StrongStomach

Ashburnham, John

2005-04-05T19:32:00.000-07:00

The son of Sir John Ashburnham (d. 1620), he began a career at court under the patronage of a prominent kinsman, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. He was treasurer of the Royal army during the first Civil War and commissioner in the Uxbridge negotiations (1644) before escaping abroad, to

Antigonid Dynasty

2005-04-05T01:53:00.000-07:00

Ruling house of ancient Macedonia from 306 to 168 BC. The Antigonid dynasty was established when Demetrius I Poliorcetes, the son of Antigonus I Monophthalmus, ousted Cassander's governor of Athens, Demetrius of Phaleron, and conquered the island of Cyprus, thereby giving his father control of the Aegean, the eastern Mediterranean, and all of the Middle East except Babylonia.

Judaism, Ceremonies marking the individual life cycles

2005-04-04T22:08:00.000-07:00

There are within Jewish life two cycles corresponding to the individual and the synagogal focuses, although they necessarily intermingle. The life of the individual is marked by observances that single out the notable events of personal existence. A male child is circumcised on the eighth day following birth, as a covenantal sign (Gen. 17); the rite of circumcision

Attic Dialect

2005-04-02T08:54:00.000-08:00

Ancient Greek dialect that was the language of ancient Athens. Its closest relative was the Ionic dialect of Euboea. With the ascendance of the Athenian empire in the course of the 5th century BC, Attic became the most prestigious of the Greek dialects and as a result was adopted later as the standard language by the Macedonian kings. Moreover, it became in Hellenistic

Vajra

2005-04-02T05:18:00.000-08:00

Vajra, in Sanskrit, has both the meanings of “thunderbolt” and “diamond.” Like the thunderbolt, the vajra cleaves through ignorance. The thunderbolt was originally the symbol of the Hindu rain god Indra (who became the Buddhist Sakra)

Amidism

2005-04-01T22:38:00.000-08:00

Sect of Mahayana Buddhism centring on worship of Amida (in Japanese; Sanskrit Amitabha; Chinese O-mi-t'o-fo), Buddha (Buddha of Infinite Light), whose merits can be transferred to a believer. Amidism holds that the faithful—by believing in Amida, hearing or saying his name, or desiring to share in his Western Paradise—can be reborn in the Pure Land (see Pure Land Buddhism). Originating

Korku

2005-03-31T22:42:00.000-08:00

Tribal people of central India concentrated in the states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. At the end of the 20th century, they numbered about 560,000. However, poverty and restricted use of ancestral land due to government attempts to save the Bengal tiger have led to a serious problem of malnutrition and starvation among the Korku. Most are settled agriculturalists, and

Pridi Phanomyong

2005-03-31T05:54:00.000-08:00

After studies at the Royal Law School, Pridi won a government scholarship to study law in France; he earned a doctorate in law from Paris in 1927. While in Paris he was strongly influenced by French socialism,

Encyclopédie

2005-03-30T19:23:00.000-08:00

In full Encyclopédie, Ou Dictionnaire Raisonné Des Sciences, Des Arts Et Des Métiers (French: “Encyclopaedia, or Classified Dictionary of Sciences, Arts, and Trades”), the 18th-century French encyclopaedia that was one of the chief works of the Philosophes, men dedicated to the advancement of science and secular thought and the new tolerance and open-mindedness of the Enlightenment. The Encyclopédie was a literary and philosophical enterprise with

Rabelais, François

2005-03-30T00:28:00.000-08:00

Pseudonym Alcofribas Nasier French writer and priest who for his contemporaries was an eminent physician and humanist and for posterity is the author of the comic masterpiece Gargantua and Pantagruel. The four novels composing this work are outstanding for their rich use of Renaissance French and for their comedy, which ranges from gross burlesque

World War Ii, Allied policy and strategy: Octagon (Quebec II) and Moscow, 1944

2005-03-29T14:17:00.000-08:00

The progress of the Soviet armies toward central and southeastern Europe made it all the more urgent for the western Allies to come to terms with Stalin about the fate of the “liberated” countries of eastern Europe. London had already proposed to Moscow in May 1944 that Romania and Bulgaria should be zones for Soviet military operation, Yugoslavia and Greece—whose royalist

Tobacco

2005-03-28T15:16:00.000-08:00

Common name of the plant Nicotiana tabacum and, to a limited extent, N. rustica and the cured leaf that is used, usually after aging and processing in various ways, for smoking, chewing, snuffing, and extraction of nicotine. This article deals with the farming of tobacco from cultivation to curing and grading.

