FutureClock

Aquino

2005-03-18T01:34:00.000-08:00

Ancient (Latin) Aquinum town, Frosinone provincia, Lazio regione, south-central Italy, southeast of Frosinone city. The ancient town (the site of which is nearby) prospered from its position on the Roman road, Via Latina, until it was laid waste by Totila, a Gothic king, in the mid-6th century and abandoned for the more fertile present site. During the feudal struggles Riccardo, count of Acerra and

Ligorio, Pirro

2005-03-17T15:22:00.000-08:00

Italian architect, painter, landscaper, and antiquarian who designed the Villa d'Este at Tivoli (1550–69), which still stands in its original state. Built for Ligorio's patron, Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, the villa has a planted landscape and a vast terraced garden with spectacular fountains leading up to the huge house. Ligorio also built the Casino

Biblical Literature, The number of books

2005-03-15T18:37:00.000-08:00

The number of books in the Hebrew canon is thus 24, referring to the sum of the separate scrolls on which these works were traditionally written in ancient times. This figure is first cited in II Esdras in a passage usually dated c. 100 CE and is frequently mentioned in rabbinic (postbiblical) literature, but no authentic tradition exists to explain it. Josephus, a 1st century CE Jewish

Parabasis

2005-03-15T07:27:00.000-08:00

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.

Xochimilco

2005-03-14T09:47:00.000-08:00

Cereal Farming, Weeds

2005-03-12T16:45:00.000-08:00

Weeds present difficulties, as they compete with cereal crops for water, light, and mineral nutrients. The infestation of annual seeds planted in a field may cause many weeds in that field for successive years. Charlock or wild mustard, wild oats, crouch grass, and other common weeds are disseminated by wind, water, and birds.

Qafsah

2005-03-12T01:12:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Gafsa, Latin Capsa, town, west-central Tunisia. The ancient name of the locality is applied to the Mesolithic Capsian industry (here dated about 6250 BC) of the earliest inhabitants. The original Numidian town was destroyed (106 BC) by the Romans; it was rebuilt later by Trajan and was then successively a centre of Byzantine, Arab, Berber, and Ottoman rulers. Qafsah is a noted irrigated fruit-growing oasis

Computers

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

A computer might be described with deceptive simplicity as “an apparatus that performs routine calculations automatically.” Such a definition would owe its deceptiveness to a naive and narrow view of calculation as a strictly mathematical process. In fact, calculation

Wilder, Thornton (niven)

2005-03-10T07:46:00.000-08:00

His first novel, The Cabala (1926), while set in 20th-century Rome,

'ayn

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

Many a'yan during the 17th century acquired lifelong leases on tax farms and prospered financially. During

Fracastoro, Girolamo

2005-03-08T03:34:00.000-08:00

At the University of Padua Fracastoro was a colleague of the astronomer Copernicus. As a physician, he maintained

Johannesen, Knut

2005-03-06T17:58:00.000-08:00

In addition to numerous Olympic medals and world records, Johannesen won acclaim for regaining Norway's dominance in speed skating and for being the first skater ever to complete 10,000 metres in less than 16 minutes. He accomplished the latter feat

Buraq

2005-03-06T11:48:00.000-08:00

In Islamic tradition, a creature said to have transported the Prophet Muhammad to heaven. Described as “a white animal, half-mule, half-donkey, with wings on its sides . . . ,” Buraq was originally introduced into the story of Muhammad's night journey (isra') from Mecca to Jerusalem and back, thus explaining how the journey between the cities could have been completed in a single night.

Kabul River

2005-03-05T04:16:00.000-08:00

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

French Literature, Secular drama

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

The earliest comic plays extant date from the second half of the 13th century. Le Garçon et

Kabelvåg

2005-03-03T07:18:00.000-08:00

Historical village of the Lofoten island group, Nordland fylke (county), northern Norway. It is on the southern shore of Austvågøya island, just southwest of Svolvær, chief town of the Lofoten. Kabelvåg was founded as Vågan in the early 12th century by King Øystein, who built a church and fishermen's hostel there. For many centuries the small port, situated at the base of steep,

