LateSky

China, The Cultural Revolution, 196676

2005-04-05T19:05:00.000-07:00

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

Hyder Ali

2005-04-05T04:17:00.000-07:00

After studying the military tactics of the Frenchman Joseph-François Dupleix, Hyder induced his older brother, a brigade commander in the Mysore army, to obtain military equipment from the Bombay government

Schrieck, Sister Louise Van Der

2005-04-04T01:36:00.000-07:00

Van der Schrieck was educated at the school of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in Belgium. In 1837 she became a novice of the order, and in 1839 she became Sister

Cumberland Wrestling

2005-04-03T17:10:00.000-07:00

Form of wrestling developed in northern England and southern Scotland, also called the North Country style. The wrestlers stand chest to chest, each grasping the other with locked hands around the body, each opponent's chin on the other's right shoulder. The right arm is placed below and the left above the adversary's. When the hold has been firmly taken, an umpire gives

Furniture, The American colonies

2005-04-03T13:07:00.000-07:00

Information in inventories and

Aquileia

2005-04-02T04:29:00.000-08:00

Founded as a Roman colony in 181 BC to prevent barbarian incursions, Aquileia's position at the junction of the Via Postumia

Termier, Henri-françois-émile

2005-04-01T15:47:00.000-08:00

Termier was a geologist for the Morocco Mine Service from 1925 until 1940, when he became head of the Morocco Geological Service; in 1945 he became a professor at the University of Algiers and in 1955 joined the Sorbonne, where he became the chairman

Pavía Y Lacy, Manuel

2005-04-01T01:46:00.000-08:00

Pavía was encouraged to enter the military by his father, an infantry colonel, and eventually was admitted to the elite Guards regiment. When Isabella became queen in 1833, he fought for her against her uncle Don Carlos in the

Arabia, History Of, Resistance to the Ottomans

2005-03-31T00:38:00.000-08:00

Propagating the doctrines of 'Abd al-Wahhab, Ibn Sa'ud and his son mastered all Najd. Late in the 18th century the Wahhabis began raiding Iraq and then besieged Mecca, which they definitively conquered in 1806. The Ottomans became so alarmed at the Sa'udi-Wahhabi peril that they urged Muhammad 'Ali, viceroy of Egypt, to drive the Wahhabis from the Holy Cities. Egyptian troops invaded Arabia,

English Literature, The Edwardians

2005-03-30T22:27:00.000-08:00

The 20th century opened with great hope but also with some apprehension, for the new century marked the onset of a new millennium. For many, mankind was entering upon an unprecedented era. H.G. Wells's utopian studies, the aptly titled Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress upon Human Life and Thought (1901) and A Modern Utopia (1905), both captured and

San Francisco Peaks

2005-03-30T06:31:00.000-08:00

The San Francisco Peaks, known by various Indian language names, are sacred to

Károlyi, Mihály, Count (gróf)

2005-03-29T08:32:00.000-08:00

In full Mihaly, Count Károlyi von Nagykárolyi Hungarian statesman who before World War I desired a reorientation of Austro-Hungarian foreign policy toward friendship with states other than Germany. He also advocated concessions to Hungary's non-Magyar subjects. After the war, as president of the Hungarian Democratic Republic in 1919, Károlyi was

Caucasian Languages, Phonology

2005-03-28T14:59:00.000-08:00

The sound systems of the Nakho-Dagestanian languages are diverse. There are up to five vowels (a, e, i, o, u); in some languages o is only now becoming an independent distinctive unit. Along with these cardinal vowels, in a number of languages there are also long and nasalized vowels (the Andi languages), pharyngealized vowels (in Udi), and labialized vowels (in Dido). In the Nakh

Cabot, John

2005-03-27T13:51:00.000-08:00

Cabot moved to Venice in 1461, or possibly earlier, and became a citizen of that city in 1476. While employed by a Venetian mercantile

Antarctica

2005-03-27T08:38:00.000-08:00

Antarctica, as defined by the 42-nation Antarctic Treaty that entered into effect in 1961, comprises all lands and waters south of latitude 60° S. The land area is about 14.2 million sq km (5.3 million sq mi), principally the Antarctic continent itself and adjoining islands. Ice averaging 2,160 m (7,085 ft) in thickness covers 98% of the continent. There is no capital or permanent human habitation; scientific

