KindFoot

Cinnamus, John

2005-04-05T14:24:00.000-07:00

Greek Ioánnis Kínnamos Byzantine historian, secretary (grammatikos) to the emperor Manuel I Comnenus, whom he accompanied on campaigns in Europe and Asia Minor. Cinnamus's history of the period 1118–76, continuing the Alexiad of Anna Comnena, covers the reigns of John II and Manuel I, down to the unsuccessful campaign against the Turks of Iconium when the Byzantines were routed (1176) at Myriocephalon.

Chandrapur

2005-04-04T18:45:00.000-07:00

Located on major rail and road routes,

Ji Pengfei

2005-04-03T03:30:00.000-07:00

Chinese diplomat (b. 1910, Linyi, Shanxi province, China—d. Feb. 10, 2000, Beijing, China), served from 1982 to 1990 as director of Hong Kong and Macau affairs in the State Council, playing a lead role in the negotiations with Britain over the return of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty. He was also chairman of the committee that drafted the Basic Law, the constitution governing the relationship between

Rabanus Maurus,

2005-04-02T05:45:00.000-08:00

Rabanus was sent to Tours, Fr., in 802 to study under the noted scholar-monk Alcuin. In 803 he assumed the direction of the monastic school of

Byron, John

2005-04-02T04:44:00.000-08:00

The second son of the 4th Baron Byron, he was a midshipman on board the Wager in 1741 when it was wrecked off the coast of Chile during George Anson's voyage round the world. After unparalleled hardships Byron eventually reached

Persian Gulf, Transportation

2005-04-01T23:47:00.000-08:00

For centuries a considerable sea trade has been carried on by local craft between the Persian Gulf and Africa and India; this has become completely dominated by an incessant traffic of large tankers that carry oil from the large marine terminals at Khark Island (Iran), Kuwait, Dhahran (Az-Zahran, in Saudi Arabia), Bahrain, Das Island (United Arab Emirates), and other locations

North Germanic Languages, Syntax

2005-04-01T18:00:00.000-08:00

The reduction of morphological complexity has been accompanied by the emergence of a more rigid order of sentence elements. Main clauses have the finite verb in second position. This can be preceded by almost any other sentence constituent; most often it is preceded by the subject. In yes-no questions the preverbal position is empty. In other questions it is occupied

Smyrna

2005-03-31T15:26:00.000-08:00

Town, Kent county, central Delaware, U.S., near the Smyrna River. Established about 1755, it was known as Duck Creek Cross Roads (for its location on the creek, which flows into the Smyrna River) until 1806, when it was renamed for the biblical seaport of Asia Minor. In 1792 a piqued state assembly, barred from the State House at Dover by a sheriff, met in the village tavern and named Duck Creek

Fustel De Coulanges, Numa Denis

2005-03-30T17:26:00.000-08:00

After studying at the École Normale Supérieure, he was sent to the French school at Athens in 1853 and directed some excavations at Chios. From 1860 to 1870 he was professor of history at the faculty of letters at the University of Strasbourg, where he had a

Kyushu

2005-03-30T04:29:00.000-08:00

Japanese Kyushu (“Nine Provinces”) southernmost and third largest of the four main islands of Japan. It is bordered by the East China Sea on the west and the Pacific Ocean on the east. Its name refers to the nine ancient provinces (kuni) into which the island was divided. It is separated from the island of Honshu to the north by the Shimonoseki Strait and from Korea to the northwest by the Tsushima Strait,

Epicureanism

2005-03-29T01:01:00.000-08:00

In a strict sense, the philosophy taught by Epicurus (341–270 BC). In a broad sense, it is a system of ethics embracing every conception or form of life that can be traced to the principles of his philosophy. In ancient polemics, as often since, the term was employed with an even more generic (and clearly erroneous) meaning as the equivalent of hedonism, the doctrine that pleasure or

Sérusier, (louis-)paul(-henri)

2005-03-28T04:57:00.000-08:00

Originally a student of philosophy, Sérusier decided to become an artist and attended the Académie Julian (1886) in his native Paris. He painted with Paul Gauguin in Brittany at Pont-Aven (1888) and at Le Pouldu (1889–90), and in the 1890s he was associated with the Nabis—many of whom he had known at the Académie

