TiredSand

Cabochon Cut

2005-03-23T07:36:00.000-08:00

Method of cutting gemstones with a convex, rounded surface that is polished but unfaceted. Opaque, asteriated, iridescent, opalescent, or chatoyant stones are usually cut en cabochon. The back of a normal cabochon-cut stone is flat, but it may be hollowed to lighten the colour. Garnet, jasper, bloodstone, moonstone, cat's-eye, and star ruby and sapphire are among the gemstones

World War I, The end of the German War

2005-03-21T17:19:00.000-08:00

Georg von Hertling, who had taken the place of Michaelis as Germany's chancellor in November 1917 but had proved no more capable than he of restraining Ludendorff and Hindenburg, tendered his resignation on Sept. 29, 1918, the day of the Bulgarian armistice and of the major development of the British attack on the Western Front. Pending the appointment of a new chancellor, Ludendorff

Downhill Skiing

2005-03-20T17:48:00.000-08:00

Ski race for speed on an adjusted downhill course that is marked by gates formed by paired poles, set at least 8 metres (26 feet) apart, through which the racer has to pass. Contestants make at least one timed practice run, then compete singly in an order set by previous performance and starting in one-minute intervals. The one who completes the course in the shortest time, without

Valdemar Iv Atterdag

2005-03-18T23:46:00.000-08:00

A son of King Christopher II, Valdemar lived after 1328 at the court of Louis IV the Bavarian, Holy

Anti-comintern Pact

2005-03-15T00:26:00.000-08:00

The treaties were sought by Adolf Hitler, who at the time was publicly inveighing against Bolshevism and who was interested in Japan's

Biblical Literature, The Babylonian Exile and the restoration

2005-03-11T11:15:00.000-08:00

The Babylonian Exile (586–538) marks an epochal dividing point in Old Testament history, standing between what were subsequently to be designated the pre-exilic and post-exilic eras. The Judahite community in Babylonia was, on the whole, more Yahwist in religion than ever, following the Mosaic Law, emphasizing and redefining such distinctive elements as circumcision and

Insurance, Eastern Europe

2005-03-10T13:19:00.000-08:00

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, countries in eastern Europe developed insurance systems of considerable variety, ranging from highly centralized and state-controlled systems to Western-style ones. Because of recent political and economic upheavals in these countries, it seems likely that the trend will be toward decentralized, Western-style

Vieira, António

2005-03-07T08:59:00.000-08:00

Vieira went to Brazil with his parents as a child of six. Educated at the

Aschelminth

2005-03-06T09:56:00.000-08:00

Phylum name Aschelminthes, or Nemathelminthes, phylum of wormlike invertebrates, mostly of microscopic size. The phylum includes five diverse classes: Nematoda (or Nemata), Rotifera, Gastrotricha, Kinorhyncha (or Echinodera), and Nematomorpha. The American zoologist Libbie H. Hyman, in her classic textbooks on the invertebrates, originally included Priapulida as a class of the aschelminths, but Priapulida are

Zeiss, Carl

2005-03-03T20:24:00.000-08:00

In 1846 Zeiss opened a workshop in Jena for producing microscopes and other optical instruments. Realizing that improvements in optical instruments depended on advances in optical theory, he engaged as research

Chancroid

2005-03-01T06:06:00.000-08:00

Acute, localized, chiefly sexually transmitted disease, usually of the genital area, caused by the bacillus Haemophilus ducreyi. It is characterized by the appearance, 3–5 days after exposure, of a painful, shallow ulcer at the site of infection. Such an ulcer is termed a soft chancre, as opposed to a hard chancre, which is the characteristic lesion of the primary stage of

Dubois, Eugène

2005-02-28T18:15:00.000-08:00

Appointed lecturer in anatomy at the University of Amsterdam (1886), Dubois investigated the comparative anatomy of the larynx in vertebrates but became increasingly interested in human evolution. In 1887 he went to the East Indies

