MedicalCarriage

Backhuysen, Ludolf

2005-04-05T02:50:00.000-07:00

Backhuysen studied under the Dutch painters Allart van Everdingen and Hendrik Dubbels. His numerous compositions are nearly all variations of marine themes, in a style peculiarly his own, marked by intense realism. In his later years Backhuysen employed his time in etching

Antigonus I Monophthalmus

2005-04-02T00:24:00.000-08:00

Also called Antigonus I Cyclops Macedonian general under Alexander the Great who founded the Macedonian dynasty of the Antigonids (306–168 BC), becoming king in 306. An exceptional strategist and combat leader, he was also an astute ruler who cultivated the friendship of Athens and other Greek city-states.

Juan Carlos

2005-03-31T13:10:00.000-08:00

Juan Carlos was the grandson of the last king, Alfonso XIII, who left Spain in 1931 and died in exile 10 years later, after renouncing his rights in favour of his third son, Juan Carlos Teresa Silverio Alfonso de Borbón y Battenberg, conde de

Wyre Forest

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

Wyre

Stradella, Alessandro

2005-03-28T19:13:00.000-08:00

Stradella apparently lived for periods in Modena, Venice, Rome, and Florence. In Turin in 1677 an attempt was made to murder him, for reasons that are not known, though it was believed to be at the instigation of a Venetian senator with whose fiancée Stradella had eloped. A document in Modena confirms

Finland, Ethnic and linguistic composition

2005-03-25T23:41:00.000-08:00

It appears that the ancestors of the Sami were present in Finland by about 7000 BC. As other groups began to enter the area some 3,000 years later, the proto-Sami probably retreated northward. Archaeological remains suggest that this second wave of settlers came from or had contact with what was to become Russia and also Scandinavia and central Europe. Peoples of Uralic (specifically

Performing Arts, Classical.

2005-03-23T18:39:00.000-08:00

Although the general atmosphere in the world of classical concerts and especially opera had been increasingly pessimistic in recent years, the approach of the millennium was bringing a sense of anticipation that could be described only as healthy. Although nothing specific had occurred to bring this about, there seemed to be a growing determination to make

Halden

2005-03-23T15:44:00.000-08:00

Formerly Fredrikshald, town, Østfold fylke (county), southeastern Norway. It lies along Idde Fjord, which forms part of the border between Norway and Sweden, at the mouth of the Tistedalselva (river). The site was settled in ancient times, and the modern town, founded in 1661, was known as Fredrikshald from 1665 to 1928. Its 17th-century Fredriksten Fort was a strategic border stronghold that withstood many attacks

Malatesta Family

2005-03-21T23:12:00.000-08:00

Italian family that ruled Rimini, south of Ravenna, in the European Middle Ages and led the region's Guelf (papal) party. Originating as feudal lords of the Apennine hinterland, the family became powerful in Rimini in the 13th century, when Malatesta da Verucchio (d. 1312) expelled Ghibelline (imperial party) leaders in 1295 and became lord of the city. Possibly the best-known episode

öz Beg

2005-03-21T04:58:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Uzbek, in full Ghiyath Al-din Muhammad Öz Beg Mongol leader and khan of the Golden Horde, or Kipchak empire, of southern Russia, under whom it attained its greatest power; he reigned from 1312 to 1341. Öz Beg was a convert to Islam, but he also welcomed Christian missionaries from western Europe into his realm. Öz Beg encouraged the predominance of the princes of Moscow among his Christian vassals; his name survives

Christian Science Monitor, The

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

Daily newspaper (except Saturdays and Sundays) published in Boston under the auspices of the Church of Christ, Scientist. It was established in 1908 at the urging of Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the church, as a protest against the sensationalism of the popular press. The Monitor became famous for its thoughtful treatment of the news and for the quality of its long-range, comprehensive

Békés

2005-03-19T18:27:00.000-08:00

Megye (county), southeastern Hungary, occupying 2,175 square miles (5,632 square km) of agricultural flatland on the Great Hungarian Plain. It has hot summers, severe winters, light rainfall, and a sparse natural vegetation. In the northern part of the megye, broad areas along the Körös and Berettyó rivers are irrigated. In addition to cereals, specialty crops of poppy seeds and sour

