RoughSchool

Sortition

2005-04-05T03:43:00.000-07:00

Election by lot, a method of choosing public officials in some ancient Greek city-states. It was used especially in the Athenian democracy, from which most information about the practice is derived. With few exceptions, all magistrates were chosen by lot, beginning with the archons in 487–486 BC; likewise the Boule (council) of 500 and the juries of the law courts were chosen by lot.

Trifid Nebula

2005-04-04T08:19:00.000-07:00

(catalog numbers NGC 6514 and M 20), bright, diffuse nebula in the constellation Sagittarius, lying several thousand light-years from the Earth. It was discovered by the French astronomer Legentil de La Galaisière before 1750 and named by the English astronomer Sir John Herschel for the three dark rifts that seem to divide the nebula and join at its centre. Of about the ninth magnitude

Talence

2005-04-03T19:00:00.000-07:00

Town, Gironde département, Aquitaine région, southern suburb of Bordeaux, southwestern France. It is a centre for jet-aircraft production and has light industry and wine making. An extension of Bordeaux University (now Bordeaux University I), with housing for 30,000 students, was erected there in the 1960s and has since become a major educational and research centre. Pop. (1990) 36,172.

Dumka

2005-04-02T16:53:00.000-08:00

Also called Naga Dumka town, east-central Bihar state, northeastern India, east of the Mor River. It is a road junction and major agricultural-trade centre. A weekly cattle mart is held. There is a college affiliated with Bhagalpur University. Dumka was constituted a municipality in 1903. Pop. (1981) 31,068.

Weltschmerz

2005-04-02T00:36:00.000-08:00

(German: “world grief”), the prevailing mood of melancholy and pessimism associated with the poets of the Romantic era that arose from their refusal or inability to adjust to those realities of the world that they saw as destructive of their right to subjectivity and personal freedom—a phenomenon thought to typify Romanticism. The word was coined by Jean Paul in his

Natural Bridges National Monument

2005-04-01T11:50:00.000-08:00

The largest bridge, Sipapu, rises 220 feet

Mannar Island

2005-03-31T23:33:00.000-08:00

Dry, barren island that lies at the eastern end of Adam's Bridge, a chain of shoals off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. Mannar Island has an area of about 50 square miles (130 square km). Fishing is economically important. The small port of Mannar is on the southeastern shore. Pop. (1990 est.) 132,000.

Esquipulas

2005-03-31T01:23:00.000-08:00

Town, southeastern Guatemala, in the central highlands near the borders of Honduras and El Salvador at an elevation of 3,018 feet (920 m). The town itself is not large; it derives its great importance from its magnificent colonial church, now Central America's greatest pilgrimage centre, built in 1737 by the archbishop of Guatemala to house the spectacular Black Christ. The figure,

Radio-frequency Heating

2005-03-30T03:35:00.000-08:00

Process of heating materials through the application of radio waves of high frequency—i.e., above 70,000 hertz (cycles per second). Two methods of radio-frequency heating have been developed. One of these, induction heating, has proved highly effective for heating metals and other materials that are relatively good electric conductors. The other method, called dielectric

Interior Design, Windows and doors

2005-03-29T04:36:00.000-08:00

Windows and doors in contemporary design are not placed as decorative elements or as parts of symmetrical compositions but are primarily considered as functional elements and are expressed as such. If windows are carefully designed and placed for light, for ventilation, for air, and for view, decorative treatment is often unnecessary and a simple device such

China, The Ch'in state

2005-03-29T03:30:00.000-08:00

The history of the Ch'in dynasty may be traced back to the 8th century BC. When the Chou royal house was reestablished at the eastern capital in 770 BC, the Ch'in ruling house, according to the Ch'in historical record, was entrusted with the mission of maintaining order in the previous capital. This may be an exaggeration of the importance of the Ch'in ruling house, and the Ch'in may

Goniophora

2005-03-28T08:37:00.000-08:00

Extinct genus of clams found in Silurian to Devonian rocks (the Silurian Period began 438 million years ago and lasted about 30 million years; it was followed by the Devonian, which lasted some 48 million years). Goniophora is characterized by a distinctive shell that is sharply angular. A prominent ridge extends the length of the shell; from it the shell flanks taper away. Fine

