SameThread

Le Maistre, Antoine

2005-04-05T14:08:00.000-07:00

Important figure in the Jansenist religious movement in France, a member of the Arnauld family (q.v.).

Ryleyev, Kondraty Fyodorovich

2005-04-05T04:11:00.000-07:00

Ryleyev came from a family of poor gentry. He served in the army, spending time in Germany, Switzerland, and France. After his return to Russia, he went to live in Voronezh province, where his impressions from abroad sharply contrasted with the

Fair

2005-04-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

Temporary market where buyers and sellers gather to transact business. A fair is held at regular intervals, generally at the same location and time of year, and it usually lasts for several days or even weeks. Its primary function is the promotion of trade. Historically, fairs displayed many different kinds of products in specific commodity or industrial groupings.

Murger, Henri

2005-04-02T18:10:00.000-08:00

The son of a concierge and a tailor, Murger left school at 13. Later he became secretary to Count Aleksey Tolstoy and was able to improve his education. He began writing poems and became part of the bohemian life in Paris, but he was often destitute and his health deteriorated. Both

April

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

Fourth month of the Gregorian calendar. See month and the accompanying Table.

Zanjan

2005-04-01T20:35:00.000-08:00

Geographic region of northwestern Iran. It lies west of Tehran and is bordered on the northwest by Azerbaijan and on the southwest by Kordestan. The region constitutes one of the uplands that frame central Iran and has an average elevation of 8,200 feet (2,500 m). It forms part of the Caspian Sea basin. The Zanjan River is the only major river in the region. Agriculture is the principal

Wa

2005-03-31T07:41:00.000-08:00

Also called Lawa, Va, Hkawa, Kawa, or Kala, hill-dwelling peoples of eastern Myanmar (Burma), where they are generally called Lawa, and southwestern Yunnan province of China, where they are generally called Va, or Wa. They speak an Austro-Asiatic language related to Mon-Khmer. The pagan, or “wild,” Wa are concentrated in the isolated northern and central Wa states of Myanmar; they are known as headhunters who believe

Deville, édouard Gaston (daniel)

2005-03-31T02:14:00.000-08:00

Deville served in the French navy, conducting hydrographic surveys in the South Sea islands, Peru, and elsewhere until 1874. He then went to Canada, where he

Turfan

2005-03-30T01:26:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) T'u-lu-p'an, or (Pinyin) Turpan, city in the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, China. It lies about 95 miles (150 km) southeast of the city of Urumchi (Wu-lu-mu-ch'i) in a mountain basin between the Po-ko-ta Mountains (an eastern extension of the Tien Shan) and the K'u-lu-k'o-t'a-ko range, on the northern side of the Turfan Depression. It has long been the centre of a fertile oasis and an important trade centre on the main

Dyckia

2005-03-29T04:21:00.000-08:00

Genus of usually stemless plants of the pineapple family (Bromeliaceae), consisting of about 80 South American species. These plants' long, stiff leaves, which grow in dense rosettes, are spiny-edged, sharp-tipped, and often fleshy. The small flowers usually are yellow or orange. Two species, D. rariflora and D. sulphurea (D. brevifolia), are commonly cultivated indoors as decorative

Barbacena

2005-03-29T03:34:00.000-08:00

City, southeastern Minas Gerais estado (“state”), Brazil. It is situated in the Serra da Mantiquera, at 3,727 feet (1,136 m) above sea level. The settlement was made the seat of a municipality in 1791 and elevated to city rank in 1840. It is now the trade and manufacturing centre for an agricultural region that raises corn (maize), feijão (beans), rice, coffee, and various fruits and vegetables. The largest

Gide, André

2005-03-28T21:01:00.000-08:00

In full André-Paul-Guillaume Gide French writer, humanist, and moralist who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1947.

