ShutTable

Draft Animal

2005-04-04T02:27:00.000-07:00

Any domesticated animal used in drawing heavy loads. Draft animals were in common use in Mesopotamia before 3000 BC for farm work and for pulling wheeled vehicles. Their use spread to the rest of the world over the following 2,500 years. While cattle, usually in teams, have been used most often as draft animals, horses and donkeys have supplanted them in many areas. Some horses—such

Calaverite

2005-04-02T21:39:00.000-08:00

A gold telluride mineral (AuTe2) that is a member of the krennerite group of sulfides and perhaps a structurally altered form (paramorph) of krennerite (q.v.); it generally contains some silver replacing gold. Calaverite is most commonly found in veins that have formed at low temperatures, as in sites at Kalgoorlie, Australia; Cripple Creek, Colo.; and Calaveras county, Calif.,

China, Mineral resources

2005-03-30T10:40:00.000-08:00

China is well endowed with mineral resources, the most important of which is coal. Although deposits are widely scattered (some coal is found in every province), most of the total is located in the northern part of the country. The province of Shansi, in fact, is thought to contain about half of the total; other important coal-bearing provinces include Heilungkiang, Liaoning,

Vreeland, Diana Dalziel

2005-03-28T10:55:00.000-08:00

Diana Dalziel was the daughter of a Scottish father and an American mother in whose home the leading artists of the day were frequent guests. In 1914 the

Nordström, Ludvig Anselm

2005-03-25T20:48:00.000-08:00

Born of a Swedish father and an English mother, Nordström was much influenced by English writers, especially Charles Dickens, Thomas Carlyle, Laurence Sterne, H.G. Wells, and G.K. Chesterton. He most delighted his readers with

Cymophane

2005-03-24T13:16:00.000-08:00

Variety of the gemstone chrysoberyl (q.v.).

Tobol River

2005-03-22T20:10:00.000-08:00

Kazak Tobyl river, left-bank tributary of the Irtysh (Ertis) River, flowing through northern Kazakstan into southern Russia. After rising in the low mountains of the Torghay Plateau, it flows northeast across the West Siberian Plain past the cities of Qostanay (Kazakstan) and Kurgan (Russia) before entering the Irtysh River at Tobolsk after a course of 989 miles (1,591 km). Its main tributaries

Arnaut Daniel

2005-03-22T19:48:00.000-08:00

A nobleman by birth, Arnaut was a highly regarded travelling troubadour. He is credited with inventing the sestina, a lyrical form of six six-line stanzas, unrhymed,

Utrecht, State University Of

2005-03-20T14:03:00.000-08:00

The largest Netherlands state university, Utrecht has faculties of theology, law, medicine, science,

Romilly, Sir Samuel

2005-03-20T13:22:00.000-08:00

English legal reformer whose chief efforts were devoted to lessening the severity of English criminal law. His attacks on the laws authorizing capital punishment for a host of minor felonies and misdemeanours, such as begging by soldiers and sailors without a permit, were partly successful during his lifetime and contributed to reforms

Olmedo, José Joaquín

2005-03-18T14:16:00.000-08:00

Poet and statesman whose odes commemorating South America's achievement of independence from Spain captured the revolutionary spirit of his time and inspired a generation of Romantic poets and patriots. They have remained monuments to the heroic figures of the liberation movement in South

C.b.e.

2005-03-17T03:25:00.000-08:00

Commander of the British Empire, member of a British order of knighthood, although this rank does not confer knighthood. See British Empire, The Most Excellent Order of the.

