OppositeSock

Burdwan

2005-03-19T19:28:00.000-08:00

Also called Bardhaman, or Barddhaman, city, central West Bengal state, northeastern India. The city is a major communications centre lying astride the Banka River just north of the Damodar River. Rice and oilseed milling and hosiery, cutlery, and tool manufacturing are the chief industries. Of historic interest are the Rajbari (the maharaja's palace and gardens), several ancient Muslim tombs, and 108 Siva linga,

Penedo

2005-03-16T15:20:00.000-08:00

Port city, Alagoas state, northeastern Brazil, on the north bank of the lower São Francisco River, bordering Sergipe state, 25 mi (40 km) above its mouth on the Atlantic Ocean. Founded in the 16th century during the Portuguese conquest, it has developed a thriving trade in hides, rice, and cotton. There is light industrial development, including cotton spinning, weaving, vegetable-oil

Paracel Islands

2005-03-13T17:33:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Hsi-sha Ch'ün-tao , Pinyin Xisha Qundao , Vietnamese Quan Dao Hoang Sa group of about 130 small coral islands and reefs in the South China Sea. They lie about 250 miles (400 km) east of central Vietnam and about 220 miles (350 km) southeast of Hainan Island, China. Apart from a few isolated, outlying islands (Triton in the south, Lincoln in the east), they are divided into the Amphitrite group in the northeast and the Crescent group in the west. The low, barren islands,

Tiwanaku

2005-03-11T03:21:00.000-08:00

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

Harald Ii Eiriksson,

2005-03-08T03:23:00.000-08:00

The son of Erik Bloodax, who was the half brother of Haakon I, Harald took refuge in Denmark following his father's death. Aided by his uncle, the Danish king Harald Bluetooth (Blåtand), Harald

India, Recreation

2005-03-04T15:35:00.000-08:00

Virtually all regions of India have their distinctive places of pilgrimage, local saints and folk heroes, religious festivals, and associated fairs. There are also innumerable festivals associated with individual villages or temples or with specific castes and cults. The most popular of the religious festivals celebrated over the greater part of India are

Middle East

2005-03-02T08:11:00.000-08:00

The lands around the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from Morocco to the Arabian Peninsula and Iran and sometimes beyond. The central part of this general area was formerly called the Near East, a name given to it by some of the first modern Western geographers and historians, who tended to divide the Orient into three regions. Near

Aragats, Mount

2005-02-28T23:55:00.000-08:00

Russian Gora Aragats, also spelled Gora Aragac, mountain in Armenia, northwest of Yerevan and north of the Ararat Plain. The highest point in both Armenia and the Lesser Caucasus range (13,418 feet [4,090 m]), Aragats is a circular, shieldlike mountain composed of both lavas and tufas. A volcanic cone of recent geologic age lies atop far older rocks. The crater of the volcano has become the steep-walled basin, or cirque, of a glacier,

Rüppell, (wilhelm Peter) Eduard (simon)

2005-02-26T21:14:00.000-08:00

Rüppell first went to Africa in 1817 and ascended the Nile River to its first set of cataracts (at Aswan, Egypt). Returning to

Ribas, óscar

2005-02-25T21:06:00.000-08:00

The son of a Portuguese father and an Angolan mother, Ribas gradually went blind during his early 20s but remained an indefatigable researcher and writer. He began his literary career as a writer of romantic tales. The publication of Uanga-feiti

Oradea

2005-02-23T09:00:00.000-08:00

One of the first feudal states in the area, a principality ruled by Prince Menumorut in the 9th–10th centuries, was centred on a citadel

Hyalosiderite

2005-02-21T03:54:00.000-08:00

Silicate mineral, a member of the forsterite–fayalite series (q.v.) of olivines.