Media Voices Of The Muslim World

2005-03-28T16:07:00.000-08:00

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the military actions against Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of the operation, and the Islamic Taliban in Afghanistan who had harboured him, brought increased visibility and international attention to the news media in the Middle East and Central Asia. This was especially true of the satellite television network Al-Jazeera,

Health And Disease

2005-03-28T10:30:00.000-08:00

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

Ottonian Art

2005-03-26T13:02:00.000-08:00

Painting, sculpture, and other visual arts produced during the reigns of the German Ottonian emperors and their first successors from the Salic house (950–1050). As inheritors of the Carolingian tradition of the Holy Roman Empire, the German emperors also assumed the Carolingian artistic heritage, the conscientious revival of late antique and Early Christian art forms

Monkey

2005-03-26T10:28:00.000-08:00

Monkeys are arranged into two main groups: Old World and New World. Old World monkeys all belong to one family, Cercopithecidae, which is related to apes and humans, and together they are classified as catarrhines (meaning “downward-nosed” in Latin). The New World monkeys are the platyrrhines (“flat-nosed”), a group comprising five families. As their taxonomic names suggest,

Argentina, Efforts toward reconstruction, 182029

2005-03-24T01:28:00.000-08:00

In 1820 only two political organizations could claim more than strictly local and provincial followings: the revolutionary government in Buenos Aires and the League of Free Peoples, which had grown up along the Río de la Plata and its tributaries under the leadership of José Gervasio Artigas. But both organizations collapsed in that year, and Buenos Aires seemed to

Utrecht, Treaties Of

2005-03-24T01:12:00.000-08:00

France concluded treaties of peace at Utrecht with Britain, the Dutch republic, Prussia, Portugal, and Savoy. By the treaty with Britain (April 11), France recognized Queen

Rölvaag, O(le) E(dvart)

2005-03-24T00:27:00.000-08:00

Rölvaag immigrated to the United States in 1896 and was naturalized in 1908. Educated at St. Olaf College, Northfield,

Southern Africa, Xhosa-Dutch conflict

2005-03-23T03:31:00.000-08:00

Settler expansion to the Cape's eastern frontier was blocked by the 1770s when trekboers came up against numerous Xhosa farmers in the area of the Great Fish River. During the 18th century the Xhosa had been embroiled in two major civil wars over the chiefly succession, of which the more important was the dispute, between the paramount Gcaleka and his ambitious brother

Palana

2005-03-22T22:38:00.000-08:00

Urban settlement and administrative centre of Koryak autonomous okrug (district), Kamchatka oblast (province), far eastern Russia. The settlement is situated on the western coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula and lies along the Palana River, 5 miles (8 km) from its mouth on the Sea of Okhotsk. The district was formed in 1930. The settlement has a regional museum. Pop. (1993 est.) 4,100.

Koch, Kenneth

2005-03-21T16:02:00.000-08:00

Koch attended Harvard University (B.A., 1948) and Columbia University (M.A., 1953; Ph.D., 1959), where he subsequently taught for many years. With the publication of Poems (1953), his first collection, he became

Ghiberti, Lorenzo

2005-03-21T14:53:00.000-08:00

Important early Italian Renaissance sculptor, whose doors (“Gates of Paradise”; 1425–52) for the Baptistery of the cathedral of Florence are considered one of the greatest masterpieces of Italian art in the Quattrocento. Other works include three bronze statues for Or San Michele (1416–25) and the reliefs for Siena cathedral (1417–27). Ghiberti also wrote three

Computers, Invention of the modern computer

2005-03-21T13:50:00.000-08:00

G. Pascal Zachary, Endless Frontier: Vannevar Bush, Engineer of the American Century (1997), presents a detailed account of Bush's role in transforming scientific research in the United States through government funding.

Hawthorne Research

2005-03-20T09:18:00.000-08:00

Also called Hawthorne effect socioeconomic experiments conducted by Elton Mayo in 1927 among employees of the Hawthorne Works factory of the Western Electric Company in Cicero, Illinois. For almost a year, a group of female workers were subjected to measured changes in their hours, wages, rest periods, lighting conditions, organization, and degree of supervision and consultation in order to determine

Kea

2005-03-19T17:33:00.000-08:00

New Zealand parrot species of the subfamily Nestorinae. See parrot.

