DeepPicture

Czerny, Carl

2005-04-04T22:06:00.000-07:00

He studied piano, first with his father, Wenzel Czerny, and later with Ludwig van Beethoven and knew and was influenced by Muzio Clementi and Johann Nepomuk Hummel. He began teaching in Vienna at the age of 15; among his pupils were Franz Liszt and Beethoven's

Kuchma, Leonid

2005-04-04T13:53:00.000-07:00

After graduating from Dnipropetrovsk State University in 1960, Kuchma embarked on a career as an engineer, serving as Communist

Itami

2005-04-03T19:11:00.000-07:00

City, Hyogo ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It lies along the Fukuchiyama railway line, 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Osaka. Itami was a castle town from the 13th to the 16th century and became a major sake-brewing centre in the Tokugawa period (1603–1867). The opening of the railway and the construction of company-owned housing made Itami a residential suburb of the Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area. The

Lenoir, (jean-joseph-) étienne

2005-04-02T04:15:00.000-08:00

Lenoir's engine was a converted double-acting steam engine with slide valves to admit the air-fuel mixture and to discharge exhaust products. A two-stroke cycle engine, it used a mixture of coal gas and air. Though only

Alexander Island

2005-04-01T10:52:00.000-08:00

Also called Alexander Land, large island in the Bellingshausen Sea, separated from the Antarctica mainland by the George VI Sound. An extremely rugged region with peaks up to 9,800 feet (2,987 m) above sea level, it is 270 miles (435 km) long and up to 125 miles (200 km) wide and has an area of about 16,700 square miles (43,250 square km). The Russian explorers Bellingshausen and Lazarev discovered the land in 1821 and named it after the Russian tsar.

Musical Notation

2005-04-01T03:58:00.000-08:00

Two developments in musical style in the 20th century have placed great strain upon staff notation: integral serialism—in which the music is controlled by a mathematical system—and indeterminacy, or chance music. In the former, every note in a texture may have its individual dynamic marking and type of attack (for example, in Olivier Messiaen's Mode de valeurs et

Reproductive System, Human, The vagina

2005-03-31T06:08:00.000-08:00

The vagina (the word means “a sheath”) is the canal that extends from the cervix (outer end) of the uterus within the lesser pelvis down to the vestibule between the labia minora. The orifice of the vagina is guarded by the hymen. The vagina lies behind the bladder and urethra and in front of the rectum and anal canal. Its walls are collapsed; the anterior wall is some 7.5 centimetres

Dach, Simon

2005-03-30T18:24:00.000-08:00

After earning his living for many years as a private

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Parable

2005-03-30T04:13:00.000-08:00

Like fable, the parable also tells a simple story. But, whereas fables tend to personify animal characters—often giving the same impression as does an animated cartoon—the typical parable uses human agents. Parables generally show less interest in the storytelling and more in the analogy they draw between a particular instance of human behaviour (the true neighbourly

Pijao

2005-03-29T13:46:00.000-08:00

Extinct Indian people of the southern highlands of Colombia. The Pijao spoke a language of the Chibchan family, related to that of the Páez, their neighbours to the south. They were agriculturists, raising corn (maize), sweet manioc (yuca), beans, potatoes, and many fruits; they also hunted and fished. They lived in settlements of several families in houses built of wood and

Ussuri River

2005-03-29T13:09:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Wu-su-li Chiang, or (Pinyin) Wusuli Jiang, northward-flowing tributary of the Amur River that for a considerable distance forms the boundary between China (Heilungkiang province) and Russia (Siberia). The Ussuri is formed by the confluence of the Ulakhe and Arsenyevka rivers, both of which rise on the southwestern slopes of the Sikhote-Alin mountains. Its length from the source of the Ulakhe is 565 miles (909 km), and

La Palma

2005-03-29T09:30:00.000-08:00

In full San Miguel De La Palma island, Santa Cruz de Tenerife provincia in the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Canary Islands, Spain. Located in the North Atlantic off the northwestern coast of Africa, it has an area of 281 square miles (728 square km). Its central geographic feature is La Caldera de Taburiente, a national park and a large volcanic caldera (6 miles [10 km] in diameter). The rim is breached

Breckland

2005-03-29T06:12:00.000-08:00

The name Breckland was first applied in 1894 by the Norfolk naturalist W.G.

