YoungPlant

La Tour, Georges De

2005-04-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

La Tour became a master painter and eventually settled in Lunéville.

Disposable Income

2005-04-05T06:42:00.000-07:00

That portion of an individual's income over which the recipient has complete discretion. An accurate general definition of income is not easy to provide. Income includes wages and salaries, interest and dividend payments from financial assets, and rents and net profits from businesses. Capital gains on real or financial assets should also be counted as income

Arabia, Dhofar (Zufar)

2005-04-03T01:08:00.000-08:00

The Qara' Mountains in Dhofar, the southern province of the sultanate of Oman, are about 3,000 feet high, with one peak higher than 5,000 feet. The monsoon keeps the seaward (southern) side of the mountains, as well as the coastal plain, fertile. A gradual slope leads northward from the water divide to the Rub' al-Khali; valleys from the slope converge on Ramlat Al-Mughshin at the desert's

Teda Language

2005-04-02T11:51:00.000-08:00

Language spoken in Chad, Niger, and Libya. It is closely related to the Kanuri, Zaghawa, and Berti languages and belongs to the Saharan group of the Nilo-Saharan family of languages. Teda has northern and southern groups, and the term Teda is sometimes used for the northern grouping only, with Daza (Dasa), especially in French literature, the term for the southern. In an earlier

Floral Decoration

2005-04-02T07:59:00.000-08:00

Plant materials are customarily arranged in containers, woven into garlands, and worn or carried for personal adornment. Flower bouquets that are carried include the nosegay and corsage. In the mid-19th century, the nosegay, or posy (a small bunch of mixed flowers), was much in fashion. No well-dressed Victorian lady appeared at a social gathering without carrying one,

Pacific Islands

2005-04-01T23:42:00.000-08:00

Montserrat

2005-04-01T00:07:00.000-08:00

Mountain, northwestern Barcelona provincia, in the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Catalonia, Spain, lying just west of the Llobregat River and northwest of Barcelona city. Known to the Romans as Mons Serratus (“Saw-toothed Mountain”) and to the Catalans as Montsagrat (“Sacred Mountain”), it is famous for its unusual appearance, its Benedictine monastery

Level

2005-03-31T13:16:00.000-08:00

Device for establishing a horizontal plane. It consists of a small glass tube containing alcohol or similar liquid and an air bubble; the tube is sealed and fixed horizontally in a wooden or metallic block or frame with a smooth lower surface. The glass tube is slightly bowed, and adjustment to the horizontal is indicated by movement of the bubble. The device is on a

Pet Shop Boys, The

2005-03-30T09:58:00.000-08:00

Formed in London in 1981 by vocalist Tennant (then a writer for the music magazine Smash Hits) and keyboardist Lowe, the Pet Shop

Plymouth

2005-03-29T11:38:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1836) of Marshall county, northern Indiana, U.S., 23 mi (37 km) south of South Bend. Founded in 1834 and apparently named for Plymouth, Mass., it is near the site of the area's last Potawatomi Indian village from where, in 1838, more than 800 Indians were dispossessed and moved to a reservation on the Osage River in Kansas. Many of them died of malaria before reaching their destination. Plymouth

Interactionism

2005-03-29T04:15:00.000-08:00

In Cartesian philosophy and the philosophy of mind, those dualistic theories that hold that mind and body, though separate and distinct substances, causally interact. Interactionists assert that a mental event, as when John Doe wills to kick a brick wall, can be the cause of a physical action, his leg and foot moving into the wall. Conversely, the physical event of his

Death Valley

2005-03-28T23:19:00.000-08:00

Structural depression in Inyo county, southeastern California, U.S., that is the lowest, hottest, driest portion of the North American continent. Death Valley is about 140 miles (225 km) long, trends roughly north-south, and is from 5 to 15 miles (8 to 24 km) wide. The valley is bounded on the west by the Panamint Range and on the east by the Black, Funeral, and Grapevine mountains of the Amargosa

Pease, Edward Reynolds

2005-03-28T19:16:00.000-08:00

Born to a prosperous family, Pease left a business career and joined with Frank Podmore, a spiritualist and socialist writer, to found the Fabian Society in London in January 1884. The Fabians sought a gradualist approach to socialism in Britain. Early members

Berazategui

2005-03-27T19:53:00.000-08:00

Partido (county) at the southeastern limits of Gran (Greater) Buenos Aires, Argentina, in Buenos Aires provincia. It lies along the Río de la Plata estuary. The subdivision was created in October 1960 out of the existing partido of Quilmes. Berazategui was originally the property of the Barragán family when it was sold in 1860 to José Clemente Berazategui and Juan Etcheverry.

