LowLeaf

Sokol

2005-04-05T15:05:00.000-07:00

(Czech: “Hawk,” or “Falcon”), gymnastic society, originating in Prague in 1862 to develop strength, litheness, alertness, and courage. Originally patterned after the German turnverein, the Sokol traditionally emphasized mass calisthenics as a means of promoting communal spirit and physical fitness. Banned during the Nazi occupation, the Sokol movement was revived in 1945 but

Tereshkova, Valentina

2005-04-04T05:24:00.000-07:00

Although she had no pilot training, Tereshkova was an accomplished amateur parachutist

Medicine, History Of, Hellenistic and Roman medicine

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

In the following century the work of Aristotle, regarded as the first great biologist, was of inestimable value to medicine. A pupil of Plato at Athens and tutor to Alexander the Great, Aristotle studied the entire world of living things. He laid what can be identified as the foundations of comparative anatomy and embryology, and his views influenced scientific thinking

Dalhousie, James Andrew Broun Ramsay, Marquess And 10th Earl Of

2005-04-03T07:32:00.000-07:00

Dalhousie also took advantage of every opportunity to acquire territory by peaceful means. The East India Company, which was no longer an independent corporation but largely under the control of the British government, was rapidly becoming the predominant power in India. It had concluded alliances with Indian rulers, promising to support them and their heirs

Girard, Stephen

2005-04-01T21:57:00.000-08:00

Girard shipped out to sea at the age of 14 and by 1774 was captain of a ship involved in U.S. coastal trade with the West Indies. Stymied by British blockades

Liliaceae

2005-04-01T00:39:00.000-08:00

The lily family of the flowering plant order Liliales, with about 280 genera and some 4,000 species of herbs and shrubs, native primarily to temperate and subtropical regions. Members of the family usually have six-segmented flowers and three-chambered capsular fruits; occasionally the fruits are berries. The leaves usually have parallel veins and are clustered at the

U2

2005-03-29T21:26:00.000-08:00

Argentina, Military government, 196673

2005-03-29T08:36:00.000-08:00

Adalbert Krieger Vasena, minister of economy and labour, attempted to stabilize the economy by again devaluing the currency and then undertaking programs in electric power, steel, roads, and housing. In May 1969 disturbances and riots in the cities of Corrientes, Rosario, and particularly Córdoba rose out of student and labour conflicts; these incidents, later known

Latin-american Literature, Recent trends

2005-03-27T19:03:00.000-08:00

The literature of the last half of the 20th century has been characterized by an increased preoccupation with man as the victim of alienating forces—solitude, identity crises, anguish, and evil—and by a marked determination to create new forms and techniques. Above all, it has put forth a new language more responsive to the demands imposed by increasingly complex spiritual,

Quantitative Chemical Analysis

2005-03-27T05:35:00.000-08:00

Branch of chemistry that deals with the determination of the amount or percentage of one or more constituents of a sample. A variety of methods is employed for quantitative analyses, which for convenience may be broadly classified as chemical or physical, depending upon which properties are utilized. Chemical methods depend upon such reactions as precipitation,

Hippogriff

2005-03-25T19:36:00.000-08:00

A legendary animal that has the foreparts of a winged griffin and the body and hindquarters of a horse. The creature was invented by Ludovico Ariosto in his Orlando furioso and was based on a proverbial phrase about crossing a griffin with a horse that was used to signify an impossibility or incongruity.

Hall, Charles Martin

2005-03-25T10:29:00.000-08:00

While a student at Oberlin (Ohio) College Hall became interested in producing aluminum inexpensively. He continued to use the college laboratory after his graduation in 1885, discovering his method

Deva

2005-03-24T20:20:00.000-08:00

Iranian Daeva in Vedic India, one of many divine powers, roughly divided on the basis of their identification with the forces of nature into sky, air, and earth divinities (e.g., Varuna, Indra, Soma). In the later monotheistic systems the devas became subordinate to the one supreme being. During the Vedic period the gods were divided into two classes, the devas and the asuras (in Iranian, daeva

Sucellus

2005-03-23T11:44:00.000-08:00

Powerful and widely worshiped Celtic god; his iconographic symbols were usually his mallet and libation saucer, indicative of his powers of protection and provision. His Irish equivalent seems to have been the Dagda. Sucellus was possibly one of the Gaulish gods who were equated by Julius Caesar with the Roman god Dis Pater, from whom, according to Caesar, all the

Ubs Ag

2005-03-22T23:15:00.000-08:00

The Swiss Bank Corporation was founded in 1854 as the Basler Bank-Verein (Basel Bank Corporation) and became a joint-stock company in 1872. It specialized in investment banking. In 1895 its name was changed to Basler und Zürcher Bankverein when it

