MixedGlove

Schäuffelein, Hans Leonhard

2005-03-24T09:49:00.000-08:00

In 1509 Schäuffelein worked in the Tirol and later in Bavaria. There he painted the altarpiece for the Benedictine abbey

Vaisnava-sahajiya

2005-03-21T20:02:00.000-08:00

Member of an esoteric Hindu cult centred in Bengal that sought religious experience through the world of the senses, specifically human sexual love. Sahaja (Sanskrit: “easy” or “natural”) as a system of worship was prevalent in the Tantric traditions common to both Hinduism and Buddhism in Bengal as early as the 8th–9th centuries. The divine romance of Krishna and Radha was

Sokoto

2005-03-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

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

Amnesty International

2005-03-17T21:07:00.000-08:00

Egon Larsen, A Flame in Barbed Wire (1978); and Jonathan Power, Amnesty International: The Human Rights Story (1981), a well-illustrated work, chronicle the group's history. Marie Staunton and Sally Fenn (compilers and eds.), The Amnesty International Handbook (1991), delineates the group's three goals and describes volunteer action.

Celto-iberian Language

2005-03-16T17:26:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Celtiberian, extinct Indo-European language of the western part of the Iberian Peninsula. Celto-Iberian was written in the Iberic script (borrowed from speakers of the non-Indo-European Iberian language in eastern and southern Spain) and is known primarily from a small number of coin inscriptions and an even smaller number of inscriptions on stone. Leading scholars believe

Cabriole

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

Ballet jump, formerly performed only by men, in which the dancer beats the calves of the legs together in the air, with a scissors-like movement. When the beat occurs, the legs are extended at either a 45° or 90° angle to the body at the front, side, or back. The dancer may land on one foot, then bring the second foot down to fifth position—cabriole fermée (“closed cabriole”)—or may complete

Maurice, Furnley

2005-03-11T15:55:00.000-08:00

At age 14 Wilmot worked in a Melbourne bookshop, rising to the position of manager. When the business was dissolved in 1929, he operated

Urumchi

2005-03-10T21:32:00.000-08:00

It first came under Chinese control

Acriflavine

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

Dye obtained from coal tar, introduced as an antiseptic in 1912 by the German medical-research worker Paul Ehrlich and used extensively in World War I to kill the parasites that cause sleeping sickness. The hydrochloride and the less irritating base, neutral acriflavine, both are odourless, reddish-brown powders used in dilute aqueous solutions primarily as topical

Charadriiform, Annotated classification

2005-03-05T08:21:00.000-08:00

Palate schizognathous; upper jaw schizorhinal (except Burhinidae and Pluvianus); lachrymal bone fused to ectethmoid; cervical vertebrae 15 or 16; dorsal vertebrae opisthocoelous or heterocoelous;

Aesthetics, Representation and expression in art

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

Various theories have been proposed in answer to these questions, the most popular being that the forms of art are similar to language and are to be understood as language is understood, in terms of conventions and semantic rules. A few examples of contemporary theories that have described art in this way include Ernst Cassirer's philosophy of symbolic forms, Susanne

Hand

2005-03-01T18:55:00.000-08:00

Ancient unit of length, now standardized at 4 inches (10.16 cm) and used today primarily for measuring the height of horses from the ground to the withers (top of the shoulders). The unit was originally defined as the breadth of the palm including the thumb. A statute of King Henry VIII of England established the hand at four inches. Units of various lengths were used by the ancient

Lockhart, John Gibson

2005-02-27T08:05:00.000-08:00

Lockhart, the son of a Presbyterian minister descended from the landed gentry, studied at the universities of Glasgow and Oxford and began the practice

Girdle Tie

2005-02-25T20:58:00.000-08:00

Also called blood of Isis in Egyptian religion, protective amulet formed like a knot and made of gold, carnelian, or red glazed ware. Most samples of the girdle tie have been found tied around the necks of mummies; the amulets were intended to protect the dead from all that was harmful in the afterlife.

Schally, Andrew V.

