NormalHammer

Levita, Elijah Bokher

2005-04-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

Levita went to Italy early in life and in 1504 settled at Padua. There he wrote a manual of Hebrew (1508) that was appropriated by his transcriber,

Pereira, Irene Rice

2005-04-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

Irene Rice moved a number of times with her family before they settled in Brooklyn, New York City. After exploring other careers, from 1927 to 1930 she studied at the Art Students League in New York. In 1929 she married commercial artist Humberto Pereira,

Mckinley, William

2005-04-04T03:02:00.000-07:00

Renominated for another term without opposition, McKinley again faced Democrat William Jennings Bryan in the presidential election of 1900. McKinley's margins of victory in both the popular and electoral votes were greater than they were four years before, no doubt reflecting satisfaction with the outcome of the war and with the widespread prosperity that the country enjoyed. Following his inauguration in 1901 (see primary source document: Second Inaugural Address), McKinley left Washington for a tour of the western states, to be concluded with a speech at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Cheering crowds throughout the journey attested to McKinley's immense popularity. More than 50,000 admirers attended his exposition speech, in which the leader who had been so closely identified with protectionism now sounded the call for commercial reciprocity among nations. (See primary source document: Reciprocal Trade Agreements.) The following day, September 6, 1901, while McKinley was shaking hands with a crowd of well-wishers at the exposition, Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist, fired two shots into the president's chest and abdomen. Rushed to a hospital in Buffalo, McKinley lingered for a week before dying in the early morning hours of September 14. He was succeeded by his vice president, the man Mark Hanna sneeringly referred to as “that damned cowboy,” Theodore Roosevelt.

Biblical Literature, II Esdras (or IV Esdras)

2005-04-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

Two important apocalyptic pseudepigrapha (II Esdras and the Apocalypse of Baruch), in which the political and eschatological aspects are central to the aim of the books, were written in Palestine at the end of the 1st century CE as a consequence of the catastrophic destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (70). Both were written as if they reflected the doom that befell

Wyoming, Flag Of

2005-04-02T23:03:00.000-08:00

The seal was adopted by the state legislature in 1893. It includes the state motto, “Equal rights,” recalling that in 1869 Wyoming's constitution was the first such document to give equal voting and office-holding rights to women. The figures of the miner and cowboy flanking the woman in the centre refer to the principal occupations of the state, further mentioned in the ribbon

Jesus Christ, First-century Judaism

2005-04-02T05:33:00.000-08:00

The standard account of all aspects of 1st-century Judaism, though it is weak on the Jewish religion, is Emil Schürer, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C.– A.D. 135), trans. from German, rev. and ed. by Geza Vermes and Fergus Millar, 3 vol. in 4 (1973–87). E.P. Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief, 63 BCE–66 CE (1992, reprinted with corrections 1994), provides a good overview of the Jewish religion in the 1st century. Geza Vermes, An Introduction to the Complete Dead Sea Scrolls, rev. ed. (2000), is a good study of the collection at Qumran. Yigael Yadin (ed.), The Temple Scroll, 3 vol. in 4 (1977–83; originally published in Hebrew, 1977), is a valuable study of the longest and most important scroll from Qumran.

Percy, Walker

2005-04-01T00:36:00.000-08:00

Orphaned in late childhood, Percy and his brothers went to live with his father's cousin, a bachelor and lawyer, in Greenville, Miss. Percy studied at the University of North Carolina (B.A., 1937) and Columbia University (M.D., 1941) and, while working as a pathologist

Light, Francis

2005-03-31T23:39:00.000-08:00

Light served in the Royal Navy from 1759 until 1763. In command of a merchant ship, he went in 1771 to the northern Malay state of Kedah, where he won the confidence of the sultan, Mohammed. About that time England,

Biblical Literature, Purpose and theme

2005-03-31T16:27:00.000-08:00

The Revelation (i.e., Apocalypse) to John is an answer in apocalyptic terms to the needs of the church in time of persecution, as it awaits the end-time expected in the near future. The purpose of the book is to encourage and admonish the church to be steadfast and endure. The form of an apocalypse shows affinities with contemporary Jewish, Oriental, and Hellenistic writings