Mies Van Der Rohe, Ludwig

2005-03-26T01:16:00.000-08:00

In the 1960s Mies continued to create beautiful buildings, among them the Bacardi Building in Mexico City (1961); One Charles Center office building in Baltimore (1963); the Federal Center in Chicago (1964); the Public Library in Washington, D.C. (1967); and, most Miesian of all, the Gallery of the Twentieth Century (later called the New National Gallery) in Berlin, dedicated in 1968. A heavy man, badly plagued

Margaret Tudor

2005-03-25T16:48:00.000-08:00

She married James IV in August 1503, but the scanty

Argentine Basin

2005-03-25T15:21:00.000-08:00

Submarine basin in the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, lying directly east of Argentina. Its deepest sections, the western and southwestern margins, are called the Argentine Abyssal Plain and reach a maximum depth of 20,381 feet (6,212 m). The basin is bounded by the Rio Grande Rise (north), the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (east), the Falkland Rise (south), and the South American continental shelf

Bhartrhari

2005-03-24T02:06:00.000-08:00

Of noble birth, Bhartrhari was attached for a time to the court of the Maitraka king of

Mask

2005-03-23T15:57:00.000-08:00

A form of disguise. It is an object that is frequently worn over or in front of the face to hide the identity of a person and by its own features to establish another being. This essential characteristic of hiding and revealing personalities or moods is common to all masks. As cultural objects they have been used throughout the world in all periods since the Stone Age

Calcium Deficiency

2005-03-23T10:02:00.000-08:00

Condition in which an organism fails to receive or to metabolize an adequate supply of the element calcium, the mineral most likely to be deficient in the average diet. Calcium is the chief supportive element in bones and teeth. Calcium salts make up about 70 percent of bone by weight and give that substance its strength and rigidity. About 99 percent of the calcium in the

Zanuck, Darryl F.

2005-03-22T20:09:00.000-08:00

Abandoned by his parents at age 13, Zanuck joined the U.S. Army and fought in Belgium during World War I. He worked as a steelworker, garment factory foreman, and a professional boxer while pursuing his career as a

Biblical Literature, Job

2005-03-22T19:41:00.000-08:00

The Book of Job is not only the finest expression of the Hebrew poetic genius; it must also be accorded a place among the greatest masterpieces of world literature. The work is grouped with Proverbs and Ecclesiastes as a product of the wisdom movement, even though it contains what might be called an anti-wisdom strain in that the hero protests vehemently against the

X Ray

2005-03-22T00:56:00.000-08:00

Early experiments with X rays presented evidence that is difficult to explain unless one thinks of X rays as consisting of waves. Other experiments, however, indicated that X rays consist of particles. This dual nature is not restricted to X rays; indeed, it is a general property of all forms of energy and matter. X rays (and the other forms of electromagnetic radiation)

Vermuyden, Sir Cornelius

2005-03-20T11:35:00.000-08:00

An experienced embankment engineer, Vermuyden was employed in 1626 by King Charles I of England to drain Hatfield Chase on the isle of Axholme, Yorkshire. Jointly financed by Dutch and English capitalists,

Chu Yi-tsun

2005-03-20T07:14:00.000-08:00

The turmoil attending the collapse of the Ming dynasty in 1644 and the subsequent Ch'ing conquest prevented Chu from capitalizing upon his family's political prominence under the Ming, forcing him to spend much of his life as a private tutor and personal secretary

Nobel Prizes

2005-03-19T14:27:00.000-08:00

Controversy surrounded the Nobel Committee's decision to award the 1994 Nobel Prize for Peace to (“in alphabetical order”) Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasir Arafat, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin “for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East.” Criticism was aimed not only at the choice of Arafat,

Ripken, Cal, Jr.

2005-03-19T01:15:00.000-08:00

Ripken joined the Orioles' major league team in 1982 after

Afranius, Lucius

2005-03-18T09:57:00.000-08:00

In 60 BC, chiefly by Pompey's support, Afranius was raised to the consulship, in which office he proved himself incompetent to manage civil affairs. In the following year, while governor of Cisalpine Gaul, he obtained a triumph; and, on the allotment of Spain to Pompey (55 BC), Afranius

Kirkland, Joseph

2005-03-17T14:18:00.000-08:00

Kirkland, who readily acknowledged his indebtedness to the English realist Thomas Hardy, was also affected by his own personal experiences as a publisher's clerk, railroad auditor, soldier, coal-mine operator,

Murder, Inc.

