MarriedBasin

Smith, Robert

2005-11-17T19:40:00.000-08:00

Smith, brother of Samuel Smith, the military hero, grew up in Baltimore. He graduated in 1781 from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), studied law, and became a prominent and prosperous Baltimore attorney. From 1793 to 1801 Smith was active in Maryland politics,

Shamanism, American Indians

2005-07-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

Among many North American tribes shamanism constitutes the most important aspect of the religious life. The shaman is characterized by the supernatural power he acquires as the result of a direct personal experience. This power is obtained either spontaneously or after a voluntary quest, but in either case the future shaman has to undergo certain initiatory

Shilluk

2005-07-24T07:55:00.000-07:00

The Shilluk are sedentary agriculturists with strong pastoral interests (cattle, sheep, and goats). Men hunt, herd, and milk the livestock; both sexes do agricultural work. The community

Aesthetics, Japan

2005-07-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

The practice of literary commentary and aesthetic discussion was extensively developed in Japan and is exemplified at its most engaging in the great novel Genji monogatari (c. 1000; Tale of Genji), written by Murasaki Shikibu, lady-in-waiting to the Empress. Centuries of commentary on this novel, as well as on the court literature that it inspired, on the no and puppet plays,

Ma'mun, Al-

2005-07-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of 833 al-Ma'mun decided to require adherence to Mu'tazilah from all his subjects. As the caliph was then on an expedition against the Byzantines in the region of Tarsus, he entrusted this task to his representative in Baghdad, the prefect of police Ishaq ibn Ibrahim. The latter first called together the qadis (judges) to urge them to recognize the Mu'tazili doctrine;

Sabinian

2005-06-17T02:55:00.000-07:00

Under Pope Gregory I the Great, he served as papal ambassador at Constantinople, trying to reconcile the Roman Church with Patriarch John IV the Faster, whose claim to the title of ecumenical patriarch was regarded by Gregory to be a threat to Christian unity. Elected in 604 as Gregory's successor, Sabinian seems to have been markedly

China, Mineral resources

2005-06-13T21:40:00.000-07:00

China is well endowed with mineral resources, the most important of which is coal. Although deposits are widely scattered (some coal is found in every province), most of the total is located in the northern part of the country. The province of Shansi, in fact, is thought to contain about half of the total; other important coal-bearing provinces include Heilungkiang, Liaoning,

Udall, Nicholas

2005-06-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

Udall was educated at the University of Oxford, where he became a lecturer and fellow. He became a schoolmaster in 1529 and was teaching in London in 1533 when he wrote “ditties and interludes” for Anne

Mardan

2005-05-31T11:45:00.000-07:00

Town and district in Peshawar division, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. The town, the district headquarters, lies just north of the Kalpani River; it is connected by road and rail with Dargai (Malakand Pass), Nowshera, and Peshawar, 30 mi (50 km) south-southwest. A growing industrial centre, it has textile and vegetable oil mills, a cigarette factory, and one of the largest sugar

Welland, River

2005-05-17T02:50:00.000-07:00

River in the eastern Midlands, England. The Welland River rises in the county of Leicestershire and flows eastward past Market Harborough and Stamford for about 70 miles (110 km) into Lincolnshire to enter the southwestern corner of the shallow North Sea inlet called The Wash. From Market Deeping past Spalding its course across the drained Fens has been embanked. It was

Rab�arivelo, Jean-joseph

2005-03-15T08:44:00.000-08:00

Rab�arivelo, a largely self-educated man who earned his living as a proofreader for the Imerina Printing Press, wrote seven volumes of poetry before his tragic death. Presque-Songes

Shakhty

2005-03-07T15:09:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �

Vanadic Anhydride

2005-03-06T16:20:00.000-08:00

Vanadium pentoxide, a compound of vanadium and oxygen widely used as an oxidation catalyst, as in the oxidation of unburned hydrocarbons in automobile exhaust (see vanadium).

