PoliticalStocking

Zamosc

2005-04-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

City, Zamosc województwo (province), east-central Poland. One of the few large communities in the Lublin uplands, it was founded on the estates of Polish chancellor Jan Zamoyski (1542–1605) that lay on the trade route between the Black Sea and northern and western Europe. In 1578 the Paduan architect Bernardo Morando conceived and implemented the city's modern design, which remains a

Cambodia, Flag Of

2005-04-02T11:16:00.000-08:00

In different artistic representations, the central building of Angkor Wat has appeared on Khmer national flags since the 19th century, in the early days of the French protectorate over Cambodia. The first flag was red bordered in blue with the temple in white. The flag was “modernized” in 1948 by adoption of unequal horizontal stripes of dark blue, red, and dark blue, and the

Wasil Ibn 'ata'

2005-03-31T00:12:00.000-08:00

As a young man Wasil went to Basra, Iraq, where he studied under the celebrated ascetic Hasan al-Basri and met other influential religious figures who lived there. In Wasil's time there began the discussions that led to the development of Islamic

Ray, John

2005-03-30T15:42:00.000-08:00

Ray also spelled (until 1670) Wray leading 17th-century English naturalist and botanist who contributed significantly to progress in taxonomy. His enduring legacy to botany was the establishment of species as the ultimate unit of taxonomy.

Albumin

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

The

Avitus

2005-03-26T03:46:00.000-08:00

Born of a distinguished Gallic family, Avitus was a son-in-law of the Christian writer Sidonius Apollinaris, whose poetry is an important source for our knowledge of him. By taking advantage of his great influence with the Visigoths who were settled at Toulouse, Avitus was able in 451 to persuade their king, Theodoric I, to join the Roman general Aetius

Wolfe, James

2005-03-24T17:45:00.000-08:00

The elder son of Lieutenant General Edward Wolfe, he was commissioned in the Royal Marines in 1741 but transferred almost immediately to the 12th Foot. Wolfe was on active service continuously until

Vafiades, Markos

2005-03-22T18:11:00.000-08:00

Vafiades worked as a labourer in Istanbul and fled to Greece as a refugee in 1923. He became a communist in his teens and fought with the partisans against the Germans

Condillac, étienne Bonnot De

2005-03-19T15:31:00.000-08:00

Ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1740, Condillac began a lifelong friendship in the same year with the philosopher J.-J. Rousseau, employed by Condillac's elder brother, Jean, as a tutor. Moving to Paris, Condillac became acquainted with

Texas, Revolution and the republic

2005-03-19T11:15:00.000-08:00

Unrest throughout Mexico, including Texas, resulted in a coup by Antonio López de Santa Anna, who assumed the presidency in 1833. Texans, hopeful for relief from restrictive governmental measures, supported Santa Anna. Austin expected a friendly hearing about these grievances but instead was imprisoned in Mexico City for encouraging insurrection. He was freed in 1835 and

Moley, Raymond (charles)

2005-03-18T04:43:00.000-08:00

After graduating from Baldwin-Wallace College in his hometown, Moley took a job as superintendent of schools at Olmstead Falls, Ohio. He then attended Oberlin College, where he received his master's degree in

Ngugi Wa Thiong'o

2005-03-16T18:16:00.000-08:00

Ngugi received bachelor's degrees from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, in

Alvear, Marcelo T(orcuato) De

2005-03-16T03:55:00.000-08:00

Alvear belonged to a distinguished Argentine family. He was educated at the University of Buenos Aires, where he received a doctor of jurisprudence degree. He was a cofounder in 1890 of the Radical Civic Union (UCR), the political party representing

Molinet, Jean

2005-03-15T16:36:00.000-08:00

Molinet studied in Paris and about 1464 entered the service of Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, becoming secretary to Georges Chastellain, chronicler

Middletown

2005-03-13T04:08:00.000-08:00

City, coextensive with the town (township) of Middletown, Middlesex county, central Connecticut, U.S., on the Connecticut River. Settled by Puritans in 1650 and incorporated as a town in 1651, it occupies the site of the Indian village of Mattabesec (Mattabesett). It was named in 1653 for its position between the upstream towns and the river mouth. The city, chartered in 1784, consolidated with

