BitterHook

Computers, Von Neumann's Preliminary Discussion

2005-04-05T22:20:00.000-07:00

But the design of the modern, or classical, computer did not fully crystallize until the publication of a 1946 paper by Arthur Burks, Herman Goldstine, and John von Neumann titled “Preliminary Discussion of the Logical Design of an Electronic Computing Instrument.” Although many researchers contributed ideas directly or indirectly to the paper, von Neumann was the principal

Lie, Trygve (halvdan)

2005-04-04T02:26:00.000-07:00

Educated at the University of Kristiania (Oslo), Lie practiced law and became a leading member of the Norwegian Labour Party

Kermes

2005-04-03T22:20:00.000-07:00

Either the scale insect (Kermes ilicis) or the bright-red dye obtained from the dried bodies of these insects. The dye was often part of the tribute paid to conquering Roman armies, and, in the Middle Ages, landlords accepted it as payment for rent. The oldest known red dyestuff, resembling but inferior to cochineal, it was used by the early Egyptians.

Chibchan Languages

2005-04-03T15:08:00.000-07:00

A group of South American Indian languages that were spoken before AD 1500 in the area now comprising Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, western Colombia, and Ecuador. A now extinct Chibchan language sometimes known as Muisca was the language of a powerful Indian empire with its centre near Bogotá. Important present-day Chibchan languages include Guaymí and Move in Panama,

Scylitzes, John

2005-04-01T08:16:00.000-08:00

Scylitzes was a high officeholder at the Byzantine court. He may have written a legal work for Alexius I in 1092. In his history he drew on the work of others for the early part and then largely relied on sources no longer extant and on contemporary oral tradition. In some manuscripts

Multinational And Regional Organizations

2005-04-01T01:42:00.000-08:00

Severely challenged by the social and political unrest produced by the Asian economic crisis, foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN, whose members included Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar [Burma], the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) held their annual meeting in Manila on July 24, 1998. ASEAN's reluctance to "interfere"

Infection, Mumps vaccine

2005-03-30T07:01:00.000-08:00

Mumps is generally a self-limited disease in children but occasionally is moderately debilitating. A live attenuated mumps vaccine is available alone or in combination with measles and German measles vaccines. No serious adverse reactions have been reported following mumps immunization.

Earth, Magnetic reconnection

2005-03-29T02:29:00.000-08:00

The observed dependence of geomagnetic activity on the orientation of the IMF is explained by most researchers as a consequence of magnetic reconnection. In reconnection, two oppositely directed magnetic fields are brought together by flowing plasmas at an x-type neutral line. Far from the neutral line the magnetic field is frozen in the plasma; however, near

Amyntas Iii (or Ii)

2005-03-28T17:04:00.000-08:00

Amyntas came to the throne during the disorders that plagued Macedonia after the death of the powerful king Archelaus (ruled c. 413–399). Amyntas soon had to fight off attacks by the Illyrians

Norske Folkeeventyr

2005-03-28T14:55:00.000-08:00

(1841–44; Eng. trans. Norwegian Folktales), collections of folktales and legends, by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe, that had survived and developed from Old Norse pagan mythology in the mountain and fjord dialects of Norway. The authors, stimulated by a revival of interest in Norway's past, gathered the tales of ghosts, fairies, gods, and mountain trolls

Caacupé

2005-03-27T23:18:00.000-08:00

City, central Paraguay. The name Caacupé originated from the Guaraní word caaguycupé, meaning “the other side of the mountain.” Founded in 1770, the city nestles in a valley of the Cordillera (mountains) de los Altos. Although oranges, tobacco, and sugarcane grown in the hinterland are processed in the city, Caacupé is best known as a resort and pilgrimage centre. On December

Wellingborough

2005-03-26T11:58:00.000-08:00

Town and borough (district), administrative and historic county of Northamptonshire, England, situated east of Northampton along the River Nene. Wellingborough grew as a market town in the Middle Ages. After a fire in 1738, it was rebuilt on its present hill site. Wellingborough School, founded in 1595, was endowed with revenues from a suppressed medieval guild. Wellingborough's

Race, The Germanic myth and English constructions of an Anglo-Saxon past

2005-03-26T09:32:00.000-08:00

In England, from the time that Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic church and Protestant sects emerged on the horizon, historians, politicians, and philosophers had been wrestling with the creation of a new English identity. Indeed, European powers were soon to be caught up in the ethnic rivalries, extreme chauvinism, and intolerance out of which all the nation-states

Italy, Famine, war, and plague (134080)

