BrokenPocket

Black Sea

2005-04-05T03:25:00.000-07:00

The roughly oval-shaped Black Sea occupies a large basin strategically situated at the southeastern extremity of Europe but connected to the distant waters

Penna, Sandro

2005-03-19T06:22:00.000-08:00

In 1925 Penna graduated from the Technical Institute of Perugia. After working as a clerk in a Milan bookstore, he moved to Rome

Fabre, émile

2005-03-16T11:57:00.000-08:00

The son of a stage manager, Fabre began writing and producing plays at the age of 13. Comme ils sont tous (1894; “As They All Are”) was his first success, followed by a series of popular political and social satires: L'Argent

Scandinavian Literature, The influence of Georg Brandes

2005-03-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

About 1870 there arose in Denmark a new movement, led by Georg Brandes, from which a modern (i.e., a Naturalistic or Realistic) literature emerged. His Hovedstrømninger i det 19de aarhundredes litteratur (1872–90; Main Currents in 19th Century Literature), describing the growth and defeat of reaction, caused a great sensation. As noted earlier, he influenced Ibsen and Strindberg and wrote

Furniture, Decorative processes and techniques

2005-03-12T17:30:00.000-08:00

Whether constructional principles are exploited as a motif or elegance of overall shape is stressed through stylization, every piece of furniture can be embellished in one way or another. A piece of furniture may be embellished by effects produced in the structural wood itself or in another kind of wood added to the first; that is, by carving and turning or by inlay

Jerez De García Salinas

2005-03-11T21:54:00.000-08:00

City, south-central Zacatecas estado (“state”), north-central Mexico. Formerly known simply as Jerez, the city is on the Jerez River, 6,650 feet (2,027 m) above sea level and southwest of Zacatecas, the state capital. It is the commercial and manufacturing centre for an agricultural and pastoral hinterland in which beans, quince, and apples are the principal crops and horses, pigs, sheep,

Sohlman, August

2005-03-08T18:10:00.000-08:00

As a journalist, Sohlman wrote for a number of the leading newspapers of Sweden and was editor of the influential Stockholm daily

Arrowhead

2005-03-07T15:47:00.000-08:00

Any freshwater plant of the genus Sagittaria, consisting of about 20 species distributed worldwide, having leaves resembling arrowpoints. Arrowhead is a perennial herb with fleshy, or tuberous, roots that grows in shallow lakes, ponds, and streams. The flowers have three rounded petals. The tubers of some North American species were eaten by Indians and

Accessory Mineral

2005-03-05T09:42:00.000-08:00

Any mineral in an igneous rock not essential to the naming of the rock. When it is present in small amounts, as is common, it is called a minor accessory. If the amount is greater or is of special significance, the mineral is called a varietal, or characterizing, accessory and may give a varietal name to the rock (e.g., the mineral biotite in biotite granite). Accessory minerals

Alyattes

2005-03-02T09:24:00.000-08:00

Soon after succeeding his father, King Sadyattes, Alyattes started five consecutive years of raids that devastated the farmland around the Greek city of Miletus on the southwestern coast of Anatolia. He moved eastward, battling the Medes for five

Andean Peoples

2005-03-01T09:51:00.000-08:00

Even these two technological developments, however, are not enough to characterize and explain the emergence of Andean civilizations. From the intimate knowledge of their environmental conditions, the people developed a set of values that may have started from a desire to minimize risks but that soon was elaborated into an economic and political ideal. Every

Magdalena Del Mar

2005-02-27T19:31:00.000-08:00

Also called Magdalena Nueva, city and distrito (“district”) of the Lima-Callao metropolitan area of Peru, southwest of central Lima. It is bounded on the south by cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. In the early 20th century the area developed as a popular resort, but it is now largely residential. The district contains the large Víctor Larco Herrera hospital complex, the Lima Cricket Club, and polo

Sevilla

2005-02-25T10:22:00.000-08:00

, also spelled Seville provincia, one of eight provincias forming the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Andalusia, southwestern Spain. The provincia comprises the lower Guadalquivir River valley and has varied relief. It is bordered northwest by the Morena Mountains and south and southeast by the Sub-Baetic ranges of the Algodonales and Yeguas mountains. Between these

Argentina, The conservative regime, 18801916

2005-02-23T16:52:00.000-08:00

The entire country was now dominated by the National Autonomist Party, which had originally supported Avellaneda's candidacy and was now an alliance of the various groups supporting Roca. These included many of the big ranchers, as well as commercial and business interests who were more than happy with Roca's formula of “peace and efficient administration.” Argentina's

Francis I

2005-02-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

Duke of Brittany (from 1442), son of John V (or VI). He had his brother Gilles thrown into prison and put to death for allegedly spying for the English, with whom he warred (1449–50). The king of France intervened and expelled the English from Normandy.