Gray, Simon

2005-03-01T04:03:00.000-08:00

Gray alternately lived in Canada and England, attending Westminster School in London; Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (B.A., 1957); and Trinity College, Cambridge (B.A.,

Radic, Stjepan

2005-03-01T02:52:00.000-08:00

With his brother Ante, he organized the Croatian Peasant Party in 1904. In March 1918 Radic began to cooperate with the National Council in Zagreb for the establishment of a Yugoslav

Gage, Matilda Joslyn

2005-02-27T06:09:00.000-08:00

Matilda Joslyn received an advanced education from her father and completed her formal schooling at the Clinton Liberal Institute in Clinton, New York. In 1845 she married Henry H. Gage, with whom she settled in Fayetteville,

Vair, Guillaume Du

2005-02-27T00:28:00.000-08:00

A lawyer by training, du Vair occupied high offices of state under Henry IV, having made his reputation with his eloquent and cogently argued orations. He first came to the fore with a brilliant oration on the death of Mary, Queen of Scots. The

Hawthorn, John Michael

2005-02-26T21:07:00.000-08:00

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

Essex

2005-02-24T11:44:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Chittenden county, northwestern Vermont, U.S., on the Winooski River just east of Burlington. Chartered in 1763 and settled in 1783, it consists of the villages of Essex Junction and Essex Center. Essex Junction is a busy industrial and residential site where the Central Vermont Railroad and several highways converge; its railway depot serves as the depot for

Shensi, Resources

2005-02-23T20:53:00.000-08:00

The basin in the north of the province has enormous coal reserves, second in size only to those of Shansi. Important modern mines are those at T'ung-ch'uan, on the northern slope of the Wei Valley, and at Han-ch'eng, near the Huang Ho. There are minor coal and oil-shale deposits in the Han Basin in the south, where there are also iron-ore deposits. The Tsinling Mountains contain

Qiblah

2005-02-22T21:37:00.000-08:00

Also spelled qibla or kiblah the direction of the sacred shrine of the Ka'bah in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, toward which Muslims turn five times each day when performing the salat (daily ritual prayer). Soon after Muhammad's emigration (Hijrah, or Hegira) to Medina in 622, he indicated Jerusalem as the qiblah, probably influenced by Jewish tradition. When Jewish-Muslim relations no longer seemed promising,

Cable

2005-02-21T13:55:00.000-08:00

Electric cables used to transmit information are quite different from power cables, both in function and in design. Power cables are designed for high voltages and high current loads, whereas both voltage and current in a communication cable are small. Power cables operate on direct current or low-frequency alternating current, while communication cables operate

Tabari, At-

2005-02-21T02:35:00.000-08:00

Obviously, at-Tabari could not sustain his preference for reports originating with the Prophet and the pious scholars of the early community known as as-salaf. His judgment of a report's reliability was now based upon the largely theoretical criterion that it should originate with either an eyewitness or a contemporary informant. This posed a problem for which at-Tabar

Rousseau, Jean-jacques

2005-02-19T18:13:00.000-08:00

Rousseau was the least academic of modern philosophers and in many ways was the most influential. His thought marked the end of the Age of Reason. He propelled political

Judaism, Creativity

2005-02-18T21:37:00.000-08:00

As has been noted, this “creed,” or “confession of faith,” underscores in the first benediction the relation of God to the world as that of Creator to creation. “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who forms light and creates darkness, who makes peace and creates all things.” It adds the assertion that his activity is not in the past but is ongoing and continuous,

Yala

2005-02-17T21:13:00.000-08:00

Town, extreme southern Thailand. Yala is a modern commercial centre on the Pattani River, which flows north into the Gulf of Thailand. The town is also located on the Bangkok-Singapore railway and the Pattani–George Town (Penang [Malaysia]) highway. The population includes Thai Muslims, Malay Muslims, and Chinese. The region is heavily planted in rubber. Nearby caves contain

Yala

2005-02-16T18:55:00.000-08:00

Though beginning in the mid-1950s as a collection of various groups opposed to the government of President Diem, the Viet Cong