Furniture, Clocks

2005-03-22T20:52:00.000-08:00

Clocks are considered furnishings if the movement is enclosed within a case, which need not necessarily be of wood. Clocks can be divided into table clocks and long-case clocks. There were two creative centres for table clocks, namely England and France. In 17th- and 18th-century France, the table clock became an object of monumental design, the best examples of which are

Acciaiuoli, Niccolò

2005-03-22T18:26:00.000-08:00

Of a prominent and wealthy Florentine family, Acciaiuoli went to Naples in 1331 to direct the family's banking interests. In 1335 King Robert made him a knight, entrusted him with the care of his nephew Louis of Taranto, and

Arung Singkang

2005-03-21T19:55:00.000-08:00

As a young man Arung Singkang was exiled to Borneo, where he gathered a following and in 1737 returned and won control of his native state, Wadjo. He also defeated Bone, another Buginese state, and created a Buginese

Cooper, Cynthia

2005-03-19T13:54:00.000-08:00

Cooper was raised

Armenian Rite

2005-03-19T08:17:00.000-08:00

The system of liturgical practices and discipline observed by both the Armenian Apostolic (Orthodox) Church and the Armenian Catholics. The Armenians, who regard themselves as the “first Christian nation,” were converted to Christianity by St. Gregory the Illuminator about AD 300. The Liturgy of St. Gregory the Illuminator, used by both Apostolic and Catholic Armenians,

Norbert Of Xanten, Saint

2005-03-19T07:10:00.000-08:00

Norbert was ordained in 1115. Failing to reform his peers at the collegiate church of Xanten, he traveled throughout France and

Violales

2005-03-18T14:50:00.000-08:00

The seeds of Hydnocarpus (Flacourtiaceae), found in the Philippines, China, and India, are a source of chaulmoogra oil, at one time important in the treatment

Van Dyck, Sir Anthony

2005-03-18T06:10:00.000-08:00

Van Dyck also spelled Vandyke , Flemish Anthonie Van Dyck , Anthonie also spelled Antonie , or Anton after Rubens, the most prominent Flemish painter of the 17th century. A prolific painter of portraits of European aristocracy, he also executed many works on religious and mythological subjects and was a fine draftsman and etcher. Appointed court painter by Charles I of England in 1632, he was knighted the same year.

Olympic Games, Oslo, Norway, 1952

2005-03-17T13:01:00.000-08:00

With the awarding of the sixth Winter Olympics to Oslo, the Games were held for the first time in a Scandinavian country. While some questioned the country's ability to stage the competition, the worries proved unfounded. New facilities were built and existing ones were refurbished to meet the high Olympic standard. Oslo saw the Winter Games debut of the Olympic torch,

Fuller, R(ichard) Buckminster

2005-03-17T04:35:00.000-08:00

U.S. engineer and architect who developed the geodesic dome, the only large dome that can be set directly on the ground as a complete structure, and the only practical kind of building that has no limiting dimensions (i.e., beyond which the structural strength must be insufficient). Among the most noteworthy geodesic domes is the United

Side

2005-03-16T02:37:00.000-08:00

Modern Selimiye principal city and port of ancient Pamphylia, originally situated on the Mediterranean coast west of the mouth of the Manavgat River, in southwestern Turkey. (The site is now inland.) Though the city was founded by Aeolian Greeks, a peculiar non-Greek language was spoken there. Having a good natural harbour and two artificial harbours for larger vessels, it was the most

Economic Indicator

2005-03-15T15:09:00.000-08:00

Statistic used, along with other indicators, in an attempt to determine the state of general economic activity, especially in the future. A “leading indicator” is one of a statistical series that fairly reliably turn up or down before the general economy does. Common leading indicators are building permits (suggesting the future volume of new construction), common

United States, Bank Of The

2005-03-15T10:29:00.000-08:00

Central bank chartered in 1791 by the U.S. Congress at the urging of Alexander Hamilton and over the objections of Thomas Jefferson. Extended debate over its constitutionality contributed significantly to the evolution of pro- and anti-bank factions into the first American political parties—respectively, the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. Antagonism

Term

2005-03-15T00:37:00.000-08:00

In the visual arts, element consisting of a sculptured figure or bust at the top of a stone pillar or column that usually tapers downward to a quadrangular base. Often the pillar replaces the body of the figure, with feet sometimes indicated at its base. The pillar itself may be a separate object (i.e., a pedestal for the head or other sculpture), in which case it is called a

Ram Allah

2005-03-14T19:14:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ramallah, town, central Palestine, adjacent to the town of Al-Birah (east) and north of Jerusalem. Ram Allah (Arabic: “Height of God”) has since the Six-Day War of 1967 been under Israeli administration as part of the West Bank territory. An ancient settlement, it has buildings incorporating masonry from the time of Herod the Great (reigned 37–4 BC), but no complete structure antedates the Crusades of

Force

2005-03-14T14:26:00.000-08:00

In mechanics, any action that tends to maintain or alter the position of a body or to distort it. The concept of force is commonly explained in terms of Newton's three laws of motion set forth in his Principia Mathematica (1687). According to Newton's first principle, a body that is at rest or moving at a uniform rate in a straight line will remain in that state until some force

Kresge, S.s.

