PoorCushion

France, Banque De

2005-11-18T09:00:00.000-08:00

The paca

Swale

2005-10-16T05:20:00.000-07:00

Borough (district), administrative and historic county of Kent, southeastern England, on the south side of the Thames estuary at its mouth. Swale borough includes the Isle of Sheppey, 9 miles (14 km) long and 4 miles (6 km) wide, to the north. The island is separated from the mainland (south) by The Swale, a branch of the River Medway estuary, which gives its name to the district. Land on

Cloisonnism

2005-07-27T08:35:00.000-07:00

Painting method used in the style known as Synthetism (q.v.).

Alexander

2005-07-25T13:50:00.000-07:00

The only child of Prince (later King) Milan (reigned 1868–89) and his consort, Natalie, Alexander ascended the Serbian throne on March 6 (Feb. 22), 1889, after his father had abdicated and named a regency

Mason, Charlotte

2005-07-23T02:30:00.000-07:00

Mason was born into a wealthy family. She married a prominent physician and socialized with dignitaries and dilettantes.

Kunlun Mountains

2005-07-06T04:30:00.000-07:00

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

Houbraken, Arnold

2005-06-29T04:35:00.000-07:00

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

Water Supply

2005-06-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

Available water provided to fulfill a particular need; if the need is domestic, industrial, or agricultural, the water must fulfill both quality and quantity requirements. Water supplies can be obtained by numerous types of water resources projects, such as wells, dams, or reservoirs. See water resource.

Shari'ah, Procedure and evidence

2005-06-03T06:35:00.000-07:00

Traditionally, Shari'ah law was administered by the court of a single qadi, who was the judge of the facts as well as the law, although on difficult legal issues he might seek the advice of a professional jurist, or mufti. There was no hierarchy of courts and no organized system of appeals. Through his clerk (katib) the qadi controlled his court procedure, which was normally characterized

Mastoid Process

2005-06-01T01:00:00.000-07:00

The smooth pyramidal or cone-shaped bone projection at the base of the skull on each side of the head just below and behind the ear in humans. The mastoid process is important to students of fossil humans because it occurs regularly and in the specific form described only in hominids (i.e., members of the genera Homo and Australopithecus). The development of the mastoid

Sporophyte

2005-05-17T16:10:00.000-07:00

In certain plants and algae, nonsexual phase (or an individual representing the phase) in the alternation of generations—a phenomenon in which two distinct phases (a haploid and a diploid phase) occur in the life history of a plant, each phase producing the other. (The alternate, sexual phase is the gametophyte.) In the sporophyte phase, a diploid plant body grows and eventually

Carinus

2005-05-15T21:50:00.000-07:00

With the title of Caesar, he was sent by his father, the emperor Carus, to the army of the Rhine in 282. On his father's death in the summer of 283, Carinus became emperor in the West, his brother Numerian becoming emperor in the East. After a campaign on the Rhine, Carinus returned to Rome where,

Awan

2005-05-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

Ancient city and region of the land of Elam, prominent throughout early Mesopotamian history and especially in the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. Although it was probably situated near Susa, in southwestern Iran, Awan's exact location is unknown. A coalition of four rulers of southwestern Persia, led by the king of Awan, provided vigorous resistance to the eastern

Maret, Hugues-bernard, Duc (duke) De Bassano

2005-03-15T18:48:00.000-08:00

A journalist in the early stages of the French Revolution, Maret entered the diplomatic service in 1792. After the coup d'�tat of 18 Brumaire (Nov. 9, 1799), Napoleon appointed him secretary of state to the consuls. He grew in Napoleon's esteem and acted as his confidential adviser. From April 1811 to November 1813, Maret

Dyspareunia

2005-03-14T22:07:00.000-08:00

Painful or difficult sexual intercourse in the female. Disorders are generally physical rather than psychological. Dyspareunia may be caused by inflammation or infection of the vagina, vaginismus (q.v.; voluntary or involuntary contraction of the lower vaginal muscles), remnants of the hymen, insufficient lubrication of the vagina, infection, endometriosis, tumours,