Adelantado

2005-03-19T05:12:00.000-08:00

(Spanish: “one who goes before”), representative of the kings of Castile (Spain) who in the early European Middle Ages headed military expeditions and, from the reign of Ferdinand III (1217–52) until the 16th century, held judicial and administrative powers over specific districts. Greater adelantados (adelantados mayores) served as appeal judges and in times of war were responsible

Ramazan Dynasty

2005-03-19T02:55:00.000-08:00

In 1352 Ramazan, founder of the dynasty, was recognized by the Mamluk sultan of Egypt as the ruler of the Üçok branch of Oguz Turkmen in Çukurova. After a period of attempts to overthrow Mamluk suzerainty, the dynasty's principality about 1418 came under direct Mamluk control and lost its

Analysis, Filtration

2005-03-18T15:41:00.000-08:00

This operation can be used to separate particles according to their dimensions. One application is the removal of the precipitate after selective precipitation. Such solid-liquid laboratory filtrations are performed through various grades of filter paper (i.e., those differing in pore size). The mixture is poured either onto a filter paper that rests in a funnel

English Literature, The later Romantics: Shelley, Keats, and Byron

2005-03-18T13:52:00.000-08:00

The poets of the next generation shared their predecessors' passion for liberty (now set in a new perspective by the Napoleonic wars) and were in a position to learn from their experiments. Percy Bysshe Shelley in particular was deeply interested in politics, coming early under the spell of the anarchistic views of William Godwin, whose Enquiry Concerning Political

Nagasaki

2005-03-17T17:56:00.000-08:00

Capital and largest city, Nagasaki ken (prefecture), western Kyushu, Japan, at the mouth of the Urakami-gawa (Urakami River) where it empties into Nagasaki-ko (Nagasaki Harbour). The harbour is composed of a narrow, deep-cut bay, formed at the meeting point of Nomo-saki (Cape Nomo; south) and Nishisonoki-hanto (Nishisonoki Peninsula; northwest). The city is shaped like an amphitheatre,

Hachette, Louis-christophe-françois

2005-03-17T01:09:00.000-08:00

After studying law in Paris, Hachette bought a small bookshop there (1826) and, following the revolution of 1830, began to publish textbooks for the new primary schools. His firm rapidly became a leading

Brehon Laws

2005-03-16T11:00:00.000-08:00

Analysis

Madinah 'isa

2005-03-15T17:55:00.000-08:00

English Isa Town planned community in the state and emirate of Bahrain, north-central Bahrain island, in the Persian Gulf. Conceived and underwritten by the Bahraini government as a residential settlement, it was laid out on an uninhabited site by British town planners in the early 1960s; the first units were occupied in 1968. The town is named for Sheikh 'Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifah, who ruled Bahrain

Primate, General structure

2005-03-15T17:49:00.000-08:00

The basis of the success of the order Primates is the relatively unspecialized nature of their structure and the highly specialized plasticity of their behaviour. This combination has permitted the primates throughout their evolutionary history to exploit the wide variety of novel ecological opportunities that have come their way. Although there are a few

Mardalsfossen

2005-03-14T19:44:00.000-08:00

Waterfall at the head of Eikesdalsvatnet (lake), east-southeast of Åndalsnes, Nor. It consists of two cataracts in Mardøla district of Møre og Romsdal fylke (county), western Norway. The falls rank among the highest in the world, with their total drop of 1,696 ft (517 m) and individual descents of 974 and 722 ft. During the period of maximum snow melting in the spring, the waterfalls, descending

Asbury Park

2005-03-14T15:18:00.000-08:00

City, Monmouth county, eastern New Jersey, U.S. The city lies along the Atlantic Ocean coast in the midst of a string of seaside communities. It was founded in 1871 by James A. Bradley, a New York manufacturer, who named it for the Reverend Francis Asbury, founder of Methodism in the United States. A spectacular ship disaster (September 1934) killed 122 persons when the Morro Castle caught

Carthage

2005-03-13T06:14:00.000-08:00

Carnatic Music

2005-03-12T06:43:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Karnatic Music, music of southern India (generally south of the city of Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh state) that evolved from ancient Hindu traditions and was relatively unaffected by the Arabic and Iranian influences that, since the late 12th and early 13th centuries, as a result of the Islamic conquest of the north, have characterized the Hindustani music of northern India. In contrast

Murcia

2005-03-11T18:56:00.000-08:00

Castile annexed the kingdom of Murcia in 1243, thereby securing access to the Mediterranean and challenging the southern expansion of the crown of Aragon.

