FrequentShip

Estate Agent Fitzrovia

2006-10-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services. They are a specialist in estate agent fitzrovia, amongst other London areas such as Soho and Oxford Circus.

Roman à Clef

2005-03-30T13:16:00.000-08:00

(French: “novel with a key”), novel that has the extraliterary interest of portraying well-known real people more or less thinly disguised as fictional characters. The tradition goes back to 17th-century France, when fashionable members of the aristocratic literary coteries, such as Mlle de Scudéry, enlivened their historical romances by including in them fictional

Gyges

2005-03-30T01:05:00.000-08:00

According to all the ancient sources, Gyges came to the throne after slaying King Candaules and marrying his queen, but there are several versions of the event itself. Herodotus wrote that Candaules, who was inordinately proud of

Low-temperature Phenomena

2005-03-29T03:51:00.000-08:00

The behaviour of matter at temperatures closer to absolute zero (-273.15° C [-459.67° F]) than to room temperature. At such temperatures the thermal, electric, and magnetic properties of many substances undergo great change, and, indeed, the behaviour of matter may seem strange when compared with that at room temperature. Superconductivity and superfluidity can be cited as two such

Ironclad

2005-03-28T16:46:00.000-08:00

Type of warship developed in Europe and the United States in the mid-19th century, characterized by the iron casemates that protected the hull. In the Crimean War (1853–56) the French and British successfully attacked Russian fortifications with “floating batteries,” ironclad barges mounting heavy guns, that were towed into position. The French built the first iron

Yerevan

2005-03-28T16:23:00.000-08:00

The city developed as an important

Nagy, Ivan

2005-03-27T21:49:00.000-08:00

Nagy trained as a youth with his mother and first performed with the Budapest State Opera Ballet. Frederic Franklin, then the director of the National Ballet of Washington, D.C., saw Nagy when he won a silver medal at the International Ballet Competition at Varna in 1965. Impressed, Franklin

Aecium

2005-03-25T18:47:00.000-08:00

Also called aecidium a cluster-cup or fruiting body of certain rust fungi (order Uredinales, division Mycota). Yellow to orange in colour, aecia develop after fertilization and bear one-celled spores (aeciospores, or aecidiospores). Aecia are usually found on lower leaf surfaces of plants.

Biblical Literature, Jonah

2005-03-25T14:18:00.000-08:00

The Book of Jonah, containing the well-known story of Jonah in the stomach of a fish for three days, is actually a narrative about a reluctant prophet. This fifth book of the Twelve (Minor) Prophets contains no oracles and is thus unique among prophetic books. In II Kings, chapter 14, verses 25–27, there is a reference to a prophet Jonah who lived during the early part of the reign of

Bürgi, Joost

2005-03-25T05:09:00.000-08:00

Bürgi served as court watchmaker to Duke Wilhelm IV of Hesse-Kassel from 1579 to 1592 and worked in the royal observatory at Kassel, where he developed geometrical and astronomical instruments. Word of his exceptional instruments

Hawkins, Sir John

2005-03-24T08:14:00.000-08:00

A kinsman of Sir Francis Drake, Hawkins began his career as a merchant in the African trade and soon became the first English slave trader. By carrying slaves from Guinea, in West Africa,

Melchizedek

2005-03-23T21:51:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Melchisedech, in the Old Testament, a figure of importance in biblical tradition because he was both king and priest, was connected with Jerusalem, and was revered by Abraham, who paid a tithe to him. He appears as a person only in an interpolated vignette (Gen. 14:18–20) of the story of Abraham rescuing his kidnapped nephew, Lot, by defeating a coalition of Mesopotamian kings under

Ogburn, William Fielding

2005-03-23T05:04:00.000-08:00

Ogburn was a professor at Columbia University (1919–27) and the University of Chicago (1927–51). He frequently served as a labour mediator

Astor, Brooke Russell

2005-03-22T15:54:00.000-08:00

The daughter of a U.S. Marine Corps officer and a socialite, young Brooke's early years were spent on Marine posts in Hawaii, Panama, and China. Educated for the most part by governesses, she became fascinated

Indian Philosophy, Relation to the Mimamsa-sutras

2005-03-21T13:16:00.000-08:00

Along with Badari and Jaimini, Badarayana, a contemporary of Jaimini, was the other major interpreter of Vedic thought. Just as the Mimamsa-sutra traditions of Badari's tradition were revived by Prabhakara, a 7th–8th-century scholar, and Jaimini's defended by Sabara and Kumarila, a 7th–8th-century scholar, Baharayana's sutras laid the basis for the development of Vedanta philosophy. The relation