Catalan Literature

2005-03-28T02:32:00.000-08:00

The oldest extant text in Catalan is the Homilies d'Organyà, a collection of sermons dating from the 12th or early 13th century but now appreciated more for their linguistic than for their literary value. Early kings of Aragon and counts

Bahrain, Flag Of

2005-03-27T15:10:00.000-08:00

The southern coast of the Persian Gulf was characterized by extensive warfare and piracy for many centuries. In 1820 the British were finally successful in enforcing peace on the local Arab states. The General Treaty of Peace signed at that time provided that those territories on friendly terms with the United Kingdom should include a white border on the plain red

La Palma

2005-03-27T13:39:00.000-08:00

English Vietnamese Nationalist Party the first large-scale revolutionary nationalist organization in Vietnam. Founded officially in 1927, the VNQDD was modeled after the revolutionary Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) of China. Its aim, like that of the Nationalist Party, was the establishment of a republican democratic government free from foreign interference. Gaining the allegiance of many military

Chiba

2005-03-27T11:41:00.000-08:00

Ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, lying on the Pacific coast of the Kanto Plain. It consists of the Boso Peninsula, which lies east of Tokyo Bay and south of the Tone River. Surpluses of rice, vegetables, eggs, and flowers are produced for Tokyo, and offshore fisheries flourish. The Tokyo-Yokohama industrial belt (see Keihin Industrial Zone) has expanded into Chiba prefecture

Audley (of Walden), Thomas Audley, Baron

2005-03-27T07:35:00.000-08:00

Trained in law, Audley rose in politics to become speaker of the House of Commons in 1529. Because

Denishawn School Of Dancing And Related Arts

2005-03-26T18:13:00.000-08:00

Dance school and company founded in 1915 by Ruth St. Denis and her husband, Ted Shawn. Considered a fountainhead of American modern dance, the Denishawn organization systematically promoted nonballetic dance movement and fostered such leading modern dancers as Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman. Because St. Denis and Shawn believed that all dance techniques

Radiation

2005-03-26T10:47:00.000-08:00

Either the process by which energy is emitted from a source and propagated through the surrounding medium or the energy involved in this process. Familiar examples of radiant energy include light (a form of electromagnetic radiation) and sound (a form of acoustic radiation). Both electromagnetic and acoustic radiations are commonly described as waves that can

Land Bridge

2005-03-26T02:26:00.000-08:00

Any of several isthmuses that have connected the Earth's major landmasses at various times, with the result that many species of plants and animals have extended their ranges to new areas. A land bridge that had a profound effect on the fauna of the New World extended from Siberia to Alaska during most of the Tertiary and Quaternary periods (beginning 66.4 million years

Processionary Caterpillar

2005-03-25T23:57:00.000-08:00

Larval stage characteristic of the small insect family Thaumetopoeidae (order Lepidoptera), sometimes classified as part of the prominent moth family (Notodontidae). These hairy caterpillars live in communal webs and march in columns to their food source. During the movement each larva lays down a silken thread. The large adults have

Laine, Dame Cleo

2005-03-25T05:37:00.000-08:00

Laine was born to a Jamaican father and an English mother. She quit school at age 14 and took a variety of jobs while auditioning for singing jobs. Her first break came in 1951, when she was hired as a vocalist for the Johnny Dankworth Seven, a

Nova Scotia, Industries

2005-03-25T04:41:00.000-08:00

Mining is another major industry in Nova Scotia. Coal is the leading mined product, and some 70 percent of the province's energy needs are met through thermal coal. Salt and anhydrite production also meet a wide demand, and the provincial gypsum deposits yield 75 percent of Canada's supply. There are also significant supplies of barite and construction materials, such

Pereskia

2005-03-24T10:38:00.000-08:00

P. pititache, the native Mexican

Interior Design, Other components

2005-03-24T03:03:00.000-08:00

The detailing referred to in connection with the handling of doors is one of the most important factors in interior design. Every architectural component must be detailed well. Poor details make for poor design. The meaning of detailing in a design sense is more than the graphic explanation of certain components on a drawing. It means the way materials are put together,

