LivingRoot

Estate Agent London

2006-10-26T11:15:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services, including Estate Agent Covent Garden and Estate Agent London. Their centrally located ground floor offices, minutes from Oxford Circus offer an ideal marketing base for your property.

China, Clashes with foreigners

2005-04-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

On May 30, 1925, patriotic students, engaged in an anti-imperialist demonstration in Shanghai, clashed with foreign police. The British captain in charge ordered the police to fire upon a crowd that he believed was about to rush his station. Some 12 Chinese were killed in the May Thirtieth Incident, including students. This aroused a nationwide protest and set off a protracted

Indus Civilization

2005-04-02T04:27:00.000-08:00

Also called Indus Valley civilization or Harappan civilization the earliest known urban culture of the Indian subcontinent, first identified in 1921 at Harappa in the Punjab and then in 1922 at Mohenjo-daro, near the Indus River in the Sindh, now both in Pakistan. Subsequently, vestiges of the civilization were found as far apart as Sutkagen Dor, near the shore of the Arabian Sea 300 miles (480 km) west of Karachi, and Ropar at the foot of the Simla Hills,

Kerguelen Islands

2005-04-01T11:22:00.000-08:00

Archipelago in the southern Indian Ocean. Administratively a part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises), it consists of the island of Kerguelen (also known as Desolation Island) and nearly 300 islets, which together cover about 2,400 square miles (6,200 square km). Heavily glaciated Kerguelen Island, about 100 miles (160 km) in length, has

Farina, Giuseppe

2005-03-31T07:12:00.000-08:00

Farina, the holder of a doctorate in engineering, was the Italian driving champion in 1937, 1938, and 1939. He won the world title in 1950 while driving for Alfa Romeo. He was killed in a road accident.

Egypt, The Tulunid dynasty (868905)

2005-03-30T08:47:00.000-08:00

Though short-lived, the Tulunid dynasty succeeded in restoring a measure of Egypt's ancient glory. For the first time since the pharaohs, Egypt became virtually autonomous and the bulk of its revenues remained within its borders. What is more, Egypt became the centre of a small empire when Ibn Tulun conquered Syria in 878–879. These developments were paralleled in other provinces

Niceforo, Alfredo

2005-03-29T23:44:00.000-08:00

Italian sociologist, criminologist, and statistician who posited the theory that every person has a “deep ego” of antisocial, subconscious impulses that represent a throwback to precivilized existence. Accompanying this ego, and attempting to keep its latent delinquency in check, according to his concept, is

Shoe

2005-03-29T09:19:00.000-08:00

Outer covering for the foot, usually of leather with a stiff or thick sole and heel, and generally (distinguishing it from a boot) reaching no higher than the ankle.

Social Behaviour In Animals, Parental behaviour among simple organisms

2005-03-26T20:19:00.000-08:00

Bacteria, only a few steps up the evolutionary scale beyond viruses, also show parent–young colonies. Diplococci, which

Mannar Island

2005-03-26T09:26:00.000-08:00

Dry, barren island that lies at the eastern end of Adam's Bridge, a chain of shoals off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. Mannar Island has an area of about 50 square miles (130 square km). Fishing is economically important. The small port of Mannar is on the southeastern shore. Pop. (1990 est.) 132,000.

Biblical Literature, Problems resulting from aural conditioning

2005-03-25T20:36:00.000-08:00

Aural conditioning would result from a mishearing of similar sounding consonants when a text is dictated to the copyist. A negative particle lo', for example, could be confused with the prepositional lo, “to him,” or a guttural het with spirant kaf so that ah “brother” might be written for akh “surely.”

Architecture And Civil Engineering, Exhibitions.

