ElasticCup

Novel, Apprenticeship

2005-03-23T08:08:00.000-08:00

The Bildungsroman, or novel about upbringing and education, seems to have its beginnings in Goethe's work, Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre (1796), which is about the processes by which a sensitive soul discovers its identity and its role in the big world. A story of the emergence of a personality and a talent, with its implicit motifs of struggle, conflict, suffering, and success,

Norske Folkeeventyr

2005-03-22T00:58:00.000-08:00

(1841–44; Eng. trans. Norwegian Folktales), collections of folktales and legends, by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe, that had survived and developed from Old Norse pagan mythology in the mountain and fjord dialects of Norway. The authors, stimulated by a revival of interest in Norway's past, gathered the tales of ghosts, fairies, gods, and mountain trolls

Feldman, Morton

2005-03-19T13:39:00.000-08:00

Feldman studied composition with Wallingford Riegger and Stefan Wolpe. In the 1950s, much more influenced by Abstract Expressionist painters than by other composers, he began using a method of graphic notation that included such devices as indicating

Proboscis Monkey

2005-03-18T05:33:00.000-08:00

(Nasalis larvatus) long-tailed arboreal monkey, family Cercopithecidae, found in the swampy mangrove forests of Borneo. The proboscis monkey is red-brown with pale underparts. The nose is long and pendulous in the male, smaller in the female, and upturned in the young. The male is about 56–72 cm (22–28 inches) long without the 66–75-centimetre (26–29-inch) tail and weighs 12–24 kg (26–53 pounds); the female is

Celestina, La

2005-03-16T16:30:00.000-08:00

Originally published in 16 acts as the Comedia de Calisto y Melibea (1499; “Comedy of Calisto and Melibea”) and shortly thereafter in an expanded version with 21 acts as the Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea (1502), the work

Toponymy

2005-03-13T17:51:00.000-08:00

Taxonomic study of place-names, based on etymological, historical, and geographical information. A place-name is a word or words used to indicate, denote, or identify a geographic locality such as a town, river, or mountain. Toponymy divides place-names into two broad categories: habitation names and feature names. A habitation name denotes a locality that is peopled

Rocky Mountains, Environmental concerns

2005-03-12T00:27:00.000-08:00

Serious problems have arisen as a result of timber harvesting, grazing, oil exploration, mining, and reservoir operations in the Rockies. Logging and oil exploration have been responsible for accelerated slope erosion, both from the operations themselves and from the access roads built to reach them. Erosion has stripped away the often thin soil cover and caused

Bulgarian Horrors

2005-03-09T19:37:00.000-08:00

Atrocities committed by the forces of the Ottoman Empire in subduing the Bulgarian rebellion of 1876; the name was given currency by the British statesman W.E. Gladstone. Publicity given to the atrocities, especially in Gladstone's pamphlet “The Bulgarian Horrors and the Question of the East” (1876), served to arouse public sympathy in Europe for the Bulgarians and other southern

Indian Philosophy, Concepts of bhedabheda

2005-03-07T18:13:00.000-08:00

Among pre-Sankara commentators on the Vedanta-sutras, Bhartrprapañca defended the thesis

Colette

2005-03-05T04:35:00.000-08:00

Colette

Greek Mythology, Myths of heroes

2005-03-04T04:35:00.000-08:00

Hero myths included elements from tradition, folktale, and fiction. The saga of the Argonauts, for example, is highly complex and includes elements from folktale and fiction, but the information that the fleet mustered at Colchis may be regarded as genuine legend. Episodes in the Trojan cycle, such as the departure of the Greek fleet from Aulis or Theseus' Cretan expedition

Nastase, Ilie

2005-03-01T14:31:00.000-08:00

A Davis Cup player since 1966, Nastase almost single-handedly powered Romania to the finals in 1969, 1971, and 1972, although the United States won each time. The most heartbreaking

Biblical Literature, The roles of Deborah, Gideon, and Jephthah

2005-02-28T13:16:00.000-08:00

The first notably important judge of the tribal confederacy was Deborah, who was primarily a seer, poet, and interpreter of dreams but still a person endowed with the kind of charisma that identified her as a judge sent from Yahweh. The story of the victory of the Israelites under the charismatic leadership of Deborah and the military leadership of Barak, her commander,

Hawatmeh, Na'if

2005-02-26T20:10:00.000-08:00

Born into a Christian family in Jordan, Hawatmeh attended the Arab University of Beirut in Lebanon, where he became a militant in the Arab Nationalist Movement, which at its 1967 congress adopted Hawatmeh's Marxist “scientific

Moravian Church

2005-02-24T14:03:00.000-08:00

Protestant church founded in the 18th century but tracing its origin to the Unitas Fratrum (“Unity of Brethren”) of the 15th-century Hussite movement in Bohemia and Moravia.

