NormalRail

Cheb

2005-04-05T16:06:00.000-07:00

German Eger, city, Západoceský kraj (region), extreme western Czech Republic. Cheb lies along the Ohre River, near the German border. Its history has been full of violence, for it guards the easiest approach to Bohemia from the northwest. The city passed in the 13th century from Swabian rulers to Otakar I, king of Bohemia, and it was battered in the Hussite wars (1419–36), the Thirty Years' War (1618–48), and the

Genetic Disease, Human, Techniques

2005-04-05T06:38:00.000-07:00

One of the major applications of somatic cell genetics to clinical medicine is in the area of prenatal diagnosis by genetic amniocentesis. This procedure permits the accurate prediction of some fetal diseases. The procedure is usually performed under a local anesthetic during the 15th to 17th week of pregnancy. By means of a needle introduced into the uterus, some

Fontana, Carlo

2005-04-04T23:20:00.000-07:00

Italian architect, engineer, and publisher whose prolific studio produced widely imitated designs for fountains, palaces, tombs, and altars, as well as the curved facade on the S. Marcello al Corso (1682–83). His many international students included M.D. Poppelmann of Germany, James Gibbs of England, Filippa Juvarra of Italy, Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt

Spondylolisthesis

2005-04-03T23:53:00.000-07:00

Forward slipping of the body of one of the lumbar (lower back) vertebrae on the subjacent vertebra or on the sacrum, the triangular bone at the base of the spinal column. The condition is often associated with incompleteness of the vertebral arch, which surrounds the spinal cord. Pressure transmitted to the arch from above encourages slippage. Deformity (lordosis)

Merchandising

2005-04-02T23:11:00.000-08:00

Element of marketing that is concerned specifically with promoting the sale of goods and services to consumers. See marketing.

Radio And Radar Astronomy

2005-04-02T18:49:00.000-08:00

In 1932 the U.S. radio engineer Karl Jansky, investigating radio disturbances interfering with transoceanic telephone service, found a source of cosmic “static” he attributed to interaction between electrons and ions (charged atoms) in interstellar space. He located this source

World War I, The Eastern Front, 1915

2005-03-31T15:07:00.000-08:00

The Russians' plans for 1915 prescribed the strengthening of their flanks in the north and in Galicia before driving westward again toward Silesia. Their preparations for a blow at East Prussia's southern frontier were forestalled, as Ludendorff, striking suddenly eastward from East Prussia, enveloped four Russian divisions in the Augustów forests, east of the Masurian

China, Administration

2005-03-31T10:53:00.000-08:00

A hierarchy of organization and personnel has been embedded in virtually all CCP and government bodies. Even on the government side, all officials in these personnel departments are members of the CCP, and they follow rules and regulations that are not subject to control by the particular bodies of which they are formally a part. This system has been used to assure

Ma-ubin

2005-03-31T00:06:00.000-08:00

Town, southern Myanmar (Burma). The town is a river port on the west bank of the main Irrawaddy distributary and is protected by flood-control embankments. It is linked with Yangon (Rangoon), 40 miles (65 km) east, by the Twante Canal and is the site of a diesel electric plant. The surrounding area occupies a largely swampy portion of the Irrawaddy River delta. It has a southern coastline

Pachelbel, Johann

2005-03-30T18:16:00.000-08:00

Pachelbel studied music at Altdorf and Regensburg and held posts as organist in Vienna, Stuttgart, and other cities. In 1695 he was appointed organist at the St. Sebalduskirche in Nürnberg, where he remained until his death.

Hui

2005-03-30T16:25:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Hwei, or Hui-hui, also called (Wade-Giles) T'ung-kan, or (Pinyin) Tonggan, Burmese Pathay, Russian Dungan, Chinese Muslims, intermingled with the Han Chinese throughout China but relatively concentrated in western China—in the provinces or autonomous regions of Sinkiang, Ningsia, Kansu, Tsinghai, Honan, Hopeh, Shantung, and Yunnan. Considerable numbers also live in Anhwei, Liaoning, and Peking. The Hui are also found on the frontier between China and Myanmar (Burma) and