Gaur

2005-02-16T15:10:00.000-08:00

(Bos gaurus), one of several species of wild cattle, family Bovidae (order Artiodactyla). The gaur lives in small herds in the mountain forests of India, Southeast Asia, and the Malay Peninsula. Larger than any other wild cattle, it attains a shoulder height of 1.8 m (6 feet) or more. It is heavy-bodied and typically blue-eyed and has curving horns, a high ridge on the forepart

Aleksandrovsk-sakhalinsky

2005-02-14T04:14:00.000-08:00

City, Sakhalin oblast (province), far-eastern Russia, on the western coast of Sakhalin Island. It was founded in 1881 as a centre for penal settlements. In 1890 the writer Anton Chekhov lived there while gathering material about convict life for his book Ostrov Sakhalin (“Sakhalin Island”). It became a city in 1926 and from 1932 to 1947 was the centre of an oblast. Pop. (1991 est.) 19,600.

Russell, Pee Wee

2005-02-12T21:15:00.000-08:00

Reluctantly trained in violin as a child, Russell also tried piano and drums before settling on the clarinet, on which he became a distinctive stylist. Russell developed a quirky, chance-taking style that employed a generally plaintive tone punctuated by growls, squeaks, and breathy mutterings.

Kaikei

2005-02-11T14:44:00.000-08:00

Together with his father, Kokei, and his brother Unkei, he made statues for the temples of Kofuku and Todai in Nara, the ancient capital of Japan. Kaikei's style, while sharing the direct and realistic manner typical of the time, was noted for its gentleness and grace in contrast to Unkei's,

Cartography

2005-02-10T18:18:00.000-08:00

Cartography is an ancient discipline that dates from the prehistoric depiction of hunting and fishing

B-52

2005-02-10T14:13:00.000-08:00

Also called Stratofortress, U.S. long-range heavy bomber, designed in 1948 and first flown in 1952. Though originally intended to be an atomic-bomb carrier capable of reaching the Soviet Union, it proved adaptable to a number of missions, and some B-52s were thus expected to remain in service for the rest of the 20th century. The B-52 has a wingspan of 185 feet (56 m) and a length of 160 feet 10.9 inches (49 m). It is powered by eight jet engines

Eye Disease

2005-02-09T15:35:00.000-08:00

This article briefly describes the more common diseases of the eye and its associated structures, and the methods used in examination and diagnosis; it also indicates the treatment and prognosis. The first part deals with conditions affecting the orbit, lids, and external eye, and the second with

Phidias

2005-02-07T20:19:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Pheidias Athenian sculptor, the artistic director of the construction of the Parthenon, who created its most important religious images and supervised and probably designed its overall sculptural decoration. It is said of Phidias that he alone had seen the exact image of the gods and that he revealed it to man. He established forever general conceptions of Zeus and

Academy Award

2005-02-05T18:35:00.000-08:00

In full Academy Award of Merit , byname Oscar any of several awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, located in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., to recognize achievement in the film industry. The award, a gold-plated statuette, is bestowed upon winners in the following 25 categories: best picture, actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, directing, original screenplay,

Tura

2005-02-05T14:54:00.000-08:00

Urban settlement and administrative centre of Evenky autonomous okrug (district), Krasnoyarsk kray (region), east-central Russia. The settlement lies along the Nizhnaya (Lower) Tunguska River at its confluence with the Kochechum. Tura is a transshipment point on the river. It is also the site of an institute of agriculture of the far north and a regional museum. Pop. (1991 est.)

Belafonte, Harry

2005-02-04T19:44:00.000-08:00

Belafonte's parents were emigrants from the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Jamaica, and he lived with his mother during her 1935–40 return to Jamaica. He left high school to serve in the U.S. Navy in the mid-1940s; after returning to New York City he studied

Ustyurt Plateau

2005-02-03T16:17:00.000-08:00

Kazak Üstirt , Turkmen Üstyurt plateau in Uzbekistan and Kazakstan, lying between the Aral Sea and the Amu Darya (river) delta in the east and the Mangyshlak (Tupqarghan) Plateau and the Kara-Bogaz-Gol (Garabogazköl; an inlet of the Caspian Sea) in the west. It has an area of about 77,000 square miles (about 200,000 square km) and an average elevation of about 500 feet (about 150 m), rising to a maximum of 1,200 feet (365 m) in the southwest. At its