2005-02-23T02:32:00.000-08:00

In full Andrew Victor Schally Polish-born American endocrinologist and corecipient, with Roger Guillemin and Rosalyn Yalow, of the 1977 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. He was noted for isolating and synthesizing three hormones that are produced by the region of the brain known as the hypothalamus; these hormones control the activities of other

Sikhism, Sectarian differences

2005-02-22T10:16:00.000-08:00

The first dissenters from the mainstream of Sikhism—known as the Udasis—were followers of Nanak's elder son, Sri Chand. The order inclined toward asceticism and later furnished priests (mahants) for gurdwaras. They were ousted from control by the SGPC in 1925. Followers of Ram Rai, who was passed over by his father, Har Rai (seventh Guru), in favour of a younger son, Hari Krishen (eighth Guru), broke

Sikhism, Sectarian differences

2005-02-20T16:06:00.000-08:00

Any of several viruses in the herpes family (Herpesviridae), frequently involved in human infection. The virus is so named for the enlarged cells produced by active infections; these cells are characterized by the inclusion of foreign matter, especially in the nucleus. Cytomegalovirus, which is transmitted by sexual contact or exposure to infected body fluids,

Haarlemmermeer

2005-02-17T05:33:00.000-08:00

Gemeente (commune), Noord-Holland provincie, The Netherlands, occupying the reclaimed Haarlem Lake, which was drained between 1840 and 1852. There is a network of roads and ditches at right angles within the enclosing canal and dike. The population is concentrated in the villages of Hoofddorp, Nieuw-Vennep, Badhoevedorp, and Zwanenburg, which are situated along the dike and

Outram, Sir James, 1st Baronet

2005-02-15T21:33:00.000-08:00

Outram was educated at Marischal College, Aberdeen, Scot., and went to Bombay as a cadet in 1819. After serving with distinction in the

Asbestos

2005-02-14T23:35:00.000-08:00

Town, Estrie region, southern Quebec province, Canada. Asbestos lies near the Southwest Nicolet River, 95 miles (153 km) southwest of Quebec city. Its economy traditionally depended almost entirely on asbestos mining and the manufacture of asbestos products. One of the mines—the Jeffrey open-pit mine—is the largest asbestos mine in the world. Electrical equipment and wood

Sea Crayfish

2005-02-12T09:36:00.000-08:00

Any of several lobster species of the family Palinuridae. See lobster.

Hooper, Horace Everett

2005-02-10T10:06:00.000-08:00

Hooper left school at the age of 16, clerked in bookstores for a time, and then went to Denver, Colo., where he organized the Western Book and Stationery Company to sell books in the western states. In 1893 he moved to Chicago,

Orbigny, Alcide Dessalines D'

2005-02-07T23:02:00.000-08:00

During eight years of travel in South America (1826–34) Orbigny studied the people, natural history, and geology of the continent. He summarized these studies in Voyage dans l'Amérique méridionale, 10 vol., (1834–47; “Journey into South America”) and proceeded to draw up the first comprehensive map of that

Ambrose, Saint

2005-02-05T08:52:00.000-08:00

Latin Ambrosius bishop of Milan, biblical critic, and initiator of ideas that provided a model for medieval conceptions of church–state relations. His literary works have been acclaimed as masterpieces of Latin eloquence, and his musical accomplishments are remembered in his hymns. Ambrose is also remembered as the teacher

Taft, Helen

2005-02-04T09:34:00.000-08:00

After her husband's single term was completed in 1913, Helen wrote her autobiography, Recollections of Full Years (1914), becoming the first president's wife to see her memoirs published in her lifetime. The Tafts moved from Washington to New Haven, Connecticut, where William taught at Yale Law School until his appointment in 1921 as chief justice of the United States. Helen died in 1943 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery beside her husband, who had died in 1930. The Tafts were the first presidential couple to be interred there.

Fremont

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

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

Natural History Museum

2005-01-31T10:59:00.000-08:00

The museum was formerly an integral part of the British

Ma'an

2005-01-29T13:07:00.000-08:00

Town, southern Jordan. It is a regional trade centre for the sparsely settled southern part of the country, which is inhabited mainly by the Huwaytat and other Bedouin tribes. Ma'an is the chief road and rail junction of southern Jordan. The town lies on the Hejaz-Jordan Railway, which runs north-south and connects to Damascus (Syria) in the north. The part of the rail line south

Jackson, Michael

2005-01-27T18:00:00.000-08:00

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

Health And Disease

2005-01-25T09:06:00.000-08:00

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

Lamballe, Marie-thérèse-louise De Savoie-carignan, Princess (princesse) De

2005-01-22T05:24:00.000-08:00

The daughter of Prince Louis-Victor de Savoie-Carignan, she was married in 1767 to Louis-Alexandre-Stanislas de Bourbon, Prince de Lamballe,