Sangrur

2005-03-30T03:01:00.000-08:00

City, in southeastern Punjab state, northwestern India. The city was founded in the 17th century and became the capital of the former independent state of Jind. In 1948 it became part of India. Sangrur is an agricultural market with some light industry, including handloom weaving and handicrafts. There are good road and rail connections with the rest of Punjab and with neighbouring

Graham, Katharine

2005-03-29T13:08:00.000-08:00

The daughter of the publisher Eugene Meyer and the educator Agnes Meyer, Katharine Meyer attended Vassar College from 1934 to 1936 and then transferred to the University of Chicago, graduating in 1938. After a year as a reporter for the

Recurvirostridae

2005-03-29T08:02:00.000-08:00

Bird family (order Charadriiformes) composed of seven species of moderately large (29–48 cm [11–19 inches] ) wading birds characterized by extremely long legs, a relatively small head, and a long, slender bill. Better-known members of the family include the avocet, ibisbill, and stilt (qq.v.).

Drug Use, Addiction, habituation, and dependence

2005-03-28T09:01:00.000-08:00

The traditional distinction between “addiction” and “habituation” centres on the ability of a drug to produce tolerance and physical dependence. The opiates clearly possess the potential to massively challenge the body's resources, and, if so challenged, the body will make the corresponding biochemical, physiological, and psychological readjustment to the stress.

Kharijah, Al-

2005-03-28T02:50:00.000-08:00

Town, capital of the muhafazah (governorate) of Al-Wadi al-Jadid (Arabic: “New Valley”) and chief town of Al-Kharijah (Kharga) oasis, Egypt. The town's history dates back to the 25th dynasty (c. 750–656 BC), though inscriptions record that the oasis was a place for political exiles from Thebes in the 21st dynasty (c. 1075–c. 945 BC). The town flourished under Persian and Roman rule, and there are extensive ruins of those

Technicolor

2005-03-27T21:08:00.000-08:00

(trademark), motion-picture process using dye-transfer techniques to produce a colour print. The Technicolor process, perfected in 1932, originally used a beam-splitting optical cube, in combination with the camera lens, to expose three black-and-white films. The light beam was split into three parts as it entered the camera, one beam favouring the red portion of the spectrum,

Nordenskiöld, Erland

2005-03-26T23:48:00.000-08:00

Son of the scientist-explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld and cousin of explorer-geographer

Theiler, Max

2005-03-25T18:58:00.000-08:00

Theiler received his medical training at St. Thomas's Hospital, London, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, graduating in 1922. In that year he joined the department

Sun Microsystems, Inc.

2005-03-25T00:24:00.000-08:00

American manufacturer of computer workstations, servers, and software with headquarters in Palo Alto, California.

Lophospira

2005-03-24T18:43:00.000-08:00

Genus of extinct gastropods (snails) found as fossils in marine rocks of Ordovician to Devonian age (505 million to 360 million years old). The shell consists of a series of whorls arranged much like a series of ascending steps, each successive whorl smaller than the one below it. The apex of the shell is closed by a small cone-shaped whorl.

K.t.

2005-03-23T13:10:00.000-08:00

Knight of the Thistle, member of a Scottish order of knighthood. See Thistle, The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the.

Théâtre-libre

2005-03-23T02:22:00.000-08:00

(French: Free Theatre), independent, private theatre founded in Paris in 1887 by André Antoine, which became the proving ground for the new naturalistic drama. Antoine, an amateur actor, was influenced by the naturalistic novels of Émile Zola and by the theatrical realism of the Meiningen Company. Antoine believed that environment shaped character and behaviour, and he

Interior Design, Special subjects

2005-03-21T11:40:00.000-08:00

Johannes Itten, Kunst der Farbe (1961; Eng. trans., The Art of Color, 1961); Faber Birren, Color for Interiors, Historical and Modern (1963); Leslie Larson, Lighting and Its Design (1964); John F. Pile (ed.), Drawings of Architectural Interiors (1967); Mario G. Salvadori and Robert Heller, Structure in Architecture (1963), a very readable introduction to structural principles understandable to laymen, but written on a professional level; Mario Dal Fabbro, Modern Furniture, 2nd ed. (1958). Edward Lucie-Smith, The Story of Craft: The Craftsman's Role in Society (1981), explores the unifying and the distinctive features of craft and fine arts.

