ReadyMouth

Christian, Fletcher

2005-07-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

A member of a family that had moved from the Isle of Man to Cumberland, Eng., Christian had already served some years in the navy when, in 1787, he became master's mate on the Bounty, a discovery ship sailing (Dec. 23, 1787) from Spithead to the South Seas to collect breadfruit

Plumtree

2005-07-27T01:15:00.000-07:00

Town, southwestern Zimbabwe. At the Botswana border, it is the last major Zimbabwean station on the Bulawayo–Cape Town railway and has customs, immigration, and quarantine facilities. Founded in 1897, it serves the Bulalima-Mangwe district as administrative centre. Local industries include grain milling and brickmaking. Pop. (1982) 3,250.

Kayal

2005-07-24T14:05:00.000-07:00

The kayal is related to the longer melodic form known as the dhrupad but has fewer restrictions. It is usually accompanied

Shiga Naoya

2005-07-07T16:50:00.000-07:00

Born into an aristocratic samurai family, Shiga was taken by his parents to live with his paternal grandparents in Tokyo in 1885. In his youth he was influenced by the Christian educator Uchimura Kanzo, but Christianity

Aerospace Industry, Product development and testing

2005-07-05T20:55:00.000-07:00

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

Backbone Mountain

2005-06-28T21:20:00.000-07:00

Highest point in Maryland, U.S., reaching an elevation of 3,360 feet (1,024 metres). It is located on a ridge of the Allegheny and Appalachian mountains, located in Garrett county 12 miles (19 km) south of Oakland. The ridge is 35 miles (56 km) long and extends southwestward into Preston and Tucker counties of West Virginia.

Eguren, José María

2005-06-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

His first book of poetry, Simbólicas (1911; “Symbolisms”), signaled a break with the Modernismo tradition, while still maintaining contacts with the Romantic and early French Symbolist poets who had influenced the Modernist movement. Eguren's often fantastic creations reflect his

Nagy, Ferenc

2005-06-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

A member of a Protestant peasant family and a farmer by profession, Nagy began his public career as a local agrarian politician in the Baranya province of Hungary. He helped organize the Smallholders' Party, representing

Nguyen Tri Phuong

2005-05-31T17:50:00.000-07:00

The son of a provincial administrator, Nguyen Tri Phuong entered the military service and distinguished himself by repelling the Siamese invasion

Annelid, Size range and diversity of structure

2005-05-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

The length of annelids varies from a fraction of an inch to more than six metres (about 20 feet). The width may exceed 2.5 centimetres (about one inch) in the contracted state. Free-moving polychaetes and earthworms include the largest species. Leeches attain lengths of about 0.4 metre in the contracted state.

Aesthetics, The aesthetic recipient

2005-05-15T06:25:00.000-07:00

Whichever approach we take, however, there is an all-important question upon the answer to which the course of aesthetics depends: the question of the recipient. Only beings of a certain kind have aesthetic interests and aesthetic experience, produce and appreciate art, employ such concepts as those of beauty, expression, and form. What is it that gives these beings

Glinka, Mikhail

2005-03-15T07:35:00.000-08:00

Glinka first became interested in music at age 10 or 11, when he heard his uncle's private orchestra. He studied at the Chief Pedagogic Institute at St. Petersburg

New Glasgow

2005-03-14T10:12:00.000-08:00

Town, Pictou county, northern Nova Scotia, Canada. It lies along the East River, 104 miles (167 km) northeast of Halifax. Founded in 1809, following the discovery of local coal deposits in 1798, it was named by William Fraser, a Scot, who surveyed the site and envisaged another Glasgow on the Clyde (the East River). It developed as a shipbuilding port and as a service centre for a farming and coal-mining

Mason, James Murray

2005-03-12T18:27:00.000-08:00

Although raised a Tidewater aristocrat, Mason graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and, after studying law at the College of William and Mary, set up his practice in the Virginia back country. He served in

