CompleteJewel

China, Railways

2005-03-23T13:53:00.000-08:00

Railway construction began in China in 1876. Because railways can conveniently carry a greater volume of goods over long distances than can road transport, they are of especial importance in China's transportation system. All trunk railways in China are under the administration of the Ministry of Railways. The central government operates a major rail network in the

Ascot

2005-03-21T17:25:00.000-08:00

Locality, Windsor and Maidenhead unitary authority, geographic and historic county of Berkshire, England, known for its racecourse on Ascot Heath. The Royal Ascot meeting (initiated in 1711 by Queen Anne) lasts four days each June and is traditionally attended by the British sovereign. A major social and fashion event, it has lent its name to the ascot, a type of broad neck

Wyong

2005-03-18T05:09:00.000-08:00

Town, eastern New South Wales, Australia, on the Wyong River, immediately west of the Tuggerah Lakes (coastal lagoons). The district was settled in 1823 for the purpose of exploiting its cedar trees. As the forests were removed, agricultural activities increased, with citrus groves being planted after 1887. The town, proclaimed in 1888, derived its name from an Aboriginal word meaning

Oslo Fjord

2005-03-15T11:34:00.000-08:00

Norwegian Oslofjorden, fjord on the Skagerrak (strait) penetrating the southern coast of Norway for 60 miles (100 km) from about Fredrikstad to Oslo. With an area of 766 square miles (1,984 square km), the fjord occupies a glacier-formed depression, or graben, that has been partially filled and partially reexcavated. The fjord's forested shoreline is dotted with numerous towns and seaports and is one of the most

Lewis Glyn Cothi

2005-03-14T00:37:00.000-08:00

Reputedly a native of Carmarthenshire, Lewis was, during the Wars of the Roses, a zealous Lancastrian and partisan of Jasper Tudor, the uncle of Henry VII of England. His awdl (ode) satirizing the men of Chester, his bitterest enemies, is a vigorous composition. (According to tradition

Saudi Arabia, Settlement patterns

2005-03-12T13:09:00.000-08:00

Four traditional regions stand out—the Hejaz, Asir, Najd, and Al-Hasa (transliterated more precisely as Al-Hijaz, 'Asir, Najd, and Al-Ahsa'). The Hejaz, in the northwest, contains the two holiest cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina, as well as the kingdom's primary port and diplomatic centre, Jiddah. Asir is the highland region south of the Hejaz; its capital, Abha, lies at an elevation of about

Mana

2005-03-09T08:32:00.000-08:00

Town, northwestern French Guiana, on the south bank of the Mana River, near its mouth on the Atlantic coast. It originated in 1830 around an orphanage founded by a French nun and, after 1848, also served as a refuge for runaway and newly emancipated slaves. The site of a large leprosarium, its economy is basically agricultural, including sugarcane and cattle. Pop. (1982) mun. 1,721.

Ashikaga Yoshimasa

2005-03-08T02:35:00.000-08:00

Shogun (hereditary military dictator) who helped promote one of Japan's greatest cultural eras. His attempts to select an heir, however, brought on a dispute that caused the great Onin War (1467–77). This conflict not only laid waste the area around the capital at Kyoto and destroyed many of its great architectural treasures but also eliminated the fiction

Bhandara

2005-03-06T00:40:00.000-08:00

Town, northeastern Maharashtra state, western India, on the Wainganga River, east of Nagpur. As a fording place across the river, it developed as a commercial centre; industries include the manufacture of brassware and cigarettes. It houses a college affiliated with the University of Nagpur. Rice covers most of the surrounding cultivated area. The area is rich in mineral

Cloisonné

2005-03-03T19:36:00.000-08:00

In the decorative arts, an enameling technique or any product of that technique, which consists of soldering to a metal surface delicate metal strips bent to the outline of a design and filling the resulting cellular spaces, called cloisons (French: “partitions,” or “compartments”), with vitreous enamel paste. The object then is fired, ground smooth, and polished. Sometimes

Melito Of Sardis

2005-03-02T17:45:00.000-08:00

The 4th-century chronicles of Eusebius of Caesarea identify Melito as a bishop who addressed a discourse to the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, arguing that Christianity

France, History Of, The juridical revolution

2005-02-27T11:57:00.000-08:00

Louis XVI's decision to convene the Estates-General in May 1789 became a turning point in French history. When he invited his subjects to express their opinions and grievances in preparation for this event—unprecedented in living memory—hundreds responded with pamphlets in which the liberal ideology of 1789 gradually began to take shape. Exactly how the Estates-General

Abdelkader

2005-02-26T17:33:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Abd El-kader, or Abdul-qadir, Arabic in full 'abd Al-qadir Ibn Muhyi Ad-din Ibn Mustafa Al-hasani Al-jaza'iri amir of Mascara (from 1832), the military and religious leader who founded the Algerian state and led the Algerians in their 19th-century struggle against French domination (1840–46).