Lahij

2005-01-21T15:20:00.000-08:00

Under the former Aden Protectorate, a British-ruled area, it was capital of the 'Abdali Sultanate, abolished when Yemen (Aden) became independent in 1967. The sultan's palace is

Action Française

2005-01-18T11:54:00.000-08:00

The Action Française movement originated at the close of the 19th century to champion the antiparliamentarian, anti-Semitic, and

Adamov, Arthur

2005-01-17T02:34:00.000-08:00

In 1912 Adamov's wealthy Armenian family left Russia and settled in Freudenstadt, Ger. He was subsequently educated in Geneva, Mainz, and Paris, where, having mastered French, he settled in 1924, associating with Surrealist groups. He edited a periodical, Discontinuit

Hipparchus

2005-01-15T21:46:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Hipparchos Greek astronomer and mathematician who made fundamental contributions to the advancement of astronomy as a mathematical science and to the foundations of trigonometry. Although he is commonly ranked among the greatest scientists of antiquity, very little is known about his life, and only one of his many writings

Libya, Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

2005-01-14T08:17:00.000-08:00

Agriculture is limited by the environment and by shortages of labour. Only about 1 percent of the total land area is cultivated, mostly on the Al-Jifarah and Barce plains, and about one-tenth of that is irrigated. An additional 8 percent of the land is in pasture. Agricultural development by land reclamation and irrigation is a government priority. The largest projects

Reformation Day

2005-01-13T03:45:00.000-08:00

Anniversary of the day Martin Luther is said to have posted his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Ger. (Oct. 31, 1517), later identified by Protestants as the beginning of the Reformation. (See Researcher's Note.) The European Lutheran territorial churches at first commemorated the Reformation on various days, among them the anniversary of Luther's

Serialism

2005-01-12T13:32:00.000-08:00

In music, technique that has been used in some musical compositions roughly since World War I. Strictly speaking, a serial pattern in music is merely one that repeats over and over for a significant stretch of a composition. In this sense, some medieval composers wrote serial music, because they made use of isorhythm, which is a distinct rhythmic pattern that repeats

Computers, Workstation computers

2005-01-11T13:16:00.000-08:00

While the personal computer market grew and matured, a variation on its theme grew out of university labs and began to threaten the minicomputers for their market. The new machines were called workstations. They looked like personal computers, and they sat on a single desktop and were used by a single individual just like personal computers, but they were distinguished

New France

2005-01-11T02:34:00.000-08:00

The name Gallia Nova (New France) was first recorded in 1529 on a map prepared by the brother of Giovanni da Verrazano, who,

Beissel, Conrad

2005-01-09T16:59:00.000-08:00

The posthumous son of a German baker, Beissel experienced a religious conversion at the age of 27 and migrated to America in 1720. He joined the Dunkers in Pennsylvania (1724) but withdrew from them when he became convinced that the day of worship should be the

Insurance, Business property insurance

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

Insurance for business property follows a pattern that is similar in many ways to the one for individual property. A commonly used form is the “building and personal property coverage form” (BPP). This form permits a business owner to cover in one policy the buildings, fixtures, machinery and equipment, and personal property used in business and the personal property

Pigalle, Jean-baptiste

2005-01-06T19:38:00.000-08:00

Born into a family of master carpenters, Pigalle began training as a sculptor at age 18 with Robert Le Lorrain and then studied with Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne. After failing to win the Prix de Rome in 1735, he studied independently in Rome at his own expense from 1736 to 1739. While there Pigalle

Hachioji

2005-01-06T15:34:00.000-08:00

After

Durham

2005-01-05T07:41:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1881) of Durham county, north-central North Carolina, U.S. It is situated about 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Chapel Hill and 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Raleigh, the three cities forming one of the state's major urban areas—the Research Triangle. The first settlement (about 1750) in what is now Durham was called Prattsburg for William Pratt, a landowner. When Pratt refused to give land

Sexual Dysfunction

2005-01-05T03:57:00.000-08:00

Also called Psychosexual Dysfunction, the inability of a person to experience sexual arousal or to achieve sexual satisfaction under appropriate circumstances, as a result of either physical disorder or, more commonly, psychological problems. The most common forms of sexual dysfunction have traditionally been classified as impotence (inability of a man to achieve or maintain penile erection) and

