SmoothHair

Estate Agent Covent Garden

2006-10-26T02:25:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services. They are an estate agent covent garden amongst other London areas such as Soho and Oxford Circus.

Dependent States

2005-04-04T08:54:00.000-07:00

French Polynesia Pres. Gaston Flosse continued to pursue constitutional changes that would increase French Polynesia's autonomy while retaining its connection to France. In October agreement was reached on France's financial assistance to the territory, with the provision of €150 million (about $155.6 million) for 2003. The new Economic Restructuring Fund replaced grants

Astika

2005-04-03T03:41:00.000-07:00

In Indian philosophy, any orthodox school of thought, defined as one that accepts the authority of the Vedas (sacred scriptures of ancient India); the superiority of the Brahmans (the class of priests), who are the expositors of the law (dharma); and a society made up of the four traditional classes (varna). The six orthodox philosophic systems are those of Samkhya and Yoga,

Accismus

2005-03-31T14:01:00.000-08:00

A form of irony in which a person feigns indifference to or pretends to refuse something he or she desires. The fox's dismissal of the grapes in Aesop's fable of the fox and the grapes is an example of accismus. A classic example is that of Caesar's initial refusal to accept the crown, a circumstance reported by one of the conspirators in William Shakespeare's Julius

Babak

2005-03-29T08:58:00.000-08:00

Iranian Papak leader of the Iranian Khorram-dinan, a religious sect that arose following the execution of Abu Muslim, who had rebelled against the 'Abbasid caliphate. Denying that Abu Muslim was dead, the sect predicted that he would return to spread justice throughout the world. Babak led a new revolt against the 'Abbasids that was put down in 837.

Table Tennis

2005-03-28T06:09:00.000-08:00

Also called (trademark) Ping-pong, ball game similar in principle to lawn tennis and played on a flat table divided into two equal courts by a net fixed across its width at the middle (see illustration). The object is to hit the ball so that it goes over the net and bounces on the opponent's half of the table in such a way that the opponent cannot reach it or return it correctly. The lightweight hollow ball is

Chicago

2005-03-26T19:39:00.000-08:00

Rock band, among the most popular American recording artists of all time, with sales of more than 100 million records. Initially a jazz-rock unit, Chicago thrived as it moved toward a lighter, ballad-oriented rock style. Its original members were Terry Kath (b. Jan. 31, 1946, Chicago, Ill., U.S.— d. Jan. 23, 1978, Los Angeles, Calif.), Peter Cetera (b. Sept. 13, 1944, Chicago), Robert Lamm (b. Oct. 13, 1944, New York, N.Y.), Walter

Vesalius, Andreas

2005-03-22T07:29:00.000-08:00

(Latin), Flemish Andries Van Wesel Renaissance Flemish physician who revolutionized the study of biology and the practice of medicine by his careful description of the anatomy of the human body. Basing his observations on dissections he made himself, he wrote and

Houbraken, Jacobus

2005-03-19T15:30:00.000-08:00

The leading portrait engraver in 18th-century Holland. The son of the painter and art writer Arnold Houbraken, he settled in Amsterdam in 1707, and during his lifetime he engraved 400 portraits after paintings by contemporary Dutch painters.

Interior Design, The Romantic movement and the battle of the styles, 18351925

2005-03-18T06:35:00.000-08:00

The ordered symbolism of the Roman classic style had been envisaged by Jefferson as a proper expression of the American national ideal; but by 1835 its restraints had grown tedious. Social and economic changes already initiated by the Industrial Revolution encouraged reaction. This found more or less romantic and emotional expression in a series of style revivals

Drexel, Katharine, Saint

2005-03-17T00:13:00.000-08:00

Drexel was the daughter of the American financier and

Sinkiang, Uygur Autonomous Region Of, Drainage

2005-03-16T21:12:00.000-08:00

The drainage pattern of Sinkiang is unique to China. The only stream whose waters reach the sea is the O-erh-ch'i-ssu, which rises in north-central Sinkiang, crosses into Kazakstan, and joins the Irtysh that (in Russia) flows into the Ob, which then empties into the Arctic Ocean. Other streams in Sinkiang issue from the mountains and disappear into inland deserts or salt

Burdett-coutts, Angela Georgina Burdett-coutts, Baroness

2005-03-16T13:48:00.000-08:00

The youngest daughter of the radical politician Sir Francis Burdett, she took the name of Coutts in 1837 when she inherited the fortune of the banker Thomas Coutts, her grandfather.