Agung, Mount

2005-03-12T16:01:00.000-08:00

According to one Balinese myth, the deities made mountains for their thrones and placed the highest, Mount Agung, in Bali. According to another myth,

La Mothe Le Vayer, François De

2005-03-11T20:46:00.000-08:00

La Mothe Le Vayer became an avocat in the Parlement of Paris, taking over his father's seat, but soon resigned when the attraction of belles lettres became stronger. His work La

Ribbon Fall

2005-03-10T06:23:00.000-08:00

Cataract on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada in Yosemite National Park, east-central California, U.S. With a drop of 1,612 feet (491 m), it is one of the world's highest waterfalls and one of the park's most scenic features. Reaching a peak volume during May and June, it is fed mainly by melting snow; hence, it is sometimes dry for part of the year.

Armenia, Flag Of

2005-03-09T13:09:00.000-08:00

Long without an independent state of their own, 19th-century Armenians also lacked a national flag around which they could rally to support their language and culture. Armenians in exile in France looked to a scholar at the Armenian Institute in Venice, Ghevont Alshin, for a flag in 1885. He recommended the “rainbow flag given to the Armenians when Noah's Ark came to rest on

Alabama, Relief

2005-03-08T23:25:00.000-08:00

The southern extremities of the Appalachians cover almost

Malvaceae

2005-03-08T15:46:00.000-08:00

The mallow family, a large group of flowering plants, in the order Malvales, containing about 95 genera of herbs, shrubs, and trees. Representatives occur in all except the coldest parts of the world but are most numerous in the tropics. Economically, the most important member of the family is cotton (q.v.; Gossypium). Several species of Hibiscus produce fibres that are of lesser

Niza, Marcos De

2005-03-06T23:33:00.000-08:00

Niza went to the Americas in 1531 and served in Peru, Guatemala, and Mexico. At Culiacán, Mex., he freed Indian slaves from regions to the north. Under orders from the viceroy Antonio de Mendoza, Niza and a Moor, Esteban,

Kamina

2005-03-06T23:21:00.000-08:00

Town, southeastern Congo (Kinshasa). The town is an important centre on the Lubumbashi-Ilebo rail line at the junction of branch lines northward to Kindu and to Kalemie, a port with connections to eastern Africa. The town has air services to Lubumbashi, Kolwezi, and Kananga. Kamina is also the site of a military air base. A nearby dam on the Lovoi River supplies electricity

Mosby, John Singleton

2005-03-05T20:53:00.000-08:00

Reared near Charlottesville, Va., Mosby entered the University of Virginia in 1849 and graduated in 1852. While there, he shot at and wounded a few students, but his resulting jail sentence

Novgorod

2005-03-04T22:00:00.000-08:00

City and administrative centre of Novgorod oblast (province), northwestern Russia, on the Volkhov River just below its outflow from Lake Ilmen. Novgorod is one of the oldest Russian cities, first mentioned in chronicles of 859. In 882 Oleg, prince of Novgorod, captured Kiev and moved his capital there. In 989, under Vladimir, Novgorod's inhabitants were forcibly baptized. In 1019 Prince

Libertarianism, Nonaggression axiom

2005-03-02T15:15:00.000-08:00

According to the principle that libertarians call the nonaggression axiom, all acts of aggression against the rights of others—whether committed by individuals or by governments—are unjust. Indeed, libertarians believe that the primary purpose of government is to protect citizens from the illegitimate use of force. Accordingly, governments may not use force

Sandys, Sir Edwin

2005-03-02T06:04:00.000-08:00

Sandys was the son of Edwin Sandys, bishop of Worcester and later archbishop of

Chaibasa

2005-02-28T22:09:00.000-08:00

City, southern Bihar state, northeastern India. It lies just west of the Raru River, which is a tributary of the Subarnarekha. Although known as a road and agricultural-trade centre, the city is also heavily engaged in the mining (especially chromite) industry. Shellac is manufactured, and silk growing is important. Chaibasa became a municipality in 1875. Pop. (1991 prelim.) 56,657.