Aquinas, Thomas, Saint

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

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

Requests, Court Of

2005-03-27T10:21:00.000-08:00

Called the Court of Poor Men's Causes until 1529, it was a popular court because of the limited expense of bringing suit before it. Modeled after the French Chambre

Grabski, Wladyslaw

2005-03-26T16:26:00.000-08:00

A Socialist in his youth, Grabski later joined the National Democracy Party and was elected a member of three successive sessions of the Duma (1906–12), the legislative body of the Russian Empire, of which

Terneplate

2005-03-26T04:16:00.000-08:00

Steel sheet with a coating of terne metal, an alloy of lead and tin applied by dipping the steel in molten metal. The alloy has a dull appearance resulting from the high lead content. The composition of terne metal ranges from 50–50 mixtures of lead and tin to as low as 12 percent tin and 88 percent lead. The tin serves to wet the steel, making possible the union of lead and iron, which

Lance

2005-03-24T01:47:00.000-08:00

The combination of lance and stirrup gave the armoured knights of the European

Switzerland, Visual arts

2005-03-23T02:01:00.000-08:00

The Protestantism of 16th-century Switzerland had a strongly inhibiting effect on Swiss painting and sculpture in general. The peculiar lack of either French or Italian Renaissance influence left Swiss artists in a limbo from which they began to emerge only in modern times. Artists of international renown have included Alberto Giacometti, who derived much of

Aptitude Test

2005-03-23T00:32:00.000-08:00

Examination that attempts to determine and measure those characteristics of a person that are regarded as indices of his capability to acquire, through future training, some specific set of responses (intellectual, motor, and so on). The tests assume that people differ in their special abilities and that these differences are related in a predictable manner to

Aesthetics, The value of art

2005-03-22T20:30:00.000-08:00

Theories of the value of art are of two kinds, which we may call extrinsic and intrinsic. The first regards art and the appreciation of art as means to some recognized moral good, while the second regards them as valuable not instrumentally but as objects unto themselves. It is characteristic of extrinsic theories to locate the value of art in its effects on the person

Singhasari

2005-03-22T11:19:00.000-08:00

Kingdom based in eastern Java that emerged in the first half of the 13th century after the decline of the kingdom of Kadiri. Singhasari's first king, Ken Angrok (or Ken Arok), defeated the king of Kadiri, Kertajaya, in 1222. The last king of Singhasari, Kertanagara (q.v.; 1268–92), was able to unite eastern Java temporarily. Toward the end of Kertanagara's reign, Kublai Khan, the great khan of the Mongols

Turkey Work

2005-03-21T10:59:00.000-08:00

Form of knotted embroidery practiced in England from the 16th century to the mid-18th century, but especially in the 17th century. Used for upholstery and table covers, it was worked in imitation of Turkish carpets, which are known from paintings to have been imported to England from the 16th century. The designs were usually of geometrically stylized flowers. A document from

Gable, Dan

2005-03-19T14:57:00.000-08:00

Gable was undefeated in high school competition and won three consecutive Iowa state high school championships. Competing for Iowa State University, he posted a near-perfect record. During his freshman year he entered the Midlands

Computers And Information Systems, E-Commerce.

2005-03-19T13:45:00.000-08:00

The growing impatience on Wall Street with profitless e-commerce firms led some Web-based companies to change their strategies. The most successful raised their prices or sought useful alliances. The less successful underwent layoffs, consolidations, and retrenchments. E-commerce, however, continued to grow, and experts projected that on-line advertising, another

Gabon, Transportation

2005-03-19T07:22:00.000-08:00

The difficulty of building and maintaining all-weather roads led to an expansion of air transport

Vigo, Jean

2005-03-19T06:29:00.000-08:00

French film director whose blending of lyricism with realism and Surrealism, the whole underlined with a cynical, anarchic approach to life, distinguished him as an original talent. Although he completed only three feature films and one short, Taris (1931), before his early death, his films produced great public reaction. A Jean Vigo Prize is

Celery Cabbage

2005-03-18T03:22:00.000-08:00

(Brassica pekinensis), species of mustard cultivated for its edible leaves. See Chinese cabbage.