Induration

2005-03-05T14:00:00.000-08:00

Hardening of rocks by heat or baking; also the hardening of sediments through cementation or compaction, or both, without the introduction of heat. The classic example is the rock called hornfels, which is formed at contacts with igneous intrusions and in which heat and fluids from the intruding magma reconstitute the original wall rock into a hardened, flinty rock

Botucatu

2005-03-04T11:46:00.000-08:00

City, central S�o Paulo estado (�state�), Brazil. It lies near the Pardo River in the Serra de Botucatu at 2,549 feet (777 m) above sea level. It was given town status in 1855 and was made the seat of a municipality in 1876. Crops (including coffee, cotton, rice, sugarcane, feij�o [beans], and potatoes) grown in the region are processed in the city, which also has foundries, textile mills, bakeries, and factories

Henderson

2005-03-03T18:31:00.000-08:00

City, Clark county, southeastern Nevada, U.S., midway between Las Vegas and Boulder City. It was established in 1942 in the desert below Clark Mountain to provide housing for the employees of a government-constructed magnesium plant and was named for U.S. Senator Charles Belknap Henderson (1873 - 1954). Inactivated at the close of World War II when the plant was closed, the project was later

Augustine, Saint

2005-03-02T07:38:00.000-08:00

Also called �Saint Augustine of Hippo, �original Latin name �Aurelius Augustinus � feast day August 28, bishop of Hippo from 396 to 430, one of the Latin Fathers of the Church, one of the Doctors of the Church, and perhaps the most significant Christian thinker after St. Paul. Augustine's adaptation of classical thought to Christian teaching created a theological system of great

Ibaraki

2005-03-01T09:16:00.000-08:00

Prefecture (ken), central Honshu, Japan, facing the Pacific Ocean. It occupies 2,351 sq mi (6,090 sq km) of the northeastern Kanto Plain. Ibaraki is bordered (south) by the Tone-gawa (Tone River) and contains part of Suigo-Tsukuba Quasi-national Park. Main features of this section of the park include Kasumiga-ura (Lake Kasumi), the second largest Japanese lake after Lake Biwa; the canals and

Frederick I

2005-02-28T17:27:00.000-08:00

An implacable enemy of the Bohemian followers of Jan Hus, church reformer and accused heretic, Frederick aided the Holy Roman emperor Sigismund against them from 1420 on. When the last Saxon elector

Rinzai

2005-02-27T23:19:00.000-08:00

One of two major Zen Buddhist sects in Japan; it stresses the abrupt awakening of transcendental wisdom, or enlightenment. Among the methods it practices are shouts (katsu) or blows delivered by the master on the disciple, question-and-answer sessions (mondo), and meditation on paradoxical statements (koan), all intended to accelerate a breakthrough of the normal boundaries

Shih Huang-ti

2005-02-26T08:36:00.000-08:00

Pinyin �Shi Huangdi�, personal name (hsing-ming) �Chao Cheng� emperor of the Ch'in dynasty (221 - 210/209 BC) and creator of the first unified Chinese empire (which collapsed, however, about four years after his death).

Insurance, Settlement options

2005-02-25T16:24:00.000-08:00

The death proceeds or cash values of insurance may be settled in various ways. The insured may take the cash value and lapse the policy. A beneficiary may take a lump sum settlement of the face amount upon the death of the insured. The beneficiary may, instead, elect to receive the proceeds over a given number of years or in some fixed amount, such as $100 a month, for as long as

Umuahia

2005-02-24T08:30:00.000-08:00

Town, capital of Abia state, southern Nigeria. It lies along the railroad from Port Harcourt to Enugu. It is an agricultural market centre and (since 1916) collecting point on the railway for the crops of the surrounding region: yams, cassava, corn (maize), taro, citrus fruits, and palm oil and kernels. The town has a palm-oil-processing plant and several breweries, and the National

Policy

2005-02-23T00:14:00.000-08:00

Policy, a true lottery initiated in the United States by Italian-Americans, derives its name from the Italian polizza (�receipt,� or �ticket�) and retains only occasional

France, History Of

2005-02-22T15:00:00.000-08:00

From the 9th to the 11th century the peoples and lands dominated by west Frankish kings were transformed. The Carolingian protectorate of local order collapsed under the pressures of external invasions and internal usurpations of power. Growing populations and quickening economies were reorganized in principalities whose leaders struggled to carry on the