Lahbabi, Mohammed Aziz

2005-03-29T02:49:00.000-08:00

Moroccan writer and philosopher (b. Dec. 25, 1922, Fès, Morocco--d. Aug. 23, 1993, Rabat, Morocco), had influence in the Arab world through his many writings, some of which were translated into as many as 30 languages. Lahbabi was educated at the Sorbonne in Paris and received a doctorate of philosophy. He taught philosophy at Muhammad V University, Rabat, and the University of Algiers and held other

Acts Of The Apostles, The

2005-03-28T10:54:00.000-08:00

Abbreviation Acts, fifth book of the New Testament, a valuable history of the early Christian church. Acts was written in Greek, presumably by the Evangelist Luke, whose gospel concludes where Acts begins, namely, with Christ's Ascension into heaven. Acts was apparently written in Rome, perhaps between AD 70 and 90, though some think a slightly earlier date is also possible. After an introductory

Rambert, Dame Marie

2005-03-27T10:04:00.000-08:00

A student of Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, the originator of eurhythmics, Rambert was invited in 1913 to teach this technique of rhythmic education to members of Sergey Diaghilev's Ballets Russes; through her

Kiraly, Karch

2005-03-27T02:23:00.000-08:00

When Kiraly was four years old, he moved with his family to Santa Barbara, California. His father, Laszlo Kiraly, had played on the Hungarian national

Ribble Valley

2005-03-26T09:06:00.000-08:00

Borough (district), administrative county of Lancashire, northwestern England, along the county's eastern border, extending into the western Pennine uplands. The southern part of the borough, including the lower Ribble valley and the two largest towns, Clitheroe and Longridge, lies in the historic county of Lancashire. The remainder of the mostly rural borough, including

Ringsaker

2005-03-26T08:14:00.000-08:00

Town, Hedmark fylke (county), southeastern Norway. It lies along the eastern shore of Mjøsa, the largest lake in Norway. Situated along the main road and rail line between Oslo and Trondheim, Ringsaker lies in a rich agricultural and lumbering region. Tourism is based mainly on the scenery of the lake area, a 12th-century church, and a nearby 13th-century castle. Pop. (1989 est.) mun., 30,960.

Peter, Gospel Of

2005-03-24T11:09:00.000-08:00

Pseudepigraphal (noncanonical and unauthentic) Christian writing of the mid-2nd century AD, the extant portion of which covers the condemnation, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Jesus. Because the work reflects the view that Christ's body had only the appearance of reality, Serapion, bishop of Antioch c. AD 190, believed it was written by a member of the heretical Docetist sect.

Encamp

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

Village, Andorra, on a headstream of the Riu (river) Valira. Its agricultural economy is supplemented by tourism, especially skiing. Encamp has a broadcasting transmitter of Radio Andorra. Above the village is Engolasters Lake, accessible by cable car. There are facilities for generating hydroelectric power. In the locality is the Pic (peak) des Pessons (9,400 ft [2,865 m]). Pop. (1990) 7,489.

Ahmed Hasim

2005-03-23T11:28:00.000-08:00

Born into a prominent family, Hasim developed his knowledge of French literature and his fondness for poetry at Galatasaray Lycée in Constantinople (now Istanbul). After briefly studying law, he worked for the government tobacco offices.

Mordvin

2005-03-22T19:40:00.000-08:00

Also called Mordvinian, member of a people speaking a Finno-Ugric language of the Uralic language family and living mainly in Mordvinia republic and other parts of the middle Volga River region of Russia. Under the Soviet government the Mordvins were given some autonomy in 1928, and a Mordvinian autonomous republic, which lasted from 1934 to 1991, had its capital at Saransk. The Mordvin numbered about

Aid

2005-03-22T11:10:00.000-08:00

A feudal lord could ask his vassals for an aid because they owed him help and counsel. In the course of time, however, the occasions on which

Furniture, Rome

2005-03-21T07:05:00.000-08:00

Principal furniture forms were couches, chairs with and without arms, stools, tables, chests, and boxes. Excellent documentary evidence is found in mural paintings, relief carvings, and literary descriptions. Extant examples are more common than those of the ancient Near East: a wealth of bronze furniture was recovered at Pompeii; at Herculaneum even wood pieces