2005-03-17T06:35:00.000-08:00

In popular usage, an arm of the American national crime syndicate, founded in the 1930s to threaten, maim, or murder designated victims for a price; the organization lacked an official name. Murder, Inc., was headed by Louis “Lepke” Buchalter and later by Albert Anastasia, and its services were available to any syndicate member anywhere in the country. Most victims of Murder,

Hertfordshire

2005-03-16T07:02:00.000-08:00

Administrative and historic county of southern England, adjoining Greater London to the south. The administrative county and the historic county cover slightly different areas. The administrative county comprises 10 districts: East Hertfordshire, North Hertfordshire, Three Rivers, and Welwyn Hatfield; the boroughs of Broxbourne, Dacorum, Hertsmere, Stevenage

Gneiss

2005-03-15T03:14:00.000-08:00

Metamorphic rock that has a distinct banding, which is apparent in hand specimen or on a microscopic scale. Gneiss usually is distinguished from schist (q.v.) by its foliation and schistosity; gneiss displays a well-developed foliation and a poorly developed schistosity and cleavage. For the casual student, it is convenient to think of a gneiss as a rock with parallel,

Computers, Commodore and Tandy enter the field

2005-03-15T01:01:00.000-08:00

The next year, another established company entered the

Aymara

2005-03-14T16:43:00.000-08:00

Large South American Indian group living in the vast windy Titicaca plateau of the central Andes in modern Peru and Bolivia. They speak languages of the Aymaran group. In colonial times the Aymara tribes were the Canchi, Colla, Lupaca, Collagua, Ubina, Pacasa, Caranga, Charca, Quillaca, Omasuyo, and Collahuaya. In addition, the Aymaran language was anciently spoken in

Mosquito

2005-03-14T14:31:00.000-08:00

As a night fighter, the Mosquito downed more than 600 Luftwaffe

Reformatory

2005-03-14T09:23:00.000-08:00

Correctional institution for the treatment, training, and social rehabilitation of youth. Institutions designated as reformatories are of two general types: residential training schools for school-age delinquents and facilities for the confinement of youthful offenders between the ages of 16 and 25 who have been convicted of criminal acts. The early reformatories,

Dielectric Constant

2005-03-13T17:57:00.000-08:00

Property of an electrical insulating material (a dielectric) equal to the ratio of the capacitance of a capacitor filled with the given material to the capacitance of an identical capacitor in a vacuum without the dielectric material. The insertion of a dielectric between the plates of, say, a parallel-plate capacitor always increases its capacitance, or ability

Rouget De Lisle, Claude-joseph

2005-03-13T01:56:00.000-08:00

Author of “La Marseillaise,” the French national anthem. A lowly army officer and only a moderate republican, Rouget de Lisle never wrote anything else of significance. He composed both the words and music of “La Marseillaise” for his comrades in 1792 while stationed at Strasbourg; it was originally called “Chant de guerre de l'armée

Skydiving

2005-03-12T14:08:00.000-08:00

Typical jump altitudes in modern times for experienced skydivers range from 7,500 to 15,000 feet (2,300 to 4,600 metres) above ground level, yielding a freefall time of between 40 and 85 seconds. The length of the freefall (the time between exiting the aircraft and deploying the parachute) is dependent upon such factors as exit altitude, opening altitude, and fall rate. The fall rate is determined

Lancaster

2005-03-12T01:01:00.000-08:00

County, southeastern Pennsylvania, U.S., consisting of a hilly piedmont region bounded by the Susquehanna River to the west, Conewago Creek to the northwest, and Octoraro Creek to the southeast. Impoundments of the Susquehanna River form Lakes Clarke and Aldred and Conowingo Reservoir. Susquehannock State Park is located near Muddy Run Reservoir. Other waterways

Abu Al-fida'

2005-03-11T20:15:00.000-08:00

Abu al-Fida' was a descendant of Ayyub, the father of Saladin, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty that had been supplanted by the Mamluks in Egypt and elsewhere before his birth. In 1285 he accompanied his father and his cousin (prince of Hamah and a Mamluk client)

Mercantile Agency

2005-03-11T01:12:00.000-08:00

Specialized organization engaged in supplying information on the creditworthiness and financial strength of business firms in highly developed economies. The first such agency, the Mercantile Agency, was founded in New York City in 1841 to reduce credit losses. As businesses expanded from their local area to a national scale, many of them found it impossible to judge