Irish Sea

2005-03-10T23:33:00.000-08:00

Irish �Muir �ireann� arm of the North Atlantic Ocean that separates Ireland from Great Britain. The Irish Sea is bounded by Scotland on the north, England on the east, Wales on the south, and Ireland on the west. The sea is connected with the Atlantic by the North Channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland and by St. George's Channel between the southeastern tip of Ireland and southwestern

Utopia Planitia

2005-03-09T15:42:00.000-08:00

Northern lava plain on the planet Mars that was selected as the landing site of the U.S. Viking 2 planetary probe. Photographs transmitted from the Viking 2 lander, which touched down at 47.97� N, 225.74� W, on September 3, 1976, depicted a boulder-strewn plain that superficially resembles the Viking 1 landing site in Chryse Planitia. Soil-sample analyses conducted by the landers show that the

Strabismus

2005-03-08T13:53:00.000-08:00

Also called �squint�, or �heterotropia� failure of the eyes to align properly on the object toward which a person seeks to direct his gaze. The deviant eye may be directed inward, toward the other eye (cross-eye, or esotropia); outward, away from the other eye (walleye, or exotropia); upward (hypertropia); or downward (hypotropia). The squint is called comitant if the deviation remains constant no matter in what direction

Galilee, Sea Of

2005-03-06T23:29:00.000-08:00

Also called �Lake Tiberias, �Arabic �Buhayrat Tabariya, �Hebrew �Yam Kinneret, � lake in Israel through which the Jordan River flows. From 1948 to 1967 it was bordered immediately to the northeast by the cease-fire line with Syria. It is famous for its biblical associations. Located 686 feet (209 m) below sea level, it has a surface area of 64 square miles (166 square km). The sea's maximum depth, which occurs in the northeast, is 157 feet (48 m). Measuring 13 miles (21 km) from north to south and 7 miles

Draft Riot Of 1863

2005-03-05T01:59:00.000-08:00

Major four-day eruption of violence in New York City resulting from deep worker discontent with the inequities of conscription during the U.S. Civil War. Although labouring people in general supported the Northern war effort, they had no voice in Republican policy and occasionally deserted from the army or refused reenlistment. Because of their low wages, often

Baracoa

2005-03-04T05:09:00.000-08:00

In December 1492 Christopher Columbus stopped at what is now

Music, Orchestras.

2005-03-03T18:27:00.000-08:00

For all the long-standing predictions of the imminent demise of the symphony, at least three major essays in the form had high-profile premieres: Alfred Schnittke's Sixth (by the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, D.C., on tour in Moscow), Witold Lutoslawski's Fourth (by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with the composer conducting), and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Third

Chungking, Transportation

2005-03-02T01:18:00.000-08:00

Chungking is served by two great rivers, the Yangtze and the Chia-ling, and is the leading port of southwestern China. As a result of extensive work carried

Visconti, Matteo I

2005-03-01T14:32:00.000-08:00

Installed as captain of the people in 1287 with the help of his great-uncle Ottone Visconti, archbishop of Milan, Matteo succeeded in extending his six-month term to five years and in being several times reelected. In 1294 the German king Adolf of Nassau

Ust-ilimsk

2005-02-28T13:09:00.000-08:00

City and administrative centre of Ust-Ilimsk rayon (sector), Irkutsk oblast (province), south-central Russia. It became a city in 1973 in connection with the building of the nearby Ust-Ilimsk dam and hydroelectric-power station on the Angara River. A huge timber-processing complex was constructed there in the early 1980s. Pop. (1994 est.) 111,100.