Romania, The Slavs

2005-03-11T13:42:00.000-08:00

For nearly eight centuries after the withdrawal of the Roman administration and army, Dacia was overrun by a series of migratory peoples. The earliest of them - the Visigoths (275 - 376), the Huns (end of the 4th century to 454), and the Germanic Gepidae (454 - 567) - had little impact on the Daco-Roman population. But the Avars' defeat of the Gepidae in 567 opened the way for a massive advance of Slavs into

Nadel, S(iegfried) F(rederick)

2005-03-07T14:53:00.000-08:00

Before turning to anthropology Nadel pursued musical interests. He wrote a biography of the Italian composer Ferruccio Benvenuto Busoni and a work on musical typology, and he toured with his own opera

Antarctica, General works

2005-03-06T18:44:00.000-08:00

F.M. Auburn, Antarctic Law and Politics (1982), provides a comprehensive discussion of the legal aspects of the Antarctic Treaty, jurisdictional problems of crime, ecology, and tourism. Gillian D. Triggs (ed.), The Antarctic Treaty Regime: Law, Environment, and Resources (1987), discusses current aspects of issues raised by the Antarctic Treaty. Anthony Parsons, Antarctica: The Next Decade (1987), addresses the history of the Antarctic Treaty and its future as well as current and projected uses of the continental region.

Ambo

2005-03-05T16:19:00.000-08:00

The Ambo economy rests almost equally on agriculture and animal husbandry,

Wu Ch'eng-en

2005-03-04T05:53:00.000-08:00

Wu received a traditional Confucian education and became known for his clever composition of poetry and prose in the classical style. Throughout his life he displayed

Topographical Poetry

2005-03-03T23:35:00.000-08:00

Verse genre characterized by the description of a particular landscape. A subgenre, the prospect poem, details the view from a height. The form was established by John Denham in 1642 with the publication of his poem Cooper's Hill. Topographical poems were at their peak of popularity in the 17th and 18th centuries, though there are examples from the early 19th century, including

Harden, Sir Arthur

2005-03-02T07:47:00.000-08:00

After studies at Manchester and at Erlangen, Germany, Harden became a lecturer-demonstrator at the University of Manchester (1888 - 97). He took charge of the

Martyr

2005-03-01T14:10:00.000-08:00

The universality of persecution throughout its history has engendered in Judaism an explicit ideal of martyrdom. It begins with Abraham, who according to legend was cast into a lime kiln and saved from the fire by divine grace. The tradition was continued by Isaac, who consented to be sacrificed by his father, and by Daniel, whose example compelled the popular imagination.

Mcpherson

2005-02-28T04:19:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1873) of McPherson county, central Kansas, U.S. Laid out in 1872 on the Santa Fe Trail, it was named for James B. McPherson, a Union general killed in the American Civil War. The city is now a processing and shipping point for nearby oil fields and the surrounding diversified agricultural area. Industries include oil refining, flour milling, and the manufacture of aluminum

Tasmania, Ethnic and religious groups

2005-02-27T04:22:00.000-08:00

The original Tasmanians were an anthropologically interesting Negritoid people, with the widest nasal index ever recorded and shorter and broader heads than the Aboriginal peoples of the continental mainland. They may originally have drifted across from the mainland or arrived from as far as the New Hebrides, several thousand miles to the northeast. Estimates

Tarsal

2005-02-26T00:26:00.000-08:00

Any of several short, angular bones that in humans make up the ankle and that - in animals that walk on their toes (e.g., dogs, cats) or on hoofs - are contained in the hock, lifted off the ground. The tarsals correspond to the carpal bones of the upper limb. In humans the tarsals, in combination with the metatarsal bones, form a longitudinal arch in the foot - a shape well adapted for

Urso, Camilla

2005-02-25T03:23:00.000-08:00

Urso was the daughter of an Italian flutist and a Portuguese singer. When she was six years old, despite general skepticism about her ability to master a �masculine� instrument, she began taking violin lessons. The success of

