GreyOven

Rouen Ware

2005-04-05T18:25:00.000-07:00

Faience (tin-glazed earthenware) and porcelain wares that made Rouen, Fr., a major pottery centre. In the 16th century faience was used as an element of architectural decoration and in apothecary jars. A Rouen potter, Edme Poterat, who opened a factory in Rouen in 1647, is credited with the invention of France's soft-paste porcelain. He also introduced the radiating festoon style

Augusta

2005-04-04T18:18:00.000-07:00

Town, Siracusa province, Sicily, Italy, north of the city of Syracuse; it lies on a long sandy island off the southeast coast between the Golfo (gulf) di Augusta and the Ionian Sea and is connected by two bridges with the mainland. The town was founded near the site of the ancient Dorian town of Megara Hyblaea in 1232 by Emperor Frederick II for the rebellious people of Centuripe

Sturdza, Dimitrie Alexandru

2005-04-04T00:05:00.000-07:00

The scion of a great boyar family, Sturdza participated through 1857–58 in the Moldavian organizational commissions that prepared the ground

Mite

2005-04-03T20:47:00.000-07:00

Mites live in varied habitats: in brackish water, in fresh water, in hot springs, in soil, on plants, and as parasites on and in animals. Parasitic forms may live in the nasal passages, lungs, stomach, or deeper body tissues

Calais

2005-04-03T06:42:00.000-07:00

City, Washington county, eastern Maine, U.S., on the St. Croix River (there spanned by an international bridge to St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada), 98 miles (158 km) east-northeast of Bangor. The river is noted for its tidal surges, which can vary by 28 feet (9 metres). Settlers were attracted to the area in 1779 by the abundance of natural resources. The community developed as a lumbering centre;

Pei-p'iao

2005-04-02T20:14:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Beipiao, mining town, western Liaoning Province, China. Located northwest of the Ta-ling Stream and east of the Ta-ch'ing Mountains, it is the site of a coal combine. The vertical shafts, which extend nearly 3,280 feet (1,000 m), are among the deepest mines in China. They produce coking coal from a southwestern extension of the Fu-hsin basin. Pop. (mid-1970s est.) 100,000–300,000.

Scheidemann, Philipp

2005-04-01T06:32:00.000-08:00

A journalist and (from 1903) member of the Reichstag for the Social Democrats, Scheidemann

Wang T'ao

2005-03-31T20:24:00.000-08:00

Wang's sympathy with the long, widespread Taiping Rebellion in South China (1850–64) aroused the enmity of officials in the Ch'ing dynasty (1644–1911) government. Forced to flee to British-controlled Hong

Great Dividing Range

2005-03-31T14:29:00.000-08:00

Also called Great Divide, Eastern Highlands, or Eastern Cordillera, main watershed of eastern Australia; it comprises a series of plateaus and mountain ranges roughly paralleling the coasts of Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria for 2,300 miles (3,700 km). Geologically and topographically complex, the range begins in the north on Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. Within that state the ranges' average elevation is 2,000–3,000 feet (600–900 m), but they rise as high

Warfare In The 21st Century

2005-03-30T17:22:00.000-08:00

The war that began in Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001, demonstrated both the capabilities and the limitations of modern military technology. It should have come as no surprise that the U.S.-led 17-member coalition toppled the Taliban regime in only a few weeks. In conventional terms, the Taliban were a pushover; they possessed no air force, had very limited air defenses, and were an unpopular

Abu Al-fida'

2005-03-28T16:02:00.000-08:00

Abu al-Fida' was a descendant of Ayyub, the father of Saladin, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty that had been supplanted by the Mamluks in Egypt and elsewhere before his birth. In 1285 he accompanied his father and his cousin (prince of Hamah and a Mamluk client)

Arabia, Plant life

2005-03-28T00:40:00.000-08:00

The date palm grows almost everywhere, except at very high elevations and in Dhofar, on the coast of which it is replaced by the coconut palm. The date is a source of food, and uses are found for the trunk, branches, and fibre of the date palm. Among places noted for high-quality date-palm production are Medina, Bishah, and Al-Hasa. Alfalfa (lucerne), widely used as fodder, often fills