Hippias

2005-03-16T20:27:00.000-08:00

Tyrant of Athens from 528/527 to 510 BC. He was a patron of poets and craftsmen, and under his rule Athens prospered. After the assassination of his brother Hipparchus (514), however, Hippias was driven to repressive measures. An attempt by nobles in exile to force their way back failed, but in 510 the Spartans under Cleomenes I invaded Attica, besieged the tyrant's party on the acropolis, and

English Literature, Arnold and Clough

2005-03-15T02:40:00.000-08:00

Matthew Arnold's first volume of verse, The Strayed Reveller, and Other Poems (1849), combined lyric grace with an acute sense of the dark philosophical landscape of the period. The title poem of his next collection, Empedocles on Etna (1852), is a sustained statement of the modern dilemma and a remarkable poetic embodiment of the process that Arnold called “the dialogue of the mind

Rocky Mountains, Environmental concerns

2005-03-14T17:35:00.000-08:00

Serious problems have arisen as a result of timber harvesting, grazing, oil exploration, mining, and reservoir operations in the Rockies. Logging and oil exploration have been responsible for accelerated slope erosion, both from the operations themselves and from the access roads built to reach them. Erosion has stripped away the often thin soil cover and caused

Feng Yün-shan

2005-03-13T13:24:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Feng Yunshan Chinese missionary and social reformer, one of the original leaders of the Taiping Rebellion, an uprising that occupied most of South China between 1850 and 1864, brought death to an estimated 20,000,000 people, and radically altered governmental structure. Feng was a neighbour and schoolmate of Hung Hsiu-ch'üan, the religious

Yangtze River

2005-03-12T17:53:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Ch'ang Chiang, or (Pinyin) Chang Jiang, longest river in both China and Asia and the third longest river in the world, with a length of 3,915 miles (6,300 kilometres). Its basin, extending for some 2,000 miles from west to east and for more than 600 miles from north to south, drains an area of 698,265 square miles (1,808,500 square kilometres). From its source on the Plateau of Tibet to its mouth on the East China Sea, the river traverses or serves as the border

1927, Generation Of

2005-03-12T14:46:00.000-08:00

Spanish Generación Del 1927, in Spain, a group of poets and other writers who rose to prominence in the late 1920s and who derived their collective name from the year in which several of them produced important commemorative editions of the poetry of Luis de Góngora y Argote on the tercentenary of his death. In contrast to the earlier Generation of '98, most of whom were prose writers, the members of the

Bahrain, Settlement patterns

2005-03-09T20:52:00.000-08:00

The majority of the population now dwells in towns, but in the north and northwest of the main island, where irrigation has long been carried out using artesian water, there are numerous small villages and isolated dwellings where horticulture is the way of life. This area has an aspect of great fertility, which contrasts starkly with the bare desert appearance of

Halston

2005-03-09T19:30:00.000-08:00

Halston studied at Indiana University and the Art Institute of Chicago and operated a millinery shop in Chicago before joining milliner Lilly Daché in New York City. In 1959 he became a milliner for Bergdorf Goodman; in 1966 he expanded his line into clothes

France, History Of, Parisian revolt

2005-03-07T07:25:00.000-08:00

In fact, the king had by no means reconciled himself to this revolutionary act. His concession was a strategic retreat until he could muster the military power to subdue the patriots. Between June 27 and July 1 he ordered 20,000 royal troops into the Paris region, ostensibly to protect the assembly and to prevent disorder in the restive capital. The assembly's pleas to the king

World Affairs, Dues.

2005-03-07T00:05:00.000-08:00

On December 22, the UN tentatively agreed to the U.S. figures on dues after Ted Turner, founder of the Cable News Network and a Time Warner vice-chairman, offered to pay the $34 million shortfall for the year 2001 created by reducing the U.S. share of the UN administrative budget from 25% to 22% and its share of the peacekeeping budget from 31% to about 27%. The U.S. indebtedness to the UN stood at $1.3 billion

Vendôme, Louis-joseph, Duc De

2005-03-06T19:52:00.000-08:00

Vendôme was the son of Louis de Vendôme, Duke de Mercoeur, by his marriage to Cardinal Jules Mazarin's niece, Laure Mancini. Vendôme entered the French Army in 1672 and had risen to the rank of lieutenant general by the outbreak of the War of the Grand Alliance (1689–97) between