2005-03-25T08:48:00.000-08:00

Italy's thriving economy was shortly to meet severe challenges. Among these, first, were famines, which affected most of Italy in the years 1339–40, 1346–47, 1352–53, and 1374–75, and to these catastrophes were added a general expansion and intensification of war. The 13th century saw the diffusion of the crossbow, whose bolt far surpassed the arrow of the longbow in its power to penetrate. The crossbow

Kocaeli

2005-03-24T08:01:00.000-08:00

Il (province), of northwestern Turkey, with an area of 1,428 sq mi (3,698 sq km), bounded on the north by the Black Sea and on the west by the Sea of Marmara. It is drained by the lower course of the Sakarya River. It was once part of the kingdom of Bithynia (3rd century BC), and Hannibal was buried there (at modern Gebze) in 183 BC. The area was taken from the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Turks in the 14th century.

Lippi, Fra Filippo

2005-03-24T01:26:00.000-08:00

Florentine painter in the second generation of Renaissance artists. While exhibiting the strong influence of Masaccio (e.g., in “Madonna and Child,” 1437) and Fra Angelico (e.g., in “Coronation of the Virgin,” c. 1445), his work achieves a distinctive clarity of expression. Legend and tradition surround his unconventional life.

Bülow, Hans (guido), Freiherr Von (baron Of)

2005-03-23T13:00:00.000-08:00

As a child Bülow studied piano under Friedrich Wieck, father

Fyffe, Will

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

As a child Fyffe toured Scotland in his father's stock company; he made his debut as Little Willie in East Lynne. A precocious actor, he played the aged Polonius in Shakespeare's Hamlet when only 15, after which

Argentina

2005-03-21T20:25:00.000-08:00

Argentina's varied geography can be grouped into four major regions: the Andes, the North, the Pampas, and Patagonia. The Andean region extends some 2,300 miles (3,700 km) along the western edge of the country from Bolivia to southern Patagonia, forming most of the natural boundary with Chile. It is commonly subdivided into two parts: the Northwest and the Patagonian Andes, the latter

Domestic Shorthair

2005-03-21T14:34:00.000-08:00

Also called British Shorthair breed of domestic cat often referred to as a common, or alley, cat; a good show animal, however, is purebred and pedigreed and has been carefully bred to conform to a set standard of appearance. The domestic shorthair is required by show standards to be a sturdily built cat with strong-boned legs and a round head with round eyes and ears that are rounded at the tips. The coat

Valencia, Guillermo

2005-03-21T04:03:00.000-08:00

Valencia, a member of a prominent family, received a humanistic classical education and read widely in several languages, developing the cosmopolitan outlook and balanced temperament that were reflected in both his political

Ussher, James

2005-03-20T19:14:00.000-08:00

Ordained priest in 1601, Ussher became professor (1607–21) and twice vice-chancellor (1614, 1617) at the university where he had received his B.A., Trinity College, Dublin.

Laima

2005-03-20T11:20:00.000-08:00

Also called Laima-dalia (from Lithuanian laime, “happiness,” “luck”), in Baltic religion, the goddess of fate, generally associated with the linden tree. Together with Dievs, the sky, and Saule, the sun, Laima determines the length and fortune of human life. In the course of each life she helps arrange marriages, oversees weddings, protects pregnant women, and appears at childbirth to pronounce each

Avon

2005-03-19T21:26:00.000-08:00

Region and former administrative county, southwestern England, bordering the Severn estuary and the Bristol Channel. The region comprises parts of the historic counties of Gloucestershire and Somerset to the north and south, respectively. It is divided administratively into the following unitary authorities: Bath and North East Somerset, the city of Bristol

Europe, History Of, The revolutions of 1848

2005-03-19T13:31:00.000-08:00

France's monarchy had turned toward greater repression in the 1840s, spurring new liberal agitation. Artisan concerns also had quickened, against their loss of status and shifts in work conditions following from rapid economic change; a major recession in 1846–47 added to popular unrest. Some socialist ideas spread among artisan leaders, who urged a regime in which workers

Husayn Shah 'ala' Ad-din

2005-03-18T23:17:00.000-08:00

The details of 'Ala' ad-Din's early life are obscured by myth and legend. His father is said to have been a direct descendant of the prophet Muhammad and an Arab who emigrated to Bengal. After completing his studies,

Fremont

2005-03-18T11:38:00.000-08:00

City, Alameda county, California, U.S., on the southeast shore of San Francisco Bay (there spanned by the Dumbarton Bridge), on the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct. Site of Mission San José de Guadalupe (founded in 1797), the city, named for John C. Frémont, the Western explorer, was formed in 1956 through the amalgamation of five communities—Centerville, Irvington, Niles, Mission San José, and Warm

Buyantu

2005-03-17T07:46:00.000-08:00

Also known as Ayurparibhadra , Chinese temple name (yüan) Jen Tsung , Pinyin romanization Yuan Renzong (reigned 1311–20), Mongol emperor of the Yüan dynasty of China, who was a patron of literature. He distributed offices more equitably between Chinese and Mongols than had his predecessors, and during his reign commercial ties with Europe increased.