Utsunomiya

2005-03-27T08:05:00.000-08:00

Capital, Tochigi ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. The city is situated on the alluvial plain between the Ta River and the Kinu River. A castle town in the 11th century, it later served as a post town on the Nikko Highway during the Tokugawa era (1603–1867). The city became the prefectural administrative centre in 1884. During World War II industries were relocated to Utsunomiya from Tokyo, producing

Amorphous Solid

2005-03-27T06:14:00.000-08:00

It was once thought that relatively few materials could be prepared as amorphous solids, and such materials (notably, oxide glasses and organic polymers) were called glass-forming solids. It is now known that the amorphous solid state is almost a universal property of condensable matter. The Table presents a list of amorphous solids in which every class of chemical

Typhus

2005-03-25T22:15:00.000-08:00

Acute, infectious series of diseases that are characterized by a sudden onset with headache, chills, fever, and general pains, a rash appearing on the third to fifth day, and toxemia (toxic substances in the blood), and terminating after about two to three weeks. Originally considered a single clinical entity, it is now regarded as a group of closely related diseases caused

Probability Theory

2005-03-25T18:39:00.000-08:00

The word probability has several meanings in ordinary conversation. Two of these are particularly important

Sinhala Maha Sabha

2005-03-24T22:32:00.000-08:00

Political group in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) that was founded in 1937 by S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. It was a communally oriented group and promoted the interests of the Sinhalese sector of the population and of Buddhism. In 1945 Bandaranaike threw the support of the Sabha behind the newly created United National Party (UNP) of D.S. Senanayake, which was to dominate politics for the first

Mapu, Abraham

2005-03-24T19:25:00.000-08:00

Author of the first Hebrew novel, Ahavat Ziyyon (1853; Annou: Prince and Peasant), an idyllic historical romance set in the days of the prophet Isaiah. Couched in florid biblical language, it artfully depicts pastoral life in ancient Israel; the book attained immediate popularity

Balance Beam

2005-03-23T18:24:00.000-08:00

Gymnastics apparatus used in women's competition. It is a wooden beam 5 metres (16.4 feet) long, 10 cm (4 inches) wide, and raised 125 cm (4.1 feet) from the floor. The performer begins the exercise by mounting the beam by either a vault or a jump and executes movements that must include steps, running, jumps, turns, sitting positions, and some held, or posed, positions. The duration of the exercise

Kean, Ellen

2005-03-22T06:51:00.000-08:00

Ellen was born of English parents and first appeared at Covent Garden, London, in 1823 as Olivia in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. She then performed at Bath (1824–26), at Drury Lane Theatre, London (1826–29), and at Covent Garden (1829–36), where

Felix (ii)

2005-03-22T00:42:00.000-08:00

Antipope from 355 to 358. Originally an archdeacon, Felix was irregularly installed as pope in 355 after the emperor Constantius banished the reigning pope, Liberius. In May 357 the Roman laity, which had remained faithful to Liberius, demanded that Constantius recall the true pope. The Emperor planned to have Felix and Liberius rule jointly, but Felix was forced

Insurance, Group insurance

2005-03-21T15:15:00.000-08:00

Groups have always been important in the insurance field, from the burial societies of the Romans and the insurance funds of the medieval guilds to the fraternal and religious insurance plans of modern times. In the 20th century private insurance companies have written increasingly large amounts of group insurance, particularly in life insurance, health insurance,

France, History Of, Governmental reforms

2005-03-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

As hostilities were waning (1435–49), Charles VII presided over a major reorganization of government. Tested by adversity and strengthened by fortune, he had grown in political competence. The principal administrative services—chancery, Parlement, accounts—were reestablished at Paris. The replacement of Burgundian sympathizers, notably in Parlement, seems to have been

