MilitarySpoon

Pauling, Linus

2005-04-05T11:46:00.000-07:00

In full Linus Carl Pauling American chemist who applied quantum mechanics to the study of molecular structures, particularly in connection with chemical bonding. Pauling received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1954 and the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1962 (the latter in recognition of his efforts on behalf of the international control of nuclear weapons and his

Heidegger, Martin

2005-04-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

German philosopher, counted among the main exponents of 20th-century Existentialism. He was an original thinker, a critic of technological society, a leading ontologist of his time, and an influence on a younger generation of continental European cultural personalities.

Sucker

2005-04-04T07:22:00.000-07:00

Any of the freshwater fishes constituting the family Catostomidae, similar to and closely related to the carp and minnows (Cyprinidae). There are about 80 to 100 species of suckers; except for a few species in Asia, all are North American. Many suckers are almost indistinguishable from minnows, but catostomids may often be recognized by the sucking, usually ventral

Wyler, William

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

The son of a Swiss-born merchant in Alsace, Wyler attended the École Supérieure de Commerce in Lausanne, Switz., and the

Fontana, Carlo

2005-04-02T22:33:00.000-08:00

Italian architect, engineer, and publisher whose prolific studio produced widely imitated designs for fountains, palaces, tombs, and altars, as well as the curved facade on the S. Marcello al Corso (1682–83). His many international students included M.D. Poppelmann of Germany, James Gibbs of England, Filippa Juvarra of Italy, Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt

Homophony

2005-04-02T11:41:00.000-08:00

Homophony does

Wagner, Richard

2005-03-31T11:27:00.000-08:00

For the next 15 years Wagner was not to present any further new works. Until 1858 he lived in Zürich, composing, writing treatises, and conducting (he directed the London Philharmonic concerts in 1855). Having already studied the Siegfried legend and the Norse myths as a possible basis for an opera, and having written an operatic “poem,” Siegfrieds Tod (Siegfried's Death), in which he

Yogacara

2005-03-31T06:13:00.000-08:00

Also called Vijñanavada (“Doctrine of Consciousness”), an important idealistic school of Mahayana Buddhism. Yogacara attacked both the complete realism of Theravada Buddhism and the provisional practical realism of the Madhyamika school of Mahayana Buddhism. The name of the school is derived from the title of an important 4th- or 5th-century text of the school, the Yogacarabhumi-sastra (“The Science of the

Adams, John

2005-03-31T05:30:00.000-08:00

His insistence that elites were unavoidable realities in all societies, however, made him vulnerable to the charge of endorsing aristocratic rule in America, when in fact he was attempting to suggest that the inevitable American elite must be controlled, its ambitions channeled toward public purposes. He also was accused of endorsing monarchical principles because he argued that the chief executive in the American government, like the king in medieval European society, must possess sufficient power to check the ravenous appetites of the propertied classes. Although misunderstood by many of his contemporaries, the realistic perspective Adams proposed—and the skepticism toward utopian schemes he insisted upon—has achieved considerable support in the wake of the failed 20th-century attempts at social transformation in the communist bloc. In Adams's own day, his political analysis enjoyed the satisfaction of correctly predicting that the French Revolution would lead to the Reign of Terror and eventual despotism by a military dictator.

Amulet

2005-03-30T21:48:00.000-08:00

Natural amulets

Urticales

2005-03-29T21:48:00.000-08:00

Nettle order of dicotyledonous flowering plants, the largest order in the subclass Hamamelidae. The order includes a diversity of plant types that range from small herbaceous species to large trees. Among the members are stinging nettles; mulberry, fig, and elm trees; hop vines; and the hemp, or marijuana, plant.

Gaffney

2005-03-29T06:09:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Cherokee county, northern South Carolina, U.S., near the Broad River. Named for Michael Gaffney, an Irish settler who arrived in 1803, it early developed as a resort where plantation owners sought therapeutic treatment at local limestone springs. Its growth as a market centre for cotton (now peaches) and farm produce was sustained by the coming of the Southern

Double Dactyls

2005-03-28T18:47:00.000-08:00

Also called higgledy-piggledy a light-verse form consisting of eight lines of two dactyls each, arranged in two stanzas. The first line of the poem must be a jingle, often “Higgledy-piggledy” or “Jiggery-pokery”; the second line must be a name; the last lines of each stanza are truncated and they should rhyme; and one line in the second stanza must consist of a single word. The following example by R. McHenry