Judaism, In eastern Europe

2005-03-17T18:19:00.000-08:00

By the mid-18th century Orthodoxy in eastern Europe, having been convulsed by frantic messianism and stifled by the sterility of purely legalistic scholarship, was ripe for revival. The experience of Shabbetaianism (the first messianic movement to excite virtually all of world Jewry) had revealed in the mid-17th century the pervasiveness of Jewish exhaustion with

Burakumin

2005-03-17T07:54:00.000-08:00

Although the class was officially abolished in 1871 (under the Emancipation Act of the Meiji period),

Deborah

2005-03-17T05:58:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Debbora, prophet and heroine in the Old Testament (Judg. 4 and 5), who inspired the Israelites to a mighty victory over their Canaanite oppressors (the people who lived in the Promised Land, later Palestine, that Moses spoke of before its conquest by the Israelites); the “Song of Deborah” (Judg. 5), putatively composed by her, is perhaps the oldest section of the Bible and is of great importance

Pittsfield

2005-03-16T21:13:00.000-08:00

City, Berkshire county, western Massachusetts, U.S. It lies on the headstreams of the Housatonic River, in the Berkshire Hills, 55 miles (88 km) northwest of Springfield. Settled in 1752 as the Pontoosuc Plantation, it was incorporated as a town (and made the county seat) in 1761 and named for the English prime minister William Pitt. It developed from a farming to an industrial community

Pérez De Cuéllar, Javier

2005-03-16T05:52:00.000-08:00

After attending the Catholic University in Lima, Pérez de Cuéllar joined the foreign ministry in 1940 and the diplomatic service in 1944. After serving in embassies in France, the United Kingdom, Bolivia, and Brazil, he returned in 1961 to the Ministry

Athanasius, Saint

2005-03-15T18:08:00.000-08:00

Athanasius received his philosophical and theological training at Alexandria; in 325 he attended Bishop Alexander of Alexandria as deacon at the Council of Nicaea. A recognized theologian and ascetic, Athanasius was the obvious candidate to succeed Alexander when the latter died in 328. The first years of his episcopate were devoted to visitation of his extensive

Wollstein, Martha

2005-03-14T22:51:00.000-08:00

Wollstein graduated from the Woman's Medical College of the New York Infirmary in 1889. In 1890 she joined the staff of the Babies Hospital in New York City, where she was appointed pathologist in 1892. Her first experimental work involved infant diarrhea and confirmed earlier studies

Argentia

2005-03-14T06:15:00.000-08:00

Formerly a herring- and salmon-fishing port known as Little Placentia, it was renamed Argentia (derived from argentum, Latin for “silver”) when silver was discovered in the vicinity. Most

Zamora

2005-03-13T14:34:00.000-08:00

In full Zamora De Hidalgo, city, northwestern Michoacán state, west-central Mexico. It lies at an elevation of 5,141 feet (1,567 m) above sea level in the Zamora valley, formed by the Duero River. It was founded in 1540 as an outpost to guard against Indians. Commerce, agriculture, and livestock raising are the principal sources of income. Corn (maize), wheat, beans, and numerous fruits and vegetables are grown in the

Van Vleck, John H.

2005-03-13T08:40:00.000-08:00

Educated at the University of Wisconsin, Madison,

Hisdai Ibn Shaprut

2005-03-13T01:09:00.000-08:00

After becoming court physician to the powerful Umayyad caliph 'Abd ar-Rahman III, Hisdai gradually gained eminence in the Arab world, acting as

21-centimetre Radiation

2005-03-12T21:08:00.000-08:00

Electromagnetic radiation of radio wavelength emitted by cold, neutral, interstellar hydrogen atoms. The hydrogen atom is composed of a positively charged particle, the proton, and a negatively charged particle, the electron. These particles can be considered as spinning around their own axes of rotation. When the spins of the two particles are antiparallel, then

Alcalá De Guadaira

2005-03-12T18:51:00.000-08:00

Town, Sevilla provincia, in the Andalusia comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”), southwestern Spain. It is just southeast of Sevilla city, on the Guadaira River. The town is popularly known as Alcalá de los Panaderos (Alcalá of the Bakers) because of its large number of bakeries and flour mills, which supply Sevilla with most of its flour. Olives are also exported,

Fraenkel-conrat, Heinz L.