Grunion

2005-03-20T03:46:00.000-08:00

Also called California Grunion (species Leuresthes tenuis), small Pacific fish of the family Atherinidae (order Atheriniformes). The species is found in the Pacific Ocean along the western coast of the United States. A unique feature of the grunion's breeding biology results in its spawning on particular nights during the warm months when tides are highest. The eggs are actually laid in the sand

Pet Shop Boys, The

2005-03-20T01:45:00.000-08:00

Formed in London in 1981 by vocalist Tennant (then a writer for the music magazine Smash Hits) and keyboardist Lowe, the Pet Shop

Aubusson Carpet

2005-03-20T01:28:00.000-08:00

Floor covering, usually of considerable size, handwoven at the villages of Aubusson and Felletin, in the département of Creuse in central France. Workshops were established in 1743 to manufacture pile carpets primarily for the nobility, to whom the Savonnerie court production was not available. Carpets were, however, also made for the royal residences. Soon after the

Malay Peninsula

2005-03-19T04:54:00.000-08:00

Also called the Kra Peninsula, in Southeast Asia, a long, narrow appendix of the mainland extending south for a distance of about 700 miles (1,127 km) through the Isthmus of Kra to Cape Balai, southernmost point of the Asian continent; its maximum width is 200 miles (322 km). It lies between the Andaman Sea of the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Malacca (west), the Singapore Strait (south), and the Gulf of Thailand and the South

Sankt Gallen

2005-03-18T05:56:00.000-08:00

French Saint-gall, town, capital of Sankt Gallen canton, northeastern Switzerland, in the Steinach Valley, just south of Lake Constance (Bodensee). In 612 the Celtic missionary St. Gall founded a hermitage on the site. Disciples joined him, and c. 720 the foundation became a Benedictine abbey under Abbot Otmar. Until the 11th century, the abbey school was the most important educational institution

Perak, Tun

2005-03-18T01:58:00.000-08:00

A leader in the Malay defeat of a Siamese invasion in 1445–46, Tun Perak was made bendahara by Sultan Muzaffar Shah in 1456, when he again led Malacca's forces in a decisive defeat of the Siamese. He

Godarpura

2005-03-17T17:28:00.000-08:00

Also called Mandhata , or Omkarji pilgrimage centre, western Madhya Pradesh state, central India. It lies along the Narmada River southeast of Indore. Godarpura has noted Saivite, Vaisnavite, and Jaina temples, mostly of the 14th and 18th centuries. The Omkar temple, on an island in the river, contains one of the 12 great Siva (Shiva) phallic symbols, or lingas; another linga stands outside the Gauri Somnath temple. The

Cairo, Development of the city

2005-03-16T21:59:00.000-08:00

Modern urban growth began in the 1830s, but only during Isma'il's reign (1863–79) was the city fundamentally transformed. Influenced by Baron Haussmann's renovation of Paris, Isma'il ordered the construction of a European-style city to the west of the medieval core. French city-planning methods dominated the design of the districts of Al-Azbakiyah (with its large park), 'Abdin, and Isma'iliyah

Le Maistre, Antoine

2005-03-16T06:30:00.000-08:00

Important figure in the Jansenist religious movement in France, a member of the Arnauld family (q.v.).

Ramkhamhaeng

2005-03-16T00:22:00.000-08:00

On the death of his brother, King Ban Muang, about 1279, Ramkhamhaeng inherited his tiny kingdom of only a few hundred square miles. Over the next two decades—by careful diplomacy, shrewd alliances, and military

Fairy Ring

2005-03-15T21:28:00.000-08:00

A naturally occurring circular ring of mushrooms on a lawn or other location. A fairy ring starts when the mycelium (spawn) of a mushroom falls in a favourable spot and sends out a subterranean network of fine, tubular threads called hyphae. The hyphae grow out from the spore evenly in all directions, forming a circular mat of underground hyphal threads.

