ClearWindow

Flood, Curt

2005-04-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

Flood began playing baseball as a youth and was signed in 1956 by the National League Cincinnati Reds. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1958 and played

Portsmouth

2005-04-03T06:23:00.000-07:00

City, Rockingham county, southeastern New Hampshire, U.S., across the Piscataqua River from Kittery, Maine, on the Atlantic coast. It is New Hampshire's oldest settlement, second oldest city, first capital, and only seaport. In 1623 a fishing settlement was built at the river's mouth. First called Piscataqua and then Strawbery Banke, it became a bustling colonial port. The town,

Paracas

2005-04-01T04:28:00.000-08:00

Culture centred on the peninsula of the same name, located in present-day southern Peru in the vicinity of Ica, during the Early Horizon and the Early Intermediate periods (c. 900 BC–AD 400). The Paracas culture's earlier phase, called Paracas Cavernas, is related to the Chavín culture (c. 1000–400 BC). The pottery of the period is not well-fired and was sometimes painted after firing. The Paracas cultures

Avicenna

2005-03-29T05:04:00.000-08:00

Arabic Ibn Sina, in full Abu 'Ali al-Husayn ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Sina Iranian physician, the most famous and influential of the philosopher-scientists of Islam. He was particularly noted for his contributions in the fields of Aristotelian philosophy and medicine. He composed the Kitab ash-shifa' (“Book of Healing”), a vast philosophical and scientific encyclopaedia, and the Canon of Medicine, which is among the most

Switzerland, Visual arts

2005-03-27T16:03:00.000-08:00

The Protestantism of 16th-century Switzerland had a strongly inhibiting effect on Swiss painting and sculpture in general. The peculiar lack of either French or Italian Renaissance influence left Swiss artists in a limbo from which they began to emerge only in modern times. Artists of international renown have included Alberto Giacometti, who derived much of

Chrismation

2005-03-26T06:43:00.000-08:00

(from Greek chriein, “to anoint”), in Eastern Christianity, sacrament that, together with baptism, introduces new members into the church. It is the Eastern equivalent of confirmation in the West. A priest anoints the forehead, eyes, nostrils, mouth, ears, breast, hands, and feet of the newly baptized with chrism (myron), a mixture of olive oil and balsam blessed by a bishop, and

Intendente

2005-03-23T05:13:00.000-08:00

Royal official appointed by the 18th-century kings of the Bourbon dynasty in Spain. Modeled after the French intendants, the intendentes were to serve as instruments of royal centralization and administrative reform but were frequently resisted as conflicting with local privileges. In the Spanish colonies the system was imposed in Cuba (1765) after the brief British

Díaz De Solís, Juan

2005-03-23T03:58:00.000-08:00

Solís had made a voyage to the Americas in 1508, before being commissioned to lead an expedition to an area 1,700 leagues (about 5,000 miles) south of the Isthmus of Panama and beyond. He led three vessels from Sanlúcar de Barrameda,

Trabzon

2005-03-22T02:05:00.000-08:00

Also called Trebizond , historically Trapezus city, capital of Trabzon il (province), northeastern Turkey. It lies on a wide bay on the southeastern shore of the Black Sea backed by high ranges of the Pontic Mountains, which separate it from the central Anatolian Plateau. The heart of the city is on a triangle of tableland between two deep ravines, with remains of an ancient Roman-built harbour at its base. At its southern

Baba-yaga

2005-03-21T00:42:00.000-08:00

Also called Baba-jaga, in Russian folklore, an ogress who steals, cooks, and eats her victims, usually children. A guardian of the fountains of the water of life, she lives with two or three sisters (all known as Baba-Yaga) in a forest hut which spins continually on birds' legs; her fence is topped with human skulls. Baba-Yaga can ride through the air—in an iron kettle or in a mortar that she drives with

N'djamena

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

Formerly Fort-lamy, capital of Chad, on the southwestern border, adjacent to Cameroon. It lies on the east bank of the Chari (Shari) River at its confluence with the Logone River in an alluvial plain that is flooded during the rainy season (July–September). The city was founded in 1900 across the Chari River from Fort-Fureau (Kousseri), where French colonial troops defeated and killed the Sudanese