United Arab Emirates

2005-03-17T03:00:00.000-08:00

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the dominant tribal faction was the Al-Qawasim (singular: Qasimi), whose ships controlled the maritime commerce (notably fishing and pearling) concentrated in

Permafrost, Effects of solar radiation, vegetation, and snow cover

2005-03-16T21:04:00.000-08:00

Inasmuch as south-facing hillslopes receive more incoming solar energy per unit area than other slopes, they are warmer; permafrost is generally absent on these in the discontinuous zone and is thinner in the continuous zone. The main role of vegetation in permafrost areas is to shield perennially frozen ground from solar energy. Vegetation is an excellent insulating

Aliger, Margarita Iosifovna

2005-03-16T17:38:00.000-08:00

Born into a poor family, Aliger was a committed communist from an early age. She studied writing in Moscow from 1934 to 1937 at what later became the Gorky Literary Institute. In the late 1930s she wrote prose sketches and verse diaries of her

Azores

2005-03-16T14:37:00.000-08:00

Portuguese in full Arquipélago Dos Açores, archipelago composed of nine major islands, in the North Atlantic Ocean; they lie roughly 1,000 miles (1,600 km) west of Portugal and are a part of that nation. The islands, which have a total land area of 868 square miles (2,247 square km), are divided into three widely separated groups: the eastern group, consisting of São Miguel, Santa Maria, and the Formigas islets; the central, of Faial, Pico,

United Arab Emirates

2005-03-16T01:34:00.000-08:00

Extinct birds found as fossils in Late Cretaceous Period deposits dating from about 120 million to 65 million years ago; this bird is known mostly from the Great Plains region of the United States, but some remains have been found as far north as Alaska. Hesperornis was primitive in that teeth were present in the lower jaw; the rear portion of the upper jaw also

Brace, Charles Loring

2005-03-14T20:01:00.000-08:00

The descendant of a Hartford family long prominent in religious and political life, Brace was educated at Yale University and at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Asked

Lira

2005-03-14T11:27:00.000-08:00

The word lira, a misapplication

Wickerwork

2005-03-13T21:39:00.000-08:00

Furniture made of real or simulated osier (rods or twigs) plaited into appropriate shapes. The Egyptians made furniture of this kind in the 3rd millennium BC, and it has always flourished in those regions in which there is a plentiful supply of riverside vegetation. A well-known example of Roman wickerwork is the chair on a 3rd-century-AD relief in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum

Brahmaputra River, Plant and animal life

2005-03-13T01:10:00.000-08:00

The most notable

Indian Ocean, Surface currents

2005-03-12T13:37:00.000-08:00

Ocean surface circulation is wind-driven. In the monsoon zone, surface circulation reverses every half year and features two opposing gyres (i.e., semi-closed current systems exhibiting spiral motion) that are separated by the Indian subcontinent. During the northeast monsoon, a weak counterclockwise gyre develops in the Arabian Sea, and a strong clockwise gyre

Iberville

2005-03-11T20:05:00.000-08:00

Town, Montérégie region, southern Quebec province, Canada, on the east bank of the Richelieu River, opposite Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Originally called Christieville, it was renamed in 1854 for the French explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville. The town is a rail and highway hub and a residential district of Saint-Jean. Economic activities include woodworking, dairying,

Uccello, Paolo

2005-03-11T06:40:00.000-08:00

By the time Paolo was 10 years old he was already an apprentice in the workshop of the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti, who was then at work on what became one of the masterpieces of Renaissance art—the bronze doors for the Baptistery of the Florence cathedral, which consist of 28 panels illustrating New Testament scenes of the life of Christ. In 1414 Uccello joined the confraternity

Adapazari

2005-03-11T01:40:00.000-08:00

City, northwestern Turkey, lying in a fertile plain west of the Sakarya River. It is situated along the old military road from Istanbul. The region came under Ottoman control in the early 14th century, and the city acquired its present name at the end of the 18th century. An agricultural and industrial centre, Adapazari is connected by a branch line to the main Anatolian railway