Gaillardia

2005-03-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

They have purple disk flowers and yellow, orange, or white ray flowers with three or more teeth

Artabanus

2005-03-20T19:30:00.000-08:00

Also called Ardaban minister of the Achaemenid king Xerxes I of Persia, whom he murdered in 465. According to one Greek source, Artabanus had previously killed Xerxes' son Darius and feared that the father would avenge him; other sources relate that he killed Xerxes first and then, pretending that Darius had done so, induced Darius' brother Artaxerxes I to avenge the “parricide.” Artabanus was

Neuserre

2005-03-20T19:13:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Nyuserre, sixth king of the 5th dynasty (c. 2465–c. 2325 BC) of Egypt; he is primarily known for his temple to the sun-god Re at Abu Jirab (Abu Gurab) in Lower Egypt. The temple plan, like that built by Userkaf (the first king of the 5th dynasty), consisted of a valley temple, causeway, gate, and temple court, which contained an obelisk (the symbol of Re) and an alabaster altar. The sun-temple reliefs revealed an exceptionally

Hyundai Group

2005-03-19T20:04:00.000-08:00

Hyundai began as a construction firm founded by Chung Ju Yung in 1947. The company operated within South Korea until 1965, when it initiated a road building project in Thailand that marked the beginning of

Turbo Train

2005-03-19T19:28:00.000-08:00

High-speed passenger train powered by a gas-turbine engine similar to that used in jet aircraft. Unlike conventional trains, the turbo variety does not have a separate locomotive; its turbine power unit is small enough to be built into a passenger car. A typical turbo train consists of several passenger cars with power units located in each of the end cars. The cars

Uintatherium

2005-03-18T19:43:00.000-08:00

Extinct genus of large, primitive hoofed mammals found as fossils in North America in terrestrial deposits of the Middle and Late Eocene Epochs (52 million to 36.6 million years ago). The uintatherium, which was as large as the modern rhinoceros, was among the largest animals of its time. The limbs were strongly constructed in order to support the massive body. The skull was

India Rubber Plant

2005-03-18T10:23:00.000-08:00

Young plants available in the florist's trade are durable

Puerta Del Sol

2005-03-17T23:41:00.000-08:00

Main plaza of Madrid, Spain. It was reputedly named for a gate (puerta) that stood there until 1510 and had on its front a representation of the sun (sol). Throughout Madrid's history the square has been the focal point of transportation and of intellectual and economic activity. It was the first part of the city to be equipped with modern conveniences (electric lights, streetcars)

Murji'ah

2005-03-17T09:58:00.000-08:00

The Murji'ah flourished during the turbulent period of Islamic history that began with the murder of 'Uthman (third caliph) in AD 656, and ended with the assassination of 'Ali (fourth

Ann, Cape

2005-03-16T22:59:00.000-08:00

Cape on the Atlantic Ocean comprising the eastern extremity of Essex county, northeastern Massachusetts, U.S., 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Boston. Sheltering Ipswich Bay, it is indented by Annisquam Harbor on the north and Gloucester Harbor on the south. The tidal Annisquam River, a 4-mile- (6.4-km-) long navigable waterway, connects the two harbours. The cape also shelters the northern

Paul Of Aegina

2005-03-15T15:44:00.000-08:00

Based largely on the works of such

Christian And Missionary Alliance

2005-03-15T06:07:00.000-08:00

Missionary and evangelistic movement that developed from the work of Albert B. Simpson (d. 1919), a Presbyterian minister who left that church to become an independent evangelist in New York City. In 1887 Simpson and others organized two societies, one for home and one for foreign missions. The two societies were merged into the Christian and Missionary Alliance in 1897. The organization

Zanardelli, Giuseppe

2005-03-14T21:02:00.000-08:00

A combatant in the volunteer corps during the war of 1848, he returned to Brescia