San Bernardino

2005-02-27T14:21:00.000-08:00

Central city of the San Bernardino - Riverside - Ontario metropolitan complex, seat (1853) of San Bernardino County, southern California, U.S., at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains. The site, which was named by Spanish missionaries for St. Bernardino of Siena, was sold to Mormons who laid out a town in 1852. It developed as a trade centre chiefly for the surrounding citrus groves

Baseball

2005-02-26T07:03:00.000-08:00

The Yankees advanced to the World Series by defeating the Boston Red Sox 4 games to 1 in the American League Championship Series (ALCS). In the opener at New York, after being down 3 - 0, the Yankees rallied and won it 4 - 3 on Bernie Williams's leadoff home run in the 10th. The next day the Yankees again prevailed, this time by 3 - 2. Game three at Boston's Fenway Park was a much-awaited pitching

Waitemata Harbour

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

Harbour in northern North Island, New Zealand. The focal point of the Auckland region, it opens into Hauraki Gulf (east) through Stanley Bay. Its shore has many lesser embayments, containing Island, Soldiers, and Onetaunga bays in the northwest, Herne Bay in the southeast, and Stanley and Freemans bays in the east. Several tidal rivers, including Henderson and Whau creeks,

Qayrawan, Al-

2005-02-24T00:40:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Qairouan, or Kairouan, � town, north-central Tunisia. The town, one of the holy cities of Islam, lies on the Low Steppes, a semiarid alluvial plain southeast of the Central Tell. Founded in 670 on the site of the Byzantine fortress of Kamouinia, it served as the camp from which the offensive was launched that resulted in the Islamic political and religious subjugation of the Maghrib (northwest Africa).

Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand

2005-02-23T13:49:00.000-08:00

Gandhi was the youngest child of his father's fourth wife. His father, Karamchand Gandhi, who was the dewan (chief

Cachoeiro De Itapemirim

2005-02-22T10:16:00.000-08:00

City, southern Esp�rito Santo estado (�state�), eastern Brazil. It lies along the Itapemirim River, at 95 feet (29 m) above sea level and about 30 miles (48 km) inland from the Atlantic coast. It was given city status in 1889. Cachoeiro de Itapemirim is a manufacturing centre and serves a livestock-raising region. It lies on the main highway and railroad linking Vit�ria, the state capital (70 miles

Leningrad, Siege Of

2005-02-21T18:33:00.000-08:00

After Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, German armies by early September had approached Leningrad from the west and south while their Finnish allies approached to the north down the

Pierce, John Robinson

2005-02-20T11:57:00.000-08:00

Pierce began working for Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc., New York City, in 1936. He improved the traveling-wave tube, which is used as a broadband amplifier of microwaves, and designed a new electrostatically focused electron-multiplier

Great Falls

2005-02-19T03:44:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1887) of Cascade county, west-central Montana, U.S. It lies along the Missouri River, near the falls (96 feet [29 metres] high) for which it was named. In 1805 the explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark observed the falls and nearby Giant Springs, one of the world's largest freshwater springs. First settled in 1883, the community was sustained with the arrival in 1887 of the Manitoba

Interior Design, Classic movement after the Revolution, 1785 - 1835

2005-02-18T13:58:00.000-08:00

Even after the American Revolution, English decorative influence predominated in the United States, in spite of greatly increased contacts with French thought and ideas. Although many leaders like Thomas Jefferson wished to see a complete break with English traditions, the Georgian forms of colonial days persisted in common usage till 1800 or after. By 1785, however, the

Norfolk Four-course System

2005-02-17T09:50:00.000-08:00

In the Norfolk four-course system, wheat was grown in the first year, turnips in the second, followed

Qatar, Agriculture

2005-02-16T07:49:00.000-08:00

The scarcity of fertile land and water imposes severe limitations on agriculture, and a large proportion of the country's food must be imported. Use of treated sewage effluent and desalinated water for irrigation have helped to expand the production of fruits, such as dates and melons, and of vegetables, such as tomatoes, squash, and eggplants. The cultivation of vegetables

Scorpius X-1

2005-02-15T09:32:00.000-08:00

(catalog number Sco X-1), brightest X-ray source in the sky, the first such object discovered in the direction of the constellation Scorpius. Detected in 1962, its X-radiation is not only strong but, like other X-ray sources, quite variable as well. Its variability exhibits two states, one at higher output with great variability on a time scale of minutes and another at lower output