Dipteran, Annotated classification

2005-02-22T14:16:00.000-08:00

Characterized by large squamae (calypters that join base of wing to thorax); Scatophagidae

Madeleine

2005-02-19T02:40:00.000-08:00

Delicate, scallop-shaped French tea cake often served with fruit or sherbet. In its preparation, flour, eggs, and sugar are beaten with a large proportion of butter, incorporating as much air as possible; then grated lemon rind and vanilla extract, and sometimes rum, are added. After baking in the customary 12-shell tin, the pastry is served plain or dusted with confectioner's

Black Pepper

2005-02-18T17:35:00.000-08:00

In early

Byron Bay

2005-02-16T17:53:00.000-08:00

Town, northeastern New South Wales, Australia. The town is situated on Cape Byron, easternmost point of the Australian mainland, which shelters Byron Bay and was discovered in 1770 by Captain James Cook, who named it after Commodore (later Admiral) John Byron, grandfather of the poet Lord Byron. Founded in 1860 as a timber port, Byron Bay was declared a town in 1896 and a shire in 1906. Before

China, Period of division

2005-02-13T20:52:00.000-08:00

The most extensive modern account of the period of division is that found in the general history by Franke cited above, vol. 2, with copious notes in vol. 3; this is a traditional chronological history, which pays little attention to nonpolitical matters and absolutely none to modern historical writing on the period in Chinese and Japanese. Other works on this important period include Wolfram Eberhard, Das Toba-Reich Nordchinas: eine soziologische Untersuchung (1949), a Western-language study on the T'o-pa Wei—controversial and interesting but highly technical; W.J.F. Jenner, Memories of Loyang (1981), a political history of the Wei dynasty during the Pei-ch'ao (Northern Dynasties) period; Étienne Balazs, “Les Courants intellectuels en Chine au IIIe siècle de notre ère,” Études Asiatiques, vol. 2 (1948), the best Western-language study on the rise of “Neo-Taoism” and other schools of thought after the breakdown of the Han Empire; Henri Maspero, Taoism and Chinese Religion (1983; originally published in French, 1950), a collection of essays dealing mainly with T'ang dynasty Taoism, still the most important general survey of the Taoist religion of this period, written mainly in the 1930s and '40s by a great authority for the general public; Holmes Welch, Taoism: The Parting of the Way, rev. ed. (1965), a general history of the Taoist movement with about one-third of the book devoted to the development of Taoist religion in the Six Dynasties period; Michel Strickmann, Le Taoïsme du Mao Chan: chronique d'une révélation (1981), a scholarly account of one of the main schools of medieval Taoism; Arthur F. Wright, Buddhism in Chinese History (1959, reprinted 1971), a popular but authoritative survey of Chinese Buddhism as a whole, two chapters of which are devoted to the Six Dynasties period; Kenneth K.S. Chen, Buddhism in China (1964, reprinted 1972), an extensive history of Chinese Buddhism by an eminent specialist; Erik Zürcher, The Buddhist Conquest of China, 2 vol. (1959, reprinted 1972), a detailed, rather technical study of the formation of gentry Buddhism; and Jacques Gernet, Les Aspects économiques du bouddhisme dans la société chinoise du Ve au Xe siècle (1956), an indispensable but rather technical work on the economic functions of the Buddhist monasteries from the 5th to the 10th century.

Sabine

2005-02-11T07:25:00.000-08:00

Latin Sabinus , plural Sabini member of an ancient Italic tribe located in the mountainous country east of the Tiber River. They were known for their religious practices and beliefs, and several Roman institutions were said to have derived from them. The story recounted by Plutarch that Romulus, the founder of Rome, invited the Sabines to a feast and then carried off (raped) their women, is legendary.