Itarsi

2005-02-18T14:17:00.000-08:00

City, central Madhya Pradesh state, central India. A major rail junction connected with Bhopal, Gwalior, and Indore, Itarsi has extensive railway workshops. The city is also a trade centre for forest products from the Satpura Range to the south. A large weekly cattle market is held in the city. Itarsi has several colleges affiliated with the Dr. Harisingh Gour University

China

2005-02-16T00:05:00.000-08:00

Despite China's size, the wealth of its resources, and the fact that more than 20 percent of the world's population lives within its borders, its role in the world economy traditionally has been relatively small. Since the late 1970s, however, when China decided to increase its interaction with the international economy, its role in world trade has steadily grown and its importance

Montesquieu, Charles-louis De Secondat, Baron De La Brède Et De

2005-02-15T06:47:00.000-08:00

French political philosopher whose major work, The Spirit of Laws, was a major contribution to political theory.

Aerospace Industry, Mergers and divestitures

2005-02-12T16:22:00.000-08:00

With a decline in defense funding and a narrowing of commercial markets in the decades following World War II, the number of business opportunities shrank, and competition for each project became more intense. In response, aerospace companies sought mergers as a way to integrate strengths, to combine talent and other resources, and to reduce costs by eliminating

Chiang Rai

2005-02-10T03:18:00.000-08:00

Chiang Rai lies at an elevation of 1,150 feet (350 m) in the basin of the Kok River, near the Khun Tan Range. It has an airport with scheduled flights, and road connections lead south to Lampang and north to Myanmar (Burma) and the Laotian border. It is a trading centre dealing in teak, coffee, and rice. The town was once the walled capital city of an independent principality.

Arts, Central Asian, Ghaznavids and Ghurids

2005-02-08T10:32:00.000-08:00

Alp Tigin, a slave of Turkic origin at the Samanid court, escaped in AD 962 to Kabul, where he rapidly gained control of the town. He transferred his headquarters to Ghazna in central Afghanistan and established his dynasty there. Few Ghaznavid works of art have survived, but the admirably proportioned and decorated mortuary towers at Ghazna are architectural achievements

Procedural Law

2005-02-07T23:33:00.000-08:00

Also called adjective law the law governing the machinery of the courts and the methods by which both the state and the individual (the latter including societies, whether incorporated or not) enforce their rights in the several courts. It prescribes the means of enforcing rights or providing redress of wrongs and comprises rules relative to jurisdiction, pleading and practice, evidence,

Masirah

2005-02-05T13:18:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Masira, island of Oman, in the Arabian Sea, off the country's southeastern coast. The island is separated from the mainland by the narrow Tur'at (channel) Masirah. There is an airfield, occupied by the British until the late 1970s, at the northern tip. The Gulf of Masira lies between the island (north) and the Ra's (cape) al-Madrakah (south). Masirah is the habitat of large colonies of turtles. There

Humpbacked Fly

2005-02-03T00:17:00.000-08:00

Also called Coffin Fly, any of numerous species of tiny, dark-coloured flies with humped backs that are members of the insect family Phoridae (order Diptera). The adults are abundant around decaying vegetation. Larvae may be scavengers, parasites, or commensals in ant and termite nests. Some species have reduced or no wings.

Axminster Carpet

2005-01-31T17:27:00.000-08:00

Floor covering made originally in a factory founded at Axminster, Devon, Eng., in 1755 by the cloth weaver Thomas Whitty. Resembling somewhat the Savonnerie carpets produced in France, Axminster carpets were Ghiordes knotted in wool on woolen warps and had a weft of flax or hemp. Like the French carpets, they featured Renaissance architectural or floral patterns. Similar

Paderewski, Ignacy (jan)

2005-01-29T00:16:00.000-08:00

The son of a steward of a Polish landowner, he studied music from 1872 at the Warsaw Conservatory and from 1878 taught piano there. In 1880 he married one of his pupils, Antonina Korsak, who died in childbirth the following year. Encouraged

Termite

2005-01-28T18:42:00.000-08:00

Any of the cellulose-eating social insects that constitute the order Isoptera. Although they are referred to popularly as white ants, they are not closely related to ants, which are grouped with bees and wasps in a higher order of insects, the Hymenoptera. The social system of termites shows remarkable parallels with those of the Hymenoptera,

Baha'i Temple

2005-01-26T18:14:00.000-08:00

In the Baha'i faith, house of worship open to adherents of all religions. See mashriq al-adhkar.