Smith, David

2005-03-20T09:33:00.000-08:00

Smith was never trained as a sculptor, but

Hunt, Helen

2005-03-20T02:38:00.000-08:00

It seemed that everyone was mad about Helen Hunt in 1998. The year began with the American actress winning a Golden Globe for her performance as a lonely waitress in the surprise hit film As Good as It Gets (1997). A Screen Actors Guild Award soon followed, and in March she received an Academy Award, which completed her sweep of the major American film honours for best actress. Her

Boismortier, Joseph Bodin De

2005-03-19T10:13:00.000-08:00

His music, particularly for the voice, was extremely popular, and he became rich without

Marriner, Neville

2005-03-18T18:53:00.000-08:00

Marriner graduated from the Royal College of Music in London in 1944 and went on to study for five years with René Benedetti at the Paris Conservatory. His early career was as

World War I, Air warfare

2005-03-18T11:03:00.000-08:00

At the start of the war the land and sea forces used the aircraft put at their disposal primarily for reconnaissance, and air fighting began as the exchange of shots from small arms between enemy airmen meeting one another in the course of reconnoitering. Fighter aircraft armed with machine guns, however, made their appearance in 1915. Tactical bombing and the bombing

Pauraque

2005-03-18T07:58:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Parauque, also called Cuejo (Nyctidromus albicollis), nocturnal bird of brushlands from southern Texas to northern Argentina. It is a relative of the nightjar (q.v.), belonging to the family Caprimulgidae. The pauraque is about 30 cm (about 12 inches) long, with rounded wings and a longish tail. It is mottled brown with a bold white bar on each wing; in the male the outer tail feathers are white.

Paul Of Samosata

2005-03-18T05:23:00.000-08:00

Paul

Paducah

2005-03-17T22:13:00.000-08:00

City, seat of McCracken county, southwestern Kentucky, U.S., at the confluence of the Ohio (there bridged to Brookport, Illinois) and Tennessee rivers. The site, known as Pekin, was part of a grant to soldier and frontiersman George Rogers Clark. At his death his brother William, who was coleader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, received the land, laid out the town in 1827, and named

Kenai Fjords National Park

2005-03-16T07:31:00.000-08:00

The park includes the 300-square-mile (777-square-km) Harding Icefield and its outflowing glaciers and numerous coastal fjords and islands, which are remnants

Switzerland, Barbarian invasions

2005-03-15T22:55:00.000-08:00

The first of the barbaric incursions took place in AD 259. By AD 400 Roman Switzerland had disintegrated and the lands of the Romanized Celts were occupied by Germanic tribes such as the Burgundians and Alemannians. The Burgundians, few in number, occupied the lands of western Switzerland. Although they retained political control, they lost contact with their former homelands

West Bridgewater

2005-03-15T18:17:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Plymouth county, eastern Massachusetts, approximately 25 miles (40 km) south of Boston. The area was deeded by Massasoit, a Wampanoag Indian chief and sachem (intertribal leader) of all Wampanoags, to six people in trust for 56 proprietors of Duxbury plantation for the price of knives, hatchets, hoes, coats, and cotton. It was settled by colonists in 1656. Some mills were

Dada

2005-03-15T15:52:00.000-08:00

Stephen C. Foster (ed.), Crisis and the Arts: The History of Dada (1996– ), is a multivolume exploration of the history of the movement. William S. Rubin, Dada, Surrealism, and Their Heritage (1968, reissued 1982); and Dawn Ades, Dada and Surrealism Reviewed (1978), are comprehensive exhibition catalogs. German Dada is discussed in Charlotte Stokes and Stephen C. Foster (eds.), Dada Cologne Hanover (1997). Francis M. Naumann and Beth Venn, Making Mischief: Dada Invades New York (1996), focuses on the New York movement. Richard Huelsenbeck (ed.), The Dada Almanac, 2nd ed. (1998), is an English translation of a large 1920 collection of Dadaist text. The role of female Dadaists is discussed in Naomi Sawelson-Gorse (ed.), Women in Dada: Essays on Sex, Gender, and Identity (1998, reissued 2001).