Cultural Revolution

2005-03-19T07:58:00.000-08:00

In full Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, Wade-Giles romanization Wu-ch'an Chieh-chi Wen-hua Ta Ke-ming, Pinyin Wuchanjieji Wenhua Dageming, upheaval launched by Chinese Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong during his last decade in power (1966–76) to renew the spirit of the Chinese revolution. Fearing that China would develop along the lines of the Soviet model and concerned about his own place in history, Mao threw China's cities into turmoil in a monumental effort to reverse the historic processes

Priesthood, Buddhism, Taoism, and Shinto in China and Japan

2005-03-17T11:55:00.000-08:00

In the Mahayana Buddhist sects, the monks, and those who are popularly known as bonzes, can hardly be said to exercise definitely sacerdotal functions in the temples, monasteries, and shrines. For the most part these functions have been confined to recitations and invocations, which all of the believers share. In China the Taoist “priesthood” emerged as an organized institution

Wainwright, Jonathan M.

2005-03-17T05:40:00.000-08:00

After he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. (1906), Wainwright joined the cavalry and saw action in Europe during World War I. In September 1940 he was promoted

Academy Award

2005-03-15T20:48:00.000-08:00

In full Academy Award of Merit , byname Oscar any of several awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, located in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., to recognize achievement in the film industry. The award, a gold-plated statuette, is bestowed upon winners in the following 25 categories: best picture, actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, directing, original screenplay,

Clock

2005-03-15T02:49:00.000-08:00

The origin of the all-mechanical escapement clock is unknown; the first such devices may have been invented and used in monasteries to alert the sacristan

Tanzania, Early exploration

2005-03-13T03:57:00.000-08:00

Most of the known history of Tanganyika before the 19th century concerns the coastal area, although the interior has a number of important prehistoric sites, including the Olduvai Gorge. Trading contacts between Arabia and the East African coast existed by the 1st century AD, and there are indications of connections with India. The coastal trading centres were mainly

Nord-du-québec

2005-03-13T01:23:00.000-08:00

English North of Quebec , formerly Nouveau-québec administrative region constituting the northern half of Quebec province, Canada. The name Nouveau-Québec (“New Quebec”) once was used synonymously with Ungava for that part of the Labrador-Ungava peninsula between Hudson Bay and the Labrador Sea, north of the Eastmain and Churchill (Hamilton) rivers, which was, at the time, a part of the Northwest Territories. In 1912, however,

Coronado, Francisco Vázquez De

2005-03-12T15:28:00.000-08:00

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

Ust-kamenogorsk

2005-03-11T14:13:00.000-08:00

Kazak Öskemen city, eastern Kazakstan. It lies in the foothills of the Rudnyy Altai Mountains and at the junction of the Ulba and Irtysh rivers. Founded as a Russian fort in 1720, it later became a centre of trade with Mongolia and China and the gateway to the mineral wealth of the Rudnyy Altai. Ust-Kamenogorsk is now a major centre of nonferrous metallurgy (lead, zinc, titanium, and magnesium)

Ussuriysk

2005-03-10T21:57:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ussurijsk city, Primorsky kray (region), far eastern Russia. It lies about 50 miles (80 km) north of Vladivostok along the Trans-Siberian Railroad at the junction with a line to Harbin in Heilungkiang province, China. Founded as the village of Nikolskoye in 1866, it became a city in 1897 and was renamed Nikolsk-Ussuriysk in 1926, Voroshilov in 1935, and Ussuriysk in 1957. It has food-processing, footwear, clothing,

Pacific Mountain System, Physiography

2005-03-09T18:38:00.000-08:00

The arrangement of the ranges in the system can be visualized as being in the shape of an extremely elongated H with a closed base. From north to south the west side of the H is made up of the ranges of the Queen Charlotte Islands and Vancouver Island, the Olympic Mountains, and the Washington, Oregon, and California Coast Ranges. From north to south the east side of the H

Atatürk, Kemal

2005-03-08T06:59:00.000-08:00

Mustafa Kemal then embarked upon the reform of his country, his goal being to bring it into the 20th century. His instrument was the Republican People's Party, formed on Aug. 9, 1923, to replace the defense-of-rights associations. His program was embodied in the party's “Six Arrows”: republicanism, nationalism, populism, statism (state-owned and state-operated industrialization