Davidson College

2005-03-28T09:27:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Davidson, North Carolina, U.S. It is a liberal arts college with bachelor's degree programs in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Junior-year students can study at the University of Tours in Tours, France, or the Julius Maximilian University in W

Swansea

2005-03-27T01:46:00.000-08:00

In the early 12th century the Norman Henry de Newburgh built a castle there, which was later destroyed by the Welsh rebel Owen Glendower. Up to the early 18th century Swansea

Gender

2005-03-26T23:59:00.000-08:00

In language, a phenomenon in which the words of a certain part of speech, usually nouns, require the agreement, or concord, through grammatical marking (or inflection), of various other words related to them in a sentence. In languages that exhibit gender, two or more classes of nouns control variation in words of other parts of speech (typically pronouns and adjectives

Byzantine Empire, Cultural revival

2005-03-26T13:46:00.000-08:00

Materially, the empire seemed almost beyond hope of recovery in the early 14th century, but spiritually and culturally it showed a remarkable vitality. The church, no longer troubled over the question of union with Rome, grew in prestige and authority. The patriarchs of Constantinople commanded the respect of all the Orthodox churches, even beyond the imperial boundaries;

Bohemond V

2005-03-25T17:45:00.000-08:00

The son of Bohemond IV by his wife Plaisance, he succeeded his father in 1233 and carried on the struggle with Armenia until 1251, when the marriage of the future Bohemond VI to the sister of the Armenian king finally brought peace. By his first marriage (1225) with Alice, the widow of Hugh I of Cyprus, Bohemond V connected the history

Wake

2005-03-23T18:54:00.000-08:00

Watch or vigil held over the body of a dead person before burial and sometimes accompanied by festivity; also, in England, a vigil kept in commemoration of the dedication of the parish church. The latter type of wake consisted of an all-night service of prayer and meditation in the church. These services, officially termed Vigiliae by the church, appear to have existed

Nitroglycerin

2005-03-23T08:47:00.000-08:00

Pure nitroglycerin is a colourless, oily, somewhat toxic liquid having a sweet, burning taste. It was first prepared in 1846 by the Italian

Epidermis

2005-03-22T11:00:00.000-08:00

In botany, outermost, protoderm-derived layer of cells covering the stem, root, leaf, flower, fruit, and seed parts of a plant. The epidermis and its waxy cuticle provide a protective barrier against mechanical injury, water loss, and infection. Various modified epidermal cells regulate transpiration, increase water absorption, and secrete substances.

Lords, House Of

2005-03-21T03:35:00.000-08:00

The upper chamber of Great Britain's bicameral legislature. Originating in the 11th century, when the Anglo-Saxon kings consulted witans (councils) composed of religious leaders and the monarch's ministers, it emerged as a distinct element of Parliament in the 13th and 14th centuries. It currently comprises the following elements: (1) the Lords Spiritual, including the archbishops

Arabia, Tribal relations

2005-03-21T01:10:00.000-08:00

Throughout Arabian history, even during phases of foreign rule, it was the free, arms-bearing tribesmen who dominated other classes of society, be the tribes nomadic or oasis dwellers, settled farmers in the highlands, or sailors, traders, and pirates gaining their livelihood at sea. The sultans, emirs, and sheikhs were drawn from the tribes, whom they had to cosset to

Cincinnatus, Lucius Quinctius

2005-03-20T23:00:00.000-08:00

The core of the tradition holds that in 458 Cincinnatus was appointed dictator at Rome in order to rescue a consular army that was surrounded

Culiacán

2005-03-20T21:37:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Sinaloa estado (“state”), western Mexico. It is on a small coastal plain (276 feet [84 m] above sea level) at the foot of the lofty Sierra Madre Occidental, on the Culiacán River. Founded in 1531, Culiacán played an important role in early colonial days as a base for Spanish expeditions. An elaborate irrigation system in the valley provides for a great variety of crops, including

Minamoto Yoriyoshi

2005-03-19T10:49:00.000-08:00

After aiding the central government in quelling several uprisings by Ainu tribesmen, Yoriyoshi was sent to crush a rebellion led by Abe Yoritoki of the powerful Abe warrior clan of northern Japan (1051). The fighting was characterized by repeated pauses, defeats

