SafeKettle

Hannibal

2005-04-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

Hannibal's forces were now totally inadequate to match the army of Scipio, who had rushed to the Po River to protect the recently founded Roman colonies of Placentia (modern Piacenza) and Cremona. The first action between the two armies took place on the plains west of the Ticino River, and Hannibal's Numidian cavalry prevailed. Scipio was severely wounded, and the Romans

Shabestari, Sa'd Od-din Mahmud

2005-04-04T01:26:00.000-07:00

The details of Shabestari's life are obscure; apparently he spent most of it in Tabriz. He grew up in an age of spiritual confusion, following the Mongol invasion of Iran, the sack of Baghdad, and the final fall of the

Furniture, Fixed and mechanical tables

2005-04-04T00:08:00.000-07:00

In general, tables can be divided into fixed and mechanical types. The fixed table, consisting of a square or round top supported by one or more legs, is the least complicated from the viewpoint of craftsmanship. It is a form that requires wood of thick dimensions in order to make the joints by which the top is fastened to the legs strong enough to resist lateral pressure.

Zion

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

City, Lake county, northeastern Illinois, U.S. It lies along Lake Michigan, near the Wisconsin border. Zion was founded in 1901 by John Alexander Dowie as the headquarters of his Christian Catholic Church. Until 1935 it was theocratically governed, and the church controlled all business activities. The church schools were closed in 1939, after which a modern educational system was

Chicago Critics

2005-04-02T20:04:00.000-08:00

The group's members, associated from the 1940s with the University of Chicago, often were called “Aristotelian,” or, more accurately, “Neo-Aristotelian,

T'ung-chih

2005-04-02T14:32:00.000-08:00

Ascending the throne at the age of six, the young ruler assumed the reign title of T'ung-chih (“Union for Order”). He ruled under the regency of a triumvirate that was headed by his

Chemical Compound, Aldehydes and ketones

2005-04-01T16:12:00.000-08:00

Similar to the double bond of alkenes, the carbon-oxygen double bond is made up of a s bond, whose electron pair lies between the bonded

China, Political institutions

2005-03-31T23:34:00.000-08:00

The Ch'ing had come to power because of their success at winning Chinese over to their side; in the late 17th century they adroitly pursued similar policies to win the adherence of the Chinese literati. Ch'ing emperors learned Chinese, addressed their subjects using Confucian rhetoric, reinstated the civil service examination system and the Confucian curriculum,

Computers, Apple Computer

2005-03-31T07:04:00.000-08:00

Like the founding of the early chip companies and the invention of the microprocessor, the story of Apple Computer is a key part of Silicon Valley folklore. Two whiz kids, Stephen G. Wozniak and Steven P. Jobs, shared an interest in electronics. Wozniak was an early and regular participant at Homebrew Computer Club meetings (see the earlier section The Altair), which Jobs

Finnish Literature

2005-03-30T09:37:00.000-08:00

Only in the 19th century did a strong literature in Swedish develop in Finland. Previously it had been somewhat sporadic, although there had been several excellent poets, notably Jacob Frese, Gustaf Philip Creutz, and Frans Mikael Franzén. In the work of Johan Ludvig Runeberg, the Finnish people and landscape first came to life in literature, and he became the national

Visser 't Hooft, Willem Adolph

2005-03-29T14:52:00.000-08:00

Visser 't Hooft was educated at the Haarlem Gymnasium and prepared for the ministry of the Netherlands Reformed Church at the University of Leiden. His long career as a leader of Christian organizations began with the post of

Bendahara

2005-03-29T10:28:00.000-08:00

In the traditional Malay states, the chief minister, second only to the sultan in rank, power, and authority; the office of bendahara (a Sanskrit title) grew in importance during the Malacca sultanate after 1400. Its functions included executing the sultan's commands and acting as prime minister and commander in chief. The bendahara also supplied the sultan with a palace

Pole, Reginald

2005-03-28T18:40:00.000-08:00

His father, Sir Richard Pole, was a cousin of King Henry VII, and his mother, Margaret, countess of Salisbury, was a niece of Edward

London, Jack

2005-03-28T07:31:00.000-08:00

Deserted by his father, a roving astrologer, London was raised in Oakland, Calif., by his spiritualist mother and his stepfather,

Kettle Gong

2005-03-27T21:24:00.000-08:00

Percussion instrument of the Bronze Age cultures of China, Indochina, and Indonesia. It was used mainly in rainmaking rites. Some kettle gongs from northern Vietnam are dated between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC. When played, they are suspended so that the striking surface (the head) is vertical.

