FixedMonkey

Wind Instrument, The Classical period

2005-04-03T20:25:00.000-07:00

The Classical technique of winds doubling strings emerged in scoring for opera orchestras in the mid-17th century and continued to be important through the next century in the compositions of Haydn and Mozart. (Most 18th-century orchestras included at least four winds, usually two oboes and two horns; by the 1770s, Mozart was writing for double flutes, oboes, and bassoons, a

Arabia, Climate

2005-04-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

The Tropic of Cancer virtually bisects the Arabian Peninsula, passing just south of Medina. The summer heat is intense everywhere, reaching as high as 129° F (54° C) in places. Much of the interior is dry, but along the coasts and in some of the southern highlands and deserts the humidity is extreme in the summer. Fogs and dews occur in the humid areas, dew often serving as a substitute

Piedras Negras

2005-04-03T09:22:00.000-07:00

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

Procellariiform, Distribution

2005-04-01T20:53:00.000-08:00

The majority of procellariiforms breed in the Southern Hemisphere, but several species migrate thousands of miles north across the Equator to winter in the northern summer seas, where they molt, feed, and rest in preparation for the return home in the southern spring. Similarly, species that breed in the Northern Hemisphere also live in perpetual summer by migrating

Transylvanian Rug

2005-04-01T02:17:00.000-08:00

Also called Siebenbürger rug any of the large numbers of floor coverings found in the churches of Transylvania (part of Romania), to which they had been donated by pious families. Some of these rugs are of Turkish manufacture, survivals of a massive importation centuries ago. Turkey is generally assumed to be the source of all Transylvanian carpets, but certain similarities of technique, weight,

Black Humour

2005-03-30T21:12:00.000-08:00

Also called Black Comedy, writing that juxtaposes morbid or ghastly elements with comical ones. Though in 1940 the French Surrealist André Breton published Anthologie de l'humour noir (“Anthology of Black Humour,” frequently enlarged and reprinted), the term did not come into common use until the 1960s. Then it was applied to the works of the novelists Nathanael West, Vladimir Nabokov, and Joseph Heller.

Nagy, Imre

2005-03-30T16:42:00.000-08:00

Born to a peasant family, Nagy was apprenticed as a locksmith before being drafted in World War I. Captured by the Russians, he joined

Benedict Biscop, Saint

2005-03-30T05:31:00.000-08:00

Of noble birth, he was a thane of King

Patiala

2005-03-29T19:58:00.000-08:00

City, administrative headquarters of Patiala district, Punjab state, northwestern India. The city lies on a major rail line, as well as on a branch of the Sirhind Canal. Founded in 1763 as the capital of the princely state of Patiala, it is a trade and industrial centre; weaving, cotton ginning, distilling, and manufacturing are among its industries. Punjabi University (established

Ciompi, Revolt Of The

2005-03-29T18:53:00.000-08:00

A struggle between factions within the major ruling guilds triggered

China, Culture

2005-03-28T17:43:00.000-08:00

The predominance of state power also marked the intellectual and aesthetic life of Ming China. By requiring use of their interpretations of the Classics in education and in the civil service examinations, the state prescribed the Neo-Confucianism of the great Sung thinkers Ch'eng I and Chu Hsi as the orthodoxy of Ming times; by patronizing or commandeering craftsmen

Ear, Human, Function of the muscles of the middle ear

2005-03-27T02:56:00.000-08:00

The muscles of the middle ear, the tensor tympani and the stapedius, can influence the transmission of sound by the ossicular chain. Contraction of the tensor tympani pulls the handle of the malleus inward and, as the name of the muscle suggests, tenses the tympanic membrane. Contraction of the stapedius pulls the stapes footplate outward from the oval window and

Reserpine

2005-03-26T15:06:00.000-08:00

Drug derived from the roots of certain species of the tropical plant Rauwolfia. The powdered whole root of the Indian shrub Rauwolfia serpentina historically had been used to treat snakebites, insomnia, hypertension (high blood pressure), and insanity. Reserpine, isolated in 1952, was the first of many Rauwolfia alkaloids found in the crude drug. Because the drug produces