Wadi Al-jadid, Al-

2005-02-02T11:21:00.000-08:00

(English: “New Valley”), desert muhafazah (governorate), Egypt. It includes the entire southwestern quadrant of the country, from the Nile River valley (east) to the frontiers with The Sudan (south) and Libya (west). Its total area covers approximately two-fifths of Egypt. Until 1958 the muhafazah was known as as-Sahra' al-Janubiyah, meaning “southern desert.” For national planning purposes, the term

Alban, Saint

2005-01-31T15:25:00.000-08:00

According to the historian Bede, he served in the Roman army and was converted to Christianity by a fugitive priest whom he sheltered and with whom he exchanged clothes, so that he was martyred in the priest's place (c. 304; other dates suggested by scholars are c. 254 or c. 209). His feast day is commemorated

Ben Lomond

2005-01-31T11:58:00.000-08:00

Mountain mass in northeastern Tasmania, Australia, comprising a plateau of 30 square miles (78 square km) made up of igneous rock. It mostly lies above 4,500 feet (1,400 m), making it the highest land in the state. The loftiest portion stretches 7 miles (11 km) from Legge Peak (Legges Tor; 5,161 feet [1,573 m]) southeast to Stacks Bluff (5,010 feet [1,527 m]). The surface is also covered with many small hills and lakes. Ben Lomond

Amphetamine

2005-01-30T20:53:00.000-08:00

Prototype of a series of synthetic drugs, all called amphetamines, that have pronounced stimulatory actions on the central nervous system. Amphetamine itself is a colourless liquid with an acrid taste and a faint odour; the most widely used preparation of the drug is amphetamine sulfate, marketed under the name Benzedrine, a white powder with a slightly bitter,

Approximant

2005-01-28T15:22:00.000-08:00

In phonetics, a sound that is produced by bringing one articulator in the vocal tract close to another without, however, causing audible friction (see fricative). Approximants include semivowels, such as the y sound in “yes” or the w sound in “war.”

Wellesley Islands

2005-01-28T02:31:00.000-08:00

Group of islands lying off the northwestern coast of Queensland, Australia, in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Sighted in 1644 by the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman, they were charted (1802–03) by the British navigator Matthew Flinders and named in honour of Marquess Wellesley (Richard Colley Wellesley), then governor-general of India. The islands are generally rocky or sandy and are covered

Auger, Arleen

2005-01-26T07:12:00.000-08:00

U.S. opera singer (b. Sept. 13, 1939, South Gate, Calif.--d. June 10, 1993, Leusden, Neth.), projected a commanding stage presence and was especially praised for her flexible coloratura soprano voice and subtle interpretations of works by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Monteverdi, Gluck, and especially Mozart. After graduating from California State University at Long Beach (1963), she taught elementary school

Han Gan

2005-01-26T02:50:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Han Kan Chinese painter of the Tang dynasty, who, though recorded as having done wall paintings on Buddhist and Daoist themes, is best remembered for his paintings of horses. Han emphasized the strength and nobility of the horses of the Tang empire by using a tautly controlled line and compositions of great clarity. The horse as a subject of painting was continued

Waiheke Island

2005-01-24T04:18:00.000-08:00

The island, whose Maori name means “cascading waters,” was the site of manganese

Melanchthon, Philipp

2005-01-22T14:51:00.000-08:00

Original name Philipp Schwartzerd (German: “Black Earth”; in Greek, Melanchthon) German author of the Confession of Augsburg of the Lutheran Church (1530), humanist, Reformer, theologian, and educator. He was a friend of Martin Luther and defended his views. In 1521 Melanchthon published the Loci communes, the first systematic treatment of evangelical doctrine. Because of his academic

China, Readjustment and reaction, 196165

2005-01-21T04:54:00.000-08:00

Reality can be seen, however, in the increasing

Wielopolski, Aleksander, Hrabia (count), Margrabia (margrave) Gonzaga Myszkowski

2005-01-20T11:06:00.000-08:00

Born into an impoverished noble family, he studied law as a young man in Warsaw and philosophy in Germany. Returning to Poland, he brought