Gypcrete

2005-02-19T18:13:00.000-08:00

Also called Gypcrust, gypsum-cemented duricrust, an indurated, or hardened, layer formed on or in soil. It generally occurs in a hot, arid or semiarid climate in a basin that has internal drainage. It usually is composed of about 95 percent gypsum (a hydrated calcium sulfate mineral) and is initially developed in a playa as an evaporite. Gypcrete ranges from a loose, powdery deposit to massive

France, History Of, Clovis

2005-02-17T20:30:00.000-08:00

Clovis (ruled 481/482–511), the son of Childeric, unified Gaul with the exception of areas in the southeast.

Coolidge, Grace

2005-02-15T20:19:00.000-08:00

Eventually she built her own house, which she lent to navy personnel during World War II. She died of heart disease in 1957 and was buried beside her husband and son at the Plymouth Notch Cemetery in Plymouth, Vermont. Like other presidents' wives, she lamented that she had to subjugate her private self to her public role: “This was I and yet not I—this was the wife of the President of the United States and she took precedence over me.” In the process, however, Grace Coolidge joined that small group of first ladies who are rated as more successful at their jobs than their husbands were at their presidencies.

Radioactive Isotope

2005-02-12T15:37:00.000-08:00

Every chemical element has one or more radioactive isotopes. For example, hydrogen, the lightest element, has three isotopes with mass numbers 1, 2, and 3. Only hydrogen-3

Rodeo

2005-02-11T14:54:00.000-08:00

The five standard rodeo events are calf roping, bull riding, steer wrestling (bulldogging), saddle bronc-riding, and bareback bronc-riding. (A bronc [bronco,

Cohens V. Virginia

2005-02-09T13:06:00.000-08:00

(1821), U.S. Supreme Court case in which the court reaffirmed its right to review all state court judgments in cases arising under the federal Constitution or a law of the United States. The Judiciary Act of 1789 provided for mandatory Supreme Court review of the final judgments of the highest court of any state in cases “where is drawn in question the validity of a treaty or statute

Arabia, History Of, Religious reform

2005-02-07T20:43:00.000-08:00

The Wahhabi movement, which introduced a new factor into the pattern of Arabian politics, was founded by Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, a reformer influenced by the writings of the 13th–14th-century pietist theologian Ibn Taymiyah, of the strict Hanbali school of Islamic law. It was 'Abd al-Wahhab's intention to purify Islam of polytheism and to return it to an idealized primitive state.

Arung Singkang

2005-02-05T07:43:00.000-08:00

As a young man Arung Singkang was exiled to Borneo, where he gathered a following and in 1737 returned and won control of his native state, Wadjo. He also defeated Bone, another Buginese state, and created a Buginese

Pollard, Fritz

2005-02-03T06:32:00.000-08:00

Byname of Frederick Douglass Pollard, Sr. pioneering African American player and coach in American collegiate and professional gridiron football. He was the first African American selected to a backfield position on Walter Camp's All-America team (1916) and the first African American head coach in the National Football League (NFL), with the Akron Pros

Tar

2005-01-31T15:11:00.000-08:00

(Iranian: “string”), long-necked lute descended from the tanbur of Sasanian Iran and known in a variety of forms throughout the Middle East and parts of Asia. Its name traditionally signified the number of strings employed—e.g., dutar (“two-strings”), setar (“three-strings”), and cartar (“four-strings”)—but this is no longer true, as the sitar of India has up to seven strings. The body of the tar

Biblical Literature, The translation of Symmachus

2005-01-29T16:06:00.000-08:00

Still another Greek translation was made toward the end of the same century by Symmachus, an otherwise unknown scholar, who made use of his predecessors. His influence was small despite the superior elegance of his work. Jerome did utilize Symmachus for his Vulgate, but other than that, his translation is known largely through fragments of the Hexapla.