Water Strider

2005-03-14T13:23:00.000-08:00

With their short front legs they capture insects that fall onto the water surface. In crowded conditions water striders

X Ray

2005-03-14T05:27:00.000-08:00

Two types of secondary

Earth Exploration, Seismic reflection methods

2005-03-13T23:18:00.000-08:00

Most seismic work utilizes reflection techniques. Sources and Geophones are essentially the same as those used in refraction methods. The concept is similar to echo sounding: seismic waves are reflected at interfaces where rock properties change and the round-trip travel time, together with velocity information, gives the distance to the interface. The relief

Turgot, Anne-robert-jacques, Baron De L'aulne

2005-03-13T03:17:00.000-08:00

French economist, who was an administrator under Louis XV and served as the comptroller general of finance (1774–76) under Louis XVI. His efforts at instituting financial reform were blocked by the privileged classes.

Welfare Economics

2005-03-12T23:23:00.000-08:00

Earlier writers conceived of welfare as simply the sum of the satisfactions accruing to all individuals within an economic system. Later theorists became

Bohemond I

2005-03-12T19:56:00.000-08:00

The son of Robert Guiscard (the Astute) and his first wife, Alberada, Bohemond was christened Marc but nicknamed after a legendary giant named Bohemond. The nickname proved well taken because physically Bohemond was the ideally

Peter I

2005-03-12T04:34:00.000-08:00

As successor to his saintly but inept uncle Sava, Peter became the reigning prince in theocratic Montenegro in 1782 and was consecrated bishop two years later. To cement relations with Russia, always a potential

Colosseum

2005-03-10T10:34:00.000-08:00

Originally called Flavian Amphitheatre giant amphitheatre built in Rome under the Flavian emperors. Construction of the Colosseum was begun sometime between AD 70 and 72 during the reign of Vespasian; the structure was officially dedicated in AD 80 by Titus in a ceremony that included 100 days of games. Later, in AD 82, Domitian completed the work by adding the uppermost story. Unlike earlier amphitheatres, which were nearly

Hyde Park

2005-03-09T17:30:00.000-08:00

Town (township) and unincorporated village, Dutchess county, eastern New York, U.S. It lies on the east side of the Hudson River, 8 miles (13 km) north of Poughkeepsie and about 75 miles (121 km) north of New York City. Both the village (settled as Stoutenburgh in 1741) and town (formed in 1821) bear the name of a local estate honouring Edward Hyde, Viscount Cornbury, who was governor of New York (1702–08). Primarily

Nitrous Acid

2005-03-09T07:33:00.000-08:00

Nitrous acid decomposes into nitric oxide,

Aerospace Industry, Internationalization

2005-03-09T02:35:00.000-08:00

In the 1960s the high development cost of wide-body jets started a trend toward international risk sharing and cost sharing in aircraft development. American firms sought foreign partners because international cooperation was not subject to antitrust regulations and provided an excellent entry into overseas markets. This kind of partnership proved particularly

Aras River

2005-03-08T18:06:00.000-08:00

Armenian Araks, Persian Rud-e Aras, Turkish Aras Nehri, Greek Araxes river rising south of Erzurum in the Bingöl Daglari (mountains) of Turkey; it flows eastward, forming for approximately 275 miles (440 km) the international boundary between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the north and Turkey and Iran on the south. Below the eastern boundary of Armenia, the stream emerges into a broad valley and then crosses the Mugan Steppe. After a course of about

Chan Painting

2005-03-07T04:23:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Ch'an school of Chinese painting inspired by the “meditative” school of Buddhism called, in Chinese, Chan (Japanese: Zen). Although Chan originated in China with an Indian monk, Bodhidharma, it came to be the most Chinese of Buddhist schools. The ideals of the school later frequently found expression in a special kind of art, typically composed

Spondylitis

2005-03-07T01:15:00.000-08:00

Ankylosing spondylitis (also called Bekhterev spondylitis, deforming spondylitis, or Marie-Strümpell arthritis) is a degenerative disease of the spine that is characteristically

Radiation Pressure

2005-03-07T00:57:00.000-08:00

Although the pressure of solar radiation is exceedingly small, a sufficiently large surface could produce a force that would be technologically