Cilacap

2005-02-27T21:49:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Chilachap or Tjilatjap port and kabupaten (regency), Jawa Tengah provinsi (“province”), Indonesia, on the southern coast of Java. Its harbour is formed by the long, narrow Kambangan Island, which affords protection from the monsoon seas and swells of the Indian Ocean. The harbour was used during the Battle of the Java Sea in 1942. Cilacap has road and rail connections to the rest of Java. Oil refining is

Alameda

2005-02-27T09:13:00.000-08:00

City, Alameda county, California, U.S. It lies on an island (6.5 miles [11 km] long by 1 mile [1.6 km] wide) in San Francisco Bay, across the Oakland Harbor Channel from Oakland, with which it is connected by bridges and underground tunnels. The site was originally a peninsula that was part of Rancho San Antonio and was also the site of Indian shell mounds. The locality was settled in the 1850s. Its

Indian Ocean, Ocean basins

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

Ocean basins are characterized by smooth, flat plains of thick sediment with abyssal hills (i.e., less than 3,300 feet high) at the bottom flanks of the oceanic ridges. The Indian Ocean's complex ridge topography led to the formation of many basins that range in width from 200 to 5,600 miles. From roughly north to south they include the Arabian, Somali, Mascarene, Madagascar, Mozambique,

Literature

2005-02-25T02:58:00.000-08:00

The Turkish literary field proved fertile in 2001. Many impressive works of fiction with wide-ranging themes and topics appeared, including Ahmet Altan's Isyan günlerinde ask (“Love in Days of Rebellion”), about an early 20th-century fundamentalist uprising; Buket Uzuner's Uzun beyaz bulut—Gelibolu (“Tall White Cloud—Gallipoli”); Ayla Kutlu's Zehir zikkim hikâyeler (“Bitter

Palau, Relief and drainage

2005-02-23T19:11:00.000-08:00

All but six of Palau's islands lie within an expansive lagoon, enclosed by the barrier reef, that stretches northeast to southwest for almost 70 miles (113 km). Babelthuap, the largest island (153 square miles [396 square km]), is volcanic, mainly andesite, and is bounded by thick mangrove forests broken occasionally by sandy beaches on the east coast. Its highest point, Rois Ngerekelehuus,

Thomas Cup

2005-02-23T14:49:00.000-08:00

Trophy signifying world supremacy in the sport of badminton. The cup was donated in 1939 by Sir George Thomas for a series of men's international team competitions to be managed by the International Badminton Federation (IBF), of which Thomas was then president. The first tournament was held in 1948–49 and won by Malaya. Tournaments are held every two years.

San Francisco Del Rincón

2005-02-21T07:26:00.000-08:00

City, western Guanajuato estado (“state”), north-central Mexico. It lies in the basin of the upper Turbio River, at an elevation of 5,781 feet (1,762 m). Although primarily an agricultural centre trading in corn (maize), beans, wheat, and guavas, the city has some industry. Straw hats, rebozos (shawls), flour, and chicle are the principal products. The main Mexico City–Ciudad Juárez railroad passes

Aybak

2005-02-20T23:39:00.000-08:00

Upon the death of as-Salih, the last great sultan of the Ayyubid dynasty, his son succeeded him but offended his father's slave guards, or Mamluks, who killed him (April 30, 1250). Shajar ad-Durr, as-Salih's widow, thereupon proclaimed herself “queen of the Muslims”; she was recognized in Egypt, but the Syrian emirs refused to pay her homage.

Carteret, Sir George, Baronet

2005-02-18T14:47:00.000-08:00

A British naval officer and lieutenant governor of Jersey, Carteret made the island a Royalist stronghold during the English Civil Wars and privateered in the Stuart cause, thereby winning a knighthood (1644) and a baronetcy (1645). After the capture

Wage-price Control:

2005-02-18T10:00:00.000-08:00

Setting of government guidelines for limiting increases in wages and prices. It is a principal tool in incomes policy (q.v.).