Bassano, Jacopo

2005-01-03T22:07:00.000-08:00

His early works, such as the “Susannah and the

Ibn Qutaybah

2005-01-03T05:32:00.000-08:00

Little is known of Ibn Qutaybah's life. Of Khorasanian stock, he was qadi (religious judge) of Dinawar (c. 851–870). From c. 871 until his

Holly

2005-01-01T03:10:00.000-08:00

Any of the shrubs and trees of the genus Ilex, in the family Aquifoliaceae, comprising about 400 species of red- or black-berried plants, including the popular Christmas hollies. They have alternate, simple leaves and single or clustered, small, usually greenish flowers (male and female being usually on separate plants). English holly (I. aquifolium), a tree growing

Bon, Cape

2004-12-31T02:23:00.000-08:00

Arabic Ra's At-tib, peninsula of northeastern Tunisia, 20 miles (32 km) wide and protruding 50 miles (80 km) into the Mediterranean Sea between the Gulf of Tunis and Khalij (gulf) al-Hammamat (Hammamet). Cape Bon was the site of the surrender of more than 250,000 Germans and Italians to the Allies in 1943. A region of hills and fertile plains, with a Mediterranean climate and adequate rainfall, it is noted for its irrigated

Arden, Eve

2004-12-29T15:27:00.000-08:00

Arden began her theatre career with the Henry Duffy Stock Company in San Francisco (1928–29) and made her Broadway debut in the 1934 Ziegfeld Follies. Her film career began in Oh Doctor in 1937, the year she won a featured role in

Amazon River, Physiography of the river course

2004-12-29T15:12:00.000-08:00

The Amazon River has its main outlet north of Marajó Island, a lowland somewhat larger in size than Denmark, through a cluster of half-submerged islets and shallow sandbanks. Here the mouth of the river is 40 miles (64 kilometres) wide. The port city of Belém is on the deep water of the Pará River, an estuary marking the south side of Marajó, which is fed chiefly by the Tocantins

Art And Architecture, Egyptian, Relief sculpture and painting

2004-12-27T21:49:00.000-08:00

The beginnings of the dynastic tradition can be found in tombs of the 3rd

Tibet, Drainage and soils

2004-12-27T20:29:00.000-08:00

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

Francesco Di Giorgio

2004-12-26T16:25:00.000-08:00

Remarkably versatile, a kind of Renaissance homo universale, Francesco combined the bold investigation of the humanist scholars with the conservative lyricism of the Sienese school. His early works were manuscript illuminations, furniture

Arundel

2004-12-26T13:21:00.000-08:00

Arundel

Roman Religion

2004-12-24T23:38:00.000-08:00

Beliefs and practices of the inhabitants of the Italian peninsula from ancient times until the ascendancy of Christianity in the 4th century AD.

Iron Guard

2004-12-24T09:45:00.000-08:00

Romanian Garda De Fier Romanian fascist organization that constituted a major social and political force between 1930 and 1941. In 1927 Corneliu Zelea Codreanu founded the Legion of the Archangel Michael, which later became known as the Legion or Legionary Movement; it was committed to the “Christian and racial” renovation of Romania and fed on anti-Semitism and mystical nationalism. Codreanu established

Checkered Beetle

2004-12-22T19:45:00.000-08:00

Any of the approximately 3,000 species of the insect family Cleridae (order Coleoptera). Checkered beetles occur throughout the world, mainly in the tropics; the common name derives from their markings and coloration (orange, red, yellow, green, and blue). They range between 3 and 24 mm ( 1/10 to almost 1 inch) in length, with the majority between 5 and 12 mm ( 1/5 and 1/2 inch); they have

Earth Sciences, Seismology and the structure of the Earth

2004-12-21T19:42:00.000-08:00

Earthquake study was institutionalized in 1880 with the formation of the Seismological Society of Japan under the leadership of the English geologist John Milne. Milne and his associates invented the first accurate seismographs, including the instrument later known as the Milne seismograph. Seismology has revealed much about the structure of the Earth's core,