Daghur

2005-03-10T19:10:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Daghor , or Dagur , Manchu Dahur , Russian Daur , Chinese (Wade-Giles) Ta-wo-erh , or (Pinyin) Dawoer , or Daur Mongol people living mainly in the northeastern portion of Inner Mongolia autonomous region and western Heilungkiang province of China and estimated to number about 121,000. Their language, once thought to be Tungusic or a mixture of Mongolian and Tungus, is now known to be an archaic Mongolian dialect preserving features found in 13th-century documents. Their own name

Faraday's Law Of Induction

2005-03-10T11:22:00.000-08:00

The phenomenon called electromagnetic induction was first noticed and investigated by Faraday; the law of induction is its quantitative

Armstrong, Henry Edward

2005-03-10T07:47:00.000-08:00

Armstrong studied at the Royal College of Chemistry, where he developed a method of determining organic impurities (sewage) in drinking water, which was used in the sanitary

Loisy, Alfred Firmin

2005-03-09T11:51:00.000-08:00

Loisy trained at the Institut Catholique in Paris, where he was influenced by the historian L.-M.-O. Duchesne,

Mafic Rock

2005-03-08T15:37:00.000-08:00

In geology, igneous rock that is dominated by the silicates pyroxene, amphibole, olivine, and mica. These minerals are high in magnesium and ferric oxides, and their presence gives mafic rock its characteristic dark colour. Mafic rock is commonly contrasted with felsic rock, in which light-coloured minerals predominate. Common mafic rocks include basalt and its

Arts, Islamic, The 'Abbasids

2005-03-08T01:04:00.000-08:00

It was not until the 'Abbasids assumed power in 750, settling in Baghdad, that the golden age of Arabic literature began. The influx of foreign elements added new colour to cultural and literary life. Hellenistic thought and the influence of the ancient cultures of the Near East, for example, contributed to the rapid intellectual growth of the Muslim community. Its members,

Restionales

2005-03-07T06:28:00.000-08:00

Nearly all plants in the group exhibit reduced (simplified) flowers with a one- to three-chambered ovary containing only one pendulous ovule per chamber. There are one to three stamens (male

France, History Of, Alienation and coups

2005-03-07T03:47:00.000-08:00

After the Fructidor coup of 1797 the Directory imprudently resumed the republic's assault on the Roman Catholic religion. Besides prohibiting the outward signs of Catholicism such as the ringing of church bells or the display of crosses, the government revived the Revolutionary calendar. Instituted in 1793, the new calendar featured a 10-day week called the décade, designed

Creativity

2005-03-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

Many creative people show a strong interest in apparent disorder, contradiction, and imbalance; they often seem to consider asymmetry and disorder a challenge. At times creative persons give an impression of psychological imbalance, but immature personality traits may be an extension of a generalized receptivity to a wider-than-normal range of experience and

Bischof, Werner

2005-03-05T11:35:00.000-08:00

From 1932 to 1936 Bischof attended the Zürich School of Applied Arts, where he studied photography with Hans Finsler. He worked as an advertising and fashion photographer for several years and in 1942 began a

Prichard, H.a.

2005-03-04T21:43:00.000-08:00

Prichard spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford, where he was fellow of Hertford College

Tiel

2005-03-04T20:43:00.000-08:00

Formerly Thiel, gemeente (commune), Gelderland provincie, central Netherlands, on the Waal River, west-southwest of Arnhem. Chartered in 1200, Tiel developed as a medieval port and market town and became a member of the Hanseatic League. The town now has a horticultural school, serves a fruit-growing (cherries, apples, and pears) region, and has some light industries. Pop. (1992 est.) 32,643.

Anatomy

2005-03-04T19:11:00.000-08:00

A field in the biological sciences concerned with the identification and description of the body structures of living things. Gross anatomy involves the study of major body structures by dissection and observation and in its narrowest sense is concerned only with the human body. “Gross anatomy” customarily refers to the study of those body structures large enough

Silicic Acid

2005-03-03T20:59:00.000-08:00

A compound of silicon, oxygen, and hydrogen, regarded as the parent substance from which is derived a large family—the silicates—of minerals, salts, and esters. The acid itself, having the formula Si(OH)4, can be prepared only as an unstable solution in water; its molecules readily condense with one another to form water and polymeric chains, rings, sheets, or three-dimensional

Condé, Louis-henri, 7e Prince De (7th Prince Of), Duc (duke) De Bourbon

2005-03-02T21:18:00.000-08:00

Condé was the son of Louis III de Condé and Mademoiselle de Nantes, an illegitimate daughter of King Louis XIV. After the death of Louis XIV on Sept. 1, 1715, Condé became duc de Bourbon and was appointed head of a council of regency by Philippe II, duc d'Orléans, regent for King Louis XV. Nevertheless,