Black Hole

2005-03-27T05:25:00.000-08:00

Cosmic body of extremely intense gravity from which nothing, not even light, can escape. A black hole can be formed by the death of a massive star. When such a star has exhausted its internal thermonuclear fuels at the end of its life, it becomes unstable and gravitationally collapses inward upon itself. The crushing weight of constituent matter falling in from all

Apollo Theater

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

The Apollo was the central theatre on Harlem's main commercial street, and its position reflects its central role in Harlem's culture. Designed by New York architect George Keister, the building was leased by Jules Hurtig

Aidoo, Ama Ata

2005-03-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

Aidoo began to write seriously while an honours student at the University of Ghana (B.A., 1964). She won early recognition with a problem play, The Dilemma of a Ghost (1965), in which a Ghanaian student returning

Kwando River

2005-03-26T17:04:00.000-08:00

Portuguese Rio Cuando, river in southern Africa, rising in central Angola and flowing southeast, forming for nearly 140 miles (225 km) the boundary between Angola and Zambia. Near the end of its course the Kwando reaches the northern boundary of the Caprivi Strip, which juts out from Namibia, and thereafter the river spreads into the Linyanti Marshes, covering about 550 square miles (1,425 square km) and including

Janmastami

2005-03-26T04:37:00.000-08:00

The occasion is observed with particular

Balaguer, Victor

2005-03-24T15:01:00.000-08:00

Balaguer was a precocious youth; his first dramatic essay, Pépin el Jorobado; o, el hijo de Carlomagno (1838; “Pippin the Hunchbacked; or, The Son of Charlemagne”), was staged in Barcelona when he was 14. At 19 he was publicly “crowned” after the production of his second play, Don Enrique el Dadivoso (1843; “Don Henry

Acajutla

2005-03-23T22:33:00.000-08:00

Pacific seaport, southwestern El Salvador. Spanish conquistadores defeated the Indians there in 1524, and it subsequently flourished as a colonial port. The old town has been rebuilt inland in order to make room for new port facilities. Acajutla is El Salvador's principal port and handles a large portion of its coffee exports and shipments of sugar and balsam (a resin

Yalta

2005-03-23T14:03:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Jalta, city, Crimea, southern Ukraine. It faces the Black Sea on the southern shore of the Crimean Peninsula. Settlement on the site dates from prehistoric times, but modern Yalta developed only in the early 19th century, becoming a town in 1838. Its favourable climate with mild winters and its scenic location between sea and mountains make Yalta one of the most popular holiday and

'abd-us-samad, Khwaja

2005-03-22T06:27:00.000-08:00

'Abd-us-Samad was born into a family of good social standing in Iran, and he had already gained a reputation as a calligrapher

Social Protection, Asylum and Refugees.

2005-03-21T08:24:00.000-08:00

The distinction between voluntary and forced migration was sometimes difficult to discern. With the number of people on the move far outstripping the capacity of existing legal channels for migration—despite a ready market for labour—people who were not in need of protection sometimes used the asylum system. Although the public perception that governments

Dispersion

2005-03-21T03:04:00.000-08:00

The two disciplines most intimately intertwined with the study of dispersion are systematics and evolution. Systematics is concerned with the relationships between organisms and includes the classification of life into ordered groups, providing the

Bon, Cape

2005-03-19T19:15:00.000-08:00

Arabic Ra's At-tib, peninsula of northeastern Tunisia, 20 miles (32 km) wide and protruding 50 miles (80 km) into the Mediterranean Sea between the Gulf of Tunis and Khalij (gulf) al-Hammamat (Hammamet). Cape Bon was the site of the surrender of more than 250,000 Germans and Italians to the Allies in 1943. A region of hills and fertile plains, with a Mediterranean climate and adequate rainfall, it is noted for its irrigated

Brattain, Walter H.