2005-03-24T21:08:00.000-08:00

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City staged the largest exhibit ever held of the work of the Scottish designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Originating in Glasgow, Scot., the exhibit later traveled to Chicago and Los Angeles. It focused on 250 items, including furniture, watercolours, posters, and other objects by the noted architect, one of the founders of the

Neuropteran, Locomotion

2005-03-23T15:26:00.000-08:00

Most larvae have walking legs except in those whose legs are modified for burrowing (Ithonidae and Myrmeleontoidea). The aquatic dobsonfly larvae have a pair of terminal abdominal prolegs that are important in moving in strong currents. The legs, abdominal filaments, and median tail filament of alderfly larvae bear long hairs, or setae, which help to propel them

Insectivore, Habitats

2005-03-23T13:15:00.000-08:00

Insectivores utilize diverse habitats. Shrews occupy the ground surface in forests and grasslands but are less common in deserts, although Notiosorex and Diplomesodon occupy New and Old World deserts, respectively. Moles are largely confined to North Temperate Zone forests and meadows, especially in areas of deciduous forests and adjacent prairies. Hedgehogs

Weill, Kurt

2005-03-20T21:17:00.000-08:00

Weill studied with Albert Bing and at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Berlin with Engelbert Humperdinck. He gained some experience as an opera coach and conductor at Dessau

Shah

2005-03-20T06:01:00.000-08:00

Old Persian Khshayathiya, title of the kings of Iran, or Persia. When compounded as shahanshah, it denotes “king of kings,” or emperor, a title adopted by the 20th-century Pahlavi dynasty in evocation of the ancient Persian “king of kings,” Cyrus II the Great (reigned 559–c. 529 BC). Another related title or form of address is padshah, or “lord king.” The title shah was also used in Afghanistan until the overturn of the monarchy

Q

2005-03-20T04:17:00.000-08:00

Pseudonym of Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch (q.v.).

Argentina, Confederation under Rosas, 182952

2005-03-18T17:58:00.000-08:00

The regime of Rosas in Buenos Aires enjoyed far broader support than any of its predecessors. Special interest groups, landholders, and export-import merchants (along with the British diplomatic contingent that was identified with these interests) all fell behind the new governor. Practically all the influential sectors in the province identified Rosas's triumph

Yacht

2005-03-18T08:12:00.000-08:00

In England by 1881 most of the important yacht clubs had become members of the Yacht Racing Association (founded 1875; from 1952 called the Royal Yachting Association). The organization made rules governing regatta sailing and later took on duties as a representative body for all British yachting, including dealing with port, harbour, and other governmental authorities. In the

Adam, Paul

2005-03-18T07:20:00.000-08:00

Author whose early works exemplify the Naturalist and Symbolist schools and who later won considerable reputation for his historical and sociological novels. Publication of his first Naturalist novel, Chair molle (1885), led to his being prosecuted; his second, Le Thé chez Miranda (1886), written with Jean Moréas, is an early example of Symbolism. In 1899, with La

Hyades

2005-03-17T04:01:00.000-08:00

Cluster of several hundred stars in the zodiacal constellation Taurus. As seen from Earth, the bright star Aldebaran appears to be a member of the cluster, but in fact Aldebaran is much closer to the Earth than the Hyades' distance of about 130 light-years. Five genuine members of the group are visible to the unaided eye. Their name (Greek: “the rainy ones”) is derived from the

Yukaghir Language

2005-03-16T18:58:00.000-08:00

Language spoken by not more than a few hundred persons in the Kolyma River region of Sakha (Yakutiya) republic of Russia. Yukaghir was traditionally grouped in the catchall category of Paleo-Siberian languages with a number of languages that are not genetically related or structurally similar. More recently, however, Yukaghir has been considered a distant relative

Basil

2005-03-16T11:21:00.000-08:00

Albanian in origin, Basil acceded to the throne of Moldavia in the spring of 1634. He intrigued throughout his reign to acquire the Walachian throne as well, and in 1637 and 1639 led unsuccessful expeditions against the ruling prince

Johannesburg

2005-03-16T03:42:00.000-08:00

One of the youngest of the world's major cities, Johannesburg was founded in 1886, following the discovery of gold. The city was initially part of the Transvaal, an independent Afrikaner, or Boer, republic that later became one of the four provinces of South Africa. Today the