Perseus

2005-01-23T08:50:00.000-08:00

The elder son of King Philip V of Macedonia, Perseus commanded troops in his father's wars against Rome (199) and Aetolia (189). After three years of intriguing against his brother Demetrius, accusing

East Chicago

2005-01-22T22:57:00.000-08:00

Industrial city and port, Lake county, northwestern Indiana, U.S., adjoining Gary, Hammond, and Whiting. It is a part of the Chicago-Calumet industrialized metropolitan complex. Laid out in 1887, its industrial development was stimulated by construction of Indiana Harbor, connected with the Grand Calumet River by a 3-mile (5-kilometre) ship canal and including an extensive system

Skeleton Shrimp

2005-01-20T07:35:00.000-08:00

Aeginella longicornis (longicornia), which occurs among eelgrass, sponges, and wharf pilings

Zambezi River

2005-01-18T20:10:00.000-08:00

The first non-Africans to reach the Zambezi were Arab traders, who utilized the river's lower reaches from the 10th century onward. They were followed in the 16th century by the Portuguese, who hoped to use the river to develop a trade in ivory, gold, and slaves. Until the 19th century, the river, then called the Zanbere, was believed to flow south from a vast inland sea that was also

Duarte, Juan Pablo

2005-01-16T08:41:00.000-08:00

Duarte, who was sent to Europe for his education (1828–33), became determined to free the eastern part of Hispaniola from Haitian domination. On his return to the island he and several other patriots

Aerospace Industry, Airships

2005-01-14T04:37:00.000-08:00

All airships have four principal elements in common: a cigar-shaped bag, or balloon, filled with a lighter-than-air gas (usually hydrogen or helium); a passenger car, or gondola, attached beneath the bag; engines and propellers; and rudders to steer the craft. Three basic types of airships have been built. The nonrigid airship, or blimp, is basically a balloon from which the

Schattschneider, Elmer Eric

2005-01-11T05:55:00.000-08:00

Schattschneider earned an A.B. at the University of Wisconsin (1915), an M.A. at the University of Pittsburgh (1927), and a Ph.D. at Columbia University (1935). He taught at Columbia (1927–30); Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. (1929–30); and Wesleyan

New Harmony

2005-01-09T18:04:00.000-08:00

Town, Posey county, southwestern Indiana, U.S., on the Wabash River, at the Illinois border, 22 miles (35 km) northwest of Evansville. The site was first occupied by prehistoric Mound Builders and later was a camping ground for Piankashaw and other Indians. The settlement of Harmonie was founded in 1814–15 by George Rapp, a German Pietist preacher who had first come to Pennsylvania in

Ca' Da Mosto, Alvise

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

Retained by Prince Henry the Navigator, he set sail on March 22, 1455, visited Madeira and the Canary Islands, and coasted along Africa past the mouth of the Senegal River. He ascended some distance up the Gambia River, but, finding the people hostile, he returned to

Fischer, Emil

2005-01-05T07:15:00.000-08:00

Educated at the universities of Bonn and Strasbourg (Ph.D., 1874), Fischer held several posts before becoming professor of chemistry at the University of Berlin in 1892. Under his direction,

Oakley, Annie

2005-01-04T11:44:00.000-08:00

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

Ballina

2005-01-02T00:55:00.000-08:00

Irish Béal An Átha urban district, County Mayo, Ireland, on the River Moy. The town, the largest in Mayo, has a modern Roman Catholic cathedral and the remains of an Augustinian friary founded about 1375. Salmon and trout fishing nearby are notable. Hand tools, drills, and medical products are manufactured there. Pop. (1981) 6,856.

Palamás, Kostís

2004-12-31T08:48:00.000-08:00

Palamás was educated at Mesolongion and at Athens and became the central figure in the Demotic movement of the 1880s, which sought to shake off traditionalism and draw inspiration for a new Greek literary and artistic style from the life and language of the people.