Gum Nebula

2005-03-18T04:19:00.000-08:00

Largest known nebula in terms of angular diameter as seen from Earth, extending over at least 40° in the southern constellations Puppis and Vela. A complex of diffuse, glowing gas too faint to be seen with the unaided eye, it was discovered by the Australian-born astrophysicist Colin S. Gum, who published his findings in 1955. The Gum Nebula lies roughly 1,000 light-years from the Earth

Southern Africa, Xhosa-Dutch conflict

2005-03-17T06:49:00.000-08:00

Settler expansion to the Cape's eastern frontier was blocked by the 1770s when trekboers came up against numerous Xhosa farmers in the area of the Great Fish River. During the 18th century the Xhosa had been embroiled in two major civil wars over the chiefly succession, of which the more important was the dispute, between the paramount Gcaleka and his ambitious brother

Ducis, Jean-françois

2005-03-16T22:08:00.000-08:00

French dramatist who made the first sustained effort to present William Shakespeare's tragedies on the French stage. Although he remodeled the tragedies to the French taste for witty, epigrammatic style and attempted to confine the plays within the “classical unities” (of time, place, and action), such critics as Voltaire still

Wagner, Richard

2005-03-16T07:02:00.000-08:00

The artistic and theatrical background of Wagner's early years (several elder sisters became opera singers or actresses) was a main formative influence. Impulsive and self-willed, he was a negligent scholar at the Kreuzschule, Dresden, and the Nicholaischule, Leipzig. He frequented concerts, however, taught himself the piano and composition, and read the plays of

Yahya Ibn Mahmud Al-wasiti

2005-03-14T13:03:00.000-08:00

Yahya was not the first to paint in this style, but he was the best artist

Haddad, Malek

2005-03-13T06:46:00.000-08:00

Algerian poet, novelist, and cultural adviser. Haddad abandoned law studies in Aix-en-Provence to write for French and Algerian weeklies and magazines during the Algerian war. His first published book was a collection of poetry, Le Malheur en danger (1956; “Trouble in Danger”). A second collection, Écoute et je t'appelle (1961; “Listen and I Will

Nam Viet

2005-03-12T21:30:00.000-08:00

The kingdom was formed in 207 BC, during the breakup of the Ch'in dynasty (221–206 BC), when the Ch'in governor of Yüeh (now Kwangtung and Kwangsi provinces) declared his territory independent. His son Chao T'o (Trieu Da) expanded the new kingdom southward, incorporating

Sunspot

2005-03-11T22:32:00.000-08:00

Vortex of gas on the surface of the Sun associated with strong local magnetic activity. Spots look dark only by contrast with the surrounding photosphere, which is several thousand degrees hotter. The dark centre of a spot is called the umbra; the outer, lighter ring, the penumbra. Spots may be several times larger than the Earth or so small that telescopic observation

Celery

2005-03-10T20:27:00.000-08:00

(species Apium graveolens), herb of the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae). Native to the Mediterranean areas and the Middle East, celery was used as a flavouring by the ancient Greeks and Romans and as a medicine by the ancient Chinese. The ancient forms resembled smallage, or wild celery. Celery with large, fleshy, succulent, upright leafstalks, or petioles,

Bean, Alan L(avern)

2005-03-09T01:18:00.000-08:00

Bean entered the U.S. Navy upon graduation

Table Tennis

2005-03-07T11:23:00.000-08:00

In 1995 the table tennis world championships returned to China in two senses: they took place in Tianjin, and all seven events were won by China, as they had been in 1981. Thus ended Sweden's domination of the men's team event (in 1989, 1991, and 1993) and the run of European triumphs in the men's singles over the same period. The world champions were: men's singles, Kong Linghui; women's singles, Deng Yaping;

Oakville

2005-03-07T08:30:00.000-08:00

Town, regional municipality of Halton, southeastern Ontario, Canada, 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Toronto. Oakville is situated on Lake Ontario at the mouth of Oakville Creek. It was founded in 1830 by Colonel William K. Chisholm, who established shipbuilding yards there. It was originally incorporated in 1857, and in 1962 it amalgamated with Trafalgar Township to form the new town of Oakville,

Packard, Sophia B.

