HangingBand

Estate Agent London

2006-10-26T00:10:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services, including Estate Agent Covent Garden and Estate Agent London. Their centrally located ground floor offices, minutes from Oxford Circus offer an ideal marketing base for your property.

Swallow

2005-04-05T22:31:00.000-07:00

Any of the 74 species of the bird family Hirundinidae (order Passeriformes). A few, including the bank swallow, are called martins (see martin; see also woodswallow; for sea swallow, see tern). Swallows are small, with pointed narrow wings, short bills, and small weak feet; some species have forked tails. Plumage may be plain or marked with metallic blue or green; the sexes look

Bearbaiting

2005-04-03T08:55:00.000-07:00

In England many large groups of bears were kept expressly for the purpose. Contemporary records reveal, for example, that 13 bears were provided

Annaba

2005-03-31T02:01:00.000-08:00

Formerly Bône , or Bona town and Mediterranean port, northeastern Algeria. It lies near the mouth of the Wadi Seybouse, close to the Tunisian border. Its location on a natural harbour (Annaba Gulf) between Capes Garde and Rosa early attracted the Phoenicians, probably in the 12th century BC. It passed to the Romans as Hippo Regius, was the residence of the Numidian kings, and achieved independence

Hardanger Fjord

2005-03-30T18:33:00.000-08:00

Inlet, Hordaland fylke (county), southwestern Norway. The country's second largest fjord and one of the most scenic, it extends inland northeastward for 70 miles (113 km) from Stord Island, at its entrance in the North Sea, to the Hardanger Plateau and has a maximum depth of 2,922 feet (891 m). Majestic mountains (rising to about 5,000 feet), from which pour many magnificent waterfalls, notably the

November

2005-03-27T10:42:00.000-08:00

11th month of the Gregorian calendar. See month and the accompanying Table.

Silbermann, Gottfried

2005-03-25T17:14:00.000-08:00

Gottfried worked in Strasbourg in the shop of his brother Andreas, also a noted builder, before moving to Freiberg in 1710. There he made spinets, clavichords, and harpsichords and experimented in

Phase Diagram

2005-03-24T16:19:00.000-08:00

Graph showing the limiting conditions for solid, liquid, and gaseous phases of a single substance or of a mixture of substances while undergoing changes in pressure and temperature or in some other combination of variables, such as solubility and temperature. The Figure shows a typical phase diagram for a one-component system (i.e., one consisting of a single pure

India, Recreation

2005-03-21T22:43:00.000-08:00

Virtually all regions of India have their distinctive places of pilgrimage, local saints and folk heroes, religious festivals, and associated fairs. There are also innumerable festivals associated with individual villages or temples or with specific castes and cults. The most popular of the religious festivals celebrated over the greater part of India are

Kalahari, Animal life

2005-03-19T13:37:00.000-08:00

The animal life of the Kalahari is also richer and more varied in the north than in the south. Yet even in the arid south, many individuals of several species stay for long periods of the year despite the absence of surface water. The principal species found in the south are springbok, gnu (wildebeest), and hartebeest—all of which occasionally are present in great

Columbus, Christopher, Early career and preparation for the first voyage

2005-03-18T13:04:00.000-08:00

Little is known of Columbus's early life. The vast majority of scholars, citing Columbus's testament of 1498 and archival documents from Genoa and Savona, believe that he was born in Genoa to a Christian household; however, it has been claimed that he was a converted Jew or that he was born in Spain, Portugal, or elsewhere. Columbus was the eldest son of Domenico Colombo, a Genoese

Glycogen Storage Disease

2005-03-18T03:45:00.000-08:00

In the liver group, type O is set apart as

Corcoran Gallery Of Art

2005-03-17T04:28:00.000-08:00

The museum also houses the private collection of

Luristan Bronze

2005-03-15T19:20:00.000-08:00

Luristan also spelled Lorestan, any of the horse trappings, utensils, weapons, jewelry, belt buckles, and ritual and votive objects of bronze probably dating from roughly 1500–500 BC that have been excavated since the late 1920s in the Harsin, Khorramabad, and Alishtar valleys of the Zagros Mountains in the Lorestan region of western Iran, especially at the site of Tepe Sialk. Their precise origin is unknown. Scholars