Epistemology, Necessary versus contingent propositions

2004-12-29T05:51:00.000-08:00

A proposition is said to be necessary if it holds (is true) under all possible circumstances or conditions. “All husbands are married” is such a proposition. There are no possible or conceivable conditions under which this statement would not be true (on the assumption, of course, that the words “husband” and “married” are taken to mean what they ordinarily mean). In contrast,

Wagner, Richard

2004-12-27T01:00:00.000-08:00

In 1859 Wagner went to Paris, where, the following year, productions of a revised version of Tannhäuser were fiascoes. But in 1861 an amnesty allowed him to return to Germany; from there he went to Vienna, where he heard Lohengrin for the first time. He remained in Vienna for about a year, then travelled widely as a conductor and awaited a projected production of Tristan. When this

Solar Cell

2004-12-25T03:45:00.000-08:00

Any device that directly converts the energy in light into electrical energy through the process of photovoltaics.

Furniture, Upholstery and covers

2004-12-23T08:04:00.000-08:00

Upholstery and covers belong to the sphere of furniture designed for sitting or lying on. From the Orient, Europeans learned the use of wickerwork, which provided a ventilated and resilient background for loose cushions. The upholstered chair is a genuinely European phenomenon that achieved its most distinguished and logical form in England during the 18th century.

Fleming, Victor

2004-12-19T23:45:00.000-08:00

Fleming started in the industry as a stunt car driver in 1910, later doing camera work for D.W. Griffith. Serving in the photographic section during World War I, he acted as

Botta, Carlo Giuseppe Guglielmo

2004-12-17T14:33:00.000-08:00

Having graduated in medicine at the University of Turin in 1786, Botta was in his youth inspired by the ideas of the French Revolution. Arrested as a spy for the French in 1794, he left Italy for France the following year and from 1796 to 1798 served as a physician

Ampthill

2004-12-14T16:48:00.000-08:00

Town (“parish”), Mid Bedfordshire district, administrative and historic county of Bedfordshire, England, 8 miles (13 km) south-southwest of Bedford. The Church of St. Andrew contains a monument to Richard Nicolls (1624–72), the first English governor of New York. Ampthill Park, with its ancient oaks, marks the site of the castle where Catherine of Aragon was forced to reside, pending her

Fabre, Jean Henri

2004-12-13T15:57:00.000-08:00

Fabre did important research on the insect orders

Breccia

2004-12-10T06:58:00.000-08:00

There are three categories of breccia: sedimentary, pyroclastic or igneous, and cataclastic. The constituent fragments may be of one lithology such as a rock fractured in position, or of many

Suchet, Louis-gabriel, Duke (duc) D'albufera Da Valencia

2004-12-08T21:19:00.000-08:00

The son of a Lyon silk manufacturer, Suchet originally had intended to follow his father's business; but, having in 1792 served as a volunteer in the cavalry of the national guard, he manifested military

Mars

2004-12-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

Blood-red in colour and sometimes called the Red Planet, Mars has long been associated with warfare and slaughter. It is named for the Roman god of war. As

Domenico Veneziano,

2004-12-04T02:27:00.000-08:00

Domenico was probably first trained in the International Gothic manner in Venice, where it is likely he saw paintings by northern European artists. He settled in Florence about 1439 and, except for brief periods, worked there until his

Mermaid

2004-12-02T21:39:00.000-08:00

Masculine merman a fabled marine creature with the head and upper body of a human being and the tail of a fish. Similar divine or semidivine beings appear in ancient mythologies (e.g., the Chaldean sea god Ea, or Oannes). In European folklore, mermaids (sometimes called sirens) and mermen were natural beings who, like fairies, had magical and prophetic powers. They loved music and

Cheddar

2004-11-29T10:40:00.000-08:00

In the traditional method of cheddar manufacture, the firm curd is cut, or “cheddared,” into small bits to drain the whey and then