Offa

2005-03-10T23:22:00.000-08:00

A member of an ancient Mercian ruling family, Offa seized power in the civil war

Davidson, John

2005-03-10T15:13:00.000-08:00

After studying at the University of Edinburgh, Davidson became a teacher, meanwhile writing a number of blank-verse dramas that failed to win recognition. In 1890 he went to London, practiced journalism, and wrote

Bishop's Cap Cactus

2005-03-10T07:28:00.000-08:00

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

Bradlaugh, Charles

2005-03-07T06:34:00.000-08:00

Son of a poor legal clerk, Bradlaugh served in the British army (1850–53), followed his father's occupation for a time, and then became

Tannenberg, Battle Of

2005-03-07T03:38:00.000-08:00

Polish and Lithuanian forces proceeding toward

Constant

2005-03-07T02:35:00.000-08:00

A number, value, or object that has a fixed magnitude, physically or abstractly, as a part of a specific operation or discussion. In mathematics the term refers to a quantity (often represented by a symbol—e.g., p, the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter) that does not change in a certain discussion or operation, or to a variable that can assume only one value. In logic

Ilhéus

2005-03-06T02:18:00.000-08:00

City, southeastern Bahia estado (“state”), northeastern Brazil. It is situated just east of Itabuna near the mouth of the Cachoeira River on Ilhéus Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic. An old Portuguese colonial settlement that was originally named São Jorge dos Ilhéos (1532), it was given city status in 1881. Most of Brazil's cacao is grown in the locality, and Ilhéus is consequently one of

Gyllenborg, Gustaf Fredrik, Greve (count)

2005-03-06T02:12:00.000-08:00

Swedish poet known for his satirical and reflective poetry. Although members of his family were prominent in political life, as a courtier he took no part in politics and attacked the weaknesses of modern society in the spirit of the French Romantic philosopher Rousseau in such poems as “Verldsföraktaren

Eisenstaedt, Alfred

2005-03-05T22:13:00.000-08:00

Eisenstaedt served in the German army in World War I from 1916 to 1918, sustaining injuries in both legs. He became an enthusiastic

Laing, R(onald) D(avid)

2005-03-05T15:31:00.000-08:00

Laing was born into a working-class family and grew up in Glasgow. He studied medicine and psychiatry and earned a doctoral degree in medicine at the University of Glasgow in 1951. After serving as a conscript psychiatrist in the British army

Academy

2005-03-04T17:45:00.000-08:00

At the close of the Middle Ages, academies

New Church

2005-03-04T16:16:00.000-08:00

Also called Swedenborgians, church organized in the General Conference of the New Church, the General Convention of the New Jerusalem in the U.S.A., and the General Church of the New Jerusalem. Its members are followers of the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg, the 18th-century Swedish scientist, philosopher, and theologian. Swedenborg did not himself found a church, but he believed that his writings

Pen Drawing

2005-03-03T17:27:00.000-08:00

Artwork executed wholly or in part with pen and ink, usually on paper. Pen drawing is fundamentally a linear method of making images. In pure pen drawing in which the artist wishes to supplement his outlines with tonal suggestions of three-dimensional form, modeling must necessarily be effected by the close juxtaposition of a series of strokes forming areas of hatching

Fick, August

2005-03-02T20:30:00.000-08:00

Fick presented his reconstruction of a parent language of remote prehistoric times in the first edition

Alternation Of Generations

2005-03-02T19:27:00.000-08:00

In algae, fungi, mosses, ferns, and seed plants, alternation of generations is common; it is not always easy to observe, however, since one or the other of the generations is often

Skeat, Walter William

2005-03-01T22:06:00.000-08:00

Following a classical education at Christ's College, Cambridge, Skeat in 1891 joined the civil service of the state of Selangor in the Malay Peninsula. He became interested in ideas of magic

Simenon, Georges

2005-02-28T23:49:00.000-08:00

Simenon began working on a local newspaper at age 16, and at 19 he went to Paris determined to be a successful writer. Typing some 80 pages each day, he wrote, between 1923 and 1933, more than

Leah

2005-02-28T22:38:00.000-08:00

After Jacob had deprived his brother Esau of his birthright

D.s.o.

