositional environments involved include beaches, lagoons, river channels, and backwater swamps. The sands are deposited on beaches and in river channels and eventually form shoestring bodies (thickness:width

Heimwehr

2005-02-09T09:11:00.000-08:00

(German: Home Defense Force), any of the local organizations formed in various parts of Austria to expel invading Yugoslavs or preserve order immediately after World War I. Composed of conservative-minded country dwellers, the Heimwehr came to represent much of the Austrian right wing between World Wars I and II. Imbued with corporativism (an authoritarian view

Khoei, Abolqasem Al-

2005-02-08T11:49:00.000-08:00

Khoei studied Persian poetry and religion as a child. At age 13 he was sent to study Islamic law (Shari'ah) at Al-Najaf, where he remained and became one of the most important Shi'ite clerics of his day,

Molay, Jacques De

2005-02-07T10:23:00.000-08:00

Molay entered the order in 1265, fought in Syria, and after 1291 was at Cyprus.

Cambrai, Battle Of

2005-02-06T16:35:00.000-08:00

Carried out by the 3rd Army under General Sir Julian Byng in order to relieve pressure on the French front, the offensive consisted of an assault against the Germans' Hindenburg line along a 10-mile (16-kilometre) front some 8 miles

Pyrex

2005-02-05T19:22:00.000-08:00

(trademark), a type of glass and glassware that is resistant to heat, chemicals, and electricity. It is used to make chemical apparatus, industrial equipment, including piping and thermometers, and ovenware. Chemically, Pyrex contains borosilicate and expands only about one-third as much as common glass (silicate) when heated. As a result, it is less apt to break when subjected

Arnsberg

2005-02-04T10:03:00.000-08:00

City, North Rhine - Westphalia Land (state), western Germany. It lies along a loop of the Ruhr River, east of Iserlohn. Situated between wooded mountains and known as the Pearl of the Sauerland (southern land of Westphalia), it is a popular spa and summer resort. Arnsberg originated in the 11th century around a castle of the counts of Werl and was chartered in 1238. The countship of

Kirkus, Virginia

2005-02-03T02:57:00.000-08:00

Kirkus attended private schools and in 1916 graduated from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York. After taking courses at Columbia University Teachers College, New York City, she taught in a private school in Delaware

Trieste

2005-02-02T15:39:00.000-08:00

Bathyscaphe (q.v.) launched by Auguste Piccard in 1953.

Arts, Islamic, The Umayyad and 'Abbasid dynasties: classical Islamic music

2005-01-31T09:23:00.000-08:00

Under the Umayyad caliphate (661 - 750) the classical style of Islamic music developed further. The capital was moved to Damascus (in modern Syria) and the courts were thronged with male and female musicians, who formed a class apart. Many prominent musicians were Arab by birth or acculturation, but the alien element continued to play a predominant role in Islamic music. The first

Merryman, Ex Parte

2005-01-30T13:42:00.000-08:00

On May 25, 1861, a secessionist named John Merryman was imprisoned by military order at Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Md., for his alleged pro-Confederate activities. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, sitting as a federal circuit

Durocher, Leo

2005-01-29T18:07:00.000-08:00

Durocher played a year each in Atlanta, Georgia, and St. Paul, Minnesota, before joining the New York Yankees in 1928. He was a superb fielder at shortstop but a mediocre hitter, and he was sold to the Cincinnati Reds in 1930. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals

Sorrentino, Gilbert

2005-01-28T10:40:00.000-08:00

From 1956 to 1960 Sorrentino was editor and publisher of Neon, a magazine that featured works by Beat writers; he was also book editor (1961 - 65) for Kulchur. His poetry collections

Robert De Torigni

2005-01-27T11:49:00.000-08:00

Robert was born to a family apparently of high rank. In 1128 he joined the monastery at Bec, where he was ordained deacon (1131) and elected prior (1149). He became abbot of Mont-Saint-Michel in

Rawsthorne, Alan

2005-01-26T03:19:00.000-08:00

Rawsthorne studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music (1926 - 30) and in Berlin (1930 - 31) with Egon Petri. His early music with its pervasive linear counterpoint shows the influence

Ugarit

2005-01-25T21:47:00.000-08:00

Ancient city lying in a large artificial mound called Ras Shamra (Ra's Shamrah), 6 miles (10 km) north of Al-Ladhiqiyah (Latakia) on the Mediterranean coast of northern Syria. Its ruins, about half a mile from the shore, were first uncovered by the plow of a peasant at Al-Bayda Bay. Excavations were begun in 1929 by a French archaeological mission under the direction of Claude F.A.