Manchuria

2005-02-25T21:34:00.000-08:00

Prior to the 17th century, the history of Manchuria was shaped by three converging ethnic groups: the Chinese, the people collectively known as the Tungus, and the Mongols and Proto-Mongols. The Tungus (from which several groups emerged) were forest and plain dwellers who had a mixed economy of primitive agriculture, fishing, hunting, and livestock breeding. Those in Manchuria

Bolivia, Ethnic and linguistic groups

2005-02-23T19:16:00.000-08:00

The population of Bolivia consists of three groups—Indians (the indigenous peoples), mestizos (of mixed Indian and European descent), and whites of European (mainly Spanish) descent. After centuries of intermixing, it is difficult to determine the proportion of each, but it is estimated that Indians form nearly three-fifths of the total, mestizos nearly one-third, and

Ibadan

2005-02-21T01:05:00.000-08:00

Ibadan's beginnings are shrouded in mystery; they were recorded only in oral tradition. It is said that the earliest group of settlers at Ibadan were fugitives from justice who were expelled from nearby villages.

France, History Of, Republican factions

2005-02-20T17:14:00.000-08:00

With the republican regime apparently safe from outside attack, rival factions developed among the republicans. During the 1880s the labels Radical and Opportunist began to be attached to the two wings of the republican movement. On the left, the Radicals saw themselves as heirs to the Jacobin tradition: they stood for a strong centralized regime, intransigent anticlericalism,

Parks, Rosa

2005-02-17T11:25:00.000-08:00

Parks attended Alabama State College (now Alabama State University) and made her living as a seamstress. In 1943 she became

Eckstine, Billy

2005-02-15T08:52:00.000-08:00

Eckstine left Howard University after winning an amateur contest in 1933 and began singing in nightclubs and with xance bands. From 1939 to 1943 he sang with Earl Hines's band, and at his urging Hines hired

Anouk Aimée

2005-02-13T22:18:00.000-08:00

The daughter of an actor and actress, Anouk Aimée made her first film appearance at the age of 14 in La Maison sous la mer (1946; “The House on the Sea”). After making an impression as a Juliet figure in the 1948 film Les Amants de Vérone (The Lovers of Verona), a role written especially for

Qodashim

2005-02-11T08:56:00.000-08:00

(Hebrew: “Holy Things”), the fifth of the six major divisions, or orders (sedarim), of the Mishna (codification of Jewish oral laws), which was given its final form early in the 3rd century AD by Judah ha-Nasi. Qodashim deals primarily with rites and sacrifices that took place in the Temple of Jerusalem, which was destroyed in AD 70 by Roman legions and never rebuilt. The 11 tractates (treatises)

Hertz, Gustav

2005-02-09T03:29:00.000-08:00

A nephew of the noted physicist Heinrich Hertz, he studied

'abbas I

2005-02-08T11:11:00.000-08:00

L.L. Bellan, Chah 'Abbas I: sa vie, son histoire (1932), the only biography of Shah 'Abbas I in any European language—generally accurate; R.M. Savory, “ 'Abbas I” in the Encyclopaedia of Islam, new ed., vol. 1, pp. 7–8 (1960); for general background to the period of Shah 'Abbas, the reader is referred to: J. Chardin, Voyages du Chevalier Chardin, 4th ed., 4 vol. (1811); Sir John Malcom, The History of Persia from the Early Period to the Present Time, 2 vol. (1815); and V. Minorsky, Tadhkirat al-Muluk (1943), especially the introduction, commentary, and appendixes.

Asturias

2005-02-06T21:44:00.000-08:00

Asturias was an independent Christian kingdom between 718 and 910 and was formed by Visigothic nobles and officials

Sikhism, Sectarian differences

2005-02-03T00:21:00.000-08:00

The first dissenters from the mainstream of Sikhism—known as the Udasis—were followers of Nanak's elder son, Sri Chand. The order inclined toward asceticism and later furnished priests (mahants) for gurdwaras. They were ousted from control by the SGPC in 1925. Followers of Ram Rai, who was passed over by his father, Har Rai (seventh Guru), in favour of a younger son, Hari Krishen (eighth Guru), broke