Sculpture, Western, Public and private memorials

2005-03-26T03:15:00.000-08:00

After World War II there was a flood of public memorial sculpture, and in Europe especially many of the commissions were carried out by modern sculptors. A striking war memorial in Italy is Mirko Basaldella's gate for the monument to the Roman hostages killed in the Ardeatine Caves (1951). For its full effect the gate must be seen in connection with the rugged masonry wall

Ricardo, David

2005-03-25T23:26:00.000-08:00

Ricardo was the

Yi Sang-cha

2005-03-24T06:16:00.000-08:00

Yi was originally a slave in a scholar's household, but his great artistic talents soon came to the attention of the king, and he was admitted to the Korean Royal Academy and made a member of the middle class. He is known for his landscapes as well as for his portraits of the royal

Furniture, Metal

2005-03-24T05:41:00.000-08:00

Metals have been used since antiquity for making furniture or ornaments for furniture. Splendid Egyptian pieces, such as the thrones and stool that were found in the tomb of the youthful Tutankhamen (14th century BC), were rich in gold mounts (decorative details). In ancient Greece, bronze, iron, and silver were used for making furniture. Finds that were buried in the ashes

Nathdwara

2005-03-23T23:50:00.000-08:00

Town, southern Rajasthan state, northwestern India, just south of the Banas River. Connected by road with Udaipur and close to the Malvi rail junction, Nathdwara is a place of Hindu pilgrimage; it contains a 17th-century Vaishnavite shrine that is one of the most famous in India. Within the temple is a celebrated image of the god Krishna, popularly said to date to the 12th century

India, The Afghan factor in North India, 174772

2005-03-22T19:18:00.000-08:00

Unlike Nadir Shah, Ahmad Shah Abdali (or Ahmad Shah Durrani)—as Ahmad Khan came to be known after 1747—had little interest in the area west of Afghanistan. Rather, his principal endeavour was to create a state that would lie astride the major overland trade routes that passed from northern India to Central and western Asia. Qandahar naturally had an important place in this scheme, but a great

Use

2005-03-22T15:58:00.000-08:00

In medieval English property law, the right of one person to take the profits of land belonging to another. It involved at least two and usually three persons. One man (A) would convey or enfeoff land to another (B) on the condition that the latter would use it not for his own benefit but for the benefit of a third man (C)—who could be A himself. C (or A), thus, had the profits—that is, the

Mammal

2005-03-21T21:48:00.000-08:00

Some widely known journals that publish papers dealing exclusively with mammals are: Journal of Mammalogy, Mammalia, and Säugetierkundliche Mitteilungen (all issued quarterly), and Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde (6/yr.). Additional technical literature is published by university and public museums and government agencies. Semitechnical and popular accounts of mammals appear in a wide variety of publications of state game departments, museums, and zoological gardens.

Randstad

2005-03-20T14:10:00.000-08:00

Industrial and metropolitan conurbation occupying an area of peat and clay lowlands, west-central Netherlands. The Randstad (“Ring City”) consists of major Dutch industrial cities extending in a crescent (open to the southeast) from Utrecht in the east to Dordrecht in the south and including Hilversum, Amsterdam, Haarlem, Leiden, The Hague, and Rotterdam. It encompasses

3-d

2005-03-20T06:18:00.000-08:00

Also called stereoscopic, motion-picture process that gives a three-dimensional quality to film images. It is based on the fact that humans perceive depth by viewing with both eyes. In the 3-D process, two cameras or a twin-lensed camera are used for filming, one representing the left eye and the other the right. The two lenses are spaced about 2 1/2 inches (6.3 cm) apart, the same as the separation between a person's

Melville, Jean-pierre

2005-03-19T18:05:00.000-08:00

Grumbach's enthusiasm for American culture prompted him to change his name to that of his favourite writer, Herman Melville. He served in the Free French forces during World War II, founded his own

Arakanese

2005-03-19T02:47:00.000-08:00

Member of a Myanmar (Burmese) ethnic group centred in the Arakan coastal region of southern Myanmar (Burma). The Arakanese are Buddhists of Myanmar stock and possess a dialect and customs of their own. Separated from the parent group in central Myanmar by the mountains of the Arakan Yoma, they trace their history to 2666 BC, have had a lineal succession of as many as 227 princes, and

Gore, Albert A., Jr.