Raddall, Thomas Head

2005-02-21T13:46:00.000-08:00

Raddall immigrated to Nova Scotia with his family in 1913 after his father, a military officer, was transferred to Halifax. The younger Raddall was briefly employed as a wireless operator before becoming

Denmark

2005-02-19T05:24:00.000-08:00

Officially �Kingdom of Denmark�, Danish �Kongeriget Danmark�, Faroese �Kongar�kidh Danmark�, Greenlandic �Danmarkip N�lagauvfia� country occupying the peninsula of Jutland, which extends northward from the centre of continental western Europe, and an archipelago of more than 400 islands to the east of the peninsula. Of the country's total land area of 16,639 square miles (43,094 square km), the largest part, 11,497 square miles (29,777 square km), is Jutland; the largest of the islands are Zealand (Sj�lland; 2,876 square miles [7,449 square

Quantitative Verse

2005-02-18T14:07:00.000-08:00

In prosody, a metrical system based on the duration of the syllables that make up the feet, without regard for accents or stresses. Quantitative verse is made up of long and short syllables, the duration of which is determined by the amount of time needed for pronunciation. This system has only rarely been used successfully in English poetry because of the strongly

Quantitative Verse

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

Any of five species of large, robust, and primarily terrrestrial monkeys found in dry regions of Africa and Arabia. Males of the largest species, the chacma baboon (Papio ursinus), average 30 kg (66 pounds) or so, but females are only half this size. The smallest is the hamadryas, or sacred baboon (P. hamadryas), with males weighing about 17 kg and females only

Amin, Hafizullah

2005-02-16T22:20:00.000-08:00

Amin was born into a Ghilzay Pashtun family. After graduating from Kabul University, he traveled to the United States for graduate study at Columbia University in New York. Upon returning to Afghanistan, he became a teacher and later the principal

Winterthur

2005-02-15T07:30:00.000-08:00

City, Z�rich canton, northern Switzerland. It lies in a wooded basin east of the T�ss River, northeast of Z�rich city. The Roman settlement of Vitodurum was on the site of the city's northeastern suburb of Ober-Winterthur. Winterthur was founded about 1175 by the counts of Kyburg, who granted it a charter with extensive privileges. It was inherited in 1264 by the Habsburgs, who sold

Earth, Development of the Earth's structure and composition

2005-02-14T04:45:00.000-08:00

The origin of the Earth in its present form has been the subject of intellectual interest for centuries, but the decades since 1950 have seen major advances both in concepts and in measurements pertaining to this topic. The quantitative analysis by geochemists of the isotopes in meteorites and, in particular, the study of lunar rocks obtained during the U.S. Apollo program

Haarlem Lake

2005-02-13T13:22:00.000-08:00

Dutch �Haarlemmermeer, � polder (area 45,700 acres [18,486 hectares]) coextensive with the gemeente (commune) of Haarlemmermeer in Noord-Holland provincie, western Netherlands. Originally, a number of lakes - with a combined area of about 14,000 acres (5,700 hectares) in 1531 - were formed into one by successive inundations, and by the 1830s the water area had increased to nearly 45,000 acres (18,200 hectares). Floods frequently threatened the cities

Marsh, George Perkins

2005-02-12T15:40:00.000-08:00

Educated at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., Marsh developed a successful law practice, but his wide-ranging mind led him into the study of

Bohemian Confession

2005-02-11T14:40:00.000-08:00

Latin �Confessio Bohemica, � Protestant doctrinal statement formulated in Bohemia by the Czech Utraquists (moderate Hussites) in 1575 and subscribed to by the Unitas Fratrum, Lutherans, and Calvinists in the kingdom. The document was based on the Augsburg Confession, and it upheld the Lutheran position on justification and the Calvinist interpretation of the Eucharist. Though Emperor Maximilian

Nora

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

Ancient site about 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Cagliari (Caralis) on the island of Sardinia. Although tradition ascribes its foundation to Iberians from Tartessus, the site, which lies on a triangular promontory ending in a steep cliff, is characteristically Phoenician. Apart from remains of a Sardinian nuraghe, or towerlike monument, the earliest antiquities discovered