Syllabic Verse

2005-02-14T08:41:00.000-08:00

In prosody, the metrical system that is most commonly used in English poetry. It is based on both the number of stresses, or accents, and the number of syllables in each line of verse. A line of iambic pentameter verse, for example, consists of five feet, each of which is an iamb (an unstressed followed by a stressed syllable). Although accentual-syllabic verse is very strictly

Argyll, Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess And 8th Earl Of, Lord Campbell, Lord Lorne, Lord Of Kintyre

2005-02-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

He was the eldest son of Archibald, 7th Earl of Argyll, and took over the management of the family estates in 1619 after his father had

Mahendra

2005-02-12T11:32:00.000-08:00

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

Quadrangle

2005-02-11T20:07:00.000-08:00

Byname �Quad, � in architecture, rectangular open space completely or partially enclosed by buildings of an academic or civic character. The grounds of a quadrangle are often grassy or landscaped. Such a quadrangular area, intended as an environment for contemplation, study, or relaxation, was a feature of monastic establishments and thus of the colleges that evolved from them.

National Baptist Convention, U.s.a., Inc.

2005-02-10T23:27:00.000-08:00

Association of black Baptist churches formed in 1895 in Atlanta, Ga., from the merger of the Foreign Mission Baptist Convention (established 1880), the American National Baptist Convention (1886), and the Baptist National Education Convention (1893). A schism in 1915 resulted in the formation of the National Baptist Convention of America. In 1961 a dispute within the National Baptist Convention,

Zambezi River, Climate

2005-02-09T17:43:00.000-08:00

The Zambezi River lies within the tropics. The upper and middle course of the river is on an upland plateau, and temperatures, modified by altitude, are relatively mild, generally between 64� and 86� F (18� and 30� C). The winter months (May to July) are cool and dry, with temperatures averaging 68� F (20� C). Between August and October there is a considerable rise in average temperatures, particularly

Lozi

2005-02-08T20:52:00.000-08:00

Formerly, the groups were all called Barotse as subjects of the paramount chief of the dominant Barotse tribe; the Barotse nation extended into other parts of Zambia, Angola,

Roche, Kevin

2005-02-07T14:52:00.000-08:00

Roche graduated in 1945 with a bachelor's degree in architecture from the National University of Ireland in Dublin. After short-term employment with firms in Dublin and London, he did postgraduate

Seurat, Georges

2005-02-06T01:48:00.000-08:00

Painter, founder of the 19th-century French school of Neo-Impressionism whose technique for portraying the play of light using tiny brushstrokes of contrasting colours became known as Pointillism. Using this techique, he created huge compositions with tiny, detached strokes of pure colour too small to be distinguished when looking at the

Alaska, Political growth

2005-02-05T11:07:00.000-08:00

As a U.S. possession Alaska was governed by military commanders for the War Department until 1877. During these years there was little internal development, but a salmon cannery built in 1878 was the beginning of what became the largest salmon industry in the world. In 1884 Congress established Alaska as a judicial land district, federal district courts were established, and a

Tatarstan

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

The Volga flows north-south across the western end of the republic, while the Kama, the Volga's largest tributary, forms a roughly east-west axis through the greater part. The Vyatka and the Belaya

Richter, Burton

2005-02-03T01:43:00.000-08:00

Richter studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, where he received his doctorate in 1956. That same year he became a research associate at Stanford University, Stanford,

Black Belt

2005-02-02T19:47:00.000-08:00

Physical region in Alabama and Mississippi, U.S., so named for its soil. The Black Belt is a fertile plain, generally 25 - 30 miles (40 - 50 km) wide and stretching approximately 300 miles (480 km) across central Alabama and northeastern Mississippi. A region of dark, calcareous soils, it was one of the South's most important agricultural areas before the American Civil War. Though corn (maize) was

