RoundBeach

Orb Weaver

2005-03-23T17:50:00.000-08:00

Notable among them are the silk spiders (subfamily Nephilinae), so called because of the great strength of their silk, which is sometimes used in the manufacture of textiles.

Biblical Literature, The need for consolidation and delimitation

2005-03-21T20:56:00.000-08:00

Viewed both phenomenologically and practically, the canon had to be consolidated and delimited. Seen historically, however, there were a number of reasons that forced the issue of limiting the canon. Oral tradition had begun to deteriorate in post-apostolic times, partly because many or most of the eyewitnesses to the earliest events of Jesus' life and death and

Brun, Johan Nordahl

2005-03-20T21:33:00.000-08:00

Brun was an indifferent student at the University of Copenhagen but, briefly, a prominent member of the so-called Norske Selskab (Norwegian Society), a group of younger Norwegian litterateurs in the Danish

Trade, Terms Of

2005-03-18T18:40:00.000-08:00

Relationship between the prices at which a country sells its exports and the prices paid for its imports. If the prices of a country's exports rise relative to the prices of its imports, one says that its terms of trade have moved in a favourable direction, because, in effect, it now receives more imports for each unit of goods exported. The terms of trade, which depend on

Ascaris

2005-03-15T19:46:00.000-08:00

Any of a genus of worms (order Ascaridida, class Nematoda) that are parasitic in the intestines of various terrestrial animals, chiefly herbivores. They are typically large worms characterized by a mouth surrounded by three lips. The species Ascaris lumbricoides is probably the most familiar parasite in humans. An almost identical worm, often called A. suum, occurs

Belcher, Jonathan

2005-03-14T19:47:00.000-08:00

After graduating from Harvard College in 1699, Belcher traveled in Europe before returning to Boston, where he became a prosperous merchant. He formally entered Massachusetts politics in 1718, when he was elected

France, History Of, Sister republics

2005-03-12T03:13:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile the Directory regime successfully exported revolution abroad by helping to create “sister republics” in western Europe. During the Revolution's most radical phase, in 1793–94, French expansion had stopped more or less at the nation's self-proclaimed “natural frontiers”—the Rhine, Alps, and Pyrenees. The Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium) and the left bank of the Rhine

Graf, Steffi

2005-03-09T16:01:00.000-08:00

Graf began playing tennis with the encouragement of her father, who became her coach. At age 13 she became the second youngest player ever to earn an international ranking. In 1987 she won her first grand-slam event, defeating Czech-born American Martina

Page, Walter

2005-03-08T17:39:00.000-08:00

Page played in several bands in the 1920s before forming Walter Page's Blue Devils (1925–31) in Oklahoma City, Okla. A historically important early “territory

Egypt, World War I and independence

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

In November 1914 Britain declared war on the Ottoman Empire and in December proclaimed a protectorate over Egypt, deposed 'Abbas, and appointed his uncle, Husayn Kamil, with the title of sultan. Kitchener was succeeded by Sir Henry MacMahon, and he by Sir Reginald Wingate, both with the title of high commissioner. Although Egypt was not required to provide troops, the people,

Narcissus

2005-03-04T06:50:00.000-08:00

Narcissus exercised great influence over Claudius and accumulated immense wealth. At first he allied himself with Claudius' third wife, Messalina Valeria, but fear that she and her lover, Gaius Silius, were conspiring

Hesychius Of Alexandria

2005-03-02T22:49:00.000-08:00

Although nothing is known of his life, Hesychius indicated the comprehensive design of his lexicon in a letter prefacing the work. Entitled Synagoge pason

Dactylorhiza

2005-02-27T11:31:00.000-08:00

All species were formerly included in the genus Dactylorchis. The marsh orchid (Dactylorhiza incarnata), elder-flowered

Hoodmold

2005-02-25T19:54:00.000-08:00

Also called dripstone , or label molding projecting from the face of the wall, immediately above an arch or opening whose curvature or outline it follows. The hoodmold, which originated during the Romanesque period to protect carved moldings and to direct rainwater away from the opening, was later developed into an important decorative feature. It appears almost universally over exterior arches