Keyboard Instrument, Germany

2005-03-19T01:29:00.000-08:00

From 1500 to 1800 Germany led the world in organ building and the composition of organ music. The organ builders reached the peak of their achievement about 1700 in the work of Arp Schnitger. Schnitger made organs with four manuals, pedals, and as many as 60 speaking stops, but he made some instruments with fewer than 30 speaking stops that are capable of dealing with the whole pre-Romantic

Polestar

2005-03-18T18:21:00.000-08:00

Also spelled pole star , also called (Northern Hemisphere) North Star the brightest star that appears nearest to either celestial pole at any particular time. Owing to the precession of the equinoxes, the position of each pole describes a small circle in the sky over a period of 25,800 years. Each of a succession of stars has thus passed near enough to the north celestial pole to serve as the polestar. At present the polestar is Polaris; Thuban

Margaret Of Parma

2005-03-18T03:37:00.000-08:00

The illegitimate daughter of the Holy Roman emperor Charles V (Charles I of Spain) and Johanna van der Gheenst, Margaret was married in 1536 to Alessandro de' Medici,

La Rue, Pierre De

2005-03-17T17:48:00.000-08:00

La Rue worked in Brussels from 1492, where he served Philip the Handsome and from 1508, Margaret of Austria, regent of the Netherlands; with them he visited France and Spain. In 1516 he became canon at Courtrai.

Bruni, Leonardo

2005-03-17T06:35:00.000-08:00

Bruni was secretary to the papal chancery from 1405 and served as chancellor of Florence from 1427 until his death in 1444. His Historiarum Florentini populi libri XII (1610; “Twelve Books of Histories of the Florentine People”) is the first history of Florence based on a critical examination of the

Scaevola, Quintus Mucius

2005-03-16T23:39:00.000-08:00

Instructed in law by his father and in philosophy by the stoic Panaetius of Rhodes, Scaevola became governor of the province of Asia about 120. Although accused of extortion on his return to Rome, he defended himself successfully

Yamamoto Isoroku

2005-03-16T16:11:00.000-08:00

Yamamoto graduated from the naval academy in 1904 and fought as an ensign in the Russo-Japanese War. He was naval attaché at the Japanese embassy in Washington, D.C., during 1926–27. He became vice minister of the Japanese navy in 1936, commander

Ogbomosho

2005-03-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

Town, Oyo state, southwestern Nigeria. It lies on the Plateau of Yorubaland (elevation 1,200 feet [366 m]) in an area of savanna and farmland and at the intersection of roads from Oyo, Ilorin, Oshogbo, and Ikoyi. Founded in the mid-17th century, it remained a minor outpost of the Yoruba Oyo empire until the beginning of the Muslim Fulani conquests of Oyo in the early 19th century. By surviving

Mays, Willie

2005-03-15T02:24:00.000-08:00

Both Mays's

Zaramo

2005-03-13T18:34:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Dzalamo , or Saramo a people who reside in the area surrounding Dar es-Salaam, Tanzania, and comprise the major ethnic component in the city. The Zaramo are considered to be part of the cluster of Swahili peoples on the coast of East Africa who have incorporated elements from many diverse ethnic backgrounds but who are unified in the Islamic faith and in the use of the Swahili

Haakon Iii Sverresson

2005-03-13T10:24:00.000-08:00

During his short reign he tried to heal the breach between the crown and the church, so that exiled bishops returned to their sees. It was said that the sickness which caused his sudden death was the result of poison put into his drink at the instigation of his Swedish stepmother, Margaret.

Biblical Literature, The significance of Elijah

2005-03-13T05:51:00.000-08:00

With the dynasty of Omri (c. 876–842), the prophetic movement begins to assume a position of tremendous importance in Israel and Judah. Omri (reigned c. 876–869) reestablished Israel's economic and military significance among the Syrian and Palestinian minor kingdoms, so much so that years after his death the Assyrians referred to the northern kingdom as “the land of Omri.” He is mentioned

Jeans

2005-03-12T09:51:00.000-08:00

Jeans are particularly identified as a standard item of “Western” apparel worn

Pox Disease

2005-03-12T03:05:00.000-08:00

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

Târgoviste

2005-03-12T02:28:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Tîrgoviste, city, capital of Dâmbovita judet (county), south-central Romania. It lies along the Ialomita River, in the southeastern Transylvanian Alps (Southern Carpathians), 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Bucharest. Târgoviste was the capital of feudal Walachia from the 14th to the 17th century. Its monuments include a 16th-century watchtower and a 17th-century church founded by Vasile Lupu. The city