2005-03-06T07:40:00.000-08:00

Packard attended local district school and from the age of 14 alternated periods of study with periods of teaching in rural schools. In 1850 she graduated from the Female Seminary of Charlestown,

Pereyaslav-khmelnytskyy

2005-03-05T20:45:00.000-08:00

Russian Pereyaslav-khmelnitsky, also spelled Pereiaslav-khmelnitskii, or Perejaslav-chmel'nickij, formerly (until 1943) Pereyaslav, or Pereiaslav, city, Kiev oblast (province), Ukraine. Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyy has existed since the 10th century, when it was known as Pereyaslav-Russky. It was a border stronghold of the Kievan state but was overrun by Mongol Tatars in 1239. In 1654 Bohdan Khmelnytsky, a leader of the revolt against Polish domination of Ukraine, convened a council at Pereyaslav that submitted Ukraine to Russian

Domestic Pigeon

2005-03-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

(Columba livia), bird of the family Columbidae (order Columbiformes) that was perhaps the first bird tamed by man. Figurines, mosaics, and coins have portrayed the domestic pigeon since at least 4500 BC (Mesopotamia). From Egyptian times the pigeon has been important as food. Its role as messenger has a long history. Today it is an important laboratory animal, especially

Yung-lo

2005-03-03T07:28:00.000-08:00

In the early years of his reign, he seems to have been fascinated by the regions beyond China's southern borders, perhaps in part because of rumours that the emperor Chu Yün-wen had escaped overseas. In 1403 the Yung-lo emperor sent out three fleets under eunuch commanders to proclaim his accession throughout Southeast Asia as far as Java and southern India. More vigorously

Biblical Literature, On the modern secular age

2005-03-02T16:37:00.000-08:00

The assumption of many people is that the Bible has lost much of its importance in a secularized world; that is implied whenever the modern period is called the post-Judeo-Christian era. In most ways the label is appropriate. The modern period seems to be a time in which unprecedented numbers of people have discarded traditional beliefs and practices of both Judaism

Kahr, Gustav, Ritter Von

2005-03-02T09:41:00.000-08:00

Kahr was appointed provincial governor of Upper Bavaria in 1917. Shortly after the abortive Kapp Putsch against the Weimar Republic in March 1920, Kahr

Ashe, Arthur Robert, Jr.

2005-02-28T19:04:00.000-08:00

U.S. tennis player and social activist (b. July 10, 1943, Richmond, Va.--d. Feb. 6, 1993, New York, N.Y.), captured centre court when he won the men's singles title at the debut of the U.S. Open championship in 1968, becoming the first African-American man to win a Grand Slam event, one of the four major tournaments of the sport. He followed this with men's singles titles at the Australian Open in 1970 and at the All-England

Antarctica, Glaciers and seas

2005-02-28T04:29:00.000-08:00

Malcolm Mellor (ed.), Antarctic Snow and Ice Studies (1964); and A.P. Crary (ed.), Antarctic Snow and Ice Studies II (1971), are collections mainly of topical studies of greatly varied scope. John Mercer, Glaciers of the Antarctic (1967), provides a general review of Antarctica's glaciers. Stephen J. Pyne, The Ice (1986), investigates Antarctic ice and also describes other aspects of the region, including exploration, literature, and art. A.L. Gordon and R.D. Goldberg, Circumpolar Characteristics of Antarctic Waters (1970); and Joseph L. Reid and Dennis E. Hayes (eds.), Antarctic Oceanology, 2 vol. (1971–72), describe features of South Polar water masses, their currents, and their interactions with subtropical and subantarctic waters, as well as of the ocean floor and sediment carpet. George Deacon, The Antarctic Circumpolar Ocean (1984), includes a summary of early discoveries by explorers, sealers, and whalers and a review of modern knowledge of Antarctic waters.