Alimony

2005-02-16T13:21:00.000-08:00

In divorce law, compensation owed by one spouse to the other for financial support after divorce. Alimony aims at support of the one spouse, not punishment of the other. In some places, the term means simply a property settlement irrespective of future support. Alimony has traditionally been granted from husbands to wives but has occasionally been granted from wives

Racine, Jean

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

French classical tragedy pivots around two basic subjects: passion and politics. Since Racine's audience was naturally intrigued by plots that dealt with the succession to a throne, he doubled their pleasure in his first successful play, La Thébaïde, by creating two legitimate pretenders who are also identical twins. The play centres on the twin sons of Oedipus

Auckland Islands

2005-02-15T03:07:00.000-08:00

Outlying island group of New Zealand, in the South Pacific Ocean, 290 miles (467 km) south of South Island. Volcanic in origin, they comprise six islands and several islets, with a total land area of 234 square miles (606 square km), and have a cool, humid, and windy climate. The islands' soils are generally poor, and shrub forests cover lower elevations. Animal life includes birds, wild cattle,

Nagaland, Cultural life

2005-02-13T17:16:00.000-08:00

Tribal organization varies from the autocratic angs (chiefs) of the Konyaks and hereditary chieftainships of the Semas and Changs to the democratic structures of the Angamis, Aos, Lothas, and Rengmas. A prominent village institution is the morung (a communal house or dormitory for young unmarried men), where skulls and other trophies of war formerly were hung. The pillars

Andean Peoples

2005-02-13T03:15:00.000-08:00

Although the Andes Mountains extend from Venezuela to the southern tip of the continent, it is conventional to call “Andean” only the people who were once part of Tawantinsuyu, the Inca Empire in the Central Andes, or those influenced by it. Even so, the Andean region is very wide. It encompasses

Gabrieli, Andrea

2005-02-12T09:02:00.000-08:00

He was born in the Canareggio quarter of Venice, but nothing is known about

Melanoma

2005-02-10T10:37:00.000-08:00

A spreading and frequently recurring cancer of specialized skin cells (melanocytes) that produce the protective skin-darkening pigment melanin. In the United States melanoma represents less than 5 percent of all cases of skin cancer, yet it is responsible for nearly three-quarters of all skin cancer deaths and is increasing in frequency. Unlike other skin growths,

O'brien, James Bronterre

2005-02-10T00:55:00.000-08:00

O'Brien was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and moved to London in 1829, intending to practice at the English bar. In London he was quickly drawn into radical activities and later into working-class journalism,

Anderson, Elizabeth Garrett

2005-02-09T21:48:00.000-08:00

Refused admission to medical schools, Anderson began in 1860 to study privately with accredited physicians and in London hospitals and was licensed to practice in 1865 by the Society of Apothecaries. She was appointed (1866) general

Distilled Spirit

2005-02-07T07:08:00.000-08:00

The production of distilled spirits is based upon fermentation, the natural

Ileum

2005-02-07T04:28:00.000-08:00

Final and longest segment of the small intestine. It is specifically responsible for the absorption of vitamin B12 and the reabsorption of conjugated bile salts. The ileum is about 4 m (13 feet) in length and extends from the jejunum (the middle section of the small intestine) to the ileocecal valve, which empties into the colon (large intestine). The ileum is suspended from

Thomas, R.s.

2005-02-05T11:35:00.000-08:00

Thomas was educated in Wales at University College at Bangor (1935) and ordained in the Church of Wales (1936), in which he held appointments in several parishes. He published

Duchenne, Guillaume-benjamin-amand

2005-02-05T09:38:00.000-08:00

During his lifelong private practice in Boulogne (1831–42) and Paris (1842–75), he explored the effects of electrical stimulation on diseased nerves and muscles. He rendered

Rivière, Jacques

2005-02-04T15:24:00.000-08:00

Writer, critic, and editor who was a major force in the intellectual life of France in the period immediately following World War I. His most important works were his thoughtful and finely written essays on the arts. In 1912 a collection of these essays was published as Études; a second such collection, entitled Nouvelles études (“Further

Uummannaq Fjord

2005-02-03T05:32:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Umánaq, or Umanak, inlet of Baffin Bay and town, western Greenland, north of Nuussuaq Peninsula, separated from Karrat Isfjord by Upernivik and Ubekendt islands. About 100 miles (160 km) long and 15–30 miles (24–48 km) wide, Uummannaq divides into several smaller fjords extending eastward to the inland ice cap, where they are fed by extensive glaciers. Qarajaqs Isfjord is its most southerly arm. The town of

Fisher, Morris

2005-02-01T14:54:00.000-08:00

At the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Fisher, apparently feeling the pressure of the competition in the three-position free rifle event, took 20 minutes before firing his first shot at the target, which was placed 300 m away. Although he missed the mark, he was close enough to score points.