Buzau

2005-03-05T14:29:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Buzau judet (county), southeastern Romania, on the Buzau River, approximately 60 miles (100 km) northeast of Bucharest. Its location near the foothills of the Eastern Carpathians at the limit of the Danube Plain fostered its development as a market and trading centre. It was first documented in the records of the Brasov merchants in a reference to the Buzau Fair of

Ear, Human, Organ of Corti

2005-03-04T13:02:00.000-08:00

Arranged on the surface of the basilar membrane are orderly rows of the sensory hair cells, which generate nerve impulses in response to sound vibrations. Together with their supporting cells they form a complex neuroepithelium called the basilar papilla, or organ of Corti. The organ of Corti is named after the Italian anatomist Alfonso Corti, who first described

Gaines, Ernest J.

2005-03-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

When Gaines was 15, his family moved to California. He graduated from San Francisco State College (now San Francisco State University) in 1957 and attended

Habitual Offender

2005-03-02T18:04:00.000-08:00

Person who frequently has been convicted of criminal behaviour and is presumed to be a danger to society. In an attempt to protect society from such criminals, penal systems throughout the world provide for lengthier terms of imprisonment for them than for first-time offenders. In the 1990s habitual-offender laws became harsher, and in extreme cases some offenders

Alicatado

2005-03-02T07:19:00.000-08:00

Mosaic formed of polygonal, coloured glazed tiles. Made up into geometric patterns, they have been used mostly for paving Spanish and Moorish patios but also for wall surfaces. The expansion of the lands under Christian control in Spain in the 13th century led to a mixture of Gothic and Islamic styles (known as the Mudéjar style), in which alicatado was much used

Italian Socialist Party

2005-02-27T06:30:00.000-08:00

The original basis of the party lay among trade unions, socialist circles, and cooperative

Sun Ra

2005-02-27T01:42:00.000-08:00

(HERMAN ["SONNY"] BLOUNT), U.S. jazz pianist, arranger, and composer (b. May 1914?, Birmingham, Ala.--d. May 30, 1993, Birmingham), led an ensemble whose performances were as much theatre as concert. Early in his career he played boogie-woogie, blues, and swing, and in 1946-47 he was pianist with Fletcher Henderson's orchestra. He also was active in the experimental jazz movement in Chicago and from the 1950s on, under

Jacoba Of Bavaria

2005-02-25T03:58:00.000-08:00

Jacoba, the only daughter and heiress of William, count of Zeeland, Holland,

Quantum Electrodynamics

2005-02-23T03:33:00.000-08:00

(QED), quantum theory of the interactions of charged particles with the electromagnetic field. It describes mathematically not only all interactions of light with matter but also those of charged particles with one another. QED is a relativistic theory in that Albert Einstein's theory of special relativity is built into each of its equations. Because the behaviour

Cheever, Ezekiel

2005-02-23T02:30:00.000-08:00

Cheever was the son of a weaver and was educated at Christ's Hospital in London and in the classics at the University of Cambridge. Cheever came to America in 1637 as a Puritan in search of religious freedom. In 1638 he settled in New Haven, Conn., as master of the public school. Active in both civil

Celestine (ii)

2005-02-21T02:06:00.000-08:00

After the death of Calixtus II, the rival houses of Frangipani and Pierleoni struggled for the papal throne. The Pierleonis' candidate, Theobald (who would have been Celestine II), was simultaneously elected pope with the Frangipanis' candidate,

Annelid, Locomotion

2005-02-19T22:56:00.000-08:00

The basic features of locomotion in annelids are most easily observed in the earthworm because it lacks appendages and parapodia. Movement involves extending the body, anchoring it to a surface with setae, and contracting body muscles. When the worm begins a forward movement, circular muscles at the anterior end contract, extending the head forward. At the same

Western Australia, Relief and drainage

2005-02-19T09:17:00.000-08:00

The Kimberley region in the far north is a dissected plateau. The coastline is rugged and dangerous, with a tidal range of up to 39 feet and associated strong currents. Most of the region is sparsely wooded, and the moisture-storing boab (which has close affinities to the Indian and African baobabs) is particularly distinctive. Spinifex is ubiquitous, as it is throughout