2005-03-11T15:44:00.000-08:00

Fraenkel-Conrat studied medicine at the University of Breslau (M.D., 1933) and then turned to biochemistry at the University of Edinburgh (Ph.D.,

Laidoner, Johan

2005-03-10T17:05:00.000-08:00

Educated in Russia for a military career, Laidoner earned the rank of lieutenant colonel in Russian service. He served in World War I (1914–18) as an intelligence

Karaosmanoglu, Yakup Kadri

2005-03-10T04:01:00.000-08:00

Educated at a French school in Cairo and then in Izmir, he moved to Constantinople (now Istanbul) in 1908. He attracted attention as a writer by his outstanding prose poems, and he became connected with the Fecr-i

21-centimetre Radiation

2005-03-10T01:07:00.000-08:00

The amount of oxygen used by microorganisms in the process of breaking down organic matter in water. The more organic matter there is (e.g., in sewage), the greater the number of microbes. The more microbes there are, the greater the need of oxygen to support them; consequently, less oxygen is available for higher animals such as fishes. The BOD is therefore a reliable gauge

Neodymium

2005-03-08T23:35:00.000-08:00

(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

China, The Tarim Basin

2005-03-08T06:18:00.000-08:00

North of the Plateau of Tibet and at the much lower level of about 3,000 feet lies the Tarim Basin. It is hemmed in by great mountain ranges: the Tien Shan (“Celestial Mountains”) on the north, the Pamirs on the west, and the Kunlun Mountains on the south. From these heights glacier-fed streams descend, only to lose themselves in the loose sands and gravels of the Takla Makan

Farazdaq, Al-

2005-03-07T10:51:00.000-08:00

Living in Basra, al-Farazdaq composed satires on the Banu Nashal and Banu Fuqaim tribes, and when al-Farazdeq

Egypt, Ancient, Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton)

2005-03-07T05:46:00.000-08:00

The earliest monuments of Amenhotep IV, who in his fifth regnal year changed his name to Akhenaton (“one useful to Aton”), are conventional in their iconography and style, but from the first he gave the sun god a didactic title naming Aton, the solar disk. This title was later written inside a pair of cartouches, as a king's name would be. The king declared his religious allegiance

Oscillatoria

2005-03-06T20:37:00.000-08:00

Genus of blue-green algae found commonly in a variety of freshwater environments, including hot springs. This unbranched filamentous alga, occurring singly or in tangled mats, derives its name from its rhythmic oscillating motion, which is thought to result from a secretion of mucilage that pushes the filament away from the direction of excretion. Reproduction

Gwalior

2005-03-06T11:16:00.000-08:00

The old city of Gwalior centres on a walled fortress, one of the most famous in India,

Benbow, John

2005-03-05T16:54:00.000-08:00

The son of a tanner of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, Benbow served in the navy and merchant marine from 1678 and became captain of a naval vessel in 1689. As master of the fleet under Admiral Edward Russell, he helped destroy the French fleet

Pyrazole

2005-03-05T08:15:00.000-08:00

The pyrazole compounds are not known to occur in nature; they are usually prepared by the

Indian Mutiny

2005-03-04T10:52:00.000-08:00

To regard the rebellion merely as a sepoy mutiny is to underestimate the increasing pace of Westernization after the establishment of British

Barada

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

Greek Chrysorrhoas, river of western Syria. It rises in the Anti-Lebanon Mountains and flows southward for 52 miles (84 km) through Damascus to intermittent Lake Al-'Utaybah and its marshes. The Barada sets out peacefully on its course only to become within 20 miles a raging torrent, its volume almost doubled by the Fijah Spring (this spring has been tapped to bring drinking water to Damascus). Without

Dab

2005-03-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

Other species

West Liberty State College

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

Public, coeducational institution of higher learning in West Liberty, West Virginia, U.S. It is a four-year liberal arts college that confers two-year associate as well as bachelor's degrees. The campus is on a hilltop in a rural region of northern West Virginia that is near the metropolitan areas of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Steubenville, Ohio; and Wheeling, West Virginia.

Palanpur

2005-03-02T21:22:00.000-08:00

City, Gujarat state, west-central India. It lies in the lowlands between the Aravalli Range and the Kathiawar Peninsula. The former capital of the princely state of Palanpur, the city is now a trade and processing centre for agricultural produce and a rail and road junction. Palanpur is also known for its handicrafts. Pop. (1991 prelim.) 80,620.