Henrician Articles

2005-03-26T13:07:00.000-08:00

Polish Artykuly Henrykowskie (1573) statement of the rights and privileges of the Polish gentry (szlachta) that all elected kings of Poland, beginning with Henry of Valois (elected May 11, 1573), were obliged to confirm and that severely limited the authority of the Polish monarchy. After King Sigismund II Augustus died (July 1572), Henry of Valois, duc d'Anjou and the future Henry III of France, emerged as the favourite

Nagaur

2005-03-26T09:13:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Nagor town, administrative headquarters of Nagaur district, Rajasthan state, western India. Nagaur, a walled town held successively by the 12th-century Hindu ruler of Dilli (Delhi), Prthviraja, by the 12th- and 13th-century Muslim conqueror Muhammad of Ghur, and by Bikaner and Jodhpur chieftains, is said to take its name from its traditional founders, the Naga Rajputs (warrior rulers of the historic

Manet, édouard

2005-03-25T00:36:00.000-08:00

French painter who broke new ground by defying traditional techniques of representation and by choosing subjects from the events and circumstances of his own time. His Déjeuner sur l'herbe (“Luncheon on the Grass”), exhibited in 1863 at the Salon des Refusés, aroused the hostility of critics and the enthusiasm of the young painters who

Ghata-pallava

2005-03-24T17:08:00.000-08:00

In Indian art, important decorative motif consisting of a pot filled with flowers and leaves. In Vedic literature it is the symbol of life, the source of vegetation, a meaning that is still retained. The motif occurred in Indian art almost from its inception and has been used prominently in all periods. From the 5th century the ghata-pallava began to be used

Dies, Martin, Jr.

2005-03-24T14:42:00.000-08:00

A graduate of the University of Texas (1919) and the law school of National University in Washington, D.C. (1920), Dies opened a law practice in Texas but quickly turned his attention to politics. In 1931 he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives,

Religion, Seventh-day Adventist Church.

2005-03-23T20:47:00.000-08:00

Celebrating 100 years of Adventism in southern Asia, the Annual Council of the world church met in Bangalore, India, in 1993. The church at first grew very slowly there, but in recent years India had become a fruitful field for growth, and membership in 1993 approached 200,000. The church in India was also moving toward financial strength; the centenary year saw the first conference, Mizoram,

Refractive Index

2005-03-22T23:52:00.000-08:00

Also called Index Of Refraction, measure of the bending of a ray of light when passing from one medium into another. If i is the angle of incidence of a ray in vacuum (angle between the incoming ray and the perpendicular to the surface of a medium, called the normal; see figure), and r is the angle of refraction (angle between the ray in the medium and the normal), the refractive index n is defined as the ratio

Biblical Literature, Tradition criticism

2005-03-22T21:48:00.000-08:00

Tradition criticism takes up where literary criticism leaves off; it goes behind the written sources to trace the development of oral tradition, where there is reason to believe that this preceded the earliest documentary stages, and attempts to trace the development of the tradition, phase by phase, from its primary life setting to its literary presentation.

Davies, William Henry

2005-03-20T16:49:00.000-08:00

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

Nature Worship, Water as fructifying

2005-03-20T14:55:00.000-08:00

Wherever early archaic culture spread the myth of heaven and earth as the world parents, there also was a belief that heaven fructifies the earth with heaven's seed. The springs, pools, and rivers on the earth, therefore, may bring not only healing and expiation but also fertility. The Scamander (now Turkey's Küçükmenderes) River in ancient Greece evidently was so personified;

China, Religious and intellectual life

2005-03-20T13:28:00.000-08:00

The Mongols did not try to impose their own religion (a cult of Heaven, the forces of nature, and shamanistic practices) on their subjects. This gave comparative freedom to the existing religions in China. These included what the Mongol rulers considered to be the san chiao (“three teachings”): Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Both Taoism and Buddhism retained their

Skandha

2005-03-19T21:25:00.000-08:00

Pali Khandha according to Buddhist thought, the five elements that sum up the whole of an individual's mental and physical existence. The self (or soul) cannot be identified with any one of the parts, nor is it the total of the parts. They are: (1) matter, or body (rupa), the manifest form of the four elements—earth, air, fire, and water; (2) sensations, or feelings (vedana); (3) perceptions of sense objects (Sanskrit:

Shiga Naoya

2005-03-18T15:55:00.000-08:00

Born into an aristocratic samurai family, Shiga was taken by his parents to live with his paternal grandparents in Tokyo in 1885. In his youth he was influenced by the Christian educator Uchimura Kanzo, but Christianity

Yaizu

2005-03-18T03:25:00.000-08:00

City, Shizuoka ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, on the west coast of Suruga Bay. Since the Tokugawa era (1603–1867), Yaizu has been one of the important coastal fishing ports for tuna, bonito, skipjack, and mackerel. Canning and freezing plants operate there. Deep-sea fishing developed in the early 20th century. Pop. (1989 est.) 111,728.

Chincha Islands

2005-03-18T01:35:00.000-08:00

Spanish Islas De Chincha, island group that is part of Los Libertadores-Wari región, Peru. Located in the Pacific Ocean 13 miles (21 km) off Peru's southwestern coast, the three small islands are situated to the northwest of Paracas Bay and west-northwest of the city of Pisco. They have extensive guano deposits, which have been exploited for fertilizer.

Leakey, Louis S.b.

2005-03-17T11:20:00.000-08:00

In full Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey Kenyan archaeologist and anthropologist whose fossil discoveries in East Africa proved that man was far older than had previously been believed and that human evolution was centred in Africa, rather than in Asia, as earlier discoveries had suggested. Leakey was also noted for his controversial interpretations of these archaeological

Gaborone

2005-03-16T21:18:00.000-08:00

Formerly (until 1969) Gaberones, town, capital of Botswana. The seat of government was transferred there from Mafeking (now spelled Mafikeng), South Africa, in 1965, one year before Botswana became independent of Britain. Gaborone is located on the Cape-Zimbabwe railway and is the site of government offices, parliament buildings, health facilities, a thermal power station, and an airport. It is the seat of

Sachs, Curt

2005-03-16T19:13:00.000-08:00

In his youth Sachs took lessons in piano, theory, and composition. Later, at Berlin University—although he included music history in his studies—he took his doctorate in the history of art (1904). After several years as an art critic and historian, during which time

Potresov, Aleksandr Nikolayevich

2005-03-15T11:04:00.000-08:00

Potresov, the son of a general, joined the Marxists in the early 1890s and was briefly exiled in 1898. In 1900 he helped V.I. Lenin found the newspaper Iskra, which was intended to unite

Ikot Abasi

2005-03-14T15:48:00.000-08:00

Also called Opobo, formerly Egwanga, port town, Akwa Ibom state, southern Nigeria. The town lies near the mouth of the Imo (Opobo) River. Situated at a break in the mangrove swamps and rain forest of the eastern Niger River delta, it served in the 19th century as a collecting point for slaves. In 1870 Jubo Jubogha, a former Igbo (Ibo) slave and ruler of the Anna Pepple house of Bonny (28 miles [45 km] west-southwest), came to Ikot Abasi

Macdonald, John D.

2005-03-14T04:35:00.000-08:00

After MacDonald graduated from Syracuse (New York) University (B.S., 1938) and Harvard Graduate School of Business (M.B.A., 1939), he served in World

Alkaptonuria

2005-03-13T10:06:00.000-08:00

Rather rare (one in 200,000 births) inherited disorder of protein metabolism characterized by an inability of the body to metabolize the amino acids tyrosine and phenylalanine. In the normal metabolic pathway of tyrosine, homogentisic acid is converted to maleylacetoacetate in the liver by the enzyme homogentisate 1,2-dioxygenase. This enzyme is not active in individuals

Roxana

2005-03-12T09:02:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Roxane wife of Alexander the Great. The daughter of the Bactrian chief Oxyartes, she was captured and married by Alexander in 327, during his conquest of Asia. After Alexander's death (323) she had his second wife, Stateira (Barsine), killed, and she gave birth at Babylon to a son (Alexander IV), who was accepted by the Macedonian generals as joint king with the idiot Philip

Andrada E Silva, José Bonifácio De

2005-03-12T08:46:00.000-08:00

Andrada went to Portugal as a student and became a distinguished scholar there, earning an international reputation as a naturalist and geologist. He remained in Portugal until

Fraenkel-conrat, Heinz L.

2005-03-11T09:45:00.000-08:00

Fraenkel-Conrat studied medicine at the University of Breslau (M.D., 1933) and then turned to biochemistry at the University of Edinburgh (Ph.D.,

Gabú

2005-03-11T02:21:00.000-08:00

Formerly Nova Lamego town, eastern Guinea-Bissau, western Africa. Gabú is situated along the Colufe River, a tributary of the Gêba River, and is an agricultural marketing centre. Peanuts (groundnuts), grown mainly by the Muslim Fulani peoples, are the principal crop of the region. The town is connected by road to Bissau, the national capital, and to other coastal towns. Pop. (latest est.) town, 7,803.

Arabia, History Of, Yemen

2005-03-10T09:57:00.000-08:00

To quell a rising in Yemen, the 'Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun dispatched Ibn Ziyad, who refounded in 820 the southern city of Zabid and became overlord of Yemen, Najran, and Hadhramaut. About a century later, the Najahids—Ethiopian slaves or local Afro-Asians—supplanted the Ziyadids in Zabid; however, though independent, neither dynasty renounced vague 'Abbasid suzerainty. The Banu Ya'fur

Scythian

2005-03-09T19:10:00.000-08:00

Much of what is known of the history of the Scythians comes from the account of them by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who visited their territory. In modern times this

Domei

2005-03-09T07:26:00.000-08:00

Domei was formed in 1964 by a merger of three politically moderate federations that opposed the leftist stance of the larger and more militant union Sohyo. Unlike the majority of Sohyo members, who were public employees, most Domei members worked for private-sector firms. Domei was a supporter of the Democratic

Morava River

2005-03-08T21:52:00.000-08:00

German March, tributary of the Danube rising in eastern Czech Republic; in its lower course, the river divides the Czech Republic from Slovakia and then Slovakia from Austria. It gives its name to Moravia, an ancient region that covers most of the river's drainage basin, which is 15,000 square miles (38,900 square km) in area. Its western tributaries drain from the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands; the

Soho

2005-03-08T16:10:00.000-08:00

It was an area of farmlands in the Middle Ages and was acquired by the crown in the 1530s. The community's development stems from the activities

Periodic Law, Elucidation of the periodic law

2005-03-08T03:41:00.000-08:00

Detailed understanding of the periodic system has developed along with the quantum theory of spectra and the electronic structure of atoms, beginning with the work of Bohr in 1913. Important forward steps were the formulation of the general rules of the old quantum theory by William Wilson and Arnold Sommerfeld in 1916, the discovery of the exclusion principle by Wolfgang

Cart

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

Two-wheeled vehicle drawn by a draft animal, used throughout recorded history by numerous societies for the transportation of freight, agricultural produce, refuse, and people. The cart, usually drawn by a single animal, is known to have been in use by the Greeks and the Assyrians by 1800 BC (although it is generally assumed that such vehicles could have been used as early as

Cummings, E.e.

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

In full Edward Estlin Cummings American poet and painter who first attracted attention, in an age of literary experimentation, for his eccentric punctuation and phrasing. The spirit of New England dissent and of Emersonian “Self-Reliance” underlies the urbanized Yankee colloquialism of Cummings' verse. Cummings' name is often styled “e.e. cummings” in the

Creativity

2005-03-06T23:32:00.000-08:00

Psychological experiments in the fields of motivation and learning have disclosed the power of novelty as an inducement to action. There appears to be an essential and continuing tension in higher organisms

Bcg Vaccine

2005-03-05T23:44:00.000-08:00

Vaccine against tuberculosis, prepared from a weakened strain of tuberculosis bacteria named BCG—bacille Calmette-Guérin, for the French scientists who developed the product. The vaccine is of particular importance for those whose occupations carry a high risk of infection by tuberculosis, such as nurses and physicians, and for persons in countries with high

Siberut Island

2005-03-05T17:20:00.000-08:00

Indonesian Pulau Siberut , also spelled Siberoet largest island in the Mentawai group of islands, Sumatera Barat provinsi (province), Indonesia. Siberut lies off the western coast of Sumatra, about 90 miles (145 km) west-southwest of and across the Mentawai Strait from Padang city. The island is 25 miles (40 km) wide and 70 miles (110 km) long. Its terrain is generally low, rising to about 1,260 feet (384 m) in the western portion. Rainfall is heavy, and the

Nahyan, Shaykh Shakhbut Ibn Sultan An-

2005-03-05T03:29:00.000-08:00

As ruler of the largest emirate within the British-controlled Trucial Coast, Shakhbut maintained friendly relations with the United Kingdom and successfully resisted territorial incursions in a prolonged border dispute with Saudi Arabia. He was

Korfanty, Wojciech

2005-03-04T15:05:00.000-08:00

The son of a miner, Korfanty became a journalist and a member of the secret nationalist society “Z,” which resisted Germany's attempt to Germanize

Equatorial Guinea

2005-03-04T05:16:00.000-08:00

Officially Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Spanish República de Guinea Ecuatorial, country located on the west coast of Africa. It consists of Río Muni (also called Mbini), on the continent, and five islands: Bioko (formerly Fernando Po), Corisco, Great Elobey (Elobey Grande), Little Elobey (Elobey Chico), and Annobón. A fragmented country, it has a total area of 10,830 square miles (28,051 square kilometres). The capital of the republic is Malabo on Bioko. Bata is the administrative

Waialeale, Mount

2005-03-03T23:18:00.000-08:00

Peak, central Kauai Island, Hawaii, U.S. Waialeale (“Rippling Water”), with a height of 5,148 feet (1,569 m), is a dissected (eroded) dome that is part of a central mountain mass which includes Kawaikini (5,243 feet [1,598 m]), the island's highest peak, immediately south. Waialeale is located at the southeastern edge of an extinct caldera that is now a plateau called Alakai Swamp. Shrouded in clouds, Waialeale

Maurice

2005-03-01T17:42:00.000-08:00

In full Maurice, Prince Of Orange, Count Of Nassau, Dutch Maurits, Prins Van Oranje, Graaf Van Nassau hereditary stadholder (1585–1625) of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, or Dutch Republic, successor to his father, William I the Silent. His development of military strategy, tactics, and engineering made the Dutch army the most modern in the Europe of his time.

Norfolk, Thomas Mowbray, 1st Duke Of, Earl Of Nottingham, Earl Marshal

2005-03-01T16:58:00.000-08:00

The son of John, 4th Lord Mowbray, Thomas was made Earl of Nottingham

China, The Tsinling Mountains

2005-02-28T11:17:00.000-08:00

The Tsinling Mountains in Shensi Province are the greatest chain of mountains east of the Plateau of Tibet. The mountain chain consists of a high and rugged barrier extending from Kansu to Honan; geographers use a line between the chain and the Huai River to divide China proper into two parts—North and South. The altitude of the mountains varies from 3,000 to 10,000 feet. The western

Desert Palace

2005-02-28T00:43:00.000-08:00

At one time the complexes were thought to be rural retreats for nomadic rulers and members of ruling families who tired of city life, but, because all of these desert residences now seem to have been located on irrigated estates, in military encampments, and at trade centres,

Industrial Medicine

2005-02-27T07:25:00.000-08:00

Historically, industrial medicine was limited to the treatment of injuries and diseases occurring to production workers while at work. Over the years this has changed, and everyone at

Floquet, Charles (-thomas)

2005-02-27T01:44:00.000-08:00

Floquet strongly opposed the Second Empire and rapidly made a name for himself as a republican lawyer and journalist. In 1870–71 he participated in the formation of the new republic and

Powell, Anthony

2005-02-25T15:12:00.000-08:00

As a child, Powell lived wherever his father, a regular officer in the Welsh Regiment, was stationed. He attended Eton College from 1919 to 1923 and Balliol College, Oxford, from 1923 to 1926. Thereafter he joined the London

World War I, The final offensive on the Western Front

2005-02-25T08:35:00.000-08:00

It was eventually agreed among the Allied commanders that Pershing's American troops should advance across the difficult terrain of the Argonne Forest, so that the combined Allied offensive would consist of converging attacks against the whole German position west of a line drawn from Ypres to Verdun. Thus, the Americans from the front northwest of Verdun and

Roxana

2005-02-24T15:59:00.000-08:00

China, The first historical dynasty: the Shang

2005-02-24T06:03:00.000-08:00

In addition to the works of Chang, Watson, and Rawson mentioned in the previous paragraph, the following works are also informative: Kwang-chih Chang, Early Chinese Civilization: Anthropological Perspectives (1976), and Shang Civilization (1980), on Shang archaeology and culture; Tsung-tung Chang, Der Kult der Shang-Dynastie im Spiegel der Orakelinschriften (1970); David N. Keightley, Sources of Shang History: The Oracle-Bone Inscriptions of Bronze Age China (1978, reprinted 1985); Wen Fong (ed.), The Great Bronze Age of China (1980), an analytic catalog of an exhibition from the People's Republic of China; and Paul Wheatley, The Pivot of the Four Quarters (1971), a comparative study of the origins of urban society.

Spanish Lace

2005-02-24T04:00:00.000-08:00

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

Celesta

2005-02-24T00:38:00.000-08:00

Also spelled celeste, orchestral percussion instrument resembling a small upright piano, patented by a Parisian, Auguste Mustel, in 1886. It consists of a series of small metal bars (and hence is a metallophone) with a keyboard and a simplified piano action in which small felt hammers strike the bars. Each bar is resonated by a wooden box or similar chamber tuned to reinforce the fundamental

Indonesia Botanical Gardens

2005-02-23T16:05:00.000-08:00

The 215-acre (87-hectare) site was first used by the Dutch for introducing tropical plants from other parts of the world into the region. In 1817 it was converted into a botanical garden and served as a training ground for specialists in tropical botany. A large area of the original rainforest

General Association Of Regular Baptist Churches

2005-02-21T22:59:00.000-08:00

Association of independent, conservative Baptist churches in the United States, organized in 1932 after 22 Baptist churches withdrew from the Northern (later American) Baptist Convention. These churches withdrew because they felt that the Northern Baptists were accepting the teachings of the modernists, or liberals, who accepted biblical criticism and attempted

Arts, South Asian

2005-02-21T15:10:00.000-08:00

The Maurya Empire collapsed in the early years of the 2nd century BC, and with it passed the art with which it was intimately related. The sculpture that is found throughout India from the middle of the 2nd century BC is startlingly different, but the process by which this change took place in a relatively short period of time is not fully understood. Several schools, sharing

Broniewski, Wladyslaw

2005-02-21T14:59:00.000-08:00

Broniewski, born into the intelligentsia, left high school in 1915 to join the Polish legions under the command of Józef Pilsudski, and he fought in the front lines. He was interned by the Germans in 1917 and released when Poland regained independence

Cherry, Donald Eugene

2005-02-21T09:37:00.000-08:00

U.S. jazz trumpeter (b. Nov. 18, 1936, Oklahoma City, Okla.--d. Oct. 19, 1995, Málaga, Spain), was a pioneer of free jazz as a member of the Ornette Coleman Quartet and later joined jazz with elements of African, Asian, Middle Eastern, and European music, thereby becoming a pioneer of world music as well. Cherry, who grew up in Los Angeles, hailed from a musical family. He had already achieved some local

Padma River

2005-02-20T15:27:00.000-08:00

Main channel of the Ganges River below its bifurcation into the Bhagirathi and Padma rivers in extreme western Bangladesh. Flowing southeastward, the Padma receives the mighty Jamuna (Brahmaputra) River near Rajbari and then continues southeastward through central Bangladesh to join the Meghna River through a channel 2 miles (3 km) wide, known as the Kirtimasa. The

Chang And Eng

2005-02-19T21:06:00.000-08:00

Chang and Eng, joined at the waist by a tubular band of tissue about 3.25 inches (8 cm) long

Van Lerberghe, Charles

2005-02-19T19:03:00.000-08:00

A fellow student of Maurice Maeterlinck and encouraged by the Belgian Symbolist Georges

Frank, Jacob

2005-02-19T07:49:00.000-08:00

Frank often traveled in the Balkans and there met followers of Shabbetai. An uneducated visionary,

Arévalo (bermejo), Juan José

2005-02-18T08:05:00.000-08:00

Arévalo was educated at the University of Guatemala and the University of La Plata (1928–34) in Argentina, where he received a doctorate. After serving in the Guatemalan

Packaging

2005-02-18T07:10:00.000-08:00

Though the origins of packaging can be traced to the leather, glass, and clay containers of the earliest Western commercial ventures, its economic significance has increased dramatically since the start of the Industrial Revolution. Packages on the contemporary market

China, Taoism

2005-02-17T21:44:00.000-08:00

Under the Chin dynasty several popular Taoist sects had flourished in northern China, and Genghis Khan had apparently been impressed by the Taoist patriarch Ch'ang-ch'un. In 1223 Genghis Khan granted to Ch'ang-ch'un and his followers full exemption from taxes and other duties demanded by the government; this was the first of a series of edicts granting special privileges

Henbury Craters

2005-02-17T11:30:00.000-08:00

Group of 13 meteorite craters in a desert area 8 mi (13 km) west-southwest of Henbury, Northern Territory, central Australia, within the Henbury Meteorite Conservation Park. The craters, recognized in 1931, lie in an area of 0.5 sq mi (1.25 sq km) and are distributed in a scattering ellipse typical of a cluster fall of meteorites. The largest crater (thought to be a coalescence of two smaller

Skene

2005-02-16T05:56:00.000-08:00

(from Greek skene, “scene-building”), in ancient Greek theatre, a building behind the playing area that was originally a hut for the changing of masks and costumes but eventually became the background before which the drama was enacted. First used c. 465 BC, the skene was originally a small wooden structure facing the circle of spectators. It developed into a two-story edifice decorated

Rand, Ayn

2005-02-15T20:06:00.000-08:00

Rand graduated from the University of Petrograd in 1924 and two years later immigrated to the United States. She initially worked as a screenwriter

Mathematics, Foundations Of

2005-02-15T11:04:00.000-08:00

The study of the logical and philosophical basis of mathematics, including whether the axioms of a given system ensure its completeness and its consistency. Because mathematics has served as a model for rational inquiry in the West and is used extensively in the sciences, foundational studies have far-reaching consequences for the reliability and extensibility

Baranagar

2005-02-14T07:47:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Barahanagar town, southeastern West Bengal state, northeastern India, just east of the Hooghly River, part of the Calcutta urban agglomeration. Originally a Portuguese settlement, it became the seat of a Dutch trading station and an important river anchorage for Dutch shipping; in 1795 it was ceded to the British. Constituted as the municipality of North Suburban in 1869, the town was renamed

Yoga

2005-02-13T22:58:00.000-08:00

The practical aspects of Yoga play a more important part than does its intellectual content, which is largely based on the philosophy of Sa

Ikorodu

2005-02-13T15:14:00.000-08:00

Town, Lagos state, southwestern Nigeria. It lies near the Lagos Lagoon, on the Bight of Benin, 14 miles (23 km) northwest of Lagos. A traditional settlement of the Awori people (a subgroup of the Yoruba), it became important in the mid-19th century as a trading post of the Remo (Ijebu-Remo) kingdom on the trade route from Lagos to Ibadan. During the Ibadan-Ijaiye wars (1860–65), the Ikorodu traders,

Ocarina

2005-02-13T03:21:00.000-08:00

Also called Sweet Potato, globular flute, a late 19th-century musical development of traditional Italian carnival whistles of earthenware, often bird-shaped and sounding only one or two notes. It is an egg-shaped vessel of clay or metal or, as a toy, of plastic and is sounded on the flageolet, or fipple flute, principle. It usually has eight finger holes and two thumbholes and may have a tuning

Plurality System

2005-02-12T21:41:00.000-08:00

Advantages of the plurality system are

Faribault

2005-02-12T15:07:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Rice county, southeastern Minnesota, U.S., at the confluence of the Cannon and Straight rivers, in a mixed-farming and lake area, 53 mi (85 km) south of St. Paul. Established in 1826 as a fur-trading post by Alexander Faribault (whose house [1853] still stands), it was the centre for the Indian missions of Henry B. Whipple, first Episcopal bishop of Minnesota, who organized Seabury Divinity

Ben Bella, Ahmed

2005-02-11T09:54:00.000-08:00

Ben Bella was the son of a farmer and small businessman in Maghnia in the département of Oran. There, he successfully completed his early studies

Devil

2005-02-11T09:09:00.000-08:00

In the monotheistic Western religions, the devil is viewed as a fallen angel who in pride has tried to usurp the position of

Literature, Netherlandic.

2005-02-10T20:28:00.000-08:00

In 2001 well-known novelist and essayist Louis Ferron was awarded the Dutch national Constantijn Huygens Prijs for his uncompromisingly singular and “completely unfashionable and contrary” body of work. The Libris Literatuur Prijs went to Tomas Lieske for his novel Franklin (2000), which showcased his brilliant

Ibis

2005-02-10T09:31:00.000-08:00

Any of about 20 species of medium-sized wading birds constituting the subfamily Threskiornithinae of the family Threskiornithidae (order Ciconiiformes), which also includes the spoonbills. Ibises occur in all warm regions except on South Pacific islands. They wade in shallow lagoons, lakes, bays, and marshes, using their slender, down-curved bills to feed on small

Kirkwall

2005-02-10T04:11:00.000-08:00

Royal burgh (town), seaport, and chief town of the Orkney Islands, Scotland, off the northern tip of the Scottish mainland. It was designated a royal burgh in 1486. Early Norse influence persisted as late as the building of the 12th-century red sandstone St. Magnus Cathedral, a dominant feature of the present town. The ruins of the Earl's Palace and 17th-century houses standing gable-end

Good Hope, Cape Of

2005-02-08T19:37:00.000-08:00

Rocky promontory at the southern end of Cape Peninsula, Western Cape province, South Africa. It was first sighted by the Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias in 1488 on his return voyage to Portugal after ascertaining the southern limits of the African continent. One historical account says that Dias named it Cape of Storms and that John II of Portugal renamed it Cape

Schenker, Heinrich

2005-02-08T15:57:00.000-08:00

Austrian music theorist whose insights into the structural hierarchies underlying much of 18th- and 19th-century music led to a new understanding of the laws of melodic and harmonic construction and form. Schenker was not well known in his time; he worked as a private teacher in Austria. He studied composition with Anton Bruckner

Girnar Hills

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

Physical region on the Kathiawar Peninsula, Gujarat state, west-central India. At the foot of one of the hills is a rock bearing one of the Rock Edicts of Asoka (3rd century BC). The same rock bears an inscription referring to the construction of a lake, called Sudarsana, by the Maurya emperor Candra Gupta (late 4th century BC). In the hills surrounding these two important historical records

Reggio Di Calabria

2005-02-07T08:17:00.000-08:00

The original settlement of Rhegion (Latin Rhegium) was founded c. 720 BC by Greek colonists from Chalcis as a daughter city to Zankle (ancient name of Messina, q.v.). Under the tyrant Anaxilas, who also

Karajan, Herbert Von

2005-02-06T18:42:00.000-08:00

A child prodigy on the piano, Karajan studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. He made his professional conducting debut in 1929 at Salzburg, and he was appointed to a conducting position in Ulm, Ger., later that year. He remained