Economic Development

2005-02-17T19:02:00.000-08:00

The process whereby simple, low-income national economies are transformed into modern industrial economies. Although the term is sometimes used as a synonym for economic growth, generally it is employed to describe a change in a country's economy involving qualitative as well as quantitative improvements. The theory of economic development—how primitive and

Murad I

2005-02-17T16:55:00.000-08:00

Murad ascended the throne in succession to his father, Orhan. Shortly after Murad's accession, his forces penetrated

Italy

2005-02-15T15:49:00.000-08:00

The first major power in the peninsula was the Etruscans. From Etruria, Etruscan

Ulaanbaatar

2005-02-15T10:24:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ulan Bator, formerly Urga, or Niislel Khureheh, capital and largest city of Mongolia. It is situated on the Tuul River on a windswept plateau at an elevation of 4,430 feet (1,350 m). The city originated as a seasonal migratory abode of the Mongolian princes and in 1639 finally attained permanence on the present site with the construction of Da Khure Monastery. This building became the residence of the bodgo-gegen, high priest of the

Acoustics

2005-02-14T19:35:00.000-08:00

The origin of the science of acoustics is generally attributed to the Greek philosopher Pythagorus (6th century BC), whose experiments on the properties of vibrating strings that produce pleasing musical intervals were of such merit that they led to a tuning system that bears his name. Aristotle (4th century BC) correctly suggested that a sound wave propagates in air through

Chaco War

2005-02-13T21:43:00.000-08:00

(1932–35), costly conflict between Bolivia and Paraguay. Hostile incidents began as early as 1928 over the Chaco Boreal, a wilderness region of about 100,000 square miles (259,000 square km) north of the Pilcomayo River and west of the Paraguay River that forms part of the Gran Chaco. The conflict stemmed from the outcome of the War of the Pacific (1879–84), in which Chile defeated Bolivia and annexed that nation's

Aquaculture

2005-02-12T14:50:00.000-08:00

Fish may be confined in earth ponds, concrete pools, barricaded coastal waters, or cages suspended in open water. In these enclosures, the fish can be supplied

Taboo

2005-02-11T08:43:00.000-08:00

Also spelled tabu , Tongan tabu , Maori tapu the prohibition of an action or the use of an object based on ritualistic distinctions of them either as being sacred and consecrated or as being dangerous, unclean, and accursed. The term taboo is of Polynesian origin and was first noted by Captain James Cook during his visit to Tonga in 1771; he introduced the term into the English language, from which it achieved widespread

Hexameter

2005-02-10T10:43:00.000-08:00

A line of verse containing six feet, usually dactyls (¢ {breve} {breve}). Dactylic hexameter is the oldest known form of Greek poetry and is the preeminent metre of narrative and didactic poetry in Greek and Latin, in which its position is comparable to that of iambic pentameter in English versification. The epics of Homer and of Virgil are composed in dactylic hexameter.

Poland, History Of

2005-02-09T21:31:00.000-08:00

History of the area from the 10th century to the present.

Nature Worship, Earth

2005-02-08T10:36:00.000-08:00

Although in polytheistic religions the earth is usually represented as a goddess and associated with the god of heaven as her spouse, only rarely is there an elaborate or intensive cult of earth worship. There are in many religions mother goddesses who have elaborate cults and who have assumed the function of fertility for land and man, but they hardly have a chthonic

Juba

2005-02-06T19:33:00.000-08:00

Dance of Afro-American slaves, found as late as the 19th century from Dutch Guiana to the Caribbean and the southern United States. It was danced by a circle of men around two men who performed various steps (e.g., the juba, the long dog scratch, the pigeon wing) in response to a rhythmic call and to the clapping (patting juba) of the other dancers. As a refrain, after each new step

Frederick Augustus I

2005-02-04T15:21:00.000-08:00

Succeeding his father in 1763 as the elector Frederick Augustus III, he brought order and efficiency to his country's finances and administration. In foreign policy, he was neutralist but

Theodebald

2005-02-04T10:50:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Theudebald, French Théodebald, or Thibaud Merovingian king of Reims from 547 or 548, in succession to his father, Theodebert I. He proved incapable of continuing the latter's dynamic policies. He left no son, and on his death his kingdom passed to his granduncle, Chlotar I.