Triballi

2005-03-02T15:23:00.000-08:00

A Thracian people whose earliest-known home was the “Triballian plain” (probably the Plain of Kosovo), near the junction of the Angrus and Brongus rivers (the western and southern Morava) in the north-central Balkans. Sometime after 424 BC they were overcome by the Autariatae, an Illyrian tribe. In 339 BC the Triballi refused to allow Philip II of Macedon to pass through the Haemus

Riddah

2005-03-02T07:26:00.000-08:00

Despite the traditional resistance of the Bedouins to any restraining central authority, by 631 Muhammad was able to exact from the majority of their tribes at least nominal adherence to Islam, payment of the zakat, a tax levied on Muslims to support

Earth, Cause of magnetic storms

2005-03-02T04:48:00.000-08:00

It is known that magnetic storms are produced by a change in the properties of the solar wind. Magnetically quiet times occur when the solar wind contains a magnetic field called the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) that has the same direction as the Earth's field on the dayside. Magnetic disturbances occur when this field rotates toward an antiparallel orientation.

Meliaceae

2005-02-28T07:20:00.000-08:00

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.

Zaanstad

2005-02-28T06:05:00.000-08:00

Gemeente (commune), Noord-Holland provincie, western Netherlands. It lies along the Zaan River near its junction with the North Sea Canal. An industrial area 6 miles (10 km) northwest of Amsterdam, Zaanstad was created in 1974 at the merger of the former gemeenten (communes) of Zaandam, Koog aan de Zaan, Zaandijk, Wormerveer, Krommenie, Assendelft, and Westzaan. Zaandam was an important

Rob Roy

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

Rob's father, Donald MacGregor, a younger

Europe, Concert Of

2005-02-27T08:06:00.000-08:00

In the post-Napoleonic era, the vague consensus among the European monarchies favouring preservation of the territorial and political status quo. The term assumed the responsibility and right of the great powers to intervene and impose their collective will on states threatened by internal rebellion. The powers notably suppressed uprisings in Italy (1820) and Spain

Shamanism

2005-02-26T05:23:00.000-08:00

I.M. Lewis, Ecstatic Religion: A Study of Shamanism and Spirit Possession, 2nd ed. (1989), provides an excellent introduction. A thorough description of the shamanism of the peoples of Siberia is given in M.A. Czaplicka, Aboriginal Siberia (1914, reissued 1969); and Mircea Eliade, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstacy, rev. and enlarged ed. (1964, reissued 1989; originally published in French, 1951), with an extensive bibliography. Eliade's work not only deals with phenomena in Central and North Asia but also in North and South America, Southeast Asia, and Oceania; especially useful are the chapters on “Shamanic Ideologies and Techniques Among the Indo-Europeans” and “Shamanic Symbolisms and Techniques in Tibet, China, and the Far East.” Uno Holmberg, Finno-Ugric, Siberian, vol. 4 in Louis Herbert Gray and George Foot Moore, The Mythology of All Races (1927, reissued 1964), describes shamanism among these peoples. A very thorough summary of the worldview and specific traits of shamanism in North Asia, based on a good knowledge of literature on the subject in Russian, may be found in Georg Nioradze, Der Schamanismus bei den sibirischen Völkern (1925); and the traits considered most significant are discussed by Åke Ohlmarks, Studien zum Problem des Schamanismus (1939). V. Diószegi (ed.), Popular Beliefs and Folklore Tradition in Siberia (1968; originally published in German, 1963), contains studies on the shamanistic conceptions of the Sami, Hungarian, and Siberian peoples. Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer, Shamanism: Soviet Studies of Traditional Religion in Siberia and Central Asia (1990), summarizes contemporary Soviet research. Several studies explore Latin American shamanism. Jon Christopher Crocker, Vital Souls: Bororo Cosmology, Natural Symbolism, and Shamanism (1985), demonstrates the intimate relationship between social structure generally—and the structure of the village community in particular—and cosmological symbolism and analyzes the role of the shaman in conserving both the social and the cosmic order; this important study also challenges psychological approaches to the study of shamanism, which focus on the shaman's apparent psychological abnormality, and analyzes the larger social forces that are gradually destroying Bororo shamanism, and with it Bororo culture in general. Johannes Wilbert, Tobacco and Shamanism in South America (1987), examines both the pharmacological and the social aspects of nicotine use by the Warao shamans of Venezuela. A fascinating scholarly and artistic exploration of hallucinogenic medicine is found in Luis Eduardo Luna and Pablo Amaringo, Ayahuasca Visions: The Religious Iconography of a Peruvian Shaman (1991), produced through a unique partnership between a professional anthropologist and a practicing Peruvian shaman. Women's roles in Korean shamanism are explored in Laurel Kendall, Shamans, Housewives, and Other Restless Spirits: Women in Korean Ritual Life (1985), while The Life and Hard Times of a Korean Shaman (1988) chronicles the shamanic career of one South Korean woman through extensive use of her own words and stories and thereby examines the recent social history of South Korea through an interesting lens. David Lan, Guns & Rain: Guerrillas & Spirit Mediums in Zimbabwe (1985), examines the complex interaction between the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army and the traditional shamanic religious leaders of the Dande and Korekore subgroups of Shona during the 1970s; it is a good example of the study of shamanism in tension with modernity.