Bioclimatology

2004-12-19T07:55:00.000-08:00

Branch of climatology that deals with the effects of the physical environment on living organisms over an extended period of time. Although Hippocrates touched on these matters 2,000 years ago in his treatise on Air, Waters, and Places, the science of bioclimatology is relatively new. It developed into a significant field of study during the 1960s owing largely to a growing

Norway, Daily life and social customs

2004-12-19T07:22:00.000-08:00

Although Norway is in most ways very modern, it has maintained many of its traditions. Storytelling and folklore, in which trolls play a prominent role, are still common. On festive occasions folk costumes are worn and folk singing is performed—especially on Grunnlovsdagen (Constitution Day), commonly called Syttende Mai (May 17), the date of its celebration. Other popular

Tiger-flower

2004-12-18T03:00:00.000-08:00

The flowers, in a range of colours including orange-red, have three lower floral parts alternating with three much smaller petals, all with a spotted cup at the centre.

Alekhine, Alexander

2004-12-17T18:12:00.000-08:00

Alekhine was a precocious chess player, becoming a master at age 16 and a grandmaster at age 22. He was playing in a tournament in Mannheim, Germany, when World War I broke out; after

World Water Crisis: Is There A Way Out?

2004-12-15T11:04:00.000-08:00

Some 40% of the global population lives within river basins that are shared by two or more countries. Often one country is water-rich and the other water-poor, or one supports heavily polluting industries while the other does not. Since there is no strong international law governing the resolution of transboundary water disputes, the potential for conflict remains

Carl Xvi Gustaf

2004-12-15T00:26:00.000-08:00

The only son of King Gustav VI Adolf's eldest son, Prince Gustav Adolf (who died in an air crash in 1947), Carl Gustaf became crown prince in 1950, when his grandfather acceded to the throne. He studied at military cadet schools, at the University of Uppsala, and in France and was commissioned as a naval officer in 1968. He married Silvia Sommerlath

Torcy, Jean-baptiste Colbert, Marquis De

2004-12-14T07:31:00.000-08:00

The son of Charles Colbert, minister of foreign affairs, Torcy was a brilliant student, earning a law degree (1683) at so young an age that he needed special dispensation to receive it. His father initiated him into the art of diplomacy, and the

Jones, Howard; And Jones, T.a.d.

2004-12-14T05:01:00.000-08:00

The brothers played football in Middletown, Ohio, and at Phillips Exeter Academy (1903–04) in Exeter, New Hampshire, before entering Yale University in 1905. Howard's

Norfolk, Thomas Of Brotherton, Earl Of

2004-12-12T14:59:00.000-08:00

He was created Earl of Norfolk in 1312 and was given vast lands in England, Wales, and Ireland; Edward II further distinguished him by creating him marshal of England. However, although he at first sided with the king, he was one of the first

Ta Yü

2004-12-12T10:36:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Da Yu (Chinese: “Yü the Great”), in Chinese mythology, the Tamer of the Flood, one of China's saviour-heroes and reputed founder of China's oldest dynasty, the Hsia. One legend among many recounts Ta Yü's extraordinary birth: a man called Kun was given charge of controlling a great deluge. To dam the water, he stole from heaven what seems to have been a piece of magic soil. Angered by the

Johannesburg

2004-12-10T21:30:00.000-08:00

One of the youngest of the world's major cities, Johannesburg was founded in 1886, following the discovery of gold. The city was initially part of the Transvaal, an independent Afrikaner, or Boer, republic that later became one of the four provinces of South Africa. Today the

Tiy

2004-12-10T04:27:00.000-08:00

She was the daughter of Yuya, the commander of the Egyptian chariotry and overseer of the cattle of the local god Min; her mother, Thuya, was also an Egyptian. Although she was not of royal blood, Tiy became the favoured wife of Amenhotep III (reigned 1390–53 BC), a powerful king of the 18th dynasty, who gave her considerable prominence

World War I, Caporetto

2004-12-08T19:35:00.000-08:00

On the Italian front, Cadorna's 10th Battle of the Isonzo in May–June 1917 won very little ground; but his 11th, from August 17 to September 12, during which General Luigi Capello's 2nd Army captured much of the Bainsizza Plateau (Banjška Planota), north of Gorizia, strained Austrian resistance very severely. To avert an Austrian collapse, Ludendorff decided that the Austrians must take