Yellow-dog Contract

2005-03-24T00:17:00.000-08:00

Agreement between an employer and an employee in which the employee agrees, as a condition of employment, not to join a union during the course of his employment. Such contracts, used most widely in the United States in the 1920s, enabled employers to take legal action against union organizers for encouraging workers to break these contracts. A federal law prohibiting

France, History Of, Austrasian hegemony and the rise of the Pepinids

2005-03-23T23:33:00.000-08:00

The murder of Ebroïn (680 or 683) reversed the situation in favour of Austrasia and the Pepinids. Pepin II, who defeated the Neustrians at Tertry in 687, reunified northern Francia under his own control during the next decade. Austrasia and Neustria were reunited under a Merovingian figurehead, but Pepin II governed by virtue of his position as mayor of the palace. At the same time,

La Farge, John

2005-03-23T09:26:00.000-08:00

After graduating from St. Mary's College in Maryland, La Farge studied law, but in 1856 he went to Europe to study art. He worked independently, studying briefly in Paris with Thomas Couture and coming under the influence of the work of the Pre-Raphaelites in

Croesus

2005-03-23T07:37:00.000-08:00

A member of the Mermnad dynasty, Croesus succeeded to the throne of his father, Alyattes, after a struggle with his half brother. Croesus is said to have acted as viceroy and commander in

Gene Flow

2005-03-23T05:12:00.000-08:00

Also called gene migration the introduction of genetic material (by interbreeding) from one population of a species to another, thereby changing the composition of the gene pool of the receiving population. The introduction of new alleles through gene flow increases variability within the population and makes possible new combinations of traits. In human beings gene flow usually comes

Xerxes I

2005-03-22T08:54:00.000-08:00

The basic work is still A.T. Olmstead, History of the Persian Empire (1948, reissued 1985), a complex work, but one that contains the essentials. Charles Hignett, Xerxes' Invasion of Greece (1963), deals only with the relationships between Xerxes and Greece. Peter Green, Xerxes at Salamis (1970), discusses the Greco-Persian wars.

Asansol

2005-03-22T02:21:00.000-08:00

City, West Bengal state, northeastern India. Situated in the heart of the Raniganj coalfield, it is the centre of the Kulti-Burnpur industrial complex. Asansol is connected by the Grand Trunk Road and by rail with Calcutta, Durgapur, and Burdwan. The city is an important coal-trading and railway centre, with large railway workshops and a railway colony. Its major industries

Caldecott, Randolph

2005-03-21T22:51:00.000-08:00

While a bank clerk at Whitchurch, Shropshire, and at Manchester, Caldecott began drawing for local magazines. Through his acquaintance with George Du Maurier he began contributing to

Amazonas

2005-03-21T11:34:00.000-08:00

Estado (“state”), southern Venezuela. It is bounded on the north by the state of Bolívar, on the east and south by Brazil, and on the west by Colombia. The large but sparsely populated state lies within the drainage basins of the Orinoco River, which rises near the Brazilian border, and the Negro River, which is a northern tributary of the Amazon. Near the centre of the territory

Antony, Mark

2005-03-20T18:18:00.000-08:00

Mark Antony was the son and grandson of men of the same name. His father was called Creticus because of his military operations in Crete, and his grandfather, one of the leading orators of his day, was vividly portrayed as a speaker in Cicero's De oratore. After a somewhat dissipated youth, the future triumvir served with distinction in 57–54 as a cavalry commander under Aulus

Baetic Cordillera

2005-03-20T17:22:00.000-08:00

Spanish Sistema Penibético, mountain system comprising the Andalusian mountains of southern Spain, of which the northern range runs about 360 miles (580 km) from Cape Trafalgar to Cape Nao. The central and southern ranges, the Baetic proper, extend a shorter distance from Estepona to Cape Gata. Separating the two systems is a complex series of structures, traceable in longitudinal corridors and high

Gabon

2005-03-20T10:39:00.000-08:00

Officially Gabonese Republic, French Gabon, or République Gabonaise, country lying on the west coast of Africa, astride the Equator, with a total area estimated at 103,347 square miles (267,667 square kilometres). It is bordered by Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west; the island state of São Tomé and Príncipe is situated off the coast. Gabon's capital is Libreville.