Toadfish

2005-02-26T01:30:00.000-08:00

Any of about 45 species of bottom-living fishes constituting the family Batrachoididae and the order Batrachoidiformes. They are found chiefly in the New World and mostly in warm seas—occasionally in freshwater. Toadfishes are heavy-bodied fishes with broad, flattened heads and large mouths equipped with strong teeth. They grow to a maximum of about 40 cm (16 inches) and

Police Zone

2005-02-25T07:14:00.000-08:00

Southern two-thirds of South West Africa (now Namibia) in which the German and later South African colonial administrations were able to establish effective European-style police control beginning in the early 20th century. The name of the area and its original boundary were adopted in 1919 by the South Africans from a 1911 German map of the territory on which the area was marked

Näfels, Battle Of

2005-02-24T14:58:00.000-08:00

(April 9, 1388), major victory for the Swiss Confederation in the first century of its struggle for self-determination against Habsburg overlordship. Though the catastrophic defeat of the Austrians at Sempach in 1386 had been followed by a truce, hostilities against the Habsburgs were subsequently continued by the rebellious men of Glarus, a district that had adhered to the

Mcadoo, William G(ibbs)

2005-02-24T10:42:00.000-08:00

McAdoo began his career as a lawyer in Chattanooga, Tenn. He moved to New York City

Fisher, Clara

2005-02-24T10:09:00.000-08:00

Fisher made her stage debut in 1817, at the age of six, in a children's adaptation of David Garrick's Lilliput at the Drury Lane Theatre. Her performance in that and in an afterpiece of excerpts from Richard III captivated

Biblical Literature, The Old Latin version

2005-02-23T17:29:00.000-08:00

The existence of a Latin translation can be attested in North Africa and southern Gaul as early as the second half of the 2nd century CE, and in Rome at the beginning of the following century. Its origins may possibly be attributed to a Christian adoption of biblical versions made by Jews in the Roman province of Africa, where the vernacular was exclusively Latin. Only

Substitution Reaction

2005-02-23T16:29:00.000-08:00

If the chlorine atom is displaced by other groups—such as the cyanide ion (-CN), the

Lateral

2005-02-22T23:51:00.000-08:00

In phonetics, a consonant sound produced by raising the tip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth so that the airstream flows past one or both sides of the tongue. The l sounds of English, Welsh, and other languages are laterals.

Medicine, History Of, Early Greece

2005-02-22T17:15:00.000-08:00

The transition from magic to science was a gradual process that lasted for centuries, and there is little doubt that ancient Greece inherited much from Babylonia and Egypt, and even India and China. Twentieth-century readers of the Homeric tales the Iliad and the Odyssey may well be bewildered by the narrow distinction between gods and men among the characters

Raymond

2005-02-21T15:47:00.000-08:00

Raymond was the younger son of William VII, count of Poitiers, in west-central France. In 1135 King Fulk of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem, regent for the heiress Constance of Antioch, sent envoys to offer her in marriage to Raymond,

Abbottabad

2005-02-21T15:07:00.000-08:00

City, east-central North-West Frontier Province, northern Pakistan. It is situated 38 miles (61 km) northeast of Rawalpindi. A hill station (4,120 feet [1,256 metres]), it lies on a plateau at the southern corner of the Rash (Orash) Plain and is the gateway to the picturesque Kagan Valley. It is connected by road with the Indus Plain and Kashmir and by railhead (at Havelian, 10 miles [16 km] south) with Peshawar.