Qiryat Shemona

2005-01-28T07:16:00.000-08:00

Town, at the northwest of the 'Emeq Hula (Hula Valley), extreme northern Israel. The name Qiryat Shemona (“Town of the Eight”) commemorates the eight martyrs of nearby Tel Hay (q.v.). The town, the only urban settlement of the valley, was founded in 1950 as an immigrants' transit camp (ma'abara) on the site of the former Arab village of Khalasah. Metulla, the northernmost settlement of Israel

Olynthus

2005-01-26T19:09:00.000-08:00

Ancient Greek city situated on the Chalcidice Peninsula of northwestern Greece. It lay about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) inland from the Gulf of Torone of the Adriatic Sea. A Thracian people called the Bottiaeans inhabited Olynthus until 479 BC, when Persian forces killed them and handed the town over to local Greeks from Chalcidice. Though dominated for a time thereafter by Athens, Olynthus

Drug Use, Amphetamines

2005-01-23T01:43:00.000-08:00

These stimulants are of three types having closely related actions on the nervous system: amphetamine proper (Benzedrine), one of its isomers (Dexedrine), and methamphetamine (Methedrine). The amphetamines have been used to alleviate depression, fatigue, the hyperkinetic behaviour disturbances of children, postencephalitic Parkinsonism, enuresis, nausea of pregnancy,

Wheeler, William A(lmon)

2005-01-21T09:27:00.000-08:00

He was nominated as vice president in order to lend sectional balance to the ticket, and in his acceptance letter he alluded to the need to end Reconstruction, as Hayes subsequently did. Wheeler ran on a platform favouring administrative integrity, civil service reform, and aid to education in the South. Distracted by health and personal problems—his wife died just prior to the Republican convention in 1876—he retired from public life after his term in office was over.

Hank

2005-01-19T15:18:00.000-08:00

In textile manufacture, unit of measure applied to a length of yarn or to a loose assemblage of fibres forming a single strand, and varying according to the fibre origin. A hank of cotton or of the spun silk made from short lengths of waste silk is 840 yards (770 m) long. A hank of linen is 300 yards (270 m). In worsted yarn, made from combed fibre, there are 560 yards (510 m) to a hank.

Regeneration

2005-01-18T04:44:00.000-08:00

Organisms differ markedly in their ability to regenerate parts. Some grow a new structure on the stump of the old one. By such regeneration whole organisms may dramatically replace substantial portions of themselves when they have been cut in two, or may grow organs or

Wyandotte

2005-01-16T19:44:00.000-08:00

City, Wayne County, southeastern Michigan, U.S., on the Detroit River, just southwest of Detroit. Settled in about 1820, it was laid out in 1854 on the site of the Indian village where Chief Pontiac had planned his attack on Detroit in 1763. Its name recalls the Wyandot (Wendat) Indians, a confederation of the Huron nation. The first commercial Bessemer steel in the United States was produced

Mcpherson

2005-01-13T21:46:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1873) of McPherson county, central Kansas, U.S. Laid out in 1872 on the Santa Fe Trail, it was named for James B. McPherson, a Union general killed in the American Civil War. The city is now a processing and shipping point for nearby oil fields and the surrounding diversified agricultural area. Industries include oil refining, flour milling, and the manufacture of aluminum

Basenji

2005-01-11T07:47:00.000-08:00

Also called Congo Bush Dog, or Belgian Congo Dog, ancient breed of hound dog native to central Africa, where it is used to point and retrieve and to drive quarry into a net. It is also known as the barkless dog, but it does produce a variety of sounds other than barks. A graceful animal, it is characterized by an alert expression typified by the finely wrinkled forehead, erect ears, and tightly curled tail. The short, silky

Merchant Guild

2005-01-09T08:17:00.000-08:00

A European medieval association composed of traders interested in international commerce. The privileged fraternity formed by the merchants of Tiel in Gelderland (in present-day Netherlands) about 1020 is the first undoubted precursor of the merchant guilds, and the statutes of a similar body at St. Omer, France, actually use the term gilda mercatoria before the end

Military Aircraft, Mach 2

2005-01-07T21:13:00.000-08:00

A fourth generation of fighters began to appear in the 1960s, capable of maximum speeds ranging from about Mach 1.5 to 2.3. Top speeds varied with the intended mission, and increasing engine power, aerodynamic sophistication, and more compact and capable radars and avionics began to blur the differences between two-seat, all-weather fighters and single-seat air-superiority