Gabar

2005-03-26T13:13:00.000-08:00

Any member of the small Zoroastrian minority in Iran. The name Gabar was formerly applied derogatorily to the Iranian Zoroastrians; the term is linguistically related to the Arabic kafir, meaning “infidel.” The Zoroastrians who remained in Persia (modern Iran) after the Arab–Muslim conquest (7th century AD) had a long history as outcasts. Although they purchased some toleration

Channel Islands

2005-03-25T19:09:00.000-08:00

Also called Santa Barbara Islands island chain extending some 150 miles (240 km) along, and about 12–70 miles (20–115 km) off, the Pacific coast of southern California. The islands form two groups. The Santa Barbara group, to the north, is separated from the mainland by the Santa Barbara Channel and includes San Miguel Island, Santa Rosa Island, Santa Cruz Island, and Anacapa, a group of three small islets. The Santa Catalina group

Mitra

2005-03-25T13:11:00.000-08:00

In the pantheon of Vedic Hinduism, one of the gods in the category of Adityas, or sovereign principles of the universe. He represents friendship, integrity, harmony, and all else that is important in the successful maintenance of order in human existence. He is usually paired with the god Varuna, the guardian of the cosmic order, whose powers he complements as guardian

Haddington

2005-03-24T18:34:00.000-08:00

The

Faience Parlante

2005-03-23T08:13:00.000-08:00

(French: “talking faience”), in French pottery, popular utilitarian 18th-century earthenware, principally plates, jugs, and bowls, that had inscriptions as part of its decoration. The city of Nevers was the outstanding centre for the production of faience parlante. The range of inscriptions included owners' names, coats of arms, bacchic or facetious references, Masonic

Avocet

2005-03-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

Any of several large shorebirds belonging to the genus Recurvirostra, family Recurvirostridae. Avocets have boldly contrasting plumage, long bluish legs, and a long black bill upturned at the tip. They inhabit fresh and salt marshes that have areas of open shallow water and mud flats, and they feed by sweeping the bill, held partly open, back

Hawaiian Honeycreeper

2005-03-22T23:39:00.000-08:00

Any of 23 species of birds found only in the forests of the Hawaiian Islands. They constitute the family Drepanididae, order Passeriformes. Most of the species are called by native names (see amakihi; apapane; iiwi; mamo). Habitat destruction and the introduction of foreign birds and mammals has led to the extinction of at least 8 of the 23 species; most of the survivors are endangered.

Acrolith

2005-03-22T08:44:00.000-08:00

Statue, especially ancient Greek, in which the trunk of the figure was of wood and the head, hands, and feet of marble. The wood was either gilded or covered by real or metal drapery. Acroliths are known from the descriptions of Pausanias, a 2nd-century-AD Greek geographer and traveller, who mentions, for example, Phidias' acrolith of Athena at Plataea. This form of sculpture

Adams

2005-03-22T00:08:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Berkshire county, northwestern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies at the foot of Mount Greylock (3,491 feet [1,064 metres]), on the Hoosic River, 15 miles (24 km) north of Pittsfield. The town of North Adams is 5 miles north. Founded by Quakers in 1766, it was known as East Hoosuck until 1778, when it was incorporated and renamed for the Revolutionary War hero Samuel Adams. Local limestone and marble

Eliot, T.s.