2005-03-14T14:01:00.000-08:00

Kresge worked as a traveling salesman before going into business with one of his customers, John G. McCrory, the owner of several department and five-and-ten-cent stores. They became partners in 1897 in two new five-and-dime

Saint Kitts And Nevis

2005-03-13T07:33:00.000-08:00

Officially Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, also called Saint Christopher and Nevis, state composed of two islands of the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean Sea. Their combined area is 104 square miles (269 square kilometres). The capital is Basseterre on the island of Saint Kitts.

France, History Of, The juridical revolution

2005-03-12T23:48:00.000-08:00

Louis XVI's decision to convene the Estates-General in May 1789 became a turning point in French history. When he invited his subjects to express their opinions and grievances in preparation for this event—unprecedented in living memory—hundreds responded with pamphlets in which the liberal ideology of 1789 gradually began to take shape. Exactly how the Estates-General

Masaryk, Tomá (garrigue)

2005-03-12T20:06:00.000-08:00

Chief founder and first president (1918–35) of Czechoslovakia.

Radiation

2005-03-12T19:50:00.000-08:00

Flow of atomic and subatomic particles and of waves, such as those that characterize heat rays, light rays, and X rays. All matter is constantly bombarded with radiation of both types from cosmic and terrestrial sources. This article delineates the properties and behaviour of radiation and the matter with which it interacts and describes how energy is transferred

Yambol

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

Also spelled Jambol town, east-central Bulgaria, on the Tundzha (Tundja) River. North of the present town are the ruins of Kabyle (or Cabyle), which originated as a Bronze Age settlement in the 2nd millennium BC and was conquered by the Macedonians under Philip II in 342–341 BC. Taken by Rome in 72 BC, Kabyle became a city in the Roman province of Thrace, governing the middle reaches of the Tundzha (ancient Tonsus)

New Castle

2005-03-10T05:49:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1849) of Lawrence county, western Pennsylvania, U.S. It lies at the juncture of the Shenango and Mahoning rivers and Neshannock Creek and in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Youngstown, Ohio. Originally the site of a Delaware Indian capital, it was settled in about 1798 by John Stewart, who built an iron furnace and named the place for the

Equatorial Guinea

2005-03-09T23:34:00.000-08:00

Officially Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Spanish República de Guinea Ecuatorial, country located on the west coast of Africa. It consists of Río Muni (also called Mbini), on the continent, and five islands: Bioko (formerly Fernando Po), Corisco, Great Elobey (Elobey Grande), Little Elobey (Elobey Chico), and Annobón. A fragmented country, it has a total area of 10,830 square miles (28,051 square kilometres). The capital of the republic is Malabo on Bioko. Bata is the administrative

Semiconductor Device

2005-03-09T16:49:00.000-08:00

A p-n junction diode is a solid-state device that has two terminals. Depending on impurity distribution, device geometry, and biasing condition, a junction diode can perform various functions. There are more than 50,000 types of diodes with voltage ratings from less than 1 volt to more than 2,000 volts and current ratings from less than 1 milliampere to more than 5,000 amperes. A p-n junction

Tung-t'ing Lake

2005-03-09T15:10:00.000-08:00

Wade–Giles romanization Tung-t'ing Hu, Pinyin Dongting Hu, large lake in northern Hunan Province, China. It lies in a basin to the south of the Yangtze River. The lake is connected to the Yangtze by four channels; some 40 percent of the river's waters (more in flood periods) flow into the lake. The lake is also fed from the south by almost the entire drainage of Hunan Province, with the Hsiang River flowing in from the south and the Tzu,

Thompson, J(ohn) Lee

2005-03-08T06:36:00.000-08:00

British-born film director (b. Aug. 1, 1914, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Eng.—d. Aug. 30, 2002, Sooke, B.C.), achieved international fame with The Guns of Navarone (1961), which exemplified his acute visual style and use of suspenseful narrative. Thompson, who was sometimes billed as J. Lee-Thompson, began his film career as an actor and screenwriter, and the first movie he directed, Murder Without

Vigfússon, Gudbrandur

2005-03-07T10:28:00.000-08:00

Vigfússon studied in Iceland and at the University of Copenhagen but took no

Philip

2005-03-07T08:29:00.000-08:00

Byname Philip The Magnanimous, German Philipp Der Grossmütige landgrave (Landgraf) of Hesse (1509–67), one of the great figures of German Protestantism, who championed the independence of German princes against the Holy Roman emperor Charles V.