Port Fairy

2005-01-20T08:07:00.000-08:00

Town, Victoria, Australia. It lies at the mouth of the Moyne River, on a headland east of Portland Bay (an inlet of the Indian Ocean). A settlement established there in 1835 was called Belfast for a time until it was renamed for a ship, the Fairy, that had sheltered in its harbour in 1810. Port Fairy became Victoria's first municipality (1852) and was proclaimed a borough in 1863. Connected to Melbourne

Earth

2005-01-19T04:08:00.000-08:00

The Earth's steady magnetic field is produced by many sources, both above and below the planet's surface. From the core outward, these include the geomagnetic dynamo, crustal magnetization, ionospheric dynamo, ring current, magnetopause current, tail current, field-aligned currents, and auroral electrojets. The geomagnetic dynamo is the most important source because,

Argun River

2005-01-17T20:51:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Pinyin) Ergun He or (Wade-Giles) O-erh-ku-na Ho

Bürger, Gottfried August

2005-01-17T09:22:00.000-08:00

Bürger was educated in theology at the University of Halle and in law at the University of Göttingen. It was in Göttingen that he first

Catechism

2005-01-15T21:47:00.000-08:00

A manual of religious instruction usually arranged in the form of questions and answers used to instruct the young, to win converts, and to testify to the faith. Although many religions give instruction in the faith by means of oral questions and answers, the written catechism is primarily a product of Christianity. Some early handbooks of instruction were prepared

Fischer, Ernst Otto

2005-01-15T17:37:00.000-08:00

Fischer served in the German army before and during World War II. In 1952 he received a doctorate in natural

Trans-kalahari Highway

2005-01-13T22:51:00.000-08:00

In March 1998 the residents of Botswana and Namibia met at Buitepos on the border between the two countries to inaugurate formally the Trans-Kalahari Highway. The new road formed part of the strategic coast-to-coast route that linked Maputo, Mozambique, on the Indian Ocean to Walvis Bay on the Atlantic coastline of Namibia. It was designed to serve as the backbone of an

Astor Family

2005-01-13T20:24:00.000-08:00

John Jacob Astor (1763–1848), the founder of the family fortune, is covered in a separate article: see Astor, John Jacob. His son, William Backhouse Astor (1792–1875), who inherited the major portion of the estate, continued his father's program of investing in Manhattan

Ernst, Paul

2005-01-11T16:39:00.000-08:00

Ernst studied for the ministry but quickly became disillusioned with theology. He became a militant Marxist and the editor of the Berliner Volkstribüne. He severed his

Azzone Dei Porci

2005-01-11T09:32:00.000-08:00

Also called Azzone Soldanus , Latin Azolinus Porcius, Azzone also spelled Azo or Azzo a leader of the Bolognese school of jurists and one of the few to write systematic summaries (summae) rather than textual glosses of Roman law as codified under the Byzantine emperor Justinian I (6th century AD). His Summa codicis and Apparatus ad codicem together provided a methodical exposition of Roman law and were very influential

Zaltys

2005-01-10T23:19:00.000-08:00

On special occasions the snake was asked to the table to share the family meal from their

Arias (madrid), Arnulfo

2005-01-08T15:19:00.000-08:00

The younger brother of Harmodio Arias (Panamanian president, 1932–36), Arias was educated at the University of Chicago and Harvard Medical School (to become a surgeon) and was minister of agriculture and public works in the 1930s during the presidency

Janus

2005-01-07T02:54:00.000-08:00

In Roman religion, the animistic spirit of doorways (januae) and archways (jani). The worship of Janus traditionally dated back to Romulus and a period even before the actual founding of the city of Rome. There were many jani (i.e., ceremonial gateways) in Rome; these were usually freestanding structures that were used for symbolically auspicious entrances or exits. Particular

Gnatcatcher

2005-01-07T00:10:00.000-08:00

Also called Gnatwren, family name Polioptilidae, any of about 11 species of small birds of the genus Polioptila, treated by many authorities as a subfamily of the Old World warbler family Sylviidae. The blue-gray gnatcatcher (P. caerulea), 11 cm (4.5 inches) long, with its long white-edged tail, looks like a tiny mockingbird. It breeds locally from eastern Canada and California to