Judaism, The Lurianic Kabbala

2005-02-23T04:26:00.000-08:00

After the establishment of the Zoharic corpus, no major changes took place in Jewish esoterism until the middle of the 16th century, when in Safed (in Upper Galilee, Palestine; present-day Zefat, Israel) a religious centre of extreme importance for Judaism was established, which was mainly inspired by teachers coming from families expelled from Spain. Until the expulsion

Novalis

2005-02-22T00:06:00.000-08:00

Novalis was born into a family of Protestant Lower Saxon nobility and took his pseudonym from “de Novali,” a name his family had formerly used. Young Novalis studied law at the University of Jena

Mckean

2005-02-19T02:21:00.000-08:00

The county was formed in

Arai Hakuseki

2005-02-18T19:10:00.000-08:00

Born into an impoverished samurai, or warrior, family, Arai educated himself under conditions of extreme hardship. He found employment in 1682 under Hotta Masatoshi (1634–84), a top government official. When Hotta died two years later,

Hancock, Langley George

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

Hancock began prospecting while managing his family's sheep station

Angular Velocity

2005-02-14T10:50:00.000-08:00

In engineering, angles or angular displacements are commonly expressed in degrees or revolutions (of 360°), and angular velocities in

Say, Léon

2005-02-12T13:09:00.000-08:00

Say was born into a prominent Protestant family and was the grandson of another well-known economist, Jean-Baptiste Say. Early in his career, Say worked for the Journal des Débats, later becoming its editor. He became known for his opposition to the Second Empire in general

Murano

2005-02-09T04:53:00.000-08:00

Island, north of Venice, in Veneto region, northeastern Italy, with an area of 1,134 acres (459 hectares) in the Laguna Veneta (Venice Lagoon). It was founded between the 5th and the 7th century, and it experienced its major development after 1291, when glass furnaces were moved there from Venice. Murano became the manufacturing centre for Venetian glass, exported in large quantities to

Spratling, William

2005-02-07T14:32:00.000-08:00

A graduate of the New York Fine Arts Institute and Auburn University, in Alabama (where he studied architecture), Spratling taught art and architecture at Tulane University, New Orleans,

Chandler, Raymond

2005-02-06T17:03:00.000-08:00

From 1896 to 1912 Chandler lived in England with his mother, a British subject of Irish birth. Although he was an American

Pithou, Pierre

2005-02-03T20:55:00.000-08:00

Reared as a Calvinist, Pithou received his lawyer's robes at Paris (1560) after he had earned recognition by his essays on Roman laws. On the outbreak of the Second War of Religion against the Protestants in 1567, he fled

Kazakhstan, Flag Of

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

The Kazakhs are (in part) descended from the “Blue Horde”—Turkic-Mongol peoples who, centuries ago, flew the “Blue Banner” in Central Asia. The colour also stands for the great skies under which these traditionally nomadic peoples have lived. Light blue was chosen as the background for the national flag of Kazakhstan officially adopted in June 1992. The designer of the flag

Monroe, Elizabeth

2005-01-31T01:02:00.000-08:00

After leaving Washington, the Monroes retired to their estate in Oak Hill, Virginia, where Elizabeth died in 1830. She and James, who survived her by less than one year, were buried beside each other in Richmond, Virginia.

Ear Disease, Ototoxic drugs

2005-01-28T08:44:00.000-08:00

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

Mason, Charlotte

2005-01-25T21:45:00.000-08:00

Mason was born into a wealthy family. She married a prominent physician and socialized with dignitaries and dilettantes.

World War I, Caporetto

2005-01-22T09:31:00.000-08:00

On the Italian front, Cadorna's 10th Battle of the Isonzo in May–June 1917 won very little ground; but his 11th, from August 17 to September 12, during which General Luigi Capello's 2nd Army captured much of the Bainsizza Plateau (Banjška Planota), north of Gorizia, strained Austrian resistance very severely. To avert an Austrian collapse, Ludendorff decided that the Austrians must take

Iran, The growth of social discontent

2005-01-20T07:53:00.000-08:00

Petroleum revenues continued to fuel Iran's economy in the 1970s, and in 1973 Iran concluded a new 20-year oil agreement with the consortium of Western firms led by British Petroleum. This agreement gave direct control of Iranian oil fields to the government under the auspices of the NIOC and initiated a standard seller-buyer relationship between the NIOC and the oil companies.