Cylinder

2005-02-23T18:24:00.000-08:00

In geometry, surface of revolution that is traced by a straight line (the generatrix) that always moves parallel to itself or some fixed line or direction (the axis). The path, to be definite, is directed along a curve (the directrix), along which the line always glides. In a right circular cylinder, the directrix is a circle. The axis of this cylinder is a line through the centre

Middlesex

2005-02-21T07:49:00.000-08:00

The River Thames was the key to the history of Middlesex. From about 8000 BCE traders and settlers used the Thames as their waterway. During the Iron Age

Athos, Mount

2005-02-20T00:40:00.000-08:00

Also called Holy Mountain, Modern Greek Áthos Óros, or Áyion Óros, mountain in northern Greece, site of a semiautonomous republic of Greek Orthodox monks inhabiting 20 monasteries and dependencies (skítes), some of which are larger than the parent monasteries. It occupies the easternmost of the three promontories of the Chalcidice (Khalkidhikí) Peninsula, which projects from Macedonia into the Aegean Sea. The Aktí promontory, 30 miles

Earhart, Amelia

2005-02-18T04:17:00.000-08:00

Earhart moved often with her family and completed high school in Chicago in 1916. She worked as a military nurse in Canada during World War I and as a social worker in Denison House,

Oradour-sur-glane

2005-02-16T11:32:00.000-08:00

Oradour-sur-Glane was the site of a particularly brutal atrocity during World War II. The village and its inhabitants were destroyed by German troops on June 10, 1944, exactly two years after a similar fate had befallen the Czechoslovakian village of Lidice

Alaska, Government

2005-02-13T02:44:00.000-08:00

Alaska's economy has been dominated by government since territorial days. From 1940 to 1960 the federal government invested nearly $2 billion in the development of military bases in Alaska. Nothing else in Alaska's history has produced such long-term results, bringing thousands of residents into the territory and creating jobs and a vast array of transportation and communications

Race, General histories

2005-02-11T08:44:00.000-08:00

Histories dealing with the origin of the concept of race include Ivan Hannaford, Race: The History of an Idea in the West (1996); and Audrey Smedley, Race in North America: Origin and Evolution of a Worldview, 2nd ed. (1999).

Monaco, Flag Of

2005-02-10T20:52:00.000-08:00

The complex princely

Earth Exploration, Electrical and electromagnetic methods

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

A multitude of electrical methods are used in mineral exploration. They depend on (1) electrochemical activity, (2) resistivity changes, or (3) permittivity effects. Some materials tend to become natural batteries that generate natural electric currents whose effects can be measured. The self-potential method relies on the oxidation of the upper surface of metallic

Adams, Ansel

2005-02-05T03:29:00.000-08:00

Originally a student of music, Adams pursued photography as an avocation until 1927. In that year he published his first portfolio, Parmellian Prints of the High Sierras, photographs in the style

Wolf Snake

2005-02-03T20:08:00.000-08:00

The Cape wolf snake (Lycophidion capense), abundant from Egypt to South Africa, is a small, drab species with a metallic sheen and lives chiefly

Cottonwood

2005-02-02T17:18:00.000-08:00

Several fast-growing trees of North America, members of the genus Populus, in the family Salicaceae, with triangular, toothed leaves and cottony seeds. The dangling leaves clatter in the wind. Eastern cottonwood (P. deltoides), nearly 30 metres (100 feet) tall, has thick glossy leaves. Perhaps natural hybrids between this and Eurasian black poplar (P.

Sinkiang, Uygur Autonomous Region Of, The economy

2005-01-28T09:04:00.000-08:00

Because of the dry climate, most of the cultivated land in Sinkiang depends entirely on irrigation. The various nationalities in the region have had rich experience in water conservancy techniques, of which the wells of the qanat system in the Turfan and Ha-mi depressions are a fine example. Since the 1950s, these have been greatly supplemented with canals and reservoirs,

Târgoviste

2005-01-27T02:52:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Tîrgoviste, city, capital of Dâmbovita judet (county), south-central Romania. It lies along the Ialomita River, in the southeastern Transylvanian Alps (Southern Carpathians), 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Bucharest. Târgoviste was the capital of feudal Walachia from the 14th to the 17th century. Its monuments include a 16th-century watchtower and a 17th-century church founded by Vasile Lupu. The city