Hohhot

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

Wade-Giles romanization Hu-ho-hao-t'e, Pinyin Hohhot, city and (since 1952) provincial capital of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region (tzu-chih-ch'ü), China. The city is a prefecture-level municipality (shih) and the command headquarters of the Inner Mongolian Military Region. It is situated in the upper valley of the Ta-hei Ho (westward-flowing tributary of the Huang Ho [Yellow River], which it joins on the northern side of that

France, History Of, The historical debate

2005-03-06T10:39:00.000-08:00

In broad terms, 18th-century French politics could be defined as the response of the monarchic state to the emergence of the new cultural and economic configurations that had transformed the lives and especially the imaginations of French men and women. The question was whether the Bourbon monarch could rationalize its administration and find a way to adapt itself

Andrew Ii

2005-03-05T01:09:00.000-08:00

The son of Béla III, Andrew succeeded László III, his elder brother's son, on the throne in 1205. Powerful landed interests forced Andrew to spend royal funds so recklessly that the crown

France, History Of, The social order of the ancien régime

2005-03-03T16:11:00.000-08:00

In the society of the ancien

Nigeria

2005-03-03T15:49:00.000-08:00

Officially Federal Republic of Nigeria country located on the coast of western Africa. It has an area of 356,669 square miles (923,768 square km). It is bordered to the north by Niger, the east by Chad and Cameroon, the south by the Gulf of Guinea, and to the west by Benin. Nigeria is not only large in size—it is larger than the U.S. state of Texas—it is also Africa's most populous country. Nigeria has a diverse geography, with climates ranging

Avilés

2005-03-01T17:42:00.000-08:00

City, Asturias provincia and comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”), northwestern Spain. It lies along the Ría (inlet) de Avilés, an inlet of the Bay of Biscay. A summer resort with beaches at nearby Salinas, the city has an iron and steel industry and a fishing fleet, and it exports coal from the Asturias mines. Avilés is rich in medieval architecture, its outstanding

Nicephorus Ii Phocas

2005-03-01T13:49:00.000-08:00

Byzantine emperor (963–969), whose military achievements against the Muslim Arabs contributed to the resurgence of Byzantine power in the 10th century.

Hackensack

2005-02-28T16:47:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1713) of Bergen county, northeastern New Jersey, U.S., on the Hackensack River, just west of the Hudson River and Manhattan Island, New York City. Originally settled by the Dutch in the 1640s, who called it New Barbadoes, it was taken by the English in 1688 but retained its Dutch imprint. In 1921 it was renamed Hackensack, supposedly derived from the Ackinchesacky, or Ackenack, one of

Reforming

2005-02-28T10:30:00.000-08:00

In chemistry, processing technique by which the molecular structure of a hydrocarbon is rearranged to alter its properties. The process is frequently applied to low-quality gasoline stocks to improve their combustion characteristics. Thermal reforming alters the properties of low-grade naphthas by converting the molecules into those of higher octane number

Craigavon

2005-02-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

New town (built after 1966), Craigavon district, Northern Ireland, southwest of Belfast. Craigavon new town was developed under the New Towns Act of 1965 as a commercial, light industrial, and residential centre linking the older towns of Lurgan and Portadown. It was named after James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon, the first prime minister (1921–40) of Northern Ireland. The new town's planning

Ahmad Al-mansur

2005-02-25T23:12:00.000-08:00

Ahmad

Heinrich Von Veldeke

2005-02-23T16:31:00.000-08:00

While at the court of the landgrave Hermann of Thuringia, Heinrich completed the Eneit, modeled on the French Roman d'Eneas rather

Pausanias

2005-02-23T09:46:00.000-08:00

Before visiting Greece, Pausanias had traveled widely in Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Macedonia, Epirus (now in Greece and Albania), and parts of Italy. His Description takes the form of a tour of Greece starting from Attica.