Nagercoil

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

City, southernmost Tamil Nadu state, southern India. Nagercoil lies west of the Aramboli Gap in the Western Ghats. It controls the major routes between Madras and Trivandrum and is a commercial centre for a rich agricultural area. Its name, meaning “snake temple,” indicates the early significance of the town's Saiva temple. Although historically a part of the Hindu kingdom

Narodnost

2005-02-02T08:28:00.000-08:00

Doctrine or national principle, the meaning of which has changed over the course of Russian literary criticism. Originally denoting simply literary fidelity to Russia's distinct cultural heritage, narodnost, in the hands of radical critics such as Nikolay Dobrolyubov, came to be the measure of an author's social responsibility, both in portraying the aspirations

Lusatian Mountains

2005-01-30T05:21:00.000-08:00

Czech Luzické Hory , German Lausitzer Gebirge mountain group, situated in extreme northern Bohemia, Czech Republic; it is part of the Sudeten mountains (Czech: Sudety). The group extends from the Ješted ridge in the east (3,320 feet [1,012 m]) to the gorge of the Elbe (Labe) River at Decín in the west and also into Poland and Germany. Sandstone is the group's most common constituent rock, but there are also volcanic rock formations in conical

Masdevallia

2005-01-30T03:08:00.000-08:00

They have short stems and erect or slightly spreading leaves. The sepals are united at their bases and have one or more long taillike extensions.

Rabelais, François

2005-01-28T08:30:00.000-08:00

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

Aung San Suu Kyi

2005-01-28T04:59:00.000-08:00

Aung San Suu Kyi was two years old when her father, then the de facto prime minister of what would shortly become independent Burma, was assassinated.

Oats

2005-01-27T13:50:00.000-08:00

The wild oat was first found in western Europe, apparently as

Mountain, Volcanism

2005-01-27T06:17:00.000-08:00

Most, but not all, volcanoes consist of material that is thought to have melted in the mantle (at depths of tens of kilometres), which rose through the overlying crust and was erupted onto the surface. To a large extent, the physical characteristics of the erupted material determines the shape and height of a volcano. Material of low density can produce taller mountains

Wade-giles Romanization

2005-01-25T14:51:00.000-08:00

System of romanizing the modern Chinese written language, originally devised to simplify Chinese language characters for the Western world. Initiated by Sir Thomas Francis Wade (q.v.), the system was modified by the Cambridge professor Herbert Allen Giles in his Chinese–English Dictionary (1912). With Giles's syllabic changes, Wade-Giles became the preferred Chinese

Scale Insect

2005-01-24T03:53:00.000-08:00

Any member of several families of the insect order Homoptera. The females are wingless, with reduced legs and antennae; the males have one pair of delicate wings, well-developed legs and antennae, and no mouthparts. The body is covered by a protective waxy shell, often resembling scales or cottony cushions, that gives these insects their common name. The eggs are always

Higgs Particle

2005-01-23T13:02:00.000-08:00

The Higgs field is different from other fundamental fields, such

Jerne, Niels K.