Scimitar-babbler

2005-01-26T06:13:00.000-08:00

Any of about 12 species of songbirds of the babbler family Timaliidae (order Passeriformes), which have long, curved bills used for uncovering insects in ground litter. Scimitar-babblers are 18 to 28 cm (7 to 11 inches) in length, with fairly long tails. Their plumage is mostly brown. They range through southern Asia to Australia and the Philippines. An example is the slaty-headed

Sanidine

2005-01-25T20:34:00.000-08:00

Because sanidine that occurs in the Earth's crust has cooled quickly (its structure is stable only above 700° C [1,300° F]), it has trapped a disordered distribution

Cytokine

2005-01-24T19:04:00.000-08:00

Any of a group of small, short-lived proteins that are released by one cell to regulate the function of another cell, thereby serving as intercellular chemical messengers. Cytokines effect changes in cellular behaviour that are important in a number of physiological processes, including reproduction, growth and development, and injury repair. However, they are

Asclepigenia

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

After the death of her father, Plutarchus, Asclepigenia was active in perpetuating the eastern version of Platonism, in cooperation with her brother, Hiero. Upon the succession of Proclus as head of the school at Athens, Asclepigenia instructed him in the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle. She

Lettow-vorbeck, Paul Von

2005-01-22T02:10:00.000-08:00

A member of the South West Colonial

Cruelty, Theatre Of

2005-01-20T21:50:00.000-08:00

Project for an experimental theatre that was proposed by the French poet, actor, and theorist Antonin Artaud and that became a major influence on avant-garde 20th-century theatre. Artaud, influenced by Symbolism and Surrealism, along with Roger Vitrac and Robert Aron founded the Théâtre Alfred Jarry in 1926; they presented four programs before disbanding in 1929. Between 1931 and

Cytochrome

2005-01-20T20:31:00.000-08:00

Any of a group of hemoprotein cell components that, by readily undergoing reduction and oxidation (gain and loss of electrons) with the aid of enzymes, serve a vital function in the transfer of energy within cells. Hemoproteins are proteins linked to a nonprotein, iron-bearing component. It is the iron (heme) group attached to the protein that can undergo reversible

Gmunden

2005-01-19T08:56:00.000-08:00

Town, Oberösterreich Bundesland (“federal state”), north-central Austria, where the Traun River flows out of the Traunsee, a mountain lake. The site of Celtic and Roman settlements, Gmunden was fortified in the 12th century and chartered in the 13th. Its Baroque parish church on 13th-century foundations was consecrated in 1723, and the town hall dates from 1659. Once an important centre

Augustine, Saint

2005-01-17T03:40:00.000-08:00

Also called Saint Augustine of Hippo, original Latin name Aurelius Augustinus feast day August 28, bishop of Hippo from 396 to 430, one of the Latin Fathers of the Church, one of the Doctors of the Church, and perhaps the most significant Christian thinker after St. Paul. Augustine's adaptation of classical thought to Christian teaching created a theological system of great

Rabassa, Gregory

2005-01-16T06:48:00.000-08:00

Rabassa graduated from Columbia University (Ph.D., 1954) and taught

Felix Of Valois, Saint

2005-01-14T19:18:00.000-08:00

According to legend, Felix lived a solitary ascetic life in the forest near Cerfroid

Topaz

2005-01-14T09:30:00.000-08:00

Topaz is an aluminum silicate containing fluorine and has a chemical formula of Al2(F,OH)2SiO4. It is formed

Harbin

2005-01-13T00:48:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade–Giles romanization) Ha-erh-pin, Pinyin Haerbin, second largest city of Northeast China and capital of Heilungkiang Province (sheng), on the Sungari River. The city owes its origin to the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway by the Russians at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. Before 1896 it was a small fishing village. Thereafter it became the construction centre for the railway, which by 1904 linked

Hysteresis

2005-01-12T16:44:00.000-08:00

Lagging of the magnetization of a ferromagnetic material, such as iron, behind variations of the magnetizing field. When ferromagnetic materials are placed within a coil of wire carrying an electric current, the magnetizing field, or magnetic field strength H, caused by the current forces some or all of the atomic magnets in the material to align with the field. The

Bahr Az-zaraf

2005-01-11T17:23:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Bahr el-Zaraf , English Giraffe River river, an arm of the Nile River in as-Sudd region of south-central Sudan. It is formed in the swamps north of Shambe, diverting water from the Bahr al-Jabal (Mountain Nile), and flows 150 miles (240 km) north, past Fangak, to join the Bahr al-Jabal, 35 miles (56 km) west of Malakal. It is not navigable but is permanently connected to the Bahr al-Jabal by two cuts dredged where the streams are close

Fischer, Ernst Otto

2005-01-10T03:59:00.000-08:00

Fischer served in the German army before and during World War II. In 1952 he received a doctorate in natural

Carmel

2005-01-09T22:23:00.000-08:00

Also called Carmel-by-the-sea, city, Monterey county, western California, U.S., on the Carmel River and Carmel Bay, adjacent to Monterey. The river was named by the Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno and a group of Carmelite friars in 1602. The nearby Mission San Carlos Borroméo del Río Carmelo was founded in 1770 at Monterey by the Spanish Franciscan missionary Junípero Serra; it was moved to the Carmel area

Yamato-e

2005-01-09T16:38:00.000-08:00

Yamato-e is a calculated

Jehovah

2005-01-07T16:21:00.000-08:00

Judeo-Christian name for God, derived from Yahweh (q.v.).