Theatre, Western, Shamanism

2005-03-21T02:10:00.000-08:00

A second theory proposes that theatre evolved from shamanistic rituals that manifested to the audience a supernatural presence, as opposed to giving a symbolic representation of it. In this case the shaman, as actor/priest, was able to put himself into a trance and become a medium with the other world. He was believed to travel in the spirit world or be actually possessed

Albany River

2005-03-19T11:31:00.000-08:00

River, north central Ontario, Canada, rising in Lake St. Joseph at an elevation of 1,218 ft (371 m) and flowing generally eastward into James Bay. For 250 mi (400 km) of its 610-mi course, the river is navigable, and it served as an important route during the fur-trading days, when boats sailed inland from the Hudson's Bay Company post of Ft. Albany (established 1684) at the mouth. Its largest tributary is the

Berber

2005-03-19T05:59:00.000-08:00

Any of the descendants of the pre-Arab inhabitants of North Africa. The Berbers are scattered in tribes across Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt and tend to be concentrated in the mountain and desert regions of those countries. Smaller numbers of Berbers live in the northern portions of Mauritania, Mali, and Niger. They speak various languages belonging to

Kenite

2005-03-19T01:29:00.000-08:00

Member of a tribe of itinerant metalsmiths related to the Midianites and the Israelites who plied their trade while traveling in the region of the Arabah (the desert rift valley extending from the Sea of Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba) from at least the 13th century to the 9th century BC. The Kenites' name was derived from Cain, whose descendants they were believed to be. The Kenites

W.h., Mr.

2005-03-18T03:34:00.000-08:00

The mystery of his identity has tantalized generations of biographers and critics,

Fréchette, Louis-honoré

2005-03-17T21:55:00.000-08:00

Fréchette studied law at Laval University, Quebec, and was admitted to the bar in 1864. Discharged as a journalist for liberal views, he went to Chicago (1866–71). There, he wrote La Voix d'un exilé (1866–68; “The Voice of an Exile”), a poem attacking the political and clerical dealings in Quebec

Shenute

2005-03-17T20:59:00.000-08:00

Shenute entered monastic life as a youth and succeeded his uncle as abbot of the White Monastery in 383. He revived the rule of Pachomius, the 4th-century founder of cenobitic,

Bar

2005-03-17T10:49:00.000-08:00

Port in Montenegro, Yugoslavia, on the Adriatic Sea. It is the principal port of the Yugoslav federation and the only maritime outlet for the landlocked republic of Serbia. The current city is known as Novi (“New”) Bar. Stari (“Old”) Bar's ruins lie farther inland at the base of Mount Rumija. Stari Bar was first mentioned in the 9th century, when it came under the control of the Byzantine

Annelid

2005-03-16T10:44:00.000-08:00

General overviews of annelids can be found in R. Phillips Dales, Annelids, 2nd ed. (1967), a semipopular account; D.T. Anderson, Embryology and Phylogeny in Annelids and Arthropods (1973); P.J. Mill (ed.), Physiology of Annelids (1978), a review; Robert D. Barnes, Invertebrate Zoology, 4th ed. (1980), ch. 10, “The Annelids,” pp. 263–341; R.O. Brinkhurst, “Evolution in the Annelida,” Canadian Journal of Zoology, 60(5):1043–59 (1982), a summary of current scholarship; Donald J. Klemm (ed.), A Guide to the Freshwater Annelida (Polychaeta, Naidid and Tubificid Oligochaeta, and Hirudinea) of North America (1985), on ecology and taxonomy; and Vicki Pearse et al., Living Invertebrates (1987), ch. 16, “Annelid Body Plan,” and ch. 17, “A Diversity of Annelids,” pp. 387–437. For information on polychaetes, see Kristian Fauchald, The Polychaete Worms: Definitions and Keys to the Orders, Families, and Genera (1977); Kristian Fauchald and P.A. Jumars, “The Diet of Worms: A Study of Polychaete Feeding Guilds,” Oceanography and Marine Biology, 17:193–284 (1979); and Albrecht Fischer and Hans-Dieter Pfannenstiel (eds.), Polychaete Reproduction: Progress in Comparative Reproductive Biology (1984), a collection of symposium papers. For oligochaetes, see R.O. Brinkhurst and B.G.M. Jamieson, Aquatic Oligochaeta of the World (1971); C.A. Edwards and J.R. Lofty, Biology of Earthworms, 2nd ed. (1977); and O. Giere and O. Pfannkuche, “Biology and Ecology of Marine Oligochaeta: A Review,” Oceanography and Marine Biology, 20:173–308 (1982). See also the proceedings of three international symposia on aquatic oligochaete biology: R.O. Brinkhurst and David G. Cook (eds.), Aquatic Oligochaete Biology (1980); G. Bonomi and C. Erséus (eds.), Aquatic Oligochaeta (1984); and R.O. Brinkhurst and R.J. Diaz (eds.), Aquatic Oligochaeta (1987). For leeches, see Kenneth J. Muller, John G. Nicholls, and Gunther S. Stent (ed.), Neurobiology of the Leech (1981); and Roy T. Sawyer, Leech Biology and Behaviour, 3 vol. (1986), an extensive overview.