Settlement, Act Of

2005-03-06T22:36:00.000-08:00

Toward the end of 1700 William III was ill and childless; his sister-in-law, the prospective queen, Anne, had just lost her only surviving child; and abroad the supporters of the exiled king, James II, were numerous and active. The need for the act was obvious. It decreed that, in default

Järta, Hans

2005-03-06T06:33:00.000-08:00

In the 1790s Hans Hierta began his career as a publicist and a left-wing member of the noble estate of the Riksdag (estates general). In sympathy with the French Revolution

Gaea

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

Also called Ge, Greek personification of the Earth as a goddess. Mother and wife of Uranus (Heaven), from whom the Titan Cronus, her last born child by him, separated her, she was also mother of the other Titans, the Gigantes, the Erinyes, and the Cyclopes (see giant; Fury; Cyclops); hence literature and art sometimes made her the enemy of Zeus, for the Titans and Gigantes threatened him. Gaea may

Sea Squirt

2005-03-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

Also called ascidian any member of the invertebrate class Ascidiacea (subphylum Urochordata, also called Tunicata), marine animals with some primitive vertebrate features. Sea squirts are fixed growing organisms resembling potatoes more than animals; they are found in all seas, from the intertidal zone to the greatest depths. All adult forms are sessile (permanently fixed to a surface).

Christ, Two Natures Of

2005-03-04T04:47:00.000-08:00

The clarification of Trinitarian doctrine during the first four centuries

Ear Disease, Ossicular interruption

2005-03-03T23:50:00.000-08:00

The ossicular chain of three tiny bones needed to carry sound vibrations from the tympanic membrane to the fluid that fills the inner ear may be disrupted by infection or by a jarring blow on the head. Most often the separation occurs at its weakest point, where the incus joins the stapes. If the separation is partial, there is a mild impairment of hearing; if it is complete,

Primate, Diet

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

The principal food substances taken by primates may be divided into

Gravelines

2005-03-02T23:24:00.000-08:00

Flemish Gravelinghe seaport town of northern France, in the département of Nord and the arrondissement of Dunkirk. It is situated midway between Dunkirk and Calais, near the mouth of the Aa River. The canalization of the Aa by the Count of Flanders in about the mid-12th century led to the foundation of Gravelines (grave-linghe, meaning “count's canal”). It became the site of an important citadel,

Mauriac, François

2005-03-01T20:57:00.000-08:00

Novelist, essayist, poet, playwright, journalist, and winner in 1952 of the Nobel Prize for Literature. He belonged to the lineage of French Catholic writers who examined the ugly realities of modern life in the light of eternity. His major novels are sombre, austere psychological dramas set in an atmosphere of unrelieved tension. At the heart

Argentina, Perón's second presidency

2005-03-01T18:00:00.000-08:00

Perón was elected president with his third wife, María Estela Martínez de Perón (Isabel Perón), as vice president. Taking office in October 1973, he continued the campaign against the left, and in May 1974 the victims of the purge acknowledged the break with their former leader and passed into (still legal) opposition. Montonero activity increased, and the Triple A, suspected by

Radishchev, Aleksandr Nikolayevich

2005-03-01T07:33:00.000-08:00

Radishchev, a nobleman, was educated in Moscow (1757–62), at the St. Petersburg Corps of Pages (1763–66), and at Leipzig, where he studied law (1766–71). His career as a civil servant brought him into contact with people from all social strata. Under the influence

Bahia

2005-02-28T11:53:00.000-08:00

Estado (“state”) of eastern Brazil. It is bounded on the northwest by Piauí state, north by Pernambuco state, northeast by Alagoas and Sergipe states, east by the Atlantic Ocean, southeast by Espírito Santo state, south by Minas Gerais state, and west by Tocantins and Goiás states. Bahia has an area of 216,613 square miles (561,026 square km). The capital, Salvador, a port commanding an inlet

Calculus Of Variations

2005-02-27T17:38:00.000-08:00

The isoperimetric problem—that of finding,

Subarkose

2005-02-27T17:11:00.000-08:00

Variety of sandstone in which 5–25 percent of the sand grains are composed of feldspar. See arkose.

Van Der Waals Forces

2005-02-27T00:44:00.000-08:00

Relatively weak electric forces that attract neutral molecules to one another in gases, in liquefied and solidified gases, and in almost all organic liquids and solids. The forces are named for the Dutch physicist Johannes van der Waals, who in 1873 first postulated these intermolecular forces in developing a theory to account for the properties of real gases. Solids

Burdur

2005-02-26T13:55:00.000-08:00

Also called Buldur, city, southwestern Turkey, near the eastern shore of Lake Burdur. Called Polydorion in the European Middle Ages, it fell to the Seljuq Turks in the 12th century and came under Ottoman domination in the 15th. Its size and economy expanded after World War II; industries include textiles, preparation of attar of roses, and copper manufacture. Burdur is linked by rail with Afyon

Raymond Vii

2005-02-26T00:40:00.000-08:00

After helping to recover lands of which his

Anatta

2005-02-25T13:39:00.000-08:00

Sanskrit Anatman, in Buddhism, the doctrine that there is in humans no permanent, underlying substance that can be called the soul. Instead, the individual is compounded of five factors of consciousness (Pali: khandha; Sanskrit: skandha) that are constantly changing. The concept of anatta, or anatman, is a departure from the Hindu belief in atman (“the self”). The absence of a self, anicca (the impermanence

Croker, Thomas Crofton

2005-02-24T06:01:00.000-08:00

The son of an army major, Croker had little school education but did read widely while working in merchant trade. During rambles in southern Ireland from 1812 to 1816, Croker collected legends, folk songs, and keens (dirges for the

Seurat, Georges

2005-02-23T13:43:00.000-08:00

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

Berengar Of Tours

2005-02-23T13:14:00.000-08:00

Having studied under the celebrated Fulbert at Chartres, Berengar returned to Tours after 1029 and became canon of its cathedral and head of the School of Saint-Martin,

Nebraska, Plant and animal life

2005-02-23T06:08:00.000-08:00

A wide variety of grasses originally covered Nebraska's prairies, and the slopes of the river valleys were well covered with deciduous trees. Cottonwood, elm, and some oak and walnut are found along the bluffs of eastern Nebraska, while conifers grow in the Wild Cat and Pine Ridge highlands and the Niobrara valley. The Nebraska National Forest in west central Nebraska

Spa

2005-02-22T22:52:00.000-08:00

The practice of “taking the waters” for therapeutic purposes reached its heyday in the 19th century, but springs have been considered places of healing at many

Canals And Inland Waterways, Bridges, aqueducts, and tunnels for waterways

2005-02-22T09:08:00.000-08:00

Canals must frequently cross over or under roads and railways, rivers, and other canals. These crossings are made by a variety of bridges, sometimes carrying the road or railroad, sometimes carrying the canal. Most are fixed, though movable bridges are also used. On the Weaver River in England, four movable bridges, carrying main roads across the waterway, swing on

Baharampur

2005-02-22T08:38:00.000-08:00

The town has major rail and road connections and is an important agricultural trade centre. Silk weaving, rice

European Union

2005-02-21T10:17:00.000-08:00

The Maastricht Treaty (formally known as the Treaty on European Union), which was signed on February 7, 1992, created the European Union. The treaty met with substantial resistance in some countries. In Denmark, for example, voters who were worried about infringements upon their country's sovereignty defeated a referendum on the original treaty in June 1992, though a revised

God And Saints Of Christ, Church Of

2005-02-20T04:52:00.000-08:00

Religious sect founded in 1896 by Prophet William S. Crowdy. He passed his mantle of leadership to Bishop William Plummer, who announced himself as “Grand Father Abraham.” This group believes that all Jews were originally black and that modern-day blacks are descendants of the “lost tribes of Israel.” Their beliefs centre on the “Seven Keys,” the “Stone of Truth,” and the Ten Commandments.