Biblical Literature, Authorship and style

2005-03-11T19:31:00.000-08:00

Apocalypticism was introduced into Asia Minor after AD 70 (the fall of Jerusalem), and c. 80–90 a prophetic circle was formed near Ephesus. Its leader was John, a prophet, who might well have been the author of Revelation, which is deeply steeped in apocalyptic traditions. The “Johannine circle” bearing the tradition of John, the Apostle of the Lord, and from which emerged the Gospel

Bushbuck

2005-03-11T18:47:00.000-08:00

Also called Harnessed Antelope (Tragelaphus scriptus), African antelope of the family Bovidae (order Artiodactyla), found in sub-Saharan forests and brush. It is nocturnal, shy, and usually solitary. The bushbuck stands about 1 m (39 inches) at the shoulder and ranges in colour from reddish brown to almost black, depending on the subspecies. Its markings vary but include white patches

Novel, Apprenticeship

2005-03-10T22:42:00.000-08:00

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,

Ear, Human, Transmission of sound by air conduction

2005-03-10T05:48:00.000-08:00

The outer ear directs sound waves from the external environment to the tympanic membrane (Figure 1). The auricle, the visible portion of the outer ear, collects sound waves and, with the concha, the cavity at the entrance to the external auditory canal, helps to funnel sound into the canal. Because of its small size and virtual immobility, the auricle in humans is less useful

Wagner, Otto

2005-03-09T08:47:00.000-08:00

As a teacher, Wagner

China, Neolithic Period

2005-03-09T01:36:00.000-08:00

The complex of developments in stone tool technology, food production and storage, and social organization that is often characterized as the “Neolithic Revolution” was in progress in China by at least the 6th millennium BC. Developments in the Chinese Neolithic were to establish some of the major cultural dimensions of the subsequent Bronze Age.

Alexander

2005-03-08T22:44:00.000-08:00

Alexander was crowned co-emperor with his brother Leo VI in 879 after the death of their elder brother, Constantine, but he remained inactive in state affairs until after Leo's

Alba

2005-03-07T05:47:00.000-08:00

Town, Cuneo provincia, Piedmont regione, northwestern Italy. It lies along the Tanaro River southwest of Turin. It occupies the site of the Roman Alba Pompeia, which was probably founded by Pompeius Strabo (consul, 89 BC) when he constructed the road from Aquae Statiellae (Acqui Terme) to Augusta Taurinorum (Turin). The town became an episcopal see dependent on Milan in the 4th

Carlsbad

2005-03-07T04:26:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1889) of Eddy county, southeastern New Mexico, U.S. It lies on the right bank of the Pecos River. Founded in 1887 and first known as Eddy (for its founder Charles B. Eddy), it was renamed in 1899 for the European spa of Carlsbad (now Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic), because of nearby mineral springs that reputedly had the same mineral content as that of their namesake. The centre (since

Gobi

2005-03-06T13:57:00.000-08:00

The population density is small—fewer than three persons per square mile (one per square kilometre)—mostly Mongols with Chinese in Inner Mongolia. The Chinese population has increased greatly since 1950. The main occupation of the inhabitants is nomadic cattle raising, though agriculture is predominant in regions where the Chinese are concentrated. The traditional

Szeryng, Henryk

2005-03-06T06:58:00.000-08:00

Szeryng studied with Carl Flesch in Berlin and with Jacques Thibaud in Paris. He made his debut in 1933, and from 1933 to 1939 he was a composition student of Nadia Boulanger in Paris. During World War II he was on the staff of the Polish government-in-exile.