Württemberg

2005-02-22T10:33:00.000-08:00

Former German state, successively a countship, a duchy, a kingdom, and a republic before its partition after World War II. Its territory approximated the central and eastern areas of present-day Baden-Württemberg (q.v.) Land (state), of Germany. For the last period of its separate existence, Württemberg was bounded northeast and east by Bavaria, southeast by Bavaria and

Waimea

2005-02-22T04:52:00.000-08:00

Town, Kauai county, on Waimea Bay, southwestern Kauai Island, Hawaii, U.S. It lies at the mouth of the Waimea River. The canyon valleys of the Waimea (Hawaiian: “Reddish Water”) River and its tributary, the Makaweli River, were once heavily populated, and the town was an early centre of native government. It was there that Captain James Cook, the English navigator-explorer, made

Kuan Han-ch'ing

2005-02-20T10:09:00.000-08:00

Kuan Han-ch'ing, probably a scholar, belonged to a writers' guild that specialized in writing plays for performing groups. Fourteen of his plays (from more than 60 with known titles) have been preserved. Several of them are unquestionably

Württemberg

2005-02-20T06:22:00.000-08:00

Any of 40 tropical species of large shrubs or trees found in the Americas that burn well due to the high resin content of its wood. Sea torchwood (A. elemifera) grows along the coasts of Florida, and balsam torchwood (A. balsamifera) is known especially from Cuba. Incense and aromatic oils are derived from torchwood, and extracts from the Mexican A. plumieri are used in

Petroleum Refining, Aromatics

2005-02-18T10:59:00.000-08:00

The aromatic compounds, produced in the catalytic reforming of naphtha, are major sources of petrochemical products. In the traditional chemical industry, aromatics such as benzene, toluene, and the xylenes were made from coal during the course of carbonization in the production of coke and town gas. Today a much larger volume of these chemicals are made as refinery

Kadare, Ismail

2005-02-17T16:36:00.000-08:00

The son of a post-office worker in the town of Gjirokastër, Kadare studied at the University of Tiranë and later at the Gorky Institute of World Literature in Moscow until 1960. Upon returning to Albania, he became a journalist and also embarked on a literary career. He endured

Conant, James B.

2005-02-16T20:04:00.000-08:00

Conant received his A.B. and Ph.D. (1916) degrees from Harvard and, after spending a year in the research division of the chemical warfare service during World War I, returned to Harvard as instructor

Amitayur-dhyana-sutra

2005-02-15T16:26:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit: “Discourse Concerning Meditation on Amitayus”), one of three texts basic to Pure Land Buddhism. Together with the larger and smaller Sukhavati-vyuha-sutras (Sanskrit: “Description of the Western Paradise Sutras”), this text envisions rebirth in the celestial Pure Land of Amitayus, the Buddha of Infinite Life (virtually identical with Amitabha, “Infinite Light,” called

Allouez, Claude-jean

2005-02-14T00:06:00.000-08:00

Allouez entered the Society of Jesus at Toulouse, was ordained priest in 1655, and sailed for Quebec in 1658. He was stationed at settlements along the St. Lawrence River until his appointment (1663) as vicar general of the Northwest. He

Bharata-natya

2005-02-13T02:07:00.000-08:00

The principal of the main classical dance styles of India, the others being kuchipudi, kathak, kathakali, manipuri, and orissi. It is indigenous to the Tamil Nadu (Madras) region and prevalent in southern India. Bharata-natya serves the expression of Hindu religious themes and devotions, and its techniques and terminology have been traced back to ancient treatises such as

Vaishnavism

2005-02-12T20:35:00.000-08:00

A major characteristic of Vaishnavism is the strong part played by bhakti, or religious devotion. The ultimate goal of the devotee is to escape from the cycle of birth and death so as to enjoy the presence

Printmaking, Lift-ground etching (sugar-lift aquatint)

2005-02-12T03:07:00.000-08:00

In lift-ground etching, a positive image is etched on an aquatint plate by drawing with a water-soluble ground. In the conventional aquatint technique, the artist controls the image by stopping out negative areas with varnish, thus working around the positive image. But for lift-ground etching, he uses a viscous liquid (such as India ink, gamboge, or ordinary poster paint

Paraguay, Climate

2005-02-10T15:50:00.000-08:00

The climate is subtropical in most of eastern Paraguay, which mainly lies south of the Tropic of Capricorn, and tropical in most of the Chaco Boreal extending to its north. Masses of humid air blanket the country in the summers, and the winters are subject to cold southern winds. Summer temperatures between October and March generally range from 77° F to 104° F (25° C to 40° C). Winter temperatures