Human Evolution, Examination and analysis of fossils

2005-02-10T19:52:00.000-08:00

Although it appears that at the time of discovery the remains of more than 10 individuals existed at Cro-Magnon, only fragments from some five individuals were preserved and studied, among them the cranium and mandible of a male about 50 years old. Considered representative of the Cro-Magnon type, this specimen is known as the “Old Man of Cro-Magnon.” Also preserved were skull

Rocky Mountains, Climate

2005-02-08T17:12:00.000-08:00

Along the great north-south extent of the mountains, the climate of the Rockies extends from the northern fringe of the subtropical zone in the far south to the Arctic in the far north. In the south, however, the continentality and high elevation of the mountains tend to reduce the advantages of latitude. Two vertical zones prevail throughout much of the range. The lower

Tetraodontiform, Feeding habits

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

As one would suspect from their usually well-developed and massive dentition, often with the teeth fused together in a parrotlike beak, most tetraodontiforms feed on hard-shelled crustaceans, mollusks, and echinoderms. But some, with massive, crushing jaws and teeth, such as the ocean sunfishes, often feed extensively on such soft-bodied invertebrates as jellyfishes

Mitchell, Margaret

2005-02-06T07:19:00.000-08:00

Mitchell attended Washington Seminary in her native Atlanta, Georgia, before enrolling at Smith College in 1918. When her mother died the next year, she returned home. Between 1922 and 1926 she was a writer and reporter for the Atlanta Journal. After an ankle injury in

Insurance, Underwriting and rate making

2005-02-05T15:07:00.000-08:00

The two basic functions in insurance are underwriting and rating, which are closely related to each other. Underwriting deals with the selection of risks, and rating deals with the pricing system applicable to the risks accepted.

Maugham, W. Somerset

2005-02-03T10:03:00.000-08:00

Maugham was orphaned at the age of 10; he was brought up by an uncle and educated at King's School, Canterbury. After a year at Heidelberg, he entered St. Thomas' medical school,

Curtea De Arges

2005-02-03T06:30:00.000-08:00

Town, Arges judet (county), south central Romania. It is on the Arges River, at an elevation of 1,480 ft (450 m), on the southern slopes of the Transylvanian Alps (Southern Carpathians), about 80 mi (130 km) northwest of Bucharest. Curtea de Arges succeeded Câmpulung as capital of feudal Walachia. Outstanding architectural monuments include the St. Nicholas church, one of the oldest churches in

Enciclopedia Italiana Di Scienze, Lettere Ed Arti

2005-02-02T16:43:00.000-08:00

The Enciclopedia italiana contains many excellent lengthy articles, usually

Quillwork

2005-02-01T03:58:00.000-08:00

Type of embroidery done with the quills of a porcupine, or sometimes with bird feathers. This type of decoration was used by American Indians from Maine to Virginia and westward to the Rocky Mountains. For all practical purposes the art has died out. Quills were used on tobacco and tinder bags, knife and paintstick cases, cradles, armulets, burden straps, tunics, shirts,

Arndt, Ernst Moritz

2005-01-30T03:33:00.000-08:00

Alfred G. Pundt, Arndt and the Nationalist Awakening in Germany (1935, reprinted 1968).

Guadalupe

2005-01-30T00:20:00.000-08:00

City, central Nuevo León estado (“state”), northeastern Mexico. It lies 672 feet (205 m) above sea level on the Santa Catarina River, about 3 miles (5 km) east of Monterrey, the state capital. Guadalupe is primarily an agricultural centre. Corn (maize) is the principal crop in the environs, but chick-peas are also important. Cattle and sheep are also raised in the vicinity. By virtue of its proximity

Nordhorn

2005-01-28T00:38:00.000-08:00

Town, Lower Saxony Land (state), northwestern Germany, on the Vechte River at the junction of the Almelo-Nordhorn, Ems-Vechte, and Süd-Nord canals, 4 miles (6 km) from the Dutch border. First mentioned about 1000 and chartered in 1379, the city suffered heavily from plague, fire, and war in the 15th and 16th centuries. Part of the Augustinian Frenswegen Abbey (founded 1394) and the 15th-century Protestant

Guldberg, Cato Maximilian

2005-01-27T18:48:00.000-08:00

Guldberg was educated at the University of Christiania and taught at the royal military schools before becoming professor of mathematics at the University

Moradabad

2005-01-26T22:56:00.000-08:00

City, administrative headquarters of Moradabad district, Uttar Pradesh state, northern India, on a ridge along the Ramganga River. Moradabad was founded in 1625 by Rustam Khan (a Mughal general), who built the fort north of the city as well as the Jami' Masjid, a large mosque. Located at a major road and rail junction, it is a trade centre for agricultural products. Industries include cotton

