GeneralLip

Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand

2005-04-05T17:08:00.000-07:00

Gandhi took his studies seriously and tried to brush up on his English and Latin by taking the London University matriculation examination. But, during the three years he spent in England, his main preoccupation was with personal and moral issues rather than with academic ambitions. The transition from the half-rural atmosphere of Rajkot to the cosmopolitan life

Cynghanedd

2005-04-05T13:13:00.000-07:00

(Welsh: “harmony”), Welsh poetic device, a complicated system of alliteration and internal rhyme, obligatory in the 24 strict metres of Welsh bardic verse. Cynghanedd had developed by the 13th century from the prosodic devices of the early bards and was formally codified at the Caerwys Eisteddfod (Assembly of Bards) of 1524. The device became an obligatory adornment of poems in

Koerber, Ernest Von

2005-04-05T10:26:00.000-07:00

Entering the Austrian administration in 1874, Koerber rose steadily

Mond, Ludwig

2005-04-03T14:35:00.000-07:00

The son of a wealthy Jewish family, Mond studied chemistry at Marburg and Heidelberg, entered the chemical industry, and went to England in 1862. There his method for recovering sulfur

Seladang

2005-04-02T16:18:00.000-08:00

Malayan wild cattle, a species of gaur (q.v.).

Moley, Raymond (charles)

2005-04-02T16:09:00.000-08:00

After graduating from Baldwin-Wallace College in his hometown, Moley took a job as superintendent of schools at Olmstead Falls, Ohio. He then attended Oberlin College, where he received his master's degree in

Raynaud's Disease

2005-04-01T17:08:00.000-08:00

Disease, occurring primarily in young women, in which spasms in the arteries to the fingers cause the fingertips of both hands to become first pale and then cyanotic—bluish—upon exposure to cold or in response to emotion. Often the fingertips become cold and numb and perspire. The fingers may ache and move awkwardly. If the attack is prolonged, the rest of the hands and

Cheng Chih-lung

2005-03-31T18:13:00.000-08:00

As a boy, Cheng found employment with the Europeans in the Portuguese settlement at Macau, where he was baptized and given the Christian name of Nicholas Gaspard. After leaving Macau, he joined a pirate band that

China, The Manchurian Plain

2005-03-31T17:28:00.000-08:00

The Manchurian Plain (also known as the Northeast Plain and the Sung-liao Plain) is located in China's Northeast, the region formerly known as Manchuria. An undulating plain split into northern and southern halves by a low divide rising from 500 to 850 feet, it is drained in its northern part by the Sungari River and tributaries and in its southern part by the Liao River. Most

Libya, Relief

2005-03-29T19:29:00.000-08:00

The Al-Jifarah Plain

Mahir, Ahmad

2005-03-29T19:14:00.000-08:00

Mahir was educated at the Khedivial Law school and the University of Montpellier in France. A younger brother of 'Ali Mahir, who had on three previous occasions been premier of Egypt, Ahmad occupied a number of important government positions from the early 1920s. Early in his career, Mahir was

Epistemology, From scientific theology to secular science

2005-03-29T03:44:00.000-08:00

For most of the Middle Ages there was no split between theology and science (scientia). Science was knowledge that was deduced from self-evident principles, and theology received its principles from the source of all principles, God. In every way, theology was superior to the other sciences, according to Thomas Aquinas. By the 14th century the ideas of science and theology

Mcpherson, James B.