Dabola

2005-03-15T18:51:00.000-08:00

Town, central Guinea, western Africa, situated at the eastern edge of the Fouta Djallon plateau near the Bouka branch of the Tinkisso River. Dabola lies on the Conakry–Kankan railway near the intersection of roads from Mamou, Kouroussa, and Faranah. Dabola is a chief trading centre for rice, peanuts (groundnuts), millet, and cattle and also has a peanut-oil-processing plant.

B-29

2005-03-14T05:35:00.000-08:00

The Superfortress was designed to meet Army Air Corps specifications written in January 1940 and was then modified to provide heavier armament and bomb load. First

R Monocerotis

2005-03-13T13:26:00.000-08:00

(catalog number NGC 2261), stellar infrared source and nebula in the constellation Monoceros (Greek: Unicorn). The star, one of the class of dwarf stars called T Tauri variables, is immersed in a cloud of matter that changes in brightness erratically, reflecting or re-radiating energy from the star.

Goncharov, Ivan Aleksandrovich

2005-03-11T22:48:00.000-08:00

Goncharov was born into a wealthy merchant family and, after graduating from Moscow University in 1834, served

West Falkland

2005-03-11T11:56:00.000-08:00

One of the two major islands of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is 80 miles (130 km) long and 45 miles (70 km) wide and rises to Mount Adam (2,297 feet [700 metres]). The total area is 1,750 square miles (4,532 square km), excluding adjacent small islands, and the coastline is deeply indented. Pop. (1996) 174.

Mitra

2005-03-09T13:38:00.000-08:00

In the pantheon of Vedic Hinduism, one of the gods in the category of Adityas, or sovereign principles of the universe. He represents friendship, integrity, harmony, and all else that is important in the successful maintenance of order in human existence. He is usually paired with the god Varuna, the guardian of the cosmic order, whose powers he complements as guardian

Houbraken, Arnold

2005-03-09T04:22:00.000-08:00

Dutch painter and art writer noted for his three-volume biographical study of Netherlandish painters, De groote Schouburgh der Nederlantsche Konstschilders en Schilderessen (1718–21). Houbraken was a competent if rather uninspired academic painter, but his De Groote Schouburgh is the single most important source of information

Burgas

2005-03-07T05:27:00.000-08:00

Port and town, southeastern Bulgaria, on the Gulf of Burgas, an inlet of the Black Sea. Founded in the 17th century as a fishing village on the site of medieval Pyrgos, it developed after Bulgaria's liberation (1878), mainly with the arrival of the railway from Sofia (1890) and harbour improvements (1904). It now rivals Varna to the north as the nation's chief port, claiming much of Bulgaria's Black

Tracheophyte

2005-03-06T11:11:00.000-08:00

Any of the vascular plants, members of the division, or phylum, Tracheophyta, numbering some 260,000 species and including all of the conspicuous flora of the Earth today. Tracheophyte, meaning “tracheid plant,” refers to the water-conducting cells (called tracheids, or tracheary elements) that show spiral bands like those in the walls of the tracheae, or air tubes, of

Alba Fucens

2005-03-05T02:17:00.000-08:00

Modern Albe ancient fortified town at the foot of Mount Velino, Italy. It was originally a town of the ancient Marsi people but was occupied by a Latin colony about 303 BC. It was situated on a hill with three distinct summits, all of which were enclosed within the walls. Its strong position made it important in the Social War and in the civil wars of the 1st century BC; state prisoners of the Romans

Gravelines

2005-03-04T19:29:00.000-08:00

Flemish Gravelinghe seaport town of northern France, in the département of Nord and the arrondissement of Dunkirk. It is situated midway between Dunkirk and Calais, near the mouth of the Aa River. The canalization of the Aa by the Count of Flanders in about the mid-12th century led to the foundation of Gravelines (grave-linghe, meaning “count's canal”). It became the site of an important citadel,

Man-chou-li

2005-03-04T08:08:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Manzhouli, formerly (1910–49) Lupin, city in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, China. It is situated on the border opposite the Russian town of Zabaykalsk and lies 100 miles (160 km) west of Hailar and 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Lake Hu-lun. Man-chou-li was long a small Mongolian settlement in the Hu-lun-pei-erh League. It developed after 1900 when it became the western terminus of the Russian-built Chinese Eastern Railway

