SmallBasin

Estate Agent Fitzrovia

2006-10-25T20:15:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services. They are a specialist in estate agent fitzrovia, amongst other London areas such as Soho and Oxford Circus.

Athos, Mount

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

Also called Holy Mountain, Modern Greek Áthos Óros, or Áyion Óros, mountain in northern Greece, site of a semiautonomous republic of Greek Orthodox monks inhabiting 20 monasteries and dependencies (skítes), some of which are larger than the parent monasteries. It occupies the easternmost of the three promontories of the Chalcidice (Khalkidhikí) Peninsula, which projects from Macedonia into the Aegean Sea. The Aktí promontory, 30 miles

Auber, Daniel-françois-esprit

2005-03-30T03:33:00.000-08:00

Composer who was prominent in the development of opera containing spoken as well as sung passages (opéra comique). The great contemporary success of his works was due in part to the expertly tailored librettos of Eugène Scribe and in part to Auber's spirited musical settings, which were influenced by Rossini and well suited to French taste. One

Arago, François

2005-03-29T11:36:00.000-08:00

Arago was educated in Perpignan and at the

Pigweed

2005-03-28T09:04:00.000-08:00

Any of several coarse annual plants of cosmopolitan distribution that are often troublesome weeds. Several of them belong to the genus Amaranthus, of the family Amaranthaceae. Prostrate pigweed, or mat amaranth (A. graecizans), grows along the ground surface with stems rising at the tips; spiny pigweed, or spiny amaranth (A. spinosus), has spines at the base of the leafstalks;

Ocean, The subtropical gyres

2005-03-27T10:14:00.000-08:00

These are anticyclonic circulation features. The Ekman transport within these gyres forces surface water to sink, giving rise to the subtropical convergence near 20°–30° latitude. The centre of the subtropical gyre is shifted to the west. This westward intensification of ocean currents was explained by the American meteorologist and oceanographer Henry M. Stommel

Earwax Impaction

2005-03-27T04:38:00.000-08:00

Filling of the external auditory canal with earwax, or cerumen. Normally the wax produced by skin glands in the outer ear migrates outward. If the earwax is produced too rapidly, it may become hardened and accumulate, thus plugging the outer ear canal and preventing sound passage to the tympanic (eardrum) membrane. This hearing impairment is painless. Impacted earwax

Kesey, Ken

2005-03-26T21:13:00.000-08:00

Kesey was educated at the University of Oregon and Stanford University. At a Veterans Administration hospital in Menlo Park, California, he was a paid volunteer experimental subject, taking mind-altering drugs

Peralta, Pedro De

2005-03-26T04:39:00.000-08:00

Peralta arrived in Mexico City during the winter of 1608–09 following his university studies in Spain. In March 1609 the viceroy of Mexico appointed him to the post of governor of New Mexico; and, from April to October of that year, Peralta organized an expedition to that province. He

Amazonas

2005-03-25T19:05:00.000-08:00

Departamento (formed 1832), Nor Oriental del Marañón región, northern Peru, bounded on the north by Ecuador. It consists mostly of rain forest in the north, while in the south the Marañón River and its tributaries dissect the Cordillera Central. The Marañón forms part of the western boundary with Cajamarca departamento before flowing northeastward into the Amazon River

Piura

2005-03-24T00:05:00.000-08:00

Department (formed 1861) of northern Peru, consisting of coastal desert, particularly in the west and south, and low, forested Andean mountains in the east. It is drained by the Chira River in the north and the Piura River in the south. The irrigated valleys of these two rivers are used chiefly for the production of cotton. Upstream on the Piura River, sugarcane, rice, tobacco,

Biblical Literature, The Hebrew canon

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

The Torah contains five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The Nevi'im comprise eight books subdivided into the Former Prophets, containing

Alexander Iii

2005-03-23T08:31:00.000-08:00

Russian in full Aleksandr Aleksandrovich emperor of Russia from 1881 to 1894, opponent of representative government, and supporter of Russian nationalism. He adopted programs, based on the concepts of Orthodoxy, autocracy, and narodnost (a belief in the Russian people), that included the Russification of national minorities in the Russian Empire

Nigeria

2005-03-21T13:49:00.000-08:00

The first national conventions of the five political parties that had been granted legal status were held in November 1996. The parties elected their leaders as follows:

Reid, Whitelaw

2005-03-21T01:53:00.000-08:00

U.S. journalist, diplomat, and politician, successor to Horace Greeley in 1872 as editor in chief (until 1905) and publisher (until his death) of the New York Tribune, which, during much of that period, was perhaps the most influential newspaper in the United States. He was minister to France from 1889 to 1892, unsuccessful candidate for vice president on the

Belinsky, Vissarion Grigoryevich

2005-03-21T01:23:00.000-08:00

The son of a provincial doctor, Belinsky was expelled from the University of Moscow (1832) and earned his living thereafter as a journalist. His first substantial critical articles were part

Brühl, Heinrich, Graf Von (count Of)

2005-03-20T03:08:00.000-08:00

Rising rapidly under Augustus II the Strong,

Acadia National Park

2005-03-20T02:32:00.000-08:00

National park on the Atlantic coast of Maine, U.S., astride Frenchman Bay. It has an area of 65 square miles (168 square km) and was originally established as Sieur de Monts National Monument (1916), named for Pierre du Guast, sieur (lord) de Monts. It became the first national park in the eastern United States, as Lafayette National Park in 1919, and was renamed Acadia in 1929 to preserve the historic

Mathews, Charles

2005-03-19T21:49:00.000-08:00

The son of a bookseller, Mathews was educated at Merchant Taylors School, Crosby, Lancashire. After acting in the provinces, primarily at York, he first appeared on the stage in

Earth Exploration, Remote sensing

2005-03-18T04:17:00.000-08:00

This comprises measurements of electromagnetic radiation from the ground, usually of reflected energy in various spectral ranges measured from aircraft or satellites. Remote sensing encompasses aerial photography and other kinds of measurements that are generally displayed in the form of photograph-like images. Its applications involve a broad range

Steinem, Gloria

2005-03-18T02:24:00.000-08:00

Steinem spent her early years traveling with her parents in a house trailer. After their divorce in 1946, Gloria settled with her mother in Toledo, Ohio, and for the first time began attending school on a regular basis.

Staffordshire Moorlands

2005-03-18T00:33:00.000-08:00

District, administrative and historic county of Staffordshire, central England, directly east of the city of Stoke-on-Trent. Staffordshire Moorlands includes part of the Peak District National Park in the northeast, where it is characterized by many bleak gritstone and limestone moorlands. Within the southern extremity of the Pennines, the moorlands extend

Arundel, Thomas Fitzalan, 5th Earl Of, 11th Earl Of Surrey

2005-03-17T00:59:00.000-08:00

King Richard II made him a ward of John Holland, duke of Exeter, from whose keeping he escaped about 1398 and joined his uncle, Archbishop Thomas Arundel, at Utrecht, returning to England in 1399 with Henry of Lancaster, afterward King Henry IV. In October 1400 he was restored to

Pétain, (henri-)philippe

2005-03-16T18:45:00.000-08:00

Born into a family of farmers in northern France, Pétain, after attending the local village school and a religious

Abe Masahiro

2005-03-15T15:43:00.000-08:00

Born into an influential noble family, Abe was only 25 years old when he was appointed head of the roju (senior councillors), the highest administrative office under the shogun,

Anole

2005-03-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

(genus Anolis) any of about 250 species of small, tree-dwelling lizard related to iguanas (family Iguanidae). Anoles occur throughout the warmer regions of North and South America and are abundant in the West Indies. Like the gecko, all anoles have enlarged finger and toe pads that are covered with microscopic hooks. These clinging pads, together with sharp claws, enable them to

Benedetto Da Majano

2005-03-14T21:55:00.000-08:00

He was greatly influenced by the Florentine sculptors Desiderio da Settignano and Antonio Rossellino. His earliest surviving work is the shrine of S. Savino (1468–72) in the Faenza cathedral. Between 1470 and 1475 he was engaged on the

Spanish Lace

2005-03-14T07:42:00.000-08:00

Lace made in Spain; the name is also erroneously given to much lace that was in fact imported into Spain from the 17th century onward. The Spaniards imported a great deal of Venetian needle lace for church use in the 17th century. When the Spanish monasteries were dissolved in 1830, much ecclesiastical lace came to light that was described as “Spanish point,” but little, if any, of

Hinduism, Sacrifice and worship

2005-03-13T11:01:00.000-08:00

Although the Vedic fire rituals were largely replaced in Puranic and modern Hinduism by image worship and other forms of devotionalism, many Hindu rites can still be traced back to Vedism. Certain royal sacrifices—such as the rajasuya, or consecration ritual, and the horse sacrifice (asvamedha)—remained popular with Hindu kings until very recently. Other large-scale

Mobile River

2005-03-12T20:23:00.000-08:00

River formed by the confluence of the Tombigbee and Alabama rivers, southwestern Alabama, U.S. It enters Mobile Bay after a southerly course of 45 miles (72 km) through the delta region. With its tributaries it drains some 44,000 square miles (114,000 square km), making it the sixth largest river basin in the United States. Mobile, on the west side of the river at the head of the bay, is its chief

Tabuk

2005-03-12T06:38:00.000-08:00

Oasis town, northwestern Saudi Arabia. The town is situated amid a grove of date palms. In former times it was a station on the Hejaz railway (now defunct). At the edge of the old part of Tabuk town stands a Turkish fort, built in 1694. Modern Tabuk is developing as one of the fastest-growing industrial centres of Saudi Arabia. Pop. (1974) 74,825.

Brian

2005-03-12T05:30:00.000-08:00

In 976 Brian became king of a small state, later called Dál Cais, and also king of Munster, whose Eóghanachta rulers had been defeated (964) by Brian's half brother. Brian destroyed first the Eóghanachta septs and then the Northmen, constructing a fleet to drive them from the Shannon. Under his rule Munster

Chrétien, Jean

2005-03-11T17:03:00.000-08:00

The 18th of 19 children of a working-class family, Chrétien studied law at Laval University and was called to the bar in Quebec in 1958. Long interested in politics, he was first elected to the House of Commons in 1963 and was reelected thereafter through

Manchester, Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl Of, Viscount Mandeville, Baron Kimbolton Of Kimbolton

2005-03-11T06:07:00.000-08:00

Son of the 1st earl, Henry Montagu, he was educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. He sat in Parliament from 1624 to 1626 and in the latter year was raised to the peerage as Baron Kimbolton, but he was known generally by his courtesy title of Viscount Mandeville. At the beginning of the Long Parliament

Monashee Mountains

2005-03-10T07:20:00.000-08:00

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

Antarctica, Climate

2005-03-09T04:46:00.000-08:00

The unique weather and climate of Antarctica provide the basis for its familiar appellations—Home of the Blizzard and White Desert. By far the coldest continent, Antarctica has winter temperatures that range from -128.6° F (-89.2° C), the world's lowest recorded temperature, measured at Vostok Station (Russia) on July 21, 1983, on the high inland ice sheet to -76° F (-60° C) near sea level. Temperatures

Iron Processing

2005-03-09T02:58:00.000-08:00

Iron (Fe) is a relatively dense metal with a silvery white appearance and distinctive magnetic properties. It constitutes 5 percent by weight of the Earth's crust, and it is the

Church Commissioners

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

The Governors of the Bounty of Queen Anne for the Augmentation of the Maintenance of the Poor Clergy was established by Queen Anne in 1703. Into this corporation were paid

Kerosine

2005-03-08T00:05:00.000-08:00

Kerosine accounts for between 10 and 25 percent of the total volume of crude petroleum. It is

Uxmal

2005-03-07T13:28:00.000-08:00

The site is the most important representative of the Puuc architectural style, which flourished in the Late Classic Period (AD 600–900). Characteristics

Gong

2005-03-07T02:45:00.000-08:00

A circular metal plate-like percussion instrument having a turned-down rim. It is struck in the centre with a felt- or leather-covered beater, producing a sound of either definite or indefinite pitch. Its vibrations issue from the centre, in contrast to bells, which vibrate principally at the rim.

Kamakura Period

2005-03-06T19:57:00.000-08:00

In Japanese history, the period from 1192 to 1333 during which the basis of feudalism was firmly established. It was named for the city where Minamoto Yoritomo set up the headquarters of his military government, commonly known as the Kamakura shogunate. After his decisive victory over the rival Taira family at the battle of Dannoura (1185), Yoritomo created his own military administration

Reflex

2005-03-06T05:10:00.000-08:00

Many reflexes of placental mammals appear to be innate. They are hereditary and are a common feature of the species and often of the genus. Reflexes include not only such simple

Baseball

2005-03-05T21:58:00.000-08:00

Although Sosa, with 63 homers, became the first player to hit 60 home runs in two consecutive seasons, McGwire hit 65, including the 500th of his career, and led the NL with 147 runs batted in. Larry Walker of the Colorado Rockies won the NL batting title with an average of .379. Astros pitchers Mike Hampton (22) and Jose Lima (21) led the league in victories, but Randy Johnson of Arizona, who struck out

Mercury

2005-03-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

Any of the first series of manned space flights conducted by the United States (1961–63). The series began with a suborbital flight about three weeks after the Soviet cosmonaut Yury Gagarin became the first human in space (see Vostok). Alan B. Shepard, Jr., rode a Mercury space capsule dubbed Freedom 7 on a 486-kilometre (302-mile) flight of 15-minute duration, attaining a maximum altitude of

Sabha

2005-03-03T22:45:00.000-08:00

The sabha differs from the panchayat (caste or subcaste council) in that its scope is much larger; rather than

Tibet, Resources

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

Although Tibet is rich in mineral resources, its economy has remained underdeveloped. Surveys of the Kailas and Ma-fa-mu-ts'o districts in western Tibet conducted in the 1930s and '40s discovered extensive goldfields and large deposits of borax, as well as reserves of radium, iron, titanium, lead, and arsenic. Subsequent investigative teams dispatched in the 1950s by the Academia

Indo-aryan Languages

2005-03-03T11:13:00.000-08:00

Linguists generally assign the Indo-Aryan languages to three major periods: Old, Middle, and New Indo-Aryan. These periods are linguistic, not strictly chronological. Old Indo-Aryan includes different dialects and linguistic states referred

Coolidge, William D(avid)

2005-03-02T04:02:00.000-08:00

After teaching at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge; 1897, 1901–05) and the University of Leipzig (1899), in 1905 he joined the General Electric (GE) Research Laboratory.

Epideictic Oratory

2005-03-02T01:33:00.000-08:00

Also called ceremonial oratory according to Aristotle, a type of suasive speech designed primarily for rhetorical effect. Epideictic oratory was panegyrical, declamatory, and demonstrative. Its aim was to condemn or to eulogize an individual, cause, occasion, movement, city, or state. An outstanding example of this type of speech is a funeral oration by the Athenian statesman Pericles in honour

Abbas, Ferhat

2005-03-01T06:20:00.000-08:00

Further information about Ferhat Abbas may be found in David C. Gordon, The Passing of French Algeria (1966); and Joan Gillespie, Algeria: Rebellion and Revolution (1960, reprinted 1976).

Strasbourg I, Ii, And Iii, Universities Of

2005-03-01T00:22:00.000-08:00

French Universités De Strasbourg I, Ii, And Iii, autonomous state-financed institutions of higher learning in Strasbourg, Fr., established in 1970 under France's 1968 Orientation Act, reforming higher education, as successors to the former University of Strasbourg. The original university was founded by Protestants in 1537 as a German gymnasium (secondary school for the study of the classics) when Strasbourg was under German

Kikuyu

2005-02-28T19:12:00.000-08:00

The Kikuyu moved into their modern territory from the northeast in the 17th–19th

Agrippina The Younger

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

Agrippina was the daughter of the elder Agrippina, sister of the emperor Gaius, or Caligula (37–41), and wife of the emperor Claudius (41–54). She had been exiled in 39 for taking part in a conspiracy against Gaius but was allowed to return to Rome in 41. Her first husband, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus,

Tsingtao

2005-02-27T15:39:00.000-08:00

Originally a minor fishing village, Tsingtao developed a large junk trade

Yamamoto Isoroku

2005-02-27T08:53:00.000-08:00

Yamamoto graduated from the naval academy in 1904 and fought as an ensign in the Russo-Japanese War. He was naval attaché at the Japanese embassy in Washington, D.C., during 1926–27. He became vice minister of the Japanese navy in 1936, commander

Absolute Idealism

2005-02-26T21:18:00.000-08:00

A philosophical theory chiefly associated with G.W.F. Hegel and Friedrich Schelling, both German idealist philosophers of the 19th century, Josiah Royce, an American philosopher, and others, but, in its essentials, the product of Hegel. Absolute Idealism can generally be characterized as including the following principles: (1) the common everyday world of things and embodied

Gerzean Culture

2005-02-25T23:15:00.000-08:00

Also called Naqadah Ii Culture, predynastic Egyptian cultural phase given the sequence dates 40–65 by Sir Flinders Petrie and later dated c. 3400–c. 3100 BC. Evidence indicates that the Gerzean culture was not brought by invaders but was rather a further development of the culture of the Amratian period, which immediately preceded the Gerzean. Centred primarily at Naqadah and Hierakonpolis in Upper Egypt, and Sayala

Aquaculture

2005-02-25T19:43:00.000-08:00

Fish may be confined in earth ponds, concrete pools, barricaded coastal waters, or cages suspended in open water. In these enclosures, the fish can be supplied

Cordeliers, Club Of The

2005-02-25T19:18:00.000-08:00

Formally Society of the Friends of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen , French Club des Cordeliers , or Société des Amis des Droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen one of the popular clubs of the French Revolution, founded in 1790 to prevent the abuse of power and “infractions of the rights of man.” The club's popular name was derived from its original meeting place in Paris, the nationalized monastery of the Cordeliers (Franciscans). It became a political force under the leadership of such men as Jean-Paul Marat and Georges Danton. After

Serbia And Montenegro, The early Slav states

2005-02-25T10:12:00.000-08:00

The unstable situation of the Balkan Slavs, located as they were on the frontier between the Byzantine Empire and the seminomadic peoples of Asia, enabled them to assert some measure of independence. The basis of the Serbs' social organization was the zadruga, or extended family. Several zadruge were grouped locally under a zupan, or chieftain. With kinship and locality

George Ii

2005-02-24T22:01:00.000-08:00

George Augustus was the only son of the German prince George Louis, elector of Hanover (King

Augustana College

2005-02-24T11:55:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Rock Island, Ill., U.S. The college is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Augustana offers only Bachelor of Arts degrees and has a curriculum of education, business, and the liberal arts and sciences. It operates study-abroad programs in Latin America, Asia, Israel, and Europe. The campus

Wolf, Hugo

2005-02-24T08:39:00.000-08:00

Wolf studied at the Vienna Conservatory (1875–77) but had a moody and irascible temperament and was expelled from the conservatory following his outspoken criticism of his masters. In 1875 he met the composer Richard

Calahorra

2005-02-22T13:46:00.000-08:00

Town, in the province and autonomous community (region) of La Rioja, northern Spain, on the south bank of the Río Cidacos near its confluence with the Ebro, southeast of Logroño city. Known as Calagurris to its original Celtiberian inhabitants, the town was famous for its four years' resistance to the Roman general Pompey (76–72 BC). The Romans later called it Calagurris Nassica

Wahiawa

2005-02-22T09:43:00.000-08:00

City, Honolulu county, west-central Oahu Island, Hawaii, U.S. It is situated on the 1,000-foot- (300-metre-) high Leilehua Plateau between the two forks of the Kaukonahua Stream. Wahiawa (meaning “place of noise”) is a commercial centre for nearby plantation communities and military installations (Schofield Barracks and Wheeler Air Force Base). It is the site of company housing developments

Düsseldorf

2005-02-22T02:18:00.000-08:00

Regierungsbezirk (administrative district), west-central North Rhine–Westphalia Land (state), western Germany. Düsseldorf is bordered by The Netherlands to the west and the Regierungsbezirke of Münster to the northeast, Arnsberg to the east, and Köln to the south. The district occupies an area of 2,042 square miles (5,288 square km) and consists of the northern portion of the larger

Wah

2005-02-21T19:44:00.000-08:00

Also called Wah Cantonment, town, Punjab province, northern Pakistan. It is connected by road with Peshawar and Rawalpindi and is a growing industrial centre. Wah's industries include one of the largest cement factories in the Indian subcontinent, ordnance and tractor plants, and agricultural implements and spare-parts manufacturing. Amenities include a garden said to have been built by the

Indiana Dunes

2005-02-20T23:25:00.000-08:00

The state park, established in 1925, comprises 2,182 acres (883 hectares) of shoreline, marshland, dunes, and forests near Chesterton. In addition to a 3-mile (5-kilometre) white sand beach, it has facilities for camping, picnicking, fishing, and hiking. An outstanding feature is the Big

Ocean Current

2005-02-20T19:25:00.000-08:00

The direction and form of oceanic currents is governed by a number of natural forces, including principally horizontal pressure gradient forces; forces generated by variable density of seawater, which is

Li Ka-shing

2005-02-19T23:29:00.000-08:00

Topping Asiaweek magazine's 2000 list of Asia's 50 most powerful people was Li Ka-shing, a billionaire who took “old economy” money and parlayed it into a “new economy” juggernaut. Nicknamed “Superman” by the regional media because of his uncanny ability to pull off a succession of profitable deals, Li inspired loyalty among stockholders, who had come to expect every Li-inspired

Gage, Matilda Joslyn

2005-02-19T07:33:00.000-08:00

Matilda Joslyn received an advanced education from her father and completed her formal schooling at the Clinton Liberal Institute in Clinton, New York. In 1845 she married Henry H. Gage, with whom she settled in Fayetteville,

New England Confederation

2005-02-19T03:18:00.000-08:00

Also called United Colonies of New England in British American colonial history, a federation of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Haven, and Plymouth established in May 1643 by delegates from those four Puritan colonies. Several factors influenced the formation of this alliance, including the solution of trade, boundary, and religious disputes, but the principal impetus was a concern over defense against attacks

Natal Grass

2005-02-18T22:24:00.000-08:00

Any of several southern African grasses of the family Poaceae, and species Rhynchelytrum repens (formerly Tricholaena rosea), which in some areas is known as Natal red top. It is a tufted, perennial with glossy, purple or pink hairs on the seed heads. Natal grass is found on disturbed soils in tropical America and Australia and is cultivated as a forage and ornamental

Colchester

2005-02-18T06:24:00.000-08:00

As Camulodunum, the town of Colchester was the capital of the pre-Roman Belgic ruler Cunobelinus and is so named on his coins. Although burned in 60 CE during the rising of the British queen Boudicca, Colchester soon became one of the

Sartre, Jean-paul

2005-02-18T02:56:00.000-08:00

Sartre lost his father at an early age and grew up in the home of his maternal grandfather, Carl Schweitzer, uncle of the medical missionary Albert Schweitzer and himself professor of German at the Sorbonne. The boy, who wandered in the Luxembourg Gardens of Paris in search of playmates, was small in stature and cross-eyed. His brilliant autobiography, Les Mots (1963; Words,

Anne Of Denmark

2005-02-17T11:53:00.000-08:00

The daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark and Norway, Anne was married to James in 1589. Her Lutheran upbringing and frivolous nature

Use

2005-02-16T10:26:00.000-08:00

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

Ford, Henry, Ii

2005-02-15T08:35:00.000-08:00

In 1940 Ford left Yale University without graduating to join the firm founded by his grandfather, Henry Ford, and at the time run by his father, Edsel Ford. A year later he joined the U.S. Navy; but in 1943, following the unexpected death

Sicani

2005-02-15T08:33:00.000-08:00

English Sicans according to ancient Greek writers, the aboriginal inhabitants of western Sicily, as opposed to the Siculi of eastern Sicily. Archaeologically there is no substantial difference between Sicani and Siculi (Sicels) in historical times; but ancient authorities believed the Sicani to be Iberians from Spain who were driven by the invading Siculi into the western

Gregory, Dick

2005-02-15T05:48:00.000-08:00

Byname of Richard Claxton Gregory African-American comedian, civil rights activist, and spokesman for health issues, who became nationally recognized in the 1960s for a biting brand of comedy that attacked racial prejudice. By addressing his hard-hitting satire to white audiences, he gave a comedic voice to the rising Civil Rights Movement. In the 1980s his nutrition business venture targeted

Jackson, Sheldon

2005-02-14T21:04:00.000-08:00

Jackson attended Union College and the Princeton Theological Seminary. From 1859 to 1869 he was a missionary in Wisconsin and Minnesota, organizing more than 20 churches. In 1869 he became superintendent of missions in

Chiaroscuro

2005-02-14T05:58:00.000-08:00

Some evidence exists that ancient Greek and Roman artists used chiaroscuro effects, but in European painting the technique was first brought to its full potential by Leonardo da Vinci in the late 15th century in such paintings as his “Adoration of the

Tracer

2005-02-13T17:15:00.000-08:00

Detectable substance added to a chemical, biological, or physical system to follow its process or to study distribution of the substance in the system. Tracer dyes have long been used to follow the flow of underground streams. Incendiary rounds included at intervals in a belt of machine-gun bullets make the paths of the bullets visible. In scientific work, the use

Power, Tyrone (edmund)

2005-02-12T22:26:00.000-08:00

Power's Irish great-grandfather and namesake, Tyrone (1795–1841), was a popular actor and comedian; his granduncle Maurice (d. 1849), a Shakespearean actor; and his father, Frederick Tyrone (1869–1931), an actor on stage and in Hollywood. Before Power's Broadway debut in 1935 in Romeo and Juliet,

Dietz, Howard

2005-02-12T14:24:00.000-08:00

After graduating from Columbia University in 1917, Dietz joined the Philip Goodman Advertising Agency, where he was assigned to devise a trademark for Goldwyn Pictures. Dietz used Columbia's lion mascot as an inspiration for the Goldwyn studio's “roaring lion” trademark, which thereafter

Catechumen

2005-02-12T11:15:00.000-08:00

A person who receives instruction in the Christian religion in order to be baptized. According to the New Testament, the apostles instructed converts after baptism (Acts 2:41–42), and Christian instruction was evidently given to all converts (Luke 1:4, Acts 18:25, Galatians 6:6). As the number of Gentiles in the church increased, instruction became more definite. In the 4th century, with the

Conservatism

2005-02-12T10:55:00.000-08:00

The term conservatism, although it has had different implications in varying historical and geographical contexts, is best reserved to denote a preference for institutions and practices that have evolved historically and that are thus