Wells, Carolyn

2005-01-31T10:32:00.000-08:00

Wells supplemented her formal education with an early-formed habit of voracious reading. After completing her schooling she worked as a librarian for the Rahway Library Association for some years. Her love of puzzles

Scilly, Isles Of

2005-01-30T14:34:00.000-08:00

Also called Scilly Isles group of about 50 small islands and many more islets lying southwest of Cornwall, England, 25–36 miles (40–58 km) off Land's End. Administratively, the islands are a distinct unit within England, though they form a part of the historic county of Cornwall. Because their council serves the functions of both a district and a county, they have a status similar to that of a unitary

Peru, Drainage

2005-01-30T01:52:00.000-08:00

Distinctive drainage patterns dissect the Costa, Sierra, and Montaña. Of the more than 50 rivers that flow west from the Andes across the Costa, most are short (usually less than 200 miles long) and precipitous, with highly seasonal rates of flow. Most have a period of peak flow (usually during the December to March rainy season) followed by a long dry period; only the largest of

Lovelace, Augusta Ada King, Countess Of

2005-01-29T13:21:00.000-08:00

She was the daughter of the 6th Lord Byron (the famous poet) and Annabella Milbanke Byron, who legally separated

Ancient Rome

2005-01-28T17:14:00.000-08:00

Rome

Haldi

2005-01-25T00:53:00.000-08:00

The national god of the ancient kingdom of Urartu, which ruled the plateau around Lake Van, now eastern Turkey, from about 900 to about 600 BC. Haldi was represented as a man, with or without wings, standing on a lion; in the absence of religious texts his attributes are otherwise unknown. A Urartian temple at ancient Musasir dedicated to Haldi and to the goddess Bagbartu, or Bagmashtu,

Danewirk

2005-01-23T01:30:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Danewerk, Dannewirk , or Dannewerk , Danish Dannevirke , or Danevirke (Danes' Bulwark) the ancient frontier rampart of the Danes against the Germans, extending 10.5 miles (17 kilometres) from just south of the town of Schleswig to the marshes of the river Trene near the village of Hollingstedt. The rampart was begun about AD 808 by Godfred (Gudfred), king of Vestfold. In 934 it was penetrated by the German king Henry I, after which it was extended by King Harald I Bluetooth

Scandinavian Literature, Denmark

2005-01-22T09:19:00.000-08:00

The 18th century was a fertile period in Danish literature. The great name in the first half of the century was that of Ludvig Holberg, a Norwegian by birth. His most important contributions, written for the Danish theatre, which opened in 1722, were 32 comedies of character and manner, including some moral allegories in his old age. His aim was to create a modern Danish literature

Priesthood

2005-01-19T03:04:00.000-08:00

In recent years, in Christianity especially, notwithstanding the doctrinal divergencies and modes of expression in the nature and function of the priesthood, new approaches have been made by both Catholic and Protestant theologians, liturgical scholars, and laypersons. This is particularly apparent in the ecumenical and liturgical movements in Western Christendom,

Calculus

2005-01-18T09:56:00.000-08:00

Branch of mathematical analysis concerned with the rates of change of continuous functions as their arguments change. Two men are now credited with discovering calculus, Sir Isaac Newton of England and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz of Germany. For almost a century, development of the subject was inhibited by a bitter controversy over priority between supporters

Ghaybah

2005-01-16T18:41:00.000-08:00

Ghaybah is applied loosely to anyone whom God has withdrawn from the world and kept invisible to the eyes of ordinary men. The life of such a blessed