Daedalus

2005-03-14T13:22:00.000-08:00

(Greek: “Skillfully Wrought”), mythical Greek architect and sculptor, who was said to have built, among other things, the paradigmatic Labyrinth for King Minos of Crete. Daedalus fell out of favour with Minos and was imprisoned; he fashioned wings of wax and feathers for himself and for his son Icarus and escaped to Sicily. Icarus, however, flew too near the Sun, and his wings

Lindsay

2005-03-13T23:12:00.000-08:00

Town, seat (1861) of Victoria county, southeastern Ontario, Canada. It lies along the Scugog River, 21 miles (34 km) west-northwest of Peterborough. Laid out in 1825 as Purdy's Mills (after William Purdy, who built the first mills), it was renamed for one of the original land surveyors. The town's growth has been due partly to the Trent Canal (1833) and the improvement of the waterway between Sturgeon

Pere Ubu

2005-03-13T20:48:00.000-08:00

American avant-garde art rock band generally considered to be a major force and influence in postpunk music. The original members were David Thomas (b. June 14, 1953), Peter Laughner (b. c. 1953—d. June 22, 1977), Tom Herman (b. April 19, 1949), Allen Ravenstine (b. May 9, 1950), Scott Krauss (b. Nov. 19, 1950), and Tim Wright. Later members included Tony Maimone (b. Sept. 27, 1952, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.), Jim Jones (b. March 12, 1950), Chris Cutler (b. Jan. 4, 1947), Mayo

Albany, Robert Stewart, 1st Duke Of

2005-03-13T13:41:00.000-08:00

The third son of Robert II of Scotland, he was made high chamberlain of Scotland in 1382 and won a military reputation in campaigns against England.

Turkic Languages

2005-03-12T22:19:00.000-08:00

Turkic literary languages have emerged in different cultural centres. The older ones can be broadly determined as Uighur, Oghuz, and Kipchak or as mixtures of elements from these branches. Beginning in the 15th century, more distinct literary languages developed, in part as points of departure for modern languages (e.g., Ottoman for Modern Turkish or Chagatai for Uzbek

Tsun-i

2005-03-11T18:27:00.000-08:00

The city was brought under regular Chinese administration only in the early 7th century AD. A county was set up there in 640, and its present name, Tsun-i, was given in 642. It remained the seat of Tsun-i hsien (county), but the area did not begin to be developed

Biblical Literature, Book of Esther

2005-03-11T04:49:00.000-08:00

The Book of Esther is a romantic and patriotic tale, perhaps with some historical basis but with so little religious purpose that God, in fact, is not mentioned in it. The book may have been included in the Hebrew canon only for the sake of sanctioning the celebrations of the festival Purim, the Feast of Lots. There is considerable evidence that the stories related in

Neoplatonism

2005-03-11T01:51:00.000-08:00

The last school of Greek philosophy, given its definitive shape in the 3rd century Ad by the one great philosophical and religious genius of the school, Plotinus. The ancient philosophers who are generally classified as Neoplatonists called themselves simple “Platonists,” as did the philosophers of the Renaissance and the 17th century whose ideas derive from ancient Neoplatonism. See Platonism.

Ear Disease

2005-03-10T04:19:00.000-08:00

Impaired hearing is, with rare exception, the result of disease or abnormality of the outer, middle, or inner ear. Serious impairment of hearing at birth almost always results from a dysfunction of the auditory nerve and cannot be improved by medical or surgical treatment. In early and late childhood

Floor Exercise

2005-03-10T01:18:00.000-08:00

Gymnastics event in which movements are performed on the floor in an area 12 metres (40 feet) square. This area is covered by some type of cloth or mat, usually with some cushioning. No other apparatus is used. Men's routines are 50 to 70 seconds in duration. The type of exercise required is a series of movements combining elements of flexibility, strength, jumps, holding of poses, and

Tierra Del Fuego

2005-03-09T14:19:00.000-08:00

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,

Marriage

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

A legally and socially sanctioned union, usually between a man and a woman, that is regulated by laws, rules, customs, beliefs, and attitudes that prescribe the rights and duties of the partners and accords status to their offspring (if any). The universality of marriage within different societies and cultures is attributed to the many basic social and personal functions

Rca Corporation

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

RCA was founded as Radio Corporation of America by the General Electric Company in 1919 to acquire Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America (incorporated in

Interlude

2005-03-07T23:26:00.000-08:00

In theatre, early form of English dramatic entertainment, sometimes considered to be the transition between medieval morality plays and Tudor dramas. Interludes were performed at court or at “great houses” by professional minstrels or amateurs at intervals between some other entertainment, such as a banquet, or preceding or following a play, or between acts. Although

Parys

2005-03-07T00:51:00.000-08:00

Resort town, northern Free State province, South Africa. It is situated on the southern bank of the Vaal River. Parys was founded in 1873 and most likely named by a German surveyor named Schilbach, who had fought in the siege of Paris in 1870. Parys officially became a town in 1887. Tobacco, corn (maize), sorghum, and cattle are raised in the surrounding area. Industries produce processed

Ibert, Jacques

2005-03-06T10:31:00.000-08:00

Ibert studied at the Paris Conservatory and in 1919 won the Prix de Rome for his cantata Le Poète et la fée (“The Poet and the Fairy”). In Rome he composed his most popular work, the symphonic suite Escales (1922; “Ports of Call”). From 1937 until 1960 Ibert was director

Szeged

2005-03-06T08:02:00.000-08:00

The city was replanned

Prix Renaudot

2005-03-05T18:54:00.000-08:00

French literary prize awarded to the author of an outstanding original novel published during the previous year. Named for Théophraste Renaudot (1586?–1653), who founded La Gazette (later La Gazette de France), an influential weekly newspaper, the prize was established in 1925 and first awarded in 1926. Like the Prix Goncourt, with which it competes, the Prix Renaudot is awarded annually

Xerox Parc

2005-03-05T06:46:00.000-08:00

Among the many inventions of the 1970s, few are as important as the personal computer, and, because the Xerox Alto was developed in 1973, PARC can claim credit for having made the first one. However, the mindset at Xerox, like that of all computer manufacturers of that time, was that a market did not exist for such machines. Corporate analysts asserted that the computer would be too

Roman Law

2005-03-04T18:29:00.000-08:00

The law of ancient Rome from the time of the founding of the city in 753 BC until the fall of the Western Empire in the 5th century AD. It remained in use in the Eastern, or Byzantine, Empire until 1453. As a legal system, Roman law has affected the development of law in most of Western civilization as well as in parts of the East. It forms the basis for the law codes of most countries of continental

Afghanistan, Ya'qub Khan (1879)

2005-03-04T10:29:00.000-08:00

The Treaty of Gandamak (Gandomak; May 26, 1879) recognized Ya'qub Khan as emir, and he subsequently agreed to receive a permanent British embassy at Kabul. In addition, he agreed to conduct his foreign relations with other states in accordance “with the wishes and advice” of the British government. This British triumph, however, was short-lived. On September 3, 1879, the British envoy and

Elijah

2005-03-03T22:32:00.000-08:00

Elijah was from Tishbe in Gilead. The narrative in 1 Kings relates how he suddenly appears during Ahab's reign to proclaim a drought in punishment of the cult of Baal that Jezebel was promoting in Israel at Yahweh's expense. Later Elijah meets 450 prophets of Baal in a contest of strength on Mount Carmel to determine which deity is the true God of Israel. Sacrifices are placed

Radical-socialist Party

2005-03-02T01:15:00.000-08:00

The first French “radical” party was

Middletown

2005-03-02T00:45:00.000-08:00

Borough (town), Dauphin county, central Pennsylvania, U.S., just southeast of Harrisburg, at the confluence of Swatara Creek and the Susquehanna River. George Fisher settled the site in 1752 and in 1755 laid out the town, which he named Middletown for its location midway between Lancaster and Carlisle. In 1809 Fisher's son, George, laid out another town (Harborton) at the juncture of the

Requesens Y Zúñiga, Luis De

2005-03-01T11:36:00.000-08:00

Requesens's early career was as a government official

Asherah

2005-03-01T01:18:00.000-08:00

Ancient West Semitic goddess, consort of the supreme god. Her principal epithet was probably “She Who Walks on the Sea.” She was occasionally called Elath (Elat), “the Goddess,” and may have also been called Qudshu, “Holiness.” According to texts from Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra, Syria), Asherah's consort was El, and by him she was the mother of 70 gods. As mother goddess she was widely worshiped

Béjart, Maurice

2005-02-28T17:41:00.000-08:00

After studies in Paris, Béjart toured with the Ballets de Paris de Roland Petit (1947–49), the International Ballet (1949–50), and the Royal Swedish Ballet (1951–52). In 1954 he founded Les Ballets

Abbott, Lyman

2005-02-28T05:44:00.000-08:00

Abbott left law practice to study theology and was ordained in 1860. After serving in two pastorates he became associate editor of Harper's Magazine and in 1870 editor of the Illustrated Christian Weekly. In 1876 he joined Henry Ward Beecher's Christian

Spadefish

2005-02-27T11:56:00.000-08:00

(family Ephippidae), any of about 17 species of marine fishes (order Perciformes), predominantly tropical though also found in temperate regions. In appearance the spadefishes are deep-bodied and laterally compressed, with five or six vertical black bands on a silvery body. The vertical bars may disappear with age, the adults being solid white, black, or, more commonly,

Base

2005-02-27T11:23:00.000-08:00

Also called Radix, in mathematics, an arbitrarily chosen number in terms of which any number can be expressed. See number system.

Mercy, Franz, Freiherr Von

2005-02-26T20:44:00.000-08:00

Mercy entered the Austrian army around 1606. Wounded in the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631), he made his name in the five-month defense of Rheinfelden (1634) against the formidable Bernhard

Frederick (iii)

2005-02-26T18:46:00.000-08:00

After his father's murder (1308) Frederick became the head of the House of Habsburg and duke of Austria but did not succeed him as king, the count of Luxembourg being elected instead, as Henry VII. Frederick and his brothers made a treaty with Henry

Himyar

2005-02-26T07:40:00.000-08:00

The Himyarites were concentrated in the area known as Dhu Raydan on the coast of present-day Yemen (San'a'); they were probably aided in the overthrow of their Sabaean kinsmen by the discovery of a sea route from Egypt

Algeria, Resources

2005-02-25T16:36:00.000-08:00

Deposits of natural gas were first discovered at Hassi R'Mel in 1956, and since

Hino

2005-02-25T07:24:00.000-08:00

City, Tokyo no (metropolis), Honshu, Japan, on the railway linking Tachikawa and Hachioji. Located on the Tama River, Hino was a post town and ferry station during the Tokugawa era (1603–1867). The city is now part of the Keihin Industrial Region, producing automobiles, electrical machinery, and precision instruments. It also serves as a residential suburb of the Tokyo and Yokohama

Scorpius

2005-02-23T07:59:00.000-08:00

In astrology,

Pharmaceutical Industry, Dispersions

2005-02-23T07:28:00.000-08:00

Aerosols were formerly defined as colloidal systems consisting of very finely subdivided liquid or solid particles dispersed in a gas. Today the term aerosol, in general usage, has become synonymous with a pressurized package. For pharmaceutical purposes aerosols may be divided into two types. Space sprays disperse the medicament as a finely divided spray with

'abd Al-mu'min

2005-02-23T01:57:00.000-08:00

In full 'Abd al-Mu'min ibn 'Ali Berber caliph of the Almohad dynasty (reigned 1130–63), who conquered the North African Maghrib from the Almoravids andbrought all the Berbers under one rule.

Duroc

2005-02-22T16:37:00.000-08:00

Breed of pig developed between 1822 and 1877 from the Old Duroc pig of New York and the Red Jersey pig of New Jersey; it was formerly called the Duroc-Jersey. The Duroc proved particularly suitable for feeding in the United States Corn Belt; by the 1930s it was the predominant breed in the United States, a distinction it held intermittently throughout the century. Exportation has

Argentina

2005-02-22T09:47:00.000-08:00

Officially Argentine Republic, Spanish República Argentina country occupying most of the southern portion, or southern cone, of South America. With an area of 1,073,399 square miles (2,780,092 square km)—more extensive than Mexico and the U.S. state of Texas combined—it is the eighth largest country in the world. Argentina is shaped like an inverted triangle with its base at the top; it is some 880 miles (1,420 km) across at its widest from east to west and stretches

Constantine

2005-02-22T02:13:00.000-08:00

Proclaimed emperor by his army in Britain in 407, Constantine crossed to the European continent with a force of British troops; by the end of the year he controlled eastern Gaul. An army dispatched by Honorius laid siege to him in Valentia

Fibonacci Numbers

2005-02-21T04:02:00.000-08:00

The elements of the sequence of numbers 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, , each of which, after the second, is the sum of the two previous numbers. These numbers were first noted by the medieval Italian mathematician Leonardo Pisano (“Fibonacci”) in his Liber abaci (1202; “Book of the Abacus”), which also popularized Hindu-Arabic numerals and the decimal number system in Europe. For information on the interesting

Property Law, Public nuisance

2005-02-20T08:25:00.000-08:00

In Anglo-American law the concept of public nuisance serves as a bridge between the private law of nuisance and the avowedly public law of zoning and eminent domain. The concept of public nuisance is closest to that of private nuisance in situations in which a public officer, acting on behalf of the community, brings suit to abate a nuisance that differs from a private

Selkirk

2005-02-20T04:29:00.000-08:00

Town, southeastern Manitoba, Canada. It lies just northeast of Winnipeg, on the Red River near its influx into Lake Winnipeg, at the head of deepwater navigation. It is the lake's chief port serving central and northern Manitoba and is thus a transshipping point for fish and lumber. The town is also a haven for pleasure boats. The site, settled in 1812, was named for Thomas Douglas,

Kryvyy Rih

2005-02-19T16:52:00.000-08:00

Russian Krivoy Rog, also spelled Krivoi Rog, or Krivoj Rog, city, Dnipropetrovsk oblast (province), Ukraine, situated at the confluence of the Inhulets and Saksahan rivers. Founded as a village by Zaporozhian Cossacks in the 17th century, it had only 2,184 inhabitants in 1781. In 1881 a French company began to work the local iron-ore deposits, and a railway was constructed to the Donets Basin coalfield in 1884. After that date Kryvyy Rih became a significant

Selkirk

2005-02-19T03:22:00.000-08:00

Royal burgh (town), Scottish Borders council area, historic county of Selkirkshire, Scotland, lying on a hillside overlooking the river known as Ettrick Water. A Benedictine abbey founded in the early 12th century was later removed to Kelso. Selkirk's 12th-century castle was captured by the English under Edward I (reigned 1272–1307). It was retaken by the Scottish national leader William

Aesthetics, The aesthetic experience

2005-02-18T14:06:00.000-08:00

Such considerations point toward the aforementioned approach that begins with the aesthetic experience as the most likely to capture the full range of aesthetic phenomena without begging the important philosophical questions about their nature. Can we then single out a faculty, an attitude, a mode of judgment, or a form of experience that is distinctively aesthetic?

Radio Source

2005-02-18T01:46:00.000-08:00

In 1931 Karl G. Jansky, an American radio engineer, detected radio waves from outer space.

Handke, Peter

2005-02-17T20:22:00.000-08:00

Handke, the son of a bank clerk, studied law at Graz University from 1961 to 1965 and contributed pieces to the avant-garde literary magazine manuskripte. He came to public notice as an anticonventional playwright

Carter, Elliott (cook, Jr.)

2005-02-17T00:54:00.000-08:00

Born of a wealthy family, Carter was educated at Harvard University, where he first majored in English and later studied music under Walter Piston and Gustav Holst.