Eretna Dynasty

2005-03-11T01:35:00.000-08:00

The dynasty's founder, Eretna, was an officer of Uighur (Uyghur) origin in the service of Demirtas, the Il-Khanid governor of Anatolia, who revolted (1326) against the Il-Khanid ruler Abu Sa'id and escaped to Egypt. Eretna then became governor of Anatolia under the suzerainty of Hasan

Bach, Johann Sebastian

2005-03-10T01:31:00.000-08:00

Composer of the Baroque era, the most celebrated member of a large family of northern German musicians. Although he was admired by his contemporaries primarily as an outstanding harpsichordist, organist, and expert on organ building, Bach is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers

Furniture

2005-03-09T03:21:00.000-08:00

Household equipment, usually made of wood, metal, plastics, marble, glass, fabrics, or related materials and having a variety of different purposes. Furniture ranges widely from the simple pine chest or stickback country chair to the most elaborate marquetry work cabinet or gilded console table. The functional and decorative aspects of furniture have been emphasized

Black Aesthetic Movement

2005-03-09T00:52:00.000-08:00

Based on the cultural politics of black nationalism, the movement sought to create a populist art form to promote the idea of black separatism. Many adherents viewed the artist as an activist responsible for the formation of racially separate publishing houses, theatre troupes,

Porcellanite

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

The porcellanite of some authorities is a silicified tuff, a rock composed of volcanic fragments that has been altered

Fuchs, Ruth

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

In 1972, just 35 minutes after Polish athlete Ewa Gryziecka had set a record for the women's javelin throw, Fuchs threw the javelin more than 2.3 m (7 feet 6 inches) farther, a total of 65.06 m (213 feet 5 1/2 inches), her first world record. She went on to set a

Wolff, Christian, Freiherr (baron) Von

2005-03-07T05:01:00.000-08:00

Wolff was educated at the universities of Breslau, Jena, and Leipzig and was a pupil of

Mer

2005-03-05T19:33:00.000-08:00

Among the Cheremis and Udmurts (also called Votyaks), a district where people would gather periodically to hold religious festivals and perform sacrifices to nature gods. The word mer is derived from the Russian mir, “village community.” The people within the mer usually were of common origin; their customs were similar, and they may even have possessed names and ownership

Ricercare

2005-03-05T08:34:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ricercar (Italian: “to seek out”), plural Ricercari, musical composition for instruments in which one or more themes are developed through melodic imitation; it was prominent in the 16th and 17th centuries. The earliest ricercari, which were for the lute, appeared in 1507. Well-suited to the technical capabilities of the lute, they mixed passages in chordal style, running scale passages, and alternation of high and low phrases

India, Rebellion of Khurram (Shah Jahan)

2005-03-05T08:31:00.000-08:00

After failing to take Fatehpur Sikri in April 1623, Khurram retreated to the Deccan, thence to Bengal, and from Bengal back again to the Deccan, pursued all the while by an imperial force under Mahabat Khan. His plan to seize Bihar, Ayodhya, Allahabad, and even Agra failed. At last, Khurram submitted to his father unconditionally (1626). He was forgiven and appointed governor of Balaghat, but the

Harcourt, Sir William

2005-03-04T21:02:00.000-08:00

A lawyer from 1854, Harcourt briefly taught international law at the University of Cambridge. Entering the House of Commons in 1868, Harcourt served Prime

Qualitative Chemical Analysis

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

Branch of chemistry that deals with the identification of elements or grouping of elements present in a sample. The techniques employed in qualitative analysis vary in complexity, depending on the nature of the sample. In some cases it is necessary only to verify the presence of certain elements or groups for which specific tests applicable directly to the sample

Azov, Sea Of

2005-03-03T03:42:00.000-08:00

Russian Azovskoye More, or Azovskoe More, inland sea situated off the southern shores of Ukraine and Russia. It forms a northern extension of the Black Sea, to which it is linked on the south by the Kerch Strait. The Sea of Azov is about 210 miles (340 km) long and 85 miles (135 km) wide and has an area of about 14,500 square miles (37,600 square km). Into the Sea of Azov flow the great Don and Kuban rivers and many lesser ones such as the Mius, the Berda,