Hale, Louise Closser

2005-01-25T20:35:00.000-08:00

Louise Closser studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and at Emerson College of Oratory in Boston. She made her theatrical debut in 1894 in a Detroit, Michigan, production of In Old Kentucky. For several years she appeared

Ram Das

2005-01-24T16:55:00.000-08:00

Ram Das continued as Guru (1574–81) the missionary endeavour begun by his predecessor, Amar Das. On land given to him by the Mughal emperor Akbar, he built a holy tank, or pool; then, wishing to build a community around it, he invited businessmen and

Oscan Language

2005-01-22T21:12:00.000-08:00

One of the Italic languages closely related to Umbrian and Volscian and more distantly related to Latin and Faliscan. Spoken in southern and central Italy, it was probably the native tongue of the Samnite people of the central mountainous region of southern Italy. Oscan was gradually displaced by Latin and apparently became completely extinct by the end of the

Fusulina

2005-01-22T10:24:00.000-08:00

Genus of extinct fusulinid foraminiferans (protozoans with a shell) found as fossils in marine rocks of Late Carboniferous age (286 to 320 million years old). Fusulina, an excellent index fossil for Late Carboniferous rocks, enables widely separated rocks to be correlated.

Hooks, Benjamin L.

2005-01-20T21:43:00.000-08:00

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

Chatham Islands

2005-01-20T11:21:00.000-08:00

Island group in the South Pacific Ocean, about 500 miles (800 km) east of New Zealand. Composed of 10 islands, with a total land area of 372 square miles (963 square km), they are primarily of volcanic formation, but areas of limestone indicate that they may once have been part of New Zealand. Chatham Island, the largest (347 square miles [900 square km]), rises to 942 feet (287 m); more than 20 percent of its poorly drained

Selangor

2005-01-19T16:16:00.000-08:00

Region of western West Malaysia (Malaya), occupying part of a coastal alluvial plain on the Strait of Malacca. In 1974, a 94-square-mile (243-square-kilometre) portion of Selangor, centring on Kuala Lumpur, was designated a wilayapersekutuan (federal territory). Selangor's history and economic development have been closely linked with two rivers, the Kelang and the Langat, which

Eyasi, Lake

2005-01-18T08:43:00.000-08:00

Lake, northern Tanzania. It lies west of Lake Manyara and approximately 95 miles (155 km) southwest of Arusha. At an elevation of about 3,400 feet (1,040 m), the lake covers an area of about 400 square miles (1,050 square km) and occupies the bottom of a bowllike depression in a region of volcanic activity. The walls of the lake are purple lava enclosing a broad expanse of white alkaline shallows with

Pacific Ocean, Exploration in the 20th century

2005-01-17T10:43:00.000-08:00

Among the most important 20th-century expeditions to the Pacific were those of the American ship Carnegie (1928–29), the Danish vessel Dana II (1928–1930), the Swedish ship Albatross (1947–48), and the Danish ship Galathea (1950–52). In the late 1950s the Soviet vessel Vityaz carried out detailed soundings of the deep trenches of the western Pacific, and in 1960 the American bathyscaphe Trieste descended to the bottom

Pitch

2005-01-16T02:40:00.000-08:00

In Western music, standard pitches have long been used to facilitate tuning. Usually

Jícama

2005-01-15T20:46:00.000-08:00

Also called Yam Bean (species Pachyrhizus erosus, or P. tuberosus), leguminous vine native to Mexico and Central and South America, grown for its edible tuberous root. The plant's irregularly globular, brown-skinned tubers are white-fleshed, crisp, and juicy; some varieties (jícama de aqua) have clear juices, and some (jícama de leche) have milky juice. Both types of tubers are mild-flavoured and

Yesenin, Sergey Aleksandrovich

2005-01-15T10:36:00.000-08:00

The son of a peasant family of Old Believers, he left his

Shadhiliyah

2005-01-12T00:18:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Shaziliyah, widespread brotherhood of Muslim mystics (Sufis), founded on the teachings of Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhili (d. 1258) in Alexandria. Shadhili teachings stress five points: fear of God, living the sunna (practices) of the Prophet, disdain of mankind, fatalism, and turning to God in times of happiness and distress. The order, which spread throughout North Africa and the Sudan and into Arabia, was