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

In full Walter Houser Brattain American scientist who, along with John Bardeen and William B. Shockley, won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1956 for his investigation of the properties of semiconductors—materials of which transistors are made—and for the development of the transistor. The transistor replaced the bulkier vacuum tube for many uses and was the forerunner

Mun River

2005-03-19T16:18:00.000-08:00

Thai Mae Nam Mun main river system of the Khorat Plateau, in eastern Thailand. The Mun rises in the San Kamphaeng Range northeast of Bangkok and flows east for 418 miles (673 km), receiving the Chi River, its main tributary, and entering the Mekong River at the Laotian border. Nakhon Ratchasima and Ubon Ratchathani are the chief towns on its banks. The river is seasonally navigable below Ubon

Los Angeles

2005-03-19T03:46:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Los Angeles county, southern California, U.S. A semitropical metropolis of palm trees and swimming pools, television studios and aerospace factories, Los Angeles has become the second most populous city and metropolitan area (after New York) in the United States. The city sprawls across a broad coastal plain agreeably situated between the San Gabriel

Palace

2005-03-18T08:43:00.000-08:00

After the Middle Ages the ornate homes of the nobility of all ranks in England, France,

Umuahia

2005-03-18T04:20:00.000-08:00

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

Arts, Central Asian, Decorative arts

2005-03-17T14:24:00.000-08:00

In the main temple (fo-khang) of Lhasa there is a pre-Buddhist silver jug with a long neck surmounted by a horse's head; and there are textual references to all kinds of articles made of gold: a large golden goose holding seven gallons of wine, a wine vase, a miniature city decorated with gold lions, and golden bowls. Gold animals are mentioned as decorating the camp of King

Eijkman, Christiaan

2005-03-16T09:52:00.000-08:00

Eijkman received a medical degree from the University of Amsterdam (1883) and served as a medical officer in the Dutch East

Ile-ife

2005-03-16T05:29:00.000-08:00

Also called Ife, or Ife-lodun, town, Osun state, southwestern Nigeria. The town lies at the intersection of roads from Ibadan (40 miles [64 km] west), Ilesha, and Ondo. It is one of the larger centres and probably the oldest town of the Yoruba people. Considered by the Yoruba to be a holy city and the legendary birthplace of mankind, it was held to have been founded by a son of the deity Oduduwa and was certainly the

Asylum

2005-03-16T04:15:00.000-08:00

In international law, the protection granted by a state to a foreign citizen against his own state. The person for whom asylum is established has no legal right to demand it, while the sheltering state, which has the legal right to grant asylum, is under no obligation to give it. Asylum is thus a right of the state, not of the individual. The right of asylum falls into three

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

2005-03-15T15:38:00.000-08:00

American symphony orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1895 by the all-female board of trustees of the Cincinnati Orchestra Association, headed by Helen Herron Taft, wife of future U.S. president William Howard Taft. The fifth oldest symphony orchestra in the United States, the Cincinnati Symphony maintains a year-round performing schedule, including

Vendée, Wars Of The

2005-03-14T15:38:00.000-08:00

(1793–96), counterrevolutionary insurrections in the west of France during the French Revolution. The first and most important occurred in 1793 in the area known as the Vendée, which included large sections of the départements of Loire-Inférieure (Loire-Atlantique), Maine-et-Loire, Deux-Sèvres, and the Vendée proper. In this fervently religious and economically backward region,

Baden Powell

2005-03-14T14:30:00.000-08:00

Brazilian guitarist and composer (b. Aug. 6, 1937, Varre-e-Sai, Braz.—d. Sept. 26, 2000, Rio de Janeiro, Braz.), helped popularize the bossa nova (“new trend”), a romantic, sensual style of the 1950s and '60s that was created from a fusion of the samba, a Brazilian dance music, and cool jazz. He came from a musical family, and his father, who was a troop leader, named his son for Robert S.S. Baden-Powell, the British founder

Venosa

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

Latin Venusia, town and episcopal see, Potenza provincia, Basilicata regione, southern Italy. It is situated on the lower slope of Mount Vulcano, north of Potenza. Originally a settlement of the Lucanians (an ancient Italic tribe), it was taken by the Romans after the Samnite Wars (291 BC); from its position on the Appian Way it became an important Roman garrison town. The poet Horace was born

Brazil, Minerals

2005-03-13T22:18:00.000-08:00

Brazil contains extremely rich mineral reserves that are only partly exploited, including iron ore, tin, copper, pyrochlore (from which ferroniobium is derived), and bauxite. There are also significant amounts of granite, manganese, asbestos, gold, gemstones, quartz, tantalum, and kaolin (china clay). Most industrial minerals are concentrated in Minas Gerais and