Rwanda

2005-03-02T23:10:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ruanda , officially Republic of Rwanda , French République Rwandaise , Rwanda Republika y'u Rwanda landlocked republic lying south of the Equator in east-central Africa. It is bounded on the west by Congo (Kinshasa) and Lake Kivu, on the north by Uganda, on the east by Tanzania, and on the south by Burundi. The capital is Kigali. Like its neighbour to the south, Rwanda is a country of minute dimensions (10,169 square miles [26,338 square kilometres]), grinding poverty, and high population

Switzerland, Wind systems

2005-03-01T06:04:00.000-08:00

Prevailing winds are mainly from the west, but in valleys air currents are channeled into particularly frequent or violent local winds such as the Bise, a cold northeast wind that sweeps across the Mittelland and funnels down Lake Geneva to the city of Geneva. Foehn (German: föhn) winds, which are associated with the leading edge of a low-pressure system moving across

Azov, Sea Of

2005-03-01T04:56:00.000-08:00

Tall with a dense, wide crown, a single breadnut tree can yield 1,000 kg (2,200 pounds) of nutritious

Mesopotamia, History Of, The last kings of Babylonia

2005-02-28T23:18:00.000-08:00

Awil-Marduk (called Evil-Merodach in the Old Testament; 561–560), the son of Nebuchadrezzar, was unable to win the support of the priests of Marduk. His reign did not last long, and he was soon eliminated. His brother-in-law and successor, Nergal-shar-usur (called Neriglissar in classical sources; 559–556), was a general who undertook a campaign in 557 into the “rough” Cilician land, which may have

Texas Christian University

2005-02-28T07:30:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher education in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It grants about 14 undergraduate degrees in more than 80 areas and about 14 graduate degrees in more than 30 fields, including research-oriented doctoral programs and a professional degree in ministry. Texas Christian comprises

Rwanda

2005-02-28T00:37:00.000-08:00

Variation of the amplitude of a carrier wave (commonly a radio wave) in accordance with the characteristics of a signal, such as a vocal or musical sound composed of audio-frequency waves. See modulation.

Bashan

2005-02-26T04:50:00.000-08:00

Country frequently cited in the Old Testament and later important in the Roman Empire; it is located in what is now Syria. Bashan was the northernmost of the three ancient divisions of eastern Palestine, and in the Old Testament it was proverbial for its rich pastures and thick forests. In New Testament times, Bashan numbered as one of the great granaries of the Roman

Hawaiian

2005-02-25T09:24:00.000-08:00

Any of the aboriginal people of Hawaii, descendants of Polynesians who migrated to Hawaii in two waves: the first from the Marquesas Islands, probably about AD 400; the second from Tahiti in the 9th or 10th century. Numbering about 300,000 at the time of Captain James Cook's arrival at the islands in 1778, full-blooded Hawaiians numbered fewer than 10,000 in the late 20th century (though there are large

Diffraction Grating

2005-02-25T01:26:00.000-08:00

Component of optical devices consisting of a surface ruled with close, equidistant, and parallel lines for the purpose of resolving light into spectra. A grating is said to be a transmission or reflection grating according to whether it is transparent or mirrored—that is, whether it is ruled on glass or on a thin metal film deposited on a glass blank. Reflection gratings

Intensive Agriculture

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

In agricultural economics, system of cultivation using large amounts of labour and capital relative to land area. Large amounts of labour and capital are necessary to the application of fertilizer, insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides to growing crops, and capital is particularly important to the acquisition and maintenance of high-efficiency machinery

Czerny, Carl

2005-02-24T00:13:00.000-08:00

He studied piano, first with his father, Wenzel Czerny, and later with Ludwig van Beethoven and knew and was influenced by Muzio Clementi and Johann Nepomuk Hummel. He began teaching in Vienna at the age of 15; among his pupils were Franz Liszt and Beethoven's

Caucasian Languages, Proto-Kartvelian

2005-02-22T17:37:00.000-08:00

A comparative study of the Kartvelian languages enables specialists to outline the general structure of the parent language, called Proto-Kartvelian, which yielded the known Kartvelian, or South Caucasian, languages. One of the most characteristic features of the Proto-Kartvelian language is the functional vowel alternation, or ablaut; different forms of a