Kunlun Mountains, Plant and animal life

2005-02-24T15:27:00.000-08:00

The desert or, at best, steppe conditions prevailing throughout the Kunluns inhibit development of vegetation. Much of the terrain consists of rock deserts. Occasional stagnant water pools provide browsing and water for several wild ungulates, such as the Tibetan gazelle and Tibetan goat antelope (chiru), along with large herds of wild asses (kiang) and clusters

San Fernando

2005-02-23T03:40:00.000-08:00

Town, west-central Luzon, Philippines. Located on a bay of the South China Sea formed by a peninsula that ends in San Fernando Point, it served a tobacco- and rice-growing region as the northern terminus of the Philippine National Railway until the line was extended to Bacnotan in 1955. The town is on Luzon's main western coastal highway. Its outport, Poro, is the only national

Wild Oat

2005-02-22T23:15:00.000-08:00

The best-known species is A. fatua, which has become a common field and roadside weed in temperate Australia, North America, and southern Africa. It grows in small tufts about 0.9 to 1.2 m (3 to 4 feet) tall.

Vigo

2005-02-21T01:06:00.000-08:00

Port town and naval station, Pontevedra provincia, in the comunidad aut�noma (�autonomous community�) of Galicia, northwestern Spain. Vigo lies along the southeastern shore of the Vigo Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, southwest of Pontevedra city. It was attacked by the English admiral Sir Francis Drake in 1585 and 1589. In 1702 a British-Dutch fleet under Sir George Rooke and James Butler,

Gambetta, L�on

2005-02-20T01:34:00.000-08:00

French republican statesman who helped direct the defense of France during the Franco-German War of 1870 - 71. In helping to found the Third Republic, he made three essential contributions: first, by his speeches and articles, he converted many Frenchmen to the ideals of moderate democratic republicanism. Second, by his political

Chardin, Jean

2005-02-19T10:21:00.000-08:00

In August 1671 he again set out for Persia. Traveling through

Intendant

2005-02-18T21:14:00.000-08:00

The origin of the office of intendant remains obscure, and no document has been

Vacuum Technology

2005-02-17T15:00:00.000-08:00

Capacities are available from 100 to 70,000 cu ft per minute, operating usually in the pressure range of 10 to 10-3 torr. The peak speed of the pump is developed in the pressure range of 1 to 10-2 torr, the speed at the lower end of the pressure range depending on the type of forepump used. A typical mechanical booster utilizes two figure-eight-shaped impellers, synchronized by external gears,

Endocrine System, Phylum Chordata

2005-02-16T07:26:00.000-08:00

The phylum Chordata is separated into three subgroups (or subphyla). The invertebrate subphylum Tunicata consists of the marine tunicates, including the ascidians and salps. The invertebrate subphylum Cephalochordata includes the fishlike amphioxus (or lancelet). Amphioxus is a small marine animal that closely resembles the larva of the jawless fishes (class

Udine

2005-02-15T03:51:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Udine provincia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia regione, northeastern Italy. It lies northwest of Trieste, near the border with Slovenia. Possibly the site of a Roman frontier station called Utina, the city was the seat of the Roman Catholic patriarchate of Aquileia from 1238 until 1751, when the patriarchate was dissolved and replaced by the archbishoprics of Udine

Zacharias, Saint

2005-02-14T22:55:00.000-08:00

Of Greek parentage, Zacharias was supposedly a Roman deacon when he succeeded Pope St. Gregory III in November/December 741. His pontificate was devoted to diplomatic relations with the Lombard and Frankish kingdoms and with the Byzantine Empire. He initiated a policy of conciliation with

Shellfish Poisoning

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

Illness in humans resulting from the eating of certain mussels and clams. The source of the poison has been traced to the plankton upon which shellfish feed during parts of the year. Symptoms often begin within 10 minutes after eating the shellfish. Initially, there is tingling and numbness about the lips and prickly feelings in the fingertips. The throat is often dry.