Earth Sciences, Knowledge of the tides

2005-01-06T04:46:00.000-08:00

By contrast, the tides along the eastern shores of Asia generally have a considerable range and were the subject of close observation and much speculation among

Ueno Zoological Garden

2005-01-05T17:30:00.000-08:00

Japanese Ueno Dobutsuen, oldest and most famous zoological garden in Japan. It was founded in 1882, and its administration was transferred to the Tokyo city government in 1924. Occupying a 32-acre (13-hectare) site in the Ueno district of Tokyo, it is landscaped in traditional Japanese style. The zoo saw much damage in World War II but was rebuilt within 10 years, mainly along prewar lines. A modernization program

China, The chief councillors

2005-01-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

The later Nan Sung emperors preferred not to take on the awesome burden of managing the huge and complex bureaucracy. Most of them were concerned chiefly with security and the status quo. The Nan Sung court delegated a tremendous amount of power and thus had a series of dominant chief councillors; none of them, however, ever was a potential usurper. No bureaucrat during

Condom

2005-01-03T16:23:00.000-08:00

Contraceptive device consisting of a sheath that fits over the penis and that is intended to prevent the escape of semen into the vagina. It is made of very thin, flexible rubber or a rubberlike plastic (latex). The condom has long been used as protection against venereal infections and other sexually transmitted diseases, and by the 17th century it was utilized as a contraceptive

Index Librorum Prohibitorum

2005-01-03T02:10:00.000-08:00

Compiled by official censors, the Index was an implementation of one part of the teaching function of the Roman Catholic

Turkey, Government

2005-01-01T19:49:00.000-08:00

Following a period of authoritarian, one-party rule under the first president of the republic, Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk; 1923–38), and his successor, Ismet Inönü (1938–50), multiparty democracy was instituted in 1950. Parliamentary democracy has for the most part remained in force since that date, although it has been interrupted by brief periods of military government at times when civilian

Pyramids

2005-01-01T10:26:00.000-08:00

British pocket-billiards game in which 15 red balls are arranged in a pyramid formation to begin. Players use a white cue ball in attempting to pocket the reds, scoring one point for each; the player who scores the highest number of pocketed balls is the winner. Players lose a point and respot a red ball each time they pocket the cue ball or fail to contact a red ball. A player

Iron Crown Of Lombardy

2004-12-30T16:33:00.000-08:00

The Iron Crown of Lombardy is composed of a broad circle of six plates of gold joined to each other by hinges and

Cytoplasm

2004-12-29T07:36:00.000-08:00

The protoplasm of a cell external to the nuclear membrane. In eukaryotes (i.e., cells having a nucleus), the cytoplasm contains all of the organelles except for the nucleus itself. Among such organelles are the mitochondria, which are the sites of energy production through ATP (adenosine triphosphate) synthesis; the endoplasmic reticulum, the site of lipid and protein

Francistown

2004-12-27T23:05:00.000-08:00

Town, eastern Botswana. It lies along the Tati (Tate) River and is an administrative and commercial centre. Francistown is the site of the Dumela industrial complex. Some gold is mined in the vicinity. The town lies in farming country on the country's main road and rail line. Air transport services link Francistown with Gaborone and Selebi-Phikwe. Pop. (1991) 65,244.