Vacuole

2005-03-16T01:25:00.000-08:00

In biology, a space within a cell that is empty of cytoplasm, lined with a membrane, and filled with fluid. Especially in protozoa, vacuoles are cytoplasmic organs (organelles), performing functions such as storage, ingestion, digestion, excretion, and expulsion of excess water. The large central vacuoles often found in plant cells enable them to attain a large size without

Elisha Ben Abuyah

2005-03-15T16:59:00.000-08:00

Byname Aher Jewish scholar who renounced his faith and who came to be regarded in later ages as a prototype of the heretic whose intellectual pride leads him to infidelity to Jewish laws and morals. In the Talmud, Elisha is not mentioned by name but is usually referred to as Aher (“the Other,” or “Another”). His renunciation of Judaism was considered doubly heinous because he was a tanna

Cereal Farming, Weeds

2005-03-15T15:19:00.000-08:00

Weeds present difficulties, as they compete with cereal crops for water, light, and mineral nutrients. The infestation of annual seeds planted in a field may cause many weeds in that field for successive years. Charlock or wild mustard, wild oats, crouch grass, and other common weeds are disseminated by wind, water, and birds.

Hilo

2005-03-14T09:20:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Hawaii county, northeastern Hawaii Island, Hawaii, U.S. It lies along Hilo Bay and is the island's business centre. The city is surrounded by sugarcane fields and supports a thriving orchid industry. Its deepwater harbour (once a whaling port) is protected by a breakwater and has bulk sugar-loading facilities. Exports also include orchids, anthuriums, macadamia

Anorexia

2005-03-13T19:46:00.000-08:00

Persistent lack of appetite not caused by repletion. It may spring from psychoneurotic causes, as in anorexia nervosa (q.v.), a lack of appetite, primarily in young women, that may lead to extreme emaciation and even to death. Anorexia, like nausea and vomiting, may be brought about by shock, pain, or an inadequate supply of oxygen to a centre in the medulla oblongata (the part

Ram

2005-03-13T18:59:00.000-08:00

The ram enjoyed a brief revival in naval warfare in the mid-19th

Legaspi

2005-03-12T19:43:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Legazpi, chartered city, capital of Albay province, southeastern Luzon, Philippines, near an inlet on Albay Gulf. Founded c. 1639, it was named for Miguel López de Legazpi, conquistador and first Spanish governor general of the Philippines. The city lies at the southern base of the active volcanic Mt. Mayon, the 1815 eruption of which killed more than 1,000 people and levelled nearby Cagsawa.

Wampanoag

2005-03-12T04:51:00.000-08:00

Algonquian-speaking Indians of eastern North America who formerly occupied parts of the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, Martha's Vineyard, and adjacent islands. They were semisedentary, with seasonal movements between fixed sites. Corn (maize) was the staple of their diet, supplemented by fish and game. They were divided into several subtribes, each with

Wolfenbüttel

2005-03-11T19:42:00.000-08:00

City, Lower Saxony Land (state), northwestern Germany. The city lies along the Oker River, just south of Brunswick. First mentioned in 1118, it grew around the castle that became a favourite Welf residence about 1283. Chartered in 1540, it was captured by the Protestant Schmalkaldic League in 1542 and was transferred to Brunswick in 1753–54. The old town has many Renaissance and Baroque half-timbered

Itabuna

2005-03-11T19:23:00.000-08:00

City, southeastern Bahia estado (“state”), northeastern Brazil. It lies just west of Ilhéus on the Cachoeira River at 174 feet (53 m) above sea level. Itabuna, which was elevated to city status in 1910, is the trade centre for a rich zone yielding cacao, livestock, and other agricultural products. It was used as a setting by Jorge Amado in his novels dealing with the cacao culture. A chemical

Annunciation

2005-03-11T13:24:00.000-08:00

The Feast of the Annunciation, one of the principal feasts of the Christian church, is celebrated on March 25 (Lady Day). The first authentic allusions to the feast (apart from the Gelasian and Gregorian sacramentaries, in both