Papua New Guinea

2005-02-12T18:20:00.000-08:00

Officially �Independent State of Papua New Guinea, � island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It encompasses the eastern half of the island of New Guinea (the western half, Irian Jaya, belonging to Indonesia) and its offshore islands as well as the islands of the Bismarck Archipelago (New Britain, New Ireland, and the Admiralty Islands) and those of Bougainville and Buka. Together these islands cover 178,704 square miles

Ravinia Park

2005-02-11T16:05:00.000-08:00

One of the oldest outdoor summer music and cultural centres in the United States, located in Highland Park, Ill., 25 miles (40 km) north of Chicago's Loop. It was established in 1905 on land purchased by the A.C. Frost Company, a subsidiary of the Chicago and Milwaukee Electric Railroad (the Chicago and North Western Railroad now bisects the property). Originally an amusement centre

Lens

2005-02-10T05:21:00.000-08:00

In optics, piece of glass or other transparent substance that is used to form an image of an object by focusing rays of light from the object. A lens is a piece of transparent material, usually circular in shape, with two polished surfaces, either or both of which is curved and may be either convex (bulging) or concave (depressed). The curves are almost always spherical, i.e.,

John

2005-02-09T10:25:00.000-08:00

John was the younger son of Joachim I, elector of Brandenburg,

Haakon I Adalsteinsfostre

2005-02-08T10:03:00.000-08:00

Haakon, the youngest son of Harald I Fairhair, was brought up at the court of the English king Athelstan. At the age of 15, after his father died, he returned

Yahya Khan, Agha Mohammad

2005-02-07T04:25:00.000-08:00

Yahya was born to a family that was descended from the elite soldier class of Nader Shah, the Persian ruler who conquered Delhi in the 18th century. He was educated at Punjab University and later graduated first in his class

Skate

2005-02-06T11:04:00.000-08:00

In zoology, any of numerous flat-bodied, cartilaginous fishes constituting the suborder Rajoidea of the order Batoidei (skates, rays, and others). Skates are found in most parts of the world, from tropical to near-Arctic waters and from the shallows to depths of more than 2,700 metres (8,900 feet). Nine genera of skates are placed in three families: Rajidae, Arynchobatidae,

Reuben

2005-02-05T16:45:00.000-08:00

After the Exodus out of Egypt, Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land and divided the territory among the 12 tribes. The tribe of Reuben apparently settled east of

Waterford

2005-02-04T15:52:00.000-08:00

Irish �Port L�irge� county in the province of Munster, Ireland. With an area of 710 square miles (1,838 square km), it is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the south and from west to east by Counties Cork, Tipperary, Kilkenny, and Wexford. The county's northern boundary follows the River Suir through the city of Waterford. Included within the county are the lower reaches of the Rivers Blackwater and Bride.

Hop Tree

2005-02-03T03:48:00.000-08:00

Also called �Wafer Ash� (species Ptelea trifoliata), tree, of the rue family (Rutaceae), native to eastern North America. It has small, greenish white flowers; strong-smelling leaves in groups of three leaflets; and buff-coloured, wafer-shaped, winged fruits. The hop tree is cultivated as an ornamental.

Antandroy

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

Also called �Antampatrana, � a Malagasy people living in southernmost Madagascar. Numbering about 500,000 in the late 20th century, the Antandroy (�People of the Thorn Bush�) speak one of the Malagasy languages, a group of closely related Western Austronesian languages; Antandroy chiefs claim Indian origins. The Antandroy maintained their independence from interior or western Malagasy kingdoms (e.g.,

Positron

2005-02-01T17:53:00.000-08:00

Also called �positive electron,� any positively charged subatomic particle having the same mass and magnitude of charge as the electron and constituting the antiparticle of a negative electron. Positrons were the first of the antiparticles to be predicted and discovered. P.A.M. Dirac postulated their existence (1930 - 31) to account for the otherwise superfluous negative energy states of the electron

Thought, Artistic versus scientific creativity

2005-01-31T07:34:00.000-08:00

While the processes of creative thinking in artistic and scientific pursuits have much in common, there are also distinctive differences. The artist places more importance on feeling and individual expression, often going to extremes to divorce himself from environmental constraints. The scientist relies more on disciplined, logical thinking to lead him

Peter Martyr

2005-01-30T14:36:00.000-08:00

Name commonly used in English for (1) St. Peter Martyr, who was killed in 1252 by the Cathari, a heretical Christian sect; (2) Peter Martyr d'Anghiera, who was an Italian historian; and (3) Peter Martyr Vermigli, who was one of the greatest Italian Reformers and a leading exponent of the Reformed doctrine of the sacraments.