Lowell, Amy

2005-03-02T20:46:00.000-08:00

Lowell came from a prominent Massachusetts family (her brothers were Abbott Lawrence Lowell, later president of Harvard, and astronomer Percival Lowell). She was educated in private schools and by her mother, and until she was 28 she did little but alternately live

Afghanistan, Mohammad Nader Shah (192933)

2005-03-01T14:39:00.000-08:00

Nader Shah produced a new constitution in 1931 that was modeled on Amanollah's constitution of 1923 but was more conservatively

Eagle Owl

2005-03-01T13:05:00.000-08:00

(Bubo bubo), bird of the family Strigidae (order Strigiformes), characterized by its large size (often 70 centimetres [about 2.3 feet] long), two tufts of feathers on the head (ear tufts), and large orange eyes. The overall coloration is tawny, mottled with brown, lighter below. The eagle owl roosts and breeds within rocky niches and hollow trees. At twilight it perches on a branch while

Gates Of Paradise

2005-02-28T20:36:00.000-08:00

Italian Porta Del Paradiso, the pair of gilded bronze doors (1425–52) designed by the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti for the east entrance of the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Florence. Each wing of the Gates of Paradise contains five rectangular reliefs of scenes from the Old Testament between figurated borders containing statuettes in niches and medallions with busts. The entire surface of the doors

Hou Chi

2005-02-28T06:56:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Hou Ji, in Chinese mythology, Lord of Millet Grains, who was worshiped for the abundant harvests that he graciously provided for his people. The Chinese honoured him not only for past favours but in the hope that devotion to the deity would guarantee continued blessings. An old tradition explained that Hou Chi was miraculously conceived when his childless mother stepped

Belaya River

2005-02-27T18:20:00.000-08:00

River in Bashkortostan republic, west-central Russia. The Belaya is the largest tributary of the Kama River, which is itself an important tributary of the Volga. The Belaya rises in the southern Urals at the foot of Mount Iremel, and after flowing southwestward through a narrow mountain valley, the river turns sharply north and its valley becomes broad and terraced.

Godfree, Kitty

2005-02-27T17:12:00.000-08:00

Godfree lost the 1923 All-England final to Suzanne Lenglen of France, but

Balaton, Lake

2005-02-26T18:48:00.000-08:00

Largest lake of central Europe, located in central Hungary about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Budapest. It has an area of 231 square miles (598 square km) and extends for 48 miles (77 km) along the southern foothills of the Bakony Mountains of Hungary. At it widest point, Lake Balaton measures about 9 miles (14 km) across. Its maximum depth is 37 feet (11 m). The Zala River provides the largest inflow of water.

Bishop's Cap Cactus

2005-02-26T00:56:00.000-08:00

All four species of Astrophytum, which is sometimes regarded as a subgenus of Echinocac

Ant Bear

2005-02-25T16:41:00.000-08:00

Common name sometimes used for the giant anteater and for the aardvark. See anteater; aardvark.

Zamoyski Family

2005-02-24T15:38:00.000-08:00

The family settled in the 15th century at Laznin in the Mazovia area of Poland. Tomasz Lazninski bought an estate there called Zamosc, and his sons Florian (died 1510) and Maciej began to use the name Zamoyski. Florian's grandson Stanislaw was the first member of the family to serve as a

Kamchatka

2005-02-24T14:13:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kamcatka, oblast (province), far eastern Russia. Kamchatka oblast includes the entire Kamchatka Peninsula and the southern end of the Koryak Mountains. It includes the Koryak autonomous okrug (district). The administrative centre is Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (q.v.). The population, averaging only 2.3 persons per square mile (0.9 per square km), consists chiefly of Russian settlers. The