Hughes, Richard (arthur Warren)

2005-03-10T13:54:00.000-08:00

Hughes was educated at Charterhouse School, near Godalming, Surrey, and at Oriel College, Oxford, from which he graduated in 1922, the same year in which his one-act

Orthodox Judaism

2005-03-09T16:55:00.000-08:00

The religion of those Jews who adhere most strictly to traditional beliefs and practices. Jewish Orthodoxy resolutely refuses to accept the position of Reform Judaism that the Bible and other sacred Jewish writings contain not only eternally valid moral principles but also historically and culturally conditioned adaptations and interpretations of the

Discus Fish

2005-03-09T09:32:00.000-08:00

Two species of the genus Symphysodon of fishes in the family Cichlidae (order Perciformes), characterized by a compressed, disk-shaped body. The two species (S. discus and S. aequifasciata) occur naturally in tributaries of the Amazon River in South America. Discus fish have an unusual form of parental care: the adults secrete a mucuslike substance onto their skin that

Thang-ka

2005-03-08T05:39:00.000-08:00

Thang-kas are essentially aids for meditation, though they may be hung in temples or at family altars, carried in religious processions, or used to illustrate sermons. Thang-kas are not free

Yakovlev, Aleksandr Sergeyevich

2005-03-07T15:18:00.000-08:00

After graduation from the Air Force Engineering Academy in 1931, Yakovlev immediately began to design aircraft, both piston- and jet-engined. Just before World War II he designed the Yak-1 fighter. His first jet

Discus Fish

2005-03-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

Major Canadian professional gridiron football organization, formed in 1956 as the Canadian Football Council, created by the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU) and the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU). Though the IRFU still referred to their sport as rugby football, the member clubs played a gridiron style of football. The WIFU and IRFU became,

Biogenic Landform

2005-03-07T07:12:00.000-08:00

Any topographic feature that can be attributed to the activity of organisms. Such features are diverse in both kind and scale. Organisms contribute to the genesis of most topography involving rock weathering; they play an auxiliary role, as demonstrated by bacterial and lichen activity, the effects of root wedging, and solutional erosion made possible by humic

Lermontov, Mikhail

2005-03-07T04:24:00.000-08:00

Only 26 years old when he died, Lermontov had proved his worth as a brilliant and gifted poet-thinker, prose writer, and playwright, the successor of Pushkin, and an exponent of the best traditions of Russian literature. His youthful lyric poetry is filled with a passionate craving for freedom and contains calls to battle, agonizing reflections on how to apply his strengths

Pacific Ocean

2005-03-06T23:31:00.000-08:00

The wind and pressure systems of the Pacific conform closely with the so-called planetary system—i.e., the patterns of air pressure and the consequent wind patterns that develop in the atmosphere of the Earth as a result of its rotation (Coriolis force) and the inclination of its axis (ecliptic) toward the Sun. They are, in essence, a three-celled latitudinal arrangement

Saavedra (ramírez De Baquendano), ángel De, Duque De Rivas

2005-03-06T14:45:00.000-08:00

After entering politics Saavedra was condemned to death in 1823 for his extreme liberal views. He fled to London and lived subsequently in Italy,

Abuja

2005-03-05T11:18:00.000-08:00

The site was chosen

Switzerland, Precipitation

2005-03-05T01:52:00.000-08:00

Since rainfall tends to increase in direct proportion to altitude, the precipitation map corresponds very closely to the relief map; and, because of the marked variation in reliefs, differences in precipitation within short linear distances are often very great. For example, St. Gall (Sankt Gallen), at 2,556 feet, has an average annual precipitation of 52 inches (1,318 mm), while that

Adder

2005-03-04T17:27:00.000-08:00

Any of several venomous snakes of the viper family, Viperidae, and the death adder, a viperlike member of the cobra snake family, Elapidae. The name adder may also be applied to certain other snakes, such as the hognose snake (q.v.), a harmless North American species. Among the adders of the viper family are included the common adder (Vipera berus), the puff adders (several species

Yust, Walter

2005-03-04T02:33:00.000-08:00

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Yust began his journalism career with the Philadelphia Evening Ledger in 1917 and later worked for newspapers in New Orleans and for other

Alagoinhas

2005-03-03T19:58:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern Bahia state, northeastern Brazil, lying 35 miles (56 km) inland from the Atlantic coast at 607 feet (185 metres) above sea level. It was elevated to city rank in 1880, and its municipality is the largest orange-producing region in the state. Bananas, lemons, and cassava (manioc) are also cultivated, and dairying is widespread. Tanning, coal mining, and lumbering are also important.