2005-02-28T14:35:00.000-08:00

Recipient of the Distinguished Service Order, a British military decoration. See Distinguished Service Order.

Estelí

2005-02-27T22:39:00.000-08:00

City, northwestern Nicaragua. It lies along the Estelí River in the central highlands, at an elevation of 2,674 feet (815 m). A Spanish settlement founded near prehistoric carved-stone figures, it was a scene of heavy fighting between Sandinista guerrillas and government troops in 1978–79 that left much of the centre of the city in ruins. Estelí is an agricultural and commercial centre,

Parure

2005-02-27T13:03:00.000-08:00

Matched set of jewelry consisting of such pieces as earrings, bracelet, brooch, necklace, and ring. By the mid-17th century, jewels had ceased to be created as individual works of art expressing some idea or fancy and had instead become mere personal ornaments that were beautiful but lacking in any deeper significance. Consequently, as the forms of jewels tended to become

Arts, Central Asian, Painting: frescoes and temple banners

2005-02-26T09:38:00.000-08:00

Temple interiors are usually covered with frescoes and often hung with painted banners, or tanka (thang-ka). For the preparation of the latter, a taut cotton cloth is impregnated with a mixture of chalk and glue, rubbed smooth by some suitable object; for example, a flat polished stone. A religious painter trained in the tradition draws in the outline, often using printed

New England Glass Company

2005-02-25T23:44:00.000-08:00

American glass company that was situated in East Cambridge, Mass., from about 1818 until 1888. In the latter year the company's owner, Edward D. Libbey, met a strike of his workers by moving the factory to Toledo, Ohio, where it is still active as the Libbey-Owens-Ford Company. The New England Glass Company made a large variety of wares ranging from pocket bottles and tumblers to attractive

Celestite

2005-02-25T02:58:00.000-08:00

Mineral that is a naturally occurring form of strontium sulfate (SrSO4). It resembles barite, barium sulfate, but is much less common. Barium is interchangeable with strontium in the crystal structure; there is a gradation between celestite and barite. Celestite occurs in sedimentary rocks, particularly dolomites and dolomitic limestones, throughout the world

Abraham Lincoln Battalion

2005-02-24T18:50:00.000-08:00

A force of volunteers from the United States who served on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War from January 1937 until November 1938. All seven International Brigades (q.v.)—each composed of three or more battalions—were formed by the Comintern (Communist International), beginning in late 1936, and all were disbanded by late 1938 as the war neared an end. Like the European battalions,

Table Tennis

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

In the years between the biennial world championships, attention focused on regional events, the largest of which were the European championships. At the 19th staging of this tournament, in Birmingham, England, during March-April 1994, Jean-Michel Saive of Belgium became the new European men's singles champion by defeating Olympic gold medalist Jan-Ove Waldner of Sweden

Law, Crime, And Law Enforcement, Terrorism.

2005-02-24T09:55:00.000-08:00

Throughout the year a relentless international hunt continued to bring to justice those responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S. In September Pakistani authorities arrested a key al-Qaeda operative, 30-year-old Yemen native Ramzi Binalshibh, in Karachi. Binalshibh was believed to have been designated as the 20th hijacker on September 11, but he had failed

Smith, Alfred E(manuel)

2005-02-23T10:26:00.000-08:00

When his father died, young Smith interrupted his schooling and went to work for seven years at the Fulton fish market in New York City to help support his family. His political career was launched in 1895, when Tammany Hall—the

Health And Disease

2005-02-22T19:31:00.000-08:00

In early 2003 a virulent new infectious disease caught the world off guard. The Chinese Ministry of Health reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) in mid-February that 305 people in Guangdong province had developed an acute pneumonia-like illness and that 5 of them had died. Laboratory tests had been negative for influenza viruses, anthrax, plague, and other infectious

Neurosecretory Cell

2005-02-22T16:53:00.000-08:00

A type of neuron, or nerve cell, whose function is to translate neural signals into chemical stimuli. Such cells produce secretions called neurohormones that travel along the neuron axon and are typically released into the bloodstream at neurohemal organs, regions in which the axon endings are in close contact with blood capillaries. Neurosecretory cells are

Water Hyacinth

2005-02-22T04:45:00.000-08:00

Any aquatic plant of the genus Eichhornia of the pickerelweed family (Pontederiaceae), consisting of about five species, native primarily to tropical America. Some species float in shallow water; others are rooted in muddy stream banks and lakeshores. All have slender rootstocks, feathery roots, rosettes of stalked leaves, and few to many flowers