2005-03-28T17:16:00.000-08:00

After graduation from West Point at the head of the class of 1849, McPherson was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers and held minor army assignments

Holbach, Paul-henri Dietrich, Baron D'

2005-03-28T08:42:00.000-08:00

French encyclopaedist and philosopher, a celebrated exponent of atheism and Materialism, whose inherited wealth allowed him to entertain many of the noted philosophers of the day, some of whom (Comte de Buffon, J.-J. Rousseau, d'Alembert) reportedly withdrew from his gatherings, frightened by the audacity

Ringo, Johnny

2005-03-27T10:42:00.000-08:00

Not much is known of Ringo, not even his birthplace. He showed up first in Mason county, Texas, in 1875, where he was suspected of cattle rustling and arrested for a double murder. He escaped from jail, was re-arrested, and was released. He appeared next in Galeyville, N.M., in 1879, already possessing

Powell, Anthony

2005-03-26T08:24:00.000-08:00

As a child, Powell lived wherever his father, a regular officer in the Welsh Regiment, was stationed. He attended Eton College from 1919 to 1923 and Balliol College, Oxford, from 1923 to 1926. Thereafter he joined the London

Kyrenia

2005-03-25T13:27:00.000-08:00

Greek Kirínia, Turkish Girne, city, situated along the northern coast of Cyprus, in the Turkish Cypriot-administered area. Founded by the Achaeans, ancient Greek colonists, and fortified by the Byzantines, Franks, and Venetians, the city was the administrative headquarters of the Kyrenia district of the Republic of Cyprus until the Turkish intervention in 1974. Kyrenia city is a market centre and

Parabasis

2005-03-25T01:57:00.000-08:00

Plural parabases an important choral ode in Greek Old Comedy delivered by the chorus at an intermission in the action while facing and moving toward the audience. It was used to express the author's views on political or religious topics of the day.

Insurance, General average clause

2005-03-24T05:40:00.000-08:00

The general average clause in ocean marine insurance obligates the insurers of various interests to share the cost of losses incurred voluntarily to save the voyage from complete destruction. Such sacrifices must be made voluntarily, must be necessary, and must be successful. For example, if a shipper's cargo is voluntarily jettisoned in a storm in order to save

John Henry

2005-03-24T01:21:00.000-08:00

Some factual basis exists for the ballad

Natchez

2005-03-23T15:34:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1817) of Adams county, southwestern Mississippi, U.S., on the Mississippi River (there bridged to Vidalia, Louisiana), about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Vicksburg. Established in 1716 as Fort Rosalie by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, it survived a massacre (1729) by Natchez Indians for whom it was later named. It passed from France to England (1763) at the conclusion of the French and

Argument

2005-03-22T15:41:00.000-08:00

In logic, reasons that support a conclusion, sometimes formulated so that the conclusion is deduced from premises. Erroneous arguments are called fallacies in logic (see fallacy). In mathematics, an argument is a variable in the domain of a function and usually appears symbolically in parentheses following the functional symbol.

Kirkuk

2005-03-21T08:24:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern Iraq. The city is 145 miles (233 km) north of Baghdad, the national capital, with which it is linked by road and railway. Kirkuk is located near the foot of the Zagros Mountains in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The oldest part of the town is clustered around a citadel built on an ancient tell, or mound. During the period of Assyrian prominence (9th–10th century BC) the city

Stainless Steel

2005-03-21T05:34:00.000-08:00

Any one of a family of alloy steels usually containing 10 to 30 percent chromium. In conjunction with low carbon contents, chromium imparts remarkable resistance to corrosion and heat. Other elements such as nickel, molybdenum, titanium, aluminum, niobium, copper, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, and selenium may be added to increase corrosion resistance to specific environments,

Bioelectricity

2005-03-20T03:47:00.000-08:00

Bioelectric effects were known in ancient times from

Bracken

2005-03-19T22:26:00.000-08:00

Also called Brake, genus of ferns (Pteridium), the sole species (P. aquilinum) of which is widely distributed throughout the world in temperate and tropical regions. The species is represented by 12 varieties, 4 of which occur in North America and Great Britain. Variety pubescens grows from Alaska to Mexico, east to Wyoming, Colorado, and Texas. Variety latiusculum, growing also in

China, KMT opposition to radicals

2005-03-19T02:51:00.000-08:00

The two parties competed for direction of nationalist policy, control of mass organizations, and recruitment of new members. Under Comintern coaching, the Communist strategy was to try to split the KMT, drive out its conservative members, and turn it to an ever more radical course. In August 1925, KMT conservatives in Canton tried to stop the leftward trend. One of the strongest