Arequipa

2005-02-01T20:54:00.000-08:00

Capital of Arequipa departamento and regi�n, southern Peru, in the Chili River valley of the Andes Mountains. Arequipa lies at more than 7,550 feet (2,300 metres) above sea level, at the foot of the dormant cone of Misti Volcano, which reaches an elevation of 19,098 feet (5,821 metres). Flanking Misti are Mounts Chachani and Pichupichu. Earthquakes have damaged the city several times, notably

Kazan

2005-01-31T09:04:00.000-08:00

Ancient Kazan (Iske Kazan) was founded in the late 13th century by the Mongols (Tatars) of the Golden Horde after their overthrow of the

Analytic Geometry, General classes of curves

2005-01-30T08:05:00.000-08:00

Caustic is an envelope of rays; more specifically, when the light rays emanating from a source are reflected by a given curve, the envelope of the reflected rays is the caustic by reflection, or catacaustic, of the given curve with respect to the source in question. When the rays from a source are refracted by a given curve, the envelope of refracted rays is called the caustic

Tall Tale

2005-01-29T20:54:00.000-08:00

Narrative that depicts the wild adventures of extravagantly exaggerated folk heroes. The tall tale is essentially an oral form of entertainment; the audience appreciates the imaginative invention rather than the literal meaning of the tales. Associated with the lore of the American frontier, tall tales often explain the origins of lakes, mountains, and canyons;

Huntington

2005-01-28T13:11:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1834) of Huntington county, central Indiana, U.S., on the Little Wabash River near its juncture with the Wabash, 24 miles (39 km) southwest of Fort Wayne. The original site (Forks of the Wabash) was an Indian campground (home of the Miami chief La Fontaine), where many Indian treaties were signed; it was known as Wepecheange (�Place of Flints�). The settlement that developed there

Leven, Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl Of, Lord Balgonie

2005-01-27T20:00:00.000-08:00

Leslie joined the Swedish army in 1605 and served brilliantly in the Thirty Years' War in central Europe. In 1628 he distinguished himself by successfully defending Stralsund against the imperial commander

Shillong

2005-01-26T23:50:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Meghalaya state, northeastern India. The city is located on the Shillong Plateau at an elevation of 4,990 feet (1,520 m). Shillong first became prominent in 1864, when it succeeded Cherrapunji as the district headquarters; in 1874 it was made the capital of the new province of Assam. An earthquake destroyed the city in 1897, necessitating its complete rebuilding. The North East

Fox, Vicente

2005-01-25T08:12:00.000-08:00

Fox, the second of nine children, was born to parents of Spanish and Irish descent and raised on a 1,100-acre (445-hectare) ranch in the state of Guanajuato. After earning a degree in business administration from the Ibero-American

Kufah

2005-01-24T23:38:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Kufa, � medieval city of Iraq that was a centre of Arab culture and learning from the 8th to the 10th century. It was founded in 638 as a garrison town by 'Umar I, the second caliph. The city lay on the Hindiyah branch of the Euphrates River, about 7 miles (11 km) northeast of an-Najaf. It was populated largely by South Arabians and Iranians and served as the seat of the governor of Iraq, sometimes

Madhubuti, Haki R.

2005-01-23T03:40:00.000-08:00

Lee attended several colleges in Chicago and graduate school at the University of Iowa (M.F.A., 1984); he also served in the U.S. Army (1960 - 63). He taught at various colleges and universities, in 1984 becoming a faculty member at Chicago State University. His poetry, which began to appear in the 1960s, was written in black dialect

Biblical Literature, Wanderings in the desert of Paran

2005-01-22T23:24:00.000-08:00

This section apparently combines various traditions of how the Israelites came into Palestine, and J, E (or JE), and P sources have been discerned in these chapters. The traditional �40 years� in the wilderness (38 or 39, according to critical calculations) were spent mostly in the wilderness of Paran, with a short stay in the oasis of Kadesh, according to P; while, according to J, they

C�sar

2005-01-21T22:12:00.000-08:00

The son of Italian immigrants, C�sar quit school at age 12 in order to work,

Lead-210 Dating

2005-01-20T19:25:00.000-08:00

Method of age determination that makes use of the ratio of the radioactive lead isotope lead-210 to the stable isotope lead-206. The method has been applied to the ores of uranium. In the series of unstable products from the radioactive decay of uranium-238, lead-210 results from the decay of radon-222 and is a precursor of the stable isotope lead-206. Lead-210 dating is particularly useful for

Nervous System Disease, Vestibulocochlear nerve

2005-01-19T17:23:00.000-08:00

When both divisions of the vestibulocochlear nerve are affected by disease, symptoms may include ringing in the ear (tinnitus), a sensation of spinning (vertigo), and other symptoms such as deafness. Deafness, if not caused by middle-ear disease, suggests damage to the cochlear portion of the nerve. Compression of the nerve at the cerebellopontine angle by a tumour, an

Earth

2005-01-18T20:41:00.000-08:00

The blankets of volatile gases and liquids near and above the surface of the Earth are of prime importance, along with solar energy, to the sustenance of life on Earth. They are distributed and recycled throughout the atmosphere and hydrosphere of the planet.

Metaphysics

2005-01-17T19:57:00.000-08:00

The philosophical study whose object is to determine the real nature of things - to determine the meaning, structure, and principles of whatever is insofar as it is. Although this study is popularly conceived as referring to anything excessively subtle and highly theoretical and although it has been subjected to many criticisms, it is presented by metaphysicians

Addo Elephant National Park

2005-01-16T08:11:00.000-08:00

National park in Eastern province, South Africa. It has an area of 208 square miles (540 square km) and consists of two sections connected by a corridor. The southern part of the park lies in the Sundays River valley south of the Suurberg Range, north of Port Elizabeth, and was established as Addo Elephant National Park in 1931. It is largely covered with dense, impenetrable evergreen

San Felipe

2005-01-15T10:55:00.000-08:00

Capital of San Felipe de Aconcagua provincia, Valpara�so regi�n, central Chile. It lies along the Aconcagua River, in the Vale of Chile, at 2,087 feet (636 metres) above sea level. Founded in 1740 as San Felipe el Real, it is the centre of an agricultural (alfalfa, grapes, fruits, vegetables, and cereals) and mining (copper and gold) area. It is connected by railway with Valpara�so, 80 miles (130 km) southwest,

France, History Of, The central government

2005-01-14T15:05:00.000-08:00

By the time of Clovis, the ancient Germanic assembly of free men participated only in the conduct of local affairs and was consigned largely to a military role. Within each kingdom, the king's court, of Roman imperial origin but adapted and modified by the Frankish sovereigns, encompassed domestic services (treasury, provisioning, stables, clergy), a bureau of accounts,

Metalanguage

2005-01-13T14:58:00.000-08:00

In semantics and philosophy, language used for the analysis of object language (language that is used to talk about objects in the world). Thus, a metalanguage may be thought of as a language about another language. Such philosophers as the German-born Logical Positivist Rudolf Carnap and Alfred Tarski, Polish-born mathematician, argued that philosophical problems

Mahmoud

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

Mahmoud was foaled in France by Mah Mahal and sired by Blenheim. He was owned by the Aga Khan who sent him to England to be trained by Frank Butters at Newmarket. He won all three of his races as a two-year-old, and as a three-year-old he lost the Two Thousand Guineas by a short head,

Sibyl

2005-01-11T16:33:00.000-08:00

Also called �Sibylla, � prophetess in Greek legend and literature. Tradition represented her as a woman of prodigious old age uttering predictions in ecstatic frenzy, but she was always a figure of the mythical past, and her prophecies, in Greek hexameters, were handed down in writing. In the 5th and early 4th centuries BC, she was always referred to in the singular; Sibylla was treated as her proper

Sa'id, 'ali Ahmad

2005-01-10T22:32:00.000-08:00

Sa'id received a degree in philosophy at the University of Damascus in 1954 and served in the Syrian military from 1954 to 1956. He then moved to Beirut, where he received a Ph.D. from St. Joseph University in 1973. In 1957 he helped Yusuf al-Khal found the avant-garde

Mask

2005-01-09T11:17:00.000-08:00

A form of disguise. It is an object that is frequently worn over or in front of the face to hide the identity of a person and by its own features to establish another being. This essential characteristic of hiding and revealing personalities or moods is common to all masks. As cultural objects they have been used throughout the world in all periods since the Stone Age

Faesi, Robert

2005-01-08T06:47:00.000-08:00

Faesi combined his literary activity with a professorship of German literature at the University of Z�rich from 1922 to 1953. His poems in the collections Aus der Brandung (1917; �From

Hindu Calendar

2005-01-07T10:04:00.000-08:00

Dating system used in India from about 1000 BC and still used to establish dates of the Hindu religious year. It is based on a year of 12 lunar months; i.e., 12 full cycles of phases of the Moon. The discrepancy between this year of about 354 days and the solar year of about 365 days is partially resolved by intercalation of an extra month every 30 months.

China

2005-01-06T16:24:00.000-08:00

Two major cultures can be identified in the northwest: Lao-kuan-t'ai, in eastern and southern Shensi and northwestern Honan, and Ta-ti-wan I - a development of Lao-kuan-t'ai culture - in eastern Kansu and western Shensi. In these cultures pots were low-fired, sand-tempered, and mainly red in colour, and bowls with three stubby feet or ring feet were common. The painted bands of

Yun Shouping

2005-01-05T01:26:00.000-08:00

Yun had an adventure-filled early life. Following the collapse

Uji

2005-01-04T17:26:00.000-08:00

Uji is best known as the place where tea was first cultivated in Japan in the Muromachi era (1338 - 1573). High-quality

Jhunjhunu

2005-01-02T11:37:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern Rajasthan state, northwestern India. It is a local trade centre for wool, cattle, hides, and gram (chick-pea). The city's major industries include a dye factory and woolen mills. Jhunjhunu houses the mausoleum of Qamar-ud-Din Shah, patron saint of the Kamkhani sect, as well as a 10th-century Jaina temple. The city also contains a hospital and a college affiliated

Anthony Of Egypt, Saint

2005-01-01T00:27:00.000-08:00

Athanasius, The Life of Antony and the Letter to Marcellinus (1980), was written by a contemporary; this translation includes useful prefatory material.

Hawksmoor, Nicholas

2004-12-31T23:41:00.000-08:00

Hawksmoor began to work for Wren about 1679 and owed his professional advancement

Pacheco Pereira, Duarte

2004-12-30T10:22:00.000-08:00

Pacheco Pereira, reared at the Portuguese court, was an educated man, serving as a squire to King John

Lippmann, Walter

2004-12-29T07:34:00.000-08:00

While studying at Harvard (B.A., 1909), Lippmann was influenced by the philosophers William James and George Santayana. He helped to found (1914) The New Republic and served as its assistant editor under

Distribution

2004-12-28T13:52:00.000-08:00

Also called �Distribution Of Terms, � in syllogistics, the application of a term of a proposition to the entire class that the term denotes. A term is said to be distributed in a given proposition if that proposition implies all other propositions that differ from it only in having, in place of the original term, any other term whose extension is a part of that of the original term - i.e., if, and only if, the term

Joubert, Petrus Jacobus

2004-12-27T21:42:00.000-08:00

Joubert was the son of an indigent farmer-missionary who trekked his family north to Natal in 1837. When his father died, the family settled on a farm (Rustfontein)

Stazewski, Henryk

2004-12-25T17:11:00.000-08:00

Educated at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts (1913 - 19), Stazewski was a founding member of three Polish artist groups during the 1920s and a member of the Cercle

Appliqu�

2004-12-24T06:43:00.000-08:00

Sewing technique in which fabric patches are layered on a foundation fabric, then stitched in place by hand or machine with the raw edges turned under or covered with decorative stitching. From the French appliquer, �to put on,� appliqu� is sometimes used to embellish clothing or household linens. Like patchwork (piecing), it is a method of constructing or embellishing

Murdoch, James Edward

2004-12-23T16:08:00.000-08:00

After performing with amateur groups in Philadelphia, Murdoch made his successful debut at the Chestnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, in Lovers' Vows by August von Kotzebue. Following an unsalaried season with the company, he traveled about North America, playing with

Jacobean Age

2004-12-22T16:03:00.000-08:00

In architecture the Jacobean age is characterized

Ploidy

2004-12-21T18:52:00.000-08:00

In genetics, the number of chromosomes occurring in the nucleus of a cell. In normal somatic (body) cells, the chromosomes exist in pairs. The condition is called diploidy. During meiosis the cell produces gametes, or germ cells, each containing half the normal or somatic number of chromosomes. This condition is called haploidy. When two germ cells (e.g., egg and sperm) unite,

Douai-reims Bible

2004-12-20T08:31:00.000-08:00

Also called �Reims-douai Bible, �also spelled �Rheims-douay, � English translation of the Latin Vulgate Bible produced by Roman Catholic scholars in exile from England at the English College in Douai (then in the Spanish Netherlands but now part of France). The New Testament translation was published in 1582 at Rheims, where the English College had temporarily relocated in 1578. The Old Testament was translated shortly afterward but

Space Exploration

2004-12-19T05:09:00.000-08:00

On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik

Gypsum

2004-12-18T19:12:00.000-08:00

Common sulfate mineral of great commercial importance, composed of hydrated calcium sulfate (CaSO4 � 2H2O). In well-developed crystals the mineral commonly has been called selenite. The fibrous massive variety has a silky lustre and is called satin spar; it is translucent and opalescent and is valued for ornaments and jewelry. The fine-grained massive variety called

Israel

2004-12-17T22:31:00.000-08:00

After nearly three years of relentless bloodletting, Israel and the Palestinians responded in mid-2003 to international efforts to promote peace. The early promise of a breakthrough proved illusory, however, and the cycle of violence continued. Intense Israeli military pressure, following reoccupation of Palestinian cities in the West Bank and a determined hands-on

Mah� Island

2004-12-16T23:18:00.000-08:00

Largest island of the Seychelles archipelago, Republic of Seychelles, in the western Indian Ocean. The island is 4 miles (6 km) wide and 16 miles (26 km) long and has an area of 57 square miles (148 square km). The island is granitic in origin and mountainous; the highest peak is Morne Seychellois, which rises to 2,969 feet (905 m) and forms part of a national park of the same name. Port Launay Marine National

China, Agriculture

2004-12-15T16:24:00.000-08:00

Neofeudal land-tenure developments of late Sung and Y�an times were arrested with the establishment of the Ming dynasty. Great landed estates were confiscated by the government, fragmented, and rented out; and private slavery was forbidden. In the 15th century, consequently, independent peasant landholders dominated Chinese agriculture. But the Ming rulers were

Bridgewater, Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke Of, Marquess Of Brackley, Earl Of Bridgewater, Viscount Brackley, Baron Of Ellesmere

2004-12-14T09:24:00.000-08:00

His father, who was created duke in 1720, was the great-great-grandson of Lord Chancellor Ellesmere. Francis Egerton succeeded to the dukedom on the death of his brother, the 2nd duke, in 1748. Retiring

Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore

2004-12-13T07:32:00.000-08:00

Pugin was the son of the architect Augustus Charles Pugin, who gave him his architectural and draftsmanship training. His mature professional life began in 1836 when he published Contrasts, which conveyed the argument with

Interior Design, Fabrics

2004-12-12T17:37:00.000-08:00

There are three basic aspects that determine appearance and suitability of fabrics for interior use: fibre content, weave, and pattern. Fibres are either natural or man-made. The important natural fibres are cotton, wool, linen, and silk. Although silk has long been considered the most elegant and desirable of all natural fibres, it does not stand up well under direct