Mena (y Medrano), Pedro De

2005-03-19T13:29:00.000-08:00

Beginning as a student of his father, the sculptor Alonso de Mena, Pedro worked in the studio of Alonso Cano from 1652 to 1657. After Cano departed for Madrid, Pedro went in 1658 to Málaga to begin

Argentina, The economy

2005-03-19T07:11:00.000-08:00

Labour movements are covered in Ronaldo Munck, Ricardo Falcón, and Bernardo Galitelli, Argentina: From Anarchism to Peronism: Workers, Unions, and Politics, 1855–1985 (1987); David Tamarin, The Argentine Labor Movement, 1930–45: A Study in the Origins of Peronism (1985); and Charles Bergquist, Labor in Latin America: Comparative Essays on Chile, Argentina, Venezuela, and Colombia (1986).

Rachmaninoff, Sergey

2005-03-18T16:41:00.000-08:00

In full Sergey Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff , Rachmaninoff also spelled Rakhmaninov , or Rachmaninov composer who was the last great figure of the tradition of Russian Romanticism and a leading piano virtuoso of his time. He is especially known for his piano concerti and the piece for piano and orchestra entitled Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1954). (Click here for an

Sculpture, Western, Georgia

2005-03-18T13:22:00.000-08:00

A distinct Georgian sculptural tradition did not emerge until the advent of Christianity, which stimulated a demand for a large number of carved stone reliefs. The earliest of these were based on Early Christian models. In the 8th and 9th centuries the high-relief figures of Early Christian art gave way to figures rendered in wholly linear fashion. In the 10th and 11th centuries

Tribe

2005-03-18T05:20:00.000-08:00

Latin Tribus, plural Tribi, in Roman history, a unit of the Roman state. The first Roman tribes were probably ethnic in origin and consisted of the Titienses (Tities), Ramnenses (Ramnes), and Luceres. They were superseded by the creation of new local tribes (date uncertain) consisting of 4 urban tribes and 16 rural, or rustic, tribes. The latter were probably named after pagi (country districts) that were,

Nahua Language

2005-03-17T22:47:00.000-08:00

Also called Aztec an American Indian language of the Uto-Aztecan family, spoken in central and western Mexico. Nahua, the most important of the Uto-Aztecan languages, was the language of the Aztec and Toltec civilizations of Mexico. A large body of literature in Nahua, produced by the Aztecs, survives from the 16th century, recorded in an orthography that was introduced by Spanish priests

Affix

2005-03-17T00:42:00.000-08:00

A grammatical element that is combined with a word, stem, or phrase to produce derived and inflected forms. There are three types of affixes: prefixes, infixes, and suffixes. A prefix occurs at the beginning of a word or stem (sub-mit, pre-determine, un-willing); a suffix at the end (wonder-ful, depend-ent, act-ion); and an infix occurs in the middle. English has no infixes, but they are

Plutus

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

In Greek religion, god of abundance or wealth, a personification of ploutos (Greek: “riches”). According to Hesiod, Plutus was born in Crete, the son of the goddess of fruitfulness, Demeter, and the Cretan Iasion. In art he appears chiefly as a child with a cornucopia. He was sometimes confused with Pluto (Hades), god of the underworld.

Yacht

2005-03-16T16:09:00.000-08:00

In England by 1881 most of the important yacht clubs had become members of the Yacht Racing Association (founded 1875; from 1952 called the Royal Yachting Association). The organization made rules governing regatta sailing and later took on duties as a representative body for all British yachting, including dealing with port, harbour, and other governmental authorities. In the

Asparagus

2005-03-15T21:06:00.000-08:00

Asparagus may be erect or climbing, and most of the species are more

Jouffroy D'abbans, Claude-françois-dorothée, Marquis De

2005-03-15T15:21:00.000-08:00

At the age of 20 Jouffroy d'Abbans entered the army, and a year later he became involved in a duel that resulted in his banishment to Provence. There he began to work with boats and built a 43-foot (13-metre) steamboat

Tutankhamen

2005-03-14T23:05:00.000-08:00

Medical analysis of his mummy shows that Tutankhaten was probably a brother of Smenkhkare, his immediate