Europium

2005-01-29T19:54:00.000-08:00

(Eu), chemical element, rare-earth metal of transition Group IIIb of the periodic table; it is the least dense, softest, and most volatile member of the lanthanide series. The element was discovered (1896) by Eug�ne-Anatole Demar�ay and named for Europe. One of the least abundant rare earths, it occurs in minute amounts in many rare-earth minerals such as monazite and also in the

Sayers, Gale

2005-01-28T08:59:00.000-08:00

Sayers first gained national attention as a two-time

Gen�e, Dame Adeline

2005-01-27T20:26:00.000-08:00

At eight she was adopted by her aunt and uncle, the dancers who trained her for the ballet. Her early appearances were in Germany. From 1897 until 1907 she was prima ballerina at the Empire Theatre in London.

China, General works

2005-01-26T01:45:00.000-08:00

Overviews of China's physical and human geography may be found in Keith Buchanan, The Transformation of the Chinese Earth (1970); Ping-chia Kuo, China, 3rd ed. (1970); T.R. Tregear, China: A Geographical Survey (1980); Albert Kolb, East Asia: China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam: Geography of a Cultural Region (1971, reprinted 1977; originally published in German, 1963); Brian Hook (ed.), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of China (1982); Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan (eds.), China, a Country Study, 4th ed. (1988); and Information China, 3 vol. (1989), an encyclopaedic work prepared under the auspices of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and ed. by C.V. James.

Habit

2005-01-25T17:37:00.000-08:00

In psychology, any regularly repeated behaviour that requires little or no thought and is learned rather than innate. A habit - which can be part of any activity, ranging from eating and sleeping to thinking and reacting - is developed through reinforcement and repetition. Reinforcement encourages the repetition of a behaviour, or response, each time the stimulus

Yukaghir

2005-01-24T19:40:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Yukagir� or �Jukagir�, self-name �Odul� remnant of an ancient human population of the tundra and taiga zones of Arctic Siberia east of the Lena River in Russia, an area with one of the most severe climates in the inhabited world. Brought close to extinction by privation, encroachment, and diseases introduced by other groups, they numbered some 1,100 in the late 20th century. Although they still generally inhabit

Bar Sauma, Rabban

2005-01-23T04:14:00.000-08:00

Born into a wealthy Christian family living in Chung-tu and descended from the nomadic Uighurs of Turkistan,

Albanian Language

2005-01-22T14:39:00.000-08:00

The two principal dialects, Gheg in the north and Tosk in the south, are separated roughly by the Shkumbin River. Gheg and Tosk have been diverging for at least a millennium, and their less extreme forms are mutually intelligible. Gheg has the more marked subvarieties, the most striking of which are the northernmost and eastern types, which include those of the city

Ma Yuan

2005-01-21T04:43:00.000-08:00

Osvald Siren, Chinese Painting: Leading Masters and Principles, 7 vol. (1956 - 58, reissued 1974), is the standard history of Chinese painting. Ma Yuan's work is discussed in S. Shimada and Y. Yonezawa, Painting of Sung and Yuan Dynasties (1952); Kojiro Tomita, Portfolio of Chinese Paintings in the Museum: Han to Sung Periods, 2nd ed. (1938), from the collection of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts; Sherman E. Lee, Chinese Landscape Painting, 2nd rev. ed. (1962); Laurence Sickman (ed.), Chinese Calligraphy and Painting in the Collection of John M. Crawford, Jr. (1962); James Francis Cahill, Chinese Painting, XI - XIV Centuries (1960); and Michael Sullivan, A Short History of Chinese Art, rev. ed. (1967, reissued 1970). The little available evidence on his position at the Southern Sung court is discussed in Chiang Chao-shen, �The Identity of Yang Mei-tzu and the Paintings of Ma Yuan,� National Palace Museum Bulletin, 2(2):1 - 15 and 2(3):8 - 14 (1967).