Gabriel, Peter

2005-01-06T07:03:00.000-08:00

Gabriel left Genesis in 1975 and developed a deep interest in world music rhythms and textures, reflected in four eponymous albums (the last, released in 1982, was titled Security

Economic Warfare

2005-01-03T08:45:00.000-08:00

The use of, or the threat to use, economic means against a country in order to weaken its economy and thereby reduce its political and military power. Economic warfare also includes the use of economic means to compel an adversary to change its policies or behaviour or to undermine its ability to conduct normal relations with other countries. Some common means of

Animal Learning, Habituation

2005-01-02T10:48:00.000-08:00

A classic example of habituation is the following observation on the snail Helix albolabris. If the snail is moving along a wooden surface, it will immediately withdraw into its shell if the experimenter taps on the surface. It emerges after a pause, only to withdraw again if the tap is repeated. But continued repetition of the same tapping at regular intervals elicits

Gwadar Bay

2004-12-30T08:10:00.000-08:00

Persian Khalij-e Gavater, inlet of the Arabian Sea indenting the sandy Makran coast at the Iran–Pakistan border. It is about 20 miles (32 km) long and 10 miles (16 km) wide. The Dashtiari River flows into it from the northwest, and the Dasht from the northeast. The town of Gwadar, Pak., lies on the Arabian Sea coast about 30 miles (48 km) to the east of Gwadar Bay.

Swami-narayani

2004-12-28T00:18:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Swaminarayana, Hindu reform sect with a large popular following in Gujarat state. It arose primarily as a protest against the corrupt practices said to have developed during the 19th century among the Vallabhacarya, a prominent devotional sect renowned for the deference paid to its gurus (spiritual leaders). The sect was founded in Ahmedabad about 1804 by Swami Narayana, who emphasized the observance

Mina

2004-12-26T17:11:00.000-08:00

Also called Meo, or Mewati, tribe and caste inhabiting Rajasthan and Punjab states in northern India, and Punjab province, Pakistan, who speak Hindi and claim descent from the Rajputs. The Mina are possibly of inner Asiatic origin, and tradition suggests that they migrated to India in the 7th century with the Rajputs, but no other link between the two has been substantiated. In the 11th century, the Meo

Tiwanaku

2004-12-25T07:17:00.000-08:00

Some scholars date the earliest remains found at the site to the early part of the Early Intermediate Period (c. 200 BC–AD 200); others suggest that the culture is evident in artifacts

Philadelphia Inquirer, The

2004-12-22T03:35:00.000-08:00

It was founded in 1847 as the Pennsylvania Inquirer but adopted “Philadelphia” into its name about 1860. When the American Civil War began, it voiced strong support for the North, and it was frequently delivered to Union troops in the field. The Inquirer

Moseley Braun, Carol

2004-12-20T13:31:00.000-08:00

Carol Moseley attended the University of Illinois at Chicago (B.A., 1969) and received a law degree from the University of Chicago (1972). She married Michael Braun in 1973 (divorced 1986) and worked as an assistant U.S. attorney before her election to the Illinois

Devonian Period

2004-12-19T10:05:00.000-08:00

Interval of the Paleozoic Era that follows the Silurian and precedes the Carboniferous. It is thought to have covered the span of time between about 408 and 360 million years ago (see Table). The Devonian is often divided into the Early Devonian Epoch (408 to 387 million years ago), Middle Devonian Epoch (387 to 374 million years ago), and Late Devonian Epoch (374 to 360 million years ago). The rocks that

Christian Iv

2004-12-16T01:45:00.000-08:00

King of Denmark and Norway (1588–1648), who led two unsuccessful wars against Sweden and brought disaster upon his country by leading it into the Thirty Years' War. He energetically promoted trade and shipping, left a national heritage of fine buildings, and won repute as a plucky, hard-drinking man of grim wit and great

Scamozzi, Vincenzo

2004-12-15T06:28:00.000-08:00

Trained by his father, Bertotti Scamozzi, he studied in Venice and Rome and traveled widely through western Europe. The classicizing influence of Andrea Palladio and Sebastiano Serlio is evident in the palaces, villas, and churches that

France, History Of, Charles VII

2004-12-12T11:43:00.000-08:00

Charles VI's son, Charles VII (ruled 1422–61), for his part, did not fail to claim his inheritance, though he had no proper coronation. Residing at Bourges, which his adversaries pretended was the extent of his realm, he in fact retained the fidelity of the greater part of France, including Berry, Poitou, Lyonnais, Auvergne, and Languedoc. For a time the Valois cause suffered from the

Aldrich, Nelson W.