Whidbey Island

2005-03-15T18:19:00.000-08:00

Whidbey also spelled Whidby island, part of Island county, northwestern Washington, U.S., in Puget Sound. Approximately 40 miles (65 km) long, it is one of the largest offshore islands in the continental United States. Its chief towns are Oak Harbor, Coupeville (a preserved historic [1875] town), and Langley. The island was named for Joseph Whidbey, the sailing master for George Vancouver. Whidbey, on June 2, 1792, as a member

Water Polo

2005-03-15T10:46:00.000-08:00

Sport played in a swimming pool by teams of seven with a buoyant ball resembling an association football (soccer ball). The game was originally called “football-in-the-water,” and indeed it is more like association football and basketball than polo, the name of the sport coming from an earlier form of the game in which players rode barrels painted like horses and struck

Macpherson, Sir David (lewis)

2005-03-14T21:59:00.000-08:00

Macpherson emigrated in 1835 from Scotland to Montreal, where he amassed a large fortune in shipping. He moved to Toronto in 1853 and obtained a contract to build a railway line in Canada West (now in Ontario)

Andaman And Nicobar Islands, The people

2005-03-14T16:22:00.000-08:00

The Andamanese, the islands' indigenous population, are classified among the Negrito peoples. Traditionally they formed tribes, each comprising small isolated groups with a common language. They used the bow and the dog (introduced c. 1857) for hunting but knew no method of making fire. Turtle, dugong, and fish were caught with nets or harpooned from single outrigger canoes.

Gaines, William Maxwell

2005-03-13T06:56:00.000-08:00

Gaines served in the U.S. Army during World War II, which interrupted his studies at New York University (B.S., 1948). He inherited EC (Educational Comics)

Colbert, Claudette

2005-03-13T03:19:00.000-08:00

Colbert moved with her family to New York City about 1910. While studying fashion design, she landed a small role in the Broadway play The Wild Westcotts (1923) after

Cadogan, William Cadogan, 1st Earl

2005-03-12T22:39:00.000-08:00

The son of a Dublin barrister, Cadogan began his military career in 1690. In 1702 he was made quartermaster general to Marlborough, who had just been appointed commander of the allied armies

Hayes, Helen

2005-03-12T03:08:00.000-08:00

At the behest of her mother, a touring stage performer, Hayes attended dancing class as a youngster, and, from 1905 to 1909, she performed with the Columbia Players. At age nine, she made her Broadway debut as Little Mimi in the Victor Herbert operetta

Teasdale, Sara

2005-03-11T19:46:00.000-08:00

Teasdale was educated privately and made frequent trips to Chicago, where she eventually became part of Harriet Monroe's Poetry magazine circle. Her first published poem appeared in the St. Louis, Missouri, weekly Reedy's

Burbot

2005-03-11T17:56:00.000-08:00

(Lota lota), elongated fish of the cod family, Gadidae, and the only member of the family found in freshwater. The burbot lives in cold rivers and lakes of Europe, Asia, and North America. A bottom dweller, it descends as deep as 210 metres (700 feet). A mottled, greenish or brown fish, it may grow about 1.1 metres long. It has very small, embedded scales; a chin barbel; a long anal fin; and two dorsal

Holder, Alfred Theophil

2005-03-10T22:29:00.000-08:00

One of Holder's first major efforts was a two-volume edition of Horace (1864–69), prepared in collaboration with the German

Church Commissioners

2005-03-10T00:36:00.000-08:00

The Governors of the Bounty of Queen Anne for the Augmentation of the Maintenance of the Poor Clergy was established by Queen Anne in 1703. Into this corporation were paid

Coil

2005-03-09T04:56:00.000-08:00

In an electric circuit, one or more turns, usually roughly circular or cylindrical, of current-carrying wire designed to produce a magnetic field or to provide electrical resistance or inductance; in the latter case, a coil is also called a choke coil (see also inductance). A soft iron core placed within a coil produces an electromagnet. A cylindrical coil that moves

Ribot, Théodule-armand

2005-03-09T03:55:00.000-08:00

Ribot received his doctorate from the École Normale Supérieure.