Arabian Religion

2005-01-20T21:08:00.000-08:00

Knowledge of pre-Islamic Arabia rests mainly on original archaeological and epigraphic data from the region itself. Countless pre-Islamic sites are scattered over the whole Arabian Peninsula: ancient lines of circles of raised stones, cairns, graveyards, and so on. In addition there are more recent constructions such as fortified towns and ruins of temples and irrigation

Gyangu

2005-01-19T16:16:00.000-08:00

Also called �Yakuza, � Japanese gangster or mobster, a member of a boryokudan (q.v.), or gang of racketeers.

Chettle, Henry

2005-01-18T16:13:00.000-08:00

Chettle began his career as a printer and associated with such literary men as Robert Greene and Thomas Nashe. He prepared for posthumous publication Greenes Groats-Worth of Witte (1592), with its reference to Shakespeare as an �upstart Crow,� but offered Shakespeare compliments

Pridi Phanomyong

2005-01-17T08:15:00.000-08:00

After studies at the Royal Law School, Pridi won a government scholarship to study law in France; he earned a doctorate in law from Paris in 1927. While in Paris he was strongly influenced by French socialism,

Dandolo Family

2005-01-16T21:00:00.000-08:00

An ancient Italian family distinguished in the history of Venice. It rose quickly to prominence when expansion from the lagoons to the mainland began. By the 11th century it was rich, and by the 12th (when the branches of San Luca, San Severo, and San Mois� can already be distinguished) it was competing for the highest posts in church and state. In the middle decades of the 12th

Literary Criticism, Medieval period

2005-01-15T07:19:00.000-08:00

In the Christian Middle Ages criticism suffered from the loss of nearly all the ancient critical texts and from an antipagan distrust of the literary imagination. Such Church Fathers as Tertullian, Augustine, and Jerome renewed, in churchly guise, the Platonic argument against poetry. But both the ancient gods and the surviving classics reasserted their fascination,

Vilar, Jean

2005-01-14T10:49:00.000-08:00

Vilar trained as an actor and stage manager, then toured with an acting company throughout France. In 1943 he began his career as a director with a season in a small Paris theatre. Invited to direct the first

Karakalpakstan

2005-01-13T20:44:00.000-08:00

On the east Karakalpakstan occupies the western half of the Kyzylkum Desert, a vast plain covered with shifting sands. The central part consists of the valley and delta of the Amu Darya (river), a low-lying area intersected by watercourses and canals. On the west the republic includes

Nicephorus I, Saint

2005-01-12T14:27:00.000-08:00

Although his conservatively Orthodox

Arabia, History Of, Postwar Arabia, to 1962

2005-01-11T09:38:00.000-08:00

The post-World War I settlement and centralization of power in the hands of Yahya, Ibn Sa'ud, and the British gave Arabia a large measure of internal peace and external security, which endured until 1962. A new factor in the 1930s was the discovery of immense quantities of petroleum in the deserts. In Bahrain oil was struck in June 1932. The American-owned Arabian Standard Oil Company (later

Aragonite

2005-01-10T07:24:00.000-08:00

Widespread mineral, the stable form of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) at high pressures. It may be distinguished from calcite, the commoner form of calcium carbonate, by its greater hardness and specific gravity. Aragonite is always found in deposits formed at low temperatures near the surface of the Earth, as in caves as stalactites, in the oxidized zone of ore minerals

Colbert, Jean-baptiste

2005-01-09T21:13:00.000-08:00

Controller general of finance (from 1665) and secretary of state for the navy (from 1668) under King Louis XIV of France. He carried out the program of economic reconstruction that helped make France the dominant power in Europe.