Beard Lichen

2005-02-22T03:34:00.000-08:00

Any member of the genus Usnea, a yellow or greenish fruticose (bushy, branched) lichen with long stems and disk-shaped holdfasts, which resembles a tangled mass of threads. It occurs in both the Arctic and the tropics, where it is eaten by wild animals or collected as fodder. In the past it was used as a remedy for whooping cough, catarrh, epilepsy, and dropsy. It has been used

Aerospace Industry, Final assembly

2005-02-20T19:01:00.000-08:00

The final assembly of complete aircraft usually requires a facility furnished with a network of overhead rails on which ride heavy-lift cranes capable of moving large portions of vehicles. Facility size is governed by vehicle dimensions; for example, Boeing's plant in Everett, Washington, is the world's largest building by volume, containing some 13.4 million cubic

Manannán Mac Lir

2005-02-19T20:20:00.000-08:00

(Celtic: “Manannán, Son of the Sea”), Irish sea god from whom the name of the Isle of Man allegedly derived. Manannán traditionally ruled an island paradise, protected sailors, and provided abundant crops. He gave immortality to the gods through his swine, which returned to life when killed; those who ate of the swine never died. He wore impenetrable armour and, carrying an

China, The rise of monarchy

2005-02-19T18:35:00.000-08:00

In the state of Chin the influence of kinsmen of the ruling house had

Romanus I Lecapenus

2005-02-19T17:56:00.000-08:00

Byzantine emperor who shared the imperial throne with his son-in-law Constantine VII and exercised all real power from 920 to 944. Romanus was admiral of the Byzantine fleet on the Danube when, hearing of the defeat of the army at Achelous (917), he resolved to sail for Constantinople. Soon after the marriage of his daughter Helena to Constantine he was crowned colleague of his

Nabataean

2005-02-19T10:36:00.000-08:00

Member of a people of ancient Arabia whose settlements lay in the borderlands between Syria and Arabia, from the Euphrates River to the Red Sea. Little is known about them before 312 BC, when they were unsuccessfully attacked by Demetrius I Poliorcetes, king of Macedonia, in their mountain fortress of Petra south of the Dead Sea. Their monopoly on the rich caravan trade that

Interior Design, Floors

2005-02-18T14:50:00.000-08:00

Basically, there are two kinds of floors for interiors: those that are an integral part of the structure and those that are applied after the structure is completed. Interior designers working together with architects have the opportunity to specify flooring such as slate, terrazzo, stone, brick, concrete, or wood, but in most interiors the flooring is designed at

Saiga

2005-02-17T20:39:00.000-08:00

The most

Labour Economics, Theory of bargaining

2005-02-17T07:16:00.000-08:00

Limitations on the scope of bargaining are also suggested by theory. Collective bargaining can be seen as the reduction of two risks to which the worker is exposed through individual bargaining. There is first the risk that the worker will be merely one of a number of applicants for a single vacancy and that competition between them will force the pay down. Even as

Aegean Civilizations

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

The area consists of Crete, the Cyclades and some other islands, and the Greek mainland, including the Peloponnese, central Greece, and Thessaly. The first high civilization on European soil, with stately palaces, fine craftsmanship,

Wolf, Max

2005-02-15T18:20:00.000-08:00

Wolf showed an early interest in astronomy; he was only 21 years old when he discovered a comet, now named for him. In 1890 he was appointed Privatdozent (unsalaried lecturer) at the University of Heidelberg. One year later he adapted

Waialeale, Mount

2005-02-15T08:17:00.000-08:00

Peak, central Kauai Island, Hawaii, U.S. Waialeale (“Rippling Water”), with a height of 5,148 feet (1,569 m), is a dissected (eroded) dome that is part of a central mountain mass which includes Kawaikini (5,243 feet [1,598 m]), the island's highest peak, immediately south. Waialeale is located at the southeastern edge of an extinct caldera that is now a plateau called Alakai Swamp. Shrouded in clouds, Waialeale

Mabley, Moms

2005-02-14T18:32:00.000-08:00

Byname of Jackie Mabley , original name Loretta Mary Aiken American comedian who was one of the most successful black vaudeville performers. She modeled her stage persona largely on her grandmother, who had been a slave. Wise, clever, and often ribald, Mabley dressed in frumpy clothes and used her deep voice and elastic face (and, in later years, her toothlessness) to great