Performing Arts

2005-02-20T02:21:00.000-08:00

The town has major rail and road connections and is an important agricultural trade centre. Silk weaving, rice

Amaravati

2005-02-19T10:44:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Amaravathi, town, east-central Andhra Pradesh state, southern India. Situated on the Krishna River, it was an ancient Buddhist centre in the region. Its monasteries and university attracted students from throughout India and the Far East. The Buddhist stupa at Amaravati was one of the largest in India, though only traces of it now remain. Amaravati is known for the relief sculptures

Turkey Vulture

2005-02-19T09:37:00.000-08:00

Also called Turkey Buzzard (Cathartes aura), long-winged, long-tailed vulture (family Cathartidae, the New World vultures) that has dark plumage, a whitish beak, white legs, and a bare red head (black in immature birds) that is covered with whitish bumps. Its wingspread is about 1.8 m (6 feet), and its length is about 75 cm (30 inches). The turkey vulture has an elaborate olfactory canal and uses its keen

Arabia, Dhofar (Zufar)

2005-02-18T15:07:00.000-08:00

The Qara' Mountains in Dhofar, the southern province of the sultanate of Oman, are about 3,000 feet high, with one peak higher than 5,000 feet. The monsoon keeps the seaward (southern) side of the mountains, as well as the coastal plain, fertile. A gradual slope leads northward from the water divide to the Rub' al-Khali; valleys from the slope converge on Ramlat Al-Mughshin at the desert's

Abelard, Peter

2005-02-17T08:34:00.000-08:00

The outline of Abelard's career is well known, largely because he described so much of it in his famous Historia calamitatum (“History of My Troubles”). He was born the son of a knight in Brittany south of the Loire River. He sacrificed his inheritance and the prospect of a military career in order to study philosophy, particularly logic, in France. He provoked bitter quarrels

Anti-saloon League

2005-02-17T06:09:00.000-08:00

The leading organization lobbying for prohibition in the United States in the early 20th century. It was founded as a state society in Ohio in 1893, but its influence spread rapidly, and in 1895 it became a national organization. It drew most of its support from Protestant evangelical churches, and it lobbied at all levels of government for legislation to prohibit the manufacture

Mercator Projection

2005-02-17T02:37:00.000-08:00

Type of map projection introduced in 1569 by Gerardus Mercator. It is often described as a cylindrical projection, but it must be derived mathematically. The meridians are equally spaced, parallel vertical lines, and the parallels of latitude are parallel, horizontal straight lines, spaced farther and farther apart as their distance from the Equator increases. This

Paeonia

2005-02-16T20:05:00.000-08:00

The land of the Paeonians, originally including the whole Axius (Vardar) River valley and the surrounding areas, in what is now northern Greece, Macedonia, and western Bulgaria. The Paeonians, who were probably of mixed Thraco-Illyrian origin, were weakened by the Persian invasion (490 BC), and those tribes living along the Strymon River (in western Bulgaria) fell under Thracian

Shi

2005-02-16T17:17:00.000-08:00

Also called dan the basic unit of weight in ancient China. The shi was created by Shi Huang Di, who became the first emperor of China in 221 BC and who is celebrated for his unification of regulations fixing the basic units. He fixed the shi at about 60 kg (132 pounds). The modern shi is equivalent to 71.68 kg (157.89 pounds).

Korsakoff Syndrome

2005-02-16T03:29:00.000-08:00

Also called Korsakoff psychosis , or Korsakoff disease neurological disorder characterized by severe amnesia (memory loss). Many cases result from severe chronic alcoholism, while others are due to a variety of brain disorders, severe head injury, or a thiamine deficiency. Patients with Korsakoff syndrome typically are unable to remember events in the recent or even the immediate past, and some can store information

Rushmoor

2005-02-15T01:04:00.000-08:00

Borough (district), administrative and historic county of Hampshire, southern England. It occupies part of the extreme northeastern corner of the county. Rushmoor is situated at the southern edge of the Thames River basin, and its rural areas are sandy heathland. The chalk uplands of the North Downs border the district on the south, and the Basingstoke Canal bisects