2004-12-11T11:28:00.000-08:00

Nathaniel Wright Stephenson, Nelson W. Aldrich, a Leader in American Politics (1930, reprinted 1971).

Lista, Alberto

2004-12-09T15:10:00.000-08:00

At age 20, Lista held the chair of mathematics at a college in Sevilla (Seville); later (1807) he assumed the chair of rhetoric and poetry at the University of Sevilla. After spending

Apprenticeship

2004-12-07T18:49:00.000-08:00

Training in an art, trade, or craft under a legal agreement that defines the duration and conditions of the relationship between master and apprentice.

Carnivore, Importance of carnivora

2004-12-05T05:52:00.000-08:00

There is probably no other group of animals more familiar to man than mammals belonging to the order Carnivora. The more popular domesticated pets of man, the dog and the cat, are both derived from wild members of this order. The majority of luxurious natural furs (ermine, mink, sable, otter) worn by women of fashion, as well as the furs of utility used by primitive man, come

Baranovichi

2004-12-02T21:18:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Baranovici, town, Brest oblast (province), Belarus, on the southern edge of the Novogrudok Hills. It developed from a small village in the late 19th century into a major railway junction, with lines to Moscow, Warsaw, and other eastern European centres. It has cotton, food-processing, and machine construction industries. Pop. (1991 est.) 166,700.

Turgenev, Ivan Sergeyevich

2004-12-01T01:34:00.000-08:00

Russian novelist, poet, and playwright, whose major works include the short-story collection A Sportsman's Sketches (1852) and the novels Rudin (1856), Home of the Gentry (1859), On the Eve (1860), and Fathers and Sons (1862). These works offer realistic, affectionate portrayals of the Russian peasantry and penetrating

Sinkiang, Uygur Autonomous Region Of, Settlement patterns

2004-11-28T14:39:00.000-08:00

There are five major cities in the province. Wu-lu-mu-ch'i,

Eight Masters Of Nanjing

2004-11-27T19:00:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Jinling Bajia , Wade-Giles romanization Chin-ling Pa-chia group of Chinese artists who lived and worked during the late 17th century in Nanjing (known as Jinling during the early Tang dynasty, c. 7th century). Although their group identity derives largely from the locale in which they worked, certain aesthetic similarities are discernible: their paintings, usually landscapes, are often uneven in quality and

Riau

2004-11-25T15:36:00.000-08:00

Provinsi (“province”), east-central Sumatra, Indonesia. It is bounded by the provinces of Jambi on the south, Sumatera Barat (West Sumatra) on the west, Sumatera Utara (North Sumatra) on the north and northwest, the Malacca Strait on the east, and the Berhala Strait on the southeast. Riau provinsi includes the Riau Islands, an archipelago lying at the southern entrance to the

Furniture, Egypt

2004-11-23T07:56:00.000-08:00

Beds, stools, throne chairs, and boxes were the chief forms of furniture in ancient Egypt. Although only a few important examples of actual furniture survive, stone carvings, fresco paintings, and models made as funerary offerings present rich documentary evidence. The bed may have been the earliest form; it was constructed of wood and consisted of a simple framework

Ulam, Stanislaw Marcin

2004-11-21T18:56:00.000-08:00

Ulam received a doctoral degree (1933) at the Polytechnic Institute in Lvov (now Lviv). At the invitation of John von Neumann, he worked at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New

Rovigo

2004-11-19T06:06:00.000-08:00

Landmarks include the octagonal Church of the Beata Vergine del Soccorso (1594), called La Rotonda, with paintings

Quinisext Council

2004-11-17T17:23:00.000-08:00

The Quinisext Council prepared 102 canons, many of which

Quatre Bornes

2004-11-14T10:16:00.000-08:00

Town (“township”) on the island of Mauritius, in the western Indian Ocean. It lies in the western highlands region of the country, about 9 miles (14 km) south of Port Louis, the national capital. Quatre Bornes (French: “Four Boundaries”) was named for the boundary stones that marked the limits of four large sugar estates once situated there. Sugarcane is still produced in the surrounding

Maurice

2004-11-12T06:42:00.000-08:00

In full Maurice, Prince Of Orange, Count Of Nassau, Dutch Maurits, Prins Van Oranje, Graaf Van Nassau hereditary stadholder (1585–1625) of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, or Dutch Republic, successor to his father, William I the Silent. His development of military strategy, tactics, and engineering made the Dutch army the most modern in the Europe of his time.