Balcon, Sir Michael

2005-03-02T04:44:00.000-08:00

He began his career as a producer in 1922, founded and directed Gainsborough Pictures, Ltd., in 1928, and became the director of production for Gaumont-British Pictures, Ltd., in 1931. From 1936 to 1938 he worked as producer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and from 1938 to 1959 as executive producer

Camaldolese

2005-03-01T19:07:00.000-08:00

Member of Congregation of Monk Hermits of Camaldoli an independent offshoot of the Benedictine order, founded about 1012 at Camaldoli near Arezzo, Italy, by St. Romuald as part of the monastic-reform movement of the 11th and 12th centuries. The order combined the solitary life of the hermit with an austere form of the common life of the monk. The monastery and the hermitage formed one unit. Beginners resided in the monastery; the

Aesthetics, The value of art

2005-02-28T15:41:00.000-08:00

Theories of the value of art are of two kinds, which we may call extrinsic and intrinsic. The first regards art and the appreciation of art as means to some recognized moral good, while the second regards them as valuable not instrumentally but as objects unto themselves. It is characteristic of extrinsic theories to locate the value of art in its effects on the person

Brú, Hedin

2005-02-27T19:13:00.000-08:00

At the age of 14 Brú worked as a fisherman. He spent much of the 1920s studying agriculture in Denmark, and from 1928 he was an agricultural adviser to the Faroese government. His first two novels, Longbrá (1930; “Mirage”) and Fastatøkur (1937; “Firm Grip”), dramatize the

Ayres, Anne

2005-02-26T23:35:00.000-08:00

Ayres moved to the United States with her family in 1836 and settled in New York City. Until 1845 she supplemented the family income by teaching daughters of well-to-do families. In the summer of that year she heard William Augustus Muhlenberg, an Episcopal clergyman, preach

Swaziland

2005-02-24T05:03:00.000-08:00

The name Swazi is the Anglicized name of an early king and nation builder, Mswati II, who ruled from 1840 to 1868. The administrative

'abd Allah Ibn Az-zubayr

2005-02-23T14:06:00.000-08:00

As a youth Ibn az-Zubayr went on many of the military campaigns that marked the initial expansion

Saigo Takamori

2005-02-23T01:23:00.000-08:00

Original name Kichibe , or Kichinosuke , literary name Nanshu a leader in the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate who later rebelled against the weaknesses he saw in the Imperial government that he had helped to restore. Although his participation in the restoration made him a legendary hero, it also, to his mortification, relegated his samurai class to impotence.

Stabiae

2005-02-21T09:27:00.000-08:00

The town was originally settled by Oscan-speaking people, the native inhabitants of Campania. It entered the Social War (the “war of the allies” against Rome) in 90 BC and was destroyed

Ostariophysan, Feeding habits

2005-02-20T20:58:00.000-08:00

The remarkable diversity of feeding habits among ostariophysians is associated with a fantastic variety of adaptations in mouth shapes and tooth types (especially in the suborder Characoidei) probably unsurpassed by any other group. At one extreme are certain cyprinids (e.g., Notropis atherinoides) with highly developed gill rakers that strain phytoplankton

Turin Papyrus

2005-02-20T07:12:00.000-08:00

Also called Turin Papyrus Of Kings, or Turin Canon, hieratic manuscript of the 19th dynasty of Egypt, listing the kings of Egypt from earliest times to the reign of Ramses II (1279–13 BC), under whom it was written. Although the papyrus, now in the Egyptian Museum in Turin, Italy, is in very fragmentary condition, it is still considered the most detailed and reliable of the existing Egyptian king lists. It lists not only names but also

Clapp, Cornelia Maria

2005-02-19T17:59:00.000-08:00

Clapp graduated from Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in 1871, and after a year of teaching elsewhere she returned to Mount Holyoke as an instructor in mathematics. Later she also taught

Zoe

2005-02-18T19:28:00.000-08:00

The daughter of the emperor Constantine VIII, Zoe was married to the heir presumptive, Romanus III Argyrus, in 1028 and became empress consort upon his elevation to the throne the same year. She became self-assertive and jealous, exiling her sister Theodora

Botanical Garden

2005-02-17T05:11:00.000-08:00

German Botanischer Garten, botanical garden founded in 1914 by the German botanist Karl von Goebel in Munich. The garden's vast array of greenhouses, completed in 1958, includes 17 for display and 8 for service functions. The palm house is particularly notable. Other significant greenhouse collections are composed of alpine plants, insectivorous plants, cacti, African succulents, Crassula, and Mesembryanthemeae.