Waiau River

2005-03-12T20:05:00.000-08:00

Formerly Waiau-ua, or Dillon, river in eastern South Island, New Zealand. It rises in the Spenser Mountains and flows south and east for 105 miles (169 km) to enter the Pacific Ocean, 6 miles (10 km) northeast of Cheviot. Its generally hilly drainage basin, 1,270 square miles (3,290 square km) in area, borders the Canterbury Plains to the south. Towns in the river's valley, including Waiau and Parnassus, are market centres for the

Earth Sciences, Geologic sciences

2005-03-12T08:02:00.000-08:00

The development of the geologic sciences in the 20th century has been influenced by two major “revolutions.” The first involves dramatic technological advances that have resulted in vastly improved instrumentation, the prime examples being the many types of highly sophisticated computerized devices. The second is centred on the development of the plate tectonics

Arabian Desert, Climate

2005-03-11T23:35:00.000-08:00

The Arabian Desert spreads across 22° of latitude, from the 12th to the 34th parallel north; although much of the desert lies north of the Tropic of Cancer, it usually is considered a tropical desert. Summer heat is intense, reaching temperatures as high as 129 °F (54 °C) in places. In the interior the heat is dry. Coastal regions and some highlands, however, are subject to high summer humidity,

Uinta Mountains

2005-03-11T11:07:00.000-08:00

Segment of the south-central Rocky Mountains, extending eastward for more than 100 miles (160 km) from the Wasatch Range across northeastern Utah and slightly into southwestern Wyoming, U.S. Many of the range's summits exceed 13,000 feet (4,000 m), including Kings Peak (13,528 feet [4,123 m]), the highest point in Utah. The mountains are a headstream region for the Provo, Bear, and Duchesne rivers and include

Essex

2005-03-10T22:54:00.000-08:00

County, northeastern New York state, U.S. It comprises a mountainous region bounded by the Ausable River to the northeast, Vermont to the east (Lake Champlain constituting the border), Lake George to the southeast, and the Hudson River to the southwest. Other waterways include the Cold, Chubb, Bouquet, and Boreas rivers and Schroon and Paradox lakes; Lake Tear of the Clouds

Earth, Variation with latitude

2005-03-10T04:42:00.000-08:00

Even if the Earth were of uniform density or uniformly stratified in layers of constant density, gravity at sea level would increase from the Equator to the poles because of the combined effects of the planet's rotation and spheroidal shape. The effect of rotation arises from the fact that any body on the Earth experiences a centripetal acceleration given by rw2, where

Hippolytus Of Rome, Saint

2005-03-10T02:47:00.000-08:00

Hippolytus was a leader of the Roman church during the pontificate (c. 199–217) of St. Zephyrinus, whom he attacked as being a modalist (one who conceives that the entire Trinity dwells in Christ and who maintains that the names Father and Son are only different designations

Bar Form

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

In music, the structural pattern aab as used by the medieval German minnesingers and meistersingers, who were poet-composers of secular monophonic songs (i.e., those having a single line of melody). The modern term Bar form derives from a medieval verse form, the Bar, consisting of three stanzas, each having the form aab. The musical term thus refers to the melody of a single

Kirkcaldy

2005-03-09T10:59:00.000-08:00

First developed by Dunfermline Abbey nearby, Kirkcaldy was a flourishing port during the later Middle Ages. It was designated a royal burgh in 1450, and the royal charter was confirmed by King Charles II in 1662. In the course of the 16th century it became an important

Beach Grass

2005-03-07T19:46:00.000-08:00

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

Rabab

2005-03-07T17:04:00.000-08:00

The rabab has a membrane belly and, commonly, two or three strings. There is normally no fingerboard,

Polar Anticyclone

2005-03-07T08:23:00.000-08:00

Polar anticyclones are created by the cooling

Margaret Maultasch

2005-03-07T04:18:00.000-08:00

The daughter of Henry, duke of Carinthia and count of Tirol, Margaret was married to the nine-year-old John Henry