Hines, Gregory

2005-02-01T22:46:00.000-08:00

By the age of four, Hines and his older brother Maurice were taking tap lessons with renowned dancer and choreographer Henry Le Tang. The brothers soon formed the Hines Kids, a song-and-dance

Luria, Isaac Ben Solomon

2005-01-31T05:13:00.000-08:00

Luria's youth was spent in Egypt, where he became versed in rabbinic studies, engaged in commerce, and eventually concentrated on study of the Zohar, the central work of Kabbala. In 1570 he went to Safed in Galilee, where

Ear, Human, Function of the muscles of the middle ear

2005-01-29T23:23:00.000-08:00

The muscles of the middle ear, the tensor tympani and the stapedius, can influence the transmission of sound by the ossicular chain. Contraction of the tensor tympani pulls the handle of the malleus inward and, as the name of the muscle suggests, tenses the tympanic membrane. Contraction of the stapedius pulls the stapes footplate outward from the oval window and

Biblical Literature, The Catholic Letters

2005-01-27T07:30:00.000-08:00

As the history of the New Testament canon shows, the seven so-called Catholic Letters (i.e., James, I and II Peter, I, II, and III John, and Jude) were among the last of the literature to be settled on before the agreement of East and West in 367. During the 2nd and 3rd centuries, only I John and I Peter were universally recognized and, even after acceptance of all seven, their varying positions

Wolfe, James

2005-01-24T19:17:00.000-08:00

The elder son of Lieutenant General Edward Wolfe, he was commissioned in the Royal Marines in 1741 but transferred almost immediately to the 12th Foot. Wolfe was on active service continuously until

Francis I

2005-01-22T00:57:00.000-08:00

The son of Ferdinand I and Maria Carolina, Francis at first inclined toward liberalism. After the introduction of the constitution of 1812, which provided for a bicameral government along British lines, he was appointed vicario, or regent, of Naples. Francis sympathized with the Carbonari uprising of 1820; he opposed the decision

Karakoram Highway

2005-01-21T03:15:00.000-08:00

The highway was a joint Pakistani and Chinese project and required

Saramacca

2005-01-19T16:21:00.000-08:00

Creole language, based on English, spoken by Bush Negroes in the Guianas. See Sranantonga.

Timur Ruby

2005-01-16T18:00:00.000-08:00

Jewel that is in fact not a ruby but one of the world's largest polished red magnesia spinels (see ruby spinel). The unfaceted, 361-carat stone is set in the imperial state crown of England. It is inscribed with the names and dates of six of its owners. The earliest is Shah Jahangir, 1612, and the latest is Ahmad Shah Durrani, 1754.

Kwakiutl

2005-01-15T11:26:00.000-08:00

Indians of the northwest Pacific coast of North America. The Kwakiutl live in British Columbia, Canada, along the shores of the waterways between Vancouver Island and the mainland opposite. They speak one of three major dialects: Haisla, spoken on the Gardner Canal and Douglas Channel; Heiltsuq, spoken from Gardner Canal to Rivers Inlet; and southern Kwakiutl, spoken

Rimsky-korsakov, Nikolay

2005-01-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

In full Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov Russian composer, teacher, and editor who was at his best in descriptive orchestrations suggesting a mood or a place.

Plainview

2005-01-10T15:56:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1888) of Hale county, northwestern Texas, U.S. It lies on the Llano Estacado, a portion of the High Plains between Amarillo and Lubbock (40 miles [65 km] south). The site was surveyed in 1887 by Z.T. Maxwell and E.L. Lowe, who named it Plainview because of the unbroken view to the horizon. The settlement remained a trading post for cattlemen until the railroad arrived in 1907, when it was incorporated

Cattaraugus

2005-01-08T19:57:00.000-08:00

County, southwestern New York state, U.S., consisting of a ruggedly hilly region bounded by Cattaraugus Creek to the north and Pennsylvania to the south. It is drained by the Allegheny River and Ischua and Great Valley creeks. Surrounding Allegheny Reservoir are Allegany Indian Reservation and Allegany State Park, both of which are the largest of their kind in the