Davenport

2004-11-27T10:55:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1838) of Scott county, eastern Iowa, U.S. It lies on the north bank of the Mississippi River and is the largest of the Quad Cities, an urban complex that includes neighbouring Bettendorf to the east and Moline and Rock Island across the river in Illinois. Credit Island, now a park, was a battlefield in the War of 1812; Fort Armstrong (restored) was established on Rock Island

Grunion

2004-11-24T20:48:00.000-08:00

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

Mid-atlantic Ridge

2004-11-21T19:48:00.000-08:00

Submarine ridge lying along the north-south axis of the Atlantic Ocean; it occupies the central part of the basin between a series of flat abyssal plains that continue to the margins of the continental coasts. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is in effect an immensely long mountain chain extending for about 10,000 miles (16,000 km) in a curving path from the Arctic Ocean to near the southern

Fuller, R(ichard) Buckminster

2004-11-19T13:22:00.000-08:00

U.S. engineer and architect who developed the geodesic dome, the only large dome that can be set directly on the ground as a complete structure, and the only practical kind of building that has no limiting dimensions (i.e., beyond which the structural strength must be insufficient). Among the most noteworthy geodesic domes is the United

Biblical Literature, Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

2004-11-16T03:25:00.000-08:00

The third pseudepigraphon that shows important affinities with the Dead Sea sect is the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, the last speeches of the 12 sons of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob. In its extant form, containing Christian passages, the book was written in Greek. Fragments of two original Semitic sources of the book were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls: the Aramaic

Computers, COBOL

2004-11-15T20:27:00.000-08:00

Faraday, Michael

2004-11-12T13:24:00.000-08:00

Faraday, who became one of the greatest scientists of the 19th century, began his career as a chemist. He wrote a manual of practical chemistry that reveals his mastery of the technical aspects

Strain

2004-11-11T14:46:00.000-08:00

In physical sciences and engineering, number that describes relative deformation or change in shape and size of elastic, plastic, and fluid materials under applied forces. The deformation, expressed by strain, arises throughout the material as the particles (molecules, atoms, ions) of which the material is composed are slightly displaced from their normal

Har Dayal, Lala

2004-11-08T19:30:00.000-08:00

Har Dayal graduated from the Government College, Lahore (University of the Punjab). On a government of India scholarship to St. John's College at Oxford, he became a supporter of the Indian revolutionary movement. In 1907 Har Dayal resigned his

Rea Express, Inc.

2004-11-06T00:05:00.000-08:00

American Railway Express Company was established by the U.S. government in 1918, during World War I, at the same time that the government took over the nation's railroads. The domestic express businesses and property

Kubitschek, Juscelino

2004-11-04T14:29:00.000-08:00

Kubitschek attended the Diamantina Seminary, worked his way through medical school at the University of Minas Gerais (graduated 1927), and did internships in surgery in Paris, Vienna, and Berlin. He became head of

Abu Simbel

2004-11-02T10:09:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Abu Sunbul

Cambridge

2004-11-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

City, regional municipality of Waterloo, southeastern Ontario, Can. It lies 55 miles (90 km) west-southwest of Toronto. Cambridge was created in 1973 from the consolidation of the city of Galt, the towns of Hespeler and Preston, and parts of the townships of Waterloo and North Dumfries. Galt was founded about 1817 and, along with Dumfries Township, became the home of large numbers of Scottish

Tabataba'i, Sayyid Zia Od-din

2004-10-29T01:42:00.000-07:00

Tabataba'i became prominent during World War I as the editor of a pro-British newspaper, Ra'd (“Thunder”). In 1919 he led a quasi-diplomatic mission to negotiate a commercial agreement with the anti-Communist Russian revolutionaries at Baku. On his return to Iran he joined a secret nationalist

Abbey Theatre

2004-10-25T02:30:00.000-07:00

Dublin theatre, established in 1904. It grew out of the Irish Literary Theatre (founded in 1899 by William Butler Yeats and Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory, and devoted to fostering Irish poetic drama), which in 1902 was taken over by the Irish National Dramatic Society, led by W.G. and Frank J. Fay and formed to present Irish actors in Irish plays. In 1903 this became the Irish National Theatre