The Environment

2005-01-11T10:50:00.000-08:00

To the surprise of professional horticulturists, computers had a large impact on the field in 1997. Academics led the way, and numerous universities in industrialized countries converted their reference resources to on-line, searchable form, making them freely available via the World Wide Web. The types of information that were obtained from these sites included

World War I, The Turkish entry

2005-01-11T04:27:00.000-08:00

The entry of Turkey (or the Ottoman Empire, as it was then called) into the war as a German ally was the one great success of German wartime diplomacy. Since 1909 Turkey had been under the control of the Young Turks, over whom Germany had skillfully gained a dominating influence. German military instructors permeated the Turkish Army, and Enver Pasa, the leader of the Young Turks,

Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate Of Antioch

2005-01-09T09:22:00.000-08:00

In the 5th and 6th centuries a large body of Christians in Syria repudiated the patriarchs of Antioch who had supported the Council of Chalcedon (451) in affirming the dual nature of Christ. Like many Copts, Ethiopians, and Armenians,

Schrieffer, John Robert

2005-01-08T11:59:00.000-08:00

Schrieffer was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign,

Race, The enslavement of Africans

2005-01-07T10:04:00.000-08:00

Between 1660 and 1690, leaders of the Virginia colony began to establish practices that provided or sanctioned differential treatment for freed servants whose origins were in Europe. They conscripted poor whites, with whom they had never had interests in common, into the category of free men and made land, tools, animals, and other resources available to them. African Americans

China, The decisive year, 1948

2005-01-06T03:08:00.000-08:00

The year 1948 was the turning point. In central China, Communist armies of 500,000 men proved their ability to fight major battles on the plains and to capture, though not always hold, such important towns on the Lung-hai as Lo-yang and K'ai-feng. In North China they encircled T'ai-yüan, the capital of Shansi; took most of Chahar and Jehol, provinces on Manchuria's western flank; and recaptured

Abu Tammam

2005-01-04T16:28:00.000-08:00

Abu Tammam changed his Christian father's name of Thadhus to Aws and invented for himself an Arab genealogy. In his youth he worked in Damascus as a weaver's assistant but on going to Egypt began to study poetry. It is not certain when he began to write verse, but by

Stable Fly

2005-01-04T08:30:00.000-08:00

The female must feed on blood before she can lay her

Marquette University

2005-01-03T07:22:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Milwaukee, Wis., U.S. It is affiliated with the Jesuit order of the Roman Catholic church. It offers degree programs at the bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional levels. Marquette comprises 12 schools, colleges, and programs, including a school of law and a physical therapy program. The School of Dentistry

Carnivore, Form and function

2005-01-03T06:17:00.000-08:00

Being highly carnivorous, mustelids have well-developed carnassials and a reduced number of premolar and molar teeth, the total number of teeth being between 30 and 38 (average, 34). With such a reduction in tooth number, the facial area of these animals is shortened. In the wolverine and American badger the bone of the lower jaw has a projection, the postglenoid process, that

Dead Sea Scrolls

2005-01-01T21:30:00.000-08:00

Ancient, mostly Hebrew, manuscripts (of leather, papyrus, and copper) first found in 1947 on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea. Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls is among the more important finds in the history of modern archaeology. Study of the scrolls has enabled scholars to push back the date of a stabilized Hebrew Bible to no later than AD 70, to help reconstruct the history

Ascanian Dynasties

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

Albert the Bear (see Albert I under Albert [Brandenburg]) was the first to raise the family's rank from that of

Denon, Dominique Vivant, Baron

2004-12-30T13:05:00.000-08:00

Denon studied law in Paris but turned to the theatre, writing a successful comedy at age 23. He drew and painted and was commissioned by Louis XV to arrange a cabinet of carved gems. Between 1772 and 1787 he carried

Auger Effect

2004-12-30T13:02:00.000-08:00

All atoms consist of a nucleus

Ascari, Alberto

2004-12-28T21:10:00.000-08:00

Ascari started racing on motorcycles, turning to cars in 1940, when he entered the Mille Miglia. He raced in Maseratis after World War II and in Ferraris from 1949 to 1954, when he joined the Lancia team. He won the Mille Miglia in 1954 and many Grand Prix. Like his father, Antonio Ascari, who also

Joachim Frederick

2004-12-27T21:51:00.000-08:00

Joachim established the rule of primogeniture for the Hohenzollern electorate by a family agreement known as the Gera Bond (1598), which confirmed the practice begun by Albert III Achilles whereby Brandenburg formed the inheritance