Bujumbura

2005-03-14T15:37:00.000-08:00

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

Saxon

2005-03-13T03:06:00.000-08:00

Member of a Germanic people who in ancient times lived in the area of modern Schleswig and along the Baltic coast. The period of Roman decline in the West was marked by vigorous Saxon piracy in the North Sea. During the early part of the 5th century AD, the Saxons spread rapidly through north Germany and along the coasts of Gaul and Britain. The coastal stretch from the Elbe

Benedict (x)

2005-03-12T21:07:00.000-08:00

Original name Giovanni Mincio , Latin Johannes Mincius antipope from April 1058 to January 1059. His expulsion from the papal throne, on which he had been placed through the efforts of the powerful Tusculani family of Rome, was followed by a reform in the law governing papal elections. The new law, enacted in 1059, established an electoral body, which subsequently became the Sacred College of Cardinals, charged with

Kahn, Louis I.

2005-03-11T11:04:00.000-08:00

Kahn's parents immigrated to the United States when he was a child. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, in 1924 and later toured Europe,

Arabia, History Of, Wahhabi-sharifian dispute

2005-03-11T05:14:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile,

Outback

2005-03-10T16:29:00.000-08:00

In Australia, any inland area remote from large centres of population. Generally, the term is applied to semiarid inland areas of eastern Australia and to the arid centre of the Western Plateau and its semiarid northern plains (in Western Australia) where bodies of water are scattered and frequently dry. The Macdonnell, Musgrave, and Petermann mountain ranges and

Force

2005-03-09T06:03:00.000-08:00

In mechanics, any action that tends to maintain or alter the position of a body or to distort it. The concept of force is commonly explained in terms of Newton's three laws of motion set forth in his Principia Mathematica (1687). According to Newton's first principle, a body that is at rest or moving at a uniform rate in a straight line will remain in that state until some force

Middlebury College

2005-03-07T18:10:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Middlebury, Vt., U.S. It is a small liberal arts college at which particular emphasis is given to the study of modern languages. Course work at Middlebury is divided into eight academic categories: literature, the arts, foreign languages, philosophical and religious studies, physical and life sciences, historical

Yakushi-ji

2005-03-07T13:04:00.000-08:00

Temple complex dedicated to Yakushi, the Healing Buddha, in Nara, Japan. It was established about 690 outside Nara, and in 718 it was refounded within the city. The only one of the original buildings to have survived is the three-storied eastern pagoda, which is one of the finest examples of religious architecture of the Nara period (AD 710–784). Yakushi-ji has many treasures of Japanese

Scandinavian Literature, Translations from Latin

2005-03-05T11:42:00.000-08:00

A quantity of secular literature was translated from Latin between the 12th and 14th centuries. The “Prophecies of Merlin,” already translated in verse by a Thingeyrar monk, were combined with a complete translation of Geoffrey of Monmouth's history and titled Breta sögur (“Stories of the Britons”). In one 14th-century manuscript this was preceded by the Trójumanna saga (“Story

Petare

2005-03-04T22:00:00.000-08:00

City, northwestern Miranda estado (“state”), in the central highlands of northern Venezuela. Formerly a commercial centre in a fertile agricultural area producing coffee, cacao, and sugarcane, the city has become a residential suburb of the national capital and a part of the Caracas metropolitan area. Cardboard is manufactured in the city. Expressways lead from Petare

Bearden, Romare (howard)

2005-03-03T13:35:00.000-08:00

Bearden studied at the Art Students League in New York City with George Grosz (1936–37) and at Columbia University (1943). His early paintings were realistic and often

Petare

2005-03-03T07:40:00.000-08:00

Thomas E. Watson,

Beach, Amy Marcy

2005-03-01T07:27:00.000-08:00

Amy Cheney had already demonstrated precocious musical talent when the family moved to Boston in 1870. She began taking piano lessons at age six, although she had been composing simple melodies on the