Riot

2005-02-09T06:55:00.000-08:00

In criminal law, a violent offense against public order involving three or more people. Like an unlawful assembly, a riot involves a gathering of persons for an illegal purpose. In contrast to an unlawful assembly, however, a riot involves violence. The concept is obviously broad and embraces a wide range of group conduct, from a bloody clash between picketers and strikebreakers

Dialect

2005-02-08T10:29:00.000-08:00

A variety of a language. The word comes from the Ancient Greek dialektos �discourse, language, dialect,� which is derived from dialegesthai �to discourse, talk.� A dialect may be distinguished from other dialects of the same language by features of any part of the linguistic structure - the phonology, morphology, or syntax. In the sound system of American English, for example,

B.e.m.

2005-02-07T08:34:00.000-08:00

Recipient of the British Empire Medal. See British Empire, The Most Excellent Order of the.

Wright Flyer Of 1903

2005-02-06T05:09:00.000-08:00

First powered airplane to demonstrate sustained flight under the full control of the pilot. Designed and built by Wilbur and Orville Wright in Dayton, Ohio, it was assembled in the autumn of 1903 at a camp at the base of the Kill Devil Hills, near Kitty Hawk, a village on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. After a first attempt failed on December 14, the machine was flown four times

Sculpture, Western, The Orientalizing period

2005-02-05T16:20:00.000-08:00

Sculpture of the Orientalizing period was profoundly affected by technical and stylistic influences from the East. In about 700 BC, the Greeks learned from their Eastern neighbours how to use molds to mass-produce clay relief plaques. Widely adopted, this technique helped to establish in Greece a stereotyped convention for figure representation, even in freestanding,

Ashland

2005-02-04T20:20:00.000-08:00

Settled in 1815 as Poage's Settlement, it was renamed (1854) in honour of Henry Clay's home in Lexington, Kentucky. Ashland's proximity to coal and timber regions

Munch, Peter Rochegune

2005-02-03T09:22:00.000-08:00

After a career as a historian of modern Europe, Munch entered the Danish Parliament in 1909 as a member of the Radical Party. In the same year he became minister

Uccello, Paolo

2005-02-01T06:32:00.000-08:00

Organization formed in New York City in 1911 during a convention of state antisuffrage groups. Led by Josephine Dodge, the founder and first president, the NAOWS believed that woman suffrage would decrease women's work in communities and their ability to effect societal reforms. Active on a state and federal level, the group also established a newsletter, Woman's

Zambezi River, Animal life

2005-01-31T02:13:00.000-08:00

The tiger fish is one of the few species found both above and below the Victoria Falls. Pike is predominant in the upper course of the river, as are yellowfish and barbel. Bream are now common both above and below the falls. Crocodiles abound in the Zambezi, though they generally avoid stretches of fast-running water. Hippopotamuses are also found in the upper and lower

Scheie's Syndrome

2005-01-30T22:42:00.000-08:00

Also called �Mucopolysaccharidosis I S�, or �Mps I S� uncommon hereditary metabolic disease characterized by clawing of the hands, corneal clouding, incompetence of the aortic valve of the heart, and painful nerve compression in the wrist (carpal tunnel syndrome). The disease was described by Harold Scheie of the United States in 1962 and is a mild variant of Hurler's syndrome (MPS I H), a disorder associated with subnormal

Cromwell, Oliver

2005-01-28T02:56:00.000-08:00

As one of the generals on the parliamentary side in the English Civil War against King Charles I, Cromwell helped to bring about

Cromwell, Oliver

2005-01-27T19:42:00.000-08:00

American collegiate athletic organization formed in 1953 as an offshoot of the Southern Conference. Member schools are Clemson University, Duke University, Florida State University (joined in 1990), the Georgia Institute of Technology (joined in 1979), the University of Maryland, the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University, the University of Virginia, and

Game

2005-01-26T19:44:00.000-08:00

In gastronomy, the flesh of any wild animal or bird. Game is usually classified according to three categories: (1) small birds, such as the thrush and quail; (2) game proper, a category that can be subdivided into winged game, such as the goose, duck, woodcock, grouse or partridge, and pheasant; and ground game, such as the squirrel, hare, and rabbit; (3) big game, predominantly venison, including