Pacific Ocean, Exploration in the 20th century

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

Among the most important 20th-century expeditions to the Pacific were those of the American ship Carnegie (1928–29), the Danish vessel Dana II (1928–1930), the Swedish ship Albatross (1947–48), and the Danish ship Galathea (1950–52). In the late 1950s the Soviet vessel Vityaz carried out detailed soundings of the deep trenches of the western Pacific, and in 1960 the American bathyscaphe Trieste descended to the bottom

Min River

2005-02-07T15:57:00.000-08:00

Wade–Giles romanization Min Chiang, Pinyin Min Jiang, river in Fukien sheng (province), China. The Min River and its various tributaries rise in the mountains of the Fukien–Kiangsi border area and flow to the sea across the grain of the southwest to northeast mountain ranges that cross the province; this flowage results in a trellislike drainage pattern, with lateral tributaries following the direction of the valleys.

Freckled Duck

2005-02-07T01:42:00.000-08:00

(Stictonetta naevosa), rare Australian waterfowl, characterized by dark dots scattered over its metallic-gray plumage; in breeding season the drake's bill turns red. The freckled duck is a surface feeder. It lacks alarm calls, courtship display, and demonstrative pair bonds. It may constitute a separate tribe, Stictonettini, family Anatidae (q.v.; order Anseriformes).

Glassware, After the War of 1812

2005-02-06T11:28:00.000-08:00

The few houses that survived the 1790s and the depression after the War of 1812 had multiplied to more than 90 by 1830. For convenience, the glassworks are divided into three geographical groups: New England, the Middle Atlantic, and the Midwest. Until that time, they had produced little more than simple imitations of European glasses, at best interesting and often very handsome combinations

Kórinthos

2005-02-05T19:31:00.000-08:00

English Corinth nomós (department), straddling the junction of southern continental Greece and the Peloponnese. With an area of 884 sq mi (2,289 sq km), it is indented by the Saronic Gulf (southeast) and the Gulf of Corinth (northwest), which are linked via a navigable canal through the Isthmus of Corinth. Ephyra (Watchtower), is the ancient name of the plateau of Corinth, which has been inhabited since

Neal, Patricia

2005-02-04T20:41:00.000-08:00

Neal studied theatre at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and then moved to New York City after landing an understudy assignment for the play The Voice of the

Pyrazole

2005-02-04T03:08:00.000-08:00

The pyrazole compounds are not known to occur in nature; they are usually prepared by the

Nagorno-karabakh

2005-02-02T19:55:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Nagorno-karabach, region of southwestern Azerbaijan. It occupies an area of 1,700 square miles (4,400 square km) on the northeastern flank of the Karabakh Range of the Lesser Caucasus and extends from the crest line of the range to the margin of the Kura River lowland at its foot. Nagorno-Karabakh's environments vary from steppe on the Kura lowland through dense forest of oak, hornbeam, and beech

Colfax

2005-02-01T17:11:00.000-08:00

County, northeastern New Mexico, U.S., bordered on the north by Colorado. Its westernmost section is in the Southern Rocky Mountains and includes the Cimarron range, topped by 12,441-foot (3,782-m) Baldy Peak, and the Sangre de Cristo range, which rises to more than 10,000 feet (3,000 m) and includes the Carson National Forest. Between the two mountain ranges is Eagle Nest Lake, the county's largest body

Durrani

2005-01-31T22:40:00.000-08:00

In the late 18th century the Durrani took up agriculture. Under Ahmad Shah Durrani and Timur Shah, the Durrani constituted the most significant political and

Holabird, William

2005-01-30T13:03:00.000-08:00

U.S. architect who, with his partner, Martin Roche, was a leading exponent of the influential Chicago School of commercial architecture; their Tacoma Building (Chicago, 1886–89) established the use of a total steel skeleton as a framework for building skyscrapers—a significant advance over the pioneering use of metal supports in the

Telescope, X-ray telescopes

2005-01-28T08:55:00.000-08:00

The X-ray telescope is used to examine the shorter-wavelength region of the electromagnetic spectrum adjacent to the ultraviolet region. The design of this type of telescope must be radically different from that of a conventional reflector. Since X-ray photons have so much energy, they would pass right through the mirror of a standard reflector. X rays must be bounced