Ryukyu Islands

2005-03-14T10:47:00.000-08:00

Also called Nansei Islands , Japanese Ryukyu-Shoto , or Nansei-Shoto , Ryukyuan Okinawa archipelago, extending almost 400 miles (650 km) southwest from Kyushu, southern Japan, to the northern tip of Taiwan bordering the Philippine Sea (east) and the East China Sea (west). Since 1972 the islands have comprised Okinawa ken (prefecture), Japan. With a total land area of 870 square miles (2,254 square km), they consist of 55 islands and islets divided into three major groups: the Amami island

Sauerland

2005-03-14T01:47:00.000-08:00

Region, North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state), northwestern Germany. It is bounded on the north by the Ruhr River and its tributary, the Möhne, and on the south by the Sieg River and the Wester Forest, a mountainous area east of the Rhine. It lies to the east of the Bergisches Land (plateau) and has historically centred on the city of Arnsberg (q.v.). Its name (meaning “Bitter Land”) is

Zoroastrianism

2005-03-13T16:46:00.000-08:00

Zoroastrianism is not the purely ethical religion it may at first seem. In practice, despite the doctrine of free choice, a Zoroastrian is so constantly involved in a meticulous struggle against the contamination of death and the thousand causes of defilement, and against the threat, even in his sleep, of ever-present demons, that he does not often believe that he is

Valdemar Birgersson

2005-03-13T14:31:00.000-08:00

King of Sweden (1250–75) who governed jointly with his father Birger Jarl (q.v.) until the latter's death in 1266 and then reigned alone. Because of an extramarital affair with his wife's sister, a postulant nun, by whom he had a child, Valdemar in 1274 made a pilgrimage to Rome to gain forgiveness. Pope Gregory X exacted concessions, whereby Valdemar acknowledged papal overlordship and

Philipp, Isidor

2005-03-13T08:16:00.000-08:00

Philipp was brought to Paris as an infant. As a piano student of Georges Mathias at the Conservatoire, he won the first prize in 1883. After study with Saint-Saëns and Stephen Heller, he began a brief solo concert career, making his London debut in 1890. From 1903 to 1934 he was professor

Burette

2005-03-13T01:14:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Buret, laboratory apparatus used in quantitative chemical analysis to measure the volume of a liquid or a gas. It consists of a graduated glass tube with a stopcock (turning plug, or spigot) at one end. On a liquid burette, the stopcock is at the bottom, and the precise volume of the liquid dispensed can be determined by reading the graduations marked on the glass tube at the liquid

Tucholsky, Kurt

2005-03-12T13:17:00.000-08:00

After studying law and serving in World War I, Tucholsky left Germany in 1924 and lived first in Paris and after 1929 in Sweden. He contributed to Rote Signale (1931; “Red Signals”), a collection of

Moscow State University

2005-03-12T11:07:00.000-08:00

In full Moscow M.V. Lomonosov State University , Russian Moskovsky Gosudarstvenny Universitet Imeni M.V. Lomonosova state-controlled institution of higher learning at Moscow, the oldest-surviving, largest, and most prestigious university in Russia. It was founded in 1755 by the linguist M.V. Lomonosov and was modeled after German universities, its original faculty being predominantly German. In the second half of the 19th century, Moscow State University became the most important centre

Activated-sludge Method

2005-03-11T23:22:00.000-08:00

Sewage-treatment process in which sludge, the accumulated, bacteria-rich deposits of settling tanks and basins, is seeded into incoming waste water and the mixture agitated for several hours in the presence of an ample air supply. Suspended solids and many organic solids are absorbed or adsorbed by the sludge, while organic matter is oxidized by the microorganisms.

Talbot

2005-03-11T10:17:00.000-08:00

County, east-central Maryland, U.S. It adjoins Chesapeake Bay to the west, the Choptank River to the south and southeast, and Tuckahoe Creek to the northeast and includes Tilghman and Poplar islands. The jagged coast is carved by the Wye East, Tred Avon, and Miles rivers and by Harris and Broad creeks. Parklands include Seth Demonstration Forest and Wye Oak State Park, the

Adams, Roger

2005-03-11T06:55:00.000-08:00

Receiving

Grafton

2005-03-11T02:16:00.000-08:00

City and port, northeastern New South Wales, Australia, 42 mi (68 km) from the mouth of the Clarence River (and its Pacific outport of Yamba), in the North Coast district. The site was first settled in 1838 when the area was exploited by cedar getters. The city was proclaimed in 1885 and increased in size in 1956 by merging the municipalities of Grafton and South Grafton (both named after the Duke