Athanasian Creed

2005-01-25T15:50:00.000-08:00

Also called �Quicumque Vult (from the opening words in Latin)� a Christian profession of faith in about 40 verses. It is regarded as authoritative in the Roman Catholic and some Protestant churches. It has two sections, one dealing with the Trinity and the other with the Incarnation; and it begins and ends with stern warnings that unswerving adherence to such truths is indispensable to salvation. The virulence of these damnatory

God And Saints Of Christ, Church Of

2005-01-24T17:24:00.000-08:00

Religious sect founded in 1896 by Prophet William S. Crowdy. He passed his mantle of leadership to Bishop William Plummer, who announced himself as �Grand Father Abraham.� This group believes that all Jews were originally black and that modern-day blacks are descendants of the �lost tribes of Israel.� Their beliefs centre on the �Seven Keys,� the �Stone of Truth,� and the Ten Commandments.

Gobi, Animal life

2005-01-23T04:48:00.000-08:00

Animal life is varied, with such large mammals as the wild camel, the kulan (Equus hemionus), the dzheiran gazelle, and the dzeren (an antelope). Przewalski's horse, which once ranged in the western region of the desert, is probably extinct in the wild. Rodents include marmots and gophers, and there are reptiles.

Plymouth

2005-01-22T07:08:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Plymouth county, southeastern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies on Plymouth Bay, 37 miles (60 km) southeast of Boston. It was the site of the first permanent settlement by Europeans in New England, Plymouth colony, known formally as the colony of New Plymouth. The town was founded by Pilgrims (separatists from the Church of England) who, in their search for religious toleration,

Gum

2005-01-21T19:55:00.000-08:00

Abbreviation �of Gosudarstvenny Universalny Magazin� (Russian: �State Department Store�), the largest department store in Russia. Situated on a traditional market site on the northeast side of Red Square in Moscow, the building originally known as the Upper Trading Arcade was designed by A.N. Pomerantsev and built in 1889 - 93 in a pseudo-Russian style over a hidden metal skeleton. In its original form it housed more than 1,000 shops. Reconstructed

Coif

2005-01-20T03:23:00.000-08:00

The coif could also be an indoor skullcap

Wang Yang-ming

2005-01-19T20:03:00.000-08:00

Pinyin �Wang Yangming�, original name (Wade - Giles romanization) �Wang Shou-jen�, literary name �Pe-an�, canonized as �Wen-ch'eng�, Japanese �Oyo-mei� Chinese scholar-official whose Idealistic interpretation of Neo-Confucianism influenced philosophical thinking in East Asia for centuries. Though his government career was rather unstable, his suppression of rebellions brought a century of peace to his region. His philosophical doctrines, emphasizing understanding

Local Group

2005-01-18T03:03:00.000-08:00

In astronomy, the group of more than 20 galaxies to which the Milky Way Galaxy belongs. About half are elliptical galaxies, with the remainder being of the spiral or irregular type. As in other clusters of galaxies, members are probably kept from separating by their mutual gravitational attraction. The Milky Way system is near one end of the volume of space occupied by

Cartier-bresson, Henri

2005-01-17T21:57:00.000-08:00

Cartier-Bresson

Korea Strait

2005-01-16T21:46:00.000-08:00

Passage of the northwest Pacific extending northeast from the East China Sea to the Sea of Japan (East Sea) between the south coast of the Korean peninsula (northwest) and the Japanese islands of Kyushu and Honshu. The strait, which is 300 feet (90 m) deep, is bisected by the Tsushima islands, the passage to the east being often referred to as Tsushima Strait. The western channel

Sung Chiao-jen

2005-01-15T23:28:00.000-08:00

Expelled from middle school in China for revolutionary activities, in 1904, Sung began studies in Japan. In Tokyo the following year, he became one of the leading members of the