Sesostris I

2005-01-28T08:46:00.000-08:00

Sesostris became coregent in 1918 BC with his aging father, Amenemhet I, who had founded the 12th dynasty. While his father completed his domestic reforms, Sesostris undertook the conquest of Nubia, to the south of Egypt, and in the year 30 of his father's reign

Harbour Seal

2005-01-26T04:02:00.000-08:00

Also called Common Seal, Hair Seal, or Spotted Seal (Phoca vitulina), nonmigratory, earless seal (family Phocidae) found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The harbour seal is whitish or grayish at birth and as an adult is generally gray with black spots. The adult male may attain a length and weight of about 1.8 m (6 feet) and 130 kg (290 pounds); the female is somewhat smaller. Found along coastlines and in a few freshwater lakes in Canada

Wu Hou

2005-01-26T00:50:00.000-08:00

Wu Hou entered the palace of the T'ang emperor T'ai Tsung as a junior concubine, at the age of 13, in 638. By that time, the T'ang dynasty had recently reunited China, largely through the efforts of the

Creed, Lutheran confessions

2005-01-24T04:50:00.000-08:00

The Augsburg Confession (1530) was the first of these statements, and still remains the most authoritative standard in Lutheran churches. It (as well as the Apology of the Augsburg Confession of 1531) was written by Philipp Melanchthon and approved by Martin Luther, and presents an irenic statement aiming to show that the pope and his allies, not the Reformers, had departed from

Nizhnevartovsk

2005-01-24T01:25:00.000-08:00

City and port, Khanty-Mansi autonomous okrug (district), Tyumen oblast (province), west-central Russia. It lies along the right bank of the Ob River. The city grew rapidly, especially in the 1970s, as a result of the discovery of large oil fields nearby. Along with Surgut, Nizhnevartovsk is a major administrative centre of the middle Ob oil fields. It also has a gas-processing plant.

Appian Way

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

Latin Via Appia, the first and most famous of the ancient Roman roads, running from Rome to Campania and southern Italy. (See Roman road system.) The Appian Way was begun in 312 BC by the censor Appius Claudius Caecus. At first it ran only 132 miles (212 km) from Rome south-southeastward to ancient Capua, in Campania, but by about 244 BC it had been extended another 230 miles (370 km) southeastward to reach the port of Brundisium

Saarinen, Eero

2005-01-22T11:45:00.000-08:00

Finnish-born U.S. architect who was one of the leaders in a trend toward exploration and experiment in American architectural design during the 1950s.

Pan-germanism

2005-01-20T15:27:00.000-08:00

German Pangermanismus or Alldeutschtum movement whose goal was the political unification of all people speaking German or a Germanic language. Some of its adherents favoured the unification of only the German-speaking people of central and eastern Europe and the Low Countries (Dutch and Flemish being regarded as Germanic dialects). The movement had its roots in the desire for German unification stimulated

Aerospace Industry, Product development and testing

2005-01-20T01:52:00.000-08:00

Initiation of the product development process differs between the military and commercial sectors. In the United States the defense services normally provide detailed mission specifications for desired products, against which contractors submit proposals as part of a competitive process. Proposals are reviewed, and one or more development contractors

Francis I

2005-01-19T03:35:00.000-08:00

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

Lebanon, The state of the arts

2005-01-18T21:17:00.000-08:00

Lebanon's antiquities and ruins have provided not only inspiration for artists but also magnificent backdrops for annual music festivals, most notably the Baalbek International Festival. At one time, international opera, ballet, symphony, and drama companies, of nearly all nationalities, competed to enrich the cultural life of Beirut. Lebanon has produced a number

Paraguay, Flag Of

2005-01-17T20:45:00.000-08:00

Isolated from much of the rest of Spanish-dominated South America, Paraguay developed a unique flag design. The earliest known emblem (c. 1812) of local independence was based on the Spanish flag; it had red-yellow-blue stripes with a coat of arms. Later the colour blue was used in two quite different flags—one of equal horizontal stripes of blue and yellow, the other a plain