Wolfe, Thomas

2005-02-28T18:44:00.000-08:00

His father, William Oliver Wolfe, the Oliver Gant of his novels, was a stonecutter, while his mother, Julia Elizabeth Westall Wolfe, the Eliza of the early novels, owned a successful boardinghouse in Asheville, N.C., where Wolfe

Armstrong, Neil (alden)

2005-02-27T21:31:00.000-08:00

Armstrong became a licensed pilot on his 16th birthday and a naval air cadet in 1947. His studies in aeronautical engineering at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., were interrupted in 1950 by the Korean War, in which he was shot down once and was awarded three Air Medals. In 1955 he became a civilian research

Aesop

2005-02-26T20:18:00.000-08:00

The supposed author of a collection of Greek fables, almost certainly a legendary figure. Various attempts were made in ancient times to establish him as an actual personage. Herodotus in the 5th century BC said that he had lived in the 6th century and that he was a slave, and Plutarch in the 1st century AD made him adviser to Croesus, the 6th-century-BC king of Lydia. One tradition

Frederick Iv

2005-02-25T22:31:00.000-08:00

King of Denmark and Norway (1699–1730), who succeeded his father, King Christian V. He continued the Danish efforts to sever the House of Gottorp's link with Sweden, but his first attempt to do so, in 1700 at the outbreak of the Great Northern War, was checked by Charles XII of Sweden. Frederick then accepted the Treaty of Traventhal (1700), but he reentered the war

Agustín, José

2005-02-24T11:59:00.000-08:00

Agustín was educated at National Autonomous University of Mexico and at Centro Mexicano de Escritores. He was a leader of Onda, a youth movement sympathetic to rock music and drug culture, and

Pau

2005-02-23T10:39:00.000-08:00

Town, capital of Pyrénées-Atlantiques département, Aquitaine region, southwestern France. The capital of the former province of Béarn, Pau is a spa and winter sports centre. It stands on the edge of a plateau 130 feet (40 m) above the valley of the Pau Stream, which descends from the Pyrenees. The town's boulevard des Pyrénées, more than 1 mile (1.6 km) long, is situated high above the valley

Argentina, The Pampas

2005-02-23T02:51:00.000-08:00

The principal Pampas vegetation is monte forest in the Dry Pampa and grassland in the Humid Pampa. The boundary between the Dry and Humid Pampas lies approximately along longitude 64° W. Knee-high grasses are found in the most humid areas, whereas to the north, west, and south, where precipitation decreases, tougher grasses give way to the monte of the Dry Pampa. Planted

Nova Scotia, Flag Of

2005-02-22T01:38:00.000-08:00

The flag is based on the provincial coat of arms, which was itself inspired by the Scottish Cross of St. Andrew (white saltire on a blue field) and the royal arms of Scotland. The “reverse-colour” Cross of St. Andrew on the Nova Scotia flag provides a more visible contrast for the Scottish shield. The Nova Scotia coat of arms was created on May 28, 1625, but it was not recorded by heraldic

Rhétoriqueur

2005-02-20T18:30:00.000-08:00

Guillaume de Machaut, who popularized the new lyric genres such as the rondeau, ballade, lai, and virelai in the 14th century, is considered

Korcula

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

Italian Curzola, Greek Corcyra Melaina, island in the Adriatic Sea, on the Dalmatian coast, in Croatia. With an area of 107 square miles (276 square km), it has a hilly interior rising to 1,863 feet (568 m). The Greeks colonized it in the 4th century BC. Korcula was subsequently occupied by the Romans, Goths, Slavs, Byzantines, and Genoese; the kings of Hungary and Croatia and the Bosnian dukes resided there; and such powers as Russia, France,

Easel Painting

2005-02-16T10:03:00.000-08:00

Painting executed on a portable support such as a panel or canvas, instead of on a wall. It is likely that easel paintings were known to the ancient Egyptians, and the 1st-century-AD Roman scholar Pliny the Elder refers to a large panel placed on an easel; it was not until the 13th century, however, that easel paintings became relatively common, finally superseding in popularity

Kuharic, Franjo Cardinal

2005-02-14T21:37:00.000-08:00

Croatian Roman Catholic cleric (b. April 15, 1919, Pribic, Yugos.—d. March 11, 2002, Zagreb, Croatia), served as a strong nationalist symbol for his countrymen during Croatia's 1991 secession from Yugoslavia and the war that ensued (1991–95). In his role as archbishop of Zagreb (1970–97) and, thus, Roman Catholic primate of Croatia, Kuharic condemned religious intolerance and violence against Serbs and Muslims.