Teddington

2005-03-27T18:53:00.000-08:00

Residential area in the London borough of Richmond upon Thames, about 11 miles (18 km) southwest of central London. Teddington is situated on the north bank of the River Thames, and its large lock (1912) marks both the North Sea tidal limit on the Thames and the upstream limit of the jurisdiction of the Port of London Authority. The National Physical Laboratory is at

Blonde Lace

2005-03-26T13:23:00.000-08:00

Originally, bobbin lace made in France in the 18th century from unbleached pale beige Chinese silk. Subsequently, the term blonde was extended to cover lace made of bleached silk (white blonde) and black-dyed silk (black blonde). Blonde lace was made in France at Bayeux, Caen, and Chantilly in the mid-18th century and also in England (Dorset) c. 1754–80. Just before the Revolution of 1789, blonde

Nader, Ralph

2005-03-25T18:45:00.000-08:00

Nader ran for president of the United States in 1996 but collected less than 1 percent of the vote. In 2000 he was nominated by the Green Party as its U.S. presidential candidate. His campaign focused on universal health care, environmental and consumer protections, campaign finance reform, and strengthened labour rights. Realizing that he had little hope of winning the election, Nader concentrated on obtaining 5 percent of the national vote, the minimum necessary to secure federal matching funds for the Green Party for future presidential campaigns. Nader eventually fell well short of this goal, receiving only 2.7 percent of the national vote, but he may have aided Republican candidate George W. Bush—who narrowly won the presidency over Democrat Al Gore—by attracting votes that otherwise might have gone to Gore, especially in the key state of Florida. In 2004, despite pleas by many Democrats that he not run, Nader campaigned for the presidency as an independent.

Furniture, Greece and Rome

2005-03-25T10:02:00.000-08:00

The typical Greek chair, the klismos, is known not from any ancient specimen still extant, but from a wealth of pictorial material. The best known is the klismos depicted on the Hegeso Stele at the Dipylon burial place outside Athens (c. 410 BC). It is a chair with a backward-sloping, curved backboard and four curving legs, only two of which are shown. These unusual legs were presumably

Saxo Grammaticus

2005-03-24T11:28:00.000-08:00

Little is known of Saxo's life except that he was a Zealander belonging to a family of warriors and was probably a clerk in the service of Absalon, archbishop of Lund from 1178 to 1201. Saxo is

Ikeya-seki, Comet

2005-03-23T08:40:00.000-08:00

One of a group of Sun-grazing comets having similar orbits and including the great comet known as 1882 II. Discovered Sept. 18, 1965, by two Japanese amateur astronomers, Ikeya Kaoru and Seki Tsutomu, Ikeya-Seki made its closest approach to the Sun (470,000 kilometres, or about 290,000 miles; less than the Sun's radius) on Oct. 21, 1965. The comet was then bright enough to be seen with the naked eye in daylight. Like

Fibiger, Johannes

2005-03-23T06:27:00.000-08:00

A student of the bacteriologists Robert Koch and Emil von Behring in Berlin, Fibiger became professor of pathological

Ventimiglia

2005-03-22T18:57:00.000-08:00

Town, Imperia provincia, Liguria regione, northwestern Italy. It is situated at the mouth of the Roia River near the French border, just northeast of Nice, France. To the east of the modern town is the ruined Roman town Albium Intemelium, or Albintimilium, with the remains of a theatre. Ventimiglia's town hall houses a collection of Roman antiquities. Ventimiglia was the

Lower Burma

2005-03-22T14:49:00.000-08:00

Historical and geographic division of Burma (Myanmar), referring to the southern coastal and delta region on the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea (as opposed to Upper Burma). It was the centre of the Mon kingdoms based at Pegu and was acquired by the British Indian government in 1826 and 1852. Under the British, Lower Burma rapidly developed into the country's principal rice-growing

Madison, Helene

2005-03-21T22:23:00.000-08:00

Madison grew up in Seattle and began winning regional high school swimming championships at the age of 15. In 1930, in her first year of senior competition, she

Venini, Paolo

2005-03-20T19:34:00.000-08:00

Italian glassmaker and designer and manufacturer of glassware, whose works are outstanding for their combination of traditional technique and modern form. His glass factory in Murano contributed to a revival of art-glass manufacture in the 1930s and '40s and employed some of the finest designers of the period, among them Gio Ponti and Tyra