Gisborne

2005-02-25T03:01:00.000-08:00

City (“district”) and port on Poverty Bay, Gisborne unitary authority, east coast of North Island, New Zealand. The city is located where the Waimata and Taruheru rivers join to form the Turanganui. It was the first area in New Zealand visited (1769) by Captain James Cook. It received its first permanent European settlers in 1852 and was surveyed in 1870 and given the name Gisborne for then

Addax

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

(species Addax nasomaculatus), desert-dwelling antelope, family Bovidae (order Artiodactyla), once found throughout the Sahara but now much reduced in numbers and distribution and threatened with extinction from overhunting. A heavy-bodied, short-legged, gregarious antelope, the addax is characterized by broad hooves that are adapted to travel

Sara

2005-02-23T21:14:00.000-08:00

Cluster of peoples living on the fringe of the southern Sudan, especially in the northwestern regions of the Central African Republic and the south-central area surrounding Sarh, south of Lake Chad in Chad. They include the Gula, Kara, Kreish, Nduka, Ngama, and Sara proper. The Sara peoples all speak Central Sudanic languages of the Nilo-Saharan language family, and their

Alcoholic Beverage

2005-02-21T21:30:00.000-08:00

Alcoholic beverages are fermented from the sugars in fruits, berries, grains, and such other ingredients as plant saps, tubers, honey, and milk and may be distilled to reduce the original watery liquid to a liquid of much greater alcoholic

Frederick Ii

2005-02-21T01:17:00.000-08:00

Byname Frederick the Great , German Friedrich der Grosse king of Prussia (1740–86), a brilliant military campaigner who, in a series of diplomatic stratagems and wars against Austria and other powers, greatly enlarged Prussia's territories and made Prussia the foremost military power in Europe. An enlightened absolute monarch, he favoured French language and art and built a French Rococo palace,

Cultural Anthropology

2005-02-20T18:44:00.000-08:00

A major division of anthropology that deals with the study of culture in all of its aspects and that uses the methods, concepts, and data of archaeology, ethnography and ethnology, folklore, and linguistics in its descriptions and analyses of the diverse peoples of the world.

La Follette, Robert M

2005-02-19T03:26:00.000-08:00

As a boy growing up in moderately prosperous rural areas, as a student at the University of Wisconsin (1875–79), as a county district attorney (1880–84) and congressman from southwestern Wisconsin, La Follette developed the personality and style that made him a popular leader. He combined an unusually outgoing personality, which made it natural for him to absorb the ideas and prejudices

Vanadic Anhydride

2005-02-18T09:54:00.000-08:00

Vanadium pentoxide, a compound of vanadium and oxygen widely used as an oxidation catalyst, as in the oxidation of unburned hydrocarbons in automobile exhaust (see vanadium).

Rockefeller, Nelson Aldrich

2005-02-17T11:30:00.000-08:00

Rockefeller was also known as a collector and patron of art. He served as a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art and was the founder and president of the Museum of Primitive Art (in 1982 incorporated into the Metropolitan Museum of Art as the Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Wing), both in New York City.

Akriyavada

2005-02-16T18:36:00.000-08:00

Pali >Akiriyavada set of beliefs held by heretic teachers in India who were contemporaries of the Buddha. The doctrine was a kind of antinomianism that, by denying the orthodox karmic theory of the efficacy of former deeds on a person's present and future condition, also denied the possibility of a person's influencing his own destiny through preferring righteous to bad conduct. The

Latécoère, Pierre

2005-02-15T17:50:00.000-08:00

The Compagnie Latécoère began commercial air flights between Toulouse, Fr., and Barcelona on Dec. 25, 1918, and extended its route to Morocco in 1919 and to Dakar, Senegal, in 1925. In 1927 the line was renamed Compagnie Générale Aéropostale, and, at the end of the decade,

Amoghasiddhi

2005-02-13T09:56:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit: “Unfailing Success”), in Mahayana and Vajrayana (Tantric) Buddhism, one of the five “self-born” Buddhas. See Dhyani-Buddha.

Carteret, Sir George, Baronet

2005-02-13T02:18:00.000-08:00

A British naval officer and lieutenant governor of Jersey, Carteret made the island a Royalist stronghold during the English Civil Wars and privateered in the Stuart cause, thereby winning a knighthood (1644) and a baronetcy (1645). After the capture

Nizam Shahi Dynasty

2005-02-11T08:13:00.000-08:00

The Nizam Shahi dynasty was engaged in constant

Znaniecki, Florian (witold)

2005-02-11T04:29:00.000-08:00

Znaniecki's earliest work was as a poet. After being expelled from

Scalia, Antonin

2005-02-10T15:26:00.000-08:00

Scalia's father, a Sicilian immigrant, taught Romance languages at Brooklyn College, and his Italian American mother taught elementary school. Scalia received a Roman

Intellectual-property Law

2005-02-09T15:22:00.000-08:00

The legal regulations governing an individual's or an organization's right to control the use or dissemination of ideas or information. Various systems of legal rules exist that empower persons and organizations to exercise such control. Copyright law confers upon the creators of “original forms of expression” (e.g., books, movies, musical compositions, and works

Marenzio, Luca

2005-02-08T18:17:00.000-08:00

Marenzio published a large number of madrigals and villanelles and five books of motets. He developed an individual technique and was skilled in evoking moods and images suggested by

Eusebius Of Emesa

2005-02-08T16:09:00.000-08:00

A friend of the Roman emperor Constantius II, whom he often accompanied on expeditions against the Persians, Eusebius was appointed (c. 339) to the see

Tsukuba Science City

2005-02-06T21:39:00.000-08:00

Tsukuba Science City was developed in the 1970s and 1980s to stimulate scientific discovery.

Audiovisual Education

2005-02-05T20:56:00.000-08:00

Audiovisual education has developed rapidly since the 1920s by drawing on new technologies of communication, most recently the computer. History has shown that pictures, specimens, demonstrations,

Marsh Fly

2005-02-04T17:50:00.000-08:00

Any of several hundred insect species of the family Sciomyzidae (order Diptera), notable because the larval phase preys parasitically on slugs, snails, and other mollusks. These medium-sized flies occur worldwide; about 500 species are known, each associated with certain types of host, usually found in marshy habitats. Eggs are commonly laid on the host animal. After the

Minai Ware

2005-02-04T01:20:00.000-08:00

In Islamic ceramics, bowls, beakers, tankards, and bottles with enamel painting and gilding on a white ground, often with rich figure compositions in bands. Similar vessels in animal and human form were also produced. In the 13th and 14th centuries Sultanabad (now Soltanabad, Iran) and Varamin turned out minai ware.

Saint Joseph

2005-02-02T13:42:00.000-08:00

Byname Saint Joe, city, seat (1846) of Buchanan County, northwestern Missouri, U.S., on the Missouri River (there bridged to Elwood, Kan.), 28 mi (45 km) north of Kansas City. A trading post was established (1826) on the site by Joseph Robidoux, a French-Canadian trapper from St. Louis. The Platte Purchase (1836), adding about 2,000,000 ac (800,000 ha) of Indian land to the state territory, resulted in an influx of settlers. Robidoux laid out the

Juba I

2005-02-01T19:25:00.000-08:00

Succeeding his father, Hiempsal II, sometime between 63 and 50, Juba became bitterly hostile toward Caesar because of a personal insult (probably in 63). In addition, one of Caesar's supporters, the tribune Curio, in 50 unsuccessfully proposed

Anna

2005-01-30T01:48:00.000-08:00

Daughter of Ivan V (reigned 1682–96) and niece of Peter I the Great (reigned 1682–1725), Anna was married to Frederick William, ruler of the Baltic seacoast duchy of Courland, on Oct. 31 (Nov. 11), 1710. Although her husband died on the journey to Courland after their wedding in St. Petersburg, Anna remained at Mitau (now Jelgava,

Photography, Later trends

2005-01-29T09:21:00.000-08:00

Throughout its history, there have been two complementary yet distinct aesthetic approaches to photography. On the one hand, there has been the recognition of the basic qualities of photography and the desire to make use of them in a functional way. On the other hand, there have been those who believe that the most aesthetic use of photography is to relate it to other

Naval Warfare, War from land to sea and from sea to land

2005-01-29T06:33:00.000-08:00

While navies have always had as their ultimate objective an influence over events on land, aircraft and missiles have extended the range and amplified the influence. Likewise, land-based systems have made their growing influence felt on warships and sea-lanes alike. Putting ground forces ashore from the sea by amphibious landing is an operation that has neither

Schrieck, Sister Louise Van Der

2005-01-27T10:17:00.000-08:00

Van der Schrieck was educated at the school of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in Belgium. In 1837 she became a novice of the order, and in 1839 she became Sister

Cosmopolitanism

2005-01-27T08:18:00.000-08:00

In Stoic philosophy, position taken by the Stoics against the traditional (Greek) distinction between Greeks and barbarians, made by applying to themselves the term cosmopolitans, thereby implying that their polis, or city-state, was the entire cosmos, or the whole world. Alexander the Great discouraged this distinction by allowing his generals to marry women native

Percy Family

2005-01-25T23:04:00.000-08:00

The family was founded by William de Percy (c. 1030–96), a follower of William I the Conqueror, who bestowed on him a great fief in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. His grandson William (d. 1175) was the last of the house in the direct line, leaving two daughters and coheiresses, Maud, who died childless,

Jussieu, Antoine-laurent De

2005-01-24T03:19:00.000-08:00

Antoine-Laurent was brought in 1770 by his uncle Bernard to the Jardin du Roi, where he became demonstrator in botany. In 1773 his paper, presented to the Académie des Sciences, on the Ranunculaceae (crowfoot) family introduced his method

Saavedra Fajardo, Diego De

2005-01-23T21:32:00.000-08:00

After studying law at the University of Salamanca, Saavedra went to Rome, where he served under the

Cumberland

2005-01-22T11:44:00.000-08:00

Cumberland lies along the northwest coast of England, facing the Solway

Obstfelder, Sigbjørn

2005-01-21T16:45:00.000-08:00

Most of Obstfelder's works appeared in the 1890s: his first volume of poetry, Digte (1893; Poems); a play, De røde draaber (1897; “The Red Drops”); several novellas; and the posthumously published

Amphoterism

2005-01-21T14:23:00.000-08:00

With hydrogen chloride,

Music, African

2005-01-18T05:19:00.000-08:00

It is widely acknowledged that African music has undergone frequent and decisive changes throughout the centuries. What is termed traditional music today is probably very different from African music in former times. Nor has African music in the past been rigidly linked to specific ethnic groups. The individual musician, his style and creativity, have always

Dagestan

2005-01-18T04:37:00.000-08:00

Dagestan can be divided into five physical regions. The first, occupying most of the southern half of the republic, consists of the Caucasus Mountains, there at their widest.

Jacob Ben Asher

2005-01-17T02:19:00.000-08:00

Little of certainty is known about Jacob's life. In 1303 he immigrated to Spain with his brothers and father, the great codifier Asher ben Jehiel, who became chief rabbi of Toledo.

Pacific Mountain System

2005-01-16T11:17:00.000-08:00

Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese explorer in the service of Spain, probably was the first European to explore the coast of California. He is thought to have sailed north in 1542, and his pilot, Bartolomé Ferrelo, may have reached as far as the present southern border of Oregon. Sir Francis Drake sailed the coast in 1579 and may have landed in Oregon. Juan Pérez landed on the

Coleman, James S(amuel)

2005-01-15T05:22:00.000-08:00

Coleman received his B.S. from Purdue University (1949) and his Ph.D. from Columbia University (1955), where he was a research associate in the Bureau of Applied Social Research (1953–55). While there he was influenced by the style

Melanin

2005-01-15T04:43:00.000-08:00

A dark biological pigment (biochrome) found in skin, hair, feathers, scales, eyes, and some internal membranes; it is also found in the peritoneum of many animals (e.g., frogs), but its role there is not understood. Formed as an end product during metabolism of the amino acid tyrosine, melanins are conspicuous in dark skin moles of humans; in the black dermal melanocytes (pigment

Scaliger, Joseph Justus

2005-01-13T00:46:00.000-08:00

The son of an Italian physician and philosopher, Julius Caesar Scaliger, who immigrated to Agen in 1525, the young Joseph entered school at Bordeaux and

Nervous System Disease, Nerve injuries

2005-01-11T05:47:00.000-08:00

Nerve injuries function as neuronal neuropathies affecting the axon far from the cell body. Injuries are of three main grades of severity. In neurapraxia there is temporary blockage of impulse conduction, although the axons remain intact. More severe stretch or incision damage interrupts some axons and is called axonotmesis. Injury that actually severs the

British Indian Ocean Territory

2005-01-11T00:27:00.000-08:00

Colony of the United Kingdom in the central Indian Ocean, established Nov. 8, 1965, by the amalgamation of the Aldabra Islands and the Farquhar and Desroches islands (all purchased from the Seychelles) with the Chagos Archipelago (formerly a dependency of Mauritius). On June 28/29, 1976, the islands purchased from the Seychelles were returned to the newly independent Republic of Seychelles.

Mosquito

2005-01-09T04:10:00.000-08:00

As a night fighter, the Mosquito downed more than 600 Luftwaffe

Manado

2005-01-09T00:35:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Menado, kotamadya (municipality) and capital of Sulawesi Utara provinsi (province), Celebes island, Indonesia, located near the tip of the north-northeastern arm of Celebes island on an inlet of the Celebes Sea. Manado lies at the foot of Mount Klabat (6,634 feet [2,022 m]), about 600 miles (970 km) northeast of Ujung Padang. A trade centre for the surrounding agricultural and lumbering area, it exports

Ayllón, Lucas Vázquez De

2005-01-07T23:18:00.000-08:00

Going to the West Indies in 1502, he became a judge in the colonial administration of Hispaniola (Santo Domingo). In 1520 he went to Mexico to mediate the dispute between the Spanish commanders Hernán Cortés and Diego Velázquez. An expedition sent by him under

Carbine

2005-01-07T02:33:00.000-08:00

Light, short-barrelled musket or rifle. The word, the source of which is obscure, seems to have originated in the late or mid-16th century. The carbine, in various versions corresponding to the different full-sized military arms, was chiefly a cavalry weapon until the 18th century. Then some unmounted officers, artillerymen, and other specialists began to carry carbines.

Asvalayana

2005-01-04T08:56:00.000-08:00

Author of the Asvalayana-srauta-sutra, Vedic manual of sacrificial ceremonies composed for the use of the class of priests called hotar, or hotr, whose main function was to invoke the gods. Belonging to the “forest tradition” of hermits and wandering holy men rather than to that of the priesthood, Asvalayana is mentioned as a teacher as well as a sage in Vedic litanies and in the

Trade, Balance Of

2005-01-04T04:30:00.000-08:00

Difference in value over a period of time between a nation's imports and exports of goods and services, usually expressed in the unit of currency of a particular nation (e.g., dollars for the United States, pounds sterling for the United Kingdom). The balance of trade is part of a larger economic unit, the balance of payments (the sum total of all economic transactions between

Lipetsk

2005-01-03T00:47:00.000-08:00

City and administrative centre of Lipetsk oblast (province), western Russia. It lies along both banks of the Voronezh River in the Don Basin. A fortified settlement existed on the site in the 13th century, until its destruction by Tatars in 1284. The town was founded in 1703 as an ironworking centre by Peter I the Great. It also served as a spa resort; its natural springs and mineral-laden

Alcman

2005-01-02T07:40:00.000-08:00

Alcman's work survives in fragments, the longest being a parthenion (a choir song for girls) discovered in a 1st-century papyrus in Egypt in 1855. In the Suda lexicon (late 10th century AD) Alcman is described as a man “of an extremely amorous disposition and the inventor of love poems.” He was clearly

Saale Glacial Stage

2005-01-01T07:14:00.000-08:00

Division of Pleistocene deposits and time in northern Europe (the Pleistocene Epoch began about 1,600,000 years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago). The Saale Glacial Stage followed the Holstein Interglacial Stage and preceded the Eemian Interglacial Stage, both relatively mild climatic periods. The extensive and complex Saale deposits are correlated with the Gipping Glacial

Japan, Sea Of

2004-12-31T06:36:00.000-08:00

Japanese Nihon-kai, Russian Yaponskoye More, Korean Tonghae, marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded by Japan and Sakhalin Island to the east and by Russia and Korea on the Asian mainland to the west. (The Korean name means “East Sea.”) Its area is 377,600 square miles (978,000 square kilometres). It has a mean depth of 5,748 feet (1,752 metres) and a maximum depth of 12,276 feet (3,742 metres).

War

2004-12-30T05:19:00.000-08:00

In the popular sense, a conflict among political groups involving hostilities of considerable duration and magnitude. In the usage of social science certain qualifications are added. Sociologists usually apply the term to such conflicts only if they are initiated and conducted in accordance with socially recognized forms. They treat war as an institution

Shirk

2004-12-30T05:13:00.000-08:00

The Qur'an (Islamic scripture) stresses in many verses that God does not share his powers with any partner (sharik). It warns those who believe their idols will intercede for them that they, together with the idols, will become fuel for hellfire on the Day of Judgment

Gatineau River

2004-12-27T15:55:00.000-08:00

French Rivière Gatineau, river in Outaouais region, southwestern Quebec province, Canada. The river rises in a chain of lakes north of Baskatong Reservoir and flows generally southward for 240 miles (390 km) to join the Ottawa River at Hull. It was named for Nicolas Gatineau, a fur trader who is reputed to have drowned there about 1683. Having served for centuries as a major artery for the lumber trade, the

Asherah

2004-12-27T13:34:00.000-08:00

Ancient West Semitic goddess, consort of the supreme god. Her principal epithet was probably “She Who Walks on the Sea.” She was occasionally called Elath (Elat), “the Goddess,” and may have also been called Qudshu, “Holiness.” According to texts from Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra, Syria), Asherah's consort was El, and by him she was the mother of 70 gods. As mother goddess she was widely worshiped

Gatineau River

2004-12-25T00:59:00.000-08:00

Founded in 1868, the TUC held annual conferences of independent unions for the exposition of trade

China, Invasion of the Sung

2004-12-24T07:38:00.000-08:00

During the next decades there was an uneasy coexistence between the Mongols in northern China and the Sung state in the south. The Mongols resumed their advance in 1250 under the grand khan Möngke and his brother Kublai Khan—grandsons of Genghis Khan. Their armies outflanked the main Sung defenses on the Yangtze River and penetrated deeply into southwestern China,

Disposable Income

2004-12-23T18:14:00.000-08:00

That portion of an individual's income over which the recipient has complete discretion. An accurate general definition of income is not easy to provide. Income includes wages and salaries, interest and dividend payments from financial assets, and rents and net profits from businesses. Capital gains on real or financial assets should also be counted as income

Kunlun Mountains, Plant and animal life

2004-12-22T22:26:00.000-08:00

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

Procession

2004-12-21T14:44:00.000-08:00

Of the vast number of processions

Biogeochemical Cycle

2004-12-20T15:59:00.000-08:00

Any of the natural circulation pathways of the essential elements of living matter. These elements in various forms flow from the nonliving (abiotic) to the living (biotic) components of the biosphere and back to the nonliving again. In order for the living components of a major ecosystem (e.g., a lake or forest) to survive, all the chemical elements that make up living cells

Essex

2004-12-19T22:29:00.000-08:00

Administrative, geographic, and historic county of eastern England, extending along the North Sea coastline between the Thames and Stour estuaries. The administrative county covers an area within the larger geographic county, which in turn covers a part of the original historic county of Essex. The administrative county comprises 12 districts: Basildon, Braintree

Prix Renaudot

2004-12-17T17:19:00.000-08:00

French literary prize awarded to the author of an outstanding original novel published during the previous year. Named for Théophraste Renaudot (1586?–1653), who founded La Gazette (later La Gazette de France), an influential weekly newspaper, the prize was established in 1925 and first awarded in 1926. Like the Prix Goncourt, with which it competes, the Prix Renaudot is awarded annually

Stair-step Moss

2004-12-17T05:24:00.000-08:00

(Hylocomium splendens), plant of the order Bryales that covers areas of coniferous forest floor of the Northern Hemisphere and also occurs on dunes, ledges, and tundra. The fernlike shoots have many branches and reddish, glossy caulids (stems) with phyllids (leaves) up to 3 mm (0.12 inch) long. The capsules (spore cases) of the female plant are borne on setae (stalks) about 2 cm (0.8 inch)