Bolívar, Simón

2005-03-06T10:12:00.000-08:00

The territory of Gran Colombia, comprising what is now Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, had now been completely recovered from Spain and its new government recognized by the United States. Only Peru remained in the hands of the Spaniards. It was the Peruvian problem that brought Bolívar and the Argentinian revolutionary José de San Martín together. San Martín had

Jackson, Andrew

2005-03-06T06:41:00.000-08:00

After the close of the war, Jackson was named commander of the southern district. He entrusted the command of the troops in the field to subordinates while he retired to his home at the Hermitage, near Nashville. He was ordered back to active service at the end of December 1817, when unrest along the border appeared to be reaching critical proportions. The instructions given Jackson were vague, and he ordered an invasion of Florida immediately after taking active command. He captured two Spanish posts and appointed one of his subordinates military governor of Florida. These bold actions brought an immediate and sharp protest from Spain and precipitated a cabinet crisis in Washington. The staunch defense of Jackson by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams saved Jackson from censure and hastened the U.S. acquisition of Florida.

Koforidua

2005-03-05T21:24:00.000-08:00

Town, southeastern Ghana. It lies in the Densu River basin, near the southeastern base of the Kwahu Plateau. Koforidua is one of the country's oldest cocoa-producing centres. With the completion in 1923 of the Accra-Kumasi railway, it became an important road and rail junction. As cocoa production has moved westward to areas of virgin soil, Koforidua has become increasingly

Metastable State

2005-03-05T16:43:00.000-08:00

In physics and chemistry, particular excited state of an atom, nucleus, or other system that has a longer lifetime than the ordinary excited states and that generally has a shorter lifetime than the lowest, often stable, energy state, called the ground state. A metastable state may thus be considered a kind of temporary energy trap or a somewhat stable intermediate

Bara Banki

2005-03-04T19:36:00.000-08:00

The area in which Bara Banki is situated is an alluvial plain that is dotted with jhils, or marshy lakes,

Biblical Literature, IV Maccabees

2005-03-04T08:18:00.000-08:00

Another Jewish Hellenistic work combining history and philosophy is The Fourth Book of Maccabees. The theme of the book, reflecting the views of the Greek Stoics, is “whether the Inspired Reason is supreme ruler over the passions.” This thesis is demonstrated by the martyrdom of the elderly scribe Eleazar and the unnamed seven brothers and their mother, taken from

Alexander

2005-03-03T08:31:00.000-08:00

The third son of Karadjordje (Karageorge, or Karaðorðe), who had led the movement to win Serb autonomy from the Ottoman Turks (1804–13), Alexander lived in exile until 1842, when the Skupština (Serb parliament) elected him prince of Serbia. Assuming the throne despite Russian

Priesthood, Hinduism

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

In Vedic India, the early period of Hinduism, when the priestly caste (Brahman, or Brahmana) was vested in a particular tribe or special class, it occupied the primary place of importance in the segmentation of Hindu society. The king was subordinate in some respects to the Brahmans, though at one time both sometimes were chosen from the Ksatriya, or warrior caste. Nevertheless,