Lahmu And Lahamu

2005-03-05T18:28:00.000-08:00

Usually, Lahmu and Lahamu represent silt, but in some texts they seem to take the form

Economic Warfare

2005-03-04T17:17:00.000-08:00

The use of, or the threat to use, economic means against a country in order to weaken its economy and thereby reduce its political and military power. Economic warfare also includes the use of economic means to compel an adversary to change its policies or behaviour or to undermine its ability to conduct normal relations with other countries. Some common means of

Tarantella

2005-03-03T11:34:00.000-08:00

Couple folk dance of Italy characterized by light, quick steps and teasing, flirtatious behaviour between partners; women dancers frequently carry tambourines. The music is in lively 6/8 time. Tarantellas for two couples are also danced. The tarantella's origin is connected with tarantism, a disease or form of hysteria that appeared in Italy in the 15th to the 17th

Rehan, Ada

2005-03-03T07:17:00.000-08:00

Ada Crehan grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where her family settled shortly after the Civil War. She followed her older sisters onto the stage, making her debut at

Wokha

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

Town, Nagaland state, northeastern India, at the foot of the Wokha Hills, 50 miles (80 km) north of Kohima town. It is a trade and agricultural centre for the surrounding Naga Hills, in which grains (mainly rice) and fruits are grown on previously forested slopes. There are some cottage industries (weaving, pottery making, woodworking). Wokha is linked by highway to Mokokchung and

Wilder, Laura Ingalls

2005-03-02T16:55:00.000-08:00

Laura Ingalls grew up in a family that moved frequently from one part of the American frontier to another. Her father took the family by covered wagon to Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Indian Territory, and Dakota Territory. At age 15 she began teaching

Naga Hills

2005-03-02T09:26:00.000-08:00

Part of the complex mountain barrier on the border of India and Myanmar (Burma). A northern extension of the Arakan Yoma system, the Naga Hills reach a height of 12,552 feet (3,826 m) in Mount Saramati on the India-Myanmar frontier. The part of the range within India constituted the Naga Hills district of Assam until 1961 and since 1963 has been part of Nagaland. The hills receive a heavy monsoon rainfall

Chadic Languages

2005-03-02T06:27:00.000-08:00

Group of languages spoken in northern Nigeria, northern Ghana, Niger, and Cameroon and in parts of Togo, Benin, Chad, and the Central African Republic and generally classified as a branch of the Afro-Asiatic (formerly Hamito-Semitic) language family. The group includes many languages that are spoken by small numbers of people and that have no written form; among these

Anthropomorphism

2005-03-01T22:05:00.000-08:00

The attribution of human form or other human characteristics to any nonhuman object. In religion, the term is applied to any statement that depicts the deity as having a bodily form resembling that of human beings, or as possessing qualities of thought, will, or emotion that are continuous with those experienced by humans. Any reference to the divine as having a human

Cellarette

2005-02-28T22:55:00.000-08:00

Small, movable wine cooler and, later, also a deep, metal-lined tray with compartments for holding bottles in a sideboard. The term was first used by 18th-century cabinetmakers. Most movable cellarettes were made of mahogany, and designs were varied, the shape governed to some degree by the shapes of wine bottles. Early wine bottles were short and squat, but in the late 18th

Flores Island

2005-02-28T22:32:00.000-08:00

Portuguese Ilha Das Flores, westernmost island of the Portuguese Azores archipelago, in the North Atlantic. It forms, together with the Ilha do Corvo, the Santa Cruz group. The island has an area of 55 sq mi (142 sq km), is volcanic in origin, and rises from sea level to 3,087 ft (941 m) at Morro Grande in its centre. It has numerous crater lakes that offer good fishing and is noted for its lush flora (whence its name). The economy

Indian Philosophy, Metaphysics and epistemology

2005-02-28T14:10:00.000-08:00

For Vacaspati, creation was viewed in terms of the mere presence of the selves and the mere presentation to them of Matter (the undifferentiated primeval stuff). Such a view has obvious difficulties, for it would make creation eternal, because the selves and Matter are eternally copresent. Vijñanabhiksu considered the relation between the selves and Matter to be a real

Acajutla

2005-02-27T13:45:00.000-08:00

Pacific seaport, southwestern El Salvador. Spanish conquistadores defeated the Indians there in 1524, and it subsequently flourished as a colonial port. The old town has been rebuilt inland in order to make room for new port facilities. Acajutla is El Salvador's principal port and handles a large portion of its coffee exports and shipments of sugar and balsam (a resin

Interior Design, Walls

2005-02-26T19:22:00.000-08:00

Every wall is a material in itself; and ideally no material, if it is properly used, needs to be covered up. Some elegant buildings constructed since 1960 have used concrete in its natural texture—i.e., showing the formwork left by wooden forms as a conscious expression of the material. During the 19th century, fakery in design was very popular, and part of the concern with the true