Kubrick, Stanley

2004-10-23T02:06:00.000-07:00

Having become interested in photography in high school, Kubrick became a staff photographer

Encamp

2004-10-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

Village, Andorra, on a headstream of the Riu (river) Valira. Its agricultural economy is supplemented by tourism, especially skiing. Encamp has a broadcasting transmitter of Radio Andorra. Above the village is Engolasters Lake, accessible by cable car. There are facilities for generating hydroelectric power. In the locality is the Pic (peak) des Pessons (9,400 ft [2,865 m]). Pop. (1990) 7,489.

Union Pacific Railroad Company

2004-10-19T19:02:00.000-07:00

The Union Pacific was largely financed

Bara Banki

2004-10-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

The area in which Bara Banki is situated is an alluvial plain that is dotted with jhils, or marshy lakes,

Kango

2004-10-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

Town, northwestern Gabon. The town is situated about 50 miles (80 km) east of Libreville and lies on the Como River at the head of the Gabon Estuary. Kango is the site of one of Africa's largest cellulose and paper-pulp factories, which was built in the 1970s to process products of the surrounding forest. The factory draws its electric power from the Kinguélé dam on the Mbei River, a

Peck, Gregory

2004-10-14T14:50:00.000-07:00

A pharmacist's son, Peck attended military school and San Diego State College before enrolling as a premed student at the University of California at Berkeley. There he developed a taste for

China, Militarism in China

2004-10-11T21:31:00.000-07:00

During the first years of the republic China had been fractured by rival military regimes to the extent that no one authority was able to subordinate all rivals and create a unified and centralized political structure. The South was detached from Peking's control; but even the southern provinces, and indeed districts within them, were run by different military

Performing Arts, Popular. - United States

2004-10-08T19:33:00.000-07:00

Hip-hop artist Eminem—Detroit native Marshall Mathers III—in 2002 further advanced his standing as a pop-culture favourite with the release of his third album, The Eminem Show, and a starring role in the movie 8 Mile, about a white rap artist trying to establish himself in the black-dominated idiom. The Eminem Show debuted at number one on Billboard's Top 200 album chart in June

Guadalquivir River

2004-10-06T15:21:00.000-07:00

The Guadalquivir is the second longest river of Spain (after the Ebro), and it has several distinctive characteristics.

Alicante

2004-10-04T08:28:00.000-07:00

Port city, capital of Alicante provincia, in Valencia comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”), southeastern Spain. It is located on Alicante Bay of the Mediterranean Sea. Founded as Akra Leuke (“White Summit”) by Phocaean Greeks (from the west coast of Asia Minor) in 325 BC, the city was captured in 201 BC by the Romans, who called it Lucentum. Under Moorish domination, which lasted from

Cyprian, Saint

2004-10-01T05:21:00.000-07:00

Educated in Greece, Cyprian was appointed by Constantinople to be metropolitan of Kiev and Lithuania in 1375 and then of Moscow in 1381. In 1382 Cyprian was forced into exile by the prince of Moscow, Dmitry, who rejected all appointments made by Constantinople. Eight years later, following the succession of

Celestial Mechanics

2004-09-29T04:59:00.000-07:00

In the broadest sense, the application of classical mechanics to the motion of celestial bodies acted on by any of several types of forces. By far the most important force experienced by these bodies, and much of the time the only important force, is that of their mutual gravitational attraction. But other forces can be important as well, such as atmospheric drag on

Sabellic Dialects

2004-09-28T13:50:00.000-07:00

A group of inscriptions from eastern central Italy, sometimes referred to as Sabellic,

Khalil, Al-ashraf Salah Ad-din

2004-09-25T03:53:00.000-07:00

Mamluk sultan of Egypt who completed his father Qala'un's campaign to drive the Franks from Syria. He captured Acre (now 'Akko, Israel) in the spring of 1291, and the remaining crusader fortresses were surrendered by the end of the year. He was murdered by his emirs, who were alarmed by his ambition.