Qoboza, Percy (peter)

2005-02-22T07:35:00.000-08:00

After studying theology in Basutoland (now Lesotho) and at Pax Training College in Pietersburg (1959), Qoboza turned to journalism and joined the staff of the World (1963); he became editor in 1974. Under his leadership,

France, History Of, The Roman conquest

2005-02-21T08:05:00.000-08:00

In the 2nd century BC Rome intervened on the side of Massilia in its struggle against the tribes of the hinterland, its main aim being the protection of the route from Italy to its new possessions in Spain. The result was the formation, in 121 BC, of “The Province” (Provincia, whence Provence), an area spanning from the Mediterranean to Lake Geneva, with its capital at Narbo (Narbonne).

Eyeglasses

2005-02-20T01:27:00.000-08:00

Also called Glasses, or Spectacles, lenses set in frames for wearing in front of the eyes to aid vision or to correct such defects of vision as myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. In 1268 Roger Bacon made the earliest recorded comment on the use of lenses for optical purposes, but magnifying lenses inserted in frames were used for reading both in Europe and China at this time, and it is a matter of controversy

Cram, Donald J.

2005-02-19T18:27:00.000-08:00

Cram was educated at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, and at the University of Nebraska,

Igboid Languages

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

A language cluster that constitutes a subbranch of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. There are nearly 20 million speakers of Igboid languages in southeastern Nigeria. In the early years of the 20th century an attempt to develop an artificial form of Igbo called Union-Igbo, based on four Igbo dialects, was not successful. Later a standard literary

Obadiah, Book Of

2005-02-17T22:22:00.000-08:00

In the book, Edom,

Tierra Del Fuego

2005-02-17T16:53:00.000-08:00

Archipelago, at the southern extremity of South America. In shape the main island, separated from the mainland by the Strait of Magellan, is a triangle with its base on Beagle Channel. The total area is 28,473 sq mi (73,746 sq km), about two-thirds of which is Chilean and one-third Argentine. The boundary, agreed upon in 1881, follows the meridian 68°36¢38² W, from Cabo (cape) Espíritu Santo on the Atlantic,

Affirmative Action

2005-02-17T10:05:00.000-08:00

In the United States, an active effort to improve employment or educational opportunities for members of minority groups and for women. Affirmative action began as a government remedy to the effects of long-standing discrimination against such groups and has consisted of policies, programs, and procedures that give preferences to minorities and women in job

Gaucho Literature

2005-02-15T19:29:00.000-08:00

Spanish American poetic genre that imitates the payadas (“ballads”) traditionally sung to guitar accompaniment by the wandering gaucho minstrels of Argentina and Uruguay. By extension, the term includes the body of South American literature that treats the way of life and philosophy of the itinerant gauchos. Long a part of South American folk literature, gaucho

Pendentive

2005-02-15T13:30:00.000-08:00

In architecture, a triangular segment of a spherical surface, filling in the upper corners of a room, in order to form, at the top, a circular support for a dome. The challenge of supporting a dome over an enclosed square or polygonal space assumed growing importance to the Roman builders of the late empire. It remained for Byzantine architects, however, to recognize the

Abduction

2005-02-15T02:28:00.000-08:00

In law, the carrying away of any female for purposes of concubinage or prostitution. The taking of a girl under a designated age for purposes of marriage is in most jurisdictions also included in the crime of abduction. Abduction is generally regarded as a form of kidnapping (q.v.).

Amritsar, Massacre Of

2005-02-14T17:23:00.000-08:00

In 1919 the British government of India enacted the Rowlatt Acts, extending its World War I emergency powers to combat subversive activities.

Theales

2005-02-14T05:04:00.000-08:00

Tea order of dicotyledonous flowering plants, a division of the subclass Dilleniidae. The members are mostly tropical trees and shrubs. Prominent among them are the plants that produce tea and the ornamental camellia.