World War I, Peace moves, March 1917September 1918

2005-02-11T07:33:00.000-08:00

Francis Joseph, Austria's venerable old

Ear, Human, Detection of angular acceleration: dynamic equilibrium

2005-02-10T06:35:00.000-08:00

Because the three semicircular canals—superior, posterior, and horizontal—are positioned at right angles to one another, they are able to detect movements in three-dimensional space (see Anatomy of the human ear: Inner ear: Semicircular canals). When the head begins to rotate in any direction, the inertia of the endolymph causes it to lag behind, exerting pressure that

Philip Ii

2005-02-10T00:28:00.000-08:00

Characteristically, Philip declined the trial of strength, prepared to wait for six years until he could gain Thermopylae by negotiation and without striking a blow. Meanwhile his Thessalian victory earned him election as president (archon) of the Thessalian League (probably 352), a position unique for a foreigner in a Greek confederation and one that was to bind Thessaly

Ekrem, Recaizade Mahmud

2005-02-09T17:37:00.000-08:00

The son of a poet and scholar, Ekrem was apprenticed to a number of government offices after his formal education. Later he became an official in the Council of State and a teacher of Turkish literature at the

Adams, Walter (sydney)

2005-02-09T01:44:00.000-08:00

Born of missionary parents who returned to the United States when he was eight years old, Adams studied astronomy

China, Rural collectivization

2005-02-08T09:32:00.000-08:00

This transition was most obvious in the countryside. After land reform had been carried out, mutual aid teams allowed the Communists to experiment with voluntary forms of agricultural collectivization. Starting in late 1953, a campaign was launched to organize into small collectives, called lower level agricultural producers' cooperatives, averaging 20 to 30

Kellermann, François-christophe, Duc (duke) De Valmy

2005-02-07T21:41:00.000-08:00

Born into a family of the judicial nobility, Kellermann became an officer in the French Army in 1752. He fought with distinction against the Prussians and British during the Seven Years' War (1756–63) and was subsequently

Davies, William Henry

2005-02-07T21:11:00.000-08:00

After serving as apprentice to a picture framer, Davies tramped through the United States, crossed the Atlantic many times on cattle boats, lost a foot while trying

Amphibole

2005-02-07T14:40:00.000-08:00

Amphiboles are found principally in metamorphic and igneous rocks. They occur in many metamorphic rocks, especially those derived from mafic igneous rocks (those containing dark-coloured ferromagnesian minerals) and siliceous dolomites. Amphiboles also are important constituents in a variety of plutonic and volcanic igneous rocks that range in composition

Hoist

2005-02-06T05:09:00.000-08:00

Mechanical device used primarily for raising and lowering heavy loads but occasionally for moving objects horizontally. It usually consists of a block and tackle—a combination of one or more fixed pulleys, a moving pulley with a hook or other similar means of attaching loads, and a rope (or cable) between them. Motive power for a hoist may be either manual or supplied

Nashville 1960s Overview

2005-02-05T20:22:00.000-08:00

From 1958 through 1962 some of the biggest international hits were made by country singers recording in Nashville, Tennessee, including the Everly Brothers, Jim Reeves, Marty Robbins, Johnny Cash, Leroy Van Dyke, Jimmy Dean, Patsy Cline, and Johnny Horton. Nevertheless, the market for “pure” country was shrinking fast, and by 1961 only about 80 radio stations programmed country music.

Kita-ibaraki

2005-02-05T11:37:00.000-08:00

City, northern Ibaraki Prefecture (ken), Honshu, Japan, facing the Pacific Ocean. The western part of the city occupies hills that slope toward the rest of the city on the coast. Agriculture (rice) and fishing (sardines, mackerel) are important. Because of the closing of all but one of the coal mines in the area, the city's population was decreasing throughout the 1970s. Kita-Ibaraki