Wu River

2005-03-03T05:11:00.000-08:00

Wade–Giles romanization Wu Chiang, Pinyin Wu Jiang, tributary of the Yangtze River in southern China. It rises in the hills of western Kweichow Province and flows east through narrow gorges between steep cliffs. It turns north at Ssu-nan, enters Szechwan Province, and flows into the Yangtze at Fu-ling after a total course of 700 mi (1,100 km). Its drainage basin of 31,000 sq mi (80,000 sq km), including most of Kweichow, is a region of rugged terrain

Taft, Robert A.

2005-03-02T19:33:00.000-08:00

The son of William Howard Taft, 27th president of the

Glaucoma

2005-03-02T11:29:00.000-08:00

Disease caused by an increase in pressure within the eye as a result of blockage of the flow of aqueous humour, a watery fluid produced by the ciliary body. (The ciliary body is a ring of tissue directly behind the outer rim of the iris; besides being the source of aqueous humour, it contains the muscle that flattens the curvature of the lens for far vision.) The normal flow

Baku Rug

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

Also called Chilia Rug, handwoven floor covering made near Baku in the eastern Caucasus. It is a variety of Dagestan rug in modified Persian design, the ground pattern usually bearing rows of the pear or leaf forms of the Seraband rugs but larger in scale and more geometric and complex in form. Stepped medallions and stepped cornerpieces may show a toothed outline, resembling the corners

Westchester

2005-03-01T05:24:00.000-08:00

The original inhabitants of Westchester, Algonquian-speaking Wappinger Indians, were displaced in the 1640s by Dutch colonists along the Hudson and by colonists

Bridge

2005-02-28T16:13:00.000-08:00

Structure that spans horizontally between supports, whose function is to carry vertical loads. The prototypical bridge is quite simple—two supports holding up a beam—yet the engineering problems that must be overcome even in this simple form are inherent in every bridge: the supports must be strong enough to hold the structure up, and the span between supports

Faience Patriotique

2005-02-28T05:01:00.000-08:00

French 18th-century earthenware, chiefly plates and jugs, decorated with themes drawn from the French Revolution and its ideology or from national political events. The first example of a faience patriotique was a Moustiers dish occasioned by the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745, but it was the Revolution that inspired the greatest production of faience patriotique. A number

Discriminant

2005-02-28T03:39:00.000-08:00

In mathematics, a parameter of an object or system calculated as an aid to its classification or solution. In the case of a quadratic equation ax2 + bx + c = 0, the discriminant is b2 - 4ac; for a cubic equation x3 + ax2 + bx + c = 0, the discriminant is a2b2 + 18abc - 4b3 - 4a3c - 27c2. The roots of a quadratic or cubic equation with real coefficients are real and distinct if the discriminant is positive, real with at

Christensen, Willam

2005-02-27T17:48:00.000-08:00

Christensen studied with the great ballet master and reformer Michel Fokine. He performed in vaudeville with his brothers before joining the San Francisco Opera Ballet as

Biblical Literature, Philological criticism

2005-02-26T09:10:00.000-08:00

Philological criticism consists mainly in the study of the biblical languages in their widest scope, so that the vocabulary, grammar, and style of the biblical writings can be understood as accurately as possible with the aid not only of other biblical writings but of other writings in the same or cognate languages. New Testament Greek, for example, is a representative

Thebes

2005-02-26T07:49:00.000-08:00

Modern Greek Thívai major city of Boeotia nomós (department), northwest of Athens, Greece, and one of the chief cities and powers of ancient Greece. On the acropolis of the ancient city stands the present commercial and agricultural centre of Thebes. It is situated on a low ridge dividing the surrounding plain; the modern city is the seat of the Greek Orthodox bishop of Thebes and Levádhia.

Abrahams, Harold

2005-02-25T19:46:00.000-08:00

Abrahams was born into an athletic family; his older brother Sidney represented Great Britain in the Olympics in 1912. Abrahams participated in the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp but did not win a gold medal. Competing for Cambridge University from 1920 to 1924, he won a series

Ashbee, Charles Robert

2005-02-24T18:55:00.000-08:00

After education at Wellington College and King's College, Cambridge, and while actively involved in the social work of Toynbee Hall, Ashbee was articled to the architect

Hertfordshire

2005-02-24T08:43:00.000-08:00

Administrative and historic county of southern England, adjoining Greater London to the south. The administrative county and the historic county cover slightly different areas. The administrative county comprises 10 districts: East Hertfordshire, North Hertfordshire, Three Rivers, and Welwyn Hatfield; the boroughs of Broxbourne, Dacorum, Hertsmere, Stevenage