Kamanja

2005-02-13T17:35:00.000-08:00

Also called kemanche , or kamanche stringed instrument of the fiddle family prominent in Arab and Persian art music. It is a spike fiddle; i.e., its small, round or cylindrical body appears skewered by the neck, which forms a “foot” that the instrument rests on when played. Measuring about 30 inches (76 cm) from neck to foot, it has a membrane belly and, commonly, two to four strings tuned in fourths or fifths. The musician,

Van Dyke, Henry

2005-02-12T13:52:00.000-08:00

Educated at Princeton, Van Dyke graduated from its theological seminary in 1877 and became a Presbyterian minister. His early works, “The Story of the Other Wise Man” (1896) and “The First Christmas Tree” (1897), were first read aloud to his congregation in New York

Scandinavian Literature, Contemporary trends

2005-02-12T02:10:00.000-08:00

In reaction to the literature of the 1940s and 1950s, which was much concerned with artistic form and the individual approach to life, the 1960s was a period of political and social commitment in poetry and fiction alike. Recurrent topics were the war in Vietnam and bitter onslaughts on the Swedish welfare state. Inde pendent lyric poetry, however, continued to be produced by writers

Kirby, William

2005-02-11T04:41:00.000-08:00

Kirby moved in 1832 to the United States and in 1839 to Canada, where he settled in Niagara and became editor of the Niagara Mail (1850–71) and collector of customs from 1871 to 1895. Kirby was a fervent loyalist (favouring

Fréchet, Maurice

2005-02-10T07:55:00.000-08:00

Fréchet was professor of mechanics at the University of Poitiers (1910–19) before moving to the University of Strasbourg, where he was professor of higher calculus (1920–27). Joining the faculty of

Furniture, France and England: 17th and 18th centuries

2005-02-09T21:26:00.000-08:00

The French Rococo chair in its most mature form—that is, as developed in Paris around 1750—spread over most of Europe and has been imitated or copied into the mid-20th century. The model owes its popularity to a combination of comfort and elegance. The seat conforms to the human body and permits a relaxed sitting position. The back is bow-shaped, the legs curved. Normally the seat

Chachapoyas

2005-02-09T11:18:00.000-08:00

Capital of Amazonas departamento, located in northern Peru. It lies at 7,657 feet (2,334 m) above sea level in the cool Utcubamba River valley. A site of ancient settlement, it is the oldest Spanish city east of the Andes. Founded in 1538 as San Juan de la Frontera de los Chachapoyas (“Saint John of the Frontier of the Chachapoyas”) at a site slightly to the southeast, the town was later moved

France, History Of, Agricultural patterns

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

In its basic organization, French agriculture continued in its age-old patterns. This contrasted starkly with England, where new agricultural techniques as well as major changes in the control of land—convertible husbandry (a progressive form of land use that did away with the wasteful fallowing of land every two or three years) and the enclosure movement (which

Vacuum Technology

2005-02-07T20:22:00.000-08:00

Typically, the size of these pumps is about 1,000 grams of sorbent material, which retains gas molecules on its surface. They are capable of pumping from atmosphere to 10-2 torr or can be used in series down to 10-5 torr. In most cases the sorbent material is a molecular sieve—that is, a material that has been processed so that it is porous, with pore sizes comparable to the size of molecules,

Ableman V. Booth

2005-02-07T02:53:00.000-08:00

Sherman Booth was an abolitionist newspaper editor in Wisconsin who had been sentenced to jail by a federal court for assisting a runaway slave—a clear violation of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act, which required

Aurangzeb

2005-02-06T02:40:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Aurangzib , Arabic Awrangzib , kingly title 'alamgir , original name Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad last of the great Mughal emperors of India (reigned 1658–1707). Under him the Mughal Empire reached its greatest extent, although his policies helped lead to its dissolution.

Sarasota

2005-02-05T22:32:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1921) of Sarasota county, west-central Florida, U.S. It lies along Sarasota Bay (an arm of the Gulf of Mexico), about 60 miles (95 km) south of Tampa. Sarasota, variously spelled Sara Zota, Sarazota, and Sarasote, appeared on maps in the 1700s, but the origin of the place-name is uncertain; one explanation is that it may have been derived from a Spanish term meaning “a place of dancing.” The

Araliaceae

2005-02-05T04:15:00.000-08:00

The ginseng family of flowering plants, in the order Apiales, comprising approximately 700 species centred in Southeast Asia and tropical America. Most members are shrubs or trees, though there are a number of climbers and a few herbs. The family has large, usually alternate, compound leaves, five-parted flowers arranged in compound umbels (flat-topped clusters), and a

Leaf Cactus

2005-02-04T02:30:00.000-08:00

Common names are leaf cactus—for the mostly flattened, nonspiny stems that function as leaves—or orchid cactus—for the spectacular large flowers

Lenya, Lotte

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

Lenya studied ballet and drama in Zurich from 1914 to 1920, was a member of the corps de ballet at the Zürich Stadttheater, and played

Graebe, Carl

2005-02-03T04:52:00.000-08:00

A graduate of the University of Heidelberg, Graebe was a lecturer-assistant to Robert Wilhelm Bunsen. Later, as a student of Adolf von Baeyer

Abduction

2005-02-01T21:34:00.000-08:00

Dent, Edward John

2005-02-01T09:30:00.000-08:00

Dent learned the clockmaker's trade from Richard Rippon and, during the period 1815–29, established a reputation as a builder of accurate chronometers. His reputation for precision eventually brought requests from the Admiralty and the East India Company. Dent confirmed

Bribery

2005-02-01T08:36:00.000-08:00

The act of promising, giving, receiving, or agreeing to receive money or some other item of value with the corrupt aim of influencing a public official in the discharge of his official duties. When money has been offered or promised in exchange for a corrupt act, the official involved need not actually accomplish that act for the offense of bribery to be complete. The

Abéché

2005-01-31T08:38:00.000-08:00

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

Adams, John Coolidge

2005-01-31T03:22:00.000-08:00

Adams was

Race, India's caste system

2005-01-30T21:45:00.000-08:00

India has a huge population encompassing many obvious physical variations, from light skins to some of the darkest in the world, from straight coarse hair to frizzled and crinkly hair, and a wide variety of facial features. In addition, the Hindu sociocultural system is divided into castes that are exclusive, hereditary, and endogamous. They are also ranked and unequal

SameThread

Le Maistre, Antoine

Ryleyev, Kondraty Fyodorovich

Fair

Murger, Henri

April

Zanjan

Wa

Deville, édouard Gaston (daniel)

Turfan

Dyckia

Barbacena

Gide, André

Media Voices Of The Muslim World

Health And Disease

Ottonian Art

Monkey

Argentina, Efforts toward reconstruction, 182029

Utrecht, Treaties Of

Rölvaag, O(le) E(dvart)

Southern Africa, Xhosa-Dutch conflict

Palana

Koch, Kenneth

Ghiberti, Lorenzo

Computers, Invention of the modern computer

Hawthorne Research

Kea

Adelantado

Ramazan Dynasty

Analysis, Filtration

English Literature, The later Romantics: Shelley, Keats, and Byron

Nagasaki

Hachette, Louis-christophe-françois

Brehon Laws

Madinah 'isa

Primate, General structure

Mardalsfossen

Asbury Park

Carthage

Carnatic Music

Murcia

Eretna Dynasty

Bach, Johann Sebastian

Furniture

Black Aesthetic Movement

Porcellanite

Fuchs, Ruth

Wolff, Christian, Freiherr (baron) Von

Mer

Ricercare

India, Rebellion of Khurram (Shah Jahan)

Harcourt, Sir William

Qualitative Chemical Analysis

Azov, Sea Of

Rwanda

Switzerland, Wind systems

Azov, Sea Of

Mesopotamia, History Of, The last kings of Babylonia

Texas Christian University

Rwanda

Bashan

Hawaiian

Diffraction Grating

Intensive Agriculture

Czerny, Carl

Caucasian Languages, Proto-Kartvelian

Qoboza, Percy (peter)

France, History Of, The Roman conquest

Eyeglasses

Cram, Donald J.

Igboid Languages

Obadiah, Book Of

Tierra Del Fuego

Affirmative Action

Gaucho Literature

Pendentive

Abduction

Amritsar, Massacre Of

Theales

Kamanja

Argentina, Efforts toward reconstruction, 182029