Absaroka Range

2005-03-06T01:17:00.000-08:00

Mountain segment of the northern Rocky Mountains, in northwestern Wyoming and southern Montana, U.S. Extending in a northwest-southeast direction, the range is 170 miles (270 km) long and 50 miles wide. A large plateau, the result of volcanic action, was uplifted in the area, and stream and glacial erosion have produced spectacular features. Eight summits exceed 12,000 feet (3,700 m), including

Fyrd

2005-03-05T13:18:00.000-08:00

Tribal militia-like arrangement existing in Anglo-Saxon England from approximately AD 605. Local in character, it imposed military service upon every able-bodied free male. It was probably the duty of the ealderman, or sheriff, to call out and lead the fyrd. Fines imposed for neglecting the fyrd varied with the status of the individual, landholders receiving the heaviest

Aaron

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

The traditional founder and head of the Jewish priesthood, who, with his brother Moses, led the Israelites out of Egypt. The figure of Aaron as it is now found in the Pentateuch is built up from several sources of traditions. In the Talmud and Midrash he is seen as the leading personality at the side of Moses. He has appeared in different roles in Christian

Silicic Acid

2005-03-04T13:09:00.000-08:00

A compound of silicon, oxygen, and hydrogen, regarded as the parent substance from which is derived a large family—the silicates—of minerals, salts, and esters. The acid itself, having the formula Si(OH)4, can be prepared only as an unstable solution in water; its molecules readily condense with one another to form water and polymeric chains, rings, sheets, or three-dimensional

Mercer, Johnny

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

Educated in Virginia, Mercer arrived in New York City in the late 1920s and acted in bit parts until his collaboration with Everett Miller on “Out of Breath and Scared to Death of You” was accepted for the revue Garrick

Ercker, Lazarus

2005-03-03T03:34:00.000-08:00

Ercker studied at the University of Wittenberg (1547–48) and in 1554 was appointed assayer at Dresden, the first of many such positions he held in the state bureaucracy of Saxony. After 1567 he became control tester of coins at Kutná Hora, near Prague. In his great work, Beschreibung

Sarasota

2005-03-02T03:02:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1921) of Sarasota county, west-central Florida, U.S. It lies along Sarasota Bay (an arm of the Gulf of Mexico), about 60 miles (95 km) south of Tampa. Sarasota, variously spelled Sara Zota, Sarazota, and Sarasote, appeared on maps in the 1700s, but the origin of the place-name is uncertain; one explanation is that it may have been derived from a Spanish term meaning “a place of dancing.” The

Electronic Music, Tape music

2005-03-01T06:10:00.000-08:00

With tape music the history of electronic music in the narrower sense begins. This history seems split into three main periods: an early (by now classical) period lasting from the commercial introduction of the tape recorder immediately following World War II until about 1960; a second period that featured the introduction of electronic music synthesizers and the

Dahomey

2005-02-28T03:14:00.000-08:00

Kingdom in western Africa that flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries in the region that is now southern Benin. According to tradition, at the beginning of the 17th century three brothers vied for the kingdom of Allada, which, like neighbouring Whydah (now Ouidah), had grown rich on the slave trade. When one of the brothers won control of Allada, the other two fled. One went southeast

Yohannes Iv

2005-02-28T03:05:00.000-08:00

Superior weaponry allowed Yohannes, a dejazmatch (earl) of Tigray in northern Ethiopia, to fight his way to the Ethiopian throne on January

Diorite

2005-02-27T04:16:00.000-08:00

Medium- to coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock that commonly is composed of about two-thirds plagioclase feldspar and one-third dark-coloured minerals, such as hornblende or biotite. The presence of sodium-rich feldspar, oligoclase or andesine, in contrast to calcium-rich plagioclase, labradorite or bytownite, is the main distinction between diorite and gabbro

Indianista Novel

2005-02-26T04:29:00.000-08:00

Brazilian literary genre of the 19th century that idealizes the simple life of the South American Indian. The tone of the Indianista novel is one of languid nostalgia and saudade, a brooding melancholy and reverence for nature characteristic of Portuguese and Brazilian literature. The Indian had appeared as a fictional character in Brazilian literature from