Aryabhata I

2004-09-23T07:34:00.000-07:00

Also called Aryabhata the Elder astronomer and the earliest Indian mathematician whose work and history are available to modern scholars. Known as Aryabhata I or Aryabhata the Elder to distinguish him from a 10th-century Indian mathematician of the same name, he flourished in Kusumapura—near Patalipurta (Patna), then the capital of the Gupta dynasty—where

Mer

2004-09-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

Among the Cheremis and Udmurts (also called Votyaks), a district where people would gather periodically to hold religious festivals and perform sacrifices to nature gods. The word mer is derived from the Russian mir, “village community.” The people within the mer usually were of common origin; their customs were similar, and they may even have possessed names and ownership

Falconiform

2004-09-20T06:18:00.000-07:00

Falconiforms have no obvious evolutionary links with other birds. Currently they are placed between ducks, on the one hand, and game birds on the other; but they bear no clear resemblance to either, while fossil evidence does not indicate intermediate links. The most obvious physical specializations of falconiforms—the cutting, tearing bill and taloned feet—do

Masaniello

2004-09-17T06:46:00.000-07:00

Masaniello was a young fisherman in 1647 when he was chosen to lead a protest against a new tax on fruit, levied by the nobility to raise money to pay the tribute demanded by Spain. The insurrection against the nobles was successful, but Masaniello

Eclogue

2004-09-15T05:46:00.000-07:00

A short pastoral poem, usually in dialogue, on the subject of rural life and the society of shepherds, depicting rural life as free from the complexity and corruption of more civilized life. The eclogue first appeared in the Idylls of the Greek poet Theocritus (c. 310–250 BC), generally recognized as the inventor of pastoral poetry. The Roman poet Virgil (70–19 BC) adopted the form for his

Wahhab, Muhammad Ibn 'abd Al-

2004-09-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

Having completed his formal education in the holy city of Medina, in Arabia, 'Abd al-Wahhab lived abroad for many years. He taught for four years in Basra, Iraq, and in Baghdad he married an affluent woman whose property he inherited

Dolomites

2004-09-11T20:43:00.000-07:00

Italian Alpi Dolomitiche, mountain group lying in the eastern section of the northern Italian Alps, bounded by the valleys of the Isarco (northwest), the Pusteria (north), the Piave (east and southeast), the Brenta (southwest), and the Adige (west). The range comprises a number of impressive peaks, 18 of which rise to more than 10,000 ft (3,050 m). The highest point is the Marmolada (10,964 ft), the southern face of which consists of

Individualism

2004-09-09T18:07:00.000-07:00

Political and social philosophy that places high value on the freedom of the individual and generally stresses the self-directed, self-contained, and comparatively unrestrained individual or ego. The French political commentator Alexis de Tocqueville, who coined the word, described it in terms of a kind of moderate selfishness, disposing human beings to be concerned

Oberösterreich

2004-09-08T23:55:00.000-07:00

Part of the Austrian granite plateau,

Niue

2004-09-05T08:06:00.000-07:00

Internally self-governing island state in free association with New Zealand. It is the westernmost of the Cook Islands but is administratively separate from them. Niue lies 1,340 miles (2,156 km) northeast of Auckland and 240 miles (385 km) east of Vava'u, Tonga, in the south-central Pacific. The capital is Alofi. Area 100 square miles (260 square km). Pop. (1994 est.) 2,200.