Arabian Sea, Resources

2004-12-25T23:59:00.000-08:00

High levels of inorganic nutrients, such as phosphate concentrate, which produce a rich fish life, have been observed in the western Arabian Sea and off the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Occurring in the euphotic zone (zone of light, which is found in the upper 450 feet of the sea), this fertilizing effect undoubtedly is attributable in part to coastal upwelling,

China, The first historical dynasty: the Shang

2004-12-25T19:06:00.000-08:00

In addition to the works of Chang, Watson, and Rawson mentioned in the previous paragraph, the following works are also informative: Kwang-chih Chang, Early Chinese Civilization: Anthropological Perspectives (1976), and Shang Civilization (1980), on Shang archaeology and culture; Tsung-tung Chang, Der Kult der Shang-Dynastie im Spiegel der Orakelinschriften (1970); David N. Keightley, Sources of Shang History: The Oracle-Bone Inscriptions of Bronze Age China (1978, reprinted 1985); Wen Fong (ed.), The Great Bronze Age of China (1980), an analytic catalog of an exhibition from the People's Republic of China; and Paul Wheatley, The Pivot of the Four Quarters (1971), a comparative study of the origins of urban society.

Maazel, Lorin

2004-12-23T10:14:00.000-08:00

Maazel grew up in Los Angeles and began his first musical instruction at age five. Although he began conducting as early as age nine, he made his adult debut in 1953 in Italy,

Amritsar, Massacre Of

2004-12-22T17:15:00.000-08:00

In 1919 the British government of India enacted the Rowlatt Acts, extending its World War I emergency powers to combat subversive activities.

Tigerware

2004-12-19T16:40:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Tygerware, 16th- and 17th-century German stoneware having a brown, mottled glaze, and made in the Rhenish centres of Cologne and Frechen, Ger. Tigerware was imported to England and imitated there in the different medium of delft, or tin-glazed earthenware; the imitations were also called tigerware. Tin-glazed jugs in this style—called Malling jugs—are among the earliest class of English

Fucus

2004-12-18T01:15:00.000-08:00

Also called Rockweed, genus of brown algae, common on rocky seacoasts and in salt marshes of northern temperate regions. Adaptations to its environment include bladderlike floats (pneumatocysts), disk-shaped holdfasts for clinging to rocks, and mucilage-covered blades for resisting desiccation and temperature changes. The plant is between 25 and 30 centimetres (9.8 to 11.8 inches)

Rye

2004-12-16T15:21:00.000-08:00

The Village of Rye, which was separately incorporated in 1904 and already a popular

Great Fish River

2004-12-13T14:50:00.000-08:00

Afrikaans Groot-Vis river in the Cape Midlands, Eastern province, southern South Africa. The Great Fish River has a length of 430 miles (692 km) and a drainage area of 11,900 square miles (30,800 square km). Its main northern tributary, the Great Brak River, rises in 7,000-foot- (2,100-metre-) high mountains 30 miles (48 km) south of the Orange River and northeast of Middelburg. The Tarka River, coming from the northeast, and the Baviaans

Constance

2004-12-11T16:00:00.000-08:00

The daughter of King Roger II of Sicily, Constance married the future emperor Henry VI in 1186 and was crowned with him in Rome in 1191. On the death of her nephew William

Swartberg

2004-12-09T01:44:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Swartberge, mountain range in Western Cape province, South Africa, extending east-west for 150 mi (240 km) from near the town of Willowmore to the edge of the Witteberge, roughly parallel with the Indian Ocean coast. The Swartberg is the barrier dividing the semiarid Great Karoo (north) and Little Karoo (south) plateaus. Highest elevations range from between 5,500 and 7,500 ft (1,650 and 2,300 m). Small reservoirs

Anticlericalism

2004-12-07T00:22:00.000-08:00

Three principal

China, The Ch'ing Empire

2004-12-05T04:44:00.000-08:00

After 1683 the Ch'ing rulers turned their attention to consolidating control over their frontiers. Taiwan became part of the empire, and military expeditions against perceived threats in north and west Asia created the largest empire China has ever known. From the late 17th to the early 18th century Ch'ing armies destroyed the Oyrat Empire based in Dzungaria and incorporated

Themistocles

2004-12-04T21:12:00.000-08:00

Athenian politician and naval strategist who was the creator of Athenian sea power and the chief saviour of Greece from subjection to the Persian Empire at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC.