Antarctica, Geologic record

2005-02-24T10:40:00.000-08:00

Raymond J. Adie (ed.), Antarctic Geology (1964), and Antarctic Geology and Geophysics (1972); Campbell Craddock (ed.), Antarctic Geoscience (1982); R.L. Oliver, P.R. James, and J.B. Jago (eds.), Antarctic Earth Science (1983); and M.R.A. Thomson, J.A. Crame, and J.W. Thomson (eds.), Geological Evolution of Antarctica (1991), are records of international symposia describing Earth science research by many nations. J.C. Behrendt and C.R. Bentley, Magnetic and Gravity Maps of the Antarctic (1968); and Campbell Craddock et al., Geologic Maps of Antarctica (1969–70), provide maps and texts, the latter work covering most mountain regions at a 1:1,000,000 scale. Other works on the geology of Antarctica are Edmund Stump (ed.), Geological Investigations in Northern Victoria Land (1986); and W.E. LeMasurier and J.W. Thomson (eds.), Volcanoes of the Antarctic Plate and Southern Oceans (1990). Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, vol. 28 (1975), 35 (1976), and 36 (1977), contain results of drilling by the Glomar Challenger in Antarctic waters. Results of drilling by the JOIDES Resolution are contained in Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program: Scientific Results, especially vol. 113 (1990), from the Weddell Sea, vol. 114 (1991), from subantarctic regions and the Falkland Islands, and vol. 119 (1991), from the Kerguelen Plateau. A.L. Graham and John O. Annexstad, “Antarctic Meteorites,” Antarctic Science, 1(1):3–14 (1989), reviews the findings and origins of meteorites in Antarctica. Many details of Antarctic meteorite investigations are also reported in volumes of the Proceedings of the NIPR Symposium on Antarctic Meteorites (annual), published by the National Institute of Polar Research.

Tibet, Drainage and soils

2005-02-22T09:44:00.000-08:00

The Plateau of Tibet is a prime source of water for Central Asia. The Indus River, known in Tibet as the Shih-ch'üan Ho (in Tibetan, Sênggê Zangbo: “Out of the Lion's Mouth”), has its source in western Tibet near Mount Kailas, a mountain sacred to Buddhists and Hindus; it then flows westward across Kashmir to Pakistan. Three other rivers also begin in the west. The Hsiang-ch'üan River

Koenig, Marie-pierre (-joseph-françois)

2005-02-22T08:08:00.000-08:00

After active duty during World War I and later in North Africa, Koenig campaigned in Norway and France during the early part of World War II. Evacuated to England in June 1940, he joined de Gaulle's movement and rose

Mannar Island

2005-02-21T11:32:00.000-08:00

Dry, barren island that lies at the eastern end of Adam's Bridge, a chain of shoals off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. Mannar Island has an area of about 50 square miles (130 square km). Fishing is economically important. The small port of Mannar is on the southeastern shore. Pop. (1990 est.) 132,000.

Alliluyeva, Svetlana

2005-02-21T04:09:00.000-08:00

Alliluyeva was Stalin's only daughter and a product of his second marriage with Nadezhda Alliluyeva, who committed suicide in 1932. Alliluyeva graduated from Moscow University (1949), where she taught Soviet literature and

Wage And Salary

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

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

Wolfsburg

2005-02-19T15:28:00.000-08:00

The village of Hesslingen, dating from about 700, was the first settlement near the site of Wolfsburg; the

Bakony Mountains

2005-02-19T14:36:00.000-08:00

Mountain range in western Hungary, covering about 1,500 square miles (4,000 square km) between Lake Balaton and the Little Alfold and running southwest-northeast for 70 miles (110 km) from the Zala River. The range forms the major component of the highlands of Dunántúl, or Transdanubia (the Bakony, Vértes, Gerecse, Budai and Pilis, and Visegrád mountains). The Keszthely and Balatoni

France, History Of, Commitment to modernization

2005-02-19T01:31:00.000-08:00

The great peculiarity of the ancien régime, however, was that traditionalism, though deeply felt, was only one-half of a complicated institutional diptych. When first conceived by Cardinal Richelieu between 1624 and 1642 and developed after him by Mazarin, Colbert, Louvois, and the Sun King, the ancien régime was also committed to a program of modernization. Guided by a modern

Ten Days Of Penitence

2005-02-18T17:44:00.000-08:00

Hebrew Aseret Yeme Teshuva, the first 10 days of the Jewish religious year. See yamim nora'im.

P'eng-hu Islands

2005-02-17T21:25:00.000-08:00

P'eng-hu also spelled Penghu , Chinese (Wade-Giles) P'eng-hu Ch'ün-tao , or P'eng-hu Lieh-tao conventional Pescadores archipelago and hsien (county) of Taiwan, consisting of about 64 small islands, approximately 30 miles (50 km) west of the coast of Taiwan, from which it is separated by the P'eng-hu Channel. Of volcanic origin, many of the islands consist of weathered basalt, and they are surrounded by coral reefs. The islands are low-lying, most rising only about 100–130 feet (30–40 m) above sea level. The highest