Solar

2005-03-19T00:12:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Sollar, in architecture, private room in a late medieval English manor house, located on the floor above the great hall. The solar served as a kind of parlour to which the owner of the manor house or castle could retire with his family from the chaotic communal living of the hall below. In fact, by the late 14th century the solar was more often called the “retiring room.” Up a flight of

Wolf, Hugo

2005-03-18T09:20:00.000-08:00

Wolf studied at the Vienna Conservatory (1875–77) but had a moody and irascible temperament and was expelled from the conservatory following his outspoken criticism of his masters. In 1875 he met the composer Richard

Calderdale

2005-03-17T21:41:00.000-08:00

Westernmost metropolitan borough, metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough is part of the historic county of Yorkshire, except for a small area west of Todmorden that belongs to the historic county of Lancashire. The bleak gritstone Pennine moorlands, with scattered sheep farms and reservoirs, rise to an elevation of 1,500 feet (457 metres)

Ayrer, Jakob

2005-03-17T13:19:00.000-08:00

A lawyer by profession, Ayrer spent

Hooper, Franklin Henry

2005-03-17T02:08:00.000-08:00

In 1899 Hooper joined the staff of the Britannica, in which his brother Horace, James Clarke, and others had acquired an interest. Franklin Hooper was connected with five editions of the Britannica in the ensuing

Aptian Stage

2005-03-16T18:47:00.000-08:00

The fifth of six main divisions (in ascending order) in the Lower Cretaceous Series, representing all those rocks deposited worldwide during the Aptian Age (119 to 113 million years ago). No global stratotype section and point (GSSP) for the base of the Aptian Stage has been approved by the International Commission on Stratigraphy. The name of the stage is derived from the town

Biblical Literature, Canonical standards of the 3rd and 4th centuries

2005-03-16T17:27:00.000-08:00

Clement of Alexandria, a theologian who flourished in the late 2nd century, seemed to be practically unconcerned about canonicity. To him, inspiration is what mattered, and he made use of the Gospel of the Hebrews, the Gospel of the Egyptians, the Letter of Barnabas, the Didache, and other extracanonical works. Origen (died c. 254), Clement's pupil and one of the greatest thinkers

Furniture, Fireplaces

2005-03-16T00:16:00.000-08:00

The heating of rooms and large halls remained a major problem until the advent of modern central heating systems. The open hearth was replaced during the late Middle Ages by the fireplace, which is merely an architectonic way of framing the burning logs. During the period when it was important as a source of heat, the fireplace became the object of design work by significant

Glassware, After the War of 1812

2005-03-15T19:34:00.000-08:00

The few houses that survived the 1790s and the depression after the War of 1812 had multiplied to more than 90 by 1830. For convenience, the glassworks are divided into three geographical groups: New England, the Middle Atlantic, and the Midwest. Until that time, they had produced little more than simple imitations of European glasses, at best interesting and often very handsome combinations

Athanasius, Saint

2005-03-14T23:13:00.000-08:00

The great Benedictine edition of the works of Athanasius (1698), reprinted in J.P. Migne, Patrologia Graeca, vol. 25–28 (1857), is being replaced by that begun by H.G. Opitz (Athanasius Werke) in 1934; major works are translated in the “Post-Nicene Fathers,” Series 2, vol. 4, Select Writings and Letters of Athanasius (1892)—the “Prolegomena” to this volume by A. Robertson remains the most complete life. For later discoveries and studies, see H.I. Bell (ed.), Jews and Christians in Egypt (1924); and the brilliant summary by F.L. Cross, The Study of St. Athanasius (1945). There are useful sketches in G.L. Prestige, Fathers and Heretics (1940, reprinted 1963); and in R.W. Thomson's edition of Contra Gentes and De Incarnatione (1971). For further references, see E.R. Hardy (ed.), Christology of the Later Fathers (1954); and J. Quasten, Patrology, vol. 3, pp. 20–79 (1960).