Iridosmine

2005-02-13T05:22:00.000-08:00

Also called Osmiridium, mineral consisting of an alloy of iridium and a smaller proportion of osmium. It occurs in gold-bearing conglomerates, as at the Witwatersrand in South Africa, and in gold sands, as in California and Oregon, U.S. Because of their hardness and resistance to corrosion, both natural and synthetic iridosmine are used for tips of pen nibs, surgical needles, and sparking points

Bohra

2005-02-11T21:22:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Bohora, in general, any Shi'i Isma'ili Muslim of the Musta'li sect, living in western India. The name is a corruption of a Gujarati word, vahaurau, meaning “to trade.” The Bohras include, in addition to this Shi'i majority, often of the merchant class, a Sunni minority who are usually peasant farmers. The Musta'li sect (see Isma'ilite), which originated in Egypt and later moved its religious centre to Yemen,

Dinawari, Ad-

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

Ad-Dinawari studied philology in the Iraqi cities of Basra and Kufah. The systematic approach to learning that he acquired there is reflected in the preserved fragments of

Xenicidae

2005-02-06T15:00:00.000-08:00

Formerly Acanthisittidae, bird family of the order Passeriformes; its members are commonly known as New Zealand wrens. The three living species are the rock wren (Xenicus gilviventris) and the rare bush wren (X. longipes) on South Island and, common to both islands, the rifleman (Acanthisitta chloris). A fourth species, the Stephen Island wren (X. lyalli), was discovered in 1894 by a lighthouse keeper and

Aydin

2005-02-04T04:19:00.000-08:00

City, southwestern Turkey, near the Menderes River (the ancient Maeander). It is an important trading centre on the Afyon-Izmir highway and rail line. Nearby is the site of ancient Tralles, said to have been founded by the Argives. Aydin was called Güzelhisar (“Beautiful Castle”) under the Turkmen Mentese emirs in the 13th century. Renamed for the 14th-century ruling dynasty of

Enclosure

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

Also spelled Inclosure, the division or consolidation of communal fields, meadows, pastures, and other arable lands in western Europe into the carefully delineated and individually owned and managed farm plots of modern times. Before enclosure, much farmland existed in the form of numerous, dispersed strips under the control of individual cultivators only during the growing season

Orage, Alfred Richard

2005-02-01T19:28:00.000-08:00

Orage became an elementary school teacher at Leeds, Yorkshire, in 1893, lectured on theosophy, and in 1900 helped found the avant-garde Leeds Arts Club. He moved to London in 1906 and became joint editor in 1907 of The New Age, a periodical of which from 1909 on he was the sole editor and dominant spirit. The New

Strangford Lough

2005-01-30T09:58:00.000-08:00

Irish Loch Cuan inlet of the Irish Sea between Ards and Down districts, Northern Ireland. The lough (lake) is about 16 miles (26 km) long and 4 miles (6 km) wide, with a very narrow entrance, which cuts across the northeast-southwest trend of the rocks in the area. The edges of the lough are characterized by many drumlins, or long oval mounds, which are also seen in submerged form in the lough. Strangford

Jacksonville

2005-01-27T13:22:00.000-08:00

City, Pulaski county, central Arkansas, U.S., 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Little Rock. The locality was settled before the American Civil War but did not develop until the 1860s, when a local resident, Nicholas Jackson, offered land for a Cairo and Fulton (now Union Pacific) Railroad depot. The town, named for him in 1870, became a distribution point for farm produce. The economy diversified