Wolsey, Thomas, Cardinal

2005-01-06T23:37:00.000-08:00

The son of a butcher of Ipswich, Wolsey was educated at the University of Oxford. In 1498 he was ordained

Hohenlohe-ingelfingen, Friedrich Ludwig, Fürst Zu

2005-01-05T17:38:00.000-08:00

Hohenlohe entered the Prussian Army in 1768, distinguishing himself in the War

Duralumin

2005-01-02T04:14:00.000-08:00

Strong, hard, lightweight alloy of aluminum, widely used in aircraft construction, discovered and patented in 1910 by Alfred Wilm, a German metallurgist; it was originally made only at Düren in Germany. The original composition has been varied for particular applications; it may contain about 3 or 4 percent copper, 1/2 to 1 percent manganese, 1/2 to 1 1/2 percent magnesium, and, in some formulations,

Craiova

2004-12-31T22:07:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Dolj judet (county), southwestern Romania. It is situated near the Jiu River, 115 miles (185 km) west of Bucharest. Settlement there is of long standing. Close to the city archaeologists have discovered the remains of a Roman fortress built under Trajan. From the late 15th to the 18th century Craiova was the residence of the military governors of the region. The city prospered

Ames, Aldrich

2004-12-29T01:31:00.000-08:00

The son of a CIA analyst, Ames attended the University of Chicago for two years before becoming a CIA trainee in 1962; he also attended George Washington

Marghilon

2004-12-28T04:09:00.000-08:00

Formerly Margilan, city, eastern Uzbekistan. It lies 19 miles (30 km) north of Fergana. Originally known as Marginan, it probably dates back to the 2nd–1st century BC, when one branch of the great Silk Road to the Orient ran through the Fergana Valley. It was an important commercial town in the 10th–12th century AD, and one of the largest cities in the valley in the 16th century. It formed part of the khanate of Kokand

Aichinger, Ilse

2004-12-25T08:14:00.000-08:00

Aichinger's education was interrupted by World War II when, because she was half Jewish, she was refused entrance to medical school. Although she eventually did begin

Earth, Joints

2004-12-23T04:30:00.000-08:00

Joints have a variety of causes. They may be produced during the cooling of an igneous rock. Such joints are called primary joints, and all others are secondary

Wage And Salary

2004-12-21T18:09:00.000-08:00

Karl Marx accepted Ricardo's labour theory of value, but he subscribed to a subsistence theory of wages for a different reason than that given by the classical economists. In Marx's mind, it was not the pressure of population that drove wages to the subsistence level but rather the existence of a large army of unemployed, which he blamed on the capitalists. He stated

Frederick Iv

2004-12-19T17:54:00.000-08:00

Frederick's father died in October 1583, when the young elector came under the guardianship of his uncle John Casimir, an ardent Calvinist. In January 1592, on the death of John Casimir, Frederick undertook the government of the Palatinate and continued his uncle's

Fargo, William George

2004-12-17T02:59:00.000-08:00

Fargo began his long association with Henry Wells (q.v.) when he served as an agent for Livingston, Wells, and Pomeroy's Express in 1843. The following year, together with Wells and Daniel Dunning, he founded Wells and Company, the first express company to operate west of Buffalo,

Aurora

2004-12-16T00:06:00.000-08:00

City, Adams, Arapahoe, and Douglas counties, north-central Colorado, U.S. An eastern suburb of Denver, Aurora was the third most populous city in Colorado at the start of the 21st century and, occupying 280 square miles (725 square km), the state's largest city in area. Founded during the silver boom of 1891 and named Fletcher after its Canadian-born founder, Donald Fletcher, it flourished

Basaltes Ware

2004-12-13T01:29:00.000-08:00

The fine-grained basaltes stoneware reflected Wedgwood's Neoclassicism:

Colette, Saint

2004-12-12T08:51:00.000-08:00

The daughter of a carpenter at the monastery of Corbie, she was orphaned at 17 and entered the third order of St. Francis, living in a hermitage given her by the abbot of Corbie. In a vision, St. Francis directed Colette to restore the Poor Clares