Jesus Christ, First-century Judaism

2005-02-26T00:52:00.000-08:00

The standard account of all aspects of 1st-century Judaism, though it is weak on the Jewish religion, is Emil Schürer, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C.– A.D. 135), trans. from German, rev. and ed. by Geza Vermes and Fergus Millar, 3 vol. in 4 (1973–87). E.P. Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief, 63 BCE–66 CE (1992, reprinted with corrections 1994), provides a good overview of the Jewish religion in the 1st century. Geza Vermes, An Introduction to the Complete Dead Sea Scrolls, rev. ed. (2000), is a good study of the collection at Qumran. Yigael Yadin (ed.), The Temple Scroll, 3 vol. in 4 (1977–83; originally published in Hebrew, 1977), is a valuable study of the longest and most important scroll from Qumran.

Silicon

2005-02-25T14:22:00.000-08:00

Silicon was first isolated and described as an element in 1824 by Jöns Jacob Berzelius, a Swedish chemist. Silicon does not occur uncombined in nature; but

Scandinavian Literature, The classical period in Iceland

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

The best known Icelandic literature belongs to the classical period, roughly equivalent to the early and medieval periods in western European literature. Icelandic manuscripts yield much knowledge of European myth and legend, which is in part common to all Germanic peoples. Stories of the Norse gods and myths—of Odin, god of war; Balder the Beautiful; Thor, god of

Palamedes

2005-02-24T17:37:00.000-08:00

In Greek legend, the son of Nauplius, king of Euboea, and a hero of the Trojan War. Palamedes is a prominent figure in post-Homeric legends about the siege of Troy. Before the war he exposed the trickery of Odysseus, who had feigned madness to avoid military service; by placing the infant Telemachus in the path of Odysseus' plow in the field, he forced that king to admit his

Black Powder

2005-02-24T08:07:00.000-08:00

First type of explosive mixture invented for use in firearms and for blasting (see gunpowder).

Music

2005-02-22T06:29:00.000-08:00

Fabricius Luscinus, Gaius

2005-02-22T01:57:00.000-08:00

Originally from Aletrium in Latium, Fabricius settled in Rome and c. 285 negotiated a dispute for the Romans with the people of Tarentum. He was consul in 282 and 278 and censor in 275. During the first consulship he rescued Thurii from defeat

Circus, Wild West shows

2005-02-21T13:34:00.000-08:00

Wild West shows, which were sometimes attached to circuses, emphasized displays and events of America's old West. A Wild West show usually presented its exhibition in a large open field surrounded by bleachers protected by a canvas canopy. Typically, such shows featured American Indian ceremonies; cowboys who engaged in broncobusting, roughriding, roping, and sharpshooting;

Apurímac River

2005-02-20T23:11:00.000-08:00

Spanish Río Apurímac, river in southern Peru. Owing to its lengthy Andean tributaries, it is the farthermost source of the Amazon River. Arising at roughly 17,000 feet (5,200 m) from the snowmelts of Mount Mismi in Arequipa departamento, Peru, it flows northwest through the Andes, descending to less than 860 feet (260 m) to join the Urubamba and form the Ucayali River. For most of its 430-mile (700-kilometre) length, it flows

Chan-chiang

2005-02-20T00:21:00.000-08:00

Originally Chan-chiang was a minor fishing port in the area dominated by the city of Hai-k'ang (Lei-chou), some 22 miles (35 km) to the southwest, and at one time harboured a notorious

Wright Flyer Of 1905

2005-02-19T15:56:00.000-08:00

The flyer took to the air for the first time on June 23, 1905, at Huffman Prairie, a pasture located on the streetcar line some 8 miles

Allobroges

2005-02-18T15:33:00.000-08:00

Ancient Celtic tribe living in the northeast of Gallia Narbonensis (i.e., Narbonne Gaul, in the part of southeastern France bounded by the Rhône and Isère rivers) and in the area around Geneva. The Allobroges were first mentioned in history when Hannibal passed through their territory in 218 BC. Later, they were attacked by the Romans and finally conquered (121 BC) at the junction

Arabia

2005-02-18T13:11:00.000-08:00

Arabic Jazirat Al-'Arab (“Island of the Arabs”), peninsular region, together with offshore islands, located in the extreme southwestern corner of Asia. The Arabian Peninsula is bounded by the Red Sea on the west and southwest, the Gulf of Aden on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south and southeast, and the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf (also called the Arabian Gulf) on the northeast. Geographically the peninsula