2005-03-21T06:29:00.000-08:00

Eliot was descended from a distinguished New England family that had relocated to St. Louis, Missouri. His family allowed him the widest education available in his time, with no influence from his father to be “practical” and to go into business. From Smith Academy in St. Louis he went to Milton, in Massachusetts; from Milton he entered Harvard in 1906; he received a B.A. in 1909, after

Earth

2005-03-20T22:43:00.000-08:00

More than 90 percent of the Earth's mass is composed of iron, oxygen, silicon, and magnesium, elements that can form the crystalline minerals known as silicates. However, in terms of chemical and mineralogical composition, as in physical properties, the Earth is far from homogeneous. Apart from the superficial lateral heterogeneities near the surface (i.e., in the compositions

Masefield, John

2005-03-20T13:39:00.000-08:00

Educated at King's School,

Germanic Religion And Mythology, The gods

2005-03-20T00:12:00.000-08:00

Old Norse sources name a great number of deities. The evidence of place-names suggests that one cult succeeded another. Names, especially those in southeastern Norway and southern Sweden, suggest that there was once widespread worship of a god Ull (Ullr). Indeed, an early poem reports an oath on the ring of Ull, suggesting that he was once one of the highest gods, at least

Pesne, Antoine

2005-03-19T21:47:00.000-08:00

His father, the painter Thomas Pesne, and his maternal great-uncle, Charles de La Fosse, were probably his first teachers. While studying in Paris, he was influenced by the leading French

Celestine Ii

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

A scholar of noble birth, he studied under Peter Abélard, with whom he remained on friendly terms even after Abélard's condemnation at the Council of Sens (1140). He was made cardinal deacon in 1127 by Pope Honorius II and cardinal priest (c. 1134) by Pope Innocent II, whom he was elected to succeed on Sept. 26, 1143. As pope (consecrated

Alabama, Relief

2005-03-18T06:40:00.000-08:00

The southern extremities of the Appalachians cover almost

Social Insurance

2005-03-17T09:10:00.000-08:00

The first compulsory social insurance programs on

Paul Iii

2005-03-17T04:26:00.000-08:00

The Farnese cardinal's diplomatic skills made him an invaluable aid to the five pontiffs in whose election he participated—Pius III, Julius II, Leo X, Adrian VI, and Clement VII—before he himself emerged as the Roman pontiff on Oct. 13, 1534. At the age of 67, Pope Paul, though apparently frail, was a man of great charm and determination. He was described in diplomatic reports as shrewd

Gainsborough

2005-03-16T16:00:00.000-08:00

Town, West Lindsey district, administrative and historic county of Lincolnshire, England. It stands on the River Trent, bordering Nottinghamshire. Gainsborough's early importance as a Saxon settlement was augmented when it became a military centre under the Danes (9th–11th centuries). Its position on a navigable river and a main road between London and the north of England

Moscow, Grand Principality Of

2005-03-16T06:32:00.000-08:00

Muscovy became a distinct principality during the second half of the 13th century under the rule of Daniel, the youngest son of the Rurik prince Alexander

Paul Iii

2005-03-16T02:33:00.000-08:00

Northern Ireland's oldest interdenominational party, a small, moderate party that represents middle-class interests primarily in the eastern areas of the province.

Chang Ling

2005-03-15T17:09:00.000-08:00

Chang settled in the Szechwan area and there studied the Tao (“Way”) sometime during the reign (125–144) of Emperor Shun Ti of the Eastern Han dynasty. Later he composed a Taoist work to propagate his cult, which attracted many followers among both the Chinese and the indigenous ethnic

Tábor

2005-03-14T18:31:00.000-08:00

City, Jihoceský kraj (region), Czech Republic. It lies along a bend in the Luznice River 50 miles (80 km) south of Prague. Founded in 1420 by Jan Zizka and other followers of the Bohemian religious reformer Jan Hus, Tábor became the radical centre of the more militant members of the movement, known as the Taborites. These people fostered the national spirit and the preservation of the Czech

21-centimetre Radiation

2005-03-14T09:40:00.000-08:00

Electromagnetic radiation of radio wavelength emitted by cold, neutral, interstellar hydrogen atoms. The hydrogen atom is composed of a positively charged particle, the proton, and a negatively charged particle, the electron. These particles can be considered as spinning around their own axes of rotation. When the spins of the two particles are antiparallel, then

Cymophane

2005-03-13T21:16:00.000-08:00

Variety of the gemstone chrysoberyl (q.v.).