Apprenticeship Novel

2005-03-20T06:28:00.000-08:00

Biographical novel that concentrates on an individual's youth and his social and moral initiation into adulthood. The class derives from Goethe's Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre (1795–96; Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship). It became a traditional novel form in German literature, where it is called Bildungsroman (“novel of educational formation”). An English example is Dickens'

Frederick William Iii

2005-03-19T05:38:00.000-08:00

His policy of neutrality in the Wars of the Second

Brücke, Ernst Wilhelm Von

2005-03-18T20:40:00.000-08:00

Brücke was a member of a school of physiologists (including

Seylac

2005-03-18T11:55:00.000-08:00

Also called Zeila, town and port, extreme northwest Somalia, on the Gulf of Aden. From the 9th century to the end of the 19th, it was the most important Arab settlement on the Somali coast, serving as the centre for trade between the Christian kingdom of Ethiopia and Muslim Arabia. The trade then consisted of ivory, slaves, skins, and incense from Ethiopia and the interior, which were exchanged

Bingham, Hiram

2005-03-18T08:24:00.000-08:00

As a boy Bingham learned mountaineering from his father, a well-known Pacific missionary. This skill vastly aided

Sophocles

2005-03-18T04:48:00.000-08:00

With Aeschylus and Euripides, one of classical Athens' three great tragic playwrights. The best known of his 123 dramas is Oedipus the King.

Cantus Firmus

2005-03-16T21:35:00.000-08:00

Plural Cantus Firmi, preexistent melody, such as a plainchant excerpt, underlying a polyphonic musical composition (one consisting of several independent voices or parts). The 11th- and 12th-century organum added a simple second melody (duplum) to an existing plainchant melody (the vox principalis, or principal voice), which by the end of the 12th century was stretched so as to accommodate a melody.

Hawkshaw, Sir John

2005-03-16T05:58:00.000-08:00

In 1845 Hawkshaw became chief engineer of the Manchester and Leeds Railway, introducing steeper gradients than any previously

Dewar, Sir James

2005-03-15T08:04:00.000-08:00

Educated at the University of Edinburgh, Dewar became a professor at the University of Cambridge (1875) and at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, London

Cambridge Critics

2005-03-15T07:02:00.000-08:00

Group of critics who were a major influence in English literary studies from the mid-1920s and who established an intellectually rigorous school of critical standards in the field of literature. The leaders were I.A. Richards and F.R. Leavis of the University of Cambridge and Richards' pupil William Empson. In the 1920s the University of Cambridge was distinguished in many

Argenta

2005-03-14T15:50:00.000-08:00

Town, Ferrara province, Emilia-Romagna region, northeastern Italy, on the Fiume (river) Reno, southeast of Ferrara city. It has some fine medieval and Renaissance buildings, including the churches of S. Domenico and S. Francesco, and a notable picture gallery. The town was flooded by the German forces during World War II. It is now mainly an agricultural centre. Pop. (1981 prelim.)

Chemical Compound, Nonbenzenoid aromatic compounds

2005-03-14T07:44:00.000-08:00

Of the two, cyclooctatetraene proved more accessible.

Steam Engine

2005-03-14T07:38:00.000-08:00

In a steam engine, hot steam, usually supplied by a boiler (q.v.), expands under pressure, and part of the heat energy is converted into work. The remainder of the heat may be allowed to escape, or, for maximum engine efficiency, the steam may be condensed in a separate apparatus, a condenser, at comparatively

Pius Vi

2005-03-13T04:53:00.000-08:00

He held various papal administrative positions before being ordained priest in 1758. Progressing rapidly, he became treasurer of the apostolic chamber under Pope Clement XIII in 1766, and in 1773 was made cardinal by Pope Clement XIV, after whose death a four-month

Self-realization Fellowship

2005-03-13T02:39:00.000-08:00

Spiritual society founded in the United States by Paramahansa Yogananda (1893–1952), a teacher of yoga, who was one of the first Indian spiritual teachers to reside permanently in the West. His lecturing and teaching led to the chartering of the fellowship in 1935, with headquarters in Los Angeles; there are now centres worldwide, as well as several independent groups influenced