Action Painting

2005-02-17T02:28:00.000-08:00

Direct, instinctual, and highly dynamic kind of art that involves the spontaneous application of vigorous, sweeping brushstrokes and the chance effects of dripping and spilling paint onto the canvas. The term was coined by the American art critic Harold Rosenberg to characterize the work of a group of American Abstract Expressionists (see Abstract

Beverly Hills

2005-02-17T00:14:00.000-08:00

City, western Los Angeles county, California, U.S., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles. The site originated in the 19th century as the Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas. In 1906 it was organized as a residential area called Beverly; in 1912 the Beverly Hills Hotel was erected, and in 1914, with a population of about 500, the town was incorporated. In 1919 the film stars Mary Pickford and Douglas

Mercury

2005-02-15T17:30:00.000-08:00

Latin Mercurius, in Roman religion, god of merchandise and merchants, commonly identified with the Greek Hermes (q.v.), fleet-footed messenger of the gods. His worship was introduced early, and his temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome was dedicated in 495 BC. There he was associated with the goddess Maia, who became identified as his mother through her association with the Greek Maia, mother of

Davidson, Bruce

2005-02-15T16:23:00.000-08:00

Davidson studied photography at the Rochester (New York) Institute of Technology (1951–54) and the School of Design of Yale University (1955) in New Haven, Connecticut. He worked for Life magazine for

Nirmala

2005-02-15T04:28:00.000-08:00

An ascetic order of the Sikhs, a religious group of India. Nirmalas (“those without blemish”) at first wore only white garments but later adopted the ochre robes worn by Hindu ascetics and shared some other practices, such as birth and death rites, with Hindus. Like the Udasi order of Sikh ascetics the Nirmalas carried on missionary activities for the Sikhs and served as

Black Sea

2005-02-15T01:48:00.000-08:00

The roughly oval-shaped Black Sea occupies a large basin strategically situated at the southeastern extremity of Europe but connected to the distant waters

Digestive System Disease, Roundworms

2005-02-14T21:32:00.000-08:00

Roundworms, particularly Ascaris lumbricoides, may cause intestinal obstruction if present in sufficient numbers. As they mature from the larval state to the adult worm, roundworms migrate through the body, causing ascariasis, an infection characterized by fever, pneumonitis (lung inflammation), cholangitis (inflammation of the bile ducts), and pancreatitis

Karbala'

2005-02-14T04:21:00.000-08:00

The city's religious importance derives from the Battle of Karbala' (AD 680) between the Sunnite and Shi'ite sects of Islam. Husayn ibn 'Ali, the Shi'ite leader and grandson of Muhammad, was killed, and his tomb remains one of the greatest Shi'ite shrines and pilgrimage

Angus

2005-02-14T03:24:00.000-08:00

Formerly Forfarshire council area and historic county in eastern Scotland, bounded on the east by the North Sea and on the south by the Firth of Tay. The council area lies entirely within the historic county of Angus, which also includes the city of Dundee and a small area south of Coupar Angus in the Perth and Kinross council area. The chief city of the county is Dundee, which constitutes a

Eugénie

2005-02-13T06:09:00.000-08:00

The daughter of a Spanish noble who fought on the French side during Napoleon I's Peninsular War in Spain, Eugénie went to Paris when Louis-Napoléon became president of the Second Republic in December 1848. They were married in

Novello, Ivor

2005-02-12T18:26:00.000-08:00

Novello, the son of the celebrated Welsh singing teacher, Dame Clara Novello Davies, was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, and served with the Royal Naval Air Service during World War I. He became famous with a

Lista, Alberto

2005-02-12T17:31:00.000-08:00

At age 20, Lista held the chair of mathematics at a college in Sevilla (Seville); later (1807) he assumed the chair of rhetoric and poetry at the University of Sevilla. After spending

Valdivia

2005-02-12T15:36:00.000-08:00

Capital of Valdivia provincia, Los Lagos región, southern Chile. It lies at the confluence of the Callecalle and Cruces rivers, which there form the Valdivia River, 11 miles (18 km) from the Pacific Ocean. Although it was founded in 1552 and was a strategically significant outpost during the colonial era, Valdivia did not flourish until after the mid-19th century, when a large influx

Biblical Literature, Deliberate changes

2005-02-12T06:12:00.000-08:00

Apart from mechanical alterations of a text, many variants must have been consciously introduced by scribes, some by way of glossing—i.e., the insertion of a more common word to explain a rare one—and others by explanatory comments incorporated into the text. Furthermore, a scribe who had before him two manuscripts of a single work containing variant readings, and unable