Abc

2005-02-15T20:50:00.000-08:00

Tabloid daily newspaper published in Madrid and long regarded as one of Spain's leading papers. It was founded as a weekly in 1903 by a distinguished journalist, Torcuato Luca de Tena y Alvarez-Ossorio, who later (1929) was made the Marqués de Luca de Tena by King Alfonso XIII in recognition of his accomplishments with ABC. The paper became a daily in 1905 and after 1929 published a Seville

Ithaca

2005-02-15T00:46:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1817) of Tompkins county, south-central New York, U.S. It lies at the southern end of Cayuga Lake (one of the Finger Lakes), 55 miles (89 km) southwest of Syracuse. Within the city are picturesque gorges cut by several creeks. Founded in 1789 by Simeon DeWitt, surveyor general of New York, it had formerly been a part of the military tract granted in 1782 to veterans of the American Revolution.

Bahraich

2005-02-13T03:27:00.000-08:00

City, east-central Uttar Pradesh state, northern India, located on a tributary of the Ghaghara River and on a rail line between Lucknow and Nepalganj, Nepal. Bahraich is a centre of trade (agricultural products and timber) with Nepal; there is also some sugar processing. The tomb of Sayyid Salar Mas'ud, an Afghan warrior-saint who died there in 1033, is visited by Muslim and Hindu pilgrims.

Bradley, Tom

2005-02-10T05:28:00.000-08:00

The son of sharecroppers and the grandson of slaves, Bradley grew up in poverty. When he was seven years old, his parents moved to Los Angeles. Excelling at track

Oscar I

2005-02-08T07:32:00.000-08:00

Oscar's early liberal outlook and progressive ideas on such issues as fiscal policy, freedom of the press, and penal reform fortuitously coincided with a period of social, political, and industrial change. After his accession

Salem

2005-02-06T13:51:00.000-08:00

Capital of Oregon, U.S., and the seat (1849) of Marion county. It lies along the Willamette River, 43 miles (69 km) southwest of Portland. Methodist missionaries, led by Jason Lee, settled the site in 1840. Its Kalapuya Indian name, Chemeketa, meaning “place of rest,” was translated into the biblical name of Salem (from Hebrew shalom, “peace”). A settlement was laid out in 1844, and home sites were sold by the

Chase Manhattan Corporation, The

2005-02-04T00:10:00.000-08:00

The firm originated in the final days of the 18th century. On April 2, 1799, at the urging of such civic leaders as Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton (later noted rivals), the New York state legislature chartered the Manhattan Company to build a water supply system for New York City. The original

World War I

2005-02-02T07:40:00.000-08:00

Dwight E. Lee (ed.), The Outbreak of the First World War: Causes and Responsibilities, 4th ed. (1975), is a good introduction to the debate on the origins of World War I. A more detailed account is provided in Luigi Albertini, The Origins of the War of 1914, 3 vol. (1952–57, reprinted 1980; originally published in Italian, 1942–43). A comprehensive general account of the war is Bernadotte E. Schmitt and Harold C. Vedeler, The World in the Crucible, 1914–1919 (1984). The standard military histories are Basil Henry Liddell Hart, A History of the World War, 1914–1918, enl. ed. (1934, reprinted 1970); Cyril B. Falls, The Great War (1959); and Marc Ferro, The Great War, 1914–1918 (1973, reprinted 1987; originally published in French, 1969). J.E. Edmonds (comp.), A Short History of World War I (1951, reprinted 1968); and John Terraine, The Great War, 1914–1918: A Pictorial History (1965, reprinted 1978), are useful introductions. Naval operations during the war are discussed in Arthur J. Marder, From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow: The Royal Navy in the Fisher Era, 1904–1919, 5 vol. (1961–70). International diplomacy during the war is treated in Z.A.B. Zeman, The Gentlemen Negotiators (1971; U.K. title, A Diplomatic History of the First World War).