France, History Of, France in the later Middle Ages, 11801490

2005-03-02T15:35:00.000-08:00

Georges Duby and Robert Mandrou, A History of French Civilization (1964; originally published in French, 1958), provides a good survey, stressing social history. Appropriate volumes from the older source, Ernest Lavisse (ed.), Histoire de France depuis les origines jusqu'à la révolution, 9 vol. (1900–11), remain useful for this period. Territorial evolution is explored in Léon Mirot, Manuel de géographie historique de la France, 2nd ed., rev. by Albert Mirot, 2 vol. (1947–50, reprinted in 1 vol., 1979). Léopold Genicot, Le XIIIe Siècle européen, 2nd rev. ed. (1984), is a scholarly general review. Accounts of the 14th century are offered in Édouard Perroy, The Hundred Years War (1951, reissued 1965; originally published in French, 1945); and Peter S. Lewis, Later Medieval France (1968). Jacques Heers, L'Occident aux XIVe et XVe siècles: aspects économiques et sociaux, 4th ed. (1973), offers a broader chronological perspective. Individual reigns are studied in John W. Baldwin, The Government of Philip Augustus: Foundations of French Royal Power in the Middle Ages (1986); William Chester Jordan, Louis IX and the Challenge of the Crusade: A Study in Rulership (1979); and Joseph Reese Strayer, The Administration of Normandy Under Saint Louis (1932, reprinted 1971). André Artonne, Le Mouvement de 1314 et les chartes provinciales de 1315 (1912), deals with an important constitutional crisis. Joseph R. Strayer and Charles H. Taylor, Studies in Early French Taxation (1939, reprinted 1972), examines taxation and consultation under the later Capetians; later royal finance is studied in Maurice Rey, Le Domaine du roi et les finances extraordinaires sous Charles VI, 1388–1413 (1965), and Les Finances royales sous Charles VI: les causes du déficit, 1388–1413 (1965). For economy and society, see Georges Duby, Rural Economy and Country Life in the Medieval West (1968, reprinted 1976; originally published in French, 1962); and Guy Fourquin, Les Campagnes de la région parisienne à la fin du Moyen Âge: du milieu du XIIIe au début du XVIe siècle (1964). Social unrest is discussed in Michel Mollat and Philippe Wolff, The Popular Revolutions of the Late Middle Ages (1973; originally published in French, 1970). Charles Petit-Dutaillis, The French Communes in the Middle Ages (1978; originally published in French, 1947), remains the standard account on the cities and towns. The legal system is explored in Bernard Guenée, Tribunaux et gens de justice dans le bailliage de Senlis à la fin du Moyen Âge (1963).

Aromatic Compound

2005-03-02T06:54:00.000-08:00

Any of a large class of chemical compounds whose molecular structure includes one or more planar rings of atoms joined by covalent bonds of two different kinds. The term aromatic was first applied about 1860 to a group of hydrocarbons isolated from coal tar and distinguished by their odours, which are much stronger than those of other groups of hydrocarbons; in chemistry,

Aiken, Howard Hathaway

2005-03-01T20:47:00.000-08:00

Aiken did engineering work while he attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison. After completing his doctorate at Harvard University in 1939, he remained there for a short period to teach before undertaking war work for the U.S.

Seylac

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

Also called Zeila, town and port, extreme northwest Somalia, on the Gulf of Aden. From the 9th century to the end of the 19th, it was the most important Arab settlement on the Somali coast, serving as the centre for trade between the Christian kingdom of Ethiopia and Muslim Arabia. The trade then consisted of ivory, slaves, skins, and incense from Ethiopia and the interior, which were exchanged

Monashee Mountains

2005-02-28T21:38:00.000-08:00

Southwesternmost range of the Columbia Mountain system, in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, extending for 200 miles (320 km) north from the Washington (U.S.) boundary between the Interior Plateau (west) and the Selkirk Trench (east), in which flows the Columbia River. Originally known as the Gold Range (a name now restricted to the narrow easternmost ridge), the mountains

Storm Petrel

2005-02-28T14:57:00.000-08:00

Any member of about 20 species of seabirds constituting the family Hydrobatidae, or sometimes considered as Oceanitidae (order Procellariiformes). Ranging in length from about 13 to 25 centimetres (5 1/2 to 10 inches), all are dark gray or brown, sometimes lighter below, and often with a white rump. The wings are shorter than those of most other procellariiforms and are rounded at

China, The Chinese Communist Party

2005-02-27T23:39:00.000-08:00

The CCP grew directly from the May Fourth Movement. Its leaders and early members were professors and students who came to believe that China needed a social revolution and who began to see Soviet Russia as a model. Chinese students in Japan and France had earlier studied socialist doctrines and the ideas of Karl Marx, but the Russian Revolution of 1917 stimulated a fresh

Ouvéa Island

2005-02-26T13:28:00.000-08:00

French Île Uvéa , also called Urea or Uea northernmost of the Loyalty Islands, an island group within the French overseas territory of New Caledonia, southwestern Pacific Ocean. Ouvéa is a crescent-shaped atoll, 30 miles (50 km) long and 4.5 miles (7 km) wide, with a total area of 51 square miles (132 square km). The most fertile of the group, it is wooded and exports copra. Faiaué (Fayaoué), on the southeast coast, is the chief village and

Adangme

2005-02-25T05:06:00.000-08:00

The chief Adangme occupation is farming, based on the huza system, in which a tract of land is purchased

China, The Chinese Communist Party

2005-02-25T04:59:00.000-08:00

French Cour internationale de Justice, byname World Court the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). The idea for the creation of an international court to arbitrate international disputes first arose during the various conferences that produced the Hague Conventions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The body subsequently established, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, was the precursor of the Permanent