Todos Os Santos Bay

2004-09-03T06:07:00.000-07:00

Also called All Saints Bay, Portuguese Baía De Todos Os Santos, sheltered bay of the Atlantic Ocean, eastern coast of Brazil. A natural harbour, it is 25 miles (40 km) long and 20 miles (32 km) wide. Salvador, the principal seaport and capital of Bahia state, is on the peninsula that separates the bay from the Atlantic. Todos os Santos Bay receives the Paraguaçu River and is surrounded by the Recôncavo, a fertile coastal lowland. Its main channel is

Profumo Affair

2004-09-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

At a party at the country estate of Lord Astor on July

California, U.S. colonization and acquisition

2004-08-31T13:03:00.000-07:00

Secularization of the missions was sought by Spanish-Mexican settlers known as Californios when Mexico became independent of Spain in 1821. Between 1833 and 1840 the mission ranches were parceled out to political favourites by the Mexican government. The padres withdrew, and the Indians were cruelly exploited and diminished. In 1841 the first wagon train of settlers left Missouri

Malherbe, François De

2004-08-28T02:24:00.000-07:00

Malherbe received a Protestant education at Caen and Paris and later at the universities of Basel (1571) and Heidelberg (1573) but was shortly converted

Biblical Literature, Christology in Hebrews

2004-08-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

The church is viewed as being in danger of discouragement in the face of persecution and possible apostasy. If faithless, church members risk total loss, for no second repentance is possible. Through his special Christology, the author seeks to help the readers by showing that Christ is the saviour superior to any other and that as Saviour, Son of God, High Priest, pioneer,

Azov Upland

2004-08-25T17:14:00.000-07:00

Ukrainian Pryazovska Vysochyna hilly region, Zaporizhzhya and Donetsk oblasti (provinces), southeastern Ukraine. Part of the Ukrainian Crystalline Shield, the Azov Upland is an area of denuded mountains, extending from the Dnieper River for 100 miles (160 km) to the Donets Ridge and sloping gently down southeastward to the Sea of Azov. The highest point is Mount Mohyla-Belmak (1,063 feet [324 m]), 65 miles (105 km) southwest of

Picasso, Pablo, Catalogs

2004-08-21T04:11:00.000-07:00

Catalogs addressing specific themes, often in conjunction with museum exhibitions, include William Rubin (ed.), Pablo Picasso: A Retrospective (1980); Christian Geelhaar et al., Pablo Picasso: Das Spätwerk: Themen 1964–1972 (1981); Douglas Cooper and Gary Tinterow, The Essential Cubism, 1907–1920: Braque, Picasso & Their Friends (1983); Gert Schiff, Picasso: The Last Years, 1963–1973 (1983); Jürgen Glaesemer (ed.), Der Junge Picasso: Frühwerk und blaue Periode (1984); Ellen C. Oppler (ed.), Picasso's Guernica: Illustrations, Introductory Essay, Documents, Poetry, Criticism, Analysis (1988); Herschel B. Chipp, Picasso's Guernica: History, Transformations, Meanings (1988); Réunion des Musées Nationaux, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 2 vol. (1988); Musée National d'Art Moderne and Tate Gallery, Late Picasso: Paintings, Sculpture, Drawings, Prints, 1953–1972 (1988); William Rubin, Picasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubism (1989); William Rubin (ed.), Picasso and Portraiture: Representation and Transformation (1996); Elizabeth Cowling and John Golding, Picasso: Sculptor/Painter (1994); Marilyn McCully (ed.), Picasso: The Early Years, 1892–1906 (1997); Steven A. Nash and Robert Rosenblum (eds.), Picasso and the War Years, 1937–1945 (1998); and Marilyn McCully (ed.), Picasso: Painter and Sculptor in Clay (1998).

Portuguese Literature, The Italianate school of poetry and drama

2004-08-19T15:49:00.000-07:00

The return in 1526 of the poet Francisco de Sá de Miranda after a six years' stay in Italy initiated a literary reform of far-reaching effect. Like his contemporary Garcilaso de la Vega in Spain, he introduced the new poetic forms of sonnet, canzone, ode, and epistle, and he gave fresh vigour to the national verse forms, mainly through his Satires. His chief disciple, António

Ortelius, Abraham

2004-08-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

Trained as an engraver, Ortelius about 1554 set up his book and antiquary business. About 1560, under the influence of Gerardus Mercator, Ortelius became interested in mapmaking.