Water Moss

2004-12-01T18:35:00.000-08:00

Also called Brook Moss, or Fountain Moss (Fontinalis), genus of mosses belonging to the order Bryales, found in flowing freshwater streams and ponds in temperate regions. About 25 species are native to North America. A brook moss may have shoots 30 to 100 (rarely up to 200) cm (12 to 40 inches) long, and is usually attached to a stone or a tree root. The most common species, F. antipyretica, has long, slender branches covered with glossy,

Stalinism

2004-11-30T13:14:00.000-08:00

In a party dominated by intellectuals and rhetoricians, Stalin stood for a practical approach to revolution, devoid of ideological sentiment. Once power was in Bolshevik hands, the

Karawanken

2004-11-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

Italian Caravanche , Serbo-Croatian Karavanke mountain range of the Eastern Alps, extending eastward along the Slovenian-Austrian border for 50 miles (80 km) from the town of Tarvisio in Italy. The range lies between the Drava River (north) and the upper Sava River (south) and rises to Hochstuhl (7,342 feet [2,238 m]) in the eastern part. The Karawanken, consisting mainly of limestone, is crossed by road at Wurzen, Loibl, and Seeberg passes.

Karawanken

2004-11-25T07:14:00.000-08:00

Any of 40 tropical species of large shrubs or trees found in the Americas that burn well due to the high resin content of its wood. Sea torchwood (A. elemifera) grows along the coasts of Florida, and balsam torchwood (A. balsamifera) is known especially from Cuba. Incense and aromatic oils are derived from torchwood, and extracts from the Mexican A. plumieri are used in

Berazategui

2004-11-24T04:46:00.000-08:00

Partido (county) at the southeastern limits of Gran (Greater) Buenos Aires, Argentina, in Buenos Aires provincia. It lies along the Río de la Plata estuary. The subdivision was created in October 1960 out of the existing partido of Quilmes. Berazategui was originally the property of the Barragán family when it was sold in 1860 to José Clemente Berazategui and Juan Etcheverry.

Croatia, Industry

2004-11-21T20:56:00.000-08:00

Already more industrialized than most of its neighbours when the communists assumed power over Yugoslavia in 1945, Croatia continued its rapid industrialization under socialist policies of economic and social development. One unfortunate result was the squandering of a great deal of money through inefficiency and the misallocation of resources through the

Israel, Karaites

2004-11-19T13:36:00.000-08:00

The Karaites are a Jewish sect that emerged in the early Middle Ages. Several thousand members live in Ramla, and more recently in Beersheba and Ashdod. Like other religious minorities, they have their own religious courts and communal organizations. Considered part of Jewish society, they have maintained their separate identity by resisting intermarriage and

Bohemian School

2004-11-18T23:06:00.000-08:00

School of the visual arts that flourished in and around Prague under the patronage of Charles IV, king of Bohemia from 1346 and Holy Roman emperor from 1355 to 1378. Prague, as Charles's principal residence, attracted many foreign artists and local masters. Although it was heavily exposed to the artistic traditions of France and northern Italy (mainly through the

Ocala

2004-11-16T07:17:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1846) of Marion county, north-central Florida, U.S., about 35 miles (55 km) southeast of Gainesville. It developed around Fort King (established in 1827), an important post during the Seminole Wars. The city's name was derived from Ocali, the Timucua Indian name for the province through which Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto passed in 1539; its literal meaning is unknown. After the Seminole

Bilbays

2004-11-14T08:29:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Bilbeis, or Bilbis, town, southwestern ash-Sharqiyah muhafazah (governorate) in the eastern Nile River delta, Lower Egypt. Bilbays lies northeast of Cairo, on the main road from Ismailia and Port Said and on the al-Isma'iliyah Canal. Its name is an Arabic corruption of the Coptic Phelbes. Situated on a caravan and natural invasion route from the east, Bilbays was conquered in AD 640 by the Arabs, who in 727 resettled

Red Oak

2004-11-12T07:33:00.000-08:00

Any member of a group or subgenus (Erythrobalanus) of North American ornamental and timber shrubs and trees of the genus Quercus, in the beech family (Fagaceae), that have bristle-tipped leaves, acorns with hairy shell linings, and bitter seeds that mature in two seasons. Black oak, live oak, willow oak (including water oak, laurel oak, shingle oak), and pin