Nicholas

2004-12-08T10:22:00.000-08:00

The son of the emperor Alexander II's brother, the

Hesse, Hermann

2004-12-06T20:12:00.000-08:00

German novelist, poet, and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946, whose main theme deals with man's breaking out of the established modes of civilization to find his essential spirit. With his appeal for self-realization and his celebration of Eastern mysticism, Hesse posthumously became a cult figure to young people in the

Philip Ii

2004-12-05T04:44:00.000-08:00

Byname Philip Augustus, French Philippe Auguste the first of the great Capetian kings of medieval France (reigned 1179–1223), who gradually reconquered the French territories held by the kings of England and also furthered the royal domains northward into Flanders and southward into Languedoc. He was a major figure in the Third Crusade to the Holy Land in 1191.

Sothern, Edward Hugh

2004-12-04T07:10:00.000-08:00

The son of the English comedian Edward Askew Sothern, he made his first stage appearance with his father's company in New York City in 1879. He toured England in 1882 and 1883 and became leading comedian in John

Fernandes, álvaro

2004-12-03T17:01:00.000-08:00

In 1445 Fernandes' uncle, João Gonçalves Zarco, also an explorer, furnished him with a caravel on condition that he devote himself to exploration. Fernandes joined the prince's fleet bound for Arguin Island (now in Mauritania) but sailed farther to the mouth of the Sénégal River.

Abell, Kjeld

2004-12-02T23:09:00.000-08:00

Abell studied political science but afterward began a career as a stage designer in Paris. He

Rare-earth Element, Sources and extraction

2004-12-02T21:51:00.000-08:00

Though numerous minerals rich in rare earths are found in the Earth's crust, many are extremely rare, and many more are found only in small pockets in more massive rocks. Although such minerals are of considerable research interest they are not used commercially. Monazite, a mixed phosphate of calcium, thorium, cerium, and various lanthanides, occurs in extensive deposits

Intercalation

2004-11-30T05:39:00.000-08:00

Insertion of days into a calendar to bring it into line with the solar year (year of the seasons). One example is the periodic inclusion of leap-year day (February 29) in the Gregorian calendar now in general use. To keep the months of a lunar calendar (e.g., the Hindu calendar) in their proper seasons, an entire month must be intercalated or extracalated (dropped) periodically,

Canada Company

2004-11-29T18:05:00.000-08:00

Organization instrumental in colonizing much of the western part of Upper Canada (now Ontario). Many residents of Upper Canada had incurred losses during the War of 1812 and subsequently claimed an indemnity from the British government. The latter agreed to pay a portion of the claims if the government of Upper Canada provided the remainder. At the suggestion of John

Foster, Stephen

2004-11-28T08:26:00.000-08:00

Foster grew up on the urban edge of the Western frontier. Although formally untutored in music, he had a natural musical bent and began to write songs as a young

Ghadr

2004-11-27T17:13:00.000-08:00

(Urdu: “Revolution”), an early 20th-century movement among Indians, principally Sikhs living in North America, to end British rule in their homeland of India. The movement originated with an organization of immigrants in California called the Hindustani Workers of the Pacific Coast. Shortly after the outbreak of World War I, many of the Ghadrites returned to India and

Ekibastuz

2004-11-25T22:05:00.000-08:00

City and major opencut coal-mining centre in northeastern Kazakstan, on the Ertis-Qaraghandy Canal. Coal was discovered in the region in 1876 and was mined on a small scale. Only after construction of a railway in 1953 did large-scale exploitation of Ekibastuz' rich but low-grade coal seams begin. In the 1970s Ekibastuz was the third largest coal-mining centre in the Soviet Union,

Uddevalla

2004-11-25T17:01:00.000-08:00

Town, Västra Götaland län (county), southwestern Sweden. It lies along the Bäve River, at the head of By Fjord (an inlet of the Skagerrak), north of Göteborg. The site has been identified with Odensvold, a pagan place of sacrifice. The town was incorporated in 1498. On several occasions during the Danish-Swedish wars, large parts of it were destroyed and ravaged by fire. Uddevalla

Sakakah

2004-11-24T02:02:00.000-08:00

Oasis, northwestern Saudi Arabia. It lies on an old caravan route from the Mediterranean Sea coast to the central and southern parts of the Arabian Peninsula. Sakakah lies north of the desert an-Nafud and northeast of al-Jawf oasis. The government tried to improve agricultural conditions in the area. The main products of the oasis are dates and dairy products.