Optics, The pinhole camera

2005-03-13T16:02:00.000-08:00

An excellent example of the working of the wavelet theory is found in the well-known pinhole camera. If the pinhole is large, the diverging geometrical pencil of rays leads to a blurred image, because each point in the object will be projected as a finite circular patch of light on the film. The spreading of the light at the boundary of a large pinhole by diffraction is

Cytology

2005-03-12T14:49:00.000-08:00

The study of cells as fundamental units of living things. The earliest phase of cytology began with the English scientist Robert Hooke's microscopic investigations of cork in 1665. He observed dead cork cells and introduced the term “cell” to describe them. In the 19th century two Germans, the botanist Matthias Schleiden (in 1838) and the biologist Theodor Schwann (in 1839), were among

God (anderson Ind.), Church Of

2005-03-12T03:24:00.000-08:00

Christian fellowship that considers itself a “reformation movement” among Christians and not a church or sect; it accepts its title for identification purposes only. Its members believe that they have organized themselves to carry on the work of the church, but they do not believe they have organized the church, which is made up of all Christians and cannot be limited

Baboon

2005-03-11T14:25:00.000-08:00

Hans Kummer, In Quest of the Sacred Baboon: A Scientist's Journey, trans. from German (1995), is a narrative account of this primatologist's study of the hamadryas baboon. Baboon Tales (1998), directed by Gillian Darling Kovanic, explains and portrays on video the life of a baboon troop during a newborn's first year.

Narodnik

2005-03-11T01:50:00.000-08:00

Plural Narodniki, or Narodniks, member of a 19th-century socialist movement in Russia who believed that political propaganda among the peasantry would lead to the awakening of the masses and, through their influence, to the liberalization of the tsarist regime. Because Russia was a predominantly agricultural country, the peasants represented the majority of the people (narod): hence the name of

Raymond Vi

2005-03-10T20:50:00.000-08:00

The son of Count Raymond V, Raymond VI was a nephew of King Louis VII of France and brother-in-law of King Richard I of England. Tolerant toward the many

Philadelphia

2005-03-09T21:55:00.000-08:00

Philadelphia has been described either as the elegant but rather jaded great lady or as the overage and sickly spinster of American cities. A more realistic look at Philadelphia, however, shows it to be a very

Papyrus Column

2005-03-09T19:25:00.000-08:00

In Egyptian religion, amulet that conveyed freshness, youth, vigour, and the continuance of life to its wearer. The amulet, made of glazed ware or various types of stone, was shaped like a papyrus stem and bud. Its significance was perhaps derived from its ideographic value (Egyptian wadj, “green, fresh, vigorous”); for, just as the plant itself was vigorous and growing, so also

China, The Juchen

2005-03-09T08:21:00.000-08:00

The Liao were eventually overthrown by the Juchen (Ju-chen in Wade–Giles, Ruzhen in Pinyin), another seminomadic and semipastoral people who originated in Manchuria, swept across North China, ended the Pei Sung, and established the Chin dynasty (1115–1234). This new and much larger empire in North China followed the Liao pattern of dual government and of some acculturation but

Computers, Compilers

2005-03-08T18:46:00.000-08:00

In 1952 Heinz Rutishauser,

Yuzu Nembutsu

2005-03-08T10:44:00.000-08:00

Japanese Buddhist sect that stresses the permeating effect (yuzu) of nembutsu, the invocation of the name of the Buddha Amida (Amitabha). Thus, the belief was that not only the person who chants the name but all humanity benefits from the practice of nembutsu. The sect was founded in the early 12th century by an evangelistic Tendai monk, Ryonin, and was a forerunner of the devotional

France, History Of, The Revolution of 1830

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

The July Revolution was a monument to the ineptitude of Charles X and his advisers. At the outset, few of the king's critics imagined it possible to overthrow the regime; they hoped merely to get rid of Polignac. As for the king, he naively ignored the possibility of serious trouble. No steps were taken to reinforce the army garrison in Paris; no contingency plans were prepared.