Arago, Fran�ois

2005-01-14T16:08:00.000-08:00

Arago was educated in Perpignan and at the

Macarius The Egyptian

2005-01-13T20:46:00.000-08:00

About the age of 30 Macarius retired to the desert of Scete, where for 60 years

Paddle Wheel

2005-01-12T23:57:00.000-08:00

The device is highly efficient and is competitive even

Danewirk

2005-01-11T04:36:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Danewerk, �Dannewirk�, or �Dannewerk�, Danish �Dannevirke�, or �Danevirke (Danes' Bulwark)� the ancient frontier rampart of the Danes against the Germans, extending 10.5 miles (17 kilometres) from just south of the town of Schleswig to the marshes of the river Trene near the village of Hollingstedt. The rampart was begun about AD 808 by Godfred (Gudfred), king of Vestfold. In 934 it was penetrated by the German king Henry I, after which it was extended by King Harald I Bluetooth

C�ceres

2005-01-10T15:32:00.000-08:00

Town, capital of C�ceres provincia, in the Extremadura comunidad aut�noma (�autonomous community�), western Spain. It is built on a low east-west ridge, south of the Tagus River and about 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Badajoz. Originating as the Roman town of Norba Caesarina, it was under Moorish control from the 9th century and was known as Alkazares until reconquered for the Christians

Lindsay

2005-01-07T16:28:00.000-08:00

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

Literature, France.

2005-01-06T07:55:00.000-08:00

In 2001 French literature's marked inclination towards gloom continued unabated as it had for over a decade, leaving no permutation of familial misery unabated. Death in the family was a favourite topic, and Laure Adler's � ce soir described the death of her son and the subsequent guilt that has consumed her for

Amazon River, Early European exploration

2005-01-05T08:15:00.000-08:00

In the early days the river was the only means of access into the forest. Francisco de Orellana descended the main course of the river from the Peruvian Andes to the Atlantic in 1541 - 42. Nearly a century later, Pedro Teixeira went from Bel�m to Quito, Ecuador, and the region increasingly became known through the explorations of the Portuguese. In 1743 the French naturalist Charles-Marie

Skibobbing

2005-01-04T22:54:00.000-08:00

Also called �skibiking �or �snowbiking� a winter sport using a guidable, single-track vehicle that has features of the bicycle, the bobsled, and skis. The longer rear ski is fixed, and the shorter front ski is mobile for steering; a saddle like that of a bicycle and a steering bar with handles complete the rig. The assembly is kept flexible to provide smooth passage over bumps and is lightweight, made of wood, aluminum,

Chile, The northern desert

2005-01-03T02:37:00.000-08:00

This region experiences an aridity that is primarily caused by the dry subsidence created by the South Pacific high pressure cell and the stabilizing action of the cold Peru Current. Although the air along the coast is abnormally humid, it never reaches saturation point; at most, there is a development of coastal fogs (gar�a or camanchaca). Besides the lack of rain,

Vivarini, Antonio

2005-01-02T00:27:00.000-08:00

From 1444 Vivarini collaborated with his brother-in-law Giovanni d'Alemagna (d. 1450); later he worked with his younger brother, Bartolomeo. Surviving altarpieces executed

Arrabal, Fernando

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

Arrabal worked as a clerk in a paper company, then studied law at the University of Madrid. He turned to writing in the early 1950s, and in 1955 he went to study drama in Paris, where he remained.

China, Literature

2004-12-31T08:57:00.000-08:00

Chinese literature also shows conservative tendencies. Poetry composition remained a favourite pastime of the educated class, including the Sinicized scholars of Mongol, Central Asian, and western Asian origins, but no great works or stylistic innovations were created. During the last chaotic decades of the Y�an, some notable poets emerged, such as the versatile

Lustred Glass

2004-12-30T13:03:00.000-08:00

Art glass in the Art Nouveau style. It is a delicately iridescent glass with rich colours. Lustred glass was first produced in the United States by Louis Comfort Tiffany during the late 1800s for use as windowpanes. The intention of the inventor of Tiffany lustred glass, Arthur J. Nash, was to recreate artificially the natural iridescent sheen produced by the corrosion

Abuja

2004-12-29T00:46:00.000-08:00

The site was chosen

Switzerland, Economic development

2004-12-28T14:39:00.000-08:00

A major period of economic growth began after 1815. There was a general improvement in agriculture, and tourism, especially from England, began to develop. But the industrial sector of the economy made the most significant gains. The exclusion of the English from European markets by the continental blockade, while initially detrimental to the textile industry, forced