'uthman Ibn 'affan

2005-03-10T11:50:00.000-08:00

'Uthman

Dadra And Nagar Haveli

2005-03-10T08:53:00.000-08:00

Union territory of India, located in the western part of the country between the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, some 15 miles (24 kilometres) from the Arabian Sea and 80 miles north of Bombay. It consists of two sections: Dadra, with three villages, and Nagar Haveli, with 69 villages. Occupying 190 square miles (491 square kilometres), it is administered by the governor of Goa. The capital is

Catalonia Museum Of Art

2005-03-10T04:35:00.000-08:00

Spanish Museo De Arte De Cataluña , Catalan Museu D'art De Catalunya museum in the Palacio Nacional in Barcelona, housing one of the most important collections of medieval paintings in the world and also a fine and complete collection of Spanish ceramics. The Romanesque Galleries comprise a series of reconstructions of church interiors with mural decorations brought from villages in the Pyrenees, transported to the museum

Wyckoff, Ralph Walter Graystone

2005-03-09T21:27:00.000-08:00

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

Roman Republic And Empire

2005-03-09T00:41:00.000-08:00

The ancient state that centred on the city of Rome, from the time of the events leading up to the founding of the republic in 509 BC, through the establishment of the empire in 27 BC, to the final eclipse of the Empire of the West in the 5th century AD. (For later events of the Empire of the East, see Byzantine Empire.)

Azurite

2005-03-08T20:53:00.000-08:00

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

Uist

2005-03-08T11:07:00.000-08:00

Either of two islands of the Outer Hebrides, both lying off the northwestern coast of Scotland. See North Uist; South Uist.

Computers, The Internet

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

The Internet grew out of funding by the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), later renamed the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), to develop a communication system among government and academic computer-research laboratories. The first network component, ARPANET, became operational in October 1969. With only 15 nongovernment (university) sites

Alakol, Lake

2005-03-08T00:24:00.000-08:00

Kazak Alaköl , Russian Ozero Alakol , also called Ozero Ala-Kul salt lake in Kazakstan, 110 miles (180 km) east of Lake Balqash, near the border with the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, China. Lake Alakol has a drainage basin of about 26,500 square miles (68,700 square km), an area of 1,025 square miles, reaches a depth of about 148 feet (45 m), and receives the Urdzhar River (north).

La Marche, Olivier De

2005-03-07T22:41:00.000-08:00

After serving as a page to Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, La Marche entered the service of the Duke's son, the count of Charolais (later called Charles the Bold). He became Charles's secretary and remained in

Danané

2005-03-07T22:14:00.000-08:00

Town, western Côte d'Ivoire. It lies along the Boan River, a tributary of the Nuon (Nipoué, Cestos) River, and at the intersection of roads from Liberia, Guinea, and the Ivoirian town of Man. It is the chief trade centre (rice, coffee, and kola nuts) of a forested region mainly inhabited by the Dan people. Pop. (1975) town, 19,608.

Oberon, Merle

2005-03-07T00:18:00.000-08:00

The daughter of an Indian mother and a British army officer, Arthur Thompson, stationed in India,

Toothwort

2005-03-06T21:23:00.000-08:00

Any of about 10 species of perennial herbs belonging to the genus Dentaria, of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to northern temperate areas. The name toothwort refers to the plant's toothed, or scaly, rootstock. The four-petaled flowers, borne in a terminal cluster, are white, pink, or pale purple. Toothwort, pepperwort, or crinklewort (D.

