PresentBaby

Lauenburg

2005-03-19T01:51:00.000-08:00

A duchy under the Ascanian dynasty from the 13th century, Lauenburg was acquired by George William, the Welf duke

Minamoto Yoshitsune

2005-03-16T22:09:00.000-08:00

Warrior who engineered many of the military victories that helped his half brother Yoritomo gain control of Japan. He is probably the most popular Japanese historical figure of the period, and his romantic exploits have captured the imagination of the Japanese people, who have perpetuated numerous legends, stories,

Jacobabad

2005-03-15T05:54:00.000-08:00

City, Sindh province, Pakistan. The city lies at a junction of the Pakistan Western Railway and main roads through Sindh. It was founded in 1847 on the site of the village of Khanghar by General John Jacob, the district's first deputy commissioner. Jacob, who laid out the modern city, is commemorated by monuments, and even his horse has been memorialized by a mud pyramid. The city

Wolff, Betje

2005-03-12T10:14:00.000-08:00

Wolff, the daughter of a prosperous family, ran away with a naval officer at the age of 17, only to return home in a few days, deeply hurt by the experience. In 1759 she married Adriaan

Late Blight

2005-03-10T00:43:00.000-08:00

Disease of potato and tomato plants that is caused by the fungus Phytophthora infestans. The disease occurs in humid regions with temperature ranges of between 40° and 80° F (4° and 29° C); hot, dry weather checks its spread. Potato or tomato vines that are infected may rot within two weeks. The Irish potato famines of the mid-19th century were caused by late blight. The disease destroyed

Noric Alps

2005-03-08T23:28:00.000-08:00

German Norische Alpen, segment of the Eastern Alps extending across southern Austria between the Hohe Tauern range and Katschberg Pass (west) and the city of Graz on the Mur River (east). With the Drava River to the south and the upper Mur River to the north, the mountains rise to Eisenhut (8,008 feet [2,441 m]) and consist of several subranges, the highest of which are the Gurkthaler Alpen in the west. Summer

Traditional Ceramics

2005-03-06T16:04:00.000-08:00

Ceramic materials that are derived from common, naturally occurring raw materials such as clay minerals and quartz sand. Through industrial processes that have been practiced in some form for centuries, these materials are made into such familiar products as china tableware, clay brick and tile, industrial abrasives and refractory linings, and portland cement.

Amos, Book Of

2005-03-04T04:40:00.000-08:00

The third of 12 Old Testament books that bear the names of the Minor Prophets, collected in one book under the Jewish canon titled The Twelve. Amos, a Judaean prophet from the village of Tekoa, was active in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II (c. 786–746 BC). According to 7:14, Amos was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet; i.e., he was not a member of a professional

Rhyolite

2005-03-04T04:36:00.000-08:00

Extrusive igneous rock that is the volcanic equivalent of granite. Most rhyolites are porphyritic, indicating that crystallization began prior to extrusion. Crystallization may sometimes have begun while the magma was deeply buried; in such cases, the rock may consist principally of well-developed, large, single crystals (phenocrysts) at the time of extrusion.

Arts, Central Asian, Tibetan music

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

Tibetan religious music is the only Central Asian repertoire that has a long history of written notation. This notation, for liturgical chant, consists of neumes—i.e., symbols representing melodic contour rather than precise pitch, similar to the earliest music writing of medieval Europe. Also distinctive is the metaphysical aspect of Tibetan Buddhist music, related

Brazil, Literature

2005-03-01T22:23:00.000-08:00

Brazil has had many world-renowned literary figures whose cumulative writings are regarded by many to be richer than those of Portugal because of their variety of ethnic and regional themes. Joaquim Machado de Assis, the son of a freed slave, was a leading voice of the 19th century with his romantic novels. In the 20th century the Northeast produced a particularly wide

Mahavira

2005-03-01T13:41:00.000-08:00

Also known as Vardhamana Epithet of Vardhamana, the last of the 24 Tirthankaras (“Ford-makers,” i.e., saviours who promulgated Jainism), and the reformer of the Jain monastic community. According to the traditions of the two main Jain sects, the Shvetambara (“White-robed”) and the Digambara (“Sky-clad,” i.e., naked), Mahavira became

Arabia, History Of, Oman

2005-02-27T14:19:00.000-08:00

In the last decades of the 7th century the Ibadites (Ibadiyah), regarded as a moderate Kharijite sect, conquered southern Arabia, established a Kindite imam in Hadhramaut, occupied San'a', and took Mecca and Medina, before the Umayyads drove them back to Hadhramaut. Oman had early become Kharijite; the first Ibadite imam, al-Julanda ibn Mas'ud, was elected at about the beginning of the 'Abb

Aesthetics, Major concerns of 18th-century aesthetics

2005-02-27T07:13:00.000-08:00

The development of aesthetics between the work of Baumgarten and that of Immanuel Kant, who had been influenced by Baumgarten's writings, was complex and diverse, drawing inspiration from virtually every realm of human inquiry. Yet, throughout this period certain topics repeatedly received focal attention in discussions pertaining to aesthetic

Widnes

2005-02-25T22:34:00.000-08:00

Town in the unitary authority of Halton, historic county of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the north bank of the River Mersey at its lowest bridging point and on the southern periphery of the Liverpool metropolitan region. The modern town is a result of 19th-century industrial expansion and is a principal centre of the British chemical industry, largely because

Japanese Law

2005-02-24T19:11:00.000-08:00

The law as it has developed in Japan as a consequence of a meld of two cultural and legal traditions, one indigenous Japanese, the other Western. Before Japan's isolation from the West was ended in the mid-19th century, Japanese law developed independently of Western influences. Conciliation was emphasized in response to social pressures exerted through an expanded

Ararat

2005-02-22T20:44:00.000-08:00

City, southwestern Victoria, Australia, on the northern flanks of the Pyrenees Range, near the Hopkins River. The community and a nearby peak (2,020 ft [616 m]) were named in 1840 by a sheep farmer who likened his settling there to the legendary resting of Noah's Ark on Mt. Ararat in Turkey after the Flood. Although gold was discovered in 1854, the rush of miners was delayed until 1857. Declared a borough

Lista, Alberto

2005-02-21T07:34:00.000-08:00

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

Shelley, Percy Bysshe

2005-02-20T21:54:00.000-08:00

Shelley was the heir to rich estates acquired by his grandfather, Bysshe (pronounced “Bish”) Shelley.

Chaser

2005-02-20T00:20:00.000-08:00

A literary work or portion of a literary work that is of a light or mollifying nature in comparison with that which precedes or accompanies it. The metaphor may stem from the practice of following the consumption of strong alcoholic drink with consumption of a less-potent beverage or, occasionally, with food.

Koror

2005-02-18T23:40:00.000-08:00

Formerly Corrora one of the Caroline Islands, western Pacific; it lies just southwest of Babelthuap island. Koror city serves as the provisional capital of Palau while a new capital is being constructed at Melekeok in eastern Babelthuap. Partly uplifted coral-limestone and partly volcanic in origin, Koror has a land area of 3 square miles (8 square km) and rises to 459 feet (140 metres). A territorial

Literature, Hebrew.

2005-02-18T01:13:00.000-08:00

The quantitative prosperity of Hebrew fiction in 2001 produced mixed results. The few impressive achievements included Gabriela Avigur-Rotem's Hamsin vetziporim meshuga'ot (“Heatwave and Crazy Birds”), Yoel Hoffmann's The Shunra and the Schmetterling (“The Cat and the Butterfly”), Daniella Carmi's Lesha'hrer pil (“To Free an Elephant”), and Reuven Miran's Shalosh sigariot

Briançon

2005-02-16T14:08:00.000-08:00

City, Hautes-Alpes département, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur région, southeastern France. Briançon lies at the confluence of the Durance and Guisanne rivers. Its location at a crossing point for commerce across the Alps made the city important historically. The upper city preserves 17th-century fortifications designed by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban; the lower city

Faridabad

2005-02-16T01:25:00.000-08:00

Town, southeastern Haryana state, northwestern India, connected by road with Delhi (north) and Mathura (southeast). It is a local market for wheat, sugarcane, and cotton. Founded in 1607 by Shaikh Farid, Emperor Jahangir's treasurer, to protect the Delhi–Agra high road, it was constituted a municipality in 1867. A project for Pakistani refugee resettlement and light industrial development

Kadar

2005-02-14T17:53:00.000-08:00

The Kadar live in the forests and do not practice agriculture, building shelters thatched with leaves and shifting location as their employment requires. They prefer to eat rice obtained

Atherton Tableland

2005-02-14T03:40:00.000-08:00

Also called Atherton Plateau, highland region that is part of the Great Dividing Range (Eastern Highlands) in northeastern Queensland, Australia. The plateau region is bounded by the Palmer (north) and Burdekin (south) rivers and has an area of 12,000 square miles (31,000 square km). Its average elevation of 2,000–3,000 feet (600–900 m) induces relatively high rainfall, which, in conjunction with rich volcanic soils, makes the plateau

Block And Tackle

2005-02-12T19:01:00.000-08:00

Combination of a flexible rope, or cable, and pulleys commonly used to augment pulling force; it can be used to lift heavy weights or to exert large forces in any direction. In the Figure there are four freely rotating pulleys, two on the upper block, which remains fixed, and two on the lower block, which moves up as the load W is lifted; one end of the rope is anchored to the upper

Clarendon

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

Jewish Religious Year, Importance

2005-02-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

The central significance of the Sabbath for Judaism is reflected in the traditional commentative and interpretative literature called Talmud and Midrash (e.g., “if you wish to destroy the Jewish people, abolish their Sabbath first”) and in numerous legends and adages from more recent literature (e.g., “more than Israel kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath kept Israel”). Some of

Arnold, Matthew, Poetical works.

2005-02-10T04:41:00.000-08:00

Alaric at Rome (1840; Rugby School prize poem); Cromwell (1843; Newdigate Prize poem); The Strayed Reveller, and Other Poems. By A. (1849); Empedocles on Etna, and Other Poems. By A. (1852); Poems (1853; including “Sohrab and Rustum,” “The Forsaken Merman,” and “The Scholar Gipsy”); Poems, Second Series (1855); Merope (1858; classical tragedy); New Poems (1867; including “Thyrsis” and “Dover Beach”).

Plymouth Brethren

2005-02-08T22:22:00.000-08:00

Community of Christians whose first congregation was established in Plymouth, Devon, Eng., in 1831. The movement originated in Ireland and England a few years earlier with groups of Christians who met for prayer and fellowship. Biblical prophecy and the Second Coming of Christ were emphasized. John Nelson Darby, a former clergyman in the Church of Ireland (Anglican), soon

Adams, John, Special topics

2005-02-08T06:17:00.000-08:00

Finally, seminal essays on Adams's personality and ideology can be found in several books that focus on larger themes during the Revolutionary era. These include Bernard Bailyn, Faces of Revolution: Personalities and Themes in the Struggle for American Independence (1990, reissued 1992); Edmund S. Morgan, The Meaning of Independence: John Adams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson (1976, reissued 1978); and Gordon S. Wood, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776–1787 (1969, reissued 1998).

Amplitude

2005-02-06T01:07:00.000-08:00

In physics, the maximum displacement or distance moved by a point on a vibrating body or wave measured from its equilibrium position. It is equal to one-half the length of the vibration path. The amplitude of a pendulum is thus one-half the distance that the bob traverses in moving from one side to the other. Waves are generated by vibrating sources, their amplitude being

Switzerland, History

2005-02-05T01:59:00.000-08:00

Historical overviews are provided by Handbuch der schweizer Geschichte, 2 vol. (1972–77); Peter Dürrenmatt, Schweizer Geschichte (1957, reissued in 2 vol., 1976); Edgar Bonjour, H.S. Offler, and G.R. Potter, A Short History of Switzerland (1952, reprinted 1985); Georg Thürer, Free and Swiss: The Story of Switzerland (1970; originally published in German, 3rd ed., 1964); Marc-R. Sauter, Switzerland, from Earliest Times to the Roman Conquest (1976); and William Martin, Switzerland: From Roman Times to the Present (1971; originally published in French, 6th ed., 1966). Hektor Ammann and Karl Schib (eds.), Historischen Atlas der Schweiz, 2nd ed. (1958), is an excellent atlas of Swiss history.

Compurgation

2005-02-04T17:43:00.000-08:00

The essence of the procedure lay in oath making. The party responsible for proving a fact had to produce a number of witnesses (usually 12) who would swear that he was

'arad

2005-02-03T16:45:00.000-08:00

Town, southern Israel, in the northeast Negev, named for the biblical Arad, the ruins of which are visible at Tel 'Arad, about 5 1/2 miles (9 km) east-northeast. The book of Numbers (21:1–3) tells how the Canaanite king of 'Arad fought the Israelites during the exodus from Egypt, but his cities were “utterly destroyed” by Israel's armies. The city's name appears on the Temple of Amon, al-Karnak, Egypt,

Plainview

2005-02-03T04:39:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1888) of Hale county, northwestern Texas, U.S. It lies on the Llano Estacado, a portion of the High Plains between Amarillo and Lubbock (40 miles [65 km] south). The site was surveyed in 1887 by Z.T. Maxwell and E.L. Lowe, who named it Plainview because of the unbroken view to the horizon. The settlement remained a trading post for cattlemen until the railroad arrived in 1907, when it was incorporated

Stephen Ii (or Iii)

2005-02-01T10:21:00.000-08:00

He was a deacon when chosen on March 26, 752, as the second successor to Pope St. Zacharias (the first successor, Stephen II, had died on the previous day without being consecrated). The central act of his pontificate was to free the papacy from Byzantium and to ally it with the Franks

Faience Parlante

2005-01-31T21:02:00.000-08:00

(French: “talking faience”), in French pottery, popular utilitarian 18th-century earthenware, principally plates, jugs, and bowls, that had inscriptions as part of its decoration. The city of Nevers was the outstanding centre for the production of faience parlante. The range of inscriptions included owners' names, coats of arms, bacchic or facetious references, Masonic

G.c.b.

2005-01-31T08:03:00.000-08:00

Knight grand cross, or dame grand cross, of the Bath, member of the highest rank of knightly class in a British order of knighthood. See Bath, The Most Honourable Order of the.

Great Mother Of The Gods

2005-01-30T21:27:00.000-08:00

Legends agree in locating the rise of the worship of the Great Mother in the general area of Phrygia in

Tutankhamen

2005-01-28T01:32:00.000-08:00

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

Scad

2005-01-27T14:00:00.000-08:00

Any of several species of fishes in the family Carangidae (order Perciformes), which also includes the jacks, amberjacks, and pompanos. The name scad is usually restricted to certain species in the genera Decapterus, Selar, and Trachurus. The half dozen species are marine and occur along the Atlantic coast of the Americas, except for the Mexican scad (D. scombrinus), which

Amoghasiddhi

2005-01-26T23:17:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit: “Unfailing Success”), in Mahayana and Vajrayana (Tantric) Buddhism, one of the five “self-born” Buddhas. See Dhyani-Buddha.

Béziers

2005-01-26T16:01:00.000-08:00

City, Hérault département, Languedoc-Roussillon région, southern France, 9 miles (14 km) from the Mediterranean Sea, on a hilly site overlooking the Orb River where it is intersected by the Canal of the Midi, southwest of Montpellier. There are remains of an arena from the Roman colony Beterrae. In the 12th century it was a stronghold of the viscounts of Carcassonne. In 1209 Simon

Robert-houdin, Jean-eugène

2005-01-24T17:15:00.000-08:00

Original name Jean-Eugène Robert French magician who is considered to be the father of modern conjuring. He was the first magician to use electricity; he improved the signalling method for the “thought transference” trick; and he exposed “fakes” and magicians who relied on supernatural explanations for their feats. Although he did not do away with apparatus, he

Benjamin, Asher

2005-01-24T00:22:00.000-08:00

American architect who was an early follower of Charles Bulfinch. His greatest influence on American architecture, lasting until about 1860, was through the publication of several handbooks, from which many other 18th-century architects and builders, including Ammi Young and Ithiel Town, copied plans. These books included

Proetus

2005-01-23T09:26:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, a king of Argos, grandson of Danaus. He quarreled with his brother Acrisius and divided the kingdom with him, Proetus taking Tiryns, which he fortified. Proetus' daughters were driven mad either because they insulted the goddess Hera or because they would not accept the new rites of Dionysus. They imagined themselves cows, until the seer Melampus

Platinum Group, Assaying

2005-01-21T04:17:00.000-08:00

Assaying ores and concentrates for platinum-group metals is extremely difficult, since the concentration of any particular metal may be less than one part per million. Initial concentration is achieved by fire assay. The assay bead is dissolved in aqua regia and the metals separated and concentrated, often by solvent extraction. Dissolution of the bead is complicated

Scheidemann, Philipp

2005-01-21T03:53:00.000-08:00

A journalist and (from 1903) member of the Reichstag for the Social Democrats, Scheidemann

Christians Of Saint Thomas

2005-01-19T10:54:00.000-08:00

The origins of the Christians of St. Thomas are uncertain, though they seem to have been in existence before the 6th century AD and probably

Anthracene

2005-01-19T05:01:00.000-08:00

A tricyclic aromatic hydrocarbon found in coal tar and used as a starting material for the manufacture of dyestuffs and in scintillation counters. Crude anthracene crystallizes from a high-boiling coal-tar fraction. It is purified by recrystallization and sublimation. Oxidation yields anthraquinone (q.v.), an intermediate in the production of dyes and pigments.

Agricultural Technology, Rainmaking

2005-01-17T05:00:00.000-08:00

Attempts to increase the amount of precipitation from clouds by seeding them with salt or silver iodide have been made for nearly three decades. Both aircraft and ground generators have been employed, but the techniques are typically beyond the means of an individual farmer. Results suggest that cloud modification is entirely possible, but the proof of increased

Thomas, Gwyn

2005-01-16T03:22:00.000-08:00

Thomas was educated at Oxford and the University of Madrid and began writing seriously in the 1930s. His first novel, The Dark Philosophers (1946), built on the conversations of four unemployed Welsh miners, reminded critics

Rouergue

2005-01-16T01:19:00.000-08:00

Ancient province of south central France, corresponding to much of the modern départements of Aveyron and Tarn-et-Garonne. It was bounded on the north by Auvergne, on the south and southwest by Languedoc, on the east by Gévaudan and the Cévennes mountains, and on the west by Quercy. It derived its name from the Gallic tribe of Rutheni. Administratively it formed first

Bashkir

2005-01-14T21:24:00.000-08:00

The Bashkirs settled their land under the Mongol khanate of Kipchak from the 13th to the 15th century.

Mountain, Volcanoes and island arcs surrounding the Northwest Pacific Basin

2005-01-11T05:22:00.000-08:00

A chain of volcanoes extends from mainland Alaska down the Alaska Peninsula along the Aleutian Islands and then southwestward down the peninsula of Kamchatka in northeastern Siberia and along the Kuril Islands to Japan. The Pacific Plate is being subducted beneath this long volcanic chain. Most of the relief is the result of volcanism. The Aleutians and Kurils

La Fosse, Charles De

2005-01-10T23:49:00.000-08:00

The greatest influence on La Fosse's painting was the work of his teacher, Charles Le

Oarfish

2005-01-07T14:50:00.000-08:00

(species Regalecus glesne), large, long, sinuous fish of the family Regalecidae (order Lampridiformes), found throughout the tropics and subtropics in rather deep water. A ribbon-shaped fish, very thin from side to side, the oarfish may grow to a length of about 9 m (30.5 feet) and a weight of 300 kg (660 pounds). It is shiny silver in colour, with long, red, oarlike pelvic fins and a long, red dorsal

Short Story, The impressionist story

2005-01-05T03:01:00.000-08:00

Several American writers, from Poe to James, were interested in the “impressionist” story that focusses on the impressions registered by events on the characters' minds, rather than the objective reality of the events themselves. In Herman Melville's “Bartleby the Scrivener” (1856) the narrator is a man who unintentionally reveals his own moral weaknesses through his telling

Eemian Interglacial Stage

2005-01-03T23:27:00.000-08:00

Major division of Pleistocene time and deposits in Europe (the Pleistocene Epoch began about 1,600,000 years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago). The Eemian Interglacial followed the Saale Glacial Stage and preceded the Weichsel Glacial Stage; the Eemian is correlated with the Ipswichian Interglacial of Britain and the Riss-Würm Interglacial Stage of the Alpine region of Europe.

Rupp, Adolph

2005-01-01T03:44:00.000-08:00

Rupp grew up on a Kansas farm and was hardly aware of basketball until he went to college. He was a member of the University of Kansas (Lawrence) Big Eight Conference championship team of 1923. After coaching five years

Aldhelm

2004-12-31T02:58:00.000-08:00

Aldhelm was trained in Latin and in Celtic-Irish scholarship by Malmesbury's Irish founder and went on to study at the famous school at Canterbury, where he was exposed

Console

2004-12-28T19:43:00.000-08:00

In architecture, type of bracket or corbel, particularly one with a scroll-shaped profile: usually an ogee (S or inverted S curve) or double-ogee terminating in volutes (spirals) above and below. A console projects about one-half its height or less to support a windowhead, cornice, shelf, or sculpture. The difference between a console and other varieties of bracket has more

Giono, Jean

2004-12-26T17:07:00.000-08:00

A love of nature came to Giono from his mountain town and from the shepherd family with whom, as a boy, he spent his summers. He was largely self-taught. As an infantryman in World War I, he was one of his company's

Tsuzure

2004-12-25T19:44:00.000-08:00

Japanese tapestry, the full name of which is tsuzure-nishiki (“polychrome tapestry”). They were usually woven of silk on cotton warp covered with silk, gold, or silver threads. Tsuzure techniques reached Japan from China in the late 15th or early 16th century during the Muromachi (Ashikaga) period (1338–1573). Production was at its height in the Tokugawa period (1603–1867), particularly early in the

Elijah Ben Solomon

2004-12-23T13:41:00.000-08:00

The best accounts available in English are found in Solomon Schechter, Studies in Judaism, First Series (1896, reissued 1945); and Louis Ginzberg, Students, Scholars, and Saints (1928, reprinted 1985).

Disposable Income

2004-12-20T23:32:00.000-08:00

That portion of an individual's income over which the recipient has complete discretion. An accurate general definition of income is not easy to provide. Income includes wages and salaries, interest and dividend payments from financial assets, and rents and net profits from businesses. Capital gains on real or financial assets should also be counted as income

Caoshu

2004-12-19T10:23:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization ts'ao-shu in Chinese calligraphy, a cursive variant of the standard Chinese scripts lishu and kaishu and their semicursive derivative xingshu. The script developed during the Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220), and it had its period of greatest growth during the Tang dynasty (618–907). In caoshu the number of strokes in characters are reduced to single scrawls or abstract abbreviations of curves and dots.

Gir Forest National Park

2004-12-17T23:50:00.000-08:00

The Gir Forests Reserve, created in 1913 to protect the largest

Interior Design, Aesthetic components of design

2004-12-12T13:25:00.000-08:00

A general definition of beauty and aesthetic excellence would be difficult, but fortunately there are a number of generally accepted principles that can be used to achieve an understanding of the aesthetic considerations in design. One must note, however, that such understanding requires exposure and learning; an appreciation of any form of art needs such a

Gama, Vasco Da, 1er Conde (1st Count) Da Vidigueira

2004-12-10T02:14:00.000-08:00

Portuguese navigator whose voyages to India (1497–99, 1502–03, 1524) opened up the sea route from western Europe to the East by way of the Cape of Good Hope and thus ushered in a new era in world history. He also helped make Portugal a world power.

Terengganu

2004-12-09T13:02:00.000-08:00

Formerly Trengganu, traditional region of northeastern West Malaysia (Malaya), bounded by those of Kelantan (north and northwest) and Pahang (south and southwest). It has a 200-mile- (320-kilometre-) long coastline along the South China Sea (east). Terengganu is mentioned in 1365 as a vassal of the Javanese kingdom of Majapahit. The sultanate of Terengganu, ruled by members of the same family since 1701, was under

Terengganu

2004-12-07T10:53:00.000-08:00

Major European aerospace company that builds commercial and military aircraft, space systems, propulsion systems, missiles, and other defense products. It was formed in 2000 from the merger of three leading European aerospace firms: Aerospatiale Matra of France, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) of Germany, and Construcciones Aeronáuticas S.A. (CASA) of Spain. Headquarters

Kyoha Shinto

2004-12-05T16:25:00.000-08:00

By 1908, 13 sects had been recognized

Scalia, Antonin

2004-12-02T18:41:00.000-08:00

Scalia's father, a Sicilian immigrant, taught Romance languages at Brooklyn College, and his Italian American mother taught elementary school. Scalia received a Roman

Netherlands, The, Transportation

2004-12-01T15:19:00.000-08:00

In The Netherlands transportation is of special importance because the country functions as a gateway for the traffic of goods between western Europe and the rest of the world. Trade flows through Dutch harbours, continuing its passage by river vessel, train, truck, and pipeline. Maritime traffic accounts for more than half of the total amount of goods loaded and

European Union

2004-11-29T19:23:00.000-08:00

On January 1, 1995, Sweden, Austria, and Finland joined the EU, leaving Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland as the only major western European countries outside the organization. Norway's government twice (1972 and 1994) attempted to join, but its voters rejected membership on each occasion. Switzerland tabled its application in the early 1990s. Norway, Iceland, and the members of the EU (along

Biblical Literature, The Ethiopic version

2004-11-26T05:30:00.000-08:00

The Ethiopic version poses special problems. The earliest Bible probably was based on Greek versions, after Ethiopia had been converted to Christianity during the 4th and 5th centuries. The earliest existing manuscripts, however, belong to the 13th century. Most manuscripts from the 14th century on seem to reflect Arabic or Coptic influence, and it is not certain whether

Daniell, John Frederic

2004-11-25T08:44:00.000-08:00

In 1820 Daniell invented a dew-point hygrometer (a device that indicates atmospheric humidity), which came into widespread use. In his Meteorological Essays and Observations (1823), Daniell

Abéché

2004-11-22T04:42:00.000-08:00

Town, eastern Chad, between the wadis Chao and Sao. Historically it was the site of the capital of the Muslim sultanate of Ouaddaï (q.v.), which dominated much of the area of Chad before French conquest was accomplished in 1912. The remains of the ancient capital include a palace, tombs of former sultans, and the ruins of a mosque, all surrounded by a thick wall. The town has many

Kyaukpyu

2004-11-21T03:29:00.000-08:00

Town, western Myanmar (Burma). It lies at the northern end of the offshore island of Ramree in Combermere Bay, an inlet of the Bay of Bengal, about 250 miles (400 km) northwest of Yangôn (Rangoon). Kyaukpyu's excellent natural harbour is formed by deep, narrow saltwater inlets separating the smaller offshore islands, and it is a regular port of call for steamers in the rice trade between

Alwar

2004-11-19T06:40:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Alwur, city, northeastern Rajasthan state, northwestern India. The city is surrounded by a wall and moat and is dominated by a fort on a conical hill against a backdrop of a range of hills. Alwar was made the capital of Alwar princely state in 1775; it contains the 14th-century tomb of Tarang Sultan (the brother of Firuz Shah) and several ancient mosques. The palace, which adjoins a picturesque

Insurance, Personal liability insurance

2004-11-17T22:22:00.000-08:00

The most common form of personal liability insurance is issued as part of the homeowner's liability insurance policy. It is an all-risk agreement and contains relatively few exclusions. The policy covers any act of negligence of the insured or residents of the home that results in legal liability. It may also include medical payments insurance covering accidental

Jackson, Michael

2004-11-15T04:10:00.000-08:00

In full Michael Joseph Jackson American singer, songwriter, and dancer who was the most popular entertainer in the world in the early and mid-1980s. Reared in Gary, Indiana, in one of the most acclaimed musical families of the rock era, Michael Jackson was the youngest and most talented of five brothers whom his father, Joseph, shaped into a dazzling group of child stars known as the

Alekseyev, Mikhail Vasilyevich

2004-11-13T11:10:00.000-08:00

The son of a private soldier, Alekseyev entered the Russian Army in 1876 and was graduated in 1890 from

Boston, Continuous park system

2004-11-11T18:57:00.000-08:00

When the Back Bay was nearing completion during the 1880s, the American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903) developed an imaginative and large-scale design for the city's parks. It linked the Common, Public Garden, and Commonwealth Avenue with Franklin Park in West Roxbury by way of an open park known as the Fenway, which followed the Muddy River off to Brookline

Gabon Estuary

2004-11-09T11:36:00.000-08:00

French Estuaire Du Gabon, inlet of the Gulf of Guinea, in western Gabon. It is fed by the Como and Mbeï rivers, which rise in the Cristal Mountains to the northeast. The estuary is 40 miles (64 km) long and 9 miles (14 km) wide at its mouth. It was explored in the 1470s by Portuguese navigators who may have named it Gabão (“Hooded Cloak with Sleeves”; hence Gabon) because of its shape, and it was long considered the finest harbour

Arrhenius Theory

2004-11-06T16:44:00.000-08:00

Theory, introduced in 1887 by the Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius, that acids are substances that dissociate in water to yield electrically charged atoms or molecules, called ions, one of which is a hydrogen ion (H+), and that bases ionize in water to yield hydroxide ions (OH-). It is now known that the hydrogen ion cannot exist alone in water solution; rather, it exists in a combined

Devrient, Eduard

2004-11-05T18:27:00.000-08:00

Nephew of the great Romantic actor Ludwig Devrient, Eduard began his career as an opera singer and in March

Nagaland, The economy

2004-11-03T17:19:00.000-08:00

Agriculture employs about 90 percent of the population. Rice, corn (maize), small millets, pulses (legumes such as peas and beans), oilseeds, fibres, sugarcane, potato, and tobacco are the principal crops. Nagaland, however, still has to depend on imports of food from neighbouring states. The widespread practice of jhum has led to soil erosion and loss of soil fertility. Only the

Tabari, At-

2004-10-30T14:24:00.000-07:00

In the Commentary, at-Tabari's method of composition was to follow the Qur'an text word by word, juxtaposing all of the juridical, lexicographical, and historical explanations

Byron, George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron

2004-10-26T03:46:00.000-07:00

Byname Lord Byron English Romantic poet and satirist whose poetry and personality captured the imagination of Europe. Renowned as the “gloomy egoist” of his autobiographical poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812–18) in the 19th century, he is now more generally esteemed for the satiric realism of Don Juan (1819–24).

Epicureanism

2004-10-24T00:51:00.000-07:00

In a strict sense, the philosophy taught by Epicurus (341–270 BC). In a broad sense, it is a system of ethics embracing every conception or form of life that can be traced to the principles of his philosophy. In ancient polemics, as often since, the term was employed with an even more generic (and clearly erroneous) meaning as the equivalent of hedonism, the doctrine that pleasure or

Tsukuba Science City

2004-10-22T01:09:00.000-07:00

Tsukuba Science City was developed in the 1970s and 1980s to stimulate scientific discovery.

Cabaret

2004-10-20T05:47:00.000-07:00

Restaurant that serves liquor and offers a variety of musical entertainment. The cabaret probably originated in France in the 1880s as a small club in which the audience was grouped around a platform. The entertainment at first consisted of a series of amateur acts linked together by a master of ceremonies; its coarse humour was usually directed against the conventions

Faience

2004-10-18T01:19:00.000-07:00

The tin glaze used in faience is actually a lead glaze that has been rendered white and opaque by the addition of tin oxide. In the

Ayub Khan, Mohammad

2004-10-15T23:52:00.000-07:00

After studying at Aligarh Muslim University, in Uttar Pradesh, India, and at the British Royal Military College, at Sandhurst, Ayub Khan was commissioned an officer in the Indian army (1928). In World War II he was second-in-command

Yama

2004-10-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

In Tibetan Buddhism, one of the eight fierce protective deities. See dharmapala.

Tsvetayeva, Marina Ivanovna

2004-10-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

Tsvetayeva spent her youth predominantly in Moscow, where her father

PresentBaby

Lauenburg

Minamoto Yoshitsune

Jacobabad

Wolff, Betje

Late Blight

Noric Alps

Traditional Ceramics

Amos, Book Of

Rhyolite

Arts, Central Asian, Tibetan music

Brazil, Literature

Mahavira

Arabia, History Of, Oman

Aesthetics, Major concerns of 18th-century aesthetics

Widnes

Japanese Law

Ararat

Lista, Alberto

Shelley, Percy Bysshe

Chaser

Koror

Literature, Hebrew.

Briançon

Faridabad

Kadar

Atherton Tableland

Block And Tackle

Clarendon

Jewish Religious Year, Importance

Arnold, Matthew, Poetical works.

Plymouth Brethren

Adams, John, Special topics

Amplitude

Switzerland, History

Compurgation

'arad

Plainview

Stephen Ii (or Iii)

Faience Parlante

G.c.b.

Great Mother Of The Gods

Tutankhamen

Scad

Amoghasiddhi

Béziers

Robert-houdin, Jean-eugène

Benjamin, Asher

Proetus

Platinum Group, Assaying

Scheidemann, Philipp

Christians Of Saint Thomas

Anthracene

Agricultural Technology, Rainmaking

Thomas, Gwyn

Rouergue

Bashkir

Mountain, Volcanoes and island arcs surrounding the Northwest Pacific Basin

La Fosse, Charles De

Oarfish

Short Story, The impressionist story

Eemian Interglacial Stage

Rupp, Adolph

Aldhelm

Console

Giono, Jean

Tsuzure

Elijah Ben Solomon

Disposable Income

Caoshu

Gir Forest National Park

Interior Design, Aesthetic components of design

Gama, Vasco Da, 1er Conde (1st Count) Da Vidigueira

Terengganu

Terengganu

Kyoha Shinto

Scalia, Antonin

Netherlands, The, Transportation

European Union

Biblical Literature, The Ethiopic version

Short Story, The impressionist story