Telesilla

2005-03-07T07:27:00.000-08:00

Greek poet noted for saving the city of Argos from attack by Cleomenes and his Spartan troops after their defeat of the Argive men. She wrote lyric poetry dedicated to Apollo and Artemis, of which only brief fragments remain. Her heroic deed is mentioned in the work of Pausanias.

Zamenhof, L.l.

2005-03-06T21:06:00.000-08:00

A Jew whose family spoke Russian and lived in an environment of racial and national conflict on the Polish-Russian borderland, Zamenhof dedicated himself to promoting tolerance, mainly

Aristide, Jean-bertrand

2005-03-06T13:50:00.000-08:00

Aristide attended a school in Port-au-Prince run by the Roman Catholic Salesian order, and in 1966 he moved to the Salesian seminary at Cap-Haitien and began to prepare for the priesthood.

Ironbridge

2005-03-06T02:07:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Iron-bridge, structure that is generally considered the first cast-iron bridge, spanning the River Severn at Ironbridge, near Coalbrookdale, in Shropshire, England. It is now a British national monument. The bridge's semicircular arch spans 100.5 feet (30.6 m) and has five arch ribs, each cast in two halves. Designed by Abraham Darby or Thomas Pritchard, the bridge was erected by Darby in 1777–79. (A similar

Alaric Ii

2005-03-05T15:19:00.000-08:00

His dominions comprised Spain (except the kingdom of Galicia), Aquitaine, Languedoc, and western Provence. Alaric, like his father, was an Arian Christian, but he mitigated the persecution of Catholics and authorized the Catholic council at Agde in 506. To provide a law code for his Roman subjects, he appointed a

Duck Mountain

2005-03-04T11:18:00.000-08:00

Plateau in southwestern Manitoba, Canada, forming the highest part of the Manitoba Escarpment. It extends southeastward from the Saskatchewan border for 50 miles (80 km), culminating in Baldy Mountain (2,730 feet [832 m]), 36 miles northwest of Dauphin. A large part of the plateau is embraced by Duck Mountain Provincial Park, established in 1962 to preserve the region's dense forests, numerous

Chacabuco, Battle Of

2005-03-04T08:09:00.000-08:00

(Feb. 12, 1817), in the Latin-American wars of independence, a victory won by South American patriots over Spanish royalists near Santiago, Chile. It began the expulsion of the Spaniards from Chile, completed the next year at the Battle of Maipú. After Argentine independence from Spain had been declared in 1816, José de San Martín, leader of the independence movement in southern South

Pohjanmaa

2005-03-03T21:45:00.000-08:00

Also called Ostrobothnia, or Ostrobothnian Plain, Swedish Österbotten, lowland plain in Vaasa and Oulu läänit (provinces), western Finland, along the Gulf of Bothnia. Pohjanmaa is about 60 miles (100 km) wide and 160 miles (257 km) long. It consists of flat plains of sand and clay soil that are broken by rivers and bog areas. It is drained mainly by the Lapuan, Kyrön, and Iso rivers, which flow to the Gulf of Bothnia. The lowlands are divided between agricultural

Mitchell

2005-03-03T04:44:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Davison county, southeastern South Dakota, U.S., in the James River valley by Firesteel Creek (there dammed to form Lake Mitchell). Established in 1879 as a railroad town, it was named for Alexander Mitchell, president of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad. Its farm-based economy (corn [maize], livestock, and dairying) is supplemented by light manufacturing

Beach Grass

2005-03-02T16:36:00.000-08:00

American beach grass (A. breviligulata) grows along the Atlantic coast and in the Great Lakes region. European beach grass (A. arenaria) has been