Earth, Relative measurements

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

For studying Earth structures, instruments that will measure the differences in g from points where g is known are required. They have to be rugged enough to be taken into the field and capable of providing a reading in a matter of a few minutes. Instruments suitable for measuring g on ships at sea also are needed. As long ago as 1849, Sir John Herschel of England proposed an instrument

Malacostracan

2005-03-12T21:43:00.000-08:00

Malacostracans are the most numerous and most successful of the four major classes of Crustacea. Their members constitute more than two-thirds of all living crustacean species. They exhibit the greatest range

Ch'eng Huang

2005-03-12T05:07:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Cheng Huang (Chinese: “Wall and Moat”), in Chinese mythology, the spiritual magistrate and guardian deity of Chinese cities. Because dead spirits reputedly informed the god of all good and evil deeds within his jurisdiction, it was popularly believed that devout prayers offered in Ch'eng Huang's temple would be liberally rewarded. The wide popularity of his cult was also due in part

Nitrous Acid

2005-03-11T14:56:00.000-08:00

Nitrous acid decomposes into nitric oxide,

Frey, Adolf

2005-03-10T02:32:00.000-08:00

As a biographer Frey showed a predilection for rich character studies in the manner of the 19th-century realists. Because he knew many writers and painters when he was a professor

Boeotian League

2005-03-10T01:57:00.000-08:00

League that first developed as an alliance of sovereign states in Boeotia, a district in east-central Greece, about 550 BC, under the leadership of Thebes. After the defeat of the Greeks at Thermopylae, Thebes and most of Boeotia sided with the Persians during the Persian invasions of 480 and 479. Subsequently, the victorious Greeks dissolved the Boeotian League as punishment.

Phillips Academy

2005-03-09T11:44:00.000-08:00

It was founded as a boarding school for boys in 1778 by Samuel Phillips, who later became president of the state senate of Massachusetts.

Manapouri, Lake

2005-03-08T03:15:00.000-08:00

Lake, southwestern South Island, New Zealand, the deepest lake in the country. It is one of the Southern Lakes, found in the highland section of Fiordland National Park, which were formed by the glacial deepening of an existing stream valley accompanied by damming of the valley with a moraine (glacial debris). Manapouri derives its name from a Maori word meaning “lake

Mahmud

2005-03-08T03:04:00.000-08:00

In full Yamin Al-daula Abu'l-qasim Mahmud Ibn Sebüktigin sultan of the kingdom of Ghazna (998–1030), originally comprising modern Afghanistan and northeastern modern Iran but, through his conquests, eventually including northwestern India and most of Iran. He transformed his capital, Ghazna, into a cultural centre rivalling Baghdad.

Bohemian Forest

2005-03-07T17:29:00.000-08:00

German Böhmer Wald , or Böhmerwald , Czech Šumava forested southwestern highlands of the Bohemian Massif largely on the German–Czech Republic frontier and extending from the upper valley of the Ohre River, in the northwest, to a section of the Danube River valley in Austria (between Melk and Krems), in the southeast. The nomenclature of the subranges that compose the highlands is intricate and confused. The main

Pacific Islands, Relief

2005-03-06T22:28:00.000-08:00

The islands may be classified as either continental or oceanic. The former are associated with the ancient continental platforms of Asia and Australia, now partially submerged. Oceanic islands, located eastward in the deeper Pacific basin, are differentiated as high volcanic-based islands or low coral islands and atolls. A coral island may be single, or two or more

Ear Disease, Ototoxic drugs

2005-03-06T14:04:00.000-08:00

Ototoxic (harmful to the ear) drugs can cause temporary and sometimes permanent impairment of auditory nerve function. Salicylates such as aspirin in large enough doses may cause ringing in the ears and then a temporary decrease in hearing that ceases when the person stops taking the drug. Quinine can have a similar effect but with a permanent impairment of auditory

Insurance, Conditions

2005-03-05T07:24:00.000-08:00

Homeowner's policies may include the following conditions: (1) Owners are required to give immediate written notice of loss to the insurer or the insurer's agent. (2) The insured must provide proof of the amount of loss. This suggests that owners should keep accurate records of the items in a building and of their original cost. (3) The insured must cooperate with the insurer