Cygnaeus, Uno

2004-12-09T10:26:00.000-08:00

Graduating from the gymnasium (secondary school) at Tavastehus in 1827, Cygnaeus attended the University of Helsingfors, becoming Filosofie Magister there in 1836. He then spent two years as assistant pastor and prison chaplain at Viborg, simultaneously teaching in a private

World War I, The Western Front, JanuaryMay 1917

2004-12-08T22:55:00.000-08:00

The western Allies had good reason to be profoundly dissatisfied with the poor results of their enterprises of 1916, and this dissatisfaction was signalized by two major changes made at the end of the year. In Great Britain, the government of H.H. Asquith, already turned into a coalition in May 1915, was replaced in December 1916 by a coalition under David Lloyd George; and that same

Tobol River

2004-12-06T23:33:00.000-08:00

Kazak Tobyl river, left-bank tributary of the Irtysh (Ertis) River, flowing through northern Kazakstan into southern Russia. After rising in the low mountains of the Torghay Plateau, it flows northeast across the West Siberian Plain past the cities of Qostanay (Kazakstan) and Kurgan (Russia) before entering the Irtysh River at Tobolsk after a course of 989 miles (1,591 km). Its main tributaries

Tapestry, Eastern Asia

2004-12-03T01:02:00.000-08:00

Called k'o-ssu (cut silk), tapestry has long been produced in China, traditionally being made entirely of silk; Chinese tapestries are extremely fine in texture and light in weight. The weave is finished perfectly on both sides so that the tapestries are reversible. The warps are vertical in relation to the pattern, rather than horizontal as in European weaving. Sometimes

Appalachian Orogenic Belt

2004-12-01T09:36:00.000-08:00

An old mountain range that extends for more than 3,000 km (1,860 miles) along the eastern margin of North America from Alabama in the southern United States to Newfoundland, Canada, in the north. The geosynclinal theory of mountain building was first worked out in the Appalachians by James Dana and James Hall in the late 19th century; today a plate tectonic theory is invoked. The earliest

Carnivore, Importance to humans

2004-11-30T11:57:00.000-08:00

The raccoon is the only procyonid of major economic significance. Raccoon hunting has been a sport of substantial importance in the United States, and in some parts of the United States many people own dogs trained to hunt raccoons. The coatimundi also is hunted with dogs and its flesh is also eaten. Meat of the raccoon is in more demand as food than that of any other

Chia-ching

2004-11-27T10:20:00.000-08:00

Notoriously cruel, Chia-ching caused hundreds of officials who had the temerity to disagree with him to be tortured, demoted, or killed. He spent much of his time and money, especially in his later

Mental Disorder, Major affective disorders

2004-11-26T21:26:00.000-08:00

The DSM-III defines two major, or severe, affective disorders: bipolar disorder and major depression. A person with bipolar disorder, which has traditionally been called manic-depressive psychosis, typically experiences discrete episodes of depression and then of mania lasting for a few weeks or months, with intervening periods of complete normality. The sequence

Madison

2004-11-23T21:29:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Lake county, southeastern South Dakota, U.S. It began in 1873 as a trading post for gold-seeking pioneers and was named Madison because its interlake setting resembled that of Madison, Wis. It was relocated 4 miles (6 km) west to its present site when it merged with Herman Village. Dakota State University was founded there in 1881 as General Beadle State Teachers College.

Tacna

2004-11-21T02:13:00.000-08:00

Capital of Tacna departamento, southern Peru, on the Caplina River at 1,844 feet (562 m) above sea level, in the arid Andean foothills. When the Spaniards arrived at the site in the 16th century, it was occupied by Aymara Indians. Later, the Spanish town of San Pedro de Tacna was founded, and the surrounding fertile soil and cool climate, as well as proximity to the Pacific port of Arica,

Bytom

2004-11-19T00:50:00.000-08:00

German Beuthen, city, Katowice województwo (province), southwestern Poland. It is one of the oldest and largest industrial cities in the Upper Silesia coal region. Bytom's origins were in the 11th century under the rule of King Boleslaw I the Brave. In the 12th century, lead and silver mines provided its earliest economic base. The town was held by Silesia in the 12th century, and for several centuries