Pyrethrum

2005-01-26T20:48:00.000-08:00

Any of certain plant species of the genus Chrysanthemum, native to southwestern Asia, whose aromatic flower heads, when powdered, constitute the active ingredient in the insecticide called pyrethrin, or pyrethrum. The plants were formerly considered a separate genus, Pyrethrum. The typical species, the perennial C. coccineum, is the florists' pyrethrum, commonly

Jaboticaba

2005-01-24T04:49:00.000-08:00

Also called jaboticabeira any of several trees of the genus Myrciaria, of the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), notably M. cauliflora and M. jaboticaba, native to southeastern Brazil. The trees have been introduced to other warm regions, including western and southern North America. The name is also applied to the edible fruit of these trees. The trees do not differ greatly among the species; they are dome-shaped

Eitner, Robert

2005-01-21T01:31:00.000-08:00

In 1868 Eitner founded the Gesellschaft

Bruegel, Pieter, The Elder

2005-01-19T10:31:00.000-08:00

Byname Peasant Bruegel, Dutch Pieter Bruegel De Oudere, or Boeren Bruegel, Bruegel also spelled Brueghel, or Breughel the greatest Flemish painter of the 16th century, whose landscapes and vigorous, often witty scenes of peasant life are particularly renowned (see photograph). Since Bruegel signed and dated many of his works, his artistic evolution can be traced from the early landscapes,

Computers, The first stored-program machines

2005-01-18T18:54:00.000-08:00

But engineers in Britain beat the Americans to the goal of building the first stored-program digital computer. At the University of Manchester, Maxwell H.A. Newman, Thomas Kilburn, and Frederic C. Williams built a simple stored-program computer, known as the Manchester Mark I, in 1949. (See the photograph.) Among its innovations was Williams's invention of a way to store information

Roberts, Owen (josephus)

2005-01-15T01:15:00.000-08:00

Upon graduating from law school, Roberts taught law at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, but by 1918 he had to devote his full time to his practice. While he was still teaching, Roberts had served as assistant district attorney and as special deputy attorney

Melanesian Languages

2005-01-13T17:41:00.000-08:00

Languages belonging to the Eastern, or Oceanic, branch of the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) language family and spoken in the islands of Melanesia. The Melanesian languages, of which there are about 400, are most closely related to the languages of Micronesia and Polynesia; most have a few hundred or a few thousand speakers, and the total number of speakers of Melanesian

Fisher, Alan (wainwright)

2005-01-11T18:46:00.000-08:00

Fisher left secondary school in 1939 to join the local office of NUPE as a junior clerk, later

Van Doren, Mark

2005-01-10T16:36:00.000-08:00

Van Doren was the son of a country doctor, and was reared on the family farm in eastern

Ma'adi, Al-

2005-01-07T09:47:00.000-08:00

Predynastic Egyptian site located just south of modern Cairo in Al-Qahirah muhafazah (governorate) in Lower Egypt. The settlement at Al-Ma'adi was approximately contemporary with the widespread Gerzean culture (c. 3400–c. 3100 BC) of Upper Egypt. Al-Ma'adi was apparently a peasant village with a separate cemetery; the settlement was characterized by rectangular huts, splay-footed vases,

Tigranes Ii The Great

2005-01-05T08:25:00.000-08:00

Tigranes was the son or brother of Artavasdes I and a member of the dynasty founded in the early 2nd century by Artaxias. He was given as a hostage to the Parthian king Mithradates II, but later he purchased his freedom by ceding 70 valleys bordering on Media, in northwestern

Animal Development, The epidermis and its outgrowths

2005-01-03T14:06:00.000-08:00

The major part of the ectodermal epithelium covering the body gives rise to the epidermis of the skin. In fishes and aquatic larvae of amphibians, the many-layered epidermis is provided with unicellular mucous glands. In terrestrial vertebrates, however, the epidermis becomes keratinized; i.e., the outer layers of cells produce keratin, a protein that is hardened

Hugo, Victor (-marie)

2005-01-02T00:54:00.000-08:00

Poet, novelist, and dramatist who was the most important of the French Romantic writers. Though regarded in France as one of that country's greatest poets, he is better known abroad for such novels as Notre-Dame de Paris (1831) and Les Misérables (1862).