2005-03-18T22:11:00.000-08:00

In the voting held on Nov. 7, 2000, Democrat Albert A. Gore, Jr., the country's vice president, lost his bid for the U.S. presidency to Republican George W. Bush (q.v.), governor of Texas. It was the closest presidential election in more than 100 years. Although Gore won the popular contest by more than 500,000 votes out of some 105,000,000 cast, he lost the electoral college 271–266. The final electoral vote, which hinged

Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore

2005-03-18T01:52:00.000-08:00

Pugin was the son of the architect Augustus Charles Pugin, who gave him his architectural and draftsmanship training. His mature professional life began in 1836 when he published Contrasts, which conveyed the argument with

Hip-hop

2005-03-17T13:04:00.000-08:00

Although widely considered a synonym for rap music, the term hip-hop refers to a complex culture comprising four elements: deejaying

China, The National Government from 1928 to 1937

2005-03-17T01:03:00.000-08:00

The most serious immediate problem facing the new government was the continuance of military separatism. The government had no authority over the vast area of western China, and even regions in eastern China were under the rule of independent regimes that had lately been part of the Nationalist coalition. After an unsuccessful attempt at negotiations, Chiang

Medicine, Historical notes

2005-03-17T00:44:00.000-08:00

Although the most spectacular changes in the medical scene during the 20th century, and the most widely heralded, have been the development of potent drugs and elaborate operations, another striking change has been the abandonment of most of the remedies of the past. In the mid-19th century, persons ill with numerous maladies were starved (partially or completely), bled,

Anastasius Iii

2005-03-16T07:40:00.000-08:00

Pope from April or June 911 to 913. Because his pontificate came during a period when Rome was under the control of the house of Theophylactus, he had little authority or freedom of action.

China, Conflict over entry into the war

2005-03-15T17:00:00.000-08:00

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

Lowell, Josephine Shaw

2005-03-15T13:31:00.000-08:00

She was born to wealthy Bostonians who numbered among their friends such well-known figures as James Russell Lowell and Margaret Fuller. Traveling

Insurance, Coinsurance

2005-03-14T18:04:00.000-08:00

Although there is no coinsurance clause as such in the ocean marine policy, losses are settled as though a 100 percent coinsurance clause existed. Thus, if an insured takes out coverage equal to 50 percent of the true replacement cost of the goods, only 50 percent of any partial loss may be recovered.

Amalgam

2005-03-14T14:06:00.000-08:00

A sodium amalgam is formed during the

Abahai

2005-03-13T17:19:00.000-08:00

Abahai was the eighth son of Nurhachi (1559–1626), the great Manchu leader who extended his people's rule over the tribes of the Inner Asian steppes and organized his tribesmen into a bureaucratic

Santa Maria Novella

2005-03-13T10:19:00.000-08:00

Frescoes painted on the interior walls of the church, cloister, and chapterhouse are by such Italian masters

Augustine, Saint

2005-03-12T23:14:00.000-08:00

Also called Saint Augustine of Hippo, original Latin name Aurelius Augustinus feast day August 28, bishop of Hippo from 396 to 430, one of the Latin Fathers of the Church, one of the Doctors of the Church, and perhaps the most significant Christian thinker after St. Paul. Augustine's adaptation of classical thought to Christian teaching created a theological system of great

Turban

2005-03-12T21:42:00.000-08:00

Early Persians wore a conical cap sometimes encircled by bands of cloth, which perhaps may be considered one of the origins of the turban. The turban did not become common among the Turks, however, until after the capture of Constantinople in 1453, when the Ottoman sultan

Surin

2005-03-11T18:31:00.000-08:00

Town, east-central Thailand. The town is located on the railway between Nakhon Ratchasima and Ubon Ratchathani and is a trade and production centre for rice, lacquerware, and silk. It has an agricultural college and attracts tourists with its annual Elephant Round-Up. The town lies about 35 miles (56 km) north of the border with Cambodia, and many of its residents speak the