Augsburg Confession

2004-11-10T13:10:00.000-08:00

Latin Confessio Augustana, the 28 articles that constitute the basic confession of the Lutheran churches, presented June 25, 1530, in German and Latin at the Diet of Augsburg to the emperor Charles V by seven Lutheran princes and two imperial free cities. The principal author was the Reformer Philipp Melanchthon, who drew on earlier Lutheran statements of faith. The purpose was to defend the Lutherans

Amphibian, Habitat

2004-11-08T03:38:00.000-08:00

Because of their diverse reproductive and feeding strategies as well as their structural and functional adaptations, amphibians are found in deserts, swamps, lowland tropical rain forests, and above the tree line in high mountain areas. The three orders of living amphibians all contain species that have independently made transitions from aquatic to terrestrial

Murad Ii

2004-11-06T09:34:00.000-08:00

Early in his reign, Murad had to overcome several claimants to the Ottoman throne who were supported by the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaeologus and by many of the Turkmen principalities

Vairocana

2004-11-04T02:56:00.000-08:00

Some Buddhists regard Vairocana, or Mahavairocana, as a being separate from the five “self-born” Dhyani-Buddhas, one of whom is known as Vairocana (see Dhyani-Buddha). Among the Shingon sect of Japan, he is the chief object of reverence and is regarded as the source

Koraput

2004-11-03T16:12:00.000-08:00

Most of the people of the surrounding area live in tribal communities and are engaged in agriculture, with rice, sugarcane, and oilseeds the biggest crops. The region also has rich mineral deposits, including

V-2 Missile

2004-10-31T22:21:00.000-08:00

Developed in Germany from 1936 through the efforts of scientists led by Wernher von Braun, it was first successfully launched on October 3, 1942, and was fired against Paris on September 6, 1944. Two days later the first of more than 1,100 V-2s was fired against Great Britain (the last on March

Athens

2004-10-29T04:50:00.000-07:00

City, seat of McMinn county, southeastern Tennessee, U.S. It lies in the Tennessee River valley, between the Great Smoky Mountains (east) and the Cumberland Plateau (west), about 55 miles (90 km) southwest of Knoxville. It was founded in 1821 as a seat of justice, and the courts were moved there in 1823 from a temporary courthouse that had been erected at nearby Calhoun. It was named for the city

Sunday Times, The

2004-10-26T15:12:00.000-07:00

Founded in 1822 as a nationally circulated paper with an independent editorial policy, The Sunday Times reflects the dignified,

Gonzaga, Tomás Antônio

2004-10-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

Gonzaga completed his law studies at the University of Coimbra (1768) and in 1782 was appointed a judge in Vila Rica, Brazil. There he fell in love with Marília, who was mentioned in his lyrics, but on the eve of their marriage (1789) he was arrested on a charge, undoubtedly

Hippocrateaceae

2004-10-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

Family of woody vines, shrubs, and trees, belonging to the order Celastrales, comprising 21 genera common in the tropics. They have simple leaves and small, greenish flowers. The genus Hippocratea has 80 or more species, including H. ovata, a high-climbing vine—in tropical America and the West Indies—with leathery, oval leaves. Salacia, with 200 species, differs from Hippocratea

Bitis

2004-10-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

Snake genus belonging to the poisonous viper family Viperidae, including the puff adders (e.g., Bitis arietans; see adder), the Gaboon viper (q.v.; B. gabonica), and the rhinoceros viper (q.v.; B. nasicornis).