Tasmania, Education

2005-03-02T10:22:00.000-08:00

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

Black-figure Pottery

2005-03-01T20:14:00.000-08:00

Type of Greek pottery that originated in Corinth c. 700 BC and continued to be popular until the advent of red-figure pottery c. 530 BC. In black-figure painting, figures and ornamentation were drawn on the natural clay surface of a vase in glossy black pigment; the finishing details were incised into the black. The first significant use of the black-figure technique was on the

Vrjji

2005-03-01T18:52:00.000-08:00

Pali Vajji confederacy of the Licchavis and neighbouring peoples in Bihar, India, that existed from the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD. Its capital was at Vaisali (in modern Besarh). It was governed as an aristocratic republic. Gautama Buddha is said to have modeled the organizational structure of the Buddhist monastic order, sangha, on the government of the Vrjji. In the 4th century BC the

Craig, Edward Gordon

2005-02-28T18:12:00.000-08:00

Craig was the second child of a liaison between the actress Ellen Terry and the architect Edward William Godwin. Like Edith (the other child of his parents), their son was given the name

Simon, Paul

2005-02-28T01:42:00.000-08:00

One of the most paradoxical figures in rock-and-roll history, Simon exemplified many of the principles against which the music initially reacted. From his first big hit, “The Sounds of Silence,” in 1965, Simon aspired to a self-consciously elevated poetic tone in his

Malagasy Languages

2005-02-27T10:50:00.000-08:00

A cluster of languages spoken on Madagascar and adjacent islands and belonging to the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) family of languages. The various Malagasy dialects are all closely related, having diversified only in the last 2,000 years when Madagascar was settled by an Indonesian people. The languages contain some words of Bantu, Swahili, Arab, English, and French

Lipid Storage Disease

2005-02-27T10:28:00.000-08:00

Any of a group of relatively rare hereditary disorders of fat metabolism, characterized by the accumulation of distinctive types of lipids, notably cerebrosides, gangliosides, or sphingomyelins, in various body structures. Each type of lipid accumulates as a result of a defect in one of the several organic catalysts or enzymes that normally metabolize it inside

Leveler

2005-02-26T18:13:00.000-08:00

The Leveler movement originated in 1645–46 among radical supporters of Parliament in and around London. The Civil War had been waged in the name

Buddhacarita

2005-02-25T05:19:00.000-08:00

In full Buddhacarita-kavya-sutra (Sanskrit: “Poetic Discourse on the Acts of the Buddha”), poetic narrative of the life of Buddha by the Sanskrit poet Asvaghosa, one of the finest examples of Buddhist literature. The author, who lived in northern India in the 1st–2nd century AD, created a loving account of the Buddha's life and teachings, one that—in contrast to other treatments such as the Mahavastu (“Great Story”) and

Sangli

2005-02-25T00:56:00.000-08:00

Town, southern Maharashtra state, western India. It lies along the Krishna River, east of Kolhapur on the Pune–Bangalore railway. The town is the former capital (1761–1947) of Sangli state. Its market in oilseeds and turmeric is one of the most important in India. Sangli contains a Ganapati temple that attracts many pilgrims. The town's industries include cotton-textile and oil mills, copper

Yuma Desert

2005-02-24T21:25:00.000-08:00

The Yuma Desert is a region of low sandy plains and dunes. The area is nearly barren,

California, Industry

2005-02-23T20:22:00.000-08:00

The aircraft plants and shipyards were supplemented after World War II by branch plants of many Eastern and Midwestern industries. Federal research-and-development funds allocated to California organizations also contributed to the postwar economy. By the 1970s and '80s, California's industries had diversified to include computer sciences, biotechnology, and health

Turdidae

2005-02-23T18:49:00.000-08:00

Members range in size from 11.5 to 33 centimetres (4.5 to 13 inches) long. They have slender bills and stout legs and feet, the lower leg smooth rather than scaly. Included

Guernsey

2005-02-23T15:11:00.000-08:00

Breed of dairy cattle originating on Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands. Like the Jersey, this breed is thought to have descended from the cattle of nearby Normandy and Brittany. All the cattle of the Channel Islands were at one time known as Alderneys. After laws had been enacted prohibiting the importation of cattle to the islands except for slaughter, the Jersey