Lower Egypt

2005-03-14T22:30:00.000-08:00

Arabic Misr Bahri, geographic and cultural division of Egypt consisting primarily of the triangular Nile River delta region and bounded generally by the 30th parallel north in the south and by the Mediterranean Sea in the north. Characterized by broad expanses of fertile soil, Lower Egypt contrasts sharply with Upper Egypt, where the centres of habitation along the Nile valley are

Beardfish

2005-03-14T18:30:00.000-08:00

Any of the five species of fishes in the genus Polymixia constituting the family Polymixiidae (order Beryciformes). Beardfishes are restricted primarily to deep-sea marine habitats in tropical and temperate regions of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. They generally are found at depths from about 200 to 600 metres (650 to 2,000 feet). The term beardfish comes from the beardlike appearance

Cyrillic Alphabet

2005-03-14T08:37:00.000-08:00

Writing system developed in the 9th–10th century AD for Slavic-speaking peoples of the Eastern Orthodox faith; it is the alphabet currently used for Russian and other languages of the republics that once formed the Soviet Union and for Bulgarian and Serbian. Based on the medieval Greek uncial script, the Cyrillic alphabet was probably invented by later followers of

Moscow

2005-03-12T19:19:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1888) of Latah county, northwestern Idaho, U.S. The city is situated on Paradise Creek, in the Palouse country just north of Lewiston, near the Washington border. The area was settled in 1871 and developed as a stagecoach station. Local farmers called the area Hog Heaven. The origins of the name Moscow are disputed; some hold that the town was named by Jonathan Neff, a homesteader

Buzkashi

2005-03-12T18:47:00.000-08:00

Buzkashi has two main forms: the traditional, grassroots game, known as tudabaray (Persian [Dari]: “coming out of the crowd”), and the modern government-sponsored version, qarajay (“black place”). Both feature mounted

Agri Decumates

2005-03-12T15:14:00.000-08:00

In antiquity, the Black Forest and adjoining areas of what is now southwestern Germany between the Rhine, Danube, and Main rivers. The name may imply earlier occupation by a tribe with 10 cantons. The Romans under the Flavian emperors began annexing the area in AD 74 to secure better communications between the Rhine and Danube armies. According to Tacitus, the territory was

Tsubouchi Shoyo

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

Pseudonym of Tsubouchi Yuzo playwright, novelist, critic, and translator who occupied a prominent position in Japanese letters for nearly half a century. He wrote the first major work of modern Japanese literary criticism, Shosetsu shinzui (1885–86; “The Essence of the Novel”), translated the complete works of William Shakespeare, helped found the modern Japanese

Gametophyte

2005-03-10T13:37:00.000-08:00

In the gametophyte phase, male and female organs (gametangia) develop and produce eggs and sperm

Atlanta Campaign

2005-03-10T00:26:00.000-08:00

In the American Civil War, an important series of battles in Georgia (May–September 1864) that eventually cut off a main Confederate supply centre and influenced the Federal presidential election of 1864. By the end of 1863, with Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Vicksburg, Mississippi, firmly under the control of the North, Atlanta, an important Confederate

Arts, Central Asian, Bactria

2005-03-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

The most Hellenized of these states in western Turkistan and Afghanistan was Bactria. Its fine coinage, for example, was distinctly Hellenistic in style, and Bactrian silversmiths were often influenced as much by Roman as Greek Hellenistic metalwork. Alexander the Great annexed Kabul to Bactria and founded Alexandria-Kapisu, a city astride the Indian caravan

Clairvoyance

2005-03-09T10:25:00.000-08:00

(French: “clear seeing”), knowledge of information not necessarily known to any other person, not obtained by ordinary channels of perceiving or reasoning; thus a form of extrasensory perception ESP. Spiritualists also use the term to mean seeing or hearing (clairaudience) the spirits of the dead that are said to surround the living. Parapsychological research, using

Basil I

2005-03-09T01:16:00.000-08:00

Basil came of a peasant family that had settled in Macedonia, perhaps of Armenian origin. He was a handsome and physically powerful man who gained employment in influential official circles in Constantinople and was fortunate