Ya-an

2005-02-16T21:16:00.000-08:00

Established as the seat of a county under the Ch'in (221–206 BC) and Han (206 BC–AD 220) dynasties,

Rabbinic Judaism

2005-02-15T21:14:00.000-08:00

The normative form of Judaism that developed after the fall of the Temple of Jerusalem (AD 70). Originating in the work of the Pharisaic rabbis, it was based on the legal and commentative literature in the Talmud, and it set up a mode of worship and a life discipline that were to be practiced by Jews worldwide down to modern times.

Campaign Furniture

2005-02-15T14:50:00.000-08:00

Case furniture was usually teak,

Daily Telegraph, The

2005-02-14T10:10:00.000-08:00

Founded in 1855 as the Daily Telegraph and Courier, the paper has consistently combined a high standard of reporting with the selection of interesting feature subjects and editorial presentation. Its appeal is a conservative and middle-class

Ekkehard I The Elder

2005-02-14T04:25:00.000-08:00

Of noble birth, Ekkehard was educated at the Benedictine monastery of Sankt Gallen (St. Gall) in Switzerland, then one of Europe's greatest centres

China, Hsi (Western) Han

2005-02-13T23:46:00.000-08:00

Since at least as early as the Shang dynasty the Chinese had been accustomed to acknowledging the temporal and spiritual authority of a single leader and its transmission within a family, at first from brother to brother and later from father to son. Some of the early kings had been military commanders, and they may have organized the corporate work of the community,

Saint David, Fort

2005-02-13T02:09:00.000-08:00

British stronghold near the town of Cuddalore, about 100 miles (160 km) south of Madras on the southeastern coast of India. The fort was sold by the Marathas to the English East India Company in 1690. It was named for the patron saint of Wales because the governor of Madras at the time, Elihu Yale, was Welsh. It was purchased because of increasing political instability in southern India,

Lowlands

2005-02-13T01:17:00.000-08:00

Also called Scottish Lowlands cultural and historical region of Scotland, comprising the portion of the country southeast of a line drawn from Dumbarton to Stonehaven; northwest of the line are the Highlands. Traditionally, the Lowlands were distinguished by the use of the Scots language (considered a dialect or close relative of English) in contrast to the Scottish Gaelic (a Celtic language)

Morales, Cristóbal De

2005-02-11T20:31:00.000-08:00

Morales's first post was as maestro de capilla at the cathedral at Ávila (1526–29). After a short stay at Plasencia he joined the papal choir in Rome (1535), where he remained

Nakho-dagestanian Languages

2005-02-11T09:51:00.000-08:00

Also called Northeast Caucasian Languages, group of languages spoken in the northeastern Caucasus Mountains. The Nakh division consists of the languages of the Chechen, Ingush, and Bats. The Dagestanian division is more multifarious and includes such groups as the Avar-Andi-Dido languages, the Lak-Dargin (Lak-Dargwa) languages, and the Lezgian languages. See also Dagestanian languages; Nakh languages.

Cruelty, Theatre Of

2005-02-11T03:26:00.000-08:00

Project for an experimental theatre that was proposed by the French poet, actor, and theorist Antonin Artaud and that became a major influence on avant-garde 20th-century theatre. Artaud, influenced by Symbolism and Surrealism, along with Roger Vitrac and Robert Aron founded the Théâtre Alfred Jarry in 1926; they presented four programs before disbanding in 1929. Between 1931 and

Maa-alused

2005-02-11T00:09:00.000-08:00

These terms refer to beings living under the earth with an existence quite parallel to that of people living on earth. The main differences are in the opposite

Wackernagel, Jacob

2005-02-10T23:09:00.000-08:00

Influenced by his father, Wilhelm Wackernagel, a professor of Germanic studies at the University of Basel, he became interested in comparative linguistics and Sanskrit while studying at the University of Göttingen. In 1876 Wackernagel became

Norrisla Guardia Act

2005-02-10T14:10:00.000-08:00

(1932), in the history of the United States, legislative act that removed certain legal and judicial barriers against the activities of organized labour. The act declared that the members of labour unions should have “full freedom of association” unmolested by employers, and it made illegal the “yellow-dog” contracts by which employers had forced workers to state that they

Los Alamos

2005-02-09T11:30:00.000-08:00

In 1942 Los Alamos was chosen by the U.S. government (because of its comparative isolation