Alerce

2005-01-24T05:07:00.000-08:00

Also called �Patagonian Cypress� (species Fitzroya cupressoides), coniferous tree that is the only species of the genus Fitzroya, of the cypress family (Cupressaceae), native to southern Chile and southern Argentina. In the wild it grows to become one of the oldest and largest trees in the world. The alerce is thought to be a southern relative of the giant sequoia of North America. The oldest known alerce

Pacific Mountain System

2005-01-23T08:54:00.000-08:00

The Pacific mountain region had a large American Indian population before the arrival of white explorers and settlers. Hunting, the gathering of berries, roots, and nuts, and fishing were the major economic activities. Trade and barter were common among tribes, especially in the north, where peoples from the interior traded hides, meat, and roots for salmon caught

Regeneration

2005-01-22T14:57:00.000-08:00

Organisms differ markedly in their ability to regenerate parts. Some grow a new structure on the stump of the old one. By such regeneration whole organisms may dramatically replace substantial portions of themselves when they have been cut in two, or may grow organs or

East Greenland Orogen

2005-01-21T10:56:00.000-08:00

Also called �East Greenland Geosyncline� a linear orogenic (mountain) belt that developed from late Precambrian time to the middle of the Paleozoic Era (roughly 650 million to 350 million years ago) along a portion of the eastern coast of Greenland. Deformation occurred during several phases of the Caledonian orogeny (mountain-building episode) between Late Silurian and Late Devonian times (about 423 million to 354 million

Annelid, Digestive system

2005-01-20T19:28:00.000-08:00

The polychaete digestive system is generally a straight tube; a mouth leads into an esophagus, which is followed by the intestine and the anus. Some free-moving forms have a proboscis that can be thrust forward by being turned inside out - that is, the proboscis is eversible. In oligochaetes such as the earthworm, the mouth opens into a muscular pharynx, which opens to

Vietnam

2005-01-19T04:40:00.000-08:00

Officially �Socialist Republic of Vietnam, �Vietnamese �Cong Hoa Xa Hoi Chu Nghia Viet Nam, � country occupying the eastern part of the Indochinese Peninsula. It has an area of 127,800 square miles (331,000 square kilometres). From north to south it extends about 1,025 miles (1,650 kilometres) and at its narrowest part is about 30 miles wide. Vietnam is bordered by China to the north, the South China Sea to the east and south, the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest, and Cambodia and Laos to the

Florida Current

2005-01-18T05:15:00.000-08:00

Swift surface oceanic current flowing northward, following the shallow continental slope between the Straits of Florida and Cape Hatteras. Emerging from the Caribbean Sea, carrying about 880,000,000 cubic feet (25,000,000 cubic m) of water per second, the Florida Current is joined by the Antilles Current, which transports approximately 420,000,000 cubic feet (approximately 11,893,000 cubic m) per second. Florida

Bog

2005-01-17T08:19:00.000-08:00

Type of wetland ecosystem characterized by wet, spongy, poorly drained peaty soil. Bogs can be divided into three types: (1) typical bogs of cool regions, dominated by the growth of bog mosses, Sphagnum, and heaths, particularly Chamaedaphne (northern bogs with trees growing on them are often called muskegs); (2) fens, dominated by grasslike plants, grasses, sedges, and reeds;

Anno, Saint

2005-01-16T06:07:00.000-08:00

Educated at Bamberg, Anno became confessor to the Holy Roman emperor Henry III, who appointed him archbishop in 1056. He was the leader of the party that abducted the young king Henry IV from his mother, Agnes of Poitou. Anno then seized the

Bae Systems

2005-01-15T15:39:00.000-08:00

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

Wahhabi

2005-01-14T18:22:00.000-08:00

The political fortunes of the Wahhabi were immediately allied to those of the Sa'udi dynasty. By the end of the 18th century, they had brought all of Najd under their control, attacked Karbala', Iraq, a holy city of the Shi'ite branch

Macaire

2005-01-13T23:15:00.000-08:00

The same story

Avidya

2005-01-12T02:00:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit), in the Buddhist chain of dependent origination, the ignorance that fetters man to transmigration. See pratitya-samutpada.

Chemical Compound, Nonbenzenoid aromatic compounds

2005-01-11T20:52:00.000-08:00

Of the two, cyclooctatetraene proved more accessible.

Connors, Jimmy

2005-01-10T13:59:00.000-08:00

Connors learned to play tennis from his mother at an early age, and when he was eight years old he competed in the U.S. boys' championship. A former student at the University of California at Los Angeles, he joined team tennis in 1972. In 1974 he won three of the Big Four tournaments

Asceticism

2005-01-09T07:31:00.000-08:00

(from Greek askeo: �to exercise,� or �to train�), the practice of the denial of physical or psychological desires in order to attain a spiritual ideal or goal. Hardly any religion has been without at least traces or some features of asceticism.