Marpurg, Friedrich Wilhelm

2005-01-31T11:06:00.000-08:00

Nothing is known of his musical education. In 1746 he was secretary to a Prussian general in Paris, where he met Voltaire and the composer Jean Rameau. He later lived in Berlin and Hamburg and from 1763 to 1795 directed the Prussian

China, Changes under Kublai Khan and his successors

2005-01-29T04:40:00.000-08:00

Kublai Khan's ascendancy in 1260 marked a definite change in Mongol government practice; Kublai moved the seat of Mongol government from Karakorum in Mongolia to Shang-tu (Upper Capital) near modern To-lun in Inner Mongolia. In 1267 the official capital was transferred to Chung-tu, where Kublai ordered the construction of a new walled city, replete with grand palaces and official

Jones, Bobby

2005-01-28T23:06:00.000-08:00

Byname of Robert Tyre Jones, Jr. U.S. amateur golfer, the first man to achieve the Grand Slam—winning in a single year the four major tournaments of the time. In 1930 he won the British and U.S. Opens and Amateur championships. From 1923 through 1930 he won 13 championships in those four annual tournaments, a feat unequalled until 1973, when Jack Nicklaus surpassed that total in U.S. and British

Ecuador, Domination of Velasco Ibarra (post-World War II)

2005-01-26T23:36:00.000-08:00

Politics and government after World War II presented contradictions. Ecuador enjoyed a long period of constitutional government and relatively free elections following the presidency of the Radical Liberal leader Galo Plaza (1948–52). There were also two long interludes of military government (1963–66; 1972–79), but the period was dominated by one of Latin America's great caudillos,

Alaska, The people

2005-01-24T18:53:00.000-08:00

Long before Bering's voyages the Tlingit Indians lived in the southern and southeastern coastal area; the Aleuts on the

Quaker Foods And Beverages

2005-01-22T10:12:00.000-08:00

The Quaker Oats trademark was registered in 1877 by Henry Parsons Crowell (1855–1944), an Ohio milling company owner who in 1891 joined with two other millers, Robert Stuart and

Neutron Capture

2005-01-20T13:15:00.000-08:00

Type of nuclear reaction in which a target nucleus absorbs a neutron (uncharged particle), then emits a discrete quantity of electromagnetic energy (gamma-ray photon). The target nucleus and the product nucleus are isotopes, or forms of the same element. Thus phosphorus-31, on undergoing neutron capture, becomes phosphorus-32. The heavier isotope that results may be radioactive,

Chatter Mark

2005-01-18T06:14:00.000-08:00

Small, curved fracture found on glaciated rock surfaces. Chatter marks are commonly 1–5 centimetres ( 1/2–2 inches) but may be submicroscopic or as much as 50 cm in length. They occur mainly on hard, brittle rocks such as granite and are formed under a glacier by the pressure and impact of boulders moved along by irregular rolling or sliding. Chatter marks are commonly arranged

Slobozia

2005-01-15T03:54:00.000-08:00

Town, capital of Ialomita judet (county), southeastern Romania. It lies along the Ialomita River in the middle of the Baragan Plain. The town was built on what remained of the Roman settlement of Netindava. It is a collecting and marketing centre for a rich agricultural region in which cereals and cattle predominate. Amara is a bathing and health resort lying just to the north.

Auckland

2005-01-14T06:27:00.000-08:00

When Europeans arrived in the early 19th century, the region was densely populated by Maoris. European settlements were

Argentina, Language and religion

2005-01-11T05:37:00.000-08:00

Spanish is the national language, although in Argentina it is spoken in several accents and has absorbed many words from other languages, especially Italian. Numerous foreign languages and dialects can be heard, from Basque and Sicilian to Welsh and Gaelic. Toward the end of the 19th century, an underworld language called lunfardo developed in Buenos Aires, composed

Houston, Sam

2005-01-09T03:36:00.000-08:00

In his youth Houston moved with his family to a farm in rural Tennessee after the death of his father in 1807. He ran away in his mid-teens and lived for nearly three years with

Luther, Hans

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

After studying law at Berlin, Kiel, and Geneva, Luther joined the local civil service in Berlin. From 1907 to 1913 he was stationed at Magdeburg. In 1913 he was elected secretary to the German Stä