Silicic Acid

2005-03-05T03:11:00.000-08:00

A compound of silicon, oxygen, and hydrogen, regarded as the parent substance from which is derived a large family—the silicates—of minerals, salts, and esters. The acid itself, having the formula Si(OH)4, can be prepared only as an unstable solution in water; its molecules readily condense with one another to form water and polymeric chains, rings, sheets, or three-dimensional

Tasmania

2005-03-04T14:21:00.000-08:00

J.L. Davies (ed.), Atlas of Tasmania (1965), offers comprehensive map coverage with detailed commentary. The Tasmanian Year Book (biennial) is the most comprehensive single reference. C.F. Burrett and E.L. Martin (eds.), Geology and Mineral Resources of Tasmania (1989), is also useful. Margaret Stones and Winifred Curtis, The Endemic Flora of Tasmania, 6 pt. (1967–76), is a definitive study, beautifully illustrated. W.A. Townsley, The Government of Tasmania (1976), is a good political guide. The great 19th-century history is by John West, The History of Tasmania, 2 vol. (1852, reissued in 1 vol., 1971); its successor is by Lloyd Robson, A History of Tasmania, 2 vol. (1983–91), who has also written A Short History of Tasmania (1985). Outstanding historical monographs include Peter Bolger, Hobart Town (1973); Geoffrey Blainey, The Peaks of Lyell, 4th ed. (1978), on copper mining; and Marilyn Lake, A Divided Society: Tasmania During World War I (1975). P. Conrad, Down Home: Revisiting Tasmania (1988, also published as Behind the Mountain: Return to Tasmania, 1989), is an account by an intellectual aghast at the oddities of his native spot.

Nadar

2005-03-04T13:53:00.000-08:00

As a young man, he studied medicine in Lyon, Fr., but, when his father's publishing house went bankrupt in 1838, he was forced to earn his own livelihood. He began to write newspaper

United Kingdom, Flag Of The

2005-03-03T22:26:00.000-08:00

The earliest form of the flag of Great Britain, developed in 1606 and used during the reigns of James I (1603–25) and Charles I (1625–49), displayed the red cross of England superimposed on the white cross of Scotland, with the blue field of the latter. Because in heraldry a red on blue is not considered permissible, the red cross had to be bordered with white, its own correct field. During the Commonwealth

Kidderminster

2005-03-03T15:53:00.000-08:00

Town, Wyre Forest district, administrative and historic county of Worcestershire, England. It is situated along the River Stour and the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. Recorded as Stour-in-Usmere in 736 CE, it was given to the comes (count) Cyneberght by King Aethelbald (reigned 716–757). Later it passed to the bishop of Worcester and thence to Cenwulf, king of Mercia (816), and it

France, History Of, Foreign relations

2005-03-03T10:11:00.000-08:00

France assumed a more active role in the politics of Christian Europe from the end of the 12th century. Philip Augustus led French contingents on the most fully international of the great Crusades (1190–91), although, having once demonstrated his energy in that work of piety, he could not afterward be persuaded to renew his vow. He preferred, through dynastic schemes and opportunism,

Forde, Francis Michael

2005-03-02T09:11:00.000-08:00

Active in state politics as a young man, Forde was a member of the Australian House of Representatives (1922–46) and deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (1932–46). In the cabinet he served as minister for the army (1941–46), minister for defense (1946), and deputy prime minister

Medicine, Public health practice

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

The physician working in the field of public health is mainly concerned with the environmental causes of ill health and in their prevention. Bad drainage, polluted water and atmosphere, noise and smells, infected food, bad housing, and poverty in general are all his special concern. Perhaps the most descriptive title he can be given is that of community physician.

Ito Jakuchu

2005-03-01T23:57:00.000-08:00

The son of a greengrocer, he first studied drawing with a painter of the Kano school (stressing Chinese subject matter and techniques). He also made copies of old Chinese

Cladonia

2005-03-01T03:06:00.000-08:00

Genus of lichens that includes those species commonly known as cup lichen, reindeer moss, and British soldiers (qq.v.).