Farinati, Paolo

2005-03-08T19:29:00.000-08:00

Farinati's father, Giovanni Battista, was also a painter and may have been his first master; later he probably worked under Nicolò Giolfino. Farinati was active almost entirely in Verona. According to Carlo Ridolfi, a Madonna painted by Farinati attracted the

Chatterton, Thomas

2005-03-08T05:13:00.000-08:00

At first considered slow in learning, Chatterton had a tearful childhood, choosing the solitude of an attic and making no progress with his alphabet. One day, seeing his mother

Aaron

2005-03-08T00:31:00.000-08:00

Aaron continued to live as a symbol in Jewish religion and traditions, and the position of the priests was strengthened after the exile. Also, in the Qumran sect, a Jewish community that flourished in the era just before and contemporary with the birth of Christianity, Aaron was a symbol for a strong priesthood, as can be seen from the Dead Sea Scrolls. At the end of time,

Augustine, Saint

2005-03-06T23:11:00.000-08:00

Although autobiographical narrative makes up much of the first 9 of the 13 books of Augustine's Confessiones (397; Confessions), autobiography is incidental to the main purpose of the work. For Augustine confessions is a catchall term for acts of religiously authorized speech: praise of God, blame of self, confession of faith. The book is a richly textured meditation by a middle-aged

Babol

2005-03-06T05:31:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Babul, formerly Barfurush, city, northern Iran, on the Babol River, about 15 miles (24 km) south of the Caspian Sea. Babol gained importance during the reign (1797–1834) of Fath 'Ali Shah, though 'Abbas I (died 1629) had laid out a pleasure garden and summer palace there. The city has paved streets, large and crowded bazaars, well-built houses, and small, handsome mosques and funeral towers. There are some manufacturing activities, but

Bujumbura

2005-03-05T23:57:00.000-08:00

City, western Burundi. Bujumbura is the nation's capital and largest urban centre. The city's industry specializes in textiles, leather, paper, chemicals, and agricultural products. Bujumbura also serves as the country's main port on Lake Tanganyika; most of Burundi's foreign trade is shipped between the capital and Kigoma, Tanzania, and, less frequently, to Kalemi, Congo

Plunket (of Newton), William Conyngham Plunket, 1st Baron

2005-03-05T16:09:00.000-08:00

Called to the Irish bar in 1787, Plunket was highly successful as an equity lawyer. Entering

Aeschylus

2005-03-04T17:10:00.000-08:00

The date of this play (and even its authorship) is disputed, but many scholars regard it as a work of Aeschylus' last years. In Prometheus Bound (Greek Prometheus desmotes) the god Prometheus, who in defiance of Zeus has saved mankind and given them fire, is chained to a remote crag as a punishment ordered by the king of the gods. Despite his isolation Prometheus is visited by

Anderson, Helen Eugenie Moore

2005-03-04T09:32:00.000-08:00

Eugenie Moore attended Stephens College (Columbia, Missouri) in 1926–27, Simpson College (Indianola, Iowa) in 1927–28, and Carleton College (Northfield, Minnesota) in 1929–30; she took no degree. In 1930 she married John P. Anderson. During two years in New York City she studied piano at the Juilliard

Aseret Yeme Teshuva

2005-03-04T04:31:00.000-08:00

English Ten Days of Penitence the first 10 days of the Jewish religious year. See yamim nora'im.

Industrial Glass

2005-03-03T10:10:00.000-08:00

Solid material that is normally lustrous and transparent in appearance and that shows great durability under exposure to the natural elements. These three properties—lustre, transparency, and durability—make glass a favoured material for such household objects as windowpanes, bottles, and lightbulbs. However, neither any of these properties alone nor all of

Gaillard, Château

2005-03-02T16:30:00.000-08:00

(French: “Saucy Castle”), 12th-century castle built by Richard the Lion-Heart on the Andelys cliff overlooking the Seine River in France; substantial portions of it still stand. Château Gaillard, the strongest castle of its age, guarded the Seine River valley approach to Normandy. Skillfully designed and executed, with the base of the keep carved out of the natural

Esterházy Family

2005-03-02T16:10:00.000-08:00

By the 18th century the Esterházys had become the largest landowners in Hungary, and they came to possess a private fortune even larger than that of the Habsburg emperors whose supporters they were. The various members of the family continued to hold important