2005-01-22T07:34:00.000-08:00

Jerne was born of Danish parents and grew up in The Netherlands. After studying physics for two years at the University of Leiden,

South African Literature

2005-01-21T21:53:00.000-08:00

South African literature in English effectively began in the late 19th century in the states preceding the Republic of South Africa and became fairly copious in the 20th. During the early 1900s, Africans, largely cut off from tribal customs and values (including the oral literary tradition), began to write in English. In the middle decades many Africans served literary apprenticeships

Reform Judaism

2005-01-21T21:10:00.000-08:00

A religious movement that has modified or abandoned many traditional Jewish beliefs, laws, and practices in an effort to adapt Judaism to the changed social, political, and cultural conditions of the modern world. Reform Judaism sets itself at variance with Orthodox Judaism by challenging the binding force of ritual, laws, and customs set down in the Bible and in

Hevelius, Johannes

2005-01-19T06:18:00.000-08:00

(Latin), German Johann Hewel , or Johann Howelcke , Polish Jan Heweliusz astronomer who compiled an atlas of the Moon (Selenographia, published 1647) containing one of the earliest detailed maps of its surface as well as names for many of its features. A few of his names for lunar mountains (e.g., the Alps) are still in use, and a lunar crater is named for him. Hevelius also made a catalog of 1,564 stars, the most comprehensive of its time,

Furniture, Other materials

2005-01-18T19:06:00.000-08:00

Among other secondary materials in furniture making, glass has been used in the form of mirrorglass or as a purely decorative, illusionistic element in cabinets and writing desks. Italian craftsmen have made glass furniture; that is, wooden furniture covered with silvered glass in various colours. Ivory and other forms of bone were used as inlay material in Egyptian

Iliamna Lake

2005-01-16T06:46:00.000-08:00

Lake, southwestern Alaska, U.S., west of Cook Inlet (Gulf of Alaska). The second largest freshwater lake entirely within the United States (after Lake Michigan), it is 80 miles (129 km) long and 25 miles (40 km) wide and covers an area of 1,000 square miles (2,600 square km). It drains southwest through the Kvichak River into Bristol Bay and the Bering Sea. It is noted for its game fish, especially rainbow

Italian Popular Party

2005-01-15T17:15:00.000-08:00

In January 1919 a Sicilian priest, Luigi Sturzo, founded the original Italian Popular Party.

Bonnet Monkey

2005-01-14T05:46:00.000-08:00

(species Macaca radiata), Indian macaque named for the thatch of long hair forming a cap, or “bonnet,” on the crown. The bonnet monkey is grayish brown with a hairless pink face. It is about 35–60 cm (14–24 inches) long, excluding its 50–70-centimetre tail, and weighs about 3–9 kg (7–20 pounds). It is an agile monkey and sometimes raids gardens or stores of food.

Croce, Benedetto

2005-01-12T23:15:00.000-08:00

Historian, humanist, and foremost Italian philosopher of the first half of the 20th century.

France, History Of, Loss of control

2005-01-12T16:40:00.000-08:00

By August 1786 even Necker's successor, the frivolous if intelligent Charles-Alexandre de Calonne (1734–1802), had concluded that the French state was coming to a dead end. Although the crown had assured the moneymen that it would not default on the debt, as indeed it could not have done without alienating thousands of its natural supporters, Calonne found that he could no longer raise

Janus

2005-01-11T01:15:00.000-08:00

In Roman religion, the animistic spirit of doorways (januae) and archways (jani). The worship of Janus traditionally dated back to Romulus and a period even before the actual founding of the city of Rome. There were many jani (i.e., ceremonial gateways) in Rome; these were usually freestanding structures that were used for symbolically auspicious entrances or exits. Particular

Aesthetics

2005-01-10T20:43:00.000-08:00

All aesthetic experience, whether of art or nature, seems to be informed by and dependent upon an exercise of taste. We choose the object of aesthetic experience, and often do so carefully and deliberately. Moreover, we are judged by our choices, not only of works of art but also of colour schemes, dresses, and garden ornaments, just as we are judged by our manners and our

Interior Design, Middle Ages

2005-01-09T15:21:00.000-08:00

From the fall of Rome, when the city was finally sacked by Odoacer in 476, to the 15th century, when the Renaissance was already well advanced, information about the decoration of interiors is scarce. Its history has to be pieced together from surviving objects and illuminated manuscripts.