Wrybill

2005-02-18T02:48:00.000-08:00

Also called Wrybill Plover (Anarhynchus frontalis), New Zealand bird of the plover family, Charadriidae (order Charadriiformes), with the bill curved about 20° to the right. This unique bill configuration is present even in the newly hatched chicks. The wrybill feeds by probing under stones and by sweeping its bill like a scythe in shallow, muddy water. It is about 15 cm (6 inches) long, gray above and white

Margaret Of Valois

2005-02-16T18:33:00.000-08:00

The daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de Médicis, she played a secondary part in the Wars of Religion (1562–98) from the moment she took her place at court in 1569. Her relations with her brothers Charles IX

Steiger, Niklaus Friedrich Von

2005-02-15T18:17:00.000-08:00

From a Bernese patrician family, Steiger was dispatched to Halle in Germany and Utrecht, Neth., for his education, eventually returning to Bern in 1754. Thereafter, he held several minor

Qatar

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

A monarchy (emirate) on the Arabian Peninsula, Qatar occupies a desert peninsula and the nearby small Hawar Islands (also claimed by Bahrain) on the west coast of the Persian Gulf. Area (including Hawar Islands): 11,427 sq km (4,412 sq mi). Pop. (1995 est.): 579,000. Cap.: Doha. Monetary unit: Qatar riyal, with (Oct. 6, 1995) an official rate of 3.64 riyals to U.S. $1 (5.76 riyals = £1 sterling). Emirs and prime ministers in 1995, Sheikh Khalifah ibn

Sankaran Nair, Sir Chettur

2005-02-14T19:19:00.000-08:00

Sankaran Nair

Powers, Francis Gary

2005-02-14T13:03:00.000-08:00

Powers was tried and convicted of espionage and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was released

Chafee, Zechariah, Jr.

2005-02-14T11:10:00.000-08:00

From 1916 until he retired 40 years later, Chafee was a professor

Redjedef

2005-02-12T13:54:00.000-08:00

Also called Djedefre , Horus name Kheper third king of the 4th dynasty (c. 2575–c. 2465 BC) of Egypt. Redjedef was a son of Khufu (Cheops), builder of the Great Pyramid, by a secondary queen. The original crown prince, Kawab, who had married the heiress Hetepheres II, apparently predeceased his father. At Khufu's death, Redjedef married Hetepheres II and became king; but since he came from a secondary branch of the royal family, he probably

Priapea

2005-02-12T10:51:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Priapeia poems in honour of the the god of fertility Priapus. Although there are ancient Greek poems addressed to him, the name Priapea is mainly applied to a collection of 85 or 86 short Latin poems composed in various metres and dealing with the fertility god who, with his sickle, protected gardens and vineyards against thieves and from whose axe-hewn image of figwood or willow

Judo

2005-02-11T20:02:00.000-08:00

During the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga., in July 1996, David Douillet (France) won the over-95-kg championship and Djamel Bouras (France) the 78-kg title (1 kg = 2.2 lb). Kenzo Nakamura (Japan) captured gold in the 71-kg competition, and Tadahiro Nomura (Japan) finished first in the 60-kg class. Other gold medals were awarded to Pawel Nastula of Poland (95-kg), Jeon Ki Young of South Korea (86-kg), and Udo Quellmalz

Aguascalientes

2005-02-11T03:20:00.000-08:00

State, central Mexico. One of the country's smallest states (2,112 square miles [5,471 square km]), it occupies part of the central plateau between 3,300 and 10,000 feet (1,000 and 3,000 metres) above sea level, extending from two spurs of the Sierra Madre eastward and southward to rolling fertile plains. It is well watered and has a mild climate with light rainfall. The name, from the Spanish for “hot waters,” stems

Brumel, Valery

2005-02-10T13:06:00.000-08:00

Brumel was educated at the Central Institute of Physical Culture (Moscow), graduating in 1967; he was made an honoured master of sport of the Soviet Union in 1961 and became a member of the Communist Party in 1964. He set his first world record in 1961 with a jump of 2.23 metres (7 feet