26th Of July Movement

2004-11-17T19:03:00.000-08:00

Spanish Movimiento 26 De Julio revolutionary movement led by Fidel Castro that overthrew the regime of Fulgencio Batista in Cuba (1959). Its name commemorated an attack on the Santiago army barracks on July 26, 1953. The movement began formally in 1955 when Castro went to Mexico to form a disciplined guerrilla force. The leaders of the movement remaining in Cuba to carry out sabotage and political activities were

France, History Of, Alienation and coups

2004-11-13T19:41:00.000-08:00

After the Fructidor coup of 1797 the Directory imprudently resumed the republic's assault on the Roman Catholic religion. Besides prohibiting the outward signs of Catholicism such as the ringing of church bells or the display of crosses, the government revived the Revolutionary calendar. Instituted in 1793, the new calendar featured a 10-day week called the décade, designed

Judo

2004-11-11T04:03:00.000-08:00

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

Dan Patch

2004-11-10T19:53:00.000-08:00

(foaled 1896), American harness racehorse (Standardbred), a nearly legendary horse in his time, who established in 1905 a world pacing record of 1:55 1/4 that endured for 33 years. (In 1906 he paced a mile in 1:55 flat—Billy Direct's record-breaking time in 1938—but this feat was not officially recognized.) He paced a mile in 2 minutes or less on 30 occasions, a world record that was not surpassed until the 1960s (by Bret

Oranges, War Of The

2004-11-07T17:26:00.000-08:00

In April 1801, French troops arrived in Portugal, and on May 20 they were bolstered by Spanish troops under the

Allen, Paula Gunn

2004-11-06T14:23:00.000-08:00

Allen's father was Lebanese American, and her mother was part Laguna-Sioux. She left college to marry, divorced in 1962, and returned for further education. She studied English literature (B.A., 1966) and creative writing (M.F.A., 1968) at the University

Blaby

2004-11-03T10:59:00.000-08:00

District, county of Leicestershire, south-central England. It covers the southern and western suburbs of the city of Leicester, in an arc around the city boundary from southeast to northwest, and extends southwest across a mostly rural area almost to the county boundary with Warwickshire on the southwest. Blaby district is administered from Narborough. Other important

Chandos (of Sudeley), Grey Brydges, 5th Baron

2004-11-01T21:56:00.000-08:00

Brydges was member of Parliament for Cricklade in 1597–98. Because of his family's friendship with Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, Brydges was imprisoned in 1601 after Essex' unsuccessful revolt against Queen Elizabeth I; he was soon released. He succeeded to the

Heteropteran

2004-10-31T01:28:00.000-08:00

Any member of the insect order Heteroptera, which comprises the so-called true bugs. (Some authorities use the name Hemiptera; others consider both the heteropterans and the homopterans to be suborders of the Hemiptera.) This large group of insects, consisting of about 30,000 species, can be recognized by an X-shaped design on the back, which is formed by the wings at rest. A combination

Murano

2004-10-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

Island, north of Venice, in Veneto region, northeastern Italy, with an area of 1,134 acres (459 hectares) in the Laguna Veneta (Venice Lagoon). It was founded between the 5th and the 7th century, and it experienced its major development after 1291, when glass furnaces were moved there from Venice. Murano became the manufacturing centre for Venetian glass, exported in large quantities to

Udayanacarya

2004-10-27T07:38:00.000-07:00

Of the two schools, the old Nyaya system was concerned with the critical examination of

Lancet, The

2004-10-25T02:13:00.000-07:00

British medical journal established in 1823. The journal's founder and first editor was Thomas Wakley, considered at the time to be a radical reformer. Wakley stated the intent of the new journal was to report on the metropolitan hospital lectures and to describe the important cases of the day. The Lancet has since played an important role in medical and hospital reform