Kermadec Islands

2005-03-09T01:41:00.000-08:00

Volcanic island group in the South Pacific Ocean, 600 mi (1,000 km) northeast of Auckland, New Zealand; they are a dependency of New Zealand. They include Raoul (Sunday), Macauley, and Curtis islands and l'Esperance Rock and have a total land area of 13 sq mi (34 sq km). Raoul, the largest (11.3 sq mi), has rugged coastal cliffs that rise to Mt. Mumukai (1,723 ft [525 m]). It is heavily wooded and fertile, but its indigenous

Latin

2005-03-08T09:58:00.000-08:00

The ancient people of Latium (q.v.).

Xavier University

2005-03-07T14:37:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. It is affiliated with the Jesuit order of the Roman Catholic church. The university comprises colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, and Social Sciences. In addition to undergraduate studies, Xavier offers about 25 master's degree programs, notably in the fields of education

Munch, Peter Rochegune

2005-03-06T22:58:00.000-08:00

After a career as a historian of modern Europe, Munch entered the Danish Parliament in 1909 as a member of the Radical Party. In the same year he became minister

Forage

2005-03-06T20:20:00.000-08:00

Vegetable food of wild or domestic animals. In agriculture, harvested, processed, and stored forage is called silage (q.v.).

Corbeil, William Of

2005-03-06T17:12:00.000-08:00

Educated at Laon, he entered the order of St. Augustine at the house of the Holy Trinity, Aldgate, London, and became prior of the Augustinian foundation at St. Osyth in Essex. After a long conflict with Thurstan, archbishop of York, he was consecrated archbishop of Canterbury. Three years later,

Triangulation

2005-03-05T23:12:00.000-08:00

In navigation, surveying, and civil engineering, a technique for precise determination of a ship's or aircraft's position, and the direction of roads, tunnels, or other structures under construction. It is based on the laws of plane trigonometry, which state that, if one side and two angles of a triangle are known, the other two sides and angle can be readily calculated.

Arabia

2005-03-05T16:58:00.000-08:00

Arabia may be described as a vast plateau, edged with deeply dissected escarpments on three sides and sloping gently northeastward from the Red Sea to the eastern lowlands adjoining the Persian Gulf. The peninsula's highest peak, An-Nabi Shu'ayb, at 12,008 feet (3,660 metres), is located approximately 20 miles northwest of San'a' in Yemen.

Gymnosperm

2005-03-04T15:37:00.000-08:00

Any vascular plant that reproduces by means of an exposed seed, or ovule, as opposed to an angiosperm, or flowering plant, whose seeds are enclosed by mature ovaries, or fruits.The seeds of many gymnosperms (literally, “naked seed”) are borne in cones and are not visible. These cones, however, are not the same as fruits. During pollination, the immature male gametes, or pollen

Lopes, Baltasar

2005-03-04T02:40:00.000-08:00

Lopes was educated at the University of Lisbon, where he took a degree in law and in Romance philology. He then returned to Cape Verde and became a high-school teacher and later

Marsh, George Perkins

2005-03-03T18:26:00.000-08:00

Educated at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., Marsh developed a successful law practice, but his wide-ranging mind led him into the study of

Eyeglasses

2005-03-03T08:32:00.000-08:00

Also called Glasses, or Spectacles, lenses set in frames for wearing in front of the eyes to aid vision or to correct such defects of vision as myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. In 1268 Roger Bacon made the earliest recorded comment on the use of lenses for optical purposes, but magnifying lenses inserted in frames were used for reading both in Europe and China at this time, and it is a matter of controversy

Yamasee War

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

(1715–16), in British-American colonial history, conflict between Indians, mainly Yamasee, and British colonists in the southeastern area of South Carolina, resulting in the collapse of Indian power in that area. Embittered by settlers' encroachment upon their land and by unresolved grievances arising from the fur trade, a group of Yamasees rose and killed 90 white traders

Monasticism

2005-03-02T19:19:00.000-08:00

An institutionalized religious movement whose members attempt to practice works that are above and beyond those required of both the laity and the spiritual leadership of their religions. Generally celibate and universally ascetic, the monastic individual separates himself or herself from general society either by living as a hermit or anchorite (religious