Space

2005-03-06T16:20:00.000-08:00

Space is treated in a number of articles. For a philosophical consideration of the subject, see metaphysics. For a discussion of the relativity of space and time, see relativity. For a description of space as the region of the universe beyond the Earth

Clarion River

2005-03-05T23:56:00.000-08:00

River formed at Johnsonburg, Elk county, northwestern Pennsylvania, U.S., by the confluence of East Branch and West Branch Clarion rivers. It flows generally southwest for about 110 miles (177 km), past the towns of Ridgway and Clarion, to join the Allegheny River. The Clarion Dam and Reservoir are on the East Branch near Glen Hazel. The river's name is attributed to surveyors who

Spruce Knob

2005-03-05T14:49:00.000-08:00

Highest point in West Virginia, U.S., located in the Allegheny Mountains in the eastern part of the state, about 25 miles (40 km) southeast of Elkins. Spruce Knob lies at an elevation of 4,863 feet (1,482 metres) at the southern end of Spruce Mountain, a ridge extending northeast-southwest along the western edge of Pendleton county. The peak, accessible by road from nearby Judy Gap, is within

San Andrés Tuxtla

2005-03-04T22:42:00.000-08:00

Formerly Los Tuxtlas, city, southeastern Veracruz estado (“state”), south-central Mexico. It lies on the slopes of San Martín volcano, along the Tuxtla River, at an elevation of 1,181 feet (360 m) above sea level. The town was founded by Ixtlecos Indians in 1664, after the eruption of the volcano, and was made a city in 1893. Corn (maize), high-quality tobacco, sugarcane, and fruits all flourish in the hot, rainy climate, but

Roma

2005-03-04T20:57:00.000-08:00

Town, south-central Queensland, Australia, principal settlement of the Maronoa district, on Bungil Creek. The town, surveyed in 1862 and declared a municipality in 1867, was named after Diamantina Roma Bowen, wife of the state's first governor. Linked to Brisbane (about 315 miles [510 km] east-southeast) by rail, air, and the Carnarvon and Warrego highways, it serves an agricultural and pastoral

Mexico City, The colonial city

2005-03-04T17:03:00.000-08:00

Cortés razed Tenochtitlán in 1521 and constructed a Spanish city on its ruins. The conquerors divided the central area among themselves and relegated the defeated to the periphery. The city was chartered and its cabildo, or town council, recognized in 1522; it was given leadership over other cabildos of New Spain in 1535. It soon became the most important city of the Americas, with

Steeple

2005-03-04T16:55:00.000-08:00

Tall ornamental tower, sometimes a belfry, usually attached to an ecclesiastical or public building. The steeple is usually composed of a series of diminishing stories and is topped by a spire, cupola, or pyramid (qq.v.), although in ordinary usage the term steeple denotes the entire structure.

Monarchy

2005-03-03T10:30:00.000-08:00

The undivided sovereignty or rule of a single person. The term is applied to states in which the supreme authority is vested in a single person, the monarch, who is the permanent head of the state. The word has, however, outlived this original meaning and is now used, when used at all, somewhat loosely of states ruled by hereditary sovereigns, as distinct from republics

Hypersthene Granite

2005-03-03T10:01:00.000-08:00

Member of the charnockite (q.v.) series of metamorphic rocks.

Divination, Inductive divination

2005-03-03T08:52:00.000-08:00

To speculate that inductive divination from natural phenomena must be very old—i.e., that it arose from an early intimate acquaintance with nature—is tempting but inaccurate. In fact, there is little evidence that preliterate peoples viewed nature as a system, and this is particularly true in respect to astral observation. Divination from the skies is concerned

Saki

2005-03-03T06:39:00.000-08:00

Any of seven species of arboreal South American monkeys having long nonprehensile furred tails. The “true” sakis of the genus Pithecia are approximately 30–50 cm (12–20 inches) long, not including the bushy, tapering tail of 25–55 cm. Females generally weigh less than 2 kg (4.4 pounds) and males more than 2 kg. These sakis are covered with long, coarse hair that falls like a hood

Polgar, Judit

2005-03-02T03:09:00.000-08:00

Apart from her gold-medal-winning appearances for the Hungarian women's Olympiad teams of 1988 and 1990, Polgar

Yi Dynasty

2005-03-02T02:23:00.000-08:00

General Yi established

War, Law Of

2005-03-01T18:03:00.000-08:00

That part of international law dealing with the inception, conduct, and termination of warfare. Its aim is to limit the suffering caused to combatants and, more particularly, to those who may be described as the victims of war—that is, noncombatant civilians and those no longer able to take part in hostilities. Thus, the wounded, the sick, the shipwrecked, and prisoners