Amphibian, Life cycle

2005-02-23T20:45:00.000-08:00

Most amphibians have a biphasic life cycle involving aquatic eggs and larvae that metamorphose into terrestrial adults. They deposit large numbers of eggs in water; clutches may exceed 5,000 eggs in the tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) and 45,000 eggs in large bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana). Egg size and water temperature influence the length of time required by embryos

Abdülhak Hâmid

2005-02-23T08:15:00.000-08:00

Born into a family of famous scholars, Hâmid was educated in Istanbul and in Paris. Later in Tehran, he studied Arabic and Persian poetry.

'olam Ha-ba

2005-02-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

In Jewish theology, either “the world after death” or the new creation or restoration of the world that is to follow the messianic millennium. Because this latter interpretation stemmed from the teachings and exhortations of the prophets, it was especially prevalent during the period of the Second Temple of Jerusalem (516 BC–AD 70). Whatever the interpretation of 'olam ha-ba, it

Henry I

2005-02-22T14:39:00.000-08:00

Henry was crowned at Westminster, on Aug. 5, 1100, three days after his brother, King William II, William the Conqueror's second son, had been killed in a hunting accident. Duke Robert Curthose, the eldest of the three brothers, who by feudal custom had succeeded to his father's inheritance, Normandy, was returning from the First Crusade and could not assert his own claim to the English

World War I, The end of the German War

2005-02-22T13:33:00.000-08:00

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

Logau, Friedrich, Freiherr Von

2005-02-21T16:54:00.000-08:00

Logau was of noble descent and became an orphan early. He spent his life in service to the petty courts of Brieg and Liegnitz. Logau resented the forced lowliness of his position, and he directed much of his satirical

Frederick Charles, Prince Of Prussia

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

The eldest son of Prince Charles of Prussia and nephew of the future German emperor William I, Frederick Charles was educated from childhood for a military career. He became a colonel in 1852 and a major general in 1854, in which year he married Princess

Monad

2005-02-20T09:26:00.000-08:00

(from Greek monas “unit”), an elementary individual substance that reflects the order of the world and from which material properties are derived. The term was first used by the Pythagoreans as the name of the beginning number of a series, from which all following numbers derived. Giordano Bruno in De monade, numero et figura liber (1591; “On the Monad, Number, and Figure”) described

Arqalyq

2005-02-19T05:33:00.000-08:00

Russian Arkalyk, city, north-central Kazakstan, about 75 miles (120 km) west of Lake Tengiz. Settlement of the site began in 1956 in connection with the exploitation of the Torghay bauxite deposits, and it became a city in 1965. Arqalyq is linked to the Astana-Tobyl railway by a branch line from Yesil. In the late 20th century a major construction program was under way to provide the city with various urban

Dubois, Pierre

2005-02-19T03:26:00.000-08:00

French lawyer and political pamphleteer during the reign of Philip IV the Fair; his most important treatise, De recuperatione Terrae Sanctae (1306, “On the Recovery of the Holy Land”), dealt with a wide range of political issues and gave a good picture of contemporary intellectual trends while ostensibly outlining the conditions

Caucasian Languages, The Avar-Andi-Dido languages

2005-02-18T22:32:00.000-08:00

Of these tongues,

Technology

2005-02-18T05:44:00.000-08:00

The subject of technology is treated in a number of articles. For general treatment, see technology, history of; hand tool. For description of the materials that are both the object and means of manipulating

Aspergillus

2005-02-18T01:06:00.000-08:00

Genus of the Fungi Imperfecti (form-class Deuteromycetes). Those species for which the sexual phase is known are placed in the order Eurotiales. A. niger causes black mold of foodstuffs; A. flavus, A. niger, and A. fumigatus cause aspergillosis in humans. A. oryzae is used to ferment sake, and A. wentii to process soybeans. Three genera of the class Ascomycetes have

Taeuber, Conrad; And Barnes Taeuber, Irene

2005-02-17T20:41:00.000-08:00

Conrad Taeuber was educated at the University of Minnesota (Ph.D., 1931). He held a number of positions in

Rupelian Stage

2005-02-17T10:59:00.000-08:00

All those rocks deposited worldwide during the Rupelian Age (36.6 to 30 million years ago). The Rupelian is the earlier of two stages in the Oligocene Series and comprises the Lower Oligocene. It was named for exposures studied along the Rupel, a tributary of the Scheldt River in Belgium. This area formerly served as the type district for the stage. The global stratotype section

