BitterSkirt

Palatka

2005-04-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

City, seat (1849) of Putnam county, northeastern Florida, U.S., on the broad St. Johns River, about 50 miles (80 km) south of Jacksonville. Beginning in the 17th century the area was used for cattle ranching, and the city site was a crossing point of the river. James Marver established a trading post (c. 1821) on the site of a Seminole village. The city's name came from Pilatka, a Seminole term meaning

Shield Fern

2005-04-04T11:49:00.000-07:00

Also called wood fern any member of the fern genus Dryopteris, in the family Aspleniaceae. The genus has about 150 species with worldwide distribution, and it is placed in the family Aspidiaceae in some classification systems. Shield ferns are medium-sized woodland plants with bright-green, leathery leaves that are several times divided. They have numerous round spore clusters (sori) attached

Chad Australopithecine

2005-04-04T04:19:00.000-07:00

Specimen of early hominid, known from the frontal bone and part of the face of a single individual, found in sandstone by Yves Coppens in 1960, at Koro Toro, southeast Chad. The remains were associated with the teeth of an extinct elephant and have been given a provisional date of late Early Pleistocene or early Middle Pleistocene Epoch (500,000 to 200,000 years ago). The frontal bone is steep

Mordant Dye

2005-04-03T01:41:00.000-08:00

Colorant that can be bound to a material for which it otherwise has little or no affinity by the addition of a mordant, a chemical that combines with the dye and the fibre. As the principal modern mordants are dichromates and chromium complexes, mordant dye usually means chrome dye. Most mordant dyes yield different colours with different mordants. Mordant dyes can

Latin Literature, History

2005-04-02T17:38:00.000-08:00

Quintus Fabius Pictor wrote his pioneering history of Rome during the Second Punic War, using public and private records and writing in Greek. His immediate successors followed suit. Latin historical writing began with Cato's Origines. After him there were as many historiasters, or worthless historians, as the poetasters disdained by Cicero. The first great exception

Carnivore, Importance to humans

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

The scavenger habits of most of the members of the Hyaenidae make them of considerable benefit to the ecosystem as a whole and often directly to man. They perform the service of eliminating the remnants left by the large predators and thus fit into a niche unused by most mammals. In some parts of Africa, hyenas are allowed to roam the villages, cleaning up garbage. In

Abu Madi, Iliya

2005-03-31T21:57:00.000-08:00

When he was 11 years old, Abu Madi moved with his family from their mountain village in Lebanon to Alexandria, Egypt. As a young man he earned money selling cigarettes. He published his first collection of poetry in Alexandria in 1911. The following year he migrated to the United

China, Livestock and fishing

2005-03-31T07:25:00.000-08:00

China has a long tradition of ocean and freshwater fishing and of aquaculture.

Rocky Mountains, Plant life

2005-03-31T00:33:00.000-08:00

The plant communities of the Rockies vary markedly according to elevation, latitude, and exposure. On the eastern slopes in Colorado and New Mexico, strong winter winds off the arid plains stunt and deform the scattered cedars and piñon pines. The lower elevations at this end of the system are predominantly treeless, except along watercourses, where cottonwoods

South America, Iberians

2005-03-30T14:21:00.000-08:00

Until the end of the era of Iberian domination, only the Spanish and Portuguese were admitted to their South American colonies. The rigid exclusion of all other foreigners had but few exceptions, though a small number of non-Iberian Europeans settled as a result of illegal or tolerated immigration. Most of the Spaniards came from Castile and the southern regions.