Wad Madani

2004-12-30T04:25:00.000-08:00

City, east-central Sudan. Wad Madani lies on the west bank of the Blue Nile, 85 miles (136 km) southeast of Khartoum, at an elevation of 1,348 feet (411 m). It owes its recent growth to the irrigated lands of the Jazirah (Gezira) irrigation scheme and is the commercial centre of the al-Jazirah cotton-growing area. Peanuts (groundnuts) and wheat are also grown in the area. The University of al-Jazirah

Devo

2004-12-29T23:46:00.000-08:00

Formed

Nadel, S(iegfried) F(rederick)

2004-12-27T20:31:00.000-08:00

Before turning to anthropology Nadel pursued musical interests. He wrote a biography of the Italian composer Ferruccio Benvenuto Busoni and a work on musical typology, and he toured with his own opera

Limassol

2004-12-25T08:47:00.000-08:00

Limassol's rise from a humble market town between the ancient settlements of Amathus and Curium took place at the end of the Byzantine Empire, when Richard I the Lion-Heart landed

Turaco

2004-12-22T10:09:00.000-08:00

Turacos are remarkable for their coloration. Some are predominantly gray, brown, and white, but the 10 species of the

Dressler, Marie

2004-12-21T00:42:00.000-08:00

The daughter of a piano teacher, Dressler early discovered her ability to make audiences laugh. She made her stage debut in Michigan in 1886 and then performed for three years with the George Baker

Vajrayogini

2004-12-18T14:02:00.000-08:00

In Vajrayana (Tantric Buddhism), female embodiment of the cognitive function leading to Buddhahood. Vajrayana emphasizes experience over speculation but uses the terms of speculative philosophical Buddhism in an imaginative way. This practice means that images taken from the ordinary life of the individual become the means to further a deeper understanding

Apse

2004-12-17T04:16:00.000-08:00

Also spelled apsis , plural apsides in astronomy, either of the two points on an elliptical orbit that are nearest to, and farthest from, the focus, or centre of attraction. The line of apsides, connecting the two points, is the major axis of the orbit. The point nearest the focus is the pericentre, or periapsis, and that farthest from it is the apocentre, or apoapsis. Specific terms can be used for individual

Belarusian Language

2004-12-15T03:58:00.000-08:00

Belarusian also spelled Belarusan , older spellings Belorussian and Byelorussian , formerly called White Ruthenian or White Russian (not to be confused with the “White” Russians who fought against the communists after the Russian Revolution of 1917) , Belarusian Belaruskaya mova East Slavic language that is historically the native language of most Belarusians. Many 20th-century governments of Belarus had policies favouring the Russian language, and, as a result, Russian is more widely used in education and public life than Belarusian. Belarusian forms a link between the Russian and Ukrainian languages, since its dialects shade gradually

Carnivore, Importance to humans

2004-12-12T01:14:00.000-08:00

If taken when young, the grizzly can be tamed quite easily and is not uncommon in circus acts. Unfortunately, man has come to picture the bear as being quite tame and harmless, with the result that the bear is viewed without the respect that this potentially dangerous creature deserves. The grizzly is the most dangerous of the bears to man, of the most interest economically

Arguedas, Alcides

2004-12-10T19:39:00.000-08:00

Arguedas studied sociology in Paris and pursued an active career in government. He represented

Yacht

2004-12-09T22:20:00.000-08:00

As the Dutch rose to preeminence in sea power during the 17th century, the early yacht became a pleasure craft used first by royalty and later by the burghers on the canals and the protected and unprotected waters of the Low Countries. Racing was incidental, arising as private matches. English yachting began with King Charles II of England during his exile in the Low

Ilebo

2004-12-06T08:52:00.000-08:00

Formerly Port-Francqui, town, south-central Congo (Kinshasa). The town lies along the Kasai River near its junction with the Sankuru River. Ilebo is a river port and has rail connections with Kananga and Lubumbashi. It is an important transshipment point in the transport of copper and other minerals from Katanga (Shaba) province to Kinshasa and Matadi. Ilebo is also a busy commercial, industrial,

Coronado, Francisco Vázquez De

2004-12-05T13:21:00.000-08:00

Coronado went to New Spain (Mexico) with Antonio de Mendoza, the Spanish viceroy, in 1535 and earned early distinction in pacifying Indians.