Hackl, Georg

2005-02-26T00:42:00.000-08:00

Hackl was born and raised in the Bavarian town of Berchtesgaden, just four miles from the Königssee luge

Haberlandt, Gottlieb

2005-02-25T23:49:00.000-08:00

Haberlandt's first botanical paper appeared in 1874, one year after he entered the University of Vienna, where he obtained his Ph.D. (1876). He went to the University of Tübingen (1877) to study under Simon Schwendener,

And Fjord

2005-02-25T02:54:00.000-08:00

Norwegian Andfjorden fjord, in the Norwegian Sea, indenting northwestern Norway, located between the islands of And (west) and Senja (east). The fjord, which is divided between Nordland and Troms fylker (counties), penetrates into the offshore island of Hinn in the south, where it is called Gulles Fjord. Its total length is about 55 miles (90 km) from its broad opening into the Norwegian Sea at the Andenes

Arecibo Observatory

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

Astronomical observatory located 16 km (10 miles) south of the town of Arecibo in Puerto Rico; it is the site of the world's largest single-unit radio telescope. This instrument, built in the early 1960s, employs a 300-metre (1,000-foot) spherical reflector consisting of perforated aluminum panels that focus incoming radio waves on movable antenna structures positioned about 168 m (550 feet) above

Ear Disease

2005-02-24T06:37:00.000-08:00

The labyrinth of the inner ear contains the nerve endings of the vestibular nerve—the nerve of equilibrium—and the auditory nerve, which are branches of the vestibulocochlear, or eighth cranial, nerve. The vestibular nerve ends supply the semicircular canals and the otolithic membranes in the vestibule. The auditory nerve supplies the cochlea. Diseases of the

Vacuum Technology

2005-02-24T03:46:00.000-08:00

The operating principles of this gauge are similar to the Penning gauge except that the electrons are produced by a hot filament and accelerated to a grid. The pressure range covered is either 1 to 10-5 torr or 10-2 to 10-7 torr, depending on the electrode structure. Electrons emitted from the filament ionize residual gas molecules in the container being evacuated; the ion current

Philadelphia Zoological Gardens

2005-02-23T20:36:00.000-08:00

First zoo in the United States, opened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1874 with an animal inventory of several hundred native and exotic specimens. It was begun and continues to be operated by the Zoological Society of Philadelphia, founded in 1859. In 1868, three years after the end of the American Civil War, a 42-acre (17-hectare) site was selected in Fairmount Park, an architect was sent

Anthropology And Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology.

2005-02-21T19:12:00.000-08:00

Cultural anthropology, the only social science traditionally dedicated to describing and understanding the diversities and commonalities of human culture and society, remained a discipline in creative ferment during 1999. Ethnographers, those who describe culture, continued searching for more effective data-collection methods as they struggled to determine

Leap Year

2005-02-21T01:01:00.000-08:00

Year containing some intercalary period, especially a Gregorian year having a 29th day of February instead of the standard 28 days. The astronomical year, the time taken for the Earth to complete its orbit around the Sun, is about 365.242 days, or, to a first approximation, 365.25 days. To account for the odd quarter day, an extra calendar day is added every four years, as was first done in 46 BC, with

Ahom

2005-02-20T07:24:00.000-08:00

Tribe that ruled much of Assam from the 13th century until the establishment of British rule in 1838. Their power in Assam reached its peak during the reign of King Rudra Singh (1696–1714). They originated in the Chinese province of Yunnan and began migrating into Indochina and northern Myanmar (Burma) in the first centuries AD. Their original language is now extinct, and they speak Assamese.

Biblical Literature, Roman occupation and Jewish revolts

2005-02-20T07:21:00.000-08:00

In AD 66–70 there was a Jewish revolt while Nero was emperor of Rome (54–68). When he died and was succeeded by Vespasian, his former army commander (69–79), the siege and final destruction of Jerusalem occurred (AD 70). Before this event, Jewish Christians had fled, perhaps to Pella, and Yohanan ben Zakkai, a leading Jewish rabbi, with a group of rabbinical scholars, fled to Yavneh, where they established

Arabian Religion

2005-02-19T21:28:00.000-08:00

In the polytheistic religions of Arabia most of the gods were originally associated with heavenly bodies, to which were ascribed powers of fecundity, protection, or revenge against enemies. Aside from a few deities common to various populations, the pantheons show a marked local particularism. But many religious practices were in general use. The study of these