Wandering Jew

2005-02-16T00:16:00.000-08:00

In Christian legend, character doomed to live until the end of the world because he taunted Jesus on the way to the Crucifixion. A reference in John 18:20–22 to an officer who struck Jesus at his arraignment before Annas is sometimes cited as the basis for the legend. The medieval English chronicler Roger of Wendover describes in his Flores historiarum how an archbishop from

Wind Instrument, The Classical period

2005-02-15T14:47:00.000-08:00

The Classical technique of winds doubling strings emerged in scoring for opera orchestras in the mid-17th century and continued to be important through the next century in the compositions of Haydn and Mozart. (Most 18th-century orchestras included at least four winds, usually two oboes and two horns; by the 1770s, Mozart was writing for double flutes, oboes, and bassoons, a

Novial

2005-02-15T00:30:00.000-08:00

Artificial language constructed in 1928 by the Danish philologist Otto Jespersen, intended for use as an international auxiliary language, but little used today. Its grammar is similar in type to that of Esperanto or Ido. Novial has one definite article, no gender for nouns except those denoting persons, noun plurals in -s, forms for a possessive (genitive) and an objective

China, The end of Mongol rule

2005-02-14T20:02:00.000-08:00

The basic dilemma of Mongol rule in China—the Mongols' inability to achieve a durable identification with Chinese civilian institutions and to modify the military and colonialist character of their rule—became more apparent under Kublai's successors and reached a maximum under Togon-temür, the last Yüan ruler. Togon-temür was not unfriendly toward Chinese civilization,

Bulgarian Horrors

2005-02-14T14:12:00.000-08:00

Atrocities committed by the forces of the Ottoman Empire in subduing the Bulgarian rebellion of 1876; the name was given currency by the British statesman W.E. Gladstone. Publicity given to the atrocities, especially in Gladstone's pamphlet “The Bulgarian Horrors and the Question of the East” (1876), served to arouse public sympathy in Europe for the Bulgarians and other southern

Sangha River

2005-02-14T04:10:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Sanga, tributary of the Congo River, formed by the Mambéré and Kadeï headstreams at Nola, southwestern Central African Republic. The Sangha River flows 140 miles (225 km) south to Ouesso in Congo (Brazzaville), forming part of Cameroon's border with the Central African Republic and Congo. The river then turns south-southeast and southwest, flowing 225 miles (362 km) to its mouth on the Congo

Annulment

2005-02-14T03:59:00.000-08:00

Legal invalidation of a marriage. Annulment announces the invalidity of a marriage that was void from its inception. It is to be distinguished from dissolution, which ends a valid marriage for special reasons—e.g., insanity of one partner after marrying. The annulment decree attempts to leave the parties in statu quo ante (as they were before the marriage), unless doing

Cumanagoto

2005-02-13T22:26:00.000-08:00

Indians of northeastern Venezuela at the time of the Spanish conquest. Since the 17th century they have not existed as a tribal or cultural unit. The Cumanagoto spoke a Cariban language, related to that of the Palenque. They were agricultural, growing corn (maize), manioc, sweet potatoes, and other native crops, as well as coca trees, source of the drug cocaine. Wild foods were

Pacific Islands, Interaction with Western societies

2005-02-12T22:10:00.000-08:00

During almost five centuries of contact with, first, Europeans and, then, Americans and Asians, island societies fluctuated between change and disorganization on the one hand and stability and reintegration on the other. Relatively balanced ecosystems of prehistoric times were disrupted when islanders, reacting to the novelty and authority of Western civilization,

Brecht, Arnold

2005-02-12T16:53:00.000-08:00

After studying at several universities, Brecht received a law degree from the University of Leipzig in 1906 and, after in-service training, was appointed a judge in Lübeck in 1910. In the same year

Berenguer, Dámaso, Conde De Xauen

2005-02-11T04:34:00.000-08:00

Berenguer entered the army in 1889, served in Cuba and Morocco, and was promoted to general in 1909. He was minister of war in 1918 when, after a long interval, the army began to express its political views. He then served as high commissioner

Protein, Other approaches to the determination of protein structure

2005-02-10T22:37:00.000-08:00

None of the several other physical methods that have been used to obtain information on the secondary and tertiary structure of proteins provides as much direct information as the X-ray diffraction technique. Most of the techniques, however, are much more simple than X-ray diffraction, which requires, for the resolution of the structure of one protein, many years

Shimabara Rebellion

2005-02-10T21:38:00.000-08:00

The revolt began as a result of dissatisfaction with the heavy taxation and abuses of local officials on the Shimabara Peninsula and the Amakusa-retto Islands.