Vow

2004-12-03T00:22:00.000-08:00

In the ancient Middle East, individuals often made vows to a deity to perform certain acts or to live in a certain way in return for a divine favour. Hannah, the mother of the Old Testament judge Samuel,

Fruit Spot

2004-12-01T16:01:00.000-08:00

Symptom of plant disease, usually caused by fungi and bacteria. A spot is a definite, localized area. Spots frequently enlarge and merge to form a rot, a softening discoloration and often a disintegration of tissue. All fruits are susceptible; infection commonly starts at a wound, the stem end, or the underside. Bacterial decays that are caused

Amniocentesis

2004-11-25T15:10:00.000-08:00

The surgical insertion of a hollow needle through the abdominal wall and into the uterus of a pregnant female and the aspiration of fluid from the amniotic sac for analysis. Examination of the amniotic fluid itself as well as the fetal cells found in the fluid can reveal such things as fetal sex (the significant factor in inherited diseases that are sex-linked), chromosomal

Spa

2004-11-22T09:16:00.000-08:00

Known in Roman times and mentioned by Pliny the Elder, the springs were rediscovered in 1326 and have been frequented since the

Water Rat

2004-11-21T03:59:00.000-08:00

Any of 18 species of amphibious carnivorous rodents. They exhibit many adaptations associated with hunting in water for food and burrowing along streams, rivers, and lakes. The eyes are small, the nostrils can be closed to keep water out, and the external portion of the ears is either small and furry or absent. Highly sensitive whiskers are abundant on the fleshy blunt

Rachmaninoff, Sergey

2004-11-19T11:23:00.000-08:00

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

Cranberry

2004-11-16T06:04:00.000-08:00

Fruit of any of several small creeping or trailing plants of the genus Vaccinium (family Ericaceae), related to the blueberries. The small-fruited, or northern, cranberry (V. oxycoccus) is found in marshy land in northern North America and Asia and in northern and central Europe. Its stems are wiry and creeping; the leaves are evergreen, oval or elliptical,

Clovis

2004-11-15T01:08:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1909) of Curry county, eastern New Mexico, U.S., in the High Plains (4,260 feet [1,298 metres] above sea level) near the Texas state line. It was founded in 1906 as a division point for the Santa Fe Railway. Centre of an irrigated farm and ranch area, it has extensive livestock-auction and cattle-feeding facilities and also markets sugar beets, sorghum, wheat, cotton, vegetables, poultry, and

Calligraphy, Chinese calligraphy

2004-11-13T18:10:00.000-08:00

The earliest known Chinese logographs are engraved on the shoulder bones of large animals and on tortoise shells. For this reason, the script found on these objects is commonly called jiaguwen, or shell-and-bone script. It seems likely that each of the ideographs was carefully composed before it was engraved. Although the figures are not entirely uniform in size,

Manchester, Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl Of, Viscount Mandeville, Baron Kimbolton Of Kimbolton

2004-11-11T21:17:00.000-08:00

Son of the 1st earl, Henry Montagu, he was educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. He sat in Parliament from 1624 to 1626 and in the latter year was raised to the peerage as Baron Kimbolton, but he was known generally by his courtesy title of Viscount Mandeville. At the beginning of the Long Parliament

Tarapacá

2004-11-08T08:03:00.000-08:00

Northernmost region, Chile, bordering Peru and Bolivia on the north and east and fronting the Pacific Ocean on the west. Tarapacá was ceded to Chile by Peru after the War of the Pacific (1879–83) and was organized as a province (area 22,820 sq mi [59,104 sq km]) in 1884, and as a region in 1974. It is divided into the provinces of Arica, Parinacota, and Iquique. Part of the Atacama Desert, it is without water except