Yevtushenko, Yevgeny (aleksandrovich)

2005-01-05T16:25:00.000-08:00

Yevtushenko, a fourth-generation

Aurora

2005-01-03T23:12:00.000-08:00

City, Adams, Arapahoe, and Douglas counties, north-central Colorado, U.S. An eastern suburb of Denver, Aurora was the third most populous city in Colorado at the start of the 21st century and, occupying 280 square miles (725 square km), the state's largest city in area. Founded during the silver boom of 1891 and named Fletcher after its Canadian-born founder, Donald Fletcher, it flourished

Discoverer

2005-01-01T14:40:00.000-08:00

Any of a series of unmanned experimental satellites launched by the United States Air Force. Although the Discoverer satellites had several apparent applications—such as testing orbital maneuvering and reentry techniques—they often are regarded as a forerunner of the military reconnaissance satellite. Discoverer 1 (launched Feb. 28, 1959) was equipped with a camera

Ear, Human, Outer ear

2004-12-30T03:34:00.000-08:00

The most striking differences between the human ear and the ears of other mammals are in the structure of the outermost part, the auricle (Figure 1). In humans the auricle is an almost rudimentary, usually immobile shell that lies close to the side of the head. It consists of a thin plate of yellow fibrocartilage covered by closely adherent skin. The cartilage is molded

Atzcapotzalco

2004-12-29T16:06:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Azcapotzalco, city, northwestern Federal District, central Mexico. Situated approximately 7,350 feet (2,240 m) above sea level in the Valley of Mexico, the city was founded in the 12th century and given the Aztec name meaning “anthill” because of its large population. It became famous for its slave market and the skill of its craftsmen in working precious metals. Hernán Cortés later set up smelters

Tolima

2004-12-26T19:00:00.000-08:00

Departamento, central Colombia, extending from the Andean Cordillera (mountains) Central across the Magdalena River valley to the Cordillera Oriental. Created in 1861, it occupies an area of 9,097 square miles (23,562 square km). The department ranks first in Colombia in the production of rice and sesame; other crops grown in Tolima include cotton, coffee, corn (maize), bananas, sugarcane,

Eguren, José María

2004-12-24T15:28:00.000-08:00

His first book of poetry, Simbólicas (1911; “Symbolisms”), signaled a break with the Modernismo tradition, while still maintaining contacts with the Romantic and early French Symbolist poets who had influenced the Modernist movement. Eguren's often fantastic creations reflect his

Beach Pea

2004-12-22T18:14:00.000-08:00

(Lathyrus maritimus, sometimes L. japonicus), sprawling perennial plant in the pea family (Fabaceae). It occurs on gravelly and sandy coastal areas throughout the North Temperate Zone. The stem is 30–60 centimetres (1–2 feet) long. The alternate leaves are divided into 6 to 12 leaflets arranged along the leafstalk. The purplish-blue flowers, which appear throughout

Jewett, Sarah Orne

2004-12-20T06:31:00.000-08:00

Jewett was often taken by her physician father on visits to the fishermen and farmers of her native Maine, and she developed a deep and abiding love of their way of life and of the sights and sounds of her surroundings. These experiences, and reading in her

Fuji Bank

2004-12-19T18:01:00.000-08:00

Fuji Bank originated from a money-lending operation established in the 1860s by Yasuda Zenjiro, the founder of the Yasuda zaibatsu (business combine). In 1880 the business became

Golden Gate

2004-12-16T07:59:00.000-08:00

Strait, in California, western coastal U.S., connecting San Francisco Bay with the Pacific Ocean and separating San Francisco from Marin County. An ancient river mouth, it is about 3 miles (5 km) long, from 1 to 3 miles wide, and 300 feet (90 m) deep and serves as the ocean gateway to the port cities of the bay and the Sacramento–San Joaquin river system. The strait, now spanned by the Golden

Rusalka

2004-12-15T00:07:00.000-08:00

Plural Rusalki, in Slavic mythology, lake-dwelling soul of a child who died unbaptized or of a virgin who was drowned (whether accidentally or purposely). Slavs of different areas have assigned different personalities to the rusalki. Around the Danube River, where they are called vile (singular vila), rusalki are beautiful, charming girls, dressed always in light robes of mist, singing