Tunisia, Relief and drainage

2005-03-01T13:19:00.000-08:00

Tunisia is characterized by moderate relief. The Tunisian Dorsal, or High Tell, a southwest-to-northeast mountain range that is an extension of the Saharan Atlas (Atlas Saharien) of Algeria, tapers off in the direction of the Cape Bon peninsula in the northeast, south of the Gulf of Tunis. The highest mountain, Mount ash-Sha'nabi (Djebel Chambi), located near the centre of

Savoy, House Of

2005-03-01T09:57:00.000-08:00

Italian Savoia, French Savoie, historic dynasty of Europe, the ruling house of Italy from 1861 to 1946. During the European Middle Ages the family acquired considerable territory in the western Alps where France, Italy, and Switzerland now converge. In the 15th century, the house was raised to ducal status within the Holy Roman Empire, and in the 18th century it attained the royal title (first of the kingdom of Sicily,

World Water Crisis: Is There A Way Out?

2005-03-01T09:15:00.000-08:00

Into the gloom of the future we should project a little light by considering some successes of the past. Over the past 40 years, water resources and water quality have been greatly improved in Europe and North America. Rivers in the United States no longer spontaneously burst into flame; gross pollution of lakes and rivers has been eliminated; wetlands are protected

Carlsbad

2005-02-28T17:50:00.000-08:00

City, San Diego county, southern California, U.S. It lies along the Pacific Ocean just south of Oceanside, in a winter vegetable- and flower-growing district. Settled in the 1870s, it was first called Frazier's Station but was renamed (1883) when its mineral waters were found to be similar to those of Carlsbad in Bohemia (now Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic). After the arrival (1885) of the Santa

Wyatt, James

2005-02-28T04:07:00.000-08:00

In 1762 Wyatt went to Italy, where he remained six years. On his return to England, he designed the London Pantheon (opened 1772; later demolished), a Neoclassical building

Bruneau, Alfred

2005-02-28T02:30:00.000-08:00

A pupil of the French opera composer Jules Massenet at the Paris Conservatoire, Bruneau later worked as a copyist to the publisher Georges Hartmann. His earliest works included three choral symphonies and an opera, Kérim (1887). In 1888 he met the novelist Émile Zola, who became

Venetian Glass

2005-02-26T10:42:00.000-08:00

Variety of glasswares made in Venice from the 13th century, at the latest, to the present. Although a glassblowers' guild existed in Venice from 1224, the earliest extant specimens that can be dated with certainty are from the mid-15th century. The early history of Venetian glass is therefore largely conjectural. It is known that in 1291 the glasshouses moved across the lagoon to

Tasmania, Education

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

School attendance is compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 16. Government-supported schools include infant, primary (some with preschool facilities), area, district, and high schools (nonselective, comprehensive, mostly coeducational), together with matriculation colleges (secondary colleges that prepare students in their final one or two years for the

Spotsylvania Court House, Battle Of

2005-02-25T11:47:00.000-08:00

(May 8–19, 1864), Union failure to smash or outflank Confederate forces defending Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Following the Battle of the Wilderness (May 5–6), Union General Ulysses S. Grant moved his left flank forward, engaging the Confederate forces of General Robert E. Lee at Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia. The battle raged for about a week and a half, and

Bacchus Marsh

2005-02-25T08:32:00.000-08:00

Town in southern Victoria, Australia. It is located 32 miles (51 km) northwest of Melbourne (to which a growing proportion of its residents commute daily) on the east bank of the Werribee River. In 1838, Captain William Henry Bacchus founded the town, and it grew as a stopping place for Cobb and Company coaches traveling from Melbourne to the Ballarat goldfields. Bacchus Marsh is

Spanish Literature, Poetry

2005-02-23T22:33:00.000-08:00

Modernism heralded

Cold War

2005-02-23T03:16:00.000-08:00

The open yet restricted rivalry that developed after World War II between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies. The Cold War was waged on political, economic, and propaganda fronts and had only limited recourse to weapons. The term was first used by the American financier and presidential adviser Bernard Baruch during a congressional