Human Embryology, Allantois

2005-02-10T05:25:00.000-08:00

The allantois, a tube of endoderm (the innermost germ layer), grows out of the early yolk sac in a region that soon becomes the hindgut. The tube extends into a bridge of mesoderm (the middle germ layer) that connects embryo with chorion and will become incorporated into the umbilical cord (Figure 1K, O). The human

Turkestan

2005-02-09T09:26:00.000-08:00

Kazakh Türkistan city, southern Kazakhstan, in the Syr Darya plain. An ancient centre of the caravan trade, it was known as Shavgar and later as Yasi. It became a religious centre known as Khazret (Hazrat) because of the 12th-century Sufi (Muslim mystic) Ahmed Yesevi, whose 14th-century mausoleum is the city's chief monument; a notable example of Timurid architecture, the structure was made a World

Frederick Louis, Prince Of Wales

2005-02-08T22:32:00.000-08:00

After his grandfather became king of Great Britain as George I in 1714, Frederick was betrothed to Wilhelmina Sophia Dorothea,

Parakramabahu I

2005-02-08T18:06:00.000-08:00

The son of Manabharana (one of Ceylon's four regional lords), who controlled the south and who died while Parakrama was still a boy, Parakrama succeeded his father's successor, Siri Megha,

Vagina

2005-02-07T09:19:00.000-08:00

In humans the vagina is about 9 cm (3.5 inches) long; it is located in front of the rectum and behind the bladder. The cervix of the uterus connects to the upper region

Biblical Literature, Commutation of vows and tithes

2005-02-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

In the final chapter of Leviticus (27), the P material is resumed with a presentation of the rules for the commutation of votive gifts and tithes. It provides for the release from vows (of offerings of persons, animals, or lands to God) through specified money payments. Some commentators understand the vow to offer persons to refer originally to human sacrifice, others as

Smith, Jedediah (strong)

2005-02-06T18:41:00.000-08:00

Smith probably made his first trip west while still in his teens. In 1822 he joined a fur-trading expedition to the Rocky Mountains and continued in the Rocky Mountain trade for the remainder of the

Athelney

2005-02-06T04:38:00.000-08:00

Small eminence, formerly an island, rising above the drained marshes around the confluence of the Rivers Tone and Parrett in the administrative and historic county of Somerset, England. In 878 King Alfred sought refuge from the Danes in the marshes and constructed a stronghold at Athelney, from where he broke out and won a decisive victory at Edington, near Chippenham.

FrequentShip

Estate Agent Fitzrovia

Roman à Clef

Gyges

Low-temperature Phenomena

Ironclad

Yerevan

Nagy, Ivan

Aecium

Biblical Literature, Jonah

Bürgi, Joost

Hawkins, Sir John

Melchizedek

Ogburn, William Fielding

Astor, Brooke Russell

Indian Philosophy, Relation to the Mimamsa-sutras

Theatre, Western, Shamanism

Albany River

Berber

Kenite

W.h., Mr.

Fréchette, Louis-honoré

Shenute

Bar

Annelid

Vacuole

Elisha Ben Abuyah

Cereal Farming, Weeds

Hilo

Anorexia

Ram

Legaspi

Wampanoag

Wolfenbüttel

Itabuna

Annunciation

Hughes, Richard (arthur Warren)

Orthodox Judaism

Discus Fish

Thang-ka

Yakovlev, Aleksandr Sergeyevich

Discus Fish

Biogenic Landform

Lermontov, Mikhail

Pacific Ocean

Saavedra (ramírez De Baquendano), ángel De, Duque De Rivas

Abuja

Switzerland, Precipitation

Adder

Yust, Walter

Alagoinhas

Wu River

Taft, Robert A.

Glaucoma

Baku Rug

Westchester

Bridge

Faience Patriotique

Discriminant

Christensen, Willam

Biblical Literature, Philological criticism

Thebes

Abrahams, Harold

Ashbee, Charles Robert

Hertfordshire

Amphibian, Life cycle

Abdülhak Hâmid

'olam Ha-ba

Henry I

World War I, The end of the German War

Logau, Friedrich, Freiherr Von

Frederick Charles, Prince Of Prussia

Monad

Arqalyq

Dubois, Pierre

Caucasian Languages, The Avar-Andi-Dido languages

Technology

Aspergillus

Taeuber, Conrad; And Barnes Taeuber, Irene

Rupelian Stage

Indian Philosophy, Relation to the Mimamsa-sutras