Asvamedha

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

Also spelled �Aswamedha, Ashvamedha, or Ashwamedha, � grandest of the Vedic religious rites of ancient India, performed by a king to celebrate his paramountcy. The ceremony is described in detail in various Vedic writings, particularly the Satapatha Brahmana. An especially fine stallion was selected and was allowed to roam freely for a year under the protection of a royal guard. If the horse entered a foreign country, its

Wessel, Johan Herman

2005-01-07T22:02:00.000-08:00

From 1761 when he entered the University of Copenhagen until his death at 43, Wessel lived the bohemian life of a debt-ridden, perpetual student. He was one of the founders (1772) and the outstanding talent of the

Abbott, Jacob

2005-01-06T08:21:00.000-08:00

Abbott attended Hallowell Academy and Bowdoin College and studied at Andover Newton Theological School. After teaching at Amherst College, he moved in 1829 to Boston, where he founded and was the first principal of the Mount Vernon School, a secondary

Kerrier

2005-01-05T02:13:00.000-08:00

The Lizard Peninsula, a heather-covered

West Germany

2005-01-04T16:13:00.000-08:00

From 1949 to 1990, a republic consisting of the western two-thirds of what is now Germany. West Germany was created in 1949 when the United States, Great Britain, and France consolidated those zones, or portions, of Germany that they had occupied at the end of World War II. When West and East Germany were reunited in 1990, West Germany's constitution and official name (Federal Republic of Germany)

Turing Test

2005-01-03T05:46:00.000-08:00

There are extreme difficulties in devising any objective criterion for distinguishing �original� thought from sufficiently sophisticated �parroting�; indeed, any evidence for original thought can be denied on the grounds that it

Yampi Sound

2005-01-02T02:35:00.000-08:00

Portion of the Indian Ocean off the north coast of Western Australia, between King Sound and Collier Bay. It contains the four island clusters of the Buccaneer Archipelago, named for the buccaneer William Dampier. High-grade iron-ore deposits occur on the islands, the largest of which are Koolan, Irvine (with extensive underwater iron deposits), and Cockatoo. On Cockatoo,

David

2005-01-01T15:46:00.000-08:00

Marble sculpture executed from 1501 to 1504 by the Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo. The statue was commissioned for the cathedral of Florence, but the Florentine government decided instead to place it in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. The original is now in the Accademia, and a copy has been installed in the Piazza della Signoria.

Porsgrunn

2004-12-31T03:20:00.000-08:00

Town, Telemark fylke (county), southern Norway, at the mouth of the Skienselva (river) on Frierfjorden. Established as a customs post in 1652 with the name Porsgrund, it received its town charter in 1842. An export and industrial centre, it contains the huge Norsk Hydro chemical factories, a factory that produces Norway's finest porcelain, shipyards, metalworks, and lumber mills.

Tuam

2004-12-30T06:39:00.000-08:00

Irish �Tuaim� chief market town of the northern part of eastern County Galway, Ireland. It is the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishop, the see having been founded by St. Jarlath (c. 550), and the seat of a Protestant bishop. The Protestant cathedral incorporates part of an ancient church built about 1130 with the help of Turloch O'Connor, king of Connaught. The chancel is all that remains of the original

France, History Of, Chlotar II and Dagobert I

2004-12-29T14:31:00.000-08:00

Chlotar II, king of Neustria since 584, took control of Burgundy and Austrasia in 613 upon the brutal execution of Brunhild, and thus a united kingdom once again was created. He fixed his capital at Paris and, in 614, convoked a council there, at which he recognized the traditional prerogatives of the aristocracy (Gallo-Roman and Germanic) in order to gain their support in the governing

S�rlandet

2004-12-28T03:24:00.000-08:00

Geographical region, southern Norway. Occupying some 6,368 square miles (16,493 square km), it embraces the fylker (counties) of Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder. Its base runs along the southern coast of Norway, and it extends inland to the Bykle Hills. Like most of Norway, S�rlandet has a strip of lowland along its coast that quickly rises into interior mountains and plateaus. These highlands