Petah Tiqwa

2005-03-30T11:37:00.000-08:00

City, west-central Israel, on the Plain of Sharon, east-northeast of Tel Aviv-Yafo and part of that city's metropolitan area. Situated in the valley of Achor near the Yarqon River, the city takes its name (meaning “Door of Hope”) from the biblical allusion in Hosea 2:15: “ . . . and make the valley of Achor a door of hope.” Petah Tiqwa was the first village (founded 1878) in the modern Jewish settlement

Kabul River

2005-03-29T11:09:00.000-08:00

Ancient Greek Cophes, river in eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan, 435 miles (700 km) long, of which 350 miles are in Afghanistan. Rising in the Sanglakh Range 45 miles west of Kabul city, it flows east past Kabul and Jalalabad, north of the Khyber Pass into Pakistan, and past Peshawar; it joins the Indus River northwest of Islamabad. The river has four major tributaries, the Lowgar, the Panjsher, the Konar

Min Languages

2005-03-28T14:41:00.000-08:00

Chinese spoken in Fukien sheng (province) and in parts of Kwangtung and Taiwan. The Min languages are divided into Northern Min, with its centre at Foochow, and Southern Min, with its centre at Amoy. Min speakers use a pronunciation (called T'ang Min) for the literary language that differs from the one used in other Chinese languages. The T'ang Min pronunciation of the standard

Melas Carpet

2005-03-27T22:42:00.000-08:00

Floor covering handwoven in the neighbourhood of Milâs (Melas) on the Aegean coast of southwestern Turkey. Normally of small size and 19th century in date, Melas carpets have unusually wide borders in relation to their narrow fields. In the prayer rugs the arch (which indicates the direction of Mecca, the Holy City) is straight-sided, with a triangular indentation below

Accentual Verse

2005-03-26T16:56:00.000-08:00

In prosody, a metrical system based only on the number of stresses or accented syllables in a line of verse. In accentual verse the total number of syllables in a line can vary as long as there are the prescribed number of accents. This system is used in Germanic poetry, including Old English and Old Norse, as well as in some English verse. The poem "what if a much of a which

Copenhagen

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

A small village existed on the site of the present city by the early 10th century. In 1167 Bishop Absalon of Roskilde built a castle on an islet off the coast and fortified the town with

Chronology

2005-03-25T10:26:00.000-08:00

The Christian Era is the era now in general use throughout the world. Its epoch, or commencement, is January 1, 754 AUC (ab urbe condita—“from the foundation of the city [of Rome]”—or anno urbis conditae—“in the year of the foundation of the city”). Christ's birth was at first believed to have occurred on the December 25 immediately preceding. Years are reckoned as before or after the Nativity,

Rea Express, Inc.

2005-03-24T19:54:00.000-08:00

American Railway Express Company was established by the U.S. government in 1918, during World War I, at the same time that the government took over the nation's railroads. The domestic express businesses and property

Abu Bakr

2005-03-23T14:03:00.000-08:00

Of a minor clan of the ruling merchant tribe of Quraysh at Mecca, Abu Bakr purportedly was the first male convert to Islam, but this view is doubted by a majority of Muslim historians. Abu Bakr's prominence

Weill, Kurt

2005-03-23T00:31:00.000-08:00

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

Chesterton, G(ilbert) K(eith)

2005-03-22T09:46:00.000-08:00

Chesterton was educated at St. Paul's School and later studied art at the Slade School and literature at University College, London. His writings to 1910 were of three kinds. First, his social

Yancey, Jimmy

2005-03-22T06:10:00.000-08:00

Yancey was largely a self-taught pianist, with some instruction from his brother Alonzo. He had a childhood

Peru, Pre-Hispanic groups

2005-03-21T16:42:00.000-08:00

Throughout the pre-Hispanic period, the peoples of Peru were largely isolated from one another by the rugged topography of the country. At least three times, however, a unifying culture spread across the Andes. Beginning c. 1000 BC, the Chavín culture permeated the region, emanating possibly from the northern ceremonial site of Chavín de Huántar. After AD 600, the Huari civilization,

Yermolova, Maria Nikolayevna

2005-03-20T08:07:00.000-08:00

Yermolova was trained at the Moscow Theatre School and made her debut at age 17 in the title role of Gotthold Lessing's Emilia Galotti at the Maly Theatre (1870). Her interpretation of Emilia as

Davis, Benjamin O., Jr.

2005-03-19T15:59:00.000-08:00

Davis studied at the University of Chicago before entering the United States Military Academy at West Point,

China, Animal life

2005-03-19T15:47:00.000-08:00

Profusion of vegetation and a variety of relief have fostered the development of a great diversity of animal life and have permitted the survival of animals that elsewhere are extinct. Notable among such survivals are the great paddlefish of the Yangtze, the small species of alligator in eastern and central China, and the giant salamander (related to the Japanese

La Marche, Olivier De

2005-03-19T02:19:00.000-08:00

After serving as a page to Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, La Marche entered the service of the Duke's son, the count of Charolais (later called Charles the Bold). He became Charles's secretary and remained in

Parallel Evolution

2005-03-18T09:50:00.000-08:00

The evolution of geographically separated groups in such a way that they show morphological resemblances. A notable example is the similarity shown by the marsupial mammals of Australia to the placental mammals elsewhere. Through the courses of their evolution they have come to remarkably similar forms, so much so that the marsupials are often named for their

Chang Kuo-t'ao

2005-03-18T09:25:00.000-08:00

Chang gained prominence as a student leader of the

Qala'un

2005-03-17T18:35:00.000-08:00

In the 1250s Qala'un was an early and devoted supporter of the Mamluk commander Baybars, and, after the latter became sultan of Egypt and Syria in 1260, Qala'un's career advanced rapidly. Upon the death of Baybars in 1277, Qala'un quickly deposed and exiled two of Baybars' sons who had briefly succeeded to the sultanate,

Cabrini, Saint Frances Xavier

2005-03-16T21:06:00.000-08:00

Maria Cabrini was determined from her childhood to make religious work her life's vocation. After teaching in Italy in Vidardo (1872–74), she was appointed supervisor

Unity School Of Christianity

2005-03-16T14:59:00.000-08:00

Also called Unity, religious movement founded in Kansas City, Mo., in 1889 by Charles Fillmore (1854–1948), a real-estate agent, and his wife, Myrtle (1845–1931). Mrs. Fillmore believed that spiritual healing had cured her of tuberculosis. As a result, the Fillmores began studying spiritual healing. They were deeply influenced by Emma Curtis Hopkins, a former follower of Mary Baker Eddy, who founded Christian Science.

World War I, The Eastern Front, 1915

2005-03-15T15:27:00.000-08:00

The Russians' plans for 1915 prescribed the strengthening of their flanks in the north and in Galicia before driving westward again toward Silesia. Their preparations for a blow at East Prussia's southern frontier were forestalled, as Ludendorff, striking suddenly eastward from East Prussia, enveloped four Russian divisions in the Augustów forests, east of the Masurian

Chang Kuo-t'ao

2005-03-15T06:16:00.000-08:00

The common fig (Ficus carica) is cultivated for its pear-shaped, edible fruits, which

Ate

2005-03-15T04:17:00.000-08:00

Greek mythological figure who induced rash and ruinous actions by both gods and men. She made Zeus take a hasty oath that resulted in the Greek hero Heracles becoming subject to Eurystheus, ruler of Mycenae. Zeus thereupon cast Ate out of Olympus, after which she remained on earth, working evil and mischief. She was followed by the Litai (“Prayers”), the old and crippled

Vulgar Latin

2005-03-13T20:16:00.000-08:00

Spoken form of non-Classical Latin from which originated the Romance group of languages. Vulgar Latin was primarily the speech of the middle classes in Rome and the Roman provinces; it is derived from Classical Latin but varied across Roman-occupied areas according to the extent of education of the population, communication with Rome, and the original languages

Ear Disease, Exposure to noise

2005-03-13T16:26:00.000-08:00

The effects of noise exposure on hearing depend on the intensity and duration of the noise. The effects may be temporary or permanent. A single exposure to an extremely intense sound, such as an explosion, may produce a severe and permanent loss of hearing. Repeated exposures to sounds in excess of 80 to 90 decibels may cause gradual deterioration of hearing by destroying

Monagas

2005-03-13T09:36:00.000-08:00

State, northeastern Venezuela, bounded northeast by the Gulf of Paria, southeast by the Orinoco River, and north and west by the states of Sucre and Anzoátegui. It has an area of 11,158 sq mi (28,900 sq km). Except for a coastal range in the north and the marshes of the Orinoco Delta, Monagas is a land of savannas and is typical Llanos (plains) country. Cattle raising is dominant, although corn

Adamnán, The Vision Of

2005-03-13T08:05:00.000-08:00

Irish Fís Adamnáín in the Gaelic literature of Ireland, one of the earliest and most outstanding medieval Irish visions. This graceful prose work dates from the 10th century and is preserved in the later The Book of the Dun Cow (c. 1100). Patterned after pagan voyages (immrama) to the otherworld, The Vision of Adamnán vividly describes the journey of Adamnán's soul—guided by an angel—first through

Roberts, Isaac

2005-03-12T20:45:00.000-08:00

In 1883 Roberts began experimenting with astronomical photography, taking pictures of stars, the Orion and Andromeda nebulae, and the Pleiades cluster. Although the photographs proved difficult to interpret, they were revealing.

Baby's Breath

2005-03-11T20:39:00.000-08:00

Annual baby's breath, up to 50 cm (20 inches) tall, is

çatalhüyük

2005-03-11T07:36:00.000-08:00

Major Neolithic site in the Middle East, located near Konya in south-central Turkey. Excavations (1961–65) by the British archaeologist James Mellaart have shown that Anatolia in Neolithic times was the centre of an advanced culture. The earliest building period at Çatalhüyük is tentatively dated to about 6700 BC and the latest to about 5650 BC. The inhabitants lived in rectangular mud-brick

Arrest

2005-03-10T20:06:00.000-08:00

Placing of a person in custody or under restraint, usually for the purpose of compelling obedience to the law. If the arrest occurs in the course of criminal procedure, the purpose of the restraint is to hold the person for answer to a criminal charge or to prevent him from committing an offense. In civil proceedings, the purpose is to hold the person to a demand made against

Black Duck

2005-03-10T17:28:00.000-08:00

(Anas rubripes), highly prized game bird (family Anatidae) of eastern North America, inhabiting salt, brackish, and freshwater marshes, as well as lakes, rivers, and beaver ponds. These ducks winter from Nebraska to Texas and along the Atlantic coast from Nova Scotia to Florida; their preference for seafoods such as periwinkles and mussels enables them to winter so far

Lord's Prayer

2005-03-09T20:46:00.000-08:00

Latin Oratio Dominica, also called Pater Noster (Latin: “Our Father”), prayer taught by Jesus to his disciples, and the principal prayer used by all Christians in common worship. It appears in two forms in the New Testament, the shorter version in Luke 11:2–4 and the longer version, part of the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 6:9–13. In both contexts it is offered as a model of how to pray. Many scholars believe the version in Luke to be closer

Low, Sir Hugh

2005-03-09T04:06:00.000-08:00

Before going to the Malay Peninsula, Low had spent an uneventful 30 years as a colonial civil servant on the small island of Labuan, a crown colony off the northwest coast of Borneo.

Swamp Pheasant

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

Also called Pheasant Coucal, bird species of the cuckoo family (Cuculidae). See coucal.

Mystery Religion, The Hellenistic period

2005-03-07T23:17:00.000-08:00

In the Messenian town of Andania mysteries were celebrated

Tall Za'tar

2005-03-07T21:41:00.000-08:00

Also called Zaátar, former Palestinian refugee camp, Jabal Lubnan muhafazah (governorate), central Lebanon, north of Beirut, near Nabay. The camp was the last large Muslim outpost in the midst of the predominantly Christian inhabited area of north Lebanon and had a population estimated at 15,000 in the mid-1970s. During the Lebanese civil war (that began in the spring of 1975) between Muslims and Christians,

Europe

2005-03-07T14:01:00.000-08:00

Second smallest of the world's continents, composed of the westward-projecting peninsulas of Eurasia and occupying nearly one-fifteenth of the world's total land area. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south (west to east) by the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, the Kuma and Manych rivers, and the Caspian Sea. The

Siberia

2005-03-07T13:12:00.000-08:00

All but the extreme southwestern area of Siberia lies in Russia. In Russian usage the

Antananarivo

2005-03-06T16:25:00.000-08:00

Formerly Tananarive, town and national capital of Madagascar, central Madagascar island. It was founded in the 17th century and was the capital of the Hova chiefs. It stands on a high hill. Avenues and flights of steps lead up to a rocky ridge (4,694 feet [1,431 m]) on which stands the Royal Estate, with towered palaces built by the Imerina kings who captured the town in 1794 and ruled until the end of the 19th century.

Pole, Reginald

2005-03-06T02:04:00.000-08:00

His father, Sir Richard Pole, was a cousin of King Henry VII, and his mother, Margaret, countess of Salisbury, was a niece of Edward

Sibiu

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

Judet (county), central Romania. The Transylvanian Alps (Southern Carpathians), including the Sebes, Lotru, and Fagaras ranges, rise in the southern portion of the county. Settlement areas are in intermontane valleys. Sibiu (q.v.) city, a cultural and industrial centre, is the county capital. Metal products, chemicals, and machinery are manufactured in Sibiu, Medias, Avrig, Copsa

Tibet, Plateau Of

2005-03-05T04:11:00.000-08:00

Also called Tibetan Highlands or Tsinghai-Tibet Plateau, Chinese (Wade–Giles) Ch'ing-tsang Kao-yuan or (Pinyin) Qing Zang Gaoyuan vast, high plateau in Central Asia and part of China in which the Tibet Autonomous Region, Tsinghai province, western Szechwan province, and southern Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang are located. It lies between the Kunlun Mountains (north) and the Himalayas (south) and is a region of tangled mountains that rise 13,000 to 15,000 feet (4,000 to 5,000 metres). The plateau has an area of about 850,000 square

Tsuruga

2005-03-04T10:36:00.000-08:00

City, Fukui ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It faces Tsuruga Bay of the Sea of Japan. A flourishing port since early historic times, it was one of the main centres of communication with the Asian mainland and a major shipment centre for the former national capitals of Nara and Kyoto. Tsuruga's industrial base was developed after World War II with factories producing synthetic

Mercury

2005-03-04T03:41:00.000-08:00

Mercury's orbit is inside the orbit of the Earth, and this creates two important astronomical effects. First, Mercury is never more than 27°45¢ of angle away from the Sun and is thus seen as a “morning” star just before sunrise or an “evening” star just after sunset. Second, Mercury exhibits

Zambezi River, Navigation

2005-03-04T00:07:00.000-08:00

Given its numerous natural barriers—sandbars at the mouth, shallowness, and rapids and cataracts—the Zambezi is of little economic significance as a trade route. About 1,620 miles of the river, however, are navigable by shallow-draft steamers. The longest stretch of unbroken water runs from the river delta about 400 miles upstream to the Cahora Bassa Dam. Above the dam Lake

France, History Of, Henry IV

2005-03-03T15:57:00.000-08:00

The restoration of royal authority was not, of course, simply a matter of adjusting theories of kingship; there was a clear practical reason for Henry's success. The country had tottered on the brink of disintegration for three decades. By the time of Henry's succession, it was generally recognized that only a strong personality, independent of faction, could guarantee

Bhartrhari

2005-03-02T06:03:00.000-08:00

Of noble birth, Bhartrhari was attached for a time to the court of the Maitraka king of

Nardini, Pietro

2005-03-02T02:01:00.000-08:00

The most famous pupil of the composer and virtuoso violinist Giuseppe Tartini, Nardini was solo violinist at the court at Stuttgart from 1753 to 1767. He then returned to Livorno and lived with Tartini during Tartini's last illness until his death

Mainit, Lake

2005-03-01T18:42:00.000-08:00

Lake on the border of Surigao del Norte and Agusan del Sur provinces, northeastern Mindanao, Philippines. It is the country's fourth largest lake and has an area of 58 sq mi (150 sq km). Its outlet is the Tubay River, which flows southward before entering Butuan Bay of the Mindanao Sea. Lake Mainit is skirted on the east by the Philippine–Japan Friendship Highway, connecting Surigao

Biblical Literature, The patriarchal narratives

2005-03-01T10:55:00.000-08:00

The universal primal history of man in the first 11 chapters of Genesis is followed by an account of the fathers of the Hebrew people; i.e., of the origins of a particular group. From a literary point of view, this portion may be divided into the sagas of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the story of Joseph. Although these narratives are not historical in the ordinary sense, they

Elijah

2005-02-28T20:29:00.000-08:00

Elijah was from Tishbe in Gilead. The narrative in 1 Kings relates how he suddenly appears during Ahab's reign to proclaim a drought in punishment of the cult of Baal that Jezebel was promoting in Israel at Yahweh's expense. Later Elijah meets 450 prophets of Baal in a contest of strength on Mount Carmel to determine which deity is the true God of Israel. Sacrifices are placed

China, U.S. aid to China

2005-02-28T09:52:00.000-08:00

One U.S. response was the decision to send large amounts of arms and equipment to China, along with a military mission to advise on their use. The underlying strategy was to revitalize China's war effort as a deterrent to Japanese military and naval operations southward. The Nationalist army was ill equipped to fight the Japanese in 1941. Its arsenals were so lacking in nonferrous

Alaska, Climates

2005-02-27T20:39:00.000-08:00

Southern coastal and southeastern Alaska, the Gulf of Alaska islands, and the Aleutians have average temperature ranges in the summer of 40 to 60 °F (4 to 16 °C) and in the winter of 40 to 20 °F (4 to -7 °C). Rainfall varies locally from 60 to 160 inches (1,525 to 4,065 mm), and the panhandle and southern islands are covered

Rayonism

2005-02-27T17:38:00.000-08:00

Russian Luchism (Rayism) Russian art movement founded by Mikhail F. Larionov, representing one of the first steps toward the development of abstract art in Russia. Larionov exhibited one of the first Rayonist works, Glass, in 1912 and wrote the movement's manifesto that same year (though it was not published until 1913). Explaining the new style, which was a synthesis of Cubism, Futurism, and Orphism, Larionov

Atlanta Constitution, The

2005-02-25T16:56:00.000-08:00

It was founded in 1868, early in the Reconstruction era, and soon became a leader among Southern

Kaiserslautern

2005-02-25T11:04:00.000-08:00

City, Rhineland-Palatinate Land (state), southwestern Germany. It lies between the Haardt Mountains (Pfälzer Wald) and the Saar-Nahe-Bergland (Nordpfälzer Bergland) and is surrounded by the Pfälzer Wald nature preserve. A royal residence existed there in the Carolingian period (after 751). The place-name is derived from Lauter (a local stream) and from the emperor (kaiser) Frederick

Auersperg, Adolf (karl Daniel), Prince (fürst) Von, Duke (herzog) Von Gottschee

2005-02-25T06:07:00.000-08:00

After 14 years' active duty as an imperial cavalry officer, Auersperg was elected to the Bohemian Landtag (provincial assembly) as a member of the Constitutional Great Lords Party (1860). In 1867 he was appointed

Ear Disease, Leprosy

2005-02-24T03:30:00.000-08:00

Leprosy, seen rarely outside the tropics today, was another scourge of ancient times that sometimes affected the outer ear. It is caused by the leprosy bacillus, Mycobacterium leprae, which causes a painless, slowly progressing thickening and distortion of the affected tissues. The diagnosis is made by examining a bit of the infected tissue under a microscope and

Hennepin, Louis

2005-02-24T02:40:00.000-08:00

Hennepin joined the Récollet Order of Friars Minor, Béthune, France, and in 1675 went to Canada with La Salle, whose chaplain he became in

Atlanta Constitution, The

2005-02-24T01:27:00.000-08:00

Any of several viruses in the herpes family (Herpesviridae), frequently involved in human infection. The virus is so named for the enlarged cells produced by active infections; these cells are characterized by the inclusion of foreign matter, especially in the nucleus. Cytomegalovirus, which is transmitted by sexual contact or exposure to infected body fluids,

Medicine, Public health practice

2005-02-23T08:22:00.000-08:00

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.

Medicine, Other developing countries

2005-02-22T01:17:00.000-08:00

A main goal of the World Health Organization (WHO), as expressed in the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1978, is to provide to all the citizens of the world a level of health that will allow them to lead socially and economically productive lives by the year 2000. By the late 1980s, however, vast disparities in health care still existed between the rich and poor countries of the world. In developing

Atlanta Constitution, The

2005-02-22T01:09:00.000-08:00

Gundis are terrestrial and found

Bruhn, Erik

2005-02-21T10:22:00.000-08:00

Bruhn entered the training school for the Royal Danish Ballet in 1937, joined the company in 1947, and was promoted to soloist in 1949. To enrich his repertory, he took a leave of absence (1949–58) to dance with

Baracaldo

2005-02-20T20:55:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Barakaldo, industrial municipality, northern Biscay (Vizcaya) provincia, in the autonomous Basque Country, northeastern Spain. It lies on the south bank of the Nervión River. Baracaldo consists of the Bilbao suburbs of El Regato, San Vicente de Baracaldo, Iráuregui, and Alonsótegui. It is the terminus of a mining railway; the locality's primary economic activities include iron

Turgenev, Nikolay Ivanovich

2005-02-20T20:14:00.000-08:00

Born into the middle class, Turgenev was one of a number of Russian youths infected by the liberal spirit that emerged in Europe after the French

Argelander, Friedrich Wilhelm August

2005-02-20T17:01:00.000-08:00

German astronomer who established the study of variable stars as an independent branch of astronomy and is renowned for his great catalog listing the positions and magnitudes of 324,188 stars. He studied at the University of Königsberg, Prussia, where he was a pupil and later the successor of Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel. Argelander was appointed

Hughes, Charles Evans

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

A member of a major New York City

Guarneri Family

2005-02-18T23:25:00.000-08:00

Latin Guarnerius, celebrated family of violin makers of Cremona, Italy. The first was Andrea (c. 1626–98), who worked with Stradivari in the workshop of Nicolò Amati (son of Girolamo). His son Giuseppe (1666–c. 1739) at first made instruments like his father's but later made them in a style of his own, with a narrow waist; his son Pietro of Venice (1695–1762) was also a fine maker. Another son of Andrea, Pietro Giovanni (1655–c. 1728), moved from

Holmium

2005-02-18T22:18:00.000-08:00

(Ho), chemical element, rare-earth metal of transition Group IIIb of the periodic table, one of the most paramagnetic substances known. Among the least abundant of the rare-earth elements, holmium and its compounds have limited application except for research. Holmium has been used as a component of some electronic devices; the trivalent ion has been used as a catalyst

Ayrshire Whitework

2005-02-17T11:32:00.000-08:00

In embroidery, a type of drawn thread work done in white thread on white material. Although similar work had been executed earlier and in other centres (for example, in 13th- and 14th-century Germany) and other examples are known from the intervening period, whitework became associated with the county (shire) of Ayr in Scotland after 1780, when it became a centre for the manufacture

Melen, Ferit

2005-02-17T03:03:00.000-08:00

After graduating from the School of Political Science at the University of Ankara, Melen returned to his native city of Van and entered

Gruen, Victor

2005-02-16T20:58:00.000-08:00

Gruen received his architectural training at the Technological Institute and Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, and worked under

Aswan High Dam

2005-02-16T18:20:00.000-08:00

Arabic As-Sadd al-'Ali, rock-fill dam across the Nile River, at Aswan, Egypt, completed in 1970 (and formally inaugurated in January 1971) at a cost of about $1 billion. The dam, 364 feet (111 m) high, with a crest length of 12,562 feet (3,830 m) and a volume of 57,940,000 cubic yards (44,300,000 cubic m), impounds a reservoir, Lake Nasser, that has a gross capacity of 5.97 trillion cubic feet (169 billion cubic m). Of the Nile's total annual discharge, some 2.6 trillion cubic feet

Perched Rock

2005-02-16T13:56:00.000-08:00

Also called Mushroom Rock, or Pedestal Rock, boulder balanced on a pinnacle rock, another boulder, or in some other precarious position. Some perched rocks form in place, as where rainwash (and in some cases wind) has removed fine material from around the boulder. Others may be transported by tectonic forces (involved in deformation of the Earth's crust) or by ice (such as erratics, or glacier transports) and let down

Ibex

2005-02-15T23:47:00.000-08:00

Any of several surefooted, sturdy wild goats of the genus Capra, family Bovidae (order Artiodactyla), found in the mountains of Europe, Asia, and northeastern Africa. The European, or Alpine, ibex (C. ibex ibex) is typical. It stands about 90 cm (3 feet) at the shoulder and has brownish gray fur, darker on the underparts. The male has a beard and large, semicircular horns with broad, transversely

Orange Walk

2005-02-14T20:52:00.000-08:00

Town, northwestern Belize, situated on the left (west) bank of the New River. Established in early colonial times, it was pillaged by hostile Indians in 1872. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it conducted a thriving trade in mahogany. The town declined after demand for mahogany lessened. Sugarcane and citrus fruit cultivation and rum distilling are the main economic

Production System

2005-02-13T07:16:00.000-08:00

Any of the methods used in industry to create goods and services from various resources.

Epistemology, Relations of ideas and matters of fact

2005-02-13T03:30:00.000-08:00

Human thought concerns two kinds of things: relations of ideas and matters of fact. Relations of ideas can either be intuited, that is, seen directly, or deduced from other propositions. That a is identical with a, that b resembles c, and that d is larger than e are examples of propositions that are intuited. The opposites of true propositions expressing relations of ideas

Baikie, William Balfour

2005-02-13T03:24:00.000-08:00

Educated in medicine at the University of Edinburgh, Baikie entered the Royal Navy as an assistant surgeon in 1848 and served on several ships as well as on land (1851–54). In 1854 he joined an expedition up the Niger River and, on the death

Wage And Salary

2005-02-11T21:34:00.000-08:00

Income derived from human labour. Technically, all payments for the use of labour, mental or physical, are covered, but in ordinary usage the terms exclude income of the self-employed and are restricted to compensation of employees. Occasionally fringe benefits are included, but generally they are not. The terms are not fully synonymous with labour costs, which may

Szell, George

2005-02-11T21:20:00.000-08:00

A child prodigy on the piano, Szell was educated in Vienna. His conducting debut came at the age of 16 with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

Kiesler, Frederick John

2005-02-11T05:42:00.000-08:00

After study at the Technical Academy and the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, Kiesler worked on a slum clearance and rebuilding project in Vienna with Adolf Loos. In the early 1920s Kiesler began to design

Radio Source

2005-02-11T05:06:00.000-08:00

In 1931 Karl G. Jansky, an American radio engineer, detected radio waves from outer space.

Responsa

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

Hebrew She'elot U-teshubot (“questions and answers”), replies made by rabbinic scholars in answer to submitted questions about Jewish law. These replies began to be written in the 6th century after final redaction of the Talmud and are still being formulated. Estimates of the total number of published responsa, which range in length from a few words to lengthy monographs and compendia, vary from

Arabian Desert, Soils

2005-02-10T05:41:00.000-08:00

Mechanical weathering, which physically breaks down coarse particles into finer grains, is the most significant process in the formation of desert soils. Quartz sand abounds, covering more than a third of the desert surface. Granular debris from the Precambrian crystalline basement forms pebbly fans about the bases of hills. Sands and silts are washed down to

China, The Yüan dynasty

2005-02-09T11:44:00.000-08:00

On Chinese contacts with Asia and the West, see E. Bretschneider, Mediaeval Research from Eastern Asiatic Sources: Fragments Towards the Knowledge of the Geography and History of Central and Western Asia from the 13th to the 17th Century, 2 vol. (1888, reprinted 1967); Herbert Franke, “Sino-Western Contacts Under the Mongol Empire,” Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 6:49–72 (1966); Leonard Olschki, Marco Polo's Asia: An Introduction to His “Description of the World” called “Il Milione” (1960; originally published in Italian, 1957); and Igor de Rachewiltz, Papal Envoys to the Great Khans (1971).