Rawi

2005-02-27T22:02:00.000-08:00

One or more rawis attached themselves to a particular poet and learned his works by heart. They then recited and explained the poet's verse before a wider audience. Such an attachment often became an apprenticeship,

Hokuriku

2005-02-27T19:50:00.000-08:00

Industrial region, west-central Honshu, Japan, lying along the Sea of Japan. It is neither an administrative nor a political entity. The northeastern portion of the area, occupying parts of Niigata and Toyama ken (prefectures), specializes in heavy and chemical industries and has close economic ties with the Keihin (Tokyo-Yokohama) Industrial Zone. The southwestern

Q

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

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

Beach Boys, The

2005-02-26T18:16:00.000-08:00

American rock group whose dulcet melodies and distinctive vocal mesh defined the 1960s youthful idyll of sun-drenched southern California. The original members were Brian Wilson (b. June 20, 1942, Inglewood, Calif., U.S.), Dennis Wilson (b. Dec. 4, 1944, Inglewood—d. Dec. 28, 1983, Marina del Rey, Calif.), Carl Wilson (b. Dec. 21, 1946, Los Angeles, Calif.—d. Feb. 6, 1998, Los Angeles), Michael Love (b. March 15, 1941, Los Angeles), and Alan Jardine (b. Sept.

Ear, Human, Muscles

2005-02-25T11:43:00.000-08:00

Two minuscule muscles are located in the middle ear. The longer muscle, called the tensor tympani, emerges from a bony canal just above the opening of the eustachian tube and runs backward then outward as it changes direction in passing over a pulleylike projection of bone. The tendon of this muscle is attached to the upper part of the handle of the malleus. When contracted,

åland Islands

2005-02-25T01:05:00.000-08:00

Swedish Åland Skärgård, Finnish Ahvenanmaa, archipelago comprising Ahvenanmaan autonomous kunta (commune), southwestern Finland. The islands lie at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia, 25 miles (40 km) east of the Swedish coast, at the eastern edge of the Åland Sea. The archipelago has a land area of 590 square miles (1,527 square km) and consists of about 35 inhabited islands, 6,500 uninhabited islands, and many rocky reefs. The bedrock

Avestan Language

2005-02-24T05:06:00.000-08:00

Also called (incorrectly) Zend Language, eastern Iranian language of the Avesta, the sacred book of Zoroastrianism. Avestan falls into two strata, the older being that of the Gathas, which reflects a linguistic stage (dating from c. 600 BC) close to that of Vedic Sanskrit in India. The greater part of the Avesta is written in a more recent form of the language and shows gradual simplification and variation in grammatical

Anquetil-duperron, A(braham)-h(yacinthe)

2005-02-24T00:43:00.000-08:00

At the University of Paris, Anquetil mastered Hebrew as his first Eastern language; later, he added Persian and

Die

2005-02-23T22:46:00.000-08:00

Tool or device for imparting a desired shape, form, or finish to a material. Examples include a perforated block through which metal or plastic is drawn or extruded, the hardened steel forms for producing the patterns on coins and medals by pressure, and the hollow molds into which metal or plastic is forced. See also diesinking.

Amado, Jorge

2005-02-22T20:09:00.000-08:00

Brazilian novelist (b. Aug. 10, 1912, Ferradas, near Ilhéus, Braz.—d. Aug. 6, 2001, Salvador, Braz.), was the literary patriarch of his country. The first half of his career was characterized by ideological works and the second by humorous, often ribald, novels of Brazilian life. The publication of Amado's second novel, in 1933, led to his being briefly detained, the first of many harassments by the government.

Incremental Repetition

2005-02-22T00:04:00.000-08:00

A device used in poetry of the oral tradition, especially English and Scottish ballads, in which a line is repeated in a changed context or with minor changes in the repeated part. The device is illustrated in the following stanzas from the ballad “Lord Randal”: “O where ha' you been, Lord Randal, my son? And where ha' you been, my handsome young man?”“I ha' been at the greenwood; mother,

Clonograptus

2005-02-21T10:07:00.000-08:00

Genus of graptolites (extinct, small floating colonial animals related to the primitive chordates), characterized by a frondlike form. Groups of these animals were connected by stalklike structures to a central region. Various forms or species of Clonograptus are important guide, or index, fossils for the correlation of Ordovician rocks (505 to 438 million years ago).