Gender Identity

2005-01-14T07:29:00.000-08:00

An individual's self-conception as being male or female, as distinguished from actual biological sex. For most persons, gender identity and biological characteristics are the same. There are, however, circumstances in which an individual experiences little or no connection between sex and gender; in transsexualism, for example, biological sexual characteristics

San Carlos

2005-01-11T16:06:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Cojedes estado (“state”), northwestern Venezuela. The city lies along the Tirgua River, at the base of the central highlands and near the Llanos (plains) region. Founded in 1678 by Capuchin missionaries, San Carlos served as capital of Falcón state prior to the separation of Cojedes and Portuguesa states. It is the commercial and marketing centre of an agricultural

Eclipse

2005-01-09T21:43:00.000-08:00

The occultation of the Crab Nebula by the solar corona, the extensive outer atmosphere of the Sun, takes place each year in June. The Crab Nebula is a radio source (Taurus A), and, when the occultation occurs, its pattern of radio emission is observed to broaden significantly. The broadening is attributed to scattering of radio-frequency radiation by the density irregularities

Fama

2005-01-07T14:04:00.000-08:00

Greek Pheme, in Greco-Roman mythology, the personification of popular rumour. Pheme was more a poetic personification than a deified abstraction, although there was an altar in her honour at Athens. The Greek poet Hesiod portrayed her as an evildoer, easily stirred up but impossible to quell. The Athenian orator Aeschines distinguished Popular Rumour (Pheme) from Slander (Sykophantia)

Gastronomy, Scandinavian

2005-01-06T20:23:00.000-08:00

Sweden's great contribution to international eating is the smorgasbord, literally a “bread-and-butter

Hol Ha-mo'ed

2005-01-03T06:21:00.000-08:00

Also spelled hol hamoed , or chol hamoed (from Hebrew hol, “weekday,” ha-mo'ed, “[of] the festival”) in Judaism, the less festive days or semiholidays that occur between the initial and final days of the Passover (Pesah) and Sukkot religious holidays. Because Jews in Israel celebrate Passover for seven days and Sukkot for eight, and Jews outside Israel add an additional day to each festival, the number of hol ha-mo'ed days is regulated by the locale. Israel, moreover, solemnizes

Wells Fargo

2005-01-01T23:13:00.000-08:00

American financial services company with banks in many states, especially in the West. The founders of the original company were Henry Wells (1805–78) and William George Fargo (1818–81), who had earlier helped establish the American Express Company. They and other investors established Wells, Fargo & Company in March 1852, to handle the banking and express business prompted by the California

Jacksonville

2004-12-31T00:41:00.000-08:00

City, Morgan county, west-central Illinois, U.S. Laid out in 1825 as the county seat and named in honour of Andrew Jackson, it soon acquired a distinctive educational, institutional, and religious character, which it largely retains. Illinois College (founded there in 1829 and affiliated with the United Church of Christ) was the first in the state to graduate a college class. Other

Amalienborg

2004-12-29T23:59:00.000-08:00

Architectural complex in Copenhagen, Den., built during the reign (1746–66) of King Frederick V and comprising the four buildings of the Amalienborg royal palace and the octagonal courtyard surrounded by them. The complex was designed and constructed by the Danish architect Nicolai Eigtved, who also designed numerous other buildings in the surrounding district. At the

Team Handball

2004-12-27T23:50:00.000-08:00

A game consists of two 30-minute halves with an intermission,

China, Communist-Nationalist cooperation

2004-12-24T15:26:00.000-08:00

By then, however, the CCP was in serious difficulty. The railway unions had been brutally suppressed, and there were few places in China where it was safe to be a known Communist. In June 1923 the Third Congress of the CCP met in Canton, where Sun Yat-sen provided a sanctuary. After long debate this congress accepted the Comintern strategy pressed by Maring—that Communists

Eliot, Jared

2004-12-22T00:32:00.000-08:00

Eliot, the grandson of John Eliot, noted New England missionary, was graduated from the Collegiate School of Connecticut (Yale College) in 1706. He taught for two years and then received a call as pastor of the Congregational Church in Killingworth (Clinton), Conn. He served