Leaf Fish

2004-12-27T00:53:00.000-08:00

The name leaf fish is applied specifically

France, History Of, France since 1815

2004-12-26T21:08:00.000-08:00

Volumes 2 and 3 of the already mentioned Alfred Cobban, A History of Modern France, 3 vol. (1957–62, reprinted 1969), present the period from the First Empire to the Republics in a sophisticated synthesis; and Gordon Wright, France in Modern Times: From the Enlightenment to the Present, 4th ed. (1987), is an interpretive general survey. Appropriate parts of the massive collective work Histoire économique et sociale de la France, 4 vol. in 8 (1970–82), Fernand Braudel and Ernest Labrousse (eds.), provide coverage by some of the best French experts of economic and social developments up to the last quarter of the 20th century. Surveys of special topics on all or most of the period since 1815 include René Rémond, The Right Wing in France from 1815 to De Gaulle, 2nd ed. (1969; originally published in French, 3rd ed., 1968; rev. French ed., 1982), tracing change and continuity of the political right; Gérard Cholvy and Yves-Marie Hilaire, Histoire religieuse de la France contemporaine, 3 vol. (1985–88), an analysis of the role of various religions; and Raoul Girardet, La Société militaire dans la France contemporaine, 1815–1939 (1953), on the changing role and composition of the military corps. The role of France in world affairs is emphasized in Pierre Renouvin, Le XIXe, 2 vol. (1954–55), on the developments of the 19th century, part of the series “Histoire des relations internationales.” François Caron, An Economic History of Modern France, trans. from French (1979, reissued 1983), revises older views about France's rate of growth; Theodore Zeldin, France, 1848–1945, 2 vol. (1973–77), explores modern French society, stressing its complexity and continuity; and Eugen Weber, Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France (1976), argues that a sense of nationhood came to rural France only in the late 19th century. Period studies include Guillaume de Bertier de Sauvigny, The Bourbon Restoration (1966, originally published in French, 1955), the standard work on the period 1815–1830; David H. Pinkney, Decisive Years in France, 1840–1847 (1986), arguing that France changed fundamentally in these years; Roger Price, The French Second Republic: A Social History (1972), a thoughtful reevaluation; Ted W. Margadant, French Peasants in Revolt: The Insurrection of 1851 (1979), suggesting that leftist views remained vigorous after 1848; J.P.T. Bury, Napoléon III and the Second Empire (1964), a well-informed analysis; Michael Howard, The Franco-Prussian War: The German Invasion of France, 1870–1871 (1961, reissued 1981), a model study; and Stewart Edwards, The Paris Commune, 1871 (1971), a balanced reevaluation. Roger Shattuck, The Banquet Years: The Origins of the Avant Garde in France, 1885 to World War I, rev. ed. (1968, reissued 1984), is a brilliant survey of Parisian culture of the period; and Charles Rearick, Pleasures of the Belle Epoque: Entertainment and Festivity in Turn-of-the-Century France (1985), describes the high life in Monmartre. D.W. Brogan, France Under the Republic: The Development of Modern France, 1870–1939 (1940, reprinted 1974), is a classic account; Jacques Chastenet, Histoire de la Troisième République, 7 vol. (1952–63, reissued in 4 vol., 1974), remains the most detailed treatment of the period; David Thomson, Democracy in France Since 1870, 5th ed. (1969), offers a penetrating study of political and social aspects; and Jean-Denis Bredin, The Affair: The Case of Alfred Dreyfus (1986; originally published in French, 1983), provides a highly readable account of the great crisis. For the 20th century, see Eugen Weber, Action Française: Royalism and Reaction in Twentieth Century France (1962), a full analysis of this right-wing movement; Zeev Sternhell, La Droite Révolutionnaire, 1885–1914: les origines françaises du fascisme (1978, reprinted 1984), a controversial argument that fascism was born in France; Marc Ferro, The Great War, 1914–1918 (1973, reissued 1987; originally published in French, 1969), a good synthesis; Robert O. Paxton, Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order, 1940–1944 (1972, reissued 1982), a critical analysis of the Pétain regime; Jean-Baptiste Duroselle, La Décadence, 1932–1939, 3rd rev. ed. (1985), and L'Abîme: 1939–1945, 2nd rev. ed. (1986), two volumes of devastating analysis of French foreign policy before and during World War II; Charles de Gaulle, War Memoirs, 5 vol. (1955–60; originally published in French, 1954–59), and Memoirs of Hope: Renewal and Endeavor (1971; originally published in French, 2 vol., 1970–71), indispensable for an understanding of the Gaullist era; Jean Lacouture, Charles de Gaulle, 3 vol. (1984–86), a full and perceptive biography; Philip M. Williams, Crisis and Compromise: Politics in the Fourth Republic, 3rd ed. (1964, reissued 1972), an excellent account of that system of government; Pierre Viansson-Ponté, Histoire de la république gaullienne, 2 vol. (1970–71, reissued in 1 vol., 1984), on the Fifth Republic's Gaullist phase; Stanley Hoffmann et al., In Search of France (1963), an analysis of postwar France; George Ross, Stanley Hoffmann, and Sylvia Malzacher (eds.), The Mitterrand Experiment: Continuity and Change in Modern France (1987), a study of the socialist years; and Alfred Grosser, Affaires extérieures: la politique de la France, 1944–1989 (1989), a penetrating analysis of postwar France's role in the world.

Hadley, John

2004-12-25T05:17:00.000-08:00

Hadley's first Newtonian reflector, built in 1721, had a mirror about 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter. The favourable response it evoked inspired

North Germanic Languages

2004-12-24T21:05:00.000-08:00

Also called Scandinavian languages group of Germanic languages consisting of modern standard Danish, Swedish, Norwegian (Dano-Norwegian and New Norwegian), Icelandic, and Faroese. These languages are usually divided into East Scandinavian (Danish and Swedish) and West Scandinavian (Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese) groups.

New Hampshire Grants

2004-12-24T10:04:00.000-08:00

In the period before the American Revolution, the territory that subsequently became the state of Vermont. The area was initially claimed by New Hampshire, and the first land grant there was issued in 1749 by the first governor of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth. By 1764, 131 townships had been chartered. New York, which also claimed the territory, began issuing grants of its own

Maharaja

2004-12-21T09:06:00.000-08:00

The title seems to have been introduced sometime in the first century BC by the Kushans. They had been

Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle

2004-12-21T04:46:00.000-08:00

(TCA cycle), also called Krebs cycle and citric acid cycle, the second stage of cellular respiration, the three-stage process by which living cells break down organic fuel molecules in the presence of oxygen to harvest the energy they need to grow and divide. This metabolic process occurs in most plants, animals, fungi, and many bacteria. In all organisms except bacteria the TCA cycle is carried out in the matrix of intracellular

Benjamin, Asher

2004-12-20T20:42:00.000-08:00

American architect who was an early follower of Charles Bulfinch. His greatest influence on American architecture, lasting until about 1860, was through the publication of several handbooks, from which many other 18th-century architects and builders, including Ammi Young and Ithiel Town, copied plans. These books included

Weissenfels

2004-12-20T10:32:00.000-08:00

City, Saxony-Anhalt Land (state), eastern Germany. It lies on the right bank of the Saale River, south of Halle. A German town on the site of an old Slav settlement, it was chartered in 1185, when it belonged to the Saxon House of Wettin. It was the residence of the dukes of Saxe-Weissenfels from 1656 to 1746 and passed to Prussia in 1815. The Baroque castle (1660–93) is preserved, and the town museum has a notable

Châteauguay

2004-12-18T20:13:00.000-08:00

Town, Montérégie region, southern Quebec province, Canada. It lies at the mouth of the Châteauguay River, just south of its confluence with the St. Lawrence. The site of a Jesuit mission established in 1736, it served as a trading centre during the settlement of the surrounding region. On Oct. 26, 1813, the Battle of Châteauguay, a decisive engagement of the War of 1812, took place there; a small

Byng Of Vimy (of Thorpe-le-soken), Julian Hedworth George Byng, Viscount

2004-12-15T14:33:00.000-08:00

A career soldier from 1883, Byng was promoted to major general in 1909. As commander of the Canadian Corps in France (from May 1916), he was responsible for one of the most famous Canadian victories in either world war, the capture of Vimy Ridge, north of Arras (April 9, 1917). As commander of

Fariña, Richard; And Fariña, Mimi

2004-12-15T05:11:00.000-08:00

Mimi Fariña's original name Margarita Mimi Baez American husband-and-wife folksinging duo who were significant figures in the folk music revival of the 1960s. Richard, also a novelist, was killed in a motorcycle accident just after the publication of his first novel, Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me (1966; filmed

Henley-on-thames

2004-12-14T17:16:00.000-08:00

The old town (incorporated 1526) has a medieval church and a wide market street. Georgian buildings are also well represented. The old town serves

Earth, Metamorphism

2004-12-13T20:59:00.000-08:00

Metamorphism requires heat and/or pressure to transform a sedimentary or an igneous rock into a metamorphic rock. Such a change involves an increase in grain size, formation of new minerals, gain or loss of water, and/or an increase in the degree of bonding of the mineral grains. Metamorphism can be either of two types: regional or contact. Regional metamorphism involves

Messenger

2004-12-11T10:22:00.000-08:00

(foaled 1780), racehorse who, though a Thoroughbred who sired many successful Thoroughbred (flat) racers, was most important as the foundation sire of the Standardbred (harness racehorse) breed. A son of Mambrino and grandson of Matchem, he was foaled in England but was taken to Philadelphia in 1788. His descendants became known for their trotting ability, and his great-grandson

Die-casting

2004-12-11T02:49:00.000-08:00

Forming metal objects by injecting molten metal under pressure into dies, or molds. An early and important use of the technique was in the Mergenthaler Linotype machine (1884) to give line-long combinations of letters, but the appearance of the mass-production automobile assembly line gave die-casting its real impetus. Great precision is possible, and products range

Biblical Literature, The Megillot (the Scrolls)

2004-12-10T13:33:00.000-08:00

The five books known as the Megillot or Scrolls are grouped together as a unit in modern Hebrew Bibles according to the order of the annual religious festivals on which they are read in the synagogues of the Ashkenazim (central and eastern European Jews and their descendants). They did not originally form a unit and were found scattered in the Bible in their supposed

Charadriiform, Locomotion and feeding behaviour

2004-12-10T00:39:00.000-08:00

Most shorebirds inhabit open areas and are strong fliers, some performing extensive migrations that cover long distances over water. A ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres) banded in the Pribilof Islands was recaptured in the Hawaiian Leeward Islands, 3,770 kilometres (2,325 miles) away, four days later. Gulls, terns, skimmers, skuas, and jaegers spend much of their time on the

Porres, Saint Martín De

2004-12-07T18:09:00.000-08:00

Born of a liaison between a Spanish grandee and a free black woman, Martín de Porres became a Dominican oblate, or lay monastic, in 1601. Although it was not customary then to receive a mulatto into a religious order in Peru, Martín was considered an exception and became a Dominican lay

Arts, Islamic, The Umayyad and 'Abbasid dynasties: classical Islamic music

2004-12-04T04:52:00.000-08:00

Under the Umayyad caliphate (661–750) the classical style of Islamic music developed further. The capital was moved to Damascus (in modern Syria) and the courts were thronged with male and female musicians, who formed a class apart. Many prominent musicians were Arab by birth or acculturation, but the alien element continued to play a predominant role in Islamic music. The first

Vendôme, Louis-joseph, Duc De

2004-12-03T23:56:00.000-08:00

Vendôme was the son of Louis de Vendôme, Duke de Mercoeur, by his marriage to Cardinal Jules Mazarin's niece, Laure Mancini. Vendôme entered the French Army in 1672 and had risen to the rank of lieutenant general by the outbreak of the War of the Grand Alliance (1689–97) between

China, Foreign policy

2004-12-02T22:26:00.000-08:00

While taking their principal cues in their foreign policies from domestic developments and generally adhering to the initial pro-Soviet line, the Chinese began to act—on the basis of several important lessons gained during the Korean struggle—to reduce Peking's militant and isolationist attitudes in international affairs. Peking had recognized that the great

Vanden Boeynants, Paul

2004-12-01T20:42:00.000-08:00

Belgian politician (b. May 22, 1919, Brussels, Belg.—d. Jan. 9, 2001, Aalst, Belg.), was a longtime member of Parliament (1952–85), the French-speaking leader of the centrist Social Christian Party (from 1961), defense minister (1972–79), and twice prime minister of Belgium (1966–68 and 1978–79). Although he was criticized for his handling of Belgium's 1968 language crisis and for his drastic policy of urban renewal in Brussels, it was a conviction

Nardò

2004-11-30T16:03:00.000-08:00

Latin Neretum, town, Lecce provincia, Puglia (Apulia) regione, southeastern Italy, southwest of Lecce city. Originally the Roman city of Neretum, Nardò was both Byzantine and Norman; it has a 13th–14th-century cathedral in the Gothic style and an unusual circular chapel called the Osanna, dating from 1603. Examples of Baroque architecture in the town include the Church of San Domenico. Modern

Macaroon

2004-11-30T00:56:00.000-08:00

Cake flour is often used as a base for the essential ingredients of macaroons. These are worked together and flavoured with

Submarine

2004-11-28T20:47:00.000-08:00

Submarines first became a major factor in naval warfare during World War I (1914–18), when Germany employed them to destroy surface merchant vessels.

Philip Ii

2004-11-26T04:13:00.000-08:00

Characteristically, Philip declined the trial of strength, prepared to wait for six years until he could gain Thermopylae by negotiation and without striking a blow. Meanwhile his Thessalian victory earned him election as president (archon) of the Thessalian League (probably 352), a position unique for a foreigner in a Greek confederation and one that was to bind Thessaly

Steely Dan

2004-11-26T02:54:00.000-08:00

Named after a prosthetic phallus in William S. Burroughs's novel Naked

Saco

2004-11-24T19:12:00.000-08:00

City, York county, southwestern Maine, U.S., at the mouth of the Saco River opposite Biddeford. Founded with Biddeford in 1631 as a single plantation, it was the seat of Sir Ferdinando Gorges' government (1636–53) before passing to Massachusetts. It was called Saco until 1718 and Biddeford until it was separately incorporated (1762) as Pepperellboro Township. It developed a lumbering and seaport