Grün, Anastasius

2005-02-14T14:41:00.000-08:00

As a member of the estates of Carniola in the Diet at Laibach, Grün was a critic of the Austrian government, and after 1848 he represented the district of Laibach briefly at the German national assembly at Frankfurt. Always an outspoken

Bondoukou

2005-02-14T08:24:00.000-08:00

Town, eastern Côte d'Ivoire, situated at the intersection of roads from Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Abidjan, the national capital. An early trade centre of the Kulango (Koulango, Pakhalla, N'Gora) people, Bondoukou was captured in the late 15th century by the Brong (Abron), an Akan people from the west. The Brong were converted to Islam by Dyula traders from the north, who founded a

Buddhism, Sautrantika/Satyasiddhi

2005-02-14T07:32:00.000-08:00

The Sautrantika school is so named (sutra plus anta, “end”) because it gave preeminence to the sutra portion of the canon. Its followers trace their school back to Ananda, a close disciple of the Buddha. For them, the karmic factors (samskara) are insubstantial and momentary, disappearing as soon as they have been manifested only to reappear again to give rise to a new aggregate.

Robert

2005-02-13T01:43:00.000-08:00

Robert was a younger son of Peter of Courtenay (died early 1219?) and Yolande of Flanders and Hainaut, who was empress regent for her sons until her death in September 1219. Their eldest son, Philip of

Oakley, Annie

2005-02-12T18:24:00.000-08:00

Phoebe Ann Moses early developed an amazing proficiency with firearms. As a child she hunted game with such success that, according to legend, by selling it in Cincinnati, Ohio, she was able to pay off the mortgage

Loy, Myrna

2005-02-12T14:21:00.000-08:00

Loy was the daughter

Light-year

2005-02-11T22:40:00.000-08:00

In astronomy, the distance traveled by light moving in a vacuum in the course of one year, at its accepted velocity of 299,792,458 metres per second (186,282 miles per second). A light-year equals about 9.46053 ´ 1012 km (5.878 ´ 1012 miles), or 63,240 astronomical units. About 3.262 light-years equal one parsec (q.v.).

Chastushka

2005-02-11T09:41:00.000-08:00

A rhymed folk verse usually composed of four lines. The chastushka is traditional in form but often has political or topical content. The word is a derivative of the Russian chastyi, “frequent” or “in quick succession,” and probably originally referred to the refrain of a song.

Madagascar, Plant and animal life

2005-02-10T23:05:00.000-08:00

Much of the island was once covered with evergreen and deciduous forest, but little now remains except on the eastern escarpment and in scattered pockets in the west. The plateau is particularly denuded and suffers seriously from erosion. The forest has been cut in order to clear rice fields, to obtain fuel and building materials, and to export valuable timber, such

Race, New World

2005-02-10T20:25:00.000-08:00

Detailed descriptions of 17th- and 18th-century colonial history, including analyses of the English attitudes toward the Irish and the persistence of such attitudes in the New World and descriptions of the events leading to the enslavement of Africans, are discussed in Edmund Morgan, American Slavery, American Freedom (1975); Theodore Allen, The Invention of the White Race, vol. 2 (1997); Philip D. Morgan, Slave Counterpoint (1998); Winthrop D. Jordan, White over Black (1968); and Gary B. Nash, Red, White and Black: The Peoples of Early America, 3rd ed. (1992).

Oranjestad

2005-02-10T17:45:00.000-08:00

Seaport and chief administrative centre of the Caribbean island of Aruba, located on the island's western coast. It is a free port and a petroleum-processing and shipping centre. The enclosed harbour, with two basins, has modern cargo-handling and fueling equipment. Oranjestad has brightly coloured buildings, fine residential sections, and a modern sports arena,

Harcourt, Sir William

2005-02-10T08:19:00.000-08:00

A lawyer from 1854, Harcourt briefly taught international law at the University of Cambridge. Entering the House of Commons in 1868, Harcourt served Prime

Shabazz, Betty

2005-02-07T23:05:00.000-08:00

Sanders was raised in Detroit, Michigan, by adoptive parents in a comfortable middle-class home and was active in a Methodist church. Upon high school graduation, she left Detroit to study elementary