Romanesque Art

2005-03-11T09:50:00.000-08:00

The name Romanesque

Cosmati Work

2005-03-10T22:43:00.000-08:00

Type of mosaic technique that was practiced by Roman decorators and architects in the 12th and 13th centuries, in which tiny triangles and squares of coloured stone (red porphyry, green serpentine, and white and other coloured marbles) and glass paste were arranged in patterns and combined with large, stone disks and strips to produce geometric designs. Cosmati work

Lilburne, John

2005-03-10T04:12:00.000-08:00

Coming from a family of gentry, Lilburne was apprenticed from about 1630 to 1636 to a London cloth merchant. Meanwhile, he joined the Puritan opposition to the Anglican High Church policies of King Charles I, and by 1638 he

Respiration, Human

2005-03-09T20:03:00.000-08:00

The process by which oxygen is taken up and carbon dioxide discharged.

Abegg, Richard Wilhelm Heinrich

2005-03-09T16:48:00.000-08:00

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

Nord-du-québec

2005-03-09T08:03:00.000-08:00

English North of Quebec , formerly Nouveau-québec administrative region constituting the northern half of Quebec province, Canada. The name Nouveau-Québec (“New Quebec”) once was used synonymously with Ungava for that part of the Labrador-Ungava peninsula between Hudson Bay and the Labrador Sea, north of the Eastmain and Churchill (Hamilton) rivers, which was, at the time, a part of the Northwest Territories. In 1912, however,

Culion Island

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

Island, one of the Calamian Group (q.v.), west-central Philippines. The island has an area of 150 square miles (389 square km) and is the site of Culion Reservation, a therapeutic community founded in 1906 for the treatment of leprosy (Hansen's disease). Rice and coconuts are grown on the island. Culion, the main settlement, is located on the northeastern coast. Pop. (latest census) 4,785.

Cole, Thomas

2005-03-06T23:23:00.000-08:00

Cole's family immigrated first to Philadelphia and then settled in Steubenville, Ohio. He was trained by an itinerant portrait painter named Stein and then spent two years at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In 1825 some of Cole's

Pendleton, Edmund

2005-03-06T22:10:00.000-08:00

In 1751 Pendleton

Ashmolean Museum Of Art And Archaeology

2005-03-06T13:18:00.000-08:00

One of the four museums of the University of Oxford and the oldest public museum of art, archaeology, and natural history in Great Britain. It was established to house collections donated to the university in 1677 by Elias Ashmole (1617–92), an antiquarian who had inherited the bulk of the collections from a friend, John Tradescant (1608–62). The museum was opened to the public in 1683 in a building

Malaria

2005-03-06T08:45:00.000-08:00

A serious, acute and chronic relapsing infection in humans, characterized by periodic attacks of chills and fever, anemia, splenomegaly (enlargement of the spleen), and often fatal complications. Malaria also is found in apes, monkeys, rats, birds, and reptiles. It is caused by various species of protozoa (one-celled organisms) called sporozoans (subphylum Sporozoa) that

Conservative Party

2005-03-04T16:20:00.000-08:00

Byname Tories in the United Kingdom, a political party whose guiding principles include the promotion of private property and enterprise, the maintenance of a strong military, and the preservation of traditional cultural values and institutions. Since World War I the Conservative Party and its principal opponent, the Labour Party, have dominated British political life.

Minbu

2005-03-04T13:59:00.000-08:00

Although much of the surrounding land is semidesert scrub forming part of Myanmar's dry zone, large areas around Minbu are

Syrian And Palestinian Religion

2005-03-04T03:55:00.000-08:00

Beliefs of Syria and Palestine between 3000 and 300 BC. These religions are usually defined by the languages of those who practiced them: e.g., Amorite, Hurrian, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Aramaic, and Moabite. The term Canaanite is often used broadly to cover a number of these, as well as the religion of early periods and areas from which there are no written sources. Knowledge of the religions

Acuff, Roy

2005-03-03T23:10:00.000-08:00

Turning his attention to music after an aborted baseball career, Acuff gained

Biblical Literature, II Maccabees

2005-03-02T21:19:00.000-08:00

The Second Book of the Maccabees, or its source, was probably written in the same period as I Maccabees. The book is preceded by two letters to the Jews of Egypt: the first from the year 124 BCE and the second one written earlier (164 BCE) commemorating the rededication of the Temple. In the preface of the book, the author indicates that he has condensed into one book the lost five-volume