Soranus Of Ephesus

2005-03-01T22:57:00.000-08:00

(near modern Selçuk, Turkey; fl. 2nd century AD, Alexandria and Rome), Greek gynecologist, obstetrician, and pediatrician, chief representative of the methodist school of medicine (emphasizing simple rules of practice, based on a theory that attributed all disease to an adverse state of “internal pores”). His writings set medical opinion concerning women's diseases, pregnancy,

Johnson, Kelly

2005-03-01T16:51:00.000-08:00

Johnson received his B.S. (1932) and M.S. (1933) degrees from the University of Michigan before beginning his career with the Lockheed Corporation in 1933. As head of the “Skunk Works,” Lockheed's secret development unit, he helped design more than 40 airplanes. Among them were the P-38 Lightning

Sabbatini, Nicola

2005-03-01T15:37:00.000-08:00

In his major and most enduring written work, Pratica di fabricar scene e macchine ne' teatri (1638; “Manual for Constructing Scenes and Machines in the Theatre”), Sabbatini described

Mountain, The western segment of the system

2005-03-01T03:27:00.000-08:00

The evolution of the western segment of the Tethyan System is the most complicated, involving more than just a collision of the African continent with parts of Europe. In Early Jurassic time (about 180,000,000 years ago), Africa, which then lay close to Europe, moved southeastward away from it. In doing so, it caused new ocean floor (Tethys) and new continental margins to form. Much of

Lancaster, Joseph

2005-02-27T11:43:00.000-08:00

British-born educator who developed the system of mass education known as the Lancasterian method, a monitorial, or “mutual,” approach in which brighter or more proficient children were used to teach other children under the direction of an adult. In the early 19th century the system, as developed by Lancaster, Andrew Bell, and Jean-Baptiste

Anatolian Languages, Luwian

2005-02-26T23:58:00.000-08:00

Luwian (or Luvian), the language of Anatolia's southern coast, is known from texts stemming from three major periods: (1) the Hittite New Empire (c. 1400–c. 1190 BC); (2) the period of the Neo-Hittite states (c. 1190–c. 700 BC); (3) the period of the Lycian monumental inscriptions (c. 400–200 BC). In addition to the various time periods, there is also a variation in writing system—Mesopotamian cuneiform, Anatolian hieroglyphs

Peredvizhniki

2005-02-26T07:48:00.000-08:00

(Russian: The Wanderers), group of Russian painters who in the second half of the 19th century rejected the restrictive and foreign-inspired classicism of the Russian Academy to form a new realist and nationalist art that would serve the common man. Believing that art should be useful, a vehicle for expressing humanitarian and social ideals, they produced realistic

Bar-le-duc

2005-02-26T01:13:00.000-08:00

Capital of Meuse département, Lorraine région, northeastern France. It extends out along the narrow valley of the Ornain River, west of Nancy. To the northeast is the Canal de la Marne au Rhin, on the southwest the Canal des Usines. The Ornain River valley is enclosed by wooded and vine-clad hills. From the 10th century Bar was the seat of a countship, and later a duchy. The remains

John Frederick (ii)

2005-02-25T09:30:00.000-08:00

On the imprisonment of his father, the former elector John Frederick the Magnanimous, John Frederick II and

Earth, Areas of glacial depression and postglacial rebound

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

Prominent negative areas of the geoid include Antarctica and northern North America centred over Hudson Bay. Both of these regions were covered with ice sheets during Pleistocene time (about 10,000 to 1,700,000 years ago), and it is believed the negative anomalies are related to a residual depression of the lithosphere that remained after the ice retreat. When an ice sheet develops

Ear, Human, Transmission of sound by bone conduction

2005-02-24T18:41:00.000-08:00

There is another route by which sound can reach the inner ear: by conduction through the bones of the skull. When the handle of a vibrating tuning fork is placed on a bony prominence such as the forehead or mastoid process behind the ear, its note is clearly audible. Similarly, the ticking of a watch held between the teeth can be distinctly heard. When the external canals

Bates, Marston

2005-02-24T08:11:00.000-08:00

After several years of fieldwork, Bates received his Ph.D. at Harvard University in 1934. From 1937 to 1952 he served on the staff of the International Division of the Rockefeller Foundation

Mauchly, John W.