Agoracritus

2005-03-14T16:48:00.000-08:00

Greek sculptor said to have been the favourite pupil of Phidias. His most renowned work is the statue of Nemesis at Rhamnous, Greece, part of the head of which is in the British Museum, while fragments of the pedestal reliefs are in Athens.

Selfoss

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

Village, southwestern Iceland, 30 miles (48 km) east-southeast of Reykjavík. It lies on the Ölfusá River, about 5 miles (8 km) from the Atlantic Ocean. An agricultural market and dairying centre on the western edge of the country's most extensive agricultural region, it supplies most of the milk for the capital. Selfoss is also a popular resort. Pop. (1992 est.) 3,977.

Papen, Franz Von

2005-03-14T02:51:00.000-08:00

The scion of a wealthy Catholic landowning family, Papen began his career as a professional soldier. At the beginning of World War I, he was military attaché in Washington, but after

Colbert, Claudette

2005-03-12T20:27:00.000-08:00

Colbert moved with her family to New York City about 1910. While studying fashion design, she landed a small role in the Broadway play The Wild Westcotts (1923) after

Wynne (o Lasynys), Ellis

2005-03-11T18:13:00.000-08:00

Clergyman and author whose Gweledigaetheu y Bardd Cwsc (1703; “Visions of the Sleeping Bard”) is generally considered the greatest Welsh prose classic. An adaptation of Sir Roger L'Estrange's translation of the Spanish satirist Quevedo's Sueños (1627; “Visions”), savage pictures of contemporary evils, it followed its original

Manala

2005-03-11T17:36:00.000-08:00

The Finnish underworld and related concepts among other Finno-Ugric peoples, such as the yabme-aimo of the Sami, are the

Ducommun, élie

2005-03-11T02:20:00.000-08:00

After working as a magazine and newspaper editor in Geneva and Bern, Ducommun spent most of his career as general secretary of the Jura-Simplon Railway. His spare time, however, was spent on peace activities. He took an active part in the movement for European

Digestive System, Vertebrate, Substance P

2005-03-10T16:19:00.000-08:00

Present in significant amounts in the vagus nerves and the myenteric plexus, substance P stimulates saliva production, contraction of smooth muscle cells, and inflammatory responses in tissues, but it is uncertain whether it is other than an evolutionary vestige.

Nadi, Nedo; And Nadi, Aldo

2005-03-10T16:01:00.000-08:00

Italian brothers who were among the greatest and most versatile fencers in the history of the sport. At the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium, the Nadi brothers led Italy to a sweep of the gold medals in the three team events. Nedo also captured the gold medal in the individual foil and

Maddalena Island

2005-03-09T05:19:00.000-08:00

Italian Isola Maddalena, island, Sassari provincia, Italy. It lies in the Tyrrhenian Sea (of the Mediterranean) off the northeast coast of Sardinia. It has an area of 8 square miles (20 square km) and is the principal island of the Maddalena Archipelago, which includes the islands of Maddalena, Caprera, Santo Stefano, Spargi, Budelli, Santa Maria, and Razzoli. Its port, La Maddalena, is the administrative

Abu Ruwaysh

2005-03-08T05:30:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Abu Roash,

Gaborone

2005-03-07T18:49:00.000-08:00

Formerly (until 1969) Gaberones, town, capital of Botswana. The seat of government was transferred there from Mafeking (now spelled Mafikeng), South Africa, in 1965, one year before Botswana became independent of Britain. Gaborone is located on the Cape-Zimbabwe railway and is the site of government offices, parliament buildings, health facilities, a thermal power station, and an airport. It is the seat of

Conscience

2005-03-07T09:34:00.000-08:00

Historically, almost every culture

Digestive System, Vertebrate, Substance P

2005-03-07T01:54:00.000-08:00

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

Pavese, Cesare

2005-03-06T20:36:00.000-08:00

Born in a small town in which his father, an official, owned property, he moved with his family to Turin, where he attended high school and the university. Denied an outlet for his creative powers by Fascist control of literature,

Conscience

2005-03-06T18:51:00.000-08:00

Also called Court of Justice of the European Communities the judicial branch of the European Union (EU). Its headquarters are in Luxembourg. The ECJ originated in the individual courts of justice established in the 1950s for the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Economic Community, and the European Atomic Energy Community. The function of these courts was to ensure the observance of law in those organizations'

Nicephorus Iii Botaneiates

2005-03-06T08:02:00.000-08:00

Nicephorus, who belonged to the military aristocracy of Asia Minor and who was related to the powerful Phocas family, became commander of the Anatolian theme (administrative district). When discontent against the government of

Biblical Literature, The content of Acts

2005-03-05T16:17:00.000-08:00

The outline of Acts can be roughly divided into two parts: the mission under Peter, centred in Jerusalem (chapters 1–12); and the missions to the Gentiles all the way to Rome (cf. chapter 1, verse 8), under the leadership of Paul (chapters 13–28). The earlier sections deal with the Jerusalem church under Peter and the gradual spread of the gospel beyond Jewish limits (in chapters 10–11, for example,

Lebrun, Charles-françois, Duke (duc) De Plaisance, Prince De L'empire

2005-03-04T11:20:00.000-08:00

While he was a lawyer in Paris, Lebrun served as royal censor in 1766, and two years later he became inspector general of the crown lands. As secretary and protégé of the chancellor

Philipp, Isidor

2005-03-04T07:56:00.000-08:00

Philipp was brought to Paris as an infant. As a piano student of Georges Mathias at the Conservatoire, he won the first prize in 1883. After study with Saint-Saëns and Stephen Heller, he began a brief solo concert career, making his London debut in 1890. From 1903 to 1934 he was professor

'ayyar

2005-03-03T13:43:00.000-08:00

Though 'ayyarun were found fighting for Islam on the frontiers of inner Asia, the most thorough documentation of these warriors describes their activities in Baghdad in the 10th–12th century, a picture that may not be typical of 'ayy

Hispania

2005-03-03T13:41:00.000-08:00

In Roman times, region comprising the Iberian Peninsula, now occupied by Portugal and Spain. When the Romans took Hispania from the Carthaginians (206 BC), they divided it into two provinces: Hispania Ulterior (present Andalusia, Extremadura, southern León, and most of modern Portugal) and Hispania Citerior, or Tarraconensis (all of what is now northern, eastern, and south-central

Bijapur

2005-03-02T23:54:00.000-08:00

City, northern Karnataka (formerly Mysore) state, southern India. An important site of medieval Indian Islamic architecture, it was formerly called Vijayapura (meaning “city of victory”) and was an important community under the Yadava dynasty for more than a century until 1294, when it became a provincial capital of the Bahmani. In 1489 with the advent of Yusuf 'Adil Shah, the first 'Adil

Sanno Ichijitsu Shinto

2005-03-02T18:29:00.000-08:00

Also called Ichijitsu Shinto , or Tendai Shinto in Japanese religion, the syncretic school that combined Shinto with the teachings of the Tendai sect of Buddhism. Shinto-Buddhist syncretism developed from the Japanese concept that Shinto deities (kami) were manifestations of Buddhist divinities. The earliest of these schools, Ryobu Shinto, was founded on the belief that Amaterasu Omikami, the chief Shinto deity, corresponded

Welles, (george) Orson

2005-03-02T08:25:00.000-08:00

American motion-picture actor, director, producer, and writer. His innovative narrative techniques and use of photography, dramatic lighting, and music to further the dramatic line and to create mood combined to make his Citizen Kane (1941)—which he wrote, directed, produced, and acted in—one of the most influential films in the history

Yermak Timofeyevich

2005-03-01T23:27:00.000-08:00

In 1579 the merchant and factory-owning Stroganov family enlisted the assistance of Yermak and a band of Cossacks to defend its possessions against attacks by Siberian tribesmen. Yermak set out with an expeditionary

English Literature, Courtly poetry

2005-02-28T15:49:00.000-08:00

The numerous 15th-century followers of Chaucer continued to treat the conventional range of courtly and moralizing topics, but only rarely with the intelligence and stylistic accomplishment of their distinguished predecessors. The canon of Chaucer's works began to accumulate delightful but apocryphal trifles such as “The Flower and the Leaf” and “The Assembly

Hooks, Benjamin L.

2005-02-27T18:18:00.000-08:00

Hooks attended Le Moyne College in Memphis (1941–43) and Howard University, Washington, D.C. (1943–44; B.A., 1944), served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and later studied law at De Paul University in Chicago (J.D., 1948); no

Field Trial

2005-02-27T05:27:00.000-08:00

Any of the competitions among individual sporting dogs, under conditions that approximate or simulate those found in the hunting field. Competing dogs need not necessarily be of the same breed. In the United States many of the field trials in the bird-dog (pointing dog) category are staged under the sanction of the American Kennel Club, the official governing body

Canaletto

2005-02-27T04:40:00.000-08:00

Canaletto was born into a noble family whose coat of arms he occasionally used as a signature. How he came to

Sikhism, The Ten Gurus: Nanak and his tradition

2005-02-26T08:39:00.000-08:00

Nanak was born in 1469 in the village of Rai Bhoi di Talvandi, 40 miles (65 kilometres) from Lahore (in present-day Pakistan). His father was a revenue collector belonging to the Bedi (conversant with the Vedas—the revealed scriptures of Hinduism) subcaste of Ksatriyas (Warriors). Nanak received an education in traditional Hindu lore and in the rudiments of Islam. Early in life he began associating

T'ien-shui

2005-02-25T11:30:00.000-08:00

The area,

Ryedale

2005-02-25T02:41:00.000-08:00

District, administrative county of North Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, England, named for a small dale and river draining into the Vale of Pickering. This predominantly rural district is the largest in North Yorkshire. It includes the Vale of Pickering and the ring of highlands that enclose it: the Hambleton and Howardian hills, the escarpment of the Yorkshire

Gumal River

2005-02-25T01:34:00.000-08:00

River that rises in eastern Afghanistan near Sarwandi on the Khumbur Khule Range and enters western Pakistan near Domandi, being joined there by the Kundar River. Further joined by the Wana Toi and Zhob rivers, it falls into the Indus River just south of Dera Ismail Khan after a course of 150 miles (240 km). Dams under construction in the 1980s at Mian Nur and Khajuri Kach, below the confluence

Palau

2005-02-24T21:52:00.000-08:00

A republic in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, Palau comprises a 640-km (400-mi)-long chain of some 340 volcanic and coralline islands. The main islands of Babelthuap and Koror are situated about 900 km east of the Philippines. Area: 488 sq km (188 sq mi). Pop. (1995 est.): 16,900. Provisional cap.: Koror, on Koror; a site on Babelthuap was designated to be the eventual permanent capital. Monetary unit:

Frederick Henry, Prince Of Orange, Count Of Nassau

2005-02-24T05:34:00.000-08:00

Dutch Frederik Hendrik, Prins Van Oranje, Graaf Van Nassau the third hereditary stadholder (1625–47) of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, or Dutch Republic, the youngest son of William I the Silent and successor to his half-brother Maurice, prince of Orange. Continuing the war against Spain, Frederick Henry was the first of the House of Orange to assume semimonarchical powers in foreign as

Henderson

2005-02-23T15:33:00.000-08:00

City, Clark county, southeastern Nevada, U.S., midway between Las Vegas and Boulder City. It was established in 1942 in the desert below Clark Mountain to provide housing for the employees of a government-constructed magnesium plant and was named for U.S. Senator Charles Belknap Henderson (1873–1954). Inactivated at the close of World War II when the plant was closed, the project was later

Comenius, John Amos

2005-02-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

Czech Jan Ámos Komenský Czech educational reformer and religious leader, remembered mainly for his innovations in methods of teaching, especially languages. He favoured the learning of Latin to facilitate the study of European culture. Janua Linguarum Reserata (1631; Gate of Tongues Unlocked, 1633?) revolutionized

Babcock, Horace Welcome

2005-02-22T23:37:00.000-08:00

Horace Babcock attended the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and the University of California. He worked at the Massachusetts

Priesthood, The ancient Middle East

2005-02-22T17:58:00.000-08:00

In the Nile valley the occupant of the throne (the pharaoh) was regarded as a god incarnate, the sacred king. Because he was believed to be the epitome of all that was divine, he alone was the intermediary between mankind and the gods whom he summed up in his complex personality. Before Menes, founder of the 1st dynasty (c. 3100–2890 BC), centralized the rule of Upper and Lower Egypt, the high

Springfield, Dusty

2005-02-22T09:37:00.000-08:00

British pop singer who in the 1960s recorded such hits as “I Only Want to Be with You,” “Wishin' and Hopin',” “The Look of Love,” “You Don't Have to Say You Love Me,” and “Son of a Preacher Man”; she was appointed O.B.E. in 1999 and was admitted posthumously into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (b. April 16, 1939, London, Eng.—d. March 2, 1999, Henley-on-Thames, Eng.).

Andreotti, Giulio

2005-02-21T04:04:00.000-08:00

Andreotti took a degree in law at the University of Rome and was president of the Catholic students' federation. In 1942 he became a protégé of Alcide De

Cystine

2005-02-20T01:43:00.000-08:00

A crystalline, sulfur-containing amino acid that is formed from two molecules of the amino acid cysteine. Cystine can be converted to cysteine by reduction (in this case, the addition of hydrogen). Discovered in 1810, cystine was not recognized as a component of proteins until 1899, when it was isolated from animal horn. Cystine is particularly abundant in skeletal and connective

Asahikawa

2005-02-19T22:58:00.000-08:00

City, Hokkaido, Japan. It lies along the Ishikari River in the agriculturally important Kamikawa Basin. Settled in 1889 and organized as a village in 1893, Asahikawa became the railway, marketing, and industrial centre of northern Hokkaido. Its industries include brewing and the manufacture of pulp, paper, wood chemicals, and cotton yarn. Asahikawa also serves as the entrance

France, History Of, Sister republics

2005-02-19T22:49:00.000-08:00

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

Henry Vii

2005-02-17T13:29:00.000-08:00

Also called (1457–85) Henry Tudor, Earl Of Richmond king of England (1485–1509), who succeeded in ending the Wars of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York and founded the Tudor dynasty.

Mindaugas

2005-02-17T08:02:00.000-08:00

Mindaugas successfully asserted himself over other leading Lithuanian nobles and tribal chiefs, including his brother and his nephews, in 1236. The state thus formed under his leadership included Lithuania proper, Samogitia, and much of

Ch'i-chia Culture

2005-02-17T07:52:00.000-08:00

Evidence of the culture was first unearthed in the small village of Ch'i-chia-p'ing, in the northwestern Chinese

Liggett Group Inc.

2005-02-16T21:01:00.000-08:00

In 1849 J.E. Liggett and Brother was established in St. Louis, Mo., by John Edmund Liggett (1826–97) as an outgrowth of a family concern dating to 1822. George S. Myers entered the business in 1873, and in 1878 the company was incorporated as Liggett & Myers Company. By 1885 it was the

China, The Southeast Mountains

2005-02-16T13:48:00.000-08:00

Southeastern China is bordered by a rocky shoreline backed by picturesque mountains. In general, there is a distinct structural and topographic trend from northeast to southwest. The higher peaks may reach altitudes of 5,000 to 6,500 feet. The rivers are short and fast-flowing and have cut steep-sided valleys. The chief areas of settlement are on narrow strips of coastal plain

Bhagavadgita

2005-02-16T07:51:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit: “Song of God”), one of the greatest and most beautiful of the Hindu scriptures. It forms part of Book VI of the Indian epic the Mahabharata (“Great Epic of the Bharata Dynasty”) and is written in the form of a dialogue between the warrior Prince Arjuna and his friend and charioteer, Krishna, who is also an earthly incarnation of the god Vishnu. The Bhagavadgita is of a later

Rowe, Nicholas

2005-02-15T10:24:00.000-08:00

Rowe was called to the bar in 1696 and, an ardent Whig, afterward held several

Cilium

2005-02-14T19:43:00.000-08:00

Plural Cilia, short eyelashlike filament that is numerous on tissue cells of most animals and provides the means for locomotion of protozoans of the phylum Ciliophora. Cilia may be fused in longitudinal rows to form membranes, in shorter transverse rows to form membranelles, or in tufts to form cirri. Capable of beating in unison, cilia move mammalian ova through oviducts, generate

Mitnagged

2005-02-13T22:35:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Misnagid (Hebrew: Opponent), plural Mitnaggedim, or Misnagidim, member of a group of tradition-minded Jews who vigorously opposed the mid-18th-century Hasidic movement of eastern Europe when it threatened to encompass large numbers of Jews. Under the leadership of Elijah ben Solomon, called the Vilna Gaon, the Mitnaggedim excommunicated all Hasidic groups from Orthodox Jewish communities. The Hasidim were accused of espousing

Dagestan

2005-02-13T09:50:00.000-08:00

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.

Avon, River

2005-02-12T13:24:00.000-08:00

With a drainage area

Székesfehérvár

2005-02-12T10:13:00.000-08:00

A Roman settlement, Herculea, superseded an earlier Celtic village on the site; in the 10th century it was chosen by Stephen I, king of Hungary, as capital of the Hungarian kingdom, which it remained until the 16th century. Then known as Alba Regia,

Rocque, François De La

2005-02-10T11:22:00.000-08:00

The son of a general, Rocque was from a long line of career officers. After graduating from the prestigious military academy of Saint-Cyr (1916), he served with distinction in World War I and was on the staff of Marshal

Taffy

2005-02-10T06:41:00.000-08:00

Flavoured syrup candy of Europe and the Americas that is cooked and then rigorously worked during cooling into a hard, chewy, glossy mass. Although the great 19th-century demand for taffy gave way in the mid-20th century to the popularity of chocolates and caramels, taffy remained widely available in its original “penny candy” form of small, colourfully wrapped

Mithradates Ii

2005-02-10T02:34:00.000-08:00

Mithradates recovered the eastern provinces that had been overrun by invading Saka nomads during his father's reign. In the west he conquered Mesopotamia and defeated the Armenian king Artavasdes, whose son Tigranes (later Tigranes II) became a Parthian hostage and was redeemed only for the cession

Cummings, E.e.

2005-02-09T23:18:00.000-08:00

In full Edward Estlin Cummings American poet and painter who first attracted attention, in an age of literary experimentation, for his eccentric punctuation and phrasing. The spirit of New England dissent and of Emersonian “Self-Reliance” underlies the urbanized Yankee colloquialism of Cummings' verse. Cummings' name is often styled “e.e. cummings” in the

Amphibian, Economic importance

2005-02-08T22:31:00.000-08:00

Amphibians, especially anurans, are economically useful in reducing the number of insects that destroy crops or transmit diseases. Frogs are commercially exploited as food, notably by Europeans; the French are the principal consumers, and they import thousands of tons of frog legs annually. The skin secretions of various tropical anurans are known to have hallucinogenic

Manassas

2005-02-08T01:34:00.000-08:00

During the American Civil