Switzerland, Economic expansion

2005-01-08T09:30:00.000-08:00

The unification of the Swiss economy both promoted and was promoted by the rail network that rapidly expanded as soon as the new constitution had been adopted. In 1847 the first railroad had opened between Z�rich and Baden. The railways were built not according to central planning but through competition among private entrepreneurs. The result was an extensive network

Aeschylus

2005-01-07T11:51:00.000-08:00

Aeschylus' influence on the development of tragedy was fundamental. Previous to him, Greek drama was limited to one actor and a chorus engaged in a largely static recitation. (The chorus was a group of actors who responded to and commented on the main action of a play with song, dance, and recitation.) The actor could assume different roles by changing masks and costumes,

Marr, Nikolay Yakovlevich

2005-01-06T08:13:00.000-08:00

A professor at St. Petersburg University from 1900, Marr published numerous collections of old Georgian and Armenian literature and attempted to prove a relationship between

Great Migration

2005-01-05T15:22:00.000-08:00

In U.S. history, the widespread migration of African Americans in the 20th century from rural communities in the South to large cities in the North and West. At the turn of the 20th century, the vast majority of black Americans lived in the Southern states. From 1916 to 1970, during this Great Migration, it is estimated that some six million black Southerners relocated to urban areas

Radar

2005-01-04T15:32:00.000-08:00

(from �radio detecting and ranging�), electromagnetic sensor used for detecting, locating, tracking, and identifying objects of various kinds at considerable distances. It operates by transmitting electromagnetic energy toward objects, commonly referred to as targets, and observing the echoes returned from them. The targets may be aircraft, ships, spacecraft, automotive

Malakal

2005-01-03T16:38:00.000-08:00

Town, east-central Sudan. It lies along the right bank of the White Nile just below the latter's confluence with the Sobat River, 430 miles (690 km) south of Khartoum. The Junqali project, a joint Sudanese-Egyptian plan aimed at increasing agricultural production, diverts the waters of the White Nile from the As-Sudd swamps by means of a 224-mile (360-kilometre) canal that starts from the

Salesian

2005-01-02T09:46:00.000-08:00

The founder of the Salesians of Don Bosco (formally, the Society of St. Francis de Sales; S.D.B.) was St. John Bosco (Don Bosco), a young priest who focused his concern on the orphaned and homeless child labourers

Abdul Rahman Putra Alhaj, Tunku (prince)

2005-01-01T23:36:00.000-08:00

After studies in England (1920 - 31), Abdul Rahman returned to Malaya to enter the Kedah civil service. In 1947 he returned to England, was called to the bar in 1949, and was appointed a deputy

Welland, River

2004-12-31T20:30:00.000-08:00

River in the eastern Midlands, England. The Welland River rises in the county of Leicestershire and flows eastward past Market Harborough and Stamford for about 70 miles (110 km) into Lincolnshire to enter the southwestern corner of the shallow North Sea inlet called The Wash. From Market Deeping past Spalding its course across the drained Fens has been embanked. It was

Felltham, Owen

2004-12-30T02:45:00.000-08:00

Felltham wrote the first edition of Resolves (1623), which contained 100 essays, when he was 18. The second edition, Resolves, a Second Centurie, published in 1628, contained

Frederick

2004-12-29T13:45:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1748) of Frederick county, north-central Maryland, U.S., on a tributary of the Monocacy River 47 miles (76 km) west of Baltimore. Laid out in 1745 as Frederick Town, it was presumably named for Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore, although it may have been for Frederick Louis, prince of Wales. The British Stamp Act received its first repudiation from jurists in the Frederick County

Holb�

2004-12-28T16:29:00.000-08:00

City and port, Vestsj�lland amtskommune (county commune), northern Sj�lland (Zealand), Denmark, on Holb�k Fjord. An old-established market town chartered in 1250, it is a rail junction with small industries and a modern harbour that supports fishing and shipbuilding. The local museum comprises farmsteads, workshops, and merchants' houses of former times. Pop. (1986 est.) city, 21,512; (1988 est.)

Anabasis

2004-12-27T14:18:00.000-08:00

In full� Anabasis Kyrou� (Greek: �Upcountry March�), prose narrative, now in seven books, by Xenophon, of the story of the Greek mercenary soldiers who fought for Cyrus in his attempt to seize the Persian throne from his brother, Artaxerxes II. It contains a famous account of the mercenaries' long trek (�the march of the 10,000�) from near Babylon to the Euxine (Black Sea) after Cyrus' defeat at the Battle of Cunaxa

Kafue

2004-12-26T22:15:00.000-08:00

Town, south-central Zambia, about 25 miles (40 km) south of Lusaka, the national capital. The town is located on the northern bank of the Kafue River, whose water is diverted northward by channel to Chilanga and Lusaka. The town's industrial area, which gets its power supply from the Kafue hydroelectric scheme, houses an ammonium nitrate fertilizer plant, a textile mill, an iron

Valera Y Alcal� Galiano, Juan

2004-12-25T01:51:00.000-08:00

His novels are characterized by deep psychological analysis of the characters, especially women. He was opposed to naturalistic

Irigaray, Luce

2004-12-24T16:50:00.000-08:00

Irigaray was a member of the Freudian School of Paris, founded by Jacques Lacan, and taught at the University of Paris VIII-Vincennes from 1968 until she was dismissed in 1974 because of her doctoral thesis. Entitled Speculum de l'autre femme (Speculum

Arabesque

2004-12-23T22:21:00.000-08:00

In literature, a contrived intricate pattern of verbal expression, so called by analogy with a decorative style in which flower, fruit, and sometimes animal outlines appear in elaborate patterns of interlaced lines. That these designs can sometimes suggest fantastic creatures may have given rise to another sense of the term, denoting a tale of wonder or of the supernatural.

Girdle-tailed Lizard

2004-12-22T19:38:00.000-08:00

Their name is derived from the rings of spiny scales that encircle the tail, and sometimes the body, in a series of whorls. In some species the armoured girdles serve effectively as protection

Meliaceae

2004-12-21T15:13:00.000-08:00

The mahogany family of flowering plants, of the order Sapindales, comprising 51 genera and about 575 species of trees and (rarely) shrubs, native to tropical and subtropical regions. Most members of the family have large compound leaves, with the leaflets arranged in the form of a feather, and branched flower clusters. The fruit is fleshy and coloured or a leathery capsule.

Rawlings, Jerry J.

2004-12-20T08:53:00.000-08:00

Rawlings was the son of a Scottish father and a Ghanaian mother. He was educated at Achimoto College and the military academy at Teshie. He was commissioned

Forbes (of Culloden), Duncan

2004-12-19T07:34:00.000-08:00

Trained in law, Forbes entered local politics and in 1715 aided the Hanoverian cause during the unsuccessful Jacobite rebellion of that year. Forbes was elected

Alicatado

2004-12-18T20:56:00.000-08:00

Mosaic formed of polygonal, coloured glazed tiles. Made up into geometric patterns, they have been used mostly for paving Spanish and Moorish patios but also for wall surfaces. The expansion of the lands under Christian control in Spain in the 13th century led to a mixture of Gothic and Islamic styles (known as the Mud�jar style), in which alicatado was much used

Chorale Prelude

2004-12-17T16:30:00.000-08:00

Musical genre most closely associated with organ music for Protestant churches and epitomized by the numerous examples composed by J.S. Bach, who built upon a 17th-century tradition identified with the work of Dietrich Buxtehude and Johann Pachelbel, among others. Reflecting the long-standing convention of improvised introductions to Lutheran chorales or hymn

Polab

2004-12-16T14:27:00.000-08:00

By the early 9th century the

Levski, Vasil

2004-12-15T19:20:00.000-08:00

Initially a monk (1858 - 64), Vasil Kunchev soon dedicated himself to the work of freeing Bulgaria and for his courage was nicknamed Levski (Lionlike). Levski united the two legions of Bulgarian volunteers organized in Serbia (1862, 1868) but, disappointed

Cohoba

2004-12-14T19:43:00.000-08:00

Also called �Yopo, � hallucinogenic snuff made from the seeds of a tropical American tree (Piptadenia peregrina) and used by Indians of the Caribbean and South America at the time of early Spanish explorations. DMT (N,N-dimethyltryptamine) and bufotenine (qq.v.) are thought to have been the active principles. Cohoba was inhaled deeply by means of special bilateral tubes.

Croatian Literature

2004-12-13T22:52:00.000-08:00

Extant ecclesiastical works survive from the 11th century, and by the second half of the 15th century there was a Croatian literature of biblical stories, legends, folklore, and popular stories. In the 15th and 16th centuries the outstanding Old Croatian writers were Marko

Fabales

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

The rationale for plant family classification derives not only from conspicuous morphological features but from numerous cryptic characters as well. Chromosome numbers are often useful in evaluating the relationship of plant taxa. The legumes are no exception. The legumes produce many kinds of chemical substances - e.g., alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, and the

Spoon

2004-12-11T23:34:00.000-08:00

An implement consisting of a small, shallow, bowl-shaped receptacle supported by a handle, used for eating, serving, and cooking foods. Spoons, together with forks, are known as flatware (q.v.).

Bhamo

2004-12-10T17:58:00.000-08:00

In ancient times Bhamo