Arts, Islamic, Roba'iyat: Omar Khayyam

2004-10-15T00:11:00.000-07:00

The work done in mathematics by early Arabic scholars and by al-Biruni was continued by Omar Khayyam (died 1122), to whom the Seljuq empire in fact owes the reform of its calendar. But Omar has become famous in the West through the free adaptations by Edward FitzGerald of his roba'iyat. These quatrains have been translated into almost every known language and are largely responsible

Oberth, Hermann (julius)

2004-10-14T07:17:00.000-07:00

The son of a prosperous physician, Oberth studied medicine in Munich, but his education was interrupted by service in the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I. After being wounded in the war, he found time to pursue

Florencio Varela

2004-10-11T17:26:00.000-07:00

The partido of Florencio

Consciousness

2004-10-09T02:07:00.000-07:00

A psychological condition defined by the English philosopher John Locke as “the perception of what passes in a man's own mind.”

Amphion And Zethus

2004-10-08T07:18:00.000-07:00

In Greek mythology, the twin sons of Zeus by Antiope. When children, they were left to die on Mount Cithaeron but were found and brought up by a shepherd. Amphion became a great singer and musician, Zethus a hunter and herdsman. After rejoining their mother, they built and fortified Thebes, huge blocks of stone forming themselves into walls at the sound of Amphion's lyre.

Silicic Acid

2004-10-06T15:27:00.000-07:00

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

Probability Theory

2004-10-04T23:32:00.000-07:00

Suppose two balls are drawn sequentially without replacement from an urn containing r red and b black balls. The probability of getting a red ball on the first draw is r/(r + b). If, however, one is told that a red ball was obtained on the first draw, the conditional probability of getting a red ball on the second draw is (r - 1)/(r + b - 1), because for the second draw there are r + b - 1 balls in the urn, of which

Veneer

2004-10-04T14:42:00.000-07:00

Extremely thin sheet of rich-coloured wood (such as mahogany, ebony, or rosewood) or precious materials (such as ivory or tortoiseshell) cut in decorative patterns and applied to the surface area of a piece of furniture. It is to be distinguished from two allied processes: inlay, in which cutout pieces of decorative wood or other materials—such as metal, leather, or

Rocky Mountains, Climate

2004-10-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

Along the great north-south extent of the mountains, the climate of the Rockies extends from the northern fringe of the subtropical zone in the far south to the Arctic in the far north. In the south, however, the continentality and high elevation of the mountains tend to reduce the advantages of latitude. Two vertical zones prevail throughout much of the range. The lower

Fielden, John

2004-10-02T14:02:00.000-07:00

On his father's death in 1811, Fielden and his brothers inherited the family cotton-spinning business at Todmorden, which became one of the greatest manufacturing concerns in Great Britain. Unlike most mill

Lorain

2004-09-30T03:37:00.000-07:00

City, Lorain county, northern Ohio, U.S., 26 mi (42 km) west of Cleveland, on Lake Erie at the mouth of the Black River, adjacent to Elyria (south). Moravian missionaries camped briefly on the site in 1787, but the first permanent settler was Nathan Perry, from Vermont, who built a trading post there in 1807. First known as Black River, it was incorporated as the village of Charlestown in 1836 and was

Aidan

2004-09-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

Aidan was crowned at Iona by St. Columba. He refused to allow his kingdom to remain dependent on the Irish Dalriada; but, coming into collision with his southern neighbours, he led a large force against Aethelfrith, king of the Northumbrians, and was defeated at Degsanstan, probably in

Arnim, Achim Von

2004-09-28T19:36:00.000-07:00

While a student at the University of Heidelberg, Arnim published jointly with Clemens Brentano a remarkable collection of folk poetry, Des Knaben Wunderhorn (q.v.; the title derives from the opening

Offenburg

2004-09-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

City, Baden-Württemberg Land (state), southwestern Germany, in the Kinzig River Valley, at the western edge of the Black Forest (Schwarzwald). First mentioned in 1101, it was founded by the Zähringen margraves on the site of a Roman settlement and was an imperial free city from 1289 to 1802. In 1846–49 it was a centre of the revolutionary movement in Baden. Gothic and Baroque buildings and remains

Offenburg

2004-09-27T23:08:00.000-07:00

Armoured ornithischian dinosaurs that lived 70 million to 65 million years ago in North America during the Late Cretaceous Period. Ankylosaurus is a genus belonging to a larger group (infraorder Ankylosauria) of related four-legged, herbivorous, heavily armoured dinosaurs that flourished throughout the Cretaceous Period (144 million to 65 million years

Alkan, Valentin

2004-09-26T00:07:00.000-07:00

Alkan was born to Jewish parents, and all of his siblings (five brothers and a sister) also assumed the surname Alkan and were musicians. Valentin drew notice at the age of seven, when he won the first of many first

Yüeh

2004-09-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

Pinyin Yue, aboriginal people of South China who in the 5th–4th century BC formed a powerful kingdom in present-day Chekiang and Fukien provinces. The name Vietnam means “south of the Yüeh,” and some Chinese scholars consider the Vietnamese to be descendants of the Yüeh.