Biblical Literature, Textual criticism: scholarly problems

2005-02-22T15:23:00.000-08:00

As to when and how a single text type gained hegemony and then displaced all others, it is clear that the early and widespread public reading of the Scriptures in the synagogues of Palestine,

Rocky Mountains, Physiography

2005-02-21T20:09:00.000-08:00

The Canadian Rockies include the Mackenzie and Selwyn mountains of the Yukon and Northwest Territories (sometimes called the Arctic Rockies) and the ranges of western Alberta and eastern British Columbia. The Northern Rockies include the Lewis and Bitterroot ranges of western Montana and northeastern Idaho. These ranges formed along the eastern edge of a region

'abbadid Dynasty

2005-02-21T15:50:00.000-08:00

In 1023 the qadi (religious judge) Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn 'Abbad declared Sevilla independent of Córdoba. His son Abu 'Amr 'Abbad, known as al-Mu'tadid (1042–69), greatly enlarged his territory by forcibly

Aurora

2005-02-20T22:24:00.000-08:00

City, Kane and Du Page counties, northeastern Illinois, U.S., on the Fox River. Founded as a trading point and mill site near a Potawatomi Indian village in 1834, the town was laid out in 1836. Aurora developed as both a residential and an industrial city. Many of its residents commute to Chicago, 39 miles (63 km) east. Its manufactures include heavy machinery, industrial and electrical equipment,

Water Mass

2005-02-20T10:14:00.000-08:00

Body of ocean water with a distinctive narrow range of temperature and salinity and a particular density resulting from these two parameters. Water masses are formed as the result of climatic effects in specific regions. Antarctic bottom water is an important water mass that forms on the Antarctic continental shelf as a cold, dense residual brine during the formation

National Archaeological Museum

2005-02-20T06:56:00.000-08:00

Among the

Moseley, Henry Gwyn Jeffreys

2005-02-20T01:52:00.000-08:00

Educated at Trinity College, Oxford, Moseley in 1910 was appointed lecturer

Tlaxcala

2005-02-19T22:27:00.000-08:00

Inland plateau estado (“state”), central Mexico, bordered by the states of Puebla on the northeast, east, and south; by México on the west; and by Hidalgo on the northwest. The smallest Mexican state, its 1,551-square-mile (4,016-square-kilometre) territory has a mean elevation of 7,000 feet (2,100 m) and a cool, healthful climate, but frequent winter frosts are injurious to local agriculture. The state

Anchovy Pear

2005-02-18T17:30:00.000-08:00

(Grias cauliflora), evergreen tree of the family Lecythidaceae, native to the West Indies. The name is also applied to its edible fruit, for which the tree is cultivated. The plant grows to about 15 m (50 feet) tall and bears spear-shaped, glossy leaves about 90 cm long that are produced in palmlike tufts. The fragrant yellow flowers are about 5 cm across. The fruit, which contains one

Clapp, Cornelia Maria

2005-02-17T01:20:00.000-08:00

Clapp graduated from Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in 1871, and after a year of teaching elsewhere she returned to Mount Holyoke as an instructor in mathematics. Later she also taught

Indian Law

2005-02-16T08:29:00.000-08:00

The legal practices and institutions of India. The general history of law in India is a well-documented case of reception as well as of grafting. Foreign laws have been “received” into the Indian subcontinent—for example, in the demand by the Hindus of Goa for Portuguese civil law; and the enactment by independent India of statutes such as the Estate Duty Act (1953), the Copyright

Aegospotami, Battle Of

2005-02-16T02:16:00.000-08:00

(405 BC), naval victory of Sparta over Athens, final battle of the Peloponnesian War. The fleets of the two Greek rival powers faced each other in the Hellespont for four days without battle, until on the fifth day the Spartans under Lysander surprised the Athenians in their anchorage off Aegospotami. Conon, the Athenian commander, escaped with only 20 of his 180 ships, and the 3,000–4,000 Athenians

Medicine, Geriatrics

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

Since the mid-20th century a change has occurred in the population structure in developed countries. The proportion of elderly people has been increasing. Since 1983, however, in most European countries the population growth of that group has leveled off, although it is expected to continue to grow more rapidly than the rest of the population in most countries through