Hypsometric Curve

2005-01-08T18:07:00.000-08:00

Also called Hypsographic Curve, cumulative height frequency curve for the Earth's surface or some part thereof. A hypsometric curve is essentially a graph that shows the proportion of land area that exists at various elevations by plotting relative area against relative height. In the hypsometric curve of the total Earth surface there exist two maxima of frequencies—at the 100-metre (109-yard) and the

Lord's Prayer

2005-01-07T23:55:00.000-08:00

Latin Oratio Dominica, also called Pater Noster (Latin: “Our Father”), prayer taught by Jesus to his disciples, and the principal prayer used by all Christians in common worship. It appears in two forms in the New Testament, the shorter version in Luke 11:2–4 and the longer version, part of the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 6:9–13. In both contexts it is offered as a model of how to pray. Many scholars believe the version in Luke to be closer

China, The empire

2005-01-06T14:50:00.000-08:00

Shih huang-ti made a number of important reforms. He abolished the feudal system completely and extended

Kinship

2005-01-04T16:00:00.000-08:00

Freud's concern was with the origin of the incest taboo, which is practically universal in human society. He believed that children have a secret desire to commit incest

Biblical Literature, Hungarian versions

2005-01-04T08:06:00.000-08:00

The spread of Lutheranism in the Reformation period gave rise to several vernacular versions. János Sylvester (Erdosi) produced the first New Testament made from the Greek (Sárvár, 1541). The Turkish occupation of much of Hungary and the measures of the Counter-Reformation arrested further printing of the vernacular Bible, except in the semi-independent principality

Field Archery

2005-01-02T06:07:00.000-08:00

Also called roving form of archery in which targets of different sizes or shapes are placed at varying distances in uneven, often wooded, terrain in an attempt to simulate hunting conditions. As an organized sport it dates from the formation in 1939 of the National Field Archery Association of the United States. In 1969 a field event was included for the first time in the world archery championships

Trade Disputes Act

2005-01-02T01:44:00.000-08:00

(1906), British legislation that provided trade unions with immunity from liability for damages arising from strike actions. The background to the statute was a series of adverse court decisions affecting the capacity of trade unions to strike, culminating in the Taff Vale judgment of 1901. That judgment established that unions were legal corporations and as such their

Frederick V

2004-12-31T13:57:00.000-08:00

King of Denmark and Norway (1746–66) from the death of his father, Christian VI. The reign of this likable but ineffective king was marked by Danish neutrality in the Seven Years' War (1756–63) and a consequent improvement in the nation's foreign trade; by a narrow escape from war with Russia (1762); and by government-sponsored reforms in farming methods (from

China, Economic policies

2004-12-31T00:22:00.000-08:00

In the 1950s and '60s a number of far-reaching changes occurred in China's economic policies and priorities. During the First Five-Year Plan period (1953–57), emphasis was placed on rapid industrial development, partly at the expense of other sectors of the economy. The bulk of the state's investment was channeled into the industrial sector, while agriculture, which occupied more than

Sanno Ichijitsu Shinto

2004-12-30T13:03:00.000-08:00

Also called Ichijitsu Shinto , or Tendai Shinto in Japanese religion, the syncretic school that combined Shinto with the teachings of the Tendai sect of Buddhism. Shinto-Buddhist syncretism developed from the Japanese concept that Shinto deities (kami) were manifestations of Buddhist divinities. The earliest of these schools, Ryobu Shinto, was founded on the belief that Amaterasu Omikami, the chief Shinto deity, corresponded

Astrakhan

2004-12-29T04:44:00.000-08:00

Formerly Khadzhi-tarkhan, city and administrative centre of Astrakhan oblast (province), southwestern Russia. Astrakhan city is situated in the delta of the Volga River, 60 miles (100 km) from the Caspian Sea. It lies on several islands on the left bank of the main, westernmost channel of the Volga. Astrakhan was formerly the capital of a Tatar khanate, a remnant of the Golden Horde, located on the higher

Ikhwan As-safa'

2004-12-28T21:12:00.000-08:00

Neither the identity nor the period of the Ikhwan as-Safa' has been definitively established, but the

Mac Family

2004-12-27T02:24:00.000-08:00

The Mac family began as ministers to the Le kings of the Vietnamese Later Le dynasty (1428–1787). By the early 16th century, however, the Later Le rulers had become virtually powerless, and in 1527 Mac Dang Dung, the head of the family, usurped the throne. Eight years later the powerful Nguyen family

Gwadar Bay

2004-12-25T18:35:00.000-08:00

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.