Oman, Gulf Of

2005-01-19T23:22:00.000-08:00

Northwest arm of the Arabian Sea, between the eastern portion (Oman) of the Arabian Peninsula to the southwest and Iran to the north. The gulf is 200 miles (320 km) wide between Cape al-Hadd in Oman and Gwadar Bay on the Pakistan–Iran border. It is 350 miles (560 km) long and connects with the Persian Gulf to the northwest through the Strait of Hormuz. The small ports along the gulf include Suhar,

Osaka-kobe Metropolitan Area, Cultural life

2005-01-17T06:54:00.000-08:00

Osaka and Kyoto long have been leading centres of culture—Osaka, famous for its cuisine, has a more bustling, democratic tone than Kyoto, which is one of the great centres of Japanese culture. Traditional and modern Japanese drama and music are performed at theatres and halls in the metropolitan area, as are Western music, operas, and plays. There are numerous museums, galleries,

Nizam-ul-mulk

2005-01-14T13:57:00.000-08:00

(Arabic: “Governor of the Kingdom”), title borne by various Indian Muslim princes. The term has also been translated as “Deputy for the Whole Empire.” In 1713 it was conferred on Chin Qilich Khan (Asaf Jah) by the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah and was held by his descendants, the rulers of the princely state of Hyderabad, until the mid-20th century. The head of a ruling family was commonly known as

Zion

2005-01-13T14:31:00.000-08:00

City, Lake county, northeastern Illinois, U.S. It lies along Lake Michigan, near the Wisconsin border. Zion was founded in 1901 by John Alexander Dowie as the headquarters of his Christian Catholic Church. Until 1935 it was theocratically governed, and the church controlled all business activities. The church schools were closed in 1939, after which a modern educational system was

Cambridge, University Of

2005-01-10T19:02:00.000-08:00

The start of the university is generally taken as 1209, when scholars from Oxford migrated to Cambridge to escape Oxford's riots of “town and gown” (townspeople versus scholars). To avert possible troubles, the authorities in Cambridge allowed

Goncharov, Ivan Aleksandrovich

2005-01-07T13:22:00.000-08:00

Goncharov was born into a wealthy merchant family and, after graduating from Moscow University in 1834, served

Yew

2005-01-04T06:36:00.000-08:00

Any tree or shrub of the genus Taxus (family Taxaceae), approximately eight species of ornamental evergreens, distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Other trees called yew but not in this genus are the plum-yew (q.v.), Prince Albert yew (see Podocarpaceae), and stinking yew (q.v.). Two species are always shrubby, but the others may become trees up to 25 metres (about 80 feet)

Actinomycosis

2005-01-03T11:41:00.000-08:00

Ménière Disease

2004-12-31T02:34:00.000-08:00

Recurrent and generally progressive group of symptoms that include loss of hearing, ringing in the ears, dizziness, and a sense of fullness or pressure in the ears. Ménière disease usually only affects one ear. The disease causes episodic attacks that seldom last longer than 24 hours and are accompanied by vertigo, nausea, and vomiting. The apparent immediate cause

Leonowens, Anna Harriette

2004-12-29T09:44:00.000-08:00

At age 15 Anna went to Asia, where she married Maj. Thomas Lewis Leonowens of the Indian Army. After the major died in 1858, she lived in Singapore

Udine

2004-12-27T06:10:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Udine provincia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia regione, northeastern Italy. It lies northwest of Trieste, near the border with Slovenia. Possibly the site of a Roman frontier station called Utina, the city was the seat of the Roman Catholic patriarchate of Aquileia from 1238 until 1751, when the patriarchate was dissolved and replaced by the archbishoprics of Udine

Arts, Central Asian, Siberian tribes

2004-12-23T00:07:00.000-08:00

In the virtually contemporary metalwork of Siberian nomads, single animals of the cat family, such as panthers, carry the Altaic tendency of exaggeration further by twisting their bodies into a circle. In slightly later Siberian plaques, subtle openwork is used, a feature rarely present in Altaic or Scythian objects but frequently encountered in the more rounded

Cyprus, Greek immigration

2004-12-22T02:05:00.000-08:00

The immigration of settlers from Greece, which began at least by 1200, led to the foundation of Greek kingdoms covering most of the island, and since the start of the 1st millennium BC the Greek language has been predominant in Cyprus; the fact that the dialectal form in which it first appears is known as Arcado-Cypriot confirms traditions of the Peloponnesian origin—and specifically

Minamata

2004-12-20T14:11:00.000-08:00

City, Kumamoto ken (prefecture), southeastern Kyushu, Japan, on Yatsushiro Bay. A company town of the Nippon Chisso Hiryo Company, its main products are chemical fertilizer, carbide, and vinyl chloride. Minamata was traditionally a fishing port and has regular sea-route connections to Amakusa-shimo Island, the main island of the Amakusa Archipelago. Hot springs are

Tocharian Languages

2004-12-18T08:52:00.000-08:00

Tocharian also spelled Tokharian, small group of extinct Indo-European languages that were spoken in the Tarim River Basin (in the centre of the modern Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, China) during the latter half of the 1st millennium AD. Documents from AD 500–700 attest to two: Tocharian A, from the area of Turfan in the east; and Tocharian B, chiefly from the region of Kucha in the west but also from the Turfan

Quiché Language

2004-12-16T06:07:00.000-08:00

An American Indian language of the Mayan family, spoken in the western highlands of Guatemala. It is most closely related to the Cakchiquel, Tzutujil, Sacapultee, and Sipacapa languages of central Guatemala and more distantly related to Uspantec, Pocomam, Pocomchí, Kekchí, and other languages of the Eastern Mayan group (see Maya languages). The name Achí is sometimes

Hurley, Patrick J(ay)

2004-12-13T14:24:00.000-08:00

Beginning the practice of law in Oklahoma (1908), Hurley served as a colonel in the American Expeditionary Force in World War I. During the 1920s he became active in Republican Party politics,

Allon, Yigal

2004-12-12T06:41:00.000-08:00

Allon was one of the first commanders of the Palmach, an elite branch of the Haganah, a Zionist military organization

Earth, Variations in the ionospheric dynamo current

2004-12-09T13:26:00.000-08:00

The ionospheric dynamo is produced by movement of charged particles of the ionosphere across the Earth's main field. This motion is driven by the tidal effects of the Sun and the Moon and by solar heating. The ionospheric dynamo is thus controlled by two parameters: the distribution of winds and the distribution of electrical conductivity in the ionosphere. These

Brundage, Avery

2004-12-07T08:36:00.000-08:00

Brundage competed in the pentathlon and decathlon at the

Agranulocytosis

2004-12-05T23:41:00.000-08:00

In most cases, agranulocytosis appears to develop as a result of sensitization to certain drugs and chemicals; infection then follows as a consequence,

Gaul

2004-12-04T07:39:00.000-08:00

By the 5th century BC the Gauls had migrated south from the Rhine River valley to the Mediterranean coast. By the middle of the 4th century

Tea Act

2004-12-01T15:57:00.000-08:00

(1773), in British American colonial history, legislative maneuver by the British ministry of Lord North to make English tea marketable in America. A previous crisis had been averted in 1770 when all the Townshend Acts (q.v.) duties had been lifted except that on tea, which had been mainly supplied to the Colonies since then by Dutch smugglers. In an effort to help the financially

Athanaric

2004-11-29T19:33:00.000-08:00

Visigothic chieftain from 364 to 376 who fiercely persecuted the Christians in Dacia (approximately modern Romania). The persecutions occurred between 369 and 372; his most important victim was St. Sabas the Goth. In 376 Athanaric was defeated by the Huns. He fled with a few followers to Transylvania (region in present-day Romania), but the bulk of his people, led by Fritigern, fled to the

Christian, William

2004-11-27T05:57:00.000-08:00

Christian was the third son of Ewan Christian, one of the deemsters (judges) of the Isle of Man. In 1648 Christian was appointed to the post of receiver general by the 7th Earl of Derby, lord of the Isle of Man. In 1651 Derby left for England to fight with the armies of Charles II against the forces

Switzerland

2004-11-25T16:05:00.000-08:00

Swiss economic development has been affected by specific physical and cultural geographic factors. In the first instance, there was a paucity of raw materials; precipitation and soil quality to a large extent determined the type and size of cultivation; urban and industrial expansion encroached on the limited amount of cultivable land; a central location, situated

Ulama

2004-11-23T00:26:00.000-08:00

Also spelled ulema , Arabic 'ulama' the learned of Islam, those who possess the quality of 'ilm, “learning,” in its widest sense. From the 'ulama', who are versed theoretically and practically in the Muslim sciences, come the religious teachers of the Islamic community—theologians (mutakallimun), canon lawyers (muftis), judges (qadis), professors—and high state religious officials like the shaikh al-Islam. In a narrower

Race, History

2004-11-21T14:58:00.000-08:00

The history of race in science is discussed in Thomas F. Gossett, Race: The History of an Idea in America (1965); Elazar Barkan, The Retreat of Scientific Racism (1992); Nancy Stepan, The Idea of Race in Science: Great Britain 1800–1960 (1992).

Vote

2004-11-20T06:10:00.000-08:00

In politics and government, a formal expression of opinion or will that indicates approval or disapproval of a proposal, motion, or candidate for office. See election.

Bona Dea

2004-11-17T09:59:00.000-08:00

(Latin: “Good Goddess”), in Roman religion, deity of fruitfulness, both in the earth and in women. She was identified with various goddesses who had similar functions. The dedication day of her temple on the Aventine was May 1. Her temple was cared for and attended by women only, and the same was the case at a second celebration, at the beginning of December, in the house of a sovereign

Panofsky, Erwin

2004-11-16T06:53:00.000-08:00

Panofsky studied at the University of Freiburg in Breisgau and was a professor at the University of Hamburg from 1926 to 1933. He first went to the United States in 1931 as visiting

Accounting

2004-11-14T17:51:00.000-08:00

The systematic development and analysis of information about the economic affairs of an organization. This information may be used in a number of ways: by the organization's managers to help them plan and control the organization's operations; by owners and legislative or regulatory bodies to help them appraise the organization's performance and make decisions

Culteranismo

2004-11-11T04:21:00.000-08:00

To some extent an elaboration of the poetic practice of Louis de Góngora, the theory of culteranismo was elaborated by Luis Carrillo y Sotomayor in Libro de la erudición poé

Breed Association

2004-11-09T10:21:00.000-08:00

Organization that promotes the respective breeds of horses and registers horses that meet certain qualifications. A new association may admit horses that meet certain qualifications but whose parents are not registered; this is called an open association. The qualifications may be type, colour, or speed. Standardbred horses, for example, are admitted to the registry

Zhou Yang

2004-11-07T19:19:00.000-08:00

Zhou joined the Chinese Communist Party soon after the failure of the revolution in 1927. A graduate of Ta-hsia University in Shanghai in 1928, he went to Japan for advanced study in 1929. Upon returning to China in 1931 he became one of the leaders

Henri, Robert

2004-11-06T05:13:00.000-08:00

Henri studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, from 1884 to 1888, and at both the Académie Julian and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Upon

Omen

2004-11-04T22:31:00.000-08:00

Observed phenomenon that is interpreted as signifying good or bad fortune. In ancient times omens were numerous and varied and included, for instance, lightning, cloud movements, the flight of birds, and the paths of certain sacred animals. Within each type of sign were minor subdivisions, such as the different kinds of bird in flight or the direction of flight in relation

Dubinsky, David

2004-11-02T20:11:00.000-08:00

The son of a baker in Russian Poland, Dubinsky was sent to Siberia in 1908 for his union activities. He escaped and emigrated to the United States in 1911. While working as a garment cutter in New

Fuzuli, Mehmed Bin Süleyman

2004-10-31T06:42:00.000-08:00

A resident of Baghdad, Fuzuli apparently came from a family of religious officials and was well versed in the thought of his day, but very little is known about his life. Among his early patrons was Shah Esma'il I, founder of the Safavid dynasty of Iran and conqueror

Silas, Saint

2004-10-26T00:39:00.000-07:00

It is generally believed that the Silas in Acts and the Silvanus in 2 Corinthians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and 1 Peter are the same. Acts 15:22 first mentions him as one of the “leading men among the brethren” (i.e., the Christian community at Jerusalem);

Dafydd Nanmor

2004-10-24T13:30:00.000-07:00

Welsh poet, master of the cywydd form (characterized by rhyming couplets), whose poems express his belief in tradition and aristocracy. Many of his poems reflect his support of the political aspirations of the Tudors; others are simple and sincere love poems. “Llio's Hair” and “Maiden's Elegy” are considered to

Amakihi

2004-10-22T00:04:00.000-07:00

(Loxops virens), perhaps the most common native songbird in Hawaii, a member of the Hawaiian honeycreeper family, Drepanididae (order Passeriformes). It is 12 cm (5 inches) long, with yellow body, black eye-mark, and rather short, slightly curved bill. It feeds on insects and small fruits in brushland and forest, and it has mewing and trilling calls.

Peru, The War of the Pacific (187983)

2004-10-21T04:20:00.000-07:00

At the Battle of Iquique (then in Peru, now in Chile), on May 21, 1879, the Peruvians suffered

Ascham, Roger

2004-10-18T23:44:00.000-07:00

As a boy of 14, Ascham entered the University of Cambridge, where he later took his M.A. and was elected a fellow of St. John's and appointed reader in Greek. The new Renaissance enthusiasm for the classics, especially

Table Tennis

2004-10-16T16:17:00.000-07:00

Invented in England in the early days of the 20th century, the game was originally called Ping-Pong, a trade name. The name table tennis was adopted in 1921–22 when the old Ping-Pong Association formed in 1902 was revived. The original association had broken up about 1905, though apparently the game continued to be played in parts of England outside London and by the 1920s was being played in

K.b.e.

2004-10-15T15:24:00.000-07:00

Knight commander of the British Empire, member of the second highest class of a British order of knighthood. See British Empire, The Most Excellent Order of the.

Zion National Park

2004-10-12T17:05:00.000-07:00

The park's principal feature is Zion Canyon, which received its name from the Mormons who discovered it (1858) and settled there in the early 1860s. A portion of the area was first set aside as the Mukuntuweap National Monument in 1909. The monument was enlarged and

Gerhard, Johann

2004-10-11T06:48:00.000-07:00

Gerhard was deeply influenced as a youth by the Lutheran theologian Johann Arndt and obtained training

Ube

2004-10-09T02:31:00.000-07:00

City, Yamaguchi ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, on the Inland Sea. Coal was mined in the area in the late 17th century, but Ube remained a small village until undersea mining operations began in the Meiji period (1868–1912). It then developed into a large mining and industrial city, manufacturing chemicals from coal. Because of the gradual decline of coal mining in Japan after World

Roux, émile

2004-10-06T14:42:00.000-07:00

Roux began his medical studies at the University of Clermont-Ferrand. In 1878 he was accepted into Pasteur's laboratory at the University of Paris and spent 10 years there, completing

Criminal Law, Behavioral norms

2004-10-04T13:19:00.000-07:00

The fact that the crime rates in many countries have risen faster than the population has brought into question the relevance of the law itself and whether or not laws against crime actually have an influence on an individual's behaviour. Various large-scale inquiries have been made into the relation between law and civil order: in the United States, the President's

Orthodox Judaism

2004-10-02T09:50:00.000-07:00

The religion of those Jews who adhere most strictly to traditional beliefs and practices. Jewish Orthodoxy resolutely refuses to accept the position of Reform Judaism that the Bible and other sacred Jewish writings contain not only eternally valid moral principles but also historically and culturally conditioned adaptations and interpretations of the

Harbel

2004-10-01T20:14:00.000-07:00

Town, west-central Liberia, West Africa. It lies along the Farmington River, 15 miles (24 km) upstream from the Atlantic. Since 1926 it has been the centre of the vast Firestone rubber plantation operation. Liquid latex and crepe rubber are shipped via the company's river port to Monrovia (32 miles west) for export. At Harbel, Firestone operates a hospital, a hydroelectric power plant,

Bío-bío River

2004-09-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

River in south-central Chile. It rises in the Andes on Chile's eastern border and flows generally northwestward to enter the Gulf of Arauco on the Pacific Ocean near Concepción after a course of 240 miles (380 km). The Bío-Bío River traverses the fertile Central Valley and then forms the only major transverse valley through the coastal mountain range. Although it is one of Chile's

Switzerland, Internal political difficulties; external threats to neutrality

2004-09-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, this era of material prosperity was not free from political problems. The Mediation Act had disappeared with Napoleon, its place taken by a new Federal Pact that once again established Switzerland as a confederation of sovereign states united only for common defense and the maintenance of internal order. Thus, the formulation and execution of

Moldova, Flag Of

2004-09-24T08:51:00.000-07:00

Moldova declared independence during World War I. At various times in prior centuries it had been a part of Moldavia, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and Romania, and its symbols are derived from historical and cultural links with Moldavia and Romania. Its flag of December 1917 was the traditional Romanian tricolour of blue, yellow, and red in horizontal format. In the centre

Ka

2004-09-23T23:25:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Koi, in ancient Egyptian religion, with ba and akh, a principal aspect of the soul of a human being or of a god. The exact significance of ka remains a matter of controversy, chiefly for lack of an Egyptian definition; the usual translation “double” is incorrect. Written by a hieroglyph of uplifted arms, it seemed originally to have designated the protecting divine spirit of

Soga, Tiyo

2004-09-19T07:11:00.000-07:00

Xhosa journalist, minister, translator, composer of hymns, and collector of black South African fables, legends, proverbs, history, praises, and customs. His translation of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress (U-Hambo lom-Hambi, 1866) had almost as great an influence upon the Xhosa

Kirkland, Joseph

2004-09-16T03:49:00.000-07:00

Kirkland, who readily acknowledged his indebtedness to the English realist Thomas Hardy, was also affected by his own personal experiences as a publisher's clerk, railroad auditor, soldier, coal-mine operator,

Euric

2004-09-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

Euric ascended the throne after assassinating his brother, King Theodoric II,

Aerospace Industry, World War I

2004-09-12T00:25:00.000-07:00

France and Germany, both aware of the military potential of aircraft, began relatively large-scale manufacturing around 1909. By the outbreak of World War I in 1914, France had built a total of 2,000 airplanes, of which 1,500 were military; Germany ranked second with about 1,000 military aircraft; and Britain a distant third with 176. The United States lost its lead in aeronautics as the combined

Morales, Luis De

2004-09-10T04:49:00.000-07:00

Morales may have studied with the Flemish painter Hernando

Biblical Literature, In Christianity

2004-09-09T19:45:00.000-07:00

The Hebrew Bible is as basic to Christianity as it is to Judaism. Without the Old Testament, the New Testament could not have been written and there could have been no man like Jesus; Christianity could not have been what it became. This has to do with cultural values, basic human values, as much as with religious beliefs. The Genesis stories of prehistoric events and people

Bridge

2004-09-06T06:11:00.000-07:00

Either of two card games, auction bridge and contract bridge, that are derived from whist and retain its essential features. These features are the following: four players participate, two against two in partnership. They play with a 52-card pack, all of whose cards are dealt face downward one at a time, clockwise. When play begins, the object is to win tricks, consisting of

John Birch Society

2004-09-05T20:35:00.000-07:00

Private organization founded in the United States on Dec. 9, 1958, by Robert H.W. Welch, Jr. (1899–1985), a retired Boston candy manufacturer, for the purpose of combating Communism and promoting various ultraconservative causes. The name derives from John Birch, an American Baptist missionary and U.S. Army intelligence officer who was killed by Chinese Communists on Aug. 25, 1945, making him, in

Chemical Compound, Polyterpenes

2004-09-03T10:56:00.000-07:00

The vulcanization of rubber involves the establishment of cross-linking between the chains through sulfur atoms.

Christianity, The schism of 1054

2004-09-01T07:40:00.000-07:00

The greatest schism in church history occurred between the church of Constantinople and the church of Rome. While 1054 is the symbolic date of the separation, the agonizing division was six centuries in the making. The friction was ignited by several issues. The Eastern Church sharply disagreed when the Western Church introduced into the Nicene Creed the doctrine

Racemate

2004-08-30T09:47:00.000-07:00

A mixture of equal quantities of two enantiomorphs, or substances that have dissymmetric molecular structures that are mirror images of one another. Each enantiomorph rotates the plane of polarization of plane-polarized light through a characteristic angle, but, because the rotatory effect of each component exactly cancels that of the other, the racemic mixture

Sholem Aleichem

2004-08-26T23:30:00.000-07:00

Drawn to writing as a youth, he became a private tutor of Russian at the age of 17 and later served as a government rabbi in Lubin. His first writing had been in Russian and Hebrew, but between 1883, when his first story in Yiddish appeared, and his death, he published over 40 volumes of novels, stories, and plays