2005-02-23T11:56:00.000-08:00

After completing his education, Mauchly entered the teaching profession, eventually becoming an associate professor of electrical engineering at

K'uei Hsing

2005-02-23T05:41:00.000-08:00

K'uei Hsing, whose name before deification was Chung K'uei, is said to have passed his own examination with remarkable success but was denied the usual honours when the emperor beheld his ugly features. Brokenhearted, K'uei attempted

Alloy

2005-02-23T04:11:00.000-08:00

Alloys are usually produced by melting the mixture of ingredients. The value of alloys was discovered in very ancient times; brass (copper and zinc) and bronze

Manuel I

2005-02-23T00:08:00.000-08:00

Manuel was fortunate to have reigned at all;

Sorosilicate

2005-02-21T04:09:00.000-08:00

Formerly called Pyrosilicate, any member of a group of compounds with structures that have two silicate tetrahedrons (a central silicon atom surrounded by four oxygen atoms at the corners of a tetrahedron) linked together. Because one oxygen atom is shared by two tetrahedrons, the chemical formula contains Si2O7, as in melilite or hemimorphite.

France, History Of, The people

2005-02-21T01:33:00.000-08:00

Gaul was predominantly a Celtic land (see below), but it also contained pre-Celtic Ligurians and Iberians in the south and southwest and more recent Germanic immigrants in the northeast. Neighbouring Celtic communities on the Danube and in northern Italy, however, were not included. The south, in addition, had been heavily influenced by the Greek colony of Massilia

Fredericksburg, Battle Of

2005-02-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

(December 13, 1862), bloody engagement of the American Civil War fought at Fredericksburg, Virginia; its outcome—a crushing Union defeat—immeasurably strengthened the Confederate cause. General A.E. Burnside, newly appointed commander of the Northern forces, planned to cross the Rappahannock River with an army of more than 120,000 troops and advance on the Southern capital at Richmond.

Sevagram

2005-02-20T05:05:00.000-08:00

Town, eastern Maharashtra state, western India. Originally called Segaon, the village was given its present name (Hindi: Village of Service) by Mohandas Gandhi, the Indian nationalist leader. In 1936 he left his ashram (hermitage) on the Sabarmati River, near Ahmadabad, and settled at Sevagram. There he founded another ashram and directed the independence movement. Within this he

Paralysis

2005-02-19T20:25:00.000-08:00

Also called palsy loss or impairment of voluntary muscular movement caused by structural abnormalities of nervous or muscular tissue or by metabolic disturbances in neuromuscular function. Paralysis can affect the legs and lower part of the body (paraplegia) or both arms and both legs (quadriplegia). Sometimes the muscles of the lower face, arm, and leg on only one side of the body

Music, Orchestras.

2005-02-19T16:20:00.000-08:00

For all the long-standing predictions of the imminent demise of the symphony, at least three major essays in the form had high-profile premieres: Alfred Schnittke's Sixth (by the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, D.C., on tour in Moscow), Witold Lutoslawski's Fourth (by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with the composer conducting), and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Third

Kuwait, Plant and animal life

2005-02-19T04:21:00.000-08:00

The harsh climate limits

Italy, Economic and political crisis

2005-02-18T03:03:00.000-08:00

Italy was faced with serious postwar economic problems. Wartime governments had printed money to pay for arms, and inflation became deep-rooted: by the end of 1920 the lira was worth only one-sixth of its 1913 value. Savings became worthless, and landowners found themselves receiving insignificant rents. Meanwhile the major arms and shipbuilding firms went bankrupt after