Christensen, Harold

2004-12-27T05:27:00.000-08:00

Christensen studied dancing with the famous choreographer George Balanchine and appeared with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet (1934), Ballet Caravan (1936 - 40), San Francisco Opera Ballet (1942), and San

Argentina, The rain shadow zone

2004-12-26T19:20:00.000-08:00

Argentina is the only place in the Southern Hemisphere with an extensive portion of arid eastern coastline. This is caused by a longitudinal rain shadow zone (created when air masses lose their moisture while passing over high mountains) on the eastern side of the Andes. The zone begins in the Andean Northwest and extends along the eastern slopes of the Andes southward

Irish Terrier

2004-12-25T01:03:00.000-08:00

Dog developed in Ireland, one of the oldest breeds of terriers. Nicknamed the �daredevil,� it has earned the reputation of being adaptable, loyal, spirited, and recklessly courageous. It served as a messenger and sentinel dog in World War I, and it has been used to hunt and to retrieve game. The Irish terrier is a sturdily built dog with racier lines than those of other terriers.

Mahajanga

2004-12-24T20:27:00.000-08:00

Formerly �Majunga, � town and major port, northwestern Madagascar. It lies on the island's northwest coast, at the mouth of the Betsiboka River, whose estuary widens there into Bombetoka Bay. The town was the capital of the 18th-century kingdom of Boina. The French occupied Mahajanga in 1895 at the beginning of their conquest of Madagascar. The town's old sector is confined mainly to the harbour

Crabtree, Lotta

2004-12-23T03:18:00.000-08:00

Crabtree grew up from the age of four in California, where her father moved the family during the Gold Rush of the early 1850s. At the Grass Valley mining camp she met Lola

China, Phase three: approaching crisis (1944 - 45)

2004-12-22T21:29:00.000-08:00

China was in crisis in 1944. Japan faced increasing pressure in the Pacific and threats to its supply bases and communications lines in China as well as to nearby shipping. Its response was twofold - first, to attack from Burma toward Assam to cut the supply lines or capture the airfields at the western end of the Hump, and, second, to capture the railway system in China from

Pre-columbian Civilizations, The origins and expansion of the Inca state

2004-12-21T10:55:00.000-08:00

Inca origins and early history are largely shrouded in legends that may be more mythical than factual. Their later history, particularly from the reign of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui (Pachakuti 'Inka Yupanki; see Table 2) onward, is largely based on fact, even though it presents what the Inca wanted people to know. Whether these historical traditions are true, in the sense

Space Law

2004-12-20T20:12:00.000-08:00

The evolution of space law began with U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower's introduction of the concept into the United Nations in 1957, in connection with disarmament negotiations. Following the successful launchings of the Soviet satellite

Chatter Mark

2004-12-19T02:53:00.000-08:00

Small, curved fracture found on glaciated rock surfaces. Chatter marks are commonly 1 - 5 centimetres ( 1/2 - 2 inches) but may be submicroscopic or as much as 50 cm in length. They occur mainly on hard, brittle rocks such as granite and are formed under a glacier by the pressure and impact of boulders moved along by irregular rolling or sliding. Chatter marks are commonly arranged

K.c.b.

2004-12-18T13:01:00.000-08:00

Knight commander of the Bath, member of the second highest rank of knightly class in a British order of knighthood. See Bath, The Most Honourable Order of the.

Huyton-with-roby

2004-12-17T11:34:00.000-08:00

Urban area, metropolitan borough of Knowsley, metropolitan county of Merseyside, historic county of Lancashire, England. It lies on the eastern periphery of Liverpool. Although mentioned (as Hitune and Rabil) in Domesday Book (1086), the record of William the Conqueror's land survey of England, the town was not important until its rapid development as a suburban area for

West Florida Controversy

2004-12-16T01:10:00.000-08:00

In U.S. history, dispute over the status of the territory lying on the Gulf of Mexico between the Apalachicola and Mississippi rivers. Though Spain claimed the area as part of its New World discovery in 1492, France occupied it as a portion of Louisiana after 1695. Under the Treaty of Paris of 1763, West Florida was held by Great Britain, which returned it to Spain under the Treaty of Paris

Anderlecht

2004-12-15T15:07:00.000-08:00

A natural clearing in the primitive forest where foundations of a Roman villa and Frankish cemeteries have been found, Anderlecht is believed to be the original site of what is now

Chincha Islands

2004-12-14T21:59:00.000-08:00

Spanish �Islas De Chincha, � island group that is part of Los Libertadores-Wari regi�n, 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.