Hisham Ibn 'abd Al-malik

2005-03-02T07:39:00.000-08:00

Before his accession to the throne in 724, Hisham led a quiet life in the Umayyad court, holding no important public offices. He reigned during a time of relative calm. Hisham easily maintained internal security but was forced to mount a number

Mystery Religion

2005-03-02T03:35:00.000-08:00

Any of various secret cults of the Greco-Roman world that offered to individuals religious experiences not provided by the official public religions. They originated in tribal ceremonies that were performed by primitive peoples in many parts of the world. Whereas in these tribal communities almost every member of the clan or the village was initiated, initiation

Tyard, Pontus De

2005-03-01T09:26:00.000-08:00

Tyard was seigneur (lord) of Bissy-sur-Fley and an associate of the Lyonese poets, especially Maurice Scève. In 1551 he translated León Hebreo's Dialoghi di amore (“Dialogues

Pribilof Islands

2005-02-28T20:53:00.000-08:00

Also called Fur Seal Islands, islands of Alaska, U.S., including St. Paul (35 square miles [91 square km]), St. George (27 square miles), and two islets lying in the Bering Sea, about 300 miles (500 km) west of the mainland and 180 miles north of the Aleutian Islands. The islands were first visited in 1786 by Gavril Pribylov, a Russian sea captain, who discovered their fur seal rookeries. Control of the islands was transferred from Russia

China, The Cultural Revolution, 196676

2005-02-28T20:27:00.000-08:00

As the clash over issues in the autumn of 1965 became polarized, the army initially provided the battleground. The issues concerned differences over policy directions and their implications for the organization of power and the qualifications of senior officials to lead. Much of the struggle went on behind the scenes; in public it took the form of personal vilification

Baratieri, Oreste

2005-02-28T03:38:00.000-08:00

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

Trichur

2005-02-27T18:55:00.000-08:00

Town, administrative headquarters of Trichur district, central Kerala state, southwestern India. The town is located 12 mi (19 km) inland on an extensive lagoon system. A commercial and cultural centre, it is considered to be the oldest town on the west coast of India; its name means “small sacred place.” Trichur is built around a hillock topped by the Vatakkunatha temple, the focus

Deep-sea Fish

2005-02-26T20:45:00.000-08:00

In general, any species of fishes (class Osteichthyes) that are found at extreme ocean depths, usually more than 600 m and even to as much as 2,700 m (2,000 to 9,000 feet). The species, which represent more than a dozen families of marine fishes, are characterized by huge mouths, enlarged eyes, and the presence of luminous organs on some or several parts of the body. The light-producing organs serve

Redjedef

2005-02-26T16:47:00.000-08:00

Also called Djedefre , Horus name Kheper third king of the 4th dynasty (c. 2575–c. 2465 BC) of Egypt. Redjedef was a son of Khufu (Cheops), builder of the Great Pyramid, by a secondary queen. The original crown prince, Kawab, who had married the heiress Hetepheres II, apparently predeceased his father. At Khufu's death, Redjedef married Hetepheres II and became king; but since he came from a secondary branch of the royal family, he probably

Stegner, Wallace

2005-02-26T09:11:00.000-08:00

Stegner grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada, and in several western states.

Mason

2005-02-25T13:07:00.000-08:00

An adherent of Freemasonry (q.v.).

La Tour, Maurice-quentin De

2005-02-24T23:03:00.000-08:00

Early in his youth La Tour went to Paris, where he entered the studio of the Flemish painter Jacques Spoede. He then went to Reims, Cambrai (1724), and England (c. 1725), returning to Paris to resume

Byte

2005-02-24T21:30:00.000-08:00

The basic unit of information in computer storage and processing. A byte consists of 8 adjacent binary digits (bits), each of which consists of a 0 or 1. The string of bits making up a byte is processed as a unit by a computer; bytes are the smallest operable units of storage in computer technology. A byte can represent the equivalent of a single character, such as the letter B,

Li T'ieh-kuai

2005-02-23T02:41:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Li Tieguai, in Chinese mythology, one of the Pa Hsien, the Eight Immortals. He was an ascetic for 40 years, often foregoing food and sleep, until Lao-tzu (also surnamed Li) agreed to return to earth and instruct his fellow clansman on worldly vanities. Returning one day from a celestial visit to his master, Li found his earthly body had been cremated by a disciple to whom it had been entrusted.