Marzuq

2004-12-27T10:39:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Murzuk, � oasis, southwestern Libya. It lies on the northern edge of the Sahra' Marzuq (�Sea of Sand�). An ancient assembly place for caravans to Lake Chad and the Niger River, it was the traditional capital of the Fezzan province (16th - 19th century) and a centre of the Arab slave and arms trade. Once called the �Paris of the Desert,� it was a base for Saharan explorers, including Frederick Hornemann

'alenu

2004-12-26T10:56:00.000-08:00

(Hebrew: �it is our duty�), the opening word of an extremely old Jewish prayer, which has been recited at the end of the three periods of daily prayer since the European Middle Ages. The first section of the 'alenu is a prayer of thanks for having set Israel apart for the service of God; the second section, omitted by those who follow the Sephardic (Spanish) rite, expresses a hope

Agung

2004-12-25T08:01:00.000-08:00

In the early years of Sultan Agung's reign, he consolidated the sultanate by subduing the autonomous trade-based coastal states of Padang and Tuban in 1619; Banjermasin, Kalimantan, and Sukadana in 1622; Madura in 1624; and Surabaya in 1625. Because the country's economy

Bohr, Aage N.

2004-12-24T19:10:00.000-08:00

Bohr was educated at the University of Copenhagen, where he received his doctorate in 1954. During the 1940s he worked as assistant to his father, Niels Bohr (1922 Nobel physics laureate),

Chaco

2004-12-23T19:50:00.000-08:00

Provincia, northeastern Argentina, between the northwestern Argentine highlands and the Paran� River and bounded on part of the east by Paraguay. It has an area of 38,468 square miles (99,633 square km), most of which is low hardwood forest with patches of savanna trending to thorn scrub and savanna in the drier northwest. Heavy rainfall, in combination with the flat terrain, produces

Fahd

2004-12-22T14:24:00.000-08:00

Fahd was the first son of Hassa Sudairi after her remarriage to the founder of the kingdom, Ibn Sa'ud. Court educated in religion, chivalry, and politics, Fahd was named minister

Belshazzar

2004-12-21T10:32:00.000-08:00

Belshazzar had been known only from the biblical Book of Daniel (chapters 5, 7 - 8) and from Xenophon's Cyropaedia until 1854, when references to him were found in Babylonian cuneiform inscriptions. Though he is referred to in the Book of Daniel as the son of Nebuchadrezzar, the Babylonian inscriptions

Murdoch, Dame Iris

2004-12-20T05:34:00.000-08:00

After an early childhood spent in London, Murdoch went to Badminton School, Bristol, and from 1938 to 1942 studied at Somerville College, Oxford. Between 1942 and 1944 she worked in the British Treasury and

Sohlman, August

2004-12-19T02:01:00.000-08:00

As a journalist, Sohlman wrote for a number of the leading newspapers of Sweden and was editor of the influential Stockholm daily

Earle, John

2004-12-18T05:22:00.000-08:00

An outstanding book of �characters,� it avoids didacticism and displays genuine personalities, such as a �child,� a �Good old Man,� a �young raw Preacher,� and a �Grave Divine.� It is alive with its humour, perception, and epigrammatic

Nadelman, Elie

2004-12-17T07:56:00.000-08:00

Nadelman left home at age 19 and, after briefly attending the Warsaw Art Academy, spent six months in Munich, Germany, studying the city's art collection. In 1904 he moved to Paris,

Arts, Central Asian

2004-12-16T15:38:00.000-08:00

This immense

Interior Design, 19th and early 20th centuries in Europe

2004-12-15T00:53:00.000-08:00

Neoclassicism predominated in France till the rise of Napoleon, when to Roman styles were added Egyptian motifs from his Egyptian campaign of 1798. This was known in France as the Empire style, after the First Empire of France (1804 - 14), and in England as Regency, for the period (1811 - 20) when George III was too deranged to rule. Furniture design, for the most part light and graceful during the

Schendel, Arthur (-fran�ois-�mile) Van

2004-12-14T04:34:00.000-08:00

His first important novels Een zwerver verliefd (1904; �A Wanderer in Love�) and Een zwerver verdwaald (1907; �A Lost Wanderer�) are set in medieval Italy,