Malabo

2005-02-17T14:24:00.000-08:00

Formerly (until 1973) Santa Isabel, capital of Equatorial Guinea. It lies on the northern edge of the island of Bioko (or Fernando Po) on the rim of a sunken volcano. With an average temperature of 77° F (25° C) and an annual rainfall of 75 inches (1,900 mm), it has one of the more onerous climates in the Bight of Biafra (Gulf of Guinea). Malabo is the republic's commercial and financial centre. Its harbour can dock several ships, and

Arrowworm

2005-02-17T13:46:00.000-08:00

Also called Chaetognath, any member of the invertebrate phylum Chaetognatha, a group of small wormlike marine animals with transparent to translucent or opaque arrow-shaped bodies. The phylum consists of about seven extant genera and one fossil genus. There are more than 50 species, most of which are in the genus Sagitta. The size of arrowworms ranges from about 3 millimetres to more

Orange Free State

2005-02-17T04:26:00.000-08:00

Afrikaans Oranje Vry Staat, Boer state in southern Africa that became a province of the Republic of South Africa in 1910. One of the four traditional provinces of South Africa, it was bordered by the Transvaal to the north, Natal and the independent state of Lesotho to the east, and Cape Province to the south and west. The first postapartheid South African government renamed the province Free

Illinois, Resources

2005-02-15T13:55:00.000-08:00

Illinois ranks second in the United States in reserves of coal overall and first in reserves of bituminous coal. Although Illinois is not the nation's leading coal producer, coal is the state's leading mineral commodity in value. Peak petroleum production was reached in 1940 and has declined since. Illinois leads in the mining of fluorspar, tripoli, and industrial

Sommer, Ferdinand

2005-02-15T02:02:00.000-08:00

During his academic career, Sommer held professorships at the universities of Basel (1902–09), Rostock (1909–13), Jena (1913–24), Bonn (1924–26), and Munich (1926–51). His most important works include Handbuch der lateinischen Laut- und Formenlehre (1902; “Handbook of Latin Phonology

Bernini, Gian Lorenzo

2005-02-14T19:19:00.000-08:00

Bernini's career began under his father, Pietro Bernini, a Florentine sculptor of some talent who ultimately moved to Rome. The young prodigy worked so diligently that he earned the praise of the painter Annibale Carracci and the patronage of Pope Paul V and soon established himself as a wholly independent sculptor. He was strongly influenced by his close study

Pontiac

2005-02-14T17:03:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1820) of Oakland county, southeastern Michigan, U.S., on the Clinton River, 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Detroit. Named for the Ottawa Indian chief, it was located on the Saginaw Trail and became an important wagon and carriage production centre in the 1880s. It later turned to the manufacture of automobiles, auto parts, buses, and trucks. The Oakland Pioneer and Historical Society

Coincidence Counting

2005-02-13T23:15:00.000-08:00

In physics, the detection of two nuclear or cosmic ray events that occur almost simultaneously (e.g., within a time of 10-5 second). Coincidence counting involves two or more particle counters exposed to the same source of cosmic rays or nuclear radiation and connected to an electronic coincidence circuit. One principal use of the coincidence technique is to detect particles

Islamic World, Trans-Saharan Islam

2005-02-13T01:22:00.000-08:00

When the Ottomans expanded through the southern Mediterranean coast in the early 16th century, they were unable to incorporate Morocco, where a new state had been formed in reaction to the appearance of the Portuguese. The Portuguese were riding the momentum generated by their own seaborne expansion as well as by the fulfillment of the Reconquista and the establishment

Pontiac

2005-02-12T16:16:00.000-08:00

In electronics, a semiconductor device that emits infrared or visible light when charged with an electric current. Visible LEDs are used in many electronic devices as indicator lamps, in automobiles as rear-window and brake lights, and on billboards and signs as alphanumeric displays or even full-colour posters. Infrared LEDs are employed in autofocus cameras

Metastable State

2005-02-11T05:29:00.000-08:00

In physics and chemistry, particular excited state of an atom, nucleus, or other system that has a longer lifetime than the ordinary excited states and that generally has a shorter lifetime than the lowest, often stable, energy state, called the ground state. A metastable state may thus be considered a kind of temporary energy trap or a somewhat stable intermediate