Paris, Foundation and medieval growth

2004-12-13T10:38:00.000-08:00

Paris was in existence by the end of the 3rd century BC as a settlement on an island, the modern �le de la Cit�, in the Seine River and was inhabited by a Gallic tribe known as the Parisii. The first recorded name for the settlement was Lutetia (Latin: �Midwater-Dwelling�). When the Romans arrived, the Parisii were sufficiently organized and wealthy to have their own gold coinage.

Naberezhnye Chelny

2004-12-12T08:09:00.000-08:00

Formerly (until 1930) �Chelny�, from 1982 to 1988 �Brezhnev� city, Tatarstan, west-central Russia, on the left bank of the Kama River. The city is best known for its Kama truck plant, the world's largest. Also located at Naberezhnye Chelny is the Lower Kama hydroelectric station. Because of these developments, Naberezhnye Chelny experienced rapid growth beginning in the 1970s. Pop. (1991 est.) 513,100.

Axinite

2004-12-11T19:25:00.000-08:00

Borosilicate mineral that occurs most commonly in contact metamorphic rocks and also in basic igneous rocks. Particularly beautiful crystals occur at Le Bourg d'Oisans, Is�re, France, and in San Diego County, Calif., U.S. Transparent axinite of the usual clove-brown colour is sometimes cut as a gem. For chemical formula and detailed physical properties, see silicate

Aquarium

2004-12-10T14:55:00.000-08:00

The earliest known aquarists were the Sumerians, who kept fishes in artificial ponds at least 4,500 years ago; records of fish keeping also date from ancient Egypt and Assyria. The Chinese, who raised carp for food as early as 1000 BC, were probably the first to breed fish with any degree of success. Their selective breeding of ornamental goldfish was later introduced to Japan, where

Literature

2004-12-09T01:16:00.000-08:00

Constance, Lake

2004-12-08T03:24:00.000-08:00

Also called �Lake of Constance�, Constance also spelled �Konstanz�, German �Bodensee�, Latin �Lacus Brigantinus� lake bordering Switzerland, Germany, and Austria and occupying an old glacier basin at an elevation of 1,299 feet (396 m). It has an area of 209 square miles (541 square km) and is about 40 miles (65 km) long and up to 8 miles (13 km) wide, with an average depth of 295 feet (90 m) and a maximum depth of 827 feet (252 m). It has about 125 miles (200 km) of shoreline. In the west, near Konstanz (Constance), it is divided by the Bodan mountain ridge

Seibert, Florence

2004-12-07T02:41:00.000-08:00

Seibert contracted polio at age three, but became an outstanding student, graduating at the top of her high-school class and winning a scholarship to Goucher College, Towson, Maryland, from which she

Leninogorsk

2004-12-06T19:50:00.000-08:00

Kazak �Leninogor�, formerly (until 1941) �Ridder� city, northeastern Kazakstan. The city is situated in the southwestern Altai Mountains along the Ulba River, at an elevation of more than 3,300 feet (1,000 m). An Englishman, Philip Ridder, discovered a small mine containing gold, silver, copper, and lead there in 1786, and systematic mining started in 1791. Present-day Leninogorsk is an important centre of the lead and zinc industry and is connected

Digestive System, Invertebrate, Vacuolar systems

2004-12-05T15:09:00.000-08:00

Unicellular organisms that ingest food particles via vacuoles rely on intracellular digestion to prepare the nutrients for use. The enzymes that catalyze this digestion, being very potent chemicals capable of breaking down the cell substance itself, are held until needed in special packets, or vesicles, called lysosomes; the membrane of a lysosome is both impermeable

Sacrament

2004-12-04T07:44:00.000-08:00

The Latin word sacramentum, which etymologically is an ambiguous theological term, was used in Roman law to describe a legal sanction in which a man placed his