Gypsum

2004-12-21T16:19:00.000-08:00

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

La Harpe, Jean-françois De

2004-12-19T19:32:00.000-08:00

Orphaned at 9 and imprisoned at 19 for allegedly writing a satire against his protectors at college, La Harpe became a bitter and caustic man. Of many uninspired plays he wrote, the best are perhaps his first tragedy, Warwick (1763), and

China

2004-12-16T21:23:00.000-08:00

The People's Republic of China is situated in eastern Asia, with coastlines on the Yellow Sea and the East and South China seas. Area: 9,572,900 sq km (3,696,100 sq mi), including Tibet and excluding Taiwan. (See Taiwan, below.) Pop. (1994 est., excluding Taiwan): 1,192,300,000. Cap.: Beijing (Peking). Monetary unit: renminbi yuan, with (Oct. 7, 1994) an interbank rate of 8.53 yuan to U.S. $1 (13.57 yuan = £ 1 sterling). President in 1994, Jiang Zemin (Chiang Tse-min); premier,

Indiana

2004-12-15T14:35:00.000-08:00

Borough (town), seat of Indiana county, west-central Pennsylvania, U.S., in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, 46 miles (74 km) northeast of Pittsburgh. Settled about 1764, it was laid out in 1805 on land donated for a county seat by George Clymer of Philadelphia, a signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. It was incorporated in 1816. Prior to the American Civil War, Indiana was a station

Crab Nebula

2004-12-10T16:26:00.000-08:00

(catalog numbers NGC 1952 and M1), probably the most intensely studied bright nebula, in the constellation Taurus, about 5,000 light-years from Earth. Roughly 5 to 10 light-years in diameter, it is assumed to be the remnant of a supernova (violently exploding star) observed by Chinese and other astronomers first on July 4, 1054. The supernova was visible in daylight for 23 days and at night for almost

Arabia, History Of, The Zaydis and 'Alawis

2004-12-09T18:02:00.000-08:00

In the mid-10th century a refugee from disturbances in Iraq, Ahmad

Abelson, Philip Hauge

2004-12-06T19:51:00.000-08:00

After receiving a Ph.D. (1939) in nuclear physics from the University of California at Berkeley, Abelson worked

Academy Award

2004-12-04T21:08:00.000-08:00

Ronald Bergan, Graham Fuller, and David Malcolm, Academy Award Winners (1994), is a lavishly illustrated chronological account. Emanuel Levy, And the Winner Is : The History and Politics of the Oscar Awards, new expanded ed. (1990), not only provides historical information but also compares the Oscars to other film awards and discusses the impact of winning an award. Charles Matthews, Oscar A to Z: A Complete Guide to More than 2,400 Movies Nominated for Academy Awards (1995), lists alphabetically the films nominated in the picture, performances, direction, design, and music categories and provides plot synopses, biographies, and other information. Robert Osborne, 65 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards, 2nd ed. (1994), is the chronological history presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Richard Shale (compiler), The Academy Awards Index (1993), is an easy-to-search reference. Mason Wiley and Damien Bona, Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards, 10th anniversary ed. (1996), is a comprehensive social history but includes many unverified rumours and anecdotes.

Furniture, Spain

2004-12-03T16:34:00.000-08:00

Because of the long occupation of Spain by the Moors, a style called Mudéjar evolved. While furniture in this style remained in form essentially European, decoration had an oriental flavour. A type of cabinet known as vargueno was typically Spanish. The upper part, in chest form, with drawers inside, had a fall front (a hinged writing surface that opened by falling forward),

Sucking

2004-12-01T05:24:00.000-08:00

Drawing of fluids into the mouth by creating a vacuum pressure in the oral cavity. Mammalian infants rely on this method of food ingestion until they are capable of eating more solid substances. A partial vacuum is created in the oral cavity by retracting the tongue to the back of the mouth. The rear portion of the tongue seals against the roof of the mouth, allowing

Reproductive System, Animal, Annelids and mollusks

2004-11-28T02:21:00.000-08:00

Annelids have a well-developed body cavity (coelom), a part of the lining of which gives rise to gonads. In some annelids, gonads occur in several successive body segments. This is true, for example, in polychaetes, most of which are dioecious. Testes and ovaries usually develop, though not invariably, in many body segments; and the sperm and eggs, often in enormous numbers,