Ankobra

2005-02-14T07:37:00.000-08:00

River in southern Ghana, western Africa. Rising northeast of Wiawso, it flows about 120 miles (190 km) south to the Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic) just west of Axim, commercial centre of the river basin. Its chief tributaries are the Mansi and the Bonsa rivers, and much of its basin is shared with the Tano River to the west. There are rapids in the upper reaches, but the Ankobra is navigable

Ta-yeh

2005-02-13T14:09:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Daye, town in eastern Hupeh sheng (province), China. Ta-yeh is situated on the south bank of the Yangtze River near Huang-shih and about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Han-k'ou (Wu-han). The site is low-lying and has many swamps and lakes, but to the northwest of the town there is a belt of hills containing iron deposits. These had been known from early times, and the T'ang dynasty (618–907) had a government

Rama Ii

2005-02-13T05:40:00.000-08:00

The second ruler (1809–24) of the present Chakkri dynasty, under whose rule relations were reopened with the West and Siam began a forward policy on the Malay peninsula. A gifted poet and dramatist, Rama II wrote a famous version of Inao, dramatic version of a popular traditional story, as well as episodes of

Beneden, Pierre-joseph Van

2005-02-12T19:15:00.000-08:00

After an apprenticeship with the pharmacist Louis Stoffels, van Beneden studied medicine at the University of Louvain. In 1835 he was appointed professor of zoology at the Catholic University of Louvain, where he remained throughout

Struve, Pyotr Berngardovich

2005-02-12T17:38:00.000-08:00

While studying economic theory and history at the University of St. Petersburg, Struve became a Marxist. The Marxist analysis of Russian capitalism that he presented in 1894 in his Kriticheskiye zametki k voprocy ob ekonomicheskom razviti rossi (“Critical Remarks on

Kidney Stone

2005-02-11T13:26:00.000-08:00

Also called Renal Calculus, plural Renal Calculi, concretion of minerals and organic matter that forms in the kidneys. Such stones may become so large as to impair normal renal function. Urine contains many salts in solution and if the concentration of mineral salts becomes excessive, the excess salt precipitates as solid particles called stones. Kidney stones are classified as primary if they form without apparent

Lira

2005-02-11T00:58:00.000-08:00

The word lira, a misapplication

Lithuania

2005-02-10T06:15:00.000-08:00

In the second round of voting in the presidential elections on Jan. 5, 2003, Rolandas Paksas (see Biographies), the leader of Lithuania's new populist Liberal Democratic Party, emerged the victor. The young and aggressive Paksas received 54.7% of votes, defeating the much more experienced centre-right incumbent, Pres. Valdas Adamkus, with 45.3%. Voter turnout was 52.6%. Late in the year, though,

Samarra'

2005-02-09T19:37:00.000-08:00

Town, central Iraq. Located on the Tigris River, it is the site of a prehistoric settlement of the 5th millennium BC. The town was founded between the 3rd and 7th centuries AD. In 836, when the 'Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim was pressured to leave Baghdad, he made Samarra' his new capital. He built a palace and gardens, and under his successors the town grew until it stretched along the Tigris for

Force, Juliana Rieser

2005-02-09T02:54:00.000-08:00

Juliana Reiser (later changed to Rieser) at an early age went to work as a secretary. After directing a secretarial school in New York City, she

Alumbrado

2005-02-09T00:47:00.000-08:00

Italian Illuminato, plural Illuminati, a follower of a mystical movement in Spain during the 16th and 17th centuries. Its adherents claimed that the human soul, having attained a certain degree of perfection, was permitted a vision of the divine and entered into direct communication with the Holy Spirit. From this state the soul could neither advance nor retrogress. Consequently, participation in the liturgy,

Ben Tre

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

The surrounding region is devoted largely to irrigated rice and coconuts. Other crops include dates, corn

Kordofanian Languages

2005-02-08T16:14:00.000-08:00

A branch of the Niger-Congo language family that is geographically separated from the rest of the Niger-Congo languages and is believed to represent the oldest layer of languages in the region. The Kordofanian branch consists of some 20 languages spoken by 250,000 to 500,000 people, mainly in the Nuba Hills of central Sudan. Kordofanian is divided into four main groups of languages: