Gray, Sir James

English zoologist who played a leading part in changing the main objective of 20th-century zoological research from evolutionary comparative anatomy to the functional analysis of living cells and living animals, particularly through his editorship (1925 - 54) of the Journal of Experimental Biology. He was noted for his work

Cobham, Sir Alan J.

Cobham entered the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 and in 1921 joined Geoffrey de Havilland's new aircraft company, for which he undertook a succession of long-distance flights: 5,000 miles (8,000 km) around Europe; 8,000 miles (12,800 km) across Europe and North Africa;

Saavedra Fajardo, Diego De

After studying law at the University of Salamanca, Saavedra went to Rome, where he served under the

Mussato, Albertino

Mussato earned his living as a copyist while studying for the profession of notary. He was knighted in 1296 and, after becoming a member of the Council of Padua, was sent in 1302 as ambassador to Pope Boniface VIII. In 1311 he

Kildare

Irish �Cill Dara� market town, County Kildare, Ireland. The Protestant cathedral church (1229) is dedicated to St. Brigit of Ireland, who founded a community there in the 5th century. Restoration of the church was begun in 1875. Near the church are an ancient cross and round tower, and there are remains of a 13th-century castle and monastery. The town was incorporated by James II. Pop. (1986) 4,268.

Hawatmeh, Na'if

Born into a Christian family in Jordan, Hawatmeh attended the Arab University of Beirut in Lebanon, where he became a militant in the Arab Nationalist Movement, which at its 1967 congress adopted Hawatmeh's Marxist �scientific

Rhyme

Also spelled �rime� the correspondence of two or more words with similar-sounding final syllables placed so as to echo one another. Rhyme is used by poets and occasionally by prose writers to produce sounds appealing to the reader's senses and to unify and establish a poem's stanzaic form. End rhyme (i.e., rhyme used at the end of a line to echo the end of another line) is most common, but internal,

Perceval

Hero of Arthurian romance, distinguished by his quality of childlike (often uncouth) innocence, which protected him from worldly temptation and set him apart from other knights in Arthur's fellowship. This quality also links his story with the primitive folktale theme of a great fool or simple hero. In Chr�tien de Troyes's poem Le Conte du Graal (12th century), Perceval's

Jammu And Kashmir, Resources and agriculture

The state has limited mineral and fossil-fuel resources, and much of these are concentrated in the Jammu region. Small reserves of natural gas are found near Jammu, and bauxite and gypsum deposits occur in the Udhampur district. Other minerals include limestone, coal, zinc, and copper. The pressure of population on land is everywhere apparent, and all available resources

Allais, Maurice

Allais studied economics at the �cole Polytechnique (Polytechnic School) and then at the �cole Nationale Sup�rieure des Mines de Paris (National School of

Augustus

Elector of Saxony and leader of Protestant Germany who, by reconciling his fellow Lutherans with the Roman Catholic Habsburg Holy Roman emperors, helped bring the initial belligerency of the Reformation in Germany to an end. Under his administration Saxony enjoyed economic and commercial prosperity at a time when

Highland Park

City, northern residential suburb of Chicago, Lake county, northeastern Illinois, U.S. White settlement of the site began in 1834, and by the turn of the century Highland Park had become a wealthy residential suburb. Ravinia Park (36 acres [15 hectares]) was established in 1905 as an amusement park. The park has become the location of one of the nation's most prominent music festivals and

Leah

After Jacob had deprived his brother Esau of his birthright

Rayleigh (of Terling Place), John William Strutt, 3rd Baron

Strutt suffered from poor health

Radiation

Either the process by which energy is emitted from a source and propagated through the surrounding medium or the energy involved in this process. Familiar examples of radiant energy include light (a form of electromagnetic radiation) and sound (a form of acoustic radiation). Both electromagnetic and acoustic radiations are commonly described as waves that can

Saarinen, Eero

Eero was the son of the noted architect Eliel Saarinen and Loja Gesellius, a sculptor. The Saarinen family of four, including a sister, Eva-Lisa, moved to the United States in 1923. Eero attended public schools in Michigan. In 1929 he studied sculpture at the Acad�mie de la Grande Chaumi�re in Paris but, as he recounted years later, �it never occurred to me to do anything but follow

Carlisle, John G(riffin)

Carlisle was admitted to the Kentucky bar in 1858 and practiced law in Covington before his election to a term in the state legislature (1859 - 61); he also served in the Kentucky state senate (1866 - 71) and as lieutenant

Viper

Any of about 200 species of venomous snakes of the family Viperidae. Vipers form two groups, or subfamilies, the Viperinae (Old World vipers) and the Crotalinae (pit vipers), considered separate families by some authorities. Vipers are characterized by a pair of long, hollow, venom-injecting fangs attached to movable bones of the upper jaw (the maxillaries) that can be folded

Mountain, Volcanism

Most, but not all, volcanoes consist of material that is thought to have melted in the mantle (at depths of tens of kilometres), which rose through the overlying crust and was erupted onto the surface. To a large extent, the physical characteristics of the erupted material determines the shape and height of a volcano. Material of low density can produce taller mountains

Rachmaninoff, Sergey

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Rachmaninoff went into his second self-imposed exile, dividing his time between residences in Switzerland and the United States. Although for the next 25 years he spent most of his time in an English-speaking country, he never mastered its language or thoroughly acclimatized himself. With his family and a small circle of friends, he

Dominican Republic, Flag Of The

Christopher Columbus visited the island of Hispaniola in 1492, claiming it for the Spanish monarchy. However, French colonists in the 17th century established a state known as Saint-Domingue (Saint-Dominique) in the western part of the island, which subsequently became Haiti. The Spanish-speaking area in the east was conquered by the newly independent Republic of Haiti

The Rodent That Acts Like A Hippo

Although the animals that live in rainforests on different continents can differ significantly, the environments they live in are very similar. These environments, therefore, exert similar pressures on the evolution of the animals living in each. As a result, unrelated species may be similar in many ways. This phenomenon is called convergent evolution, or convergence

Melas Carpet

Floor covering handwoven in the neighbourhood of Mil�s (Melas) on the Aegean coast of southwestern Turkey. Normally of small size and 19th century in date, Melas carpets have unusually wide borders in relation to their narrow fields. In the prayer rugs the arch (which indicates the direction of Mecca, the Holy City) is straight-sided, with a triangular indentation below

Wolfe, Tom

After studying at Washington and Lee University (B.A., 1951) and Yale University (Ph.D., 1957), Wolfe wrote for several newspapers, including the Springfield

Lager Beer

Light-coloured, highly carbonated type of beer (q.v.).

Lord's Cricket Ground

Headquarters and home ground of the Marylebone Cricket Club, long the world's foremost cricket organization, and the scene of Test Matches between England and visiting national teams and of matches of the Middlesex County Cricket Club, Oxford versus Cambridge, and Eton versus Harrow. Various cup finals and one-day international matches also take place there. The

Confederation Group

Canadian English-language poets of the late 19th century whose work expressed the national consciousness inspired by the Confederation of 1867. Their transcendental and romantic praise of the Canadian landscape dominated Canadian poetry until the 20th century. The Confederation group is also called the Maple Tree school because of the love characteristically shown

Adamkus, Valdas

During World War II Adamkus fought with Lithuanian insurrectionists against Soviet rule, published an underground newspaper during the Nazi occupation, and then resumed the fight against the returning Soviet army. In 1944 he fled to Germany, where he attended the University of

Aqaba, Gulf Of

Arabic �Khalij Al-'aqabah, � northeastern arm of the Red Sea, penetrating between Saudi Arabia and the Sinai Peninsula. It varies in width from 12 to 17 miles (19 to 27 km) and is 100 miles (160 km) long. The gulf lies in a pronounced cleft between hills rising abruptly to about 2,000 feet (600 m). Navigation is difficult because of the gulf's narrow entrance at the Straits of Tiran and its islands, coral reefs, and sudden squalls. The

Nevado De Toluca National Park

Park in Mexico estado (�state�), central Mexico. It is situated in the municipality of Zinacantepec, on the Mexico - Toluca - Guadalajara highway west of Mexico City. Established in 1936, it has an area of 259 square miles (671 square km). The park lies in the Nevado de Toluca (or Zinantecatl) Mountains, which rise above 15,025 feet (4,580 m). Among the park's chief features are an extinct, snowcapped volcano