Farley, James A(loysius)

2005-02-23T01:32:00.000-08:00

After moving to New York City in 1905, Farley studied bookkeeping and worked for the Universal Gypsum Company. He moved back to Stony Point, near

Nicholls, Gwyn

2005-02-22T13:06:00.000-08:00

Nicholls was captain of Cardiff four times, a club record, beginning in 1892 and was the only Welsh representative on the British team that toured Australia in 1899. Nicholls was also captain of Wales 10 times, leading the team to victory in the legendary match against the New Zealand

O'brien, Edna

2005-02-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

O'Brien began to produce sketches and tales during childhood. She received

Cyperaceae

2005-02-21T23:42:00.000-08:00

Sedge family of monocotyledonous flowering plants, a division of the order Cyperales. The Cyperaceae are grasslike herbaceous plants found especially in wet regions throughout the world.

Liber And Libera

2005-02-21T08:48:00.000-08:00

In Roman religion, a pair of fertility and cultivation deities of uncertain origin. Liber, though an old and native Italian deity, came to be identified with Dionysus. The triad Ceres, Liber, and Libera (his female counterpart) represented in Rome, from early times and always under Greek influence, the Eleusinian Demeter, Iacchus-Dionysus, and Kore (Persephone). At the festival

United Nations

2005-02-20T13:35:00.000-08:00

Kofi Annan of Ghana(see BIOGRAPHIES) took office on Jan. 1, 1997, as the new secretary-general of the United Nations, and change was in the air throughout the year. Annan's reforms were controversial, but the General Assembly approved most of them. In other major developments, the UN's authority was seriously challenged by Iraq and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo

English Literature, The literature of World War I and the interwar period

2005-02-20T03:57:00.000-08:00

The impact of World War I upon the Anglo-American modernists has been noted. In addition the war brought a variety of responses from the more traditionalist writers, predominantly poets, who saw action. Rupert Brooke caught the idealism of the opening months of the war (and died in service); Siegfried Sassoon and Ivor Gurney caught the mounting anger and sense of waste

Sétif

2005-02-19T20:18:00.000-08:00

Also called Stif, town, northeastern Algeria, near the Wadi Bou Sellam. As ancient Sitifis, it became important when the Roman emperor Nerva established a veterans' colony there in AD 97. Sitifis became the chief town of the province of Mauretania Sitifensis (created AD 297) and remained so under Byzantine rule. The town declined until garrisoned by the French in 1838. In 1945 the Sétif town area was the site

Widnes

2005-02-19T04:40:00.000-08:00

Town in the unitary authority of Halton, historic county of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the north bank of the River Mersey at its lowest bridging point and on the southern periphery of the Liverpool metropolitan region. The modern town is a result of 19th-century industrial expansion and is a principal centre of the British chemical industry, largely because

Cyperaceae

2005-02-18T02:45:00.000-08:00

American collegiate athletic organization formed in 1953 as an offshoot of the Southern Conference. Member schools are Clemson University, Duke University, Florida State University (joined in 1990), the Georgia Institute of Technology (joined in 1979), the University of Maryland, the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University, the University of Virginia, and

Dysprosium

2005-02-18T01:05:00.000-08:00

(Dy), chemical element, rare-earth metal of transition Group IIIb of the periodic table. A relatively hard and very reactive metal, it is oxidized by air and by water. Its high melting point and ability to absorb neutrons make it useful in control rods for nuclear reactors. Its compounds have been used for making laser materials, as components in some electronic equipment,

Kryvyy Rih

2005-02-17T23:06:00.000-08:00

Russian Krivoy Rog, also spelled Krivoi Rog, or Krivoj Rog, city, Dnipropetrovsk oblast (province), Ukraine, situated at the confluence of the Inhulets and Saksahan rivers. Founded as a village by Zaporozhian Cossacks in the 17th century, it had only 2,184 inhabitants in 1781. In 1881 a French company began to work the local iron-ore deposits, and a railway was constructed to the Donets Basin coalfield in 1884. After that date Kryvyy Rih became a significant