Shahpura

2004-11-07T16:35:00.000-08:00

Town, south-central Rajasthan state, northwestern India. It is a major road junction and agricultural mart. A walled town, Shahpura was founded about 1629 and was named after the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who reigned from 1628 to 1658. The town was the seat of the Ramsanehi (“Lovers of Rama”), a medieval sect of mendicants, and was the capital of the former princely state of Shahpura, which became

Vafiades, Markos

2004-11-04T20:27:00.000-08:00

Vafiades worked as a labourer in Istanbul and fled to Greece as a refugee in 1923. He became a communist in his teens and fought with the partisans against the Germans

Hellenistic Romance

2004-11-03T06:47:00.000-08:00

Adventure tale, usually with a quasi-historical setting, in which a virtuous heroine and her valiant lover are separated by innumerable obstacles of human wickedness and natural catastrophe but are finally reunited. A precursor of the modern novel, the Hellenistic romance is the source for classic love stories, such as those of Hero and Leander, Pyramus and Thisbe,

Marsh Marigold

2004-11-01T22:08:00.000-08:00

The stem of a marsh marigold is hollow, and the leaves are kidney-shaped, heart-shaped, or round. The glossy flowers are 2.5 to 5 cm (1 to 2 inches) across and have pink, white, or yellow sepals. Petals are absent. The stems, leaves, and roots

Amazon Rainforest

2004-10-29T07:38:00.000-07:00

Large, tropical rainforest occupying the drainage basin of the Amazon River and its tributaries in northern South America, and covering an area of 2,300,000 square miles (6,000,000 square km). Comprising about 40 percent of Brazil's total area, it is bounded by the Guiana Highlands to the north, the Andes Mountain Ranges to the west, the Brazilian central plateau to the south, and the Atlantic

Chouan

2004-10-27T09:50:00.000-07:00

Member of any of the bands of peasants, chiefly smugglers and dealers in contraband salt, who rose in revolt in the west of France in 1793 and joined the Vendéan royalists (see Vendée, Wars of the). The Breton word chouan, meaning “screech owl,” is supposed to have been applied originally as a nickname to Jean Cottereau (1757–94), leader of the unsuccessful revolt, and afterward extended

Jovellanos, Gaspar Melchor De

2004-10-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

After studying law, Jovellanos was appointed to judicial posts at Sevilla (1767) and Madrid (1778). He gained fame for his literary and scholarly activities and for his personal integrity, but from 1790 to 1797, after unsuccessfully intervening

Ayllón, Lucas Vázquez De

2004-10-24T23:19:00.000-07:00

Going to the West Indies in 1502, he became a judge in the colonial administration of Hispaniola (Santo Domingo). In 1520 he went to Mexico to mediate the dispute between the Spanish commanders Hernán Cortés and Diego Velázquez. An expedition sent by him under

Chi-hsi

2004-10-21T21:16:00.000-07:00

Pinyin Jixi, city in southeastern Heilungkiang Province (sheng), China. Located on the upper Mu-leng Ho (river), it is in a mountainous area rich in timber and in various minerals, including coal, iron, oil shale, graphite, fluorite, and limestone. Chi-hsi is, however, predominantly a coal-mining city, with some of the largest and best equipped coal mines in China. The coal is of high quality

Mies Van Der Rohe, Ludwig

2004-10-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

Original name Maria Ludwig Michael Mies German-born American architect whose rectilinear forms, crafted in elegant simplicity, epitomized the International Style (q.v.) of architecture.

Devequt

2004-10-18T22:33:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Devekut (Hebrew: “attachment”), in Jewish religious thought, an adherence to or communion with God that stops short of mystical union. The notion of devequt apparently derived from the biblical reference to “loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him” (Deuteronomy 11:22). As a fundamental concept of the Jewish mystical system called the Kabbala, devequt was

Uniti, Compagnia Degli

2004-10-15T10:35:00.000-07:00

Documents

Bourne, Francis

2004-10-13T10:30:00.000-07:00

Educated at St. Sulpice, Paris, and Louvain University, Bourne was ordained in 1884 and was appointed (1889) rector of St. John's Seminary, Wonersh, Surrey. In 1895 he became a monsignor