Argostólion

2005-02-15T13:49:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Argostóli, chief port and capital, nomós (department) of Cephalonia, which is the largest of the Ionian Islands of Greece. The town is the seat of a bishop of the Greek Orthodox church. It was founded in 1757 by the Venetians when an earthquake destroyed the former capital. The port's well-protected harbour is situated on the eastern prong of a large inlet. The island produces olive oil,

Harvard University Library

2005-02-15T06:09:00.000-08:00

Largest university library and the first institutional library in what became the United States, established when John Harvard, a young Puritan minister, left his collection of 260 volumes to the new Harvard College in Cambridge, Mass., in 1638. The core of the collection now contains 10,000,000 volumes, housed in three adjacent buildings. There are works for advanced study and research,

Tebaldi, Renata

2005-02-14T23:24:00.000-08:00

Tebaldi received her early musical training from her mother, a singer, and studied at the Parma Conservatory. At age 18 she sang for Carmen Melis, of the Arrigo Boito Conservatory in Pesaro, who accepted her as a student. She made her debut in Rovigo in 1944 as Elena

Kourouma, Ahmadou

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

Kourouma spent his early years in Guinea and attended secondary school in Bamako, Mali, until he was expelled and was drafted into the army by the French. He was sent to Indochina and served in Saigon. Later he continued

Ejectment

2005-02-13T13:17:00.000-08:00

The action, traceable to the Roman law, had its early development in feudal England. By the second half of the 16th century, ejectment was in common use to adjudicate title to any real property. In its technical

Arsenic Poisoning

2005-02-13T09:54:00.000-08:00

Arsenic poisoning in humans most often results from the ingestion or inhalation of insecticides containing arsenious oxide,

Ibycus

2005-02-12T17:52:00.000-08:00

Ibycus left Sicily for the Aegean island of Samos, where the tyrant Polycrates became his patron. Ancient authorities found it hard to distinguish his early work from that of Stesichorus, but even in the few surviving

France, History Of, Education

2005-02-12T14:45:00.000-08:00

In the 6th century, especially in southern Gaul, the aristocracy and, consequently, the bishops drawn from it preserved an interest in traditional classical culture. Beginning in the 7th century, the Columbanian monasteries insisted on the study of the Bible and the celebration of the liturgy. In the Carolingian era these innovations shared the focus of education

South Africa

2005-02-11T08:42:00.000-08:00

Officially Republic of South Africa, formerly Union of South Africa, the southernmost country on the African continent. It has an area of 470,693 square miles (1,219,090 square kilometres). It measures almost 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) from north to south, as well as from east to west. South Africa is bordered by Namibia to the northwest, by Botswana and Zimbabwe to the north, and by Mozambique and Swaziland to the northeast and east. Lesotho, an independent constitutional

Simeon I

2005-02-10T23:49:00.000-08:00

His dominant ambition, which was to himself ascend the imperial throne of Byzantium—an aspiration

Gnu

2005-02-10T14:24:00.000-08:00

The gnu, which stands higher at the shoulder than at the rump, attains a shoulder height of 1–1.3 metres (3–4 feet). The southern African form, the white-tailed gnu, or black wildebeest (C. gnou), is dark brown with long black tufts

Crab

2005-02-09T11:19:00.000-08:00

Unlike those of other decapods (e.g., shrimp, lobster, crayfish), crabs' tails are curled

Basil I

2005-02-09T10:43:00.000-08:00

Epistemology, A priori versus a posteriori knowledge

2005-02-09T10:07:00.000-08:00

A sharp distinction has been drawn since at least the 17th century between two types of knowledge: a priori knowledge and a posteriori knowledge. The distinction plays an especially important role in the philosophies of David Hume (1711–76) and Immanuel Kant (1724–1804). It is also found in many contemporary, empirically oriented theories of knowledge, which typically hold that all knowledge

China, Decline and fall

2005-02-08T04:16:00.000-08:00

Careful balancing of powers in the bureaucracy, through which the rulers acted and from which they received advice and information, was essential to good government in China. The demonstrated success of this principle in early Pei Sung so impressed later scholars that they described it as the art of government. It became a lost art under Shen-tsung, however, in the