Ryde

2005-02-21T04:31:00.000-08:00

Town on the northeastern coast of the Isle of Wight, historic county of Hampshire, England, opposite Portsmouth on the mainland. It is located on the site of a former village called La Rye, which the French destroyed early in the 14th century. Still a small fishing hamlet by 1800, Ryde grew rapidly in the railway age as an attractive holiday resort (being incorporated in 1868). It is

Sosnowiec

2005-02-20T21:41:00.000-08:00

A castle was built in Sosnowiec in

Interior Design, Elements of design

2005-02-20T21:04:00.000-08:00

Of all the component elements that together form a completed interior, the single most important element is space. Spaces can be exhilarating or depressing, cheerful or serene, all depending upon the use the designer has made of the various elements that form the whole. Space is, in modern times, a costly commodity. The beautiful space of the Gothic cathedral achieved

Carus

2005-02-19T16:24:00.000-08:00

Carus was probably from either Gaul or Illyricum and had served as prefect of the guard to the emperor Probus (276–282), whom he succeeded. Like his predecessors, Carus adopted the name Marcus Aurelius as a part of his imperial title. After a brief Danube campaign he led his troops against the Sasanians, penetrating beyond the Tigris, where he died suddenly and mysteriously,

Ahir

2005-02-19T06:54:00.000-08:00

Cattle-tending caste widespread in northern and central India. Considerable historical interest attaches to this caste, because its members are thought to be identical with the Abhiras of Sanskrit literature, who are mentioned repeatedly in the great epic the Mahabharata. Some scholars contend that these cattlemen, scattered over southern Rajasthan and Sind (now

Anazarbus

2005-02-18T11:41:00.000-08:00

In full Caesarea ad Anazarbus , modern Agaçli , formerly Çeçenanavarza former city of the ancient province of Cilicia in Anatolia that was important in the Roman and Byzantine periods. It was located in what is now south-central Turkey. The original native settlement was refounded by the Romans in 19 BC, following a visit by Augustus. It rivaled Tarsus, the Cilician capital, in the 3rd century AD, and under Diocletian became the seat of the separate

Arecidae, The leaf

2005-02-17T16:14:00.000-08:00

Leaf structure is different and distinctive in each of the six families of the subclass. In Acoraceae both the leaves and the scapes are ensiform (sword-shaped). Leaves in Araceae usually have a basal sheath, a petiole, and a flat blade. The blade is lanceolate to broadly ovate or rarely linear or strap-shaped. The base of the blade may be heart-shaped (cordate), arrowhead-shaped

Fischer-tropsch Reaction

2005-02-17T06:21:00.000-08:00

The process was first used in Germany about 1940 as a method of producing liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon fuels, such as gasoline

Bridgeport

2005-02-16T22:41:00.000-08:00

City, coextensive with the town (township) of Bridgeport, Fairfield county, southwestern Connecticut, U.S. The city, the most populous in the state, is a port on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Pequonnock River. Settled in 1639, it was first known as Newfield and later as Stratfield. In 1800 it was incorporated as a borough and named Bridgeport for the first drawbridge over the

Kunlun Mountains, Plant and animal life

2005-02-16T21:40:00.000-08:00

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

Madi

2005-02-16T13:33:00.000-08:00

Primarily hoe cultivators with millet as their staple crop, the Madi also fish, hunt, and keep cattle; smithing is an important

Aukrust, Olav

2005-02-15T19:26:00.000-08:00

Born in a narrow, often sunless valley flanked by steep mountains, Aukrust was raised by pietistic parents and was early on much interested in religious questions.

Shadkhan

2005-02-14T20:50:00.000-08:00

Plural Shadkhanim, one who undertakes to arrange a Jewish marriage. Such service was virtually indispensible during the Middle Ages when custom frowned on courtships and numerous Jewish families lived in semi-isolation in small communities. Shadkhanim were thus relied upon to gather and evaluate information on the personal qualities and background of potential spouses in

Dielasma

2005-02-14T11:57:00.000-08:00

Genus of extinct brachiopods, or lamp shells, that occur as fossils in rocks deposited in marine environments of Carboniferous to Permian age (between 360 and 245 million years old). The two small, rather smooth valves of the shell of Dielasma are slightly convex in profile, but the pedicle, or foot, valve is much larger than the brachial, or upper, valve. Growth lines

Ribbonfish

2005-02-14T08:22:00.000-08:00

Any of several species of deep-sea, marine fishes constituting the family Trachipteridae (order Lampridiformes). The family contains three genera: Trachipteras, Desmodema, and Zu. These slender-bodied fishes occur in all the major oceans. The name ribbonfish comes from the long, stringlike dorsal fin that originates behind the head and waves like a ribbon as the fish

Theatre, Developments in staging

2005-02-13T16:43:00.000-08:00

In the latter half of the 16th century, intermezzi became a popular element of theatrical production. These entertainments, inserted between the acts of a play and totally unrelated to it, were generally on classical themes and were originally mounted during masked balls and banquets. The need to change settings rapidly for the alternating segments of plays and

All-union Council Of Evangelical Christians And Baptists

2005-02-12T17:57:00.000-08:00

Voluntary association of Baptist churches in Russia that was formed (in the Soviet Union) in 1944 by uniting the Union of Evangelical Christians and the Russian Baptist Union. The Baptists in Russia grew from religious revival movements that began in the 1860s and '70s. In Ukraine, groups of Russians influenced by German Mennonite settlers gathered for Bible study and eventually

Tea Ceremony

2005-02-12T17:29:00.000-08:00

The ceremony takes place in a tea house (cha-shitsu), which ideally is a small structure detached from the

Furniture, General works

2005-02-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

Ole Hanscher, Mobelkunsten (1966; Eng. trans., The Art of Furniture, 1967), is a chronological survey of the art of furniture (with illustrations). George Nakashima, The Soul of a Tree: A Woodworker's Reflections (1981), is an inspirational commentary of a designer and crafter on the art of furniture making.

France, History Of, Economy, society, and culture in the 13th century

2005-02-11T09:22:00.000-08:00

The primary social fact of this period is the continued growth of population. All indicators suggest growth—e.g., expansion of old towns, founding of new villages, the rising price of land—but no exact measurements are possible. A register of hearths dating from 1328 has been estimated variously to point to a total population of 15 million to 22 million; the total was probably

Migration, Mammals

2005-02-10T13:04:00.000-08:00

Seasonal movements are not widespread among terrestrial species of mammals, because walking speed is relatively slow and energy consumption great. Marine and flying mammals have a much greater tendency to migrate, a tendency that is directly related to their locomotive powers.

Schrieffer, John Robert

2005-02-10T08:42:00.000-08:00

Schrieffer was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign,

Anna Comnena

2005-02-09T20:53:00.000-08:00

Anna received a good education, studying, among other subjects, literature, philosophy, history, and geography. She married the

Arena Chapel

2005-02-09T04:13:00.000-08:00

Also called Scrovegni Chapel (consecrated March 25, 1305) small chapel built in the first years of the 14th century in Padua, Italy, by Enrico Scrovegni and containing frescoes by the Florentine painter Giotto (see photograph). A “Last Judgment” covers the entire west wall. The rest of the chapel is covered with frescoes in three tiers representing scenes from the lives of Saints Joachim and Anna,

Manchester

2005-02-09T02:17:00.000-08:00

Town (township), which includes Manchester Village, Manchester Center, and Manchester Depot in southwestern Vermont, U.S. It lies near the Batten Kill River between the Taconic Range and the Green Mountains. Manchester Village is one of the seats (the other is Bennington) of Bennington county. The site was settled about 1764 and laid out in 1784. The Vermont Council of Safety (where

Nabis

2005-02-07T21:12:00.000-08:00

Group of artists who, through their widely diverse activities, were a major influence on the art produced in France during the late 19th century. Preaching that a work of art is the end product and visual expression of an artist's synthesis of nature into personal aesthetic metaphors and symbols, they paved the way for the early 20th-century development of abstract and

Greville, Fulke, 1st Baron Brooke

2005-02-07T16:42:00.000-08:00

Greville's Life of the Renowned Sir Philip Sidney (1652) is a valuable commentary