La Mothe Le Vayer, François De

2004-11-09T19:49:00.000-08:00

La Mothe Le Vayer became an avocat in the Parlement of Paris, taking over his father's seat, but soon resigned when the attraction of belles lettres became stronger. His work La

Welch, Elisabeth Margaret

2004-11-08T04:09:00.000-08:00

American-born British musical theatre and cabaret singer (b. Feb. 27, 1904, New York, N.Y.—d. July 15, 2003, Northolt, Middlesex, Eng.), was known for her show-stopping performances in plays by Cole Porter, Ivor Novello, and Noël Coward. Welch began her career in New York City, where she created a sensation in 1931 with her rendition of Porter's “Love for Sale.” She was a cabaret singer in Paris before becoming

Welch, Elisabeth Margaret

2004-11-06T02:53:00.000-08:00

India's second largest trade union federation after the Indian National Trade Union Congress. The AITUC was formed by the Indian National Congress (the central organ of the independence movement) in 1920 to represent India at the International Labour Organisation of the League of Nations. During the 1920s British communists, in trying to organize trade unions, gained control

Germany, The consolidation of Brandenburg-Prussia and Austria

2004-11-04T18:50:00.000-08:00

Against an overall tendency among the empire's constituent units to keep things as they were, the larger territories pursued an insistent policy of dynastic and personal aggrandizement. A number of factors favoured state building in the post-1618 era. General economic exhaustion made central direction of, and active intervention in, commerce and production seem

Pox Disease

2004-11-01T21:23:00.000-08:00

Any of a complex of viral diseases in human beings and domestic animals, marked chiefly by eruptions of the skin and mucous membranes. Sheep pox and rabbit pox are spread by airborne infectious particles that are inhaled. Horse pox, fowl pox, and mouse pox usually are spread by skin contact. Cowpox (vaccinia) and pseudo-cowpox (paravaccinia), localized on the udder and

Arabia, History Of, Arabian and Islamic expansion

2004-10-31T18:22:00.000-08:00

In the 6th century Quraysh—the noble and holy house of the confederation of the Hejaz controlling the sacred enclave (haram) of Mecca—contrived a chain of agreements with the northern and southern tribes that opened the highways of Arabia to commerce. Under Quraysh aegis, caravans moved freely from the southern Yemen coast to Mecca and thence northward to Byzantium

Celosia

2004-10-26T22:28:00.000-07:00

Genus of about 60 species of herbaceous plants, of the amaranth family (Amaranthaceae), native to tropical America and Africa and characterized by alternate leaves and showy flowers in spikes, which in cultivated forms are often fasciated and form compact or feathery clusters. Some species are called woolflower for their dense chaffy flower spikes

Alkaptonuria

2004-10-25T05:48:00.000-07:00

Rather rare (one in 200,000 births) inherited disorder of protein metabolism characterized by an inability of the body to metabolize the amino acids tyrosine and phenylalanine. In the normal metabolic pathway of tyrosine, homogentisic acid is converted to maleylacetoacetate in the liver by the enzyme homogentisate 1,2-dioxygenase. This enzyme is not active in individuals

Moscheles, Ignaz

2004-10-23T01:55:00.000-07:00

Moscheles studied at the Prague Conservatory and later at Vienna under J.G. Albrechtsberger and Antonio Salieri. In 1814, commissioned by Artaria & Co., publishers, he made the first piano arrangement of Ludwig van

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Parable

2004-10-20T04:11:00.000-07:00

In the West the conventions of parable were largely established by the teachings of Christ. The New Testament records a sufficient number of his parables, with their occasions, to show that to some extent his disciples were chosen as his initiates and followers because they “had ears to hear” the true meaning of his parables. (It has already been noted that the parable

Yakuza

2004-10-19T20:27:00.000-07:00

In Japan, gangster, a member of a boryokudan (q.v.), or gang of racketeers. The word yakuza, which has come to mean “good for nothing,” is derived from a worthless hand in a Japanese card game similar to blackjack: the cards ya-ku-za (“eight-nine-three”), when added up, exceed the winning number of 19.

Alabama, The Indians

2004-10-17T17:03:00.000-07:00

The earliest and longest established inhabitants of the present-day state of Alabama were Indians. Visible traces of their occupancy, which spanned almost 10,000 years, may be seen in the great mounds that snake across the landscape near the river valleys. Many placenames in the state also indicate an Indian origin. The name Alabama itself derives from an Indian word meaning