Interior Design, Fabrics

2005-01-05T21:22:00.000-08:00

There are three basic aspects that determine appearance and suitability of fabrics for interior use: fibre content, weave, and pattern. Fibres are either natural or man-made. The important natural fibres are cotton, wool, linen, and silk. Although silk has long been considered the most elegant and desirable of all natural fibres, it does not stand up well under direct

Cancer, DNA repair defects

2005-01-04T08:32:00.000-08:00

Defects in two mismatch repair genes, called MSH2 and MLH1

Belawan

2005-01-03T23:24:00.000-08:00

Also called Belewan Deli the most important port in northeastern Sumatra, Indonesia, located on Belawan Island at the estuary of the Deli and Belawan rivers in Sumatera Utara provinsi (“province”). The port was originally dredged and constructed by the Dutch in the first two decades of the 20th century. It exports tobacco, rubber, tea, resin, copra, spices, palm oil, and sisal, and it imports foodstuffs

Gabar

2005-01-03T17:10:00.000-08:00

Any member of the small Zoroastrian minority in Iran. The name Gabar was formerly applied derogatorily to the Iranian Zoroastrians; the term is linguistically related to the Arabic kafir, meaning “infidel.” The Zoroastrians who remained in Persia (modern Iran) after the Arab–Muslim conquest (7th century AD) had a long history as outcasts. Although they purchased some toleration

Bufotenine

2005-01-02T09:16:00.000-08:00

Structurally, bufotenine is an indole hallucinogen that is capable of blocking

Aretino, Pietro

2004-12-31T17:15:00.000-08:00

Although Aretino was the son of an Arezzo shoemaker, he later pretended to be the bastard

France, History Of, The end of Gaul (c. 400c. 500)

2004-12-30T07:10:00.000-08:00

From 395 the division of the Roman Empire between an eastern and a western half caused acute internal political stresses that encouraged barbarian penetration of the Danube region and even Italy. The Rhine frontier was again neglected, and the seat of the Gallic prefecture was moved to Arelate. The result was Germanic invasion and civil war. By 418, Franks and Burgundians

Flores

2004-12-29T11:01:00.000-08:00

Departamento, south-central Uruguay. The rolling hills of the territory culminate in the east–west-trending Grande Inferior Range (Cuchilla Grande Inferior) and are drained by the Yi River and the Arroyo (stream) Chapicuy Grande. Economic activity centres around livestock raising and agriculture. Sheep ranching is widespread, and wool is a leading product of the

Knebel, Karl Ludwig Von

2004-12-28T06:48:00.000-08:00

After serving in the Prussian army, Knebel became tutor to Prince Konstantine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. While traveling with the prince and his older brother,

Stuttgart

2004-12-27T14:12:00.000-08:00

Regierungsbezirk (administrative district), northeastern Baden-Württemberg Land (state), southwestern Germany. Stuttgart is bordered by Bavaria Land to the north and east and the Regierungsbezirke of Tübingen to the south and Karlsruhe to the west. The largest of four districts in Baden-Württemberg, it is coextensive with portions of the larger historic regions

Knebel, Karl Ludwig Von

2004-12-26T14:39:00.000-08:00

In 1949 the JCP won 35 seats in the House of Representatives and nearly 10 percent of the vote, but external and internal

Arnauld, Jacqueline-marie-angélique

2004-12-25T20:45:00.000-08:00

Jacqueline Arnauld entered religious life as a child of 9, becoming abbess of the ancient Cistercian house of Port-Royal des Champs (near Versailles)

Canadian Literature

2004-12-25T04:41:00.000-08:00

The body of written works produced by Canadians. Reflecting the country's dual origin and linguistic distribution, the literature of Canada falls into two divisions: English and French. This article provides a brief historical account of each of these literatures.