Celtic Literature, The 18th century: the first revival

2005-03-01T13:35:00.000-08:00

The mid-18th century was, after the 14th, the most fruitful period of Welsh literature. Goronwy Owen, inspired by English Augustanism, reintroduced and improved the strict metres of the cywydd and awdl (by this time a long poem written in a number of the classical cynghanedd metres). He also introduced a wide range of subject content, and thus founded a new classical school

Ayrshire Whitework

2005-03-01T11:46:00.000-08:00

In embroidery, a type of drawn thread work done in white thread on white material. Although similar work had been executed earlier and in other centres (for example, in 13th- and 14th-century Germany) and other examples are known from the intervening period, whitework became associated with the county (shire) of Ayr in Scotland after 1780, when it became a centre for the manufacture

Qalyubiyah, Al-

2005-02-28T16:08:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kalyubia, small muhafazah (governorate), just north of Cairo at the apex of the Nile River delta, Lower Egypt. It is bounded on the northeast by Ash-Sharqiyah muhafazah and on the northwest by the Damietta Branch of the Nile. With a total area of 387 square miles (1,001 square km), it is densely populated. About three-fifths of its population relies on agriculture. The alluvial farmland is irrigated

Jabiru

2005-02-28T13:12:00.000-08:00

(species Jabiru mycteria), a typical stork of the New World, ranging from Mexico to Argentina. The jabiru belongs to the stork family, Ciconiidae (order Ciconiiformes). It is mostly white, with the naked skin of the head and upper neck black and red. The unusually heavy bill is slightly upturned. The jabiru is one of the largest American flying birds, reaching a length of 140 cm

Agunah

2005-02-27T11:22:00.000-08:00

Hebrew 'aguna (“deserted woman”) , plural agunahs, 'agunot , or agunoth in Orthodox and Conservative Judaism, a woman who is presumed to be widowed but who cannot remarry because evidence of her husband's death does not satisfy legal requirements. The plight of the agunah has generated voluminous and complex treatment in Halakhic literature. Although religious courts are not empowered to grant remarriage without indisputable

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Derivation of the terms

2005-02-27T06:32:00.000-08:00

The original meanings of these critical terms themselves suggest the direction of their development. Fable (from the Latin fabula, “a telling”) puts the emphasis on narrative (and in the medieval and Renaissance periods was often used when speaking of “the plot” of a narrative). Parable (from Greek parabole, a “setting beside”) suggests a juxtaposition that compares and contrasts

Romance Languages, Franco-Provençal

2005-02-27T04:11:00.000-08:00

Northeast of the Occitan region, along the French, Swiss, and Italian frontiers, is located a group of dialects that historically have shared most vowel developments with languages to the south and many consonant changes with those to the north. Since 1878, with the work of G.I. Ascoli, claims have been made for the linguistic autonomy of these dialects, usually called

Montserrat

2005-02-26T17:34:00.000-08:00

The original Native American inhabitants of Montserrat began to arrive in the Lesser Antilles about 3000 BC. Carib Indians, who arrived later, are said to have named the island Alliouagana (“Land of the Prickly Bush”). However, Montserrat was uninhabited by the time Christopher Columbus sighted it in November 1493, during his second voyage to the Americas. Columbus named the island

Epistemology, Cause and effect

2005-02-26T17:08:00.000-08:00

Although people gain much information from their impressions, most matters of fact depend upon reasoning about causes and effects, even though people do not directly experience causal relations. What, then, are causal relations? According to Hume they have three components: contiguity of time and place, temporal priority of the cause, and constant conjunction.

Macdonald, George

2005-02-26T05:38:00.000-08:00

Novelist of Scottish life, poet, and writer of Christian allegories of man's pilgrimage back to God, who is remembered chiefly, however, for his allegorical fairy stories, which have continued to delight children and their elders. He became a Congregational minister, then a free-lance preacher and lecturer. In 1855 he published

Rye

2005-02-25T21:21:00.000-08:00

(species Secale cereale), cereal grass and its edible grain that is used to make rye bread and rye whiskey. The plant grows to a height of 1 to 2 m (4 to 6 feet) and has spikes composed of two or more spikelets bearing florets that develop one-seeded fruits, or grains. Rye cultivation probably originated in southwestern Asia about 6500 BC, migrating westward across the Balkan Peninsula