Allegany

2005-01-17T18:36:00.000-08:00

County, western Maryland, U.S. It consists of an irregular neck of land between Pennsylvania to the north and West Virginia to the south (the North Branch Potomac River constituting the border with West Virginia). The county rests on part of the Allegheny Plateau and includes Rocky Gap State Park, Green Ridge State Forest, and the scenic gorge of Cumberland Narrows (1,000 feet

Robertsport

2005-01-15T22:40:00.000-08:00

Robertsport

Fajardo

2005-01-14T07:03:00.000-08:00

Town, eastern Puerto Rico, on the Fajardo River lowlands. Founded in 1772, it was the scene of fighting during the Spanish–American War (1898). Its principal manufactures are cigars, furniture, and metal and electronic components. It is linked by railway to San Juan and lies about 2 miles (3 km) from its port, Playa de Fajardo, which exports sugar. The town is a tourist centre. The University

Cooper, Gary

2005-01-12T10:05:00.000-08:00

The son of a Montana Supreme Court justice, Cooper left Grinnell College, Iowa, in 1924 and went to Hollywood, where he earned a living

Fish, Hamilton

2005-01-11T08:52:00.000-08:00

A lawyer involved in New York Whig politics, Fish served in the U.S. Senate from 1851 to 1857, when he transferred his allegiance to the newly formed Republican Party. During the American Civil War (1861–65) he became chairman

Binder

2005-01-10T17:55:00.000-08:00

Machine for cutting grain and binding it into bundles, once widely used to cut small grain such as wheat. The first patent was issued on a self-tie binder in 1850. The horse-drawn twine binder, first marketed in 1880, remained the chief method of harvesting small grain during the early decades of the 20th century. The mechanical twine knotter was patented in 1892 in the United States. Along

Amadeus Quartet

2005-01-09T14:13:00.000-08:00

English string quartet (1948–87), one of the most durable and highly regarded quartets of Europe. The quartet was formed in 1947, the result of an internment-camp meeting during World War II between three young Austrian refugees—Peter Schidlof, the group's violist; Norbert Brainin, a violinist; and Siegmund Nissel, also a violinist. They were released from the camp with help from Dame

Pietà

2005-01-09T03:11:00.000-08:00

As a theme in Christian art, depiction of the Virgin Mary supporting the body of the dead Christ. Some representations of the Pietà include John the Apostle, Mary Magdalene, and sometimes other figures on either side of the Virgin; but the great majority show only Mary and her Son. The theme, which has no literary source but grew out of the theme of the lamentation

Kerman

2005-01-06T23:40:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kirman, city, provincial capital, and ostan (province), southeastern Iran. The city lies on a sandy plain, 5,738 ft (1,749 m) above sea level, under barren, rocky hills. Surrounded by mountains on the north and east, it has a cool climate and frequent sandstorms in the autumn and spring. The population is mostly Persian-speaking Muslims, with a Zoroastrian minority. Kerman is the largest carpet-exporting

Panofsky, Erwin

2005-01-06T03:56:00.000-08:00

Panofsky studied at the University of Freiburg in Breisgau and was a professor at the University of Hamburg from 1926 to 1933. He first went to the United States in 1931 as visiting

Hull House

2005-01-05T17:48:00.000-08:00

One of the first social settlements in North America. It was founded in Chicago in 1889 when Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr rented an abandoned residence at 800 South Halsted Street that had been built by Charles G. Hull in 1856. Twelve large buildings were added from year to year until Hull House covered half a city block and included a nearby playground and a large camp in

Fisher (of Kilverstone), John Arbuthnot Fisher, 1st Baron

2005-01-04T05:35:00.000-08:00

Fisher entered the navy at age 13. He was a midshipman in the Crimean War and in China (1859–60), where he took part in the capture of Canton. Promoted to captain (1874), he commanded various ships and the gunnery school and took a prominent

Mccormick, Anne Elizabeth O'hare

2005-01-02T07:51:00.000-08:00

McCormick was taken by her parents to the United States in early childhood and attended the academy and college of St. Mary of the Springs

Kingston Upon Hull

2005-01-02T00:48:00.000-08:00

Hull was a medieval wool port that passed from the monks of Meaux Abbey to Edward I, king of England, in 1293. Edward renamed the town Kingston upon

Hugo, Victor (-marie)

2004-12-31T21:42:00.000-08:00

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).