Baseball

2005-02-11T03:57:00.000-08:00

Although Sosa, with 63 homers, became the first player to hit 60 home runs in two consecutive seasons, McGwire hit 65, including the 500th of his career, and led the NL with 147 runs batted in. Larry Walker of the Colorado Rockies won the NL batting title with an average of .379. Astros pitchers Mike Hampton (22) and Jose Lima (21) led the league in victories, but Randy Johnson of Arizona, who struck out

Carlisle

2005-02-10T13:00:00.000-08:00

In the Roman period a civilian settlement, Luguvallium (later the town of Carlisle), grew up on the south bank of the Eden, opposite Petriana (later Stanwix), a fortified camp on the line of Hadrian's Wall. The town dominated the surrounding area

Salzkammergut

2005-02-10T08:02:00.000-08:00

Region, comprising parts of the Bundesländer (federal states) of Oberösterreich, Steiermark, and Salzburg, north-central Austria. The region consists mainly of the Traun River basin and is renowned for its lake and mountain scenery. Often called the Austrian “Lake District,” it has more than 30 lakes, including the Atter, Traun, Mond, Wolfgang (Aber), and Hallstätter. The highest

American Academy Of Arts And Sciences

2005-02-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

Honorary society incorporated on May 4, 1780, in Boston, Mass., U.S., for the purpose of cultivating “every art and science.” Its membership—some 3,300 fellows in the United States and about 550 foreign honorary fellows (all scholars and national leaders)—is divided into four classes: the physical sciences, the biological sciences, the social arts and sciences, and the humanities and fine

Argentina, Economic development, 182050

2005-02-08T15:05:00.000-08:00

Argentina's society and economy underwent considerable changes in the 30 years after 1820. Buenos Aires was the province best adapted to the new era of free trade, exporting cattle products in return for consumer goods from overseas. The interior provinces adjusted slowly, replacing their traditional markets in Upper Peru with new ones in Chile, where a great expansion

Benalla

2005-02-08T06:26:00.000-08:00

City, central Victoria, Australia, on the Broken River. Founded in 1848 on an overland stock route after Sir Thomas Mitchell's exploration of the area, its name is derived from an Aboriginal term meaning “crossing place.” The city is a rail and highway junction and the commercial centre for a district of livestock, poultry, and grain farming. Local industries include flour

Chac

2005-02-07T10:59:00.000-08:00

Like other major Mayan gods, Chac also appeared as four gods, the Chacs. The four gods were associated with the points of the compass and their colours: white, north; red, east; black, west; and yellow,

Pérez De Ayala, Ramón

2005-02-07T09:03:00.000-08:00

Pérez de Ayala studied law at Oviedo University and philosophy and literature at the University of Madrid. During World War I he covered France, Italy, England, South America, and the United States as a correspondent for the Buenos Aires periodical

Biblical Literature, Philological criticism

2005-02-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

Philological criticism consists mainly in the study of the biblical languages in their widest scope, so that the vocabulary, grammar, and style of the biblical writings can be understood as accurately as possible with the aid not only of other biblical writings but of other writings in the same or cognate languages. New Testament Greek, for example, is a representative

Kean, Charles (john)

2005-02-06T02:18:00.000-08:00

The son of the famed actor Edmund Kean, he was educated at Eton and made his debut as Young Norval in Douglas in London in 1827. He toured the provinces extensively but first won general acceptance during an American tour in 1830. Returning to

Arecidae

2005-02-05T19:33:00.000-08:00

Subclass of flowering plants belonging to the class Liliopsida.

Literature

2005-02-05T05:02:00.000-08:00

Tooth Squeeze

2005-02-04T05:38:00.000-08:00

Also called Aerodontalgia, pain caused by the expansion or contraction of air beneath the filling of a tooth when pressure within the mouth cavity is increased or decreased. Aircraft pilots and underwater divers are common victims of tooth squeeze, as the pressures that they experience vary widely from the normal atmospheric pressures. As one goes deeper under water, pressure increases.