Stakman, Elvin Charles

2005-02-25T03:14:00.000-08:00

Stakman received his B.A. (1906), M.A. (1910), and Ph.D. (1913) from the University of Minnesota. In 1909 he became instructor in the newly established department of plant pathology, and in 1940 he became

Evans, Rowland

2005-02-24T19:32:00.000-08:00

American journalist (b. April 28, 1921, Whitemarsh, Pa.—d. March 23, 2001, Washington, D.C.), advocated conservative causes as a prominent newspaper columnist and television host. With journalist Robert Novak, Evans published a syndicated column, called “Inside Report,” from 1963 to 1993. From 1980 the pair served as cohosts of Cable News Network's political talk show Evans & Novak, which was renamed Evans,

John (iv)

2005-02-24T15:55:00.000-08:00

At first, John of Montfort had recognized John III's designation of Charles of Blois (nephew of King Philip VI of France) as the successor; but then John of Montfort reneged, had himself crowned at a convocation of bishops and lords at Nantes,

Armillary Sphere

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

Early astronomical device for representing the great circles of the heavens, including in the most elaborate instruments the horizon, meridian, Equator, tropics, polar circles, and an ecliptic hoop. The sphere is a skeleton celestial globe, with circles divided into degrees for angular measurement. In the 17th and 18th centuries such

John

2005-02-23T06:28:00.000-08:00

Byname John Lackland, French Jean Sans Terre king of England from 1199 to 1216. In a war with the French king Philip II, he lost Normandy and almost all his other possessions in France. In England, after a revolt of the barons, he was forced to seal the Magna Carta (1215).

Abu Bakr

2005-02-22T19:13:00.000-08:00

Of a minor clan of the ruling merchant tribe of Quraysh at Mecca, Abu Bakr purportedly was the first male convert to Islam, but this view is doubted by a majority of Muslim historians. Abu Bakr's prominence

Orangeburg

2005-02-22T17:13:00.000-08:00

Wage And Salary

2005-02-22T00:26:00.000-08:00

Karl Marx accepted Ricardo's labour theory of value, but he subscribed to a subsistence theory of wages for a different reason than that given by the classical economists. In Marx's mind, it was not the pressure of population that drove wages to the subsistence level but rather the existence of a large army of unemployed, which he blamed on the capitalists. He stated

Cumberland House

2005-02-21T06:05:00.000-08:00

Unincorporated settlement and historic site on the south shore of Cumberland Lake (formerly Pine Island Lake, part of the Saskatchewan River system), eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It lies near the Manitoba boundary, 85 miles (137 km) northeast of Nipawin. The house, built in 1774 by Samuel Hearne of the Hudson's Bay Company, was the company's first major inland trading post and the

Fish Oil

2005-02-20T18:01:00.000-08:00

Fatty oil from the bodies of fishes, used in the manufacture of many products, such as margarine, cooking oil, cosmetics, caulking compounds, paints, industrial coatings, lubricants, water repellents, soaps, and candles. It is also used in the tanning of leather, the manufacture of rubber, and the production of chemicals used for making synthetic wax. Anchovy, menhaden,

Scylax Of Caryanda

2005-02-20T11:17:00.000-08:00

It is known from Herodotus that Scylax was sent by the Persian king Darius I (in about 515 BC) to explore the course of the Indus River and that he returned by sea after two and a half years to the Isthmus of Heroonpolis (Suez). References in ancient authorities

Polenta

2005-02-20T04:35:00.000-08:00

A porridge or mush usually made of ground corn (maize) cooked in salted water. Cheese and butter or oil are often added. Polenta can be eaten hot or cold as a porridge; or it can be cooled until firm, cut into shapes, and then baked, toasted, panfried, or deep-fried. It is a traditional food of northern Italy, especially the Piedmont region, and of Corsica, where chestnut flour is

Armenian Massacres

2005-02-19T10:49:00.000-08:00

It is estimated that nearly two million Christian Armenians lived in the Ottoman Empire by the late 1880s. The Armenians in the eastern provinces at that time, encouraged by Russia, began promoting Armenian territorial

Fishery

2005-02-18T08:46:00.000-08:00

Harvesting of fish, shellfish, and sea mammals as a commercial enterprise, or the location or season of commercial fishing. Fisheries range from small family operations relying on traditional fishing methods to large corporations using large fleets and the most advanced technology. Small-scale fishery is ordinarily conducted in waters relatively close to

Basho

2005-02-18T05:35:00.000-08:00

Interested in haiku from an early age, Basho at first put his literary interests aside and entered the service of a local feudal lord. After