Yamamoto Isoroku

2005-02-18T22:45:00.000-08:00

Luther V. Borden

2005-02-17T23:18:00.000-08:00

In the spring of 1842, Rhode Island had two governors and two legislatures. One government was committed to retaining the old colonial charter, which severely limited voting rights, as the state's constitution. The other government, led by Thomas W. Dorr and providing for white

Amorphous Solid, Amorphous semiconductors in electronics

2005-02-17T20:42:00.000-08:00

Amorphous semiconductors, in the form of thin films prepared by methods such as that shown in Figure 4D, are important in applications requiring large areas of electronically active material. The first electronic application of amorphous semiconductors to occur on a large scale was

Leo

2005-02-17T20:07:00.000-08:00

(Latin: Lion), in astronomy, zodiacal constellation lying between Cancer and Virgo, at about 10 hours 30 minutes right ascension (the coordinate of the celestial sphere analogous to longitude on the Earth) and 15° north declination (angular distance north of the celestial equator). Regulus (Alpha Leonis), the brightest star, is of the first magnitude. The November meteor shower

Amman, Jost

2005-02-17T19:04:00.000-08:00

His engraving of the

Kango

2005-02-16T23:23:00.000-08:00

Town, northwestern Gabon. The town is situated about 50 miles (80 km) east of Libreville and lies on the Como River at the head of the Gabon Estuary. Kango is the site of one of Africa's largest cellulose and paper-pulp factories, which was built in the 1970s to process products of the surrounding forest. The factory draws its electric power from the Kinguélé dam on the Mbei River, a

Mahan, Larry E.

2005-02-16T19:01:00.000-08:00

In 1962 Mahan won the all-around Oregon championship and also won the bareback bronc and bulldogging

Hancock

2005-02-16T14:20:00.000-08:00

City, Houghton county, northwestern Upper Peninsula of Michigan, U.S., across Portage Lake from Houghton. Laid out in 1859, it was named for John Hancock, the American Revolutionary War leader. With the discovery of nearby copper mines in the mid-19th century, Hancock became a busy shipping point. In addition to mining, local industries include the manufacture of foundry products

Riverina

2005-02-15T00:58:00.000-08:00

Predominantly rural region, south-central New South Wales, Australia. Occupying 26,509 square miles (68,658 square km), it is bounded on the north and northwest by the Lachlan and Murrumbidgee rivers, on the south by the Murray River, and on the east by an imaginary line connecting the towns of Condobolin, Junee, and Albury. Most of the Riverina comprises level alluvial plains laced

Epistemology, Necessary versus contingent propositions

2005-02-14T22:26:00.000-08:00

A proposition is said to be necessary if it holds (is true) under all possible circumstances or conditions. “All husbands are married” is such a proposition. There are no possible or conceivable conditions under which this statement would not be true (on the assumption, of course, that the words “husband” and “married” are taken to mean what they ordinarily mean). In contrast,

Sicilian Octave

2005-02-14T22:10:00.000-08:00

An Italian stanza or poem having eight lines of 11 syllables (hendecasyllables) rhyming abababab. The form may have originated in Tuscany about the 13th century, though little is known about its origins. The Sicilian octave was in use until the 16th century, when the madrigal overtook it in popularity.

Apure River

2005-02-13T04:42:00.000-08:00

Spanish Río Apure, river in western Venezuela. The major navigable tributary of the Orinoco River, it arises in the Cordillera de Mérida and flows for 510 miles (820 km) northeast and east through the heart of the Llanos (plains), Venezuela's most important cattle-raising area. The river's principal tributaries, including the Portuguesa and the Guárico, flow mainly from the north. During the rainy

Lodge, Henry Cabot

2005-02-13T02:35:00.000-08:00

He was the grandson of Senator Henry Cabot Lodge (1850–1924) and a member of a politically dedicated family that included six U.S. senators and a governor of Massachusetts. Lodge began his career in politics, after several years as a journalist, with

Biblical Literature, Prayer of Manasseh

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

In some manuscripts of the Septuagint and in two later Christian writings, a pseudepigraphic Prayer of Manasseh is contained. This prayer was composed with reference to II Chron. 33:11–18, according to which the wicked Judaean king Manasseh repented and prayed. In the present form the prