WhitesilverBone

Scabious

2005-04-04T13:51:00.000-07:00

Also called Scabiosa (genus Scabiosa), any of about 100 species of annual and perennial herbs of the teasel family, Dipsacaceae, order Dipsacales. They are native to temperate Eurasia, the Mediterranean region, and the mountains of eastern Africa. Some are important garden plants. All species have basal leaf rosettes and leafy stems. The flower heads have many crowded, small,

Roman Republic And Empire

2005-04-03T16:03:00.000-07:00

The ancient state that centred on the city of Rome, from the time of the events leading up to the founding of the republic in 509 BC, through the establishment of the empire in 27 BC, to the final eclipse of the Empire of the West in the 5th century AD. (For later events of the Empire of the East, see Byzantine Empire.)

Melissus Of Samos

2005-04-03T00:55:00.000-08:00

Greek philosopher who was the last significant member of the Eleatic school of philosophy, which adhered to Parmenides' doctrine of reality as a single, unchanging whole. Although Melissus defended Parmenides, he differed from him in that he held reality to be boundless and of infinite duration (having a past and a present). He is also known as the commander

Beagle

2005-04-02T21:48:00.000-08:00

Small hound-dog breed popular as both a pet and a hunter. It looks like a small foxhound and has large brown eyes, hanging ears, and a short coat, usually a combination of black, tan, and white. The beagle is a solidly built dog, heavy for its height. It generally excels as a rabbit hunter and is typically an alert, affectionate dog. There are two sizes recognized in the breed: beagles

Acheulean Industry

2005-04-02T00:05:00.000-08:00

Acheulean also spelled Acheulian, first standardized tradition of toolmaking of Homo erectus and early Homo sapiens. Named for the type site, Saint-Acheul, in Somme département, in northern France, Acheulean tools were made of stone with good fracture characteristics, including chalcedony, jasper, and flint; in regions lacking these, quartzite might be used. During the Acheulean period, which lasted

Prosody, The Renaissance

2005-03-31T21:40:00.000-08:00

Renaissance prosodic theory had to face the fact of an accomplished poetry in the vernacular that was not written in metres determined by “rules” handed down from the practice of Homer and Virgil. Nevertheless, the classicizing theorists of the 16th century made a determined attempt to explain existing poetry by the rules of short and long and to draft “laws” by which

North America, 30 to 2.5 million years ago

2005-03-31T14:37:00.000-08:00

About 30 million years ago North America began to override the East Pacific Rise, an oceanic spreading ridge. This activity placed a progressively longer segment of the coast in contact with the plate west of the ridge. The western plate—which contains the Pacific Coast Ranges of California—has been moving to the northwest relative to North America along the San Andreas

Amylase

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

Alpha-amylase is widespread

N-town Plays

2005-03-29T09:38:00.000-08:00

An English cycle of 42 scriptural (or “mystery”) plays dating from the second half of the 15th century and so called because an opening proclamation refers to performance “in N. town.” Since evidence suggests that the cycle was not peculiar to one city or community but traveled from town to town, the abbreviation “N.” would indicate that the appropriate name of the town at which

Constable, John

2005-03-28T23:51:00.000-08:00

Painter who, with J.M.W. Turner, dominated English landscape painting in the 19th century. He is famous for his precise and loving paintings of the English countryside (e.g., “The Hay-Wain,” 1821), which he sketched constantly from nature. After about 1828, he experimented with a freer and more colourful manner of painting (e.g., in “Hadleigh

Abbott, Grace

2005-03-28T07:10:00.000-08:00

Abbott graduated from Grand Island College in 1898 and for eight years thereafter taught high school in her hometown. During that period she undertook graduate studies at the University of Nebraska

Palamedes

2005-03-27T05:32:00.000-08:00

In Greek legend, the son of Nauplius, king of Euboea, and a hero of the Trojan War. Palamedes is a prominent figure in post-Homeric legends about the siege of Troy. Before the war he exposed the trickery of Odysseus, who had feigned madness to avoid military service; by placing the infant Telemachus in the path of Odysseus' plow in the field, he forced that king to admit his