Swamp

2005-02-18T00:53:00.000-08:00

Wetland ecosystem characterized by mineral soils with poor drainage and by plant life dominated by trees. The latter characteristic distinguishes a swamp from a marsh, in which plant life consists largely of grasses. Swamps are found throughout the world. They exist in areas with poor drainage and sufficient water supply to keep the ground waterlogged, and they

Utkal Plains

2005-02-17T22:21:00.000-08:00

Coastal plains in eastern Orissa state, eastern India. Extending over approximately 16,000 sq mi (41,400 sq km) and fronting the Bay of Bengal on the east, the plains are bounded by the Tamilnad Plain on the south, the Lower Ganges Plain on the north, and the Eastern Ghats on the west. The Utkal Plains are coastal lowlands consisting chiefly of Mahanadi Delta deposits and marine sediments,

Lima Barreto, Afonso Henriques De

2005-02-16T09:57:00.000-08:00

Lima Barreto was an active journalist throughout his adult life. His often vitriolic social analysis and criticism are more direct and less

Use Tax

2005-02-16T05:26:00.000-08:00

Levy on the use or possession of a commodity. Under the principle that the taxpayer should pay according to the benefits received from public services, a use tax is often levied on the user of a service, so that costs of the service are not borne by the general taxpayer. Common examples are motor-vehicle and boat licenses and user fees for airports or harbour-docking

Religion

2005-02-15T05:08:00.000-08:00

Ecumenical and interfaith relations suffered some serious blows during 1997, although the year was also marked by a historic agreement between four Protestant denominations. Some churches dealt with dissidents in their ranks through excommunication. Church-state

Yaizu

2005-02-14T21:52:00.000-08:00

City, Shizuoka ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, on the west coast of Suruga Bay. Since the Tokugawa era (1603–1867), Yaizu has been one of the important coastal fishing ports for tuna, bonito, skipjack, and mackerel. Canning and freezing plants operate there. Deep-sea fishing developed in the early 20th century. Pop. (1989 est.) 111,728.

Cheng Ch'eng-kung

2005-02-14T21:22:00.000-08:00

Earl Swisher, “Chêng Ch'êng-kung,” in A.W. Hummel (ed.), Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period, 1644–1912, vol. 1, pp. 108–110 (1943, reprinted 1970), is a very brief but reliable biography. See also the articles on Cheng Ching and Cheng Chih-lung. W. Campbell, Formosa Under the Dutch (1903), is still the most detailed English-language account of the Cheng regime on Taiwan.

Paragliding

2005-02-14T18:21:00.000-08:00

The pilot is

Lungwebungu River

2005-02-13T16:08:00.000-08:00

Largest headwater tributary of the Zambezi River, in southwest central Africa. It rises in the central plateau of Angola as the Lungué-Bungo River to flow east and southeast into Zambia. There it joins the Zambezi 65 miles (105 km) north of Mongu, after a course of 400 miles (645 km).

Addison

2005-02-12T08:04:00.000-08:00

County, western Vermont, U.S. It is bounded by Lake Champlain (constituting the border with New York state) to the west and the Green Mountains to the east. Lowlands in the west give way to foothills and mountains in the east. The county is drained by Otter Creek, the state's longest stream, and its tributaries, the Lemon Fair, New Haven, Leicester, and Middlebury rivers. Other

Vitamin A

2005-02-11T23:44:00.000-08:00

A fat-soluble alcohol, most abundant in fish and especially in fish-liver oils. Vitamin A is also found in butter and in the liver fat of various animals. Vitamin A is not present in plants, but many vegetables and fruits contain one or more of a class of pigments that can be converted to vitamin A in the body; of these pigments, b-carotene (provitamin A) is an excellent source

Bottom Water

2005-02-11T22:40:00.000-08:00

Dense, lowermost layer of ocean water that can be distinguished clearly from overlying waters by its characteristic temperature, salinity, and oxygen content. Most bottom waters of the South Pacific, southern Indian Ocean, South Atlantic, and portions of the North Atlantic are formed near Antarctica during the southern winter. The partial freezing of seawater

Peradeniya Botanic Gardens

2005-02-10T16:09:00.000-08:00

Botanical garden in Peradeniya, near Kandy, Sri Lanka, noted for its rich and varied collections of tropical woody plants. Occupying 59 hectares (146 acres), it has about 4,000 species of plants. The most important specimens of the garden include palms, some of which are planted in impressive avenues. Significant, too, are the collections of orchids, gymnosperms, and flowering

Rawson

2005-02-10T05:16:00.000-08:00

Town, capital of Chubut province, southern Argentina. It lies along the Chubut River near the latter's mouth, about 5 miles (8 km) upriver from the Atlantic coast. It was founded in 1865 by Welsh settlers and named after Guillermo Rawson (1821–90), then Argentine minister of the interior. Although the port has declined in importance, there are small installations for fisheries. A beach