Coke

2004-12-12T11:38:00.000-08:00

Solid residue remaining after certain types of bituminous coals are heated to a high temperature out of contact with air until substantially all of the volatile constituents have been driven off. The residue is chiefly carbon, with minor amounts of hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen. Also present in coke is the mineral matter in the original coal, chemically

Daniel Romanovich

2004-12-11T19:16:00.000-08:00

Son of Prince Roman Mstislavich, Daniel was only four years old when his father, who had united Galicia and Volhynia, died in a battle against the Poles (1205). Not until 1221 did Daniel begin to overthrow other pretenders

Indian Philosophy, The linguistic philosophies: Bhartrhari and Mandana-Misra

2004-12-09T13:13:00.000-08:00

The linguistic philosophers considered here are the grammarians led by Bhartrhari (7th century AD) and Mandana-Misra (8th century AD); the latter, reputed to be a disciple of Kumarila, held views widely different from the Mimamsakas. The grammarians share with the Mimamsakas their interest in the problems of language and meaning. But their own theories are so different that they cut at the

Halévy, Ludovic

2004-12-06T08:13:00.000-08:00

The son of the writer Léon Halévy and the nephew of the operatic composer Fromental Halévy, Ludovic began writing for the stage while

West Lothian

2004-12-04T06:29:00.000-08:00

Council area and historic county, southeastern Scotland, on the southern shore of the River Forth estuary and the Firth of Forth just west of Edinburgh. The council area and historic county occupy somewhat different areas. The historic county borders the Forth from Bo'ness to the mouth of the River Almond just west of Cramont. It extends southwest across a lowland

Extortion

2004-12-03T22:43:00.000-08:00

Extortion may include threats of harm to a person or his property,

Sucker

2004-11-30T09:10:00.000-08:00

Any of the freshwater fishes constituting the family Catostomidae, similar to and closely related to the carp and minnows (Cyprinidae). There are about 80 to 100 species of suckers; except for a few species in Asia, all are North American. Many suckers are almost indistinguishable from minnows, but catostomids may often be recognized by the sucking, usually ventral

Switzerland, Tourism

2004-11-29T06:32:00.000-08:00

International tourist receipts amount to a considerable sum in Switzerland, but expenditures by Swiss abroad are also significant. Whatever surplus occurs is used to cover any deficit in the Swiss balance of payments. During the Middle Ages healing spas such as Baden, Bad Pfäfers, Leukerbad, and Rheinfelden flourished, while mountain-pass hospices such as those

Selkirk

2004-11-26T16:02:00.000-08:00

Town, southeastern Manitoba, Canada. It lies just northeast of Winnipeg, on the Red River near its influx into Lake Winnipeg, at the head of deepwater navigation. It is the lake's chief port serving central and northern Manitoba and is thus a transshipping point for fish and lumber. The town is also a haven for pleasure boats. The site, settled in 1812, was named for Thomas Douglas,

Unterfranken

2004-11-25T03:24:00.000-08:00

English Lower Franconia Regierungsbezirk (administrative district), northwestern corner of Bavaria Land (state), central Germany. Unterfranken is bordered by Thuringia Land to the northeast, the Regierungsbezirke of Oberfranken (Upper Franconia) and Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia) to the east, Baden-Württemberg Land to the south, and Hesse Land to the west. The district occupies an area

Elgar, Sir Edward

2004-11-23T20:50:00.000-08:00

The son of an organist and music dealer, Elgar left school at age 15 and worked briefly in

Endomorph

2004-11-21T07:04:00.000-08:00

A human physical type (somatotype) tending toward roundness, as determined by the physique classification system developed by American psychologist W.H. Sheldon. The extreme endomorph has a body as nearly globular as humanly possible; he has a round head, a large, round abdomen, large internal organs relative to his size, rather short arms and legs with fat upper arms

Adangme

2004-11-18T15:19:00.000-08:00

The chief Adangme occupation is farming, based on the huza system, in which a tract of land is purchased

Gaucher's Disease

2004-11-17T11:18:00.000-08:00

Rare inherited metabolic disorder characterized by anemia, mental and neurologic impairment, yellowish pigmentation of the skin, and bone deterioration resulting in pathological fractures. Gaucher's disease results when a defect in the body's synthesis of the enzyme glucocerebrosidase allows the lipid glucocerebroside to accumulate in the body's storage