Arzawa

2004-12-31T15:40:00.000-08:00

Ancient kingdom of western or southwestern Anatolia (its exact location is disputed). Although Arzawa was for long periods a rival of the Hittite kingdom, it was occasionally conquered and made a vassal by some of the more powerful Hittite kings, such as Labarnas I (c. 1680–c. 1650 BC). During the period of Hittite decline after the end of the Old Kingdom (c. 1500 BC), Arzawa's power and prominence

Bhanavara

2004-12-29T22:25:00.000-08:00

At first, different

Earthnut

2004-12-29T18:01:00.000-08:00

Also called Pignut, or Hognut (Conopodium majus), European plant of the carrot family (Apiaceae), so called because of its edible tubers. It grows in woods and fields in the British Isles and from Norway, France, Spain, and Portugal to Italy and Corsica. The slender, smooth perennial, growing 750 mm to 1 m (30 to 39 inches) high, has much-divided leaves and small, white flowers in compound umbels. The tubers, reaching 25 mm

Orbigny, Alcide Dessalines D'

2004-12-28T10:37:00.000-08:00

During eight years of travel in South America (1826–34) Orbigny studied the people, natural history, and geology of the continent. He summarized these studies in Voyage dans l'Amérique méridionale, 10 vol., (1834–47; “Journey into South America”) and proceeded to draw up the first comprehensive map of that

Waikato

2004-12-27T14:13:00.000-08:00

Local government region, northern North Island, New Zealand. It includes the mountainous Coromandel Peninsula and adjacent Hauraki Plains in the northeast; the fertile Waikato River valley in the northwest; the hills, limestone crags, and canyons of King Country in the southwest; and much of the island's rugged central volcanic plateau and Lake Taupo, the country's

Biblical Literature, Problems resulting from aural conditioning

2004-12-26T10:05:00.000-08:00

Aural conditioning would result from a mishearing of similar sounding consonants when a text is dictated to the copyist. A negative particle lo', for example, could be confused with the prepositional lo, “to him,” or a guttural het with spirant kaf so that ah “brother” might be written for akh “surely.”

Haberler, Gottfried Von

2004-12-25T20:23:00.000-08:00

Haberler studied economics at the University of Vienna under Friedrich von Wieser and Ludwig von Mises, receiving his doctorate in 1925. After further study in England and the United

Feng Yü-hsiang

2004-12-23T21:58:00.000-08:00

A soldier at the age of 11, Feng was largely self-educated. He rose through the ranks, gathering under his command a highly disciplined body of troops. He urged his men to become Protestants, to engage in social reform, to acquire

Sabellianism

2004-12-23T02:19:00.000-08:00

Christian heresy that was a more developed and less naive form of Modalistic Monarchianism (see Monarchianism); it was propounded by Sabellius (fl. c. 217–c. 220), who was possibly a presbyter in Rome. Little is actually known of his life because the most detailed information about him was contained in the prejudiced reports of his contemporary, Hippolytus, an anti-Monarchian

Atholl, John Murray, 2nd Earl And 1st Marquess Of, Earl Of Tullibardin, Viscount Of Balquhidder, Lord Murray, Balvany, And Gask

2004-12-21T17:30:00.000-08:00

The son of the 1st earl of Atholl in the Murray line, Atholl was the chief supporter of the earl of Glencairn's rising in 1653 but was obliged to surrender a year later to George Monck, the Commonwealth commander in chief in Scotland.

Hirst, Ivan

2004-12-21T06:43:00.000-08:00

British army officer (b. March 1, 1916, Saddleworth, Yorkshire, Eng.—d. March 10, 2000, Marsden, West Yorkshire, Eng.), was credited with resurrecting post-World War II German heavy industry when he retooled Volkswagen's bombed-out factory in Wolfsburg, Ger., convinced the British military to order 20,000 vehicles for local use, and began producing the homely, noisy, little “people's car” that came to

Bara Banki

2004-12-19T15:32:00.000-08:00

The area in which Bara Banki is situated is an alluvial plain that is dotted with jhils, or marshy lakes,