Harare

2005-03-27T05:29:00.000-08:00

Formerly Salisbury, capital of Zimbabwe, lying in the northeastern part of the country. The city was founded in 1890 at the spot where the British South Africa Company's Pioneer Column halted its march into Mashonaland; it was named for Lord Salisbury, then British prime minister. The name Harare is derived from that of the outcast Chief Neharawe, who, with his people, occupied the kopje (the hill

Sickingen, Franz Von

2005-03-26T18:32:00.000-08:00

A member of the Reichsritterschaft, or class of free knights, Sickingen acquired considerable wealth and estates in the Rhineland as the result of campaigns against private individuals and against cities, including Worms (1513) and Metz

Tarhun

2005-03-25T13:47:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Taru, Tarhu, Tarhunt, Tarhunna, or Tarhuis, ancient Anatolian weather god. His name appears in Hittite and Assyrian records (c. 1400–612 BC) and later as an element in Hellenistic personal names, primarily from Cilicia. Tarhunt was the Luwian form and Tarhun (Tarhunna) probably the Hittite, from the common root tarh-, “to conquer.” The weather god was one of the supreme deities of the Hittite pantheon and was regarded as the embodiment

Voznesensky, Andrey Andreyevich

2005-03-25T11:58:00.000-08:00

Voznesensky spent his early childhood in the city of Vladimir. In 1941 he moved with his mother and sister to Kurgan, in the Ural Mountains, while his father assisted in the evacuation of factories from besieged Leningrad. The profound

Raman, Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata

2005-03-24T10:32:00.000-08:00

Indian physicist whose work was influential in the growth of science in India. He was the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930 for the discovery that when light traverses a transparent material, some of the light that is deflected changes in wavelength. This phenomenon is now called Raman scattering and is

La Serena

2005-03-23T22:12:00.000-08:00

Capital of Coquimbo region, northern Chile, lying on a marine terrace overlooking Bahía (bay) de Coquimbo, just south of the Río Elqui and east of Coquimbo city. Founded c. 1543 on the river's northern bank, it was named after the Spanish birthplace of the conquistador Pedro de Valdivia. Razed by Diaguita Indians in 1549 and rebuilt on the present site the following year, La Serena

Norilsk

2005-03-23T10:25:00.000-08:00

City, Krasnoyarsk kray (region), central Russia, in the Rybnaya Valley amid the Putoran Mountains. Founded in 1935, Norilsk lies north of the Arctic Circle and is one of the world's leading producing centres for nickel and platinum. Copper is also mined. Power is supplied to Norilsk by hydroelectric plants on the Khantayka and Kureyka rivers, and natural gas is piped from northern

Dyal

2005-03-23T01:52:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Dayal, or Dhyal, popular species of magpie-robin (q.v.).

Hawthorn, John Michael

2005-03-21T17:14:00.000-08:00

Hawthorn won his first motorcycle race at 18, turned to sports cars at 21, and two years later, driving a Cooper–Bristol, defeated Juan Manuel Fangio at Goodwood. In 1953, driving for Ferrari, he won the French Grand Prix from Fangio; in 1955 he won the tragic Le

Benue-congo Languages

2005-03-21T06:27:00.000-08:00

The 60 Cross River languages are situated around the Cross River in southeastern Nigeria and westward toward the Niger Delta. The largest of these languages is Ibibio, which together with its written cousin, Efik, has some 3,500,000 speakers. Other languages with more than 100,000 speakers are Anang, Khana, Ogbia, Loko, Mbembe, Obolo, and Gokana.

Parallel

2005-03-19T02:22:00.000-08:00

Third largest trade-union federation in India after the All-India Trade Union Congress and the Indian National Trade Union Congress. The HMS was formed by the Socialists in 1948 but has little real connection with the Socialist Party. It is one of the least political and most pragmatic trade-union federations in India. The HMS is affiliated with the International Confederation

Grayback

2005-03-18T21:09:00.000-08:00

Any of several North American fishes including the alewife (q.v.), cisco (see whitefish), and Menominee whitefish.

Zaghlul, Sa'd

2005-03-18T02:26:00.000-08:00

Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad, Sa'd Zaghlul (1936), a full-length biography (in Arabic and not available in translation), is uncritically favourable to the subject. In English see E. Kedourie, “Sa'ad Zaghlul and the British,” in A. Hourani (ed.), Middle Eastern Affairs: Number Two, pp. 139–160 (1961), written by a hostile critic with a wide knowledge of Arabic sources; and the reasonably impartial obituary notice in The (London) Times (Aug. 24, 1927).

Rovaniemi

2005-03-18T00:53:00.000-08:00

Town, capital of Lapin lääni (Lappi province), northern Finland, at the junction of the Kemijoki and Ounasjoki (rivers), northeast of Tornio, on the Arctic Circle. Incorporated in 1929, it became the administrative centre of Lappi in 1939, when the government of Lapland was reorganized. Road building between 1920 and 1940 spurred its development, but near the end of World War II the retreating

Price, Sammy

2005-03-17T03:11:00.000-08:00

Price first toured as a dancer before working in bands in the Southwest and Midwest during the 1920s and '30s. He moved to New York City in 1937, where he became a staff musician

Claes, Ernest

2005-03-16T19:54:00.000-08:00

Claes treated several subjects. Animals and children were the subject of such works as Floere het fluwijn (1950; “Floere the Polecat”)

Intercostalis Muscle

2005-03-16T11:21:00.000-08:00

In human physiology, any of a series of short muscles that extend between the ribs and serve to draw them together during inspiration and forced expiration or expulsive actions. A set of external and internal intercostalis muscles is found between each vertical pair of ribs on each side of the chest.

Abd El-krim

2005-03-16T01:30:00.000-08:00

In full Muhammad Ibn 'abd Al-karim Al-khattabi leader of a resistance movement against Spanish and French rule in North Africa and founder of the short-lived Republic of the Rif (1921–26). A skilled tactician and a capable organizer, he led a liberation movement that made him the hero of the Maghrib (northwest Africa). A precursor of the anticolonial struggle for independence, Abd el-Krim was defeated

Roba'i

2005-03-15T18:02:00.000-08:00

The most famous example of this genre known in the Western world

Celle

2005-03-15T09:27:00.000-08:00

City, Lower Saxony Land (state), north-central Germany, on the Aller River, at the southern edge of the Lüneburger Heide (Heath), northeast of Hannover. The old town, Altencelle, was founded about 1248, and Celle (founded 1292) was the residence (1371–1705) of the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg. The old town has many fine examples of 16th- to 19th-century half-timbered buildings, including the Hoppener Haus

Margaret Of Angoulême

2005-03-15T09:19:00.000-08:00

Daughter of Charles de Valois-Orléans, comte d'Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy, she became the most influential woman in France, with the exception of her mother,

Bloch, Felix

2005-03-14T01:57:00.000-08:00

Bloch's doctoral dissertation (University of Leipzig, 1928) promulgated a quantum theory of solids that provided the basis for understanding electrical

Daddi, Bernardo

2005-03-13T20:43:00.000-08:00

Early Italian Renaissance painter who was a pupil of Giotto and was influenced by Lorenzetti. Daddi's efforts to fuse the plastic qualities of Giotto's art with some aspects of Sienese art came to represent the dominant style of painting directly after Giotto. Daddi's work, from the period 1328–48, ranges from Madonna images in large church altarpieces

Hillery, Patrick J(ohn)

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

Hillery attended Rockwell College and University College, Dublin, studying sciences and medicine. His practice of medicine yielded to politics in 1951, when as a member of the Fianna Fáil party he won election to Parliament.

Hai Ben Sherira

2005-03-12T16:09:00.000-08:00

Though the office of gaon was not necessarily hereditary, Hai, whose family traced its origin back to the Davidic

Muhammad 'ali

2005-03-12T03:04:00.000-08:00

Viceroy and pasha of Egypt (1805–49), founder of the dynasty that ruled Egypt from the beginning of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th. He encouraged the emergence of the modern Egyptian state.

Ear Disease, Acute middle-ear infection

2005-03-11T15:02:00.000-08:00

Fortunately, acute middle-ear infections, called acute otitis media, are nearly always due to microorganisms that respond quickly to antibiotics. As a result, acute infection of the mastoid air cells resulting in a dangerous mastoid abscess with the possibility of meningitis, brain abscess, septicemia, infection of the labyrinth, or facial nerve paralysis, complicating

Constructivism

2005-03-11T09:56:00.000-08:00

Russian Konstruktivizm Russian artistic and architectural movement that was first influenced by Cubism and Futurism and is generally considered to have been initiated in 1913 with the “painting reliefs”—abstract geometric constructions—of Vladimir Tatlin. The expatriate Russian sculptors Antoine Pevsner and Naum Gabo joined Tatlin and his followers in Moscow, and upon publication

Cyrene

2005-03-10T09:26:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, a nymph, daughter of Hypseus (king of the Lapiths) and Chlidanope (a Naiad). One day Cyrene wrestled a lion that had attacked her father's flocks. Apollo, who was watching, fell in love with her and carried her off from Mt. Pelion, in Thessaly, to Libya. There he founded the city of Cyrene and made her its queen. Cyrene was the mother by Apollo of Aristaeus (q.v.) and

Japanese Philosophy

2005-03-10T00:33:00.000-08:00

The conceptual expression of Japanese culture since the turn of the 6th century Ad . The term philosophy has been considered somewhat misleading in reference to Japanese thought, since Japanese premodern thinking tended to be directed more toward the realm of existence than toward that of essence. Japanese philosophy is not generally indigenous; Japanese thinkers have always freely appropriated foreign philosophical systems and insights

Okene

2005-03-09T18:41:00.000-08:00

Town, Kogi state, south-central Nigeria. It lies at the intersection of roads from Lokoja, Kabba, Ikare, Ajaokuta, and Anchi. Originally founded on a hill near the present site, it now lies in the valley of the Ubo River, which is a minor tributary of the Niger River. The town is a major trade centre for the yams, cassava, corn (maize), sorghum, beans, peanuts (groundnuts), palm oil and

Puelche

2005-03-09T08:18:00.000-08:00

Little is known of the Puelche prior to the

1848, Revolutions Of

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

The revolutionary movement began in Italy with a local revolution in Sicily in January 1848; and, after the revolution

Ashton-warner, Sylvia (constance)

2005-03-09T02:28:00.000-08:00

Married name Sylvia Henderson New Zealand educator and writer of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. In the field of education, she became known for her innovative work in adapting traditional British teaching methods to the special needs of Maori children. Her aim was peace and communication between two radically different cultures, and most of her writing,

Indian Evidence Act

2005-03-07T17:20:00.000-08:00

Act passed by the British Parliament in 1872 that set forth the rules of evidence admissible in Indian courts and that had far-reaching consequences for the traditional systems of caste government in India. Since ancient times, the way of resolving intracaste disputes had been by discussing the grievances in open meetings of the caste council. All information that

Fu-shun

2005-03-07T07:29:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Fushun, city in central Liaoning sheng (province), northeastern China. It is situated some 25 miles (40 km) east of Shen-yang (Mukden) on the Hun River. In earlier times this area was on the frontier of Chinese settlement. It was the site of a customs station under the T'ang dynasty (618–907) in the 8th century, and again under the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), when it received the name Fu-shun. It was not until 1902 that settlement

Metalation

2005-03-06T09:41:00.000-08:00

Any chemical process by which a metal atom is introduced into an organic molecule to form an organometallic compound, but more commonly the process involving a hydrogen–metal exchange. An example is the metalation of benzene (C6H6) by reaction with ethylsodium (C2H5Na), forming phenylsodium (C6H5Na) and ethane (C2H6). Metalation by means of hydrogen–metal exchange is a very powerful

Abyssinian

2005-03-06T06:56:00.000-08:00

Breed of domestic cat, probably of Egyptian origin, that has been considered to approximate the sacred cat of ancient Egypt more closely than any other living cat. The Abyssinian is a lithe cat with relatively slender legs and a long, tapering tail. The short, finely textured coat is ruddy reddish brown, with individual hairs of the back, sides, chest, and tail distinctively

Abc

2005-03-05T22:23:00.000-08:00

Tabloid daily newspaper published in Madrid and long regarded as one of Spain's leading papers. It was founded as a weekly in 1903 by a distinguished journalist, Torcuato Luca de Tena y Alvarez-Ossorio, who later (1929) was made the Marqués de Luca de Tena by King Alfonso XIII in recognition of his accomplishments with ABC. The paper became a daily in 1905 and after 1929 published a Seville

Sun Valley

2005-03-05T16:57:00.000-08:00

City, Blaine county, south-central Idaho, U.S. Sun Valley is a famous year-round recreation area and winter sports resort along the Big Wood River in Sawtooth National Forest, just east of Ketchum. Because of its fine snowpack and calm weather, it was developed by the Union Pacific Railroad, which built Sun Valley Lodge in 1936. From 1943 to 1946 the lodge served as a convalescent centre

Affre, Denis-auguste

2005-03-04T16:06:00.000-08:00

Affre was ordained a priest in 1818 and became a Sulpician and a teacher of theology in 1819. He successively became vicar-general of the French dioceses of Luçon (1821), Amiens (1823), and Paris

Zion National Park

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

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

John, Sir Elton

2005-03-02T21:43:00.000-08:00

A child prodigy on the piano, John was awarded a scholarship

Epistemology, St. Thomas Aquinas

2005-03-02T11:08:00.000-08:00

While a Platonic and Augustinian epistemology dominated the early Middle Ages, the translation of Aristotle's On the Soul in the early 13th century had a dramatic effect. Following Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas (1225–74) recognized that there are different kinds of knowledge. Sense knowledge is what results from sensing individual things: thus, one sees a tree, hears the song of

Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali

2005-02-28T23:52:00.000-08:00

Born into a noble Rajput family that had accepted Islam, Bhutto was the son of a prominent political figure in the Indian colonial government. He was educated in Bombay and at the University

Gracchus, Gaius Sempronius

2005-02-28T14:04:00.000-08:00

Gaius Sempronius was the son of a Roman aristocrat whose family had regularly held the highest offices of state for the past century and was connected to the most

Paul V

2005-02-28T07:18:00.000-08:00

One of his first acts was to excommunicate the recalcitrant

Peking University

2005-02-28T03:09:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade–Giles) Pei-ching Ta-hsüeh , (Pinyin) Beijing Daxue , byname Pei-ta , or Beida in Peking, one of the oldest and most important institutions of higher learning in China. It originated as the Capital College, which was founded in 1898 by the emperor Kuang-hsü as part of his short-lived program to modernize and reform China's institutions. This school languished after the empress dowager Tz'u-hsi's coup d'état of the same year. After the overthrow of the

Ericales

2005-02-27T20:23:00.000-08:00

The fossil record of Ericales is not enormous, especially considering the number of extant species in the order; in fact, many species placed in Ericales require careful reconsideration as their affinities with the order are doubtful. The Cyrillaceae are well documented in the fossil record with pollen grains occurring as far back as the Maastrichtian of the

Tiger Snake

2005-02-27T13:08:00.000-08:00

This common serpent, most numerous in swampy places in southern regions, is variable in colour but often has brown-and-yellow

Fischer-tropsch Reaction

2005-02-27T00:36:00.000-08:00

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

Wa-fang-tien

2005-02-26T13:09:00.000-08:00

Formerly Fu-hsien, Pinyin Wafangdian, or Fu Xian, city in Liaoning sheng (province), China. The city is situated in the centre of the Liaotung Peninsula and is an important market centre for the agriculture and fruit industry of the area, which specializes in growing apples, pears, and grapes. It has developed industries producing various industrial chemicals as well as fertilizers and insecticides. It also has a

Halas, John; And Batchelor, Joy

2005-02-25T21:39:00.000-08:00

Halas was educated in Hungary and Paris and apprenticed to George Pal; he moved to England as an animator in 1936. After art school Batchelor became a commercial artist and met Halas in 1936 while working

Hanabusa Itcho

2005-02-24T18:36:00.000-08:00

Also called Itcho , original name Taga Shinko Japanese painter who broke away from the orthodox style of the Kano school to experiment with humorous subjects from everyday life. Because of his subject matter, his work is sometimes classified with the ukiyo-e school of paintings and prints, and, indeed, some of his designs were used by later ukiyo-e wood-block printers. Unlike most of the

Spain, Flag Of

2005-02-24T18:21:00.000-08:00

Many symbols used today by Spain have origins that, according to tradition, stretch back for centuries. Even when not documented, the myths associated with these symbols are powerful forces for national pride. For example, the lion symbol of León is supposed to have been used by a Roman legion in the 1st century AD, and the gold shield with four red bars of the kingdom of Aragon

Annabergite

2005-02-24T06:21:00.000-08:00

Hydrated nickel arsenate mineral that is very similar to erythrite (q.v.).

Zamora

2005-02-23T11:28:00.000-08:00

In full Zamora De Hidalgo, city, northwestern Michoacán state, west-central Mexico. It lies at an elevation of 5,141 feet (1,567 m) above sea level in the Zamora valley, formed by the Duero River. It was founded in 1540 as an outpost to guard against Indians. Commerce, agriculture, and livestock raising are the principal sources of income. Corn (maize), wheat, beans, and numerous fruits and vegetables are grown in the

T4 Program

2005-02-22T23:13:00.000-08:00

Henry Friedlander, The Origins of the Nazi Genocide: From Euthanasia to the Final Solution (1995), provides an overview of the T4 Program and its historical context. Robert Jay Lifton, The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide (1986, reissued 2000), studies the relationship between German physicians and the Holocaust. Robert Proctor, Racial Hygiene: Medicine under the Nazis (1988), assesses the place of Nazi medicine in medical history and the history of science.

Andersen Nexø, Martin

2005-02-22T14:26:00.000-08:00

Nexø came from an extremely poor family in the slums of Copenhagen but spent most of his childhood on the island of Bornholm, where he worked as a shepherd

Paradoxes Of Zeno

2005-02-22T09:27:00.000-08:00

Statements made by the Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea, a 5th-century-BC disciple of Parmenides, a fellow Eleatic, designed to show that any assertion opposite to the monistic teaching of Parmenides leads to contradiction and absurdity. Parmenides had argued from reason alone that the assertion that only Being is leads to the conclusions that Being (or all that there

Europa

2005-02-21T00:43:00.000-08:00

Also called Jupiter II, fourth largest satellite of the planet Jupiter. One of the four Galilean satellites, it was discovered by the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei in 1610 and was named by the German astronomer Simon Marius after a figure in Greek mythology. Europa has a diameter of 3,138 km (1,946 miles), and it orbits Jupiter at a distance of approximately 670,900 km (416,900 miles). The satellite has a density of 3.03 grams

West Covina

2005-02-21T00:41:00.000-08:00

City, Los Angeles county, California, U.S. It lies at the eastern end of the San Gabriel Valley and is about 20 miles (32 km) east of the city centre of Los Angeles. Settled in 1905, it began as an agricultural community surrounded by citrus and walnut groves. After World War II it experienced rapid growth with the urbanization of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. West Covina consists

Self-fertilization

2005-02-20T03:50:00.000-08:00

Fusion of male and female gametes (sex cells) produced by the same individual. Self-fertilization occurs in bisexual organisms, including most flowering plants, numerous protozoans, and many invertebrates. Autogamy, the production of gametes by the division of a single parent cell, is frequently found in unicellular organisms such as the protozoan Paramecium

T'ai-nan

2005-02-20T02:03:00.000-08:00

Hsien (county), southwestern Taiwan, with an area of 778 square miles (2,016 square km). It is bordered by Chia-i hsien (north), by Kao-hsiung hsien (southeast), and by T'ai-nan shih (municipality) and the Taiwan Strait (west). In the mid-17th century, what is now T'ai-nan hsien was part of the territory ruled by Cheng Ch'eng-kung (Koxinga), who established Chinese control over Taiwan and had his capital

Fairfield

2005-02-19T23:59:00.000-08:00

In the mid-18th century the area's favourable climate

Apterygote

2005-02-19T22:33:00.000-08:00

Broadly, any of the primitive wingless insects of the subclass Apterygota (class Insecta), distinct from the subclass Pterygota or winged insects. Used in this sense, the term apterygotes commonly includes four groups of primitive insects: proturans, collembolans, diplurans (see photograph), and thysanurans. The taxonomic status of these groups, however, remains

Fusulinella

2005-02-19T03:50:00.000-08:00

Genus of extinct fusulinid foraminiferans (protozoans with a shell) found as fossils in Late Carboniferous marine rocks (those formed between 320 and 286 million years ago). Because of its narrow time range and wide geographic distribution, Fusulinella is an excellent guide fossil for Late Carboniferous rocks and time.

Burgas

2005-02-18T18:50:00.000-08:00

Port and town, southeastern Bulgaria, on the Gulf of Burgas, an inlet of the Black Sea. Founded in the 17th century as a fishing village on the site of medieval Pyrgos, it developed after Bulgaria's liberation (1878), mainly with the arrival of the railway from Sofia (1890) and harbour improvements (1904). It now rivals Varna to the north as the nation's chief port, claiming much of Bulgaria's Black

Kachin Hills

2005-02-17T23:50:00.000-08:00

Heavily forested group of highlands situated in the northeasternmost section of Myanmar (Burma). They range north-south and are bordered on the northwest by Arunachal Pradesh state of India, on the north by the Tibet autonomous region of China, and on the east by Yunnan province of China. The hills blend with the Kumon Range to the west. The Kachin Hills are drained by

Naas

2005-02-17T04:01:00.000-08:00

Irish An Nás market and garrison town (urban district) and county seat of County Kildare, Ireland. Naas was one of the royal seats of the ancient province of Leinster, and St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is said to have visited it. After the Anglo-Norman invasion (12th century and following), a castle (the north moat of which survives) was built there. Naas was an important town in the

Essaouira

2005-02-16T10:49:00.000-08:00

Formerly Mogador, Atlantic port city, western Morocco, midway between Safi and Agadir. The site was occupied by Phoenicians and then Carthaginians and was mentioned in the chronicles of the Carthaginian explorer Hanno (5th century BC). Medieval charts show it as Mogador, a corruption of a Berber word for “safe anchorage.” It stands on a peninsula 10–20 feet (3–7 m) above sea level and at times with heavy

France, History Of, Louis VIII

2005-02-16T03:45:00.000-08:00

The reign of Louis VIII (ruled 1223–26) had an importance out of proportion to its brevity. It was he (this frail husband of the formidable Blanche of Castile and father of famous sons) who first brought Languedoc under the crown of France and who inaugurated the appanages—grants of patrimonial land to members of the royal family or royal favourites—thereby creating a familial

Avon, River

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

Also called Upper Avon or Warwickshire Avon river, eastern tributary of the River Severn that rises near Naseby in central England and flows generally southwestward for 96 miles (154 km) through the counties of Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire. The river shares the name Avon (derived from a Celtic word meaning “river”) with several other rivers in Great Britain, including the Avon

Ueno

2005-02-15T07:12:00.000-08:00

City, Mie ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It lies in an intermontane basin at the head of the Kii Peninsula. The city developed around a castle built in 1611 and still retains some of its early character. Hakuho Park is on the site of the old castle, which was rebuilt in 1953. The Aizen Temple in Ueno is dedicated to the god of love. The industry of the city includes the traditional manufacture

Wasil Ibn 'ata'

2005-02-15T06:26:00.000-08:00

As a young man Wasil went to Basra, Iraq, where he studied under the celebrated ascetic Hasan al-Basri and met other influential religious figures who lived there. In Wasil's time there began the discussions that led to the development of Islamic

Alaska, Agriculture

2005-02-14T15:26:00.000-08:00

Only a small sector of Alaska's economy is agricultural, but a viable in-state market is still under development. More than 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) of tillable land are available for farming, but much clearing has yet to be done. Most acreage is near Anchorage and on the Kenai Peninsula, though there is some near Fairbanks, and stock ranching is practiced on Kodiak

Earth, Paleontological research

2005-02-13T13:42:00.000-08:00

Many paleontological observations are most easily explained by continental drift and/or polar wandering. For example, fossils of the freshwater reptile Mesosaurus, which lived 270,000,000 years ago, are found only in South America and Africa. The reptile's bone structure was such that it probably could not have swum across the Atlantic, but if South America and Africa had been

Star Cluster, Globular clusters

2005-02-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

Although globular clusters are widely scattered in galactic latitude, about a third of them are concentrated around the galactic centre, as satellite systems in the rich Sagittarius–Scorpius star fields. Individual cluster masses include up to 1,000,000 suns, and their linear diameters can be several hundred light-years; their apparent diameters range from one degree

Locarno

2005-02-12T13:06:00.000-08:00

German Luggarus town, Ticino canton, southern Switzerland. It is situated at the northern end of Lago Maggiore, near the mouth of the Maggia River, west of Bellinzona. The site was settled in prehistoric times, and the town was first mentioned in 789. A possession of the dukes of Milan from 1342, it was taken by the Swiss in 1513. It became part of the newly formed Ticino canton in 1803 and, with Lugano and Bellinzona,

Baptist General Conference

2005-02-12T00:32:00.000-08:00

Conservative Baptist denomination that was organized in 1879 as the Swedish Baptist General Conference of America; the present name was adopted in 1945. It developed from the work of Gustaf Palmquist, a Swedish immigrant schoolteacher and lay preacher who became a Baptist in 1852. He established the first Swedish Baptist Church in Rock Island, Ill., that same year. Palmquist and

Swag

2005-02-11T16:19:00.000-08:00

The swag, or festoon, usually carved from

Godarpura

2005-02-11T15:02:00.000-08:00

Also called Mandhata , or Omkarji pilgrimage centre, western Madhya Pradesh state, central India. It lies along the Narmada River southeast of Indore. Godarpura has noted Saivite, Vaisnavite, and Jaina temples, mostly of the 14th and 18th centuries. The Omkar temple, on an island in the river, contains one of the 12 great Siva (Shiva) phallic symbols, or lingas; another linga stands outside the Gauri Somnath temple. The

Balboa, Vasco Núñez De

2005-02-11T10:10:00.000-08:00

Spanish conquistador and explorer, who was head of the first stable settlement on the South American continent (1511) and who was the first European to sight the Pacific Ocean (on Sept. 25 [or 27], 1513, from “a peak in Darién”).

B-film

2005-02-10T02:43:00.000-08:00

Todd McCarthy and Charles Flynn (eds.), Kings of the Bs: Working Within the Hollywood System (1975).

Taurus

2005-02-09T19:32:00.000-08:00

In astronomy, zodiacal constellation lying between Aries and Gemini, at about 4 hours 20 minutes right ascension (the coordinate on the celestial sphere analogous to longitude on the Earth) and 16° north declination (angular distance north of the celestial equator). The constellation's brightest star, Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri), is of the first magnitude. The constellation

Epicentre

2005-02-09T07:27:00.000-08:00

Point on the surface of the Earth that is directly above the source of an earthquake (called the focus). There the effects of the earthquake usually are most severe. The epicentre can be located by constructing arcs from each of three or more seismic observatories, with the arcs' radii equal to the distance from each station to the focus of the earthquake. The point of

Cosamaloapan

2005-02-09T02:38:00.000-08:00

In full Cosamaloapan Del Carpio, city, southern Veracruz estado (“state”), south-central Mexico. It lies at 315 feet (96 m) above sea level in the Papaloapan River valley in the Gulf lowlands and is 91 miles (147 km) southeast of Veracruz. The hot, humid hinterland is Mexico's greatest sugarcane region; corn (maize), bananas, and mangoes also thrive. Livestock are raised in the vicinity, and charcoal is manufactured. The Papaloapan

Amphiuma

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

Although there are both three-toed and one-toed species,