Osiris

2004-11-14T20:14:00.000-08:00

Also called Usiri, one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt. The origin of Osiris is obscure; he was a local god of Busiris, in Lower Egypt, and may have been a personification of chthonic (underworld) fertility, or possibly a deified hero. By about 2400 BC, however, Osiris clearly played a double role: he was both a god of fertility and the embodiment of the dead and resurrected king. This dual

Mahathir Bin Mohamad

2004-11-12T10:50:00.000-08:00

The son of a schoolmaster, Mahathir was educated at Sultan Abdul Hamid College and the University of Malaya in Singapore, where he studied medicine. After graduating in 1953, he worked as a government

Shimazu Family

2004-11-10T05:19:00.000-08:00

Powerful warrior clan that controlled the southern tip of the Japanese island of Kyushu from the 12th to the 19th century. Ensconced in their isolated stronghold on the frontier of Japan, the Shimazu were the only feudal family to play a leading role in Japanese history in both medieval and modern times. During the Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1867), the family's Satsuma fief was the

Hove

2004-11-09T21:25:00.000-08:00

Town, unitary authority of Brighton and Hove, historic county of Sussex, England, on the English Channel, adjoining Brighton to the east and Portslade to the west. Hove, which grew with Brighton as a seaside resort and residential town in the 19th century, has excellent road and rail connections with London to the north. Pop. (1991) 67,602.

Architecture, The temple or church

2004-11-07T11:20:00.000-08:00

Temples or churches serve as places of worship and as shelters for the images, relics, and holy areas of the cult. In the older religions, the temple was not always designed for communal use. In ancient Egypt and India it was considered the residence of the deity, and entrance into the sanctum was prohibited or reserved for priests; in ancient Greece it contained an accessible

Challis, James

2004-11-04T15:48:00.000-08:00

Elected a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1826 and ordained in 1830, Challis became Plumian professor of astronomy and director of the Cambridge Observatory in 1836. He contributed 225 mathematical,

Porch

2004-11-02T09:02:00.000-08:00

There is little material evidence of the existence of the porch before the period of Classical antiquity, although Egyptian

Skibobbing

2004-11-01T09:45:00.000-08:00

Also called skibiking or snowbiking a winter sport using a guidable, single-track vehicle that has features of the bicycle, the bobsled, and skis. The longer rear ski is fixed, and the shorter front ski is mobile for steering; a saddle like that of a bicycle and a steering bar with handles complete the rig. The assembly is kept flexible to provide smooth passage over bumps and is lightweight, made of wood, aluminum,

Cabarrus, François, Conde De

2004-10-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

Cabarrus originally settled in Madrid as a soap manufacturer but soon became conspicuous within a circle of enlightened reformers who advised the king. His ideas were crucial in the creation of the first Spanish central bank in 1783. He also was involved

Fracturedislocation

2004-10-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

A severe injury in which both fracture and dislocation take place simultaneously. Frequently, a loose piece of bone remains jammed between the ends of the dislocated bones and may have to be removed surgically before the dislocation can be reduced. Immobilization must be longer than in a simple dislocation to permit healing of the fracture; chances for permanent

Middletown

2004-10-26T03:29:00.000-07:00

Town (township), Newport county, southeastern Rhode Island, U.S., on Rhode (Aquidneck) Island, in Narragansett Bay. It was named for its location between the other two towns on the island, Newport and Portsmouth. Closely related to Newport, from which it was set off and incorporated in 1743, Middletown has developed as a residential suburb of that city. Middletown is the home of

Lock

2004-10-24T23:18:00.000-07:00

Mechanical device for securing a door or receptacle so that it cannot be opened except by a key or by a series of manipulations that can be carried out only by a person knowing the secret or code.

Syria, The Ayyubids and Mamluks

2004-10-21T00:43:00.000-07:00

After Saladin's death his kingdom was split up among members of his family, the Ayyubids, who established principalities in Aleppo, Hamah, Hims, Damascus, Ba'labakk, and Transjordan and ruled them until 1260. The period of Nureddin, Saladin, and their successors was of great importance. Thanks largely to the establishment of Italian trading centres on the coast and better security,

Howland Island

2004-10-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

Sighted in 1842 by American whalers and named for one of the first