Gray, Robert

2005-02-17T16:52:00.000-08:00

Gray went to sea at an early age, and after serving in the Continental Navy during the Revolutionary War, he entered the service of a Massachusetts trading company. In command first of the “Lady Washington” and later of the “Columbia,

Usa

2005-02-16T21:55:00.000-08:00

City, Oita ken (prefecture), northern Kyushu, Japan; it lies 24 miles (39 km) northwest of the prefectural capital Oita. The city developed around the site of the first and most famous of shrines dedicated to the Shinto god Hachiman, Usa Hachiman Shrine, which dates to about 717–724. An annual festival is held on March 18, and the Shinkosai festival, with a procession of portable shrines (mikoshi

Biblical Literature, Apocalypticism

2005-02-16T11:52:00.000-08:00

In intertestamental Jewish literature a special trend developed: namely, apocalypticism. Apokalypsis is a Greek term meaning “revelation of divine mysteries,” both about the nature of God and about the last days (eschatology). Apocalyptic writings were composed in both Judaism and Christianity; one of them (the Book of Daniel) was accepted in the Jewish canon and another

Keryx

2005-02-15T02:38:00.000-08:00

Inviolable ancient Greek messenger. In Homer's time, the keryx was simply a trusted attendant or retainer of a chieftain. The role of kerykes expanded, however, to include acting as inviolable messengers between states, even in time of war, proclaiming meetings of the council, popular assembly, or court of law, reciting there the formulas of prayer, and summoning persons

Canaris, Wilhelm (franz)

2005-02-15T01:45:00.000-08:00

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

Animal Breeding

2005-02-14T17:50:00.000-08:00

Controlled propagation of domestic animals. Its aim is the improvement of qualities considered desirable by humans. Breeding procedures involve the application of several basic sciences, chiefly reproductive physiology, genetics, and statistics. This article deals with the practical application of scientific principles to the selection of superior animals

Jabotinsky, Vladimir

2005-02-14T09:49:00.000-08:00

Jabotinsky began his career in 1898 as a foreign correspondent, but his popularity as a journalist led to his recall to Odessa

Carib

2005-02-13T11:07:00.000-08:00

American Indian people who inhabited the Lesser Antilles and parts of the neighbouring South American coast at the time of the Spanish conquest. Their name was given to the Caribbean Sea, and its Arawakan equivalent is the origin of the English word cannibal. Today the term Cariban is used to designate a linguistic group that includes not only the language of the

Boyer, Paul D.

2005-02-13T08:34:00.000-08:00

In full Paul Delos Boyer American biochemist who, with John E. Walker, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1997 for their explanation of the enzymatic process involved in the production of the energy-storage molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which fuels the metabolic processes of the cells of all living things. (Danish chemist Jens C. Skou also shared the award for

Aesthetics, Representation and expression in art

2005-02-12T13:34:00.000-08:00

Various theories have been proposed in answer to these questions, the most popular being that the forms of art are similar to language and are to be understood as language is understood, in terms of conventions and semantic rules. A few examples of contemporary theories that have described art in this way include Ernst Cassirer's philosophy of symbolic forms, Susanne

Saramacca

2005-02-12T01:32:00.000-08:00

Creole language, based on English, spoken by Bush Negroes in the Guianas. See Sranantonga.

Tridymite

2005-02-11T23:46:00.000-08:00

Silica mineral, the stable form of silica (silicon dioxide, SiO2) at temperatures between 870° and 1,470° C (1,598° and 2,678° F); at lower temperatures it transforms to high-quartz, at higher to cristobalite. It has three modifications: high-tridymite, middle-tridymite, and low-tridymite. Tridymite forms thin hexagonal plates that are generally twinned, often in groups of three; its name alludes

Giovanni, Nikki

2005-02-11T11:54:00.000-08:00

Giovanni grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Knoxville, Tenn., and in 1960 she entered Nashville's Fisk University. By 1967, when she received her B.A., she was firmly committed to the Civil Rights Movement and the concept of