Computers, The Z4

2005-02-22T11:20:00.000-08:00

In Germany, Konrad Zuse began construction of the Z4 in 1943 with funding from the Air Ministry. Like his Z3 (described in the section Konrad Zuse), the Z4 used electromechanical relays, in part because of the difficulty in acquiring the roughly 2,000 necessary vacuum tubes in wartime Germany. The Z4 was evacuated from Berlin in early 1945, and it eventually wound up in Hinterstein, a small

Gambetta, Léon

2005-02-22T07:37:00.000-08:00

French republican statesman who helped direct the defense of France during the Franco-German War of 1870–71. In helping to found the Third Republic, he made three essential contributions: first, by his speeches and articles, he converted many Frenchmen to the ideals of moderate democratic republicanism. Second, by his political

Valence Electron

2005-02-22T03:33:00.000-08:00

Any of the fundamental negatively charged particles in the outermost region of atoms that enters into the formation of chemical bonds. Whatever the type of chemical bond (ionic, covalent, metallic) between atoms, changes in the atomic structure are restricted to the outermost, or valence, electrons. They are more weakly attracted to the positive atomic nucleus than

Spanish Literature, Drama

2005-02-21T14:31:00.000-08:00

With the new century, drama achieved renewed vigour under the stimulus of Jacinto Benavente y Martínez, a prolific playwright noted for his craftsmanship and wit. A social satirist preoccupied with ethics, Benavente stopped short of alienating the sympathies of his devoted upper-class public, as, for example, in Los intereses creados (1907; The Bonds of Interest). The bourgeois

Merchant Guild

2005-02-20T16:22:00.000-08:00

A European medieval association composed of traders interested in international commerce. The privileged fraternity formed by the merchants of Tiel in Gelderland (in present-day Netherlands) about 1020 is the first undoubted precursor of the merchant guilds, and the statutes of a similar body at St. Omer, France, actually use the term gilda mercatoria before the end

Alaska, Government

2005-02-19T21:22:00.000-08:00

The state constitution was adopted in 1956. The governor and lieutenant governor are the only executive officers and are elected for four-year terms. The 40-member House of Representatives and 20-member Senate are elected for terms of two and four years, respectively. The Supreme Court has a chief justice and four associate justices. A three-member court of appeals was established

Böhm, Karl

2005-02-19T15:48:00.000-08:00

Böhm studied law but also studied music in Vienna with Eusebius Mandyczewski and Guido Adler. His debut at the Graz Opera House in 1917 was followed three years later

Oratory

2005-02-19T04:12:00.000-08:00

In architecture, a small, private chapel (q.v.).

Lena River

2005-02-18T04:26:00.000-08:00

The Lena is navigable by small boats in sections below Kachug and below Ust-Kut by larger vessels. The most important ports are Bulun, Zhigansk, Yakutsk, Vitim, Kirensk, Osetrovo, Zhigalovo, and Kachug. The major navigable tributaries are the Kirenga and Vilyuy on the left bank and the Vitim, Olyokma, and Aldan on the right bank. Timber, furs, gold, mica, industrial products,

Mahendra

2005-02-17T09:02:00.000-08:00

When Asoka, a convert to Buddhism from Hinduism, sent Mahendra and Princess Sanghamittha as missionaries to Ceylon about 251 BC, they converted

Novikov, Sergey Petrovich

2005-02-17T02:49:00.000-08:00

Novikov graduated from Moscow State University in 1960 and received Ph.D. (1964) and Doctor of Science (1965) degrees from the V.A. Steklov Institute of Mathematics in Moscow. He joined the faculty at Moscow in 1964 and became

Taraori, Battles Of

2005-02-17T01:58:00.000-08:00

Muhammad had taken Lahore from the last of the

Roland (de La Platière), Jean-marie

2005-02-16T09:45:00.000-08:00

The son of a royal official, Roland became inspector of manufactures in Amiens (1780) and then in Lyon (1784). In February 1780 he married Jeanne-Marie Phlipon, who was 20 years