Saturn

2004-12-24T15:08:00.000-08:00

Latin Saturnus, in Roman religion, the god of sowing or seed. The Romans equated him with the Greek agricultural deity Cronus. The remains of Saturn's temple at Rome, eight columns of the pronaos (porch), still dominate the west end of the Forum at the foot of the Clivus Capitolinus. It served as the treasury (aerarium Saturni) of the Roman state. Saturn's cult partner was the obscure goddess

Furniture, Flanders and Holland

2004-12-23T08:23:00.000-08:00

In Holland the Baroque style did not encroach on late Renaissance furniture until nearly 1640. Dutch

Kunlun Mountains, Geology

2004-12-21T23:42:00.000-08:00

The principal folded structures and granitic rocks of the Kunlun Mountains date to about 250 million years ago, a time during which there was much mountain building in the Eastern Hemisphere. The inner depressions of the Kunluns, however, are relatively recent structures in their entirety, being formed by deposits that are no more than 26 million years old; only the largest

Switzerland, The growth of confederation

2004-12-21T19:20:00.000-08:00

The threatened communities of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden were populated by a large number of free peasants. Although the origin of their freedom is not exactly known, it can be attributed in part to their need to cooperate in order to maintain an agrarian economy in the severe environmental conditions of the Alpine valleys. Problems relating to the use of pasturelands,

Anderson

2004-12-20T16:49:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1828) of Madison county, east-central Indiana, U.S. It lies along the West Fork of the White River, in a corn- (maize-) and wheat-producing region, 38 miles (61 km) northeast of Indianapolis. Founded in 1823 on the site of a Delaware Indian village, it was named Andersontown for a subchief, Koktowhanund, also known as William Anderson. In 1886 the town's industrial growth was assured with the

Plotinus

2004-12-19T08:06:00.000-08:00

Ancient philosopher, the centre of an influential circle of intellectuals and men of letters in 3rd-century Rome, who is regarded by modern scholars as the founder of the Neoplatonic school of philosophy.

Fain, Sammy

2004-12-18T02:33:00.000-08:00

Fain was a self-taught pianist who played by ear. He began working as a staff

'abbas Mirza

2004-12-16T10:00:00.000-08:00

Although he was not the eldest son of Fath 'Ali Shah (1797–1834), 'Abbas Mirza was named crown prince and appointed governor of the province of Azerbaijan in 1798 or 1799. When war broke out between Russia and Iran in 1804, he was made commander of the Iranian expeditionary

Cézanne, Paul

2004-12-16T08:35:00.000-08:00

French painter, one of the greatest of the Post-Impressionists, whose works and ideas were influential in the aesthetic development of many 20th-century artists and art movements, especially Cubism. Cézanne's art, misunderstood and discredited by the public during most of his life, grew out of Impressionism and

Maunick, édouard J.

2004-12-14T06:34:00.000-08:00

Maunick grew up on Mauritius Island, where, as a métis (mulatto), he experienced social discrimination from both blacks and whites. After working briefly as a librarian in Port-Louis, he settled in Paris in 1960, writing, lecturing, and directing for Coopération Radiophonique. He published frequently in Présence Africaine

Viscacha

2004-12-13T11:08:00.000-08:00

Any of four species of slender yet fairly large South American rodents similar to chinchillas. They have short forelimbs, long hindlimbs, and a long, bushy tail. The soft fur is long and dense, and the soles of the feet have fleshy pads.[how about a brief comment on interesting social structure, vocalizations, and hunting for fur/meat/extermination

Xie Jun

2004-12-11T14:25:00.000-08:00

At the age of six Xie began to play Chinese chess, and by the age of 10 she had become the girls' champion of Beijing. At the urging of government authorities, she soon began playing Western chess. Despite indifferent training opportunities, Xie

Iriga

2004-12-10T22:32:00.000-08:00

City, southeastern Luzon, Philippines. It is located in the central part of Bicol Peninsula, about 20 miles (30 km) southeast of Naga. Iriga is named for the extinct volcano (3,976 feet [1,212 m]) in whose shadow it stands. The land surrounding Mount Iriga is extremely rough and suitable mainly for abaca (Manila hemp) plantations. Agriculture is the main economic activity in the area. Inc. city,

Hinduism, The Brahmanas and Aranyakas

2004-12-10T16:50:00.000-08:00

Attached to each Samhita was a collection of explanations of the rituals, called a Brahmana, which often relied on mythology to trace the origins and importance of individual ritual acts. Although they were not manuals or handbooks in the manner of the later Srauta Sutras, the Brahmanas do contain some detail about the performance and meaning of Vedic sacrificial rituals

Mürren

2004-12-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

Alpine village, Bern canton, south central Switzerland, situated high above the Lauterbrunnen Valley in the Bernese Oberland (highland), opposite the Jungfrau (13,642 ft [4,158 m]). It is the highest village in the canton (elevation 5,450 ft) that is inhabited all the year round. A noted health and international winter-sports resort, it is also a ballooning centre with an annual international

West Highland White Terrier

2004-12-05T11:24:00.000-08:00

Breed of terrier that probably originated at Poltalloch, in the former county of Argyll, Scotland. It was bred there for many years by the Malcolm family, whose dogs appear to be traceable back to the time of King James I of England. Typically hardy and gay-spirited, the West Highland white terrier is a short-legged dog standing 10 to 11 inches (25.5 to 28 cm) and weighing 13 to 19 pounds (6 to

Biblical Literature, Amos

2004-12-04T10:55:00.000-08:00

The Book of Amos, the third of the Twelve (Minor) Prophets, has been one of the most significant and influential books of the Bible from the time it was written (8th century BCE) down to the 20th century. Comprising only nine chapters of oracles, it was composed during the age of Jeroboam II, king of Israel from 786 to 746 BCE. His reign was marked by great economic prosperity, but the rich were

China, Temperature

2004-12-04T09:59:00.000-08:00

Temperatures generally decrease from south to north. The mean annual temperature is above 68 °F (20 °C) in the Pearl River Valley. It decreases to between 59 and 68 °F (15 and 20 °C) in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze, to about 50 °F (10 °C) in North China and the southern part of Sinkiang, and to 41 °F (5 °C) in the southern area of the Northeast, the northern part of Sinkiang, and places near the Great Wall.

Gatlinburg

2004-12-02T14:35:00.000-08:00

City, Sevier county, eastern Tennessee, U.S. It lies about 30 miles (50 km) southeast of Knoxville, at the northwestern entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. English and Scotch-Irish settlers began to arrive along the Little Pigeon River about 1795; by 1835 the settlement was called White Oak Flats. It was renamed in 1860 for Radford Gatlin, who opened a store there in 1855. In an American

FutureClock

Aquino

Ligorio, Pirro

Biblical Literature, The number of books

Parabasis

Xochimilco

Cereal Farming, Weeds

Qafsah

Computers

Wilder, Thornton (niven)

'ayn

Fracastoro, Girolamo

Johannesen, Knut

Buraq

Kabul River

French Literature, Secular drama

Kabelvåg

Gray, Simon

Radic, Stjepan

Gage, Matilda Joslyn

Vair, Guillaume Du

Hawthorn, John Michael

Essex

Shensi, Resources

Qiblah

Cable

Tabari, At-

Rousseau, Jean-jacques

Judaism, Creativity

Yala

Yala

Gaur

Aleksandrovsk-sakhalinsky

Russell, Pee Wee

Kaikei

Cartography

B-52

Eye Disease

Phidias

Academy Award

Tura

Belafonte, Harry

Ustyurt Plateau

Wadi Al-jadid, Al-

Alban, Saint

Ben Lomond

Amphetamine

Approximant

Wellesley Islands

Auger, Arleen

Han Gan

Waiheke Island

Melanchthon, Philipp

China, Readjustment and reaction, 196165

Wielopolski, Aleksander, Hrabia (count), Margrabia (margrave) Gonzaga Myszkowski

Port Fairy

Earth

Argun River

Bürger, Gottfried August

Catechism

Fischer, Ernst Otto

Trans-kalahari Highway

Astor Family

Ernst, Paul

Azzone Dei Porci

Zaltys

Arias (madrid), Arnulfo

Janus

Gnatcatcher

Interior Design, Fabrics

Cancer, DNA repair defects

Belawan

Gabar

Bufotenine

Aretino, Pietro

France, History Of, The end of Gaul (c. 400c. 500)

Flores

Knebel, Karl Ludwig Von

Stuttgart

Knebel, Karl Ludwig Von

China, Readjustment and reaction, 196165

France, History Of, The end of Gaul (c. 400c. 500)