Rogers, Samuel

2005-02-20T07:57:00.000-08:00

Rogers attained eminence with the publication of his discursive poem The Pleasures of Memory (1792). On his father's death (1793) he inherited a banking firm, and for the next half century he maintained an influential position as a leading figure

Durance

2005-02-20T06:07:00.000-08:00

Latin Druentia, principal river draining the French side of the Alps toward the Mediterranean. From its origin in the Montgenèvre region, Hautes-Alpes département, to its confluence with the Rhône below Avignon, it is 189 mi (304 km) long. The Clairée and Guisane rivers, both of which are longer and more powerful streams than the Durance, join it above and in Briançon, through which it flows as

Husband, Rick D.

2005-02-19T10:18:00.000-08:00

American astronaut (b. July 12, 1957, Amarillo, Texas—d. Feb. 1, 2003, over Texas), was commander of the space shuttle Columbia's mission. Husband was educated at Texas Tech University and at California State University at Fresno, where he earned a master's degree in 1990. He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1980. In 1999 he flew on the Discovery on the first space shuttle mission to dock with the International Space

Bat Yam

2005-02-19T04:33:00.000-08:00

City, west-central Israel, on the Plain of Sharon and the Mediterranean coast just south of Tel Aviv–Yafo. Founded in 1926 as a suburban development called Bayit ve-Gan (Hebrew: “House and Garden”), it was abandoned during the Arab riots of 1929. Resettled, it developed as a seaside resort and residential suburb of Tel Aviv. In 1936 the name was changed to Bat Yam (meaning “daughter of the

Castro Alves, Antônio De

2005-02-18T20:10:00.000-08:00

While still a student Castro Alves produced a play that brought him to the attention of José de Alencar and Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, Brazilian literary leaders. Having studied for the law, he soon became a dominant figure

Atharvaveda

2005-02-17T17:22:00.000-08:00

Collection of hymns and incantations that forms part of the ancient sacred literature of India known as the Vedas. See Veda.

As If, Philosophy Of

2005-02-17T14:44:00.000-08:00

The system espoused by Hans Vaihinger in his major philosophical work Die Philosophie des Als Ob (1911; The Philosophy of “As If”), which proposed that man willingly accept falsehoods or fictions in order to live peacefully in an irrational world. Vaihinger, who saw life as a maze of contradictions and philosophy as a search for means to make life livable, began by accepting

Bárány, Robert

2005-02-17T09:35:00.000-08:00

Bárány graduated in medicine from the University of Vienna in 1900. After study at German clinics he became assistant at the ear clinic of the University of Vienna

Schary, Dore

2005-02-16T11:01:00.000-08:00

Between 1926 and 1932 Schary worked in the New York City area as a director of amateur theatricals, a publicist, and a newspaper writer and at summer hotels where he was associated with playwright Moss Hart. He made his

Balaghat

2005-02-16T04:09:00.000-08:00

Town, south-central Madhya Pradesh state, central India. The town lies just east of the Wainganga River and is about 95 miles (155 km) south of Jabalpur. A major road and rail junction, Balaghat is an agricultural trade and manganese-mining centre. Sugar milling is an important industry. The town has two colleges affiliated with the University of Saugar. Balaghat was formerly called

Electrical And Electronics Engineering

2005-02-15T16:52:00.000-08:00

The branch of engineering concerned with the practical applications of electricity in all its forms, including those of the field of electronics. Electronics engineering is that branch of electrical engineering concerned with the uses of the electromagnetic spectrum and with the application of such electronic devices as integrated circuits, transistors,

Kidd, William

2005-02-15T07:18:00.000-08:00

Kidd's early career is obscure. It is believed he went to sea as a youth. After 1689 he was sailing as

Eleanor Of Aquitaine

2005-02-14T03:21:00.000-08:00

Eleanor was the daughter and heiress of William X, duke of Aquitaine and count of Poitiers, who possessed one of the largest domains in France—larger,