Kulakova, Galina

2005-02-15T13:57:00.000-08:00

A member of four Soviet Olympic ski teams from 1964 to 1976, Kulakova was a national champion from 1969 to 1971 and a world champion in 1969 and 1970. In 1968 at the Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, Kulakova won

Nephelometry And Turbidimetry

2005-02-15T06:36:00.000-08:00

In analytical chemistry, methods for determining the amount of cloudiness, or turbidity, in a solution based upon measurement of the effect of this turbidity upon the transmission and scattering of light. Turbidity in a liquid is caused by the presence of finely divided suspended particles. If a beam of light is passed through a turbid sample, its intensity is reduced

Deva

2005-02-15T04:42:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Hunedoara judet (county), west-central Romania, on the banks of the Mures River, at an elevation of 590 feet (180 m). The town is dominated by Citadel Hill (1,217 feet), shaped like a truncated cone, which affords a commanding view of the Mures valley. Atop the hill are the ruins of a citadel, built in the 13th century at the time of the Mongol invasions. The city grew in the protective

Scaevola, Publius Mucius

2005-02-13T23:57:00.000-08:00

In 133, Scaevola

Colemanite

2005-02-13T22:35:00.000-08:00

Borate mineral, hydrated calcium borate (Ca2B6O11×5H2O) that was the principal source of borax until the 1930s. It typically occurs as colourless, brilliant crystals and masses in Tertiary sediments (those formed 66.4 to 1.6 million years ago), where it has been derived from ulexite and borax. The chief localities are the Kramer district, Death Valley, and Daggett, Calif. Colemanite is an

Puente-genil

2005-02-13T16:10:00.000-08:00

Town, Cordova province, in the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Andalusia, southern Spain, located south of Cordova city, on the Cordova–Málaga railway. An agricultural centre, Puente-Genil produces olive oil, quince and other fruit jellies, linen, and insecticides. It takes its name from the bridge (puente) over the Genil River connecting the two sections

Argentina, Efforts toward reconstruction, 182029

2005-02-13T13:39:00.000-08:00

In 1820 only two political organizations could claim more than strictly local and provincial followings: the revolutionary government in Buenos Aires and the League of Free Peoples, which had grown up along the Río de la Plata and its tributaries under the leadership of José Gervasio Artigas. But both organizations collapsed in that year, and Buenos Aires seemed to

Sato Haruo

2005-02-12T22:00:00.000-08:00

Sato came from a family of physicians with scholarly and literary interests. He entered Keio University in Tokyo to study with the novelist Nagai Kafu in 1910, but he had already joined the Myojo group of poets revolving

Arabia, The Persian Gulf lowland

2005-02-12T05:15:00.000-08:00

A low-lying region follows the Arabian shore of the Persian Gulf from Kuwait around to the Al-Hajar mountains of Oman at the mouth of the gulf. The gravel plain of Ad-Dibdibah lies inland southwest of Kuwait. Adjacent to Ad-Dahna' is the low plateau of As-Summan; between it and the coast scattered hills rise a few hundred feet. Broad patches of sand occur here and there, and salt

Melaka

2005-02-11T08:44:00.000-08:00

Formerly Malacca, town and port, West Malaysia (Malaya), on the Strait of Malacca, at the mouth of the sluggish Melaka River. The city was founded about 1400, when Paramesvara, the ruler of Tumasik (now Singapore), fled from the forces of the Javanese kingdom of Majapahit and found refuge at the site, then a small fishing village. There he founded a Malay kingdom the kings of which, aided by the Chinese,

Thelon River

2005-02-11T00:39:00.000-08:00

Stream in eastern Fort Smith region, Northwest Territories, and central Keewatin region, Nunavut territory, Canada. It drains a major portion of the Barren Grounds (a sub-Arctic prairie region). Arising from several lakes, including Whitefish and Lynx, east of Great Slave Lake, the river flows through Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary (where there are musk-oxen) in an easterly

Oradea

2005-02-10T15:14:00.000-08:00

One of the first feudal states in the area, a principality ruled by Prince Menumorut in the 9th–10th centuries, was centred on a citadel