Ear Disease

2004-11-26T09:37:00.000-08:00

The air-filled middle-ear cavity and the air cells in the mastoid bone that extend backward from it are supplied with air by the eustachian tube that extends from the upper part of the pharynx to the middle-ear cavity. The brain cavity lies just above and behind the middle ear and mastoid air spaces, separated from them only by thin plates of bone. The nerve that supplies

Arabian Desert, Geology

2004-11-24T18:55:00.000-08:00

The Arabian Desert consists of two major regions. The first, the ancient Arabian platform (a segment of the African Shield) is in the west; composed mainly of Precambrian gneiss dated to between 2.6 billion and roughly 543 million years ago, it was assembled roughly 900 to 543 million years ago. The second region, in the east, comprises sedimentary rock layers deposited over the past

Steel Drum

2004-11-23T06:30:00.000-08:00

Tuned gong made from the unstoppered end and part of the wall of a metal shipping drum. The end surface is hammered concave, and several areas are outlined by acoustically important chiseled grooves. It is heated and tempered, and bosses, or domes, are hammered into the outlined areas. The depth, curvature, and size of each boss determine its pitch. The drums are struck

Strasser, Gregor; And Strasser, Otto

2004-11-21T11:03:00.000-08:00

The brothers were born into a Bavarian middle-class family.

Strategic Weapons System

2004-11-18T00:49:00.000-08:00

Any weapons system designed to strike an enemy at the source of his military, economic, or political power. In practice, this means destroying a nation's cities, factories, military bases, transportation and communications infrastructure, and seat of government. Strategic weapons systems use atomic or thermonuclear devices, because only these weapons have sufficient

Selenium Cell

2004-11-16T22:30:00.000-08:00

Photoelectric device used to generate or control an electric current. Selenium photocells are commonly used in photographic-exposure meters, burglar alarms, electronic-door opening and counting devices, electronic control systems in factory assembly lines, and industrial colour perceptors. In some ways, such as colour perception and sensitivity, the performance

Sian

2004-11-15T21:19:00.000-08:00

Cities have existed in the area since the

Eleaticism

2004-11-12T22:59:00.000-08:00

For a long time Xenophanes of Colophon, a religious thinker and rhapsode of the 6th–5th century BC, was considered the founder of the Eleatic school and Parmenides' mentor. This ancient claim, however, has been successfully criticized by Reinhardt. It is even possible that, on the contrary, Xenophanes was an older pupil of Parmenides. In any case, his monistic view of a cosmic

Kunlun Mountains

2004-11-11T04:44:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) K'un-lun Shan, or (Pinyin) Kunlun Shan, mountain system of Asia. The Kunluns extend east to west some 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometres) from the Pamirs in Tajikistan on the west to the Kunlun Pass and the adjacent Sino-Tibetan ranges—Pu-erh-han-pu-ta (Burhan Budai), P'a-yen-k'a-la (Bayan Hara), and A-ni-ma-ch'ing (Amne Machin)—on the east. The width of the Kunluns varies considerably but rarely exceeds 125 miles. In the western margins they

Dzungarian Basin

2004-11-09T05:17:00.000-08:00

The basin is located between the Mongolian Altai Mountains, on the Sino-Mongolian border, to the north, and the P'o-lo-k'o-nu and O-ha-pu-t'e mountains to the south; the latter run east and west immediately to the north of the Tien Shan (“Celestial Mountains”). To the east and southeast, respectively, the basin is

Furphy, Joseph

2004-11-06T03:50:00.000-08:00

The son of Irish immigrants, Furphy worked as a thresher, teamster, and gold miner before settling down in 1884 at his brothers'

China, Reorganization of the KMT

2004-11-04T00:08:00.000-08:00

The KMT held its First National Congress in Canton on Jan. 20–30, 1924. Borodin, who had reached Canton in October 1923, began to advise Sun in the reorganization of his party. He prepared a constitution and helped draft a party program as a set of basic national policies. Delegates from throughout China and from overseas branches of the party adopted the program and the new constitution.