Pedro Juan Caballero

2004-11-22T00:35:00.000-08:00

Town, eastern Paraguay, founded in 1899. It lies in the Amambay Mountains at 2,296 feet (700 m) above sea level, opposite Ponte Porã, Braz. Pedro Juan Caballero is the region's largest town and principal trade centre. The hinterland is utilized primarily for cattle ranching and coffee growing. In the town are a government delegation, a radio station, a commerce school, a teachers college,

Venetian Needle Lace

2004-11-21T00:04:00.000-08:00

French Point De Venise, Venetian lace made with a needle from the 16th to the 19th century. Early examples were deep, acute-angled points, each worked separately and linked together by a narrow band, or “footing,” stitched with buttonholing. These points were used in ruffs and collars in the 16th and 17th centuries and, from their presence in portraits by Anthony Van Dyck, are known as “vandykes.” Geometrical

Sarangpur

2004-11-20T17:52:00.000-08:00

City, northwestern Madhya Pradesh state, central India, just east of the Kali Sindh River. Sarangpur is located on an ancient site. It has a number of Jaina and Hindu ruins, including a 12th-century Jaina statue. It rose to importance in the 13th century under Sarang Singh Khichi, after whom it is named, and was a chief Mughal trade centre. It passed to Dewas princely state by treaty

Páez

2004-11-19T11:42:00.000-08:00

The Páez inhabit the high mountains and plateaus. Their chief crop is potatoes, and many also grow such nontraditional crops as wheat and coffee. Each family farms its own land, but the lands of

Piura

2004-11-17T10:43:00.000-08:00

Department (formed 1861) of northern Peru, consisting of coastal desert, particularly in the west and south, and low, forested Andean mountains in the east. It is drained by the Chira River in the north and the Piura River in the south. The irrigated valleys of these two rivers are used chiefly for the production of cotton. Upstream on the Piura River, sugarcane, rice, tobacco,

Activity Coefficient

2004-11-17T09:24:00.000-08:00

In chemistry, the ratio of the chemical activity of any substance to its molar concentration. The measured concentration of a substance may not be an accurate indicator of its chemical effectiveness, as represented by the equation for a particular reaction, in which case an activity coefficient is arbitrarily established and used instead of the concentration

Abc

2004-11-16T00:02:00.000-08:00

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

Gyroscope

2004-11-15T20:01:00.000-08:00

Any device consisting of a rapidly spinning wheel set in a framework that permits it to tilt freely in any direction—i.e., to rotate about any axis. The momentum of such a wheel causes it to retain its attitude when the framework is tilted; from this characteristic derive a number of valuable applications. Gyroscopes are used in such instruments as compasses and automatic

Yi

2004-11-14T16:04:00.000-08:00

Also called Lolo, or Wu-man, ethnic group of Austroasiatic origin living largely in the mountains of southwest China and speaking a Tibeto-Burman language; the term is used by the Chinese to designate what they formerly called the Lolo or Wu-man. The Yi people numbered about 5.9 million in the late 20th century. Their principal concentrations were in Yunnan and Szechwan provinces, with smaller numbers

Stafford, Jean

2004-11-13T14:56:00.000-08:00

After graduating from the University of Colorado at Boulder (B.A., 1936; M.A., 1936), Stafford studied at Heidelberg University in Germany (1936–37). When she returned to the United States and settled in Boston, she painstakingly completed a four-year

China, Taxation

2004-11-11T18:57:00.000-08:00

The Ming laissez-faire policy in agrarian matters had its counterpart in fiscal administration. The Ming state took the collection of land taxes—its main revenues by far—out of the hands of civil service officials and entrusted this responsibility directly to well-to-do family heads in the countryside. Each designated tax captain was, on the average, responsible

Spraying And Dusting

2004-11-11T04:45:00.000-08:00

In agriculture, the standard methods of applying pest-control chemicals and other compounds. In spraying, the chemicals to be applied are dissolved or suspended in water or, less commonly, in an oil-based carrier. The mixture is then applied as a fine mist to plants, animals, soils, or products to be treated. In dusting, as an alternative method, dry, finely powdered chemicals

Mufaddaliyat, Al-

2004-11-09T19:26:00.000-08:00

(Arabic: “The Examination of al-Mufaddal”), an anthology of ancient Arabic poems, compiled by al-Mufaddal ibn Muhammad ibn Ya'lah between 762 and 784. It is of the highest importance as a record of the thought and poetic art of Arabia in the last two pre-Islamic centuries. Not more than five or six of the 126 poems appear to have been composed by poets born under Islam, and, though a certain number

Ring

2004-11-08T09:49:00.000-08:00

Basically, a ring consists of three parts: the circle, or hoop;

Alcaraz Carpet

2004-11-07T22:13:00.000-08:00

There are several different patterns of carpet with “wheels” in rectangular compartments. Other carpets imitate a wide range of brocade