Re

2005-02-09T16:19:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ra, or Phra, in ancient Egyptian religion, god of the sun and creator god. He was believed to travel across the sky in his solar bark and, during the night, to make his passage in another bark through the underworld, where, in order to be born again for the new day, he had to vanquish the evil serpent Apopis (Apepi). As the creator, he rose from the ocean of chaos on the primeval hill, creating

Chia-i

2005-02-09T08:38:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Chiayi, hsien (county), west-central Taiwan, with an area of 734 square miles (1,902 square km). It is bounded by the hsien of Yün-lin and Nan-t'ou (north), Kao-hsiung (east), and T'ai-nan (south) and by the Taiwan Strait (west). The A-li Mountains dominate the eastern region, and there are coastal plains in the west. Paddy rice, sugarcane, peanuts (groundnuts), corn (maize), jute, bananas, pineapples, and citrus fruits

Gandhi, Rajiv

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

Rajiv and his younger brother Sanjay (1946–80), the sons of Feroze and Indira Gandhi, were educated at the prestigious Doon School in Dehradun. Rajiv then

Hour

2005-02-08T14:29:00.000-08:00

In timekeeping, 3,600 seconds, now defined in terms of radiation emitted from atoms of the element cesium under specified conditions. The hour was formerly defined as the 24th part of a mean solar day—i.e., of the average period of rotation of the Earth relative to the Sun. The hour of sidereal time, 1/24 of the Earth's rotation period relative to the stars, was about 10 seconds shorter than

Yogyakarta

2005-02-08T06:21:00.000-08:00

Most of the western half of the special district comprises coastal plains, as much as 15 miles (24 km) wide, consisting of lava and ash soils that are

Kiangsi, The people

2005-02-07T17:42:00.000-08:00

The language

Belawan

2005-02-06T17:43:00.000-08:00

Also called Belewan Deli the most important port in northeastern Sumatra, Indonesia, located on Belawan Island at the estuary of the Deli and Belawan rivers in Sumatera Utara provinsi (“province”). The port was originally dredged and constructed by the Dutch in the first two decades of the 20th century. It exports tobacco, rubber, tea, resin, copra, spices, palm oil, and sisal, and it imports foodstuffs

Furniture, The American colonies

2005-02-06T15:39:00.000-08:00

Information in inventories and

Dehydration

2005-02-05T17:24:00.000-08:00

Dehydration may be caused by restriction of water

LowLeaf

Sokol

Tereshkova, Valentina

Medicine, History Of, Hellenistic and Roman medicine

Dalhousie, James Andrew Broun Ramsay, Marquess And 10th Earl Of

Girard, Stephen

Liliaceae

U2

Argentina, Military government, 196673

Latin-american Literature, Recent trends

Quantitative Chemical Analysis

Hippogriff

Hall, Charles Martin

Deva

Sucellus

Ubs Ag

Furniture, Clocks

Acciaiuoli, Niccolò

Arung Singkang

Cooper, Cynthia

Armenian Rite

Norbert Of Xanten, Saint

Violales

Van Dyck, Sir Anthony

Olympic Games, Oslo, Norway, 1952

Fuller, R(ichard) Buckminster

Side

Economic Indicator

United States, Bank Of The

Term

Ram Allah

Force

Kresge, S.s.

Saint Kitts And Nevis

France, History Of, The juridical revolution

Masaryk, Tomá (garrigue)

Radiation

Yambol

New Castle

Equatorial Guinea

Semiconductor Device

Tung-t'ing Lake

Thompson, J(ohn) Lee

Vigfússon, Gudbrandur

Philip

Bolívar, Simón

Jackson, Andrew

Koforidua

Metastable State

Bara Banki

Biblical Literature, IV Maccabees

Alexander

Priesthood, Hinduism

France, History Of, France in the later Middle Ages, 11801490

Aromatic Compound

Aiken, Howard Hathaway

Seylac

Monashee Mountains

Storm Petrel

China, The Chinese Communist Party

Ouvéa Island

Adangme

China, The Chinese Communist Party

Stakman, Elvin Charles

Evans, Rowland

John (iv)

Armillary Sphere

John

Abu Bakr

Orangeburg

Wage And Salary

Cumberland House

Fish Oil

Scylax Of Caryanda

Polenta

Armenian Massacres

Fishery

Basho

Swamp

Utkal Plains

Argentina, Military government, 196673

Masaryk, Tomá (garrigue)

France, History Of, France in the later Middle Ages, 11801490