Tasmania

2004-09-24T23:54:00.000-07:00

Formerly Van Diemen's Land island state of Australia, lying about 150 miles (240 kilometres) south of the state of Victoria, from which it is separated by the relatively shallow Bass Strait. Physically, Tasmania forms part of the Great Dividing Range. The state comprises a main island called Tasmania; Bruny Island, nestling close to the southeastern coast; King and Flinders islands in Bass Strait; numerous

Brachistochrone

2004-09-23T22:02:00.000-07:00

The planar curve on which a body subjected only to the force of gravity will slide (without friction) between two points in the least possible time (see Figure). Finding the curve was a problem first posed by Galileo. In the late 17th century the Swiss mathematician Jakob Bernoulli offered a reward for the solution of this problem. He and his younger brother Johann, along

Moreau, (jean-) Victor (-marie)

2004-09-21T22:57:00.000-07:00

The son of a lawyer, Moreau studied law at Rennes, where, in 1788, he led a student riot in protest against King Louis XVI's attempts to restrict the authority of the Parlements (high courts of justice). Moreau welcomed the

Rouvier, Maurice

2004-09-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

Having launched the republican journal L'Égalité in 1870, Rouvier, a supporter of Léon Gambetta—one of the founding fathers of the Third Republic—served as deputy in the National Assembly

X-ray Source

2004-09-19T19:42:00.000-07:00

Advances in instrumentation and improved observational techniques have

Hard Water

2004-09-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

Water that contains salts of calcium and magnesium principally as bicarbonates, chlorides, and sulfates. Ferrous iron may also be present; oxidized to the ferric form, it appears as a reddish brown stain on washed fabrics and enameled surfaces. Water hardness that is caused by calcium bicarbonate is known as temporary, because boiling converts the bicarbonate

Chancroid

2004-09-17T13:57:00.000-07:00

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

BrokenPocket

Black Sea

Penna, Sandro

Fabre, émile

Scandinavian Literature, The influence of Georg Brandes

Furniture, Decorative processes and techniques

Jerez De García Salinas

Sohlman, August

Arrowhead

Accessory Mineral

Alyattes

Andean Peoples

Magdalena Del Mar

Sevilla

Argentina, The conservative regime, 18801916

Francis I

Gypcrete

France, History Of, Clovis

Coolidge, Grace

Radioactive Isotope

Rodeo

Cohens V. Virginia

Arabia, History Of, Religious reform

Arung Singkang

Pollard, Fritz

Tar

Biblical Literature, The translation of Symmachus

Qiryat Shemona

Olynthus

Drug Use, Amphetamines

Wheeler, William A(lmon)

Hank

Regeneration

Wyandotte

Mcpherson

Basenji

Merchant Guild

Military Aircraft, Mach 2

Gabriel, Peter

Economic Warfare

Animal Learning, Habituation

Gwadar Bay

Swami-narayani

Mina

Tiwanaku

Philadelphia Inquirer, The

Moseley Braun, Carol

Devonian Period

Christian Iv

Scamozzi, Vincenzo

France, History Of, Charles VII

Aldrich, Nelson W.

Lista, Alberto

Apprenticeship

Carnivore, Importance of carnivora

Baranovichi

Turgenev, Ivan Sergeyevich

Sinkiang, Uygur Autonomous Region Of, Settlement patterns

Eight Masters Of Nanjing

Riau

Furniture, Egypt

Ulam, Stanislaw Marcin

Rovigo

Quinisext Council

Quatre Bornes

Maurice

Augsburg Confession

Amphibian, Habitat

Murad Ii

Vairocana

Koraput

V-2 Missile

Athens

Sunday Times, The

Gonzaga, Tomás Antônio

Hippocrateaceae

Bitis

Arts, Islamic, Roba'iyat: Omar Khayyam

Oberth, Hermann (julius)

Florencio Varela

Argentina, The conservative regime, 18801916