Fréchet, Maurice

2004-11-23T02:20:00.000-08:00

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

Argentina, The Pampean zone

2004-11-21T21:53:00.000-08:00

The Pampas occupy a transitional area between high summer temperatures to the north and cooler summers to the south. Buenos Aires, located on the northern edge of the Pampas, has a climate similar to that of cities in the southeastern United States, with hot, humid summers and cool, mild winters. The range of mean temperatures for summer months (December to February)

Venezuela, The colonial era

2004-11-21T11:55:00.000-08:00

Christopher Columbus arrived in what is now Venezuela in 1498, during his third voyage to the New World. European explorers named the region Venezuela (“Little Venice”) after observing local Indian houses on stilts over water. During the first quarter-century of contact, the Europeans limited themselves to slave hunting and pearl fishing on the northeastern coast; the

Aerospace Engineering

2004-11-20T21:36:00.000-08:00

The aerospace engineer is armed with an extensive background suitable for employment in most positions traditionally occupied by mechanical engineers as well as limited positions in the other various engineering disciplines. The transportation, construction, communication, and energy industries provide the most opportunities for non-aerospace

Indian Reorganization Act

2004-11-19T18:04:00.000-08:00

Also called Wheeler–Howard Act (June 18, 1934), measure enacted by the U.S. Congress, aimed at decreasing federal control of American Indian affairs and increasing Indian self-government and responsibility. In gratitude for the Indians' services to the country in World War I, Congress in 1924 authorized the Meriam Survey of the state of life on the reservations. The shocking conditions under the regimen established

Nova Scotia, Education

2004-11-17T05:21:00.000-08:00

The nondenominational system of compulsory, free public education, dating from the mid-19th century, consolidated the many rural school districts into fewer, larger, and more efficient districts during the 1970s. Considerable emphasis is placed on commercial and vocational training at the secondary as well as the college level. Dalhousie University (founded 1818) in Halifax

Allan, Maud

2004-11-17T00:59:00.000-08:00

The daughter of two physicians, Allan grew up in San Francisco, studied music in Berlin, and taught herself to dance. Her career began in 1903 in Vienna, where she choreographed and performed dances to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz

Frýdek-místek

2004-11-16T13:00:00.000-08:00

City, Severomoravský kraj (region), Czech Republic. It lies along the Ostravice River just south of Ostrava. The town is dominated by the steeple of Frýdek Castle, which was originally a Gothic royal castle but was reconstructed during the 17th and 18th centuries. Also of interest are the twin-tower 18th-century Baroque church and the small St. Jodocus Church. The town is within

Blaby

2004-11-16T00:04:00.000-08:00

District, county of Leicestershire, south-central England. It covers the southern and western suburbs of the city of Leicester, in an arc around the city boundary from southeast to northwest, and extends southwest across a mostly rural area almost to the county boundary with Warwickshire on the southwest. Blaby district is administered from Narborough. Other important

Staged Rocket

2004-11-14T21:06:00.000-08:00

Vehicle driven by several rocket systems mounted in vertical sequence. The lowest, or first stage, ignites and then lifts the vehicle at increasing velocity until exhaustion of its propellants. At that point the first stage drops off, lightening the vehicle, and the second stage ignites and accelerates the vehicle further. Most space launch vehicles have three

Trailing Arbutus

2004-11-14T08:05:00.000-08:00

Also called Ground Laurel, Winter Pink, or Mayflower (species Epigaea repens), trailing plant of the heath family (Ericaceae), native to sandy or boggy, acid woodlands of eastern North America. It has oblong, hairy evergreen leaves 2–6 cm (0.75–2.5 inches) long. The highly fragrant white, pink, or rosy flowers have a five-lobed corolla (the petals, collectively) and grow in dense clusters. Trailing arbutus grows in shady wildflower

Israel

2004-11-12T01:47:00.000-08:00

After nearly three years of relentless bloodletting, Israel and the Palestinians responded in mid-2003 to international efforts to promote peace. The early promise of a breakthrough proved illusory, however, and the cycle of violence continued. Intense Israeli military pressure, following reoccupation of Palestinian cities in the West Bank and a determined hands-on

Forest

2004-11-11T19:15:00.000-08:00

The county was formed in 1848, and Tionesta is the county seat. The main industries are manufacturing