Morristown

2005-02-10T03:49:00.000-08:00

Town, seat (1740) of Morris county, north-central New Jersey, U.S., on the Whippany River, 18 miles (29 km) west of Newark. Founded as West Hanover in 1710, when a forge was established to exploit local iron ore, it was renamed in 1740 for Lewis Morris, then governor of the colony. During the American Revolution the area was the winter quarters of the American army in 1779–80, where more than 10,000 troops camped; the

Graves, Morris

2005-02-09T17:50:00.000-08:00

In full Morris Cole Graves American painter best known for introspective works that present a mystical view of nature. His style was greatly influenced by the three trips he made to East Asia between 1928 and 1930, and, like Mark Tobey, another painter of the Northwest school, Graves had a deep interest in Asian art and religion, including Zen

Plovdiv

2005-02-08T20:29:00.000-08:00

Second largest city of Bulgaria, situated in the south-central part of the country. It lies along the Maritsa River and is situated amid six hills that rise from the Thracian Plain to a height of 400 feet (120 m). Called Pulpudeva in Thracian times, it was renamed Philippopolis in 341 BC after its conquest by Philip II of Macedonia. From AD 46 it was called Trimontium and was the capital of

Mina

2005-02-08T16:32:00.000-08:00

The earliest of all known units of weight, created by the Babylonians and used by the Hittites, Phoenicians, Assyrians, Egyptians, Hebrews, and Greeks. Its weight and relationship to its major subdivisions varied at different times and places in the ancient world. In one surviving form, from the Babylonian period, the mina weighs about 640 grams, while in another it weighs

Marzuq

2005-02-06T19:04:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Murzuk, oasis, southwestern Libya. It lies on the northern edge of the Sahra' Marzuq (“Sea of Sand”). An ancient assembly place for caravans to Lake Chad and the Niger River, it was the traditional capital of the Fezzan province (16th–19th century) and a centre of the Arab slave and arms trade. Once called the “Paris of the Desert,” it was a base for Saharan explorers, including Frederick Hornemann

Korda, Sir Alexander

2005-02-05T01:37:00.000-08:00

Before he was 20 years old he was working as a journalist in Budapest, and in 1914 he started the film periodical Pesti Mozi (“Budapest Cinema”). He made his first film in 1914, and by 1917 he had become the co-owner

Joveyni, 'ata Malek

2005-02-05T00:17:00.000-08:00

Born into a well-known and highly respected family of governors and civil servants,

Cataract

2005-02-04T10:15:00.000-08:00

In medicine, opacity of the crystalline lens of the eye. If the opaque areas are minute, scattered dots (a condition known as blue dot cataract, or punctate cataract) or if only the periphery of the lens is affected (this type, called coronary cataract, is said to affect 25 percent of the population), there may be no appreciable diminution of vision. In instances of cataracts

Alexander Nevsky, Saint

2005-02-03T23:57:00.000-08:00

Russian Aleksandr Nevsky, original name Aleksandr Yaroslavich prince of Novgorod (1236–52) and of Kiev (1246–52) and grand prince of Vladimir (1252–63), who halted the eastward drive of the Germans and Swedes but collaborated with the Mongols in imposing their rule on Russia. By defeating a Swedish invasion force at the confluence of the Rivers

'abd Al-rahman Iii

2005-02-03T06:06:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile, 'Abd al-Rahman also had to check threats from the Christian north. The main danger came from the kingdom of Leon. An expedition commanded by Ordoño II, then vassal king of Galicia and later king of Leon, into Muslim territory in the summer of 913, especially his sack of Evora (Talavera) and the massacre of its Muslim population, produced widespread resentment in Muslim

Ear, Human

2005-02-03T03:19:00.000-08:00

The human ear, like that of other mammals, contains sense organs that serve two quite different functions: that of hearing and that of postural equilibrium and coordination

China, The air masses

2005-02-02T11:37:00.000-08:00

China lies in Asia, the world's largest continent, and faces the Pacific, the world's largest ocean. Between the Pacific and China's part of Asia, there is a seasonal movement of air masses. The polar continental air mass, originating in Siberia, dominates a large part of China during the winter, while the tropical Pacific air mass exerts its influence during the summer.