Sano

2004-10-23T23:14:00.000-07:00

City, Tochigi ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, on the Watarase River, a tributary of the Ione River. Sano is surrounded by low hills and occupies a plain, a plateau, and alluvial lowlands. Sano was a castle town during the Middle Ages and a post town and market centre during the Tokugawa era (1603–1867). Industry developed after the late 19th century, and the city now produces concrete, roof

Eyelid

2004-10-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

Movable shield of skin and tissue that protects the eyeball from mechanical injury and helps to provide the moist chamber essential for the normal functioning of the conjunctiva and cornea. The conjunctiva is the mucous membrane that lines the eyelid and covers all the visible portion of the eyeball except the cornea, the transparent part of the eyeball that

Sardinia

2004-10-19T18:01:00.000-07:00

Italian Sardegna island and regione of Italy, second in size only to Sicily among the islands of the western Mediterranean. It lies 120 miles (200 km) west of the mainland of Italy, 7.5 miles (12 km) south of the neighbouring French island of Corsica, and 120 miles (200 km) north of the coast of Africa. The capital is Cagliari.

Alegría, Claribel

2004-10-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

Poet, essayist, and journalist who was a major voice in the literature of contemporary Central America. Noted for her testimonio (testament) concerning the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua, she was best known in the United States for the bilingual edition of her volume of poetry, Flores del volcán/Flowers from the Volcano (1982), translated by the

Santa Rosa De Cabal

2004-10-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

City, Risaralda department, west central Colombia, on the western slopes of the Andean Cordillera (mountains) Central. It is a commercial and manufacturing centre for the fertile agricultural and pastoral hinterland. Silkworms are raised in the vicinity, and there are silver, gold, and mercury mines nearby. The city is on a highway and railroad linking Pereira, the

Parallel

2004-10-13T13:47:00.000-07:00

Imaginary line extending around the Earth parallel to the equator; it is used to indicate latitude. The 38th parallel, for example, has a latitude of 38° N or 38° S. See latitude and longitude.

Epi

2004-10-10T19:06:00.000-07:00

Formerly Tasiko, or Volcano, island of Vanuatu, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Volcanic in origin, it is 27 mi (43 km) long and 11 mi wide, with an area of 171 sq mi (444 sq km), and rises to 2,733 ft (833 m). Although it is fertile, Epi's copra plantations are deteriorating. There is a Presbyterian hospital at Vaémali, on the north coast. Pop. (1979 prelim.) 2,304.

Tibet, Administration and culture under the Manchu

2004-10-08T18:25:00.000-07:00

Chinese contacts

Hippias Of Elis

2004-10-07T13:55:00.000-07:00

A man of great versatility, with an assurance characteristic of the later Sophists, Hippias lectured on poetry, grammar, history, politics, archaeology, mathematics, and

Tepe Gawra

2004-10-04T17:21:00.000-07:00

Ancient Mesopotamian settlement east of the Tigris River near Nineveh and the modern city of Mosul, northwestern Iraq. It was excavated from 1931 to 1938 by archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania. The site, which apparently was continuously occupied from the Halaf Period (c. 5050–c. 4300 BC) to about the middle of the 2nd millennium BC, gave its name to the Gawra Period (c. 3500–c. 2900) of northern

Gauguin, Paul

2004-10-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

In full Eugène-Henri-Paul Gauguin French painter, printmaker, and sculptor who sought to achieve a “primitive” expression of spiritual and emotional states in his work. The artist, whose work has been categorized as Post-Impressionist, Synthetist, and Symbolist, is particularly well known for his creative

Ipiutak Culture

2004-10-01T05:21:00.000-07:00

Eskimo culture of northwestern Alaska, probably dating from the 2nd to the 6th century AD. A Siberian origin has been suggested, based on similarities in burial practices and ceremonialism, animal carvings and designs, and some use of iron; but evidence is not conclusive. There seem to be links with the Kachemak culture (q.v.) as well as with some areas of southwestern and western

Arabia, History Of, Sabaean and Minaean Kingdoms

2004-09-28T05:51:00.000-07:00

The Greek writer Eratosthenes (3rd century BC) described “Eudaimon Arabia” (i.e., Yemen) as inhabited by four major peoples (ethne), and it is on the basis of his nomenclature for these groups that modern scholars are accustomed to speak of Minaeans, Sabaeans, Qatabanians, and Hadramites. The fourfold categorization does indeed correspond to the linguistic data, but the political