Palembang

2005-02-10T23:45:00.000-08:00

Kotamadya (municipality) and capital, Sumatera Selatan provinsi (“province”), Indonesia. It lies on both banks of the Musi River, there spanned by the Ampera Bridge. Sumatra's second largest city (after Medan), it was long the chief town of the Palembang sultanate. The city served as the capital of the Buddhist Srivijaya empire from the 7th century until the kingdom was overthrown

Hanafiyah

2005-02-10T20:40:00.000-08:00

Also called Madhhab Hanifah , English Hanafites in Islam, one of the four Sunni schools of religious law, incorporating the legal opinions of the ancient Iraqi schools of al-Kufah and Basra. Hanafi legal thought (madhhab) developed from the teachings of the theologian Imam Abu Hanifah (c. 700–767) by such disciples as Abu Yusuf (d. 798) and Muhammad ash-Shaybani (749/750–805) and became the official system of Islamic legal interpretation of the 'Abbasids, Seljuqs

Yangtze River

2005-02-09T22:55:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Ch'ang Chiang, or (Pinyin) Chang Jiang, longest river in both China and Asia and the third longest river in the world, with a length of 3,915 miles (6,300 kilometres). Its basin, extending for some 2,000 miles from west to east and for more than 600 miles from north to south, drains an area of 698,265 square miles (1,808,500 square kilometres). From its source on the Plateau of Tibet to its mouth on the East China Sea, the river traverses or serves as the border

Luther, Martin, Augustinian Order at Erfurt

2005-02-09T05:18:00.000-08:00

In joining the eremitical order of St. Augustine, Luther had joined an important mendicant order, which by the middle of the 15th century had over 2,000 chapters. As a result of reforms carried through in 1473, the house at Erfurt, to which Luther went, accepted the strict, observant interpretation of the rule. Under Johann von Staupitz, Luther's mentor and vicar general to the order,

Fernández De Moratín, Leandro

2005-02-08T21:47:00.000-08:00

The son of the poet and playwright Nicolás Fernández de Moratín, he was an apologist of the French Encyclopaedists, a translator of Molière and William Shakespeare, and a satirist of contemporary society. The two predominant

FixedMonkey

Wind Instrument, The Classical period

Arabia, Climate

Piedras Negras

Procellariiform, Distribution

Transylvanian Rug

Black Humour

Nagy, Imre

Benedict Biscop, Saint

Patiala

Ciompi, Revolt Of The

China, Culture

Ear, Human, Function of the muscles of the middle ear

Reserpine

Sculpture, Western, Public and private memorials

Ricardo, David

Yi Sang-cha

Furniture, Metal

Nathdwara

India, The Afghan factor in North India, 174772

Use

Mammal

Randstad

3-d

Melville, Jean-pierre

Arakanese

Gore, Albert A., Jr.

Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore

Hip-hop

China, The National Government from 1928 to 1937

Medicine, Historical notes

Anastasius Iii

China, Conflict over entry into the war

Lowell, Josephine Shaw

Insurance, Coinsurance

Amalgam

Abahai

Santa Maria Novella

Augustine, Saint

Turban

Surin

Romanesque Art

Cosmati Work

Lilburne, John

Respiration, Human

Abegg, Richard Wilhelm Heinrich

Nord-du-québec

Culion Island

Cole, Thomas

Pendleton, Edmund

Ashmolean Museum Of Art And Archaeology

Malaria

Conservative Party

Minbu

Syrian And Palestinian Religion

Acuff, Roy

Biblical Literature, II Maccabees

Hisham Ibn 'abd Al-malik

Mystery Religion

Tyard, Pontus De

Pribilof Islands

China, The Cultural Revolution, 196676

Baratieri, Oreste

Trichur

Deep-sea Fish

Redjedef

Stegner, Wallace

Mason

La Tour, Maurice-quentin De

Byte

Li T'ieh-kuai

Farley, James A(loysius)

Nicholls, Gwyn

O'brien, Edna

Cyperaceae

Liber And Libera

United Nations

English Literature, The literature of World War I and the interwar period

Sétif

Widnes

India, The Afghan factor in North India, 174772

China, The Cultural Revolution, 196676