Petare

2005-02-14T01:01:00.000-08:00

City, northwestern Miranda estado (“state”), in the central highlands of northern Venezuela. Formerly a commercial centre in a fertile agricultural area producing coffee, cacao, and sugarcane, the city has become a residential suburb of the national capital and a part of the Caracas metropolitan area. Cardboard is manufactured in the city. Expressways lead from Petare

Forbes' Disease

2005-02-13T00:44:00.000-08:00

Also called Cori's disease , or glycogenosis type III rare hereditary disease in which the the metabolic breakdown of glycogen to the simple sugar glucose is incomplete, allowing intermediate compounds to accumulate in the cells of the liver. Affected persons lack the enzyme amylo-1,6-glucosidase, one of several enzymes involved in glycogen breakdown. Children with the disease have enlarged livers (which usually

Van Halen

2005-02-12T07:32:00.000-08:00

American heavy metal band, widely popular in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, distinguished by the innovative electric-guitar playing of Eddie Van Halen. The original members were Eddie Van Halen (b. Jan. 26, 1957, Nijmegen, Neth.), Alex Van Halen (b. May 8, 1955, Nijmegen), Michael Anthony (b. June 20, 1955, Chicago, Ill., U.S.), and David Lee Roth (b. Oct. 10, 1955, Bloomington, Ind., U.S.). Later members were Sammy Hagar (b. Oct. 13, 1947, Monterey,

Arcaro, Eddie

2005-02-12T02:43:00.000-08:00

Byname of George Edward Arcaro American jockey who was the first to ride five Kentucky Derby winners and two U.S. Triple Crown champions (winners of the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes). In 31 years of riding Thoroughbreds (1931–61), he won 549 stakes events, a total of 4,779 races, and more than $30,000,000 in purses. On Feb. 20, 1958, at Santa Anita Race Track in California, he became

Computers, Vannevar Bush's Differential Analyzer

2005-02-11T07:10:00.000-08:00

In 1930 an engineer named Vannevar Bush at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) developed the first modern analog computer. The Differential Analyzer, as he called it, was an analog calculator that could be used to solve certain classes of differential equations, a type of problem common in physics and engineering applications that are often very tedious

China, The Sui dynasty

2005-02-10T09:49:00.000-08:00

The Sui dynasty (581–618), which reunified China after nearly four centuries of political fragmentation during which the north and south had developed in different ways, played a part far more important than its short span would suggest. In the same way that the Ch'in rulers of the 3rd century BC had unified China after the Chan-kuo (Warring States) period, so the Sui brought China

Itapicuru River

2005-02-10T02:13:00.000-08:00

River, Maranhão estado (“state”), northeastern Brazil. The river rises in several headstreams in the Itapicuru mountain range. It arches northeastward to Caxias and thence northwestward, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean through São José Bay, southeast of São Luís Island. The river's total length is approximately 750 miles (1,200 km), of which about 400 miles (640 km) are navigable.

Dubrovnik

2005-02-10T01:54:00.000-08:00

Italian Ragusa, port of Dalmatia in Croatia. Situated on the southern Adriatic coast, it is usually regarded as the most picturesque city on the Dalmatian coast. It occupies a promontory jutting into the sea under the bare limestone mass of Mount Srdj. The port's sea fortifications rise directly from the water's edge, and a massive round tower dominates the city on the landward

Jammu And Kashmir, Resources and agriculture

2005-02-09T09:42:00.000-08:00

The state has limited mineral and fossil-fuel resources, and much of these are concentrated in the Jammu region. Small reserves of natural gas are found near Jammu, and bauxite and gypsum deposits occur in the Udhampur district. Other minerals include limestone, coal, zinc, and copper. The pressure of population on land is everywhere apparent, and all available resources

Xerxes I

2005-02-08T21:31:00.000-08:00

With the tranquillity of the empire reestablished, Xerxes would willingly have devoted himself to peaceful activities. But many of those around him were pressing for the renewal of hostilities. His cousin and brother-in-law Mardonius, supported by a strong party of exiled Greeks, incited him to take revenge for the affront that Darius had suffered at the hands of

Canaris, Wilhelm (franz)

2005-02-08T06:27:00.000-08:00

Having served in the navy during World War I, Canaris was a member of the military tribunal that sentenced the murderers of the German