Coligny, Gaspard Ii De, Seigneur (lord) De Châtillon

2005-02-10T21:31:00.000-08:00

Coligny was the son of Gaspard I de Coligny, the marshal of Châtillon, and Louise de Montmorency, sister of Anne de Montmorency, constable of France. At 22 Coligny came to court and became friendly with François de Lorraine, 2nd duc de Guise. He served

Cuba, Flag Of

2005-02-09T23:57:00.000-08:00

In the 19th century in New York City, anti-Spanish Cuban exiles under the leadership of Narciso López adopted a flag suggested by the poet Miguel Teurbe Tolón. His design, which later became the national flag, incorporated three blue stripes representing the three military districts of Spanish-dominated Cuba and two white stripes symbolizing the purity of the patriot

San Clemente

2005-02-09T04:35:00.000-08:00

City, Orange county, southern California, U.S. It lies along the Pacific Ocean, midway between San Diego and Los Angeles. Founded in 1925 as a real-estate development, the site was named for offshore San Clemente Island, which was named by the Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno to honour St. Clement. Chiefly residential, the city gained national prominence in 1969 when President

Sokoto

2005-02-08T21:59:00.000-08:00

State, northwestern Nigeria. Bordering the Republic of Niger to the north, it also shares boundaries with Kebbi state to the west and south, Niger and Kaduna states to the southeast, and Katsina state to the east. Sokoto state occupies an area of short-grass savanna vegetation in the south and thorn scrub in the north. A generally arid region that gradually merges into

Norfolk And Western Railway Company

2005-02-08T05:44:00.000-08:00

In 1870 the City Point Rail Road and others were consolidated as the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad. In 1881 the system was reorganized as the Norfolk and Western Railroad, and in 1896 it was incorporated as the Norfolk and Western

Cromwell, Oliver

2005-02-08T03:07:00.000-08:00

As one of the generals on the parliamentary side in the English Civil War against King Charles I, Cromwell helped to bring about

Igneous Rock, Classification of plutonic rocks

2005-02-07T20:18:00.000-08:00

A plutonic rock may be classified mineralogically based on the actual proportion of the various minerals of which it is composed (called the mode). In any classification scheme, boundaries between classes are set arbitrarily; however, if the boundaries can be placed closest to natural divisions or gaps between classes, they will seem less random and subjective,

BitterHook

Computers, Von Neumann's Preliminary Discussion

Lie, Trygve (halvdan)

Kermes

Chibchan Languages

Scylitzes, John

Multinational And Regional Organizations

Infection, Mumps vaccine

Earth, Magnetic reconnection

Amyntas Iii (or Ii)

Norske Folkeeventyr

Caacupé

Wellingborough

Race, The Germanic myth and English constructions of an Anglo-Saxon past

Italy, Famine, war, and plague (134080)

Kocaeli

Lippi, Fra Filippo

Bülow, Hans (guido), Freiherr Von (baron Of)

Fyffe, Will

Argentina

Domestic Shorthair

Valencia, Guillermo

Ussher, James

Laima

Avon

Europe, History Of, The revolutions of 1848

Husayn Shah 'ala' Ad-din

Fremont

Buyantu

United Arab Emirates

Permafrost, Effects of solar radiation, vegetation, and snow cover

Aliger, Margarita Iosifovna

Azores

United Arab Emirates

Brace, Charles Loring

Lira

Wickerwork

Brahmaputra River, Plant and animal life

Indian Ocean, Surface currents

Iberville

Uccello, Paolo

Adapazari

Daghur

Faraday's Law Of Induction

Armstrong, Henry Edward

Loisy, Alfred Firmin

Mafic Rock

Arts, Islamic, The 'Abbasids

Restionales

France, History Of, Alienation and coups

Creativity

Bischof, Werner

Prichard, H.a.

Tiel

Anatomy

Silicic Acid

Condé, Louis-henri, 7e Prince De (7th Prince Of), Duc (duke) De Bourbon

Lowell, Amy

Afghanistan, Mohammad Nader Shah (192933)

Eagle Owl

Gates Of Paradise

Hou Chi

Belaya River

Godfree, Kitty

Balaton, Lake

Bishop's Cap Cactus

Ant Bear

Zamoyski Family

Kamchatka

Antarctica, Geologic record

Tibet, Drainage and soils

Koenig, Marie-pierre (-joseph-françois)

Mannar Island

Alliluyeva, Svetlana

Wage And Salary

Wolfsburg

Bakony Mountains

France, History Of, Commitment to modernization

Ten Days Of Penitence

P'eng-hu Islands

Computers, Von Neumann's Preliminary Discussion

Italy, Famine, war, and plague (134080)

Afghanistan, Mohammad Nader Shah (192933)