California, Flag Of

2004-09-25T16:27:00.000-07:00

In the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846, which occurred during the Mexican-American War, a group of American settlers in what was then the Mexican-ruled territory of California proclaimed independence and hoisted the original Bear Flag (June 14, 1846). The following month American naval forces seized control of the area, and the flag of the short-lived California Republic was replaced

Fabian Society

2004-09-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

The name of the society is derived from the Roman general Fabius Cunctator, whose patient and elusive tactics in avoiding pitched battles secured his ultimate

Pacific Ocean, Islands

2004-09-20T00:29:00.000-07:00

A geologically important boundary

Latent Image

2004-09-18T09:09:00.000-07:00

According to current theories of latent image formation, small specks of silver atoms (one ten-millionth

Canadian Pacific Ltd.

2004-09-17T00:42:00.000-07:00

Formerly (1881–1971) Canadian Pacific Railway Company, privately owned company that operates one of Canada's two transcontinental railroad systems. The company was established to complete a transcontinental railroad that the government had begun under the agreement by which British Columbia entered the confederation in 1871. The main line from Montreal to Port Moody (a Vancouver suburb) was completed in 1885. Later the company

Aubigné, Théodore-agrippa D'

2004-09-14T11:52:00.000-07:00

Major late 16th-century poet, renowned Huguenot captain, polemicist, and historian of his own times. After studies in Paris, Orléans, Geneva, and Lyon, he joined the Huguenot forces and served throughout the Wars of Religion on the battlefield and in the council chamber. He was écuyer (“master of horse”) to Henry of Navarre. After Henry's accession to

Western Literature

2004-09-12T09:51:00.000-07:00

Diverse as they are, European literatures, like European languages, are parts of a common heritage. Greek, Latin, Germanic, Baltic and Slavic, Celtic, and Romance languages

Paleoanthropology

2004-09-11T20:22:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Palaeoanthropology, also called Human Paleontology, interdisciplinary branch of anthropology concerned with the origins and development of early humans. Fossils are assessed by the techniques of physical anthropology, comparative anatomy, and the theory of evolution. Artifacts, such as bone and stone tools, are identified and their significance for the physical and mental development of early humans interpreted

Claude, Georges

2004-09-08T22:40:00.000-07:00

In 1897 Claude discovered that acetylene gas could be transported safely by dissolving it in acetone. His method was generally adopted and brought a wide expansion to the acetylene industry. Independently

Philip I

2004-09-07T05:27:00.000-07:00

Philip was the elder son of Henry I of France by his second wife, Anne of Kiev.

Arab League

2004-09-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

Also called League Of Arab States (LAS) , Arabic Al-Jami'a Al-'Arabiyah, or Al-Jami'a Ad-Duwal Al-'Arabiyah, regional organization of Arab states in the Middle East, formed in Cairo on March 22, 1945. The founding member states were Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Transjordan (now Jordan), Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Other members are Libya (1953); The Sudan (1956); Tunisia and Morocco (1958); Kuwait (1961); Algeria (1962); Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (1971); Mauritania (1973); Somalia (1974); the Palestine Liberation Organization

Amorphous Solid, Magnetic glasses

2004-09-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

The last entry in the Table is an application of metallic glasses having magnetic properties. These are typically iron-rich amorphous solids with compositions such as Fe0.8B0.2 iron-boron and Fe0.8B0.1Si0.1 iron-boron-silicon. They are readily formed as long metallic glass ribbons by melt spinning or as wide sheets by planar flow casting. Ferromagnetic glasses are mechanically

Biblical Literature, The canon

2004-08-31T22:21:00.000-07:00

The term canon, from a Hebrew-Greek word meaning a cane or measuring rod, passed into Christian usage as a norm or a rule of faith. The Church Fathers of the 4th century CE first employed it in reference to the definitive, authoritative nature of the body of sacred Scripture.