Mercury Processing, Secondary mercury

2004-12-25T13:29:00.000-08:00

Significant quantities of mercury have been reclaimed from dental amalgams, oxide and acetate sludges, and battery scrap. Virtually all the metal can be recovered from scrapped mercury cells, mercury boilers, electrical apparatuses, and control instruments.

Fursey, Saint

2004-12-24T17:14:00.000-08:00

First educated under Brendan the Navigator, Fursey later became a monk at the monastery of Clonfert, in County Galway,

Prodigy

2004-12-24T13:14:00.000-08:00

An extraordinary person, particularly a child, who shows spontaneous early signs of genius or exceptional ability along certain lines. Among these are the arithmetical prodigies, the chess prodigies, and the lightning calculators who have a remarkable memory for figures. Best known are the musical prodigies—Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, and Felix

Azores

2004-12-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

Portuguese in full Arquipélago Dos Açores, archipelago composed of nine major islands, in the North Atlantic Ocean; they lie roughly 1,000 miles (1,600 km) west of Portugal and are a part of that nation. The islands, which have a total land area of 868 square miles (2,247 square km), are divided into three widely separated groups: the eastern group, consisting of São Miguel, Santa Maria, and the Formigas islets; the central, of Faial, Pico,

T'ien

2004-12-20T04:11:00.000-08:00

As a god, T'ien is sometimes perceived to be an impersonal power in contrast to Shang-ti (“Supreme Ruler”), but the two are closely identified and the terms frequently used synonymously. Evidence suggests

China, War between Nationalists and Communists

2004-12-19T07:14:00.000-08:00

In the meantime, the Communists had created 15 rural bases in central China, and they established a soviet government, the Kiangsi Soviet, on Nov. 7, 1931. Within the soviet regions the Communist leadership expropriated and redistributed land and in other ways enlisted the support of the poorer classes. The Japanese occupation of Manchuria and an ancillary localized war

Guadalajara

2004-12-18T15:49:00.000-08:00

Guadalajara was founded in 1531 and was relocated several times in the following decade, under pressure from Indians. During the 16th century

Spain, The independent emirate

2004-12-18T04:46:00.000-08:00

'Abd ar-Rahm

Phocion

2004-12-15T20:56:00.000-08:00

Phocion was a pupil of Plato and in later life a close friend of the Platonic philosopher Xenocrates. After serving Persia as a mercenary, he was drawn into Athens' efforts to remain

Alleyn, Edward

2004-12-15T05:00:00.000-08:00

One of the greatest actors of the Elizabethan stage and founder of Dulwich College, London. Rivaled only by Richard Burbage, Alleyn won the outspoken admiration of such authors as Ben Jonson and Thomas Nashe for his interpretations of Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine, Doctor Faustus, and The Jew of Malta and of Robert Greene's Orlando

Arabian Desert, Climate

2004-12-13T13:36:00.000-08:00

The Arabian Desert spreads across 22° of latitude, from the 12th to the 34th parallel north; although much of the desert lies north of the Tropic of Cancer, it usually is considered a tropical desert. Summer heat is intense, reaching temperatures as high as 129 °F (54 °C) in places. In the interior the heat is dry. Coastal regions and some highlands, however, are subject to high summer humidity,

Wang Mang

2004-12-13T06:13:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Wang Mang , posthumous name, or shih (Wade-Giles romanization) Chia Huang-ti , or She Huang-ti founder of the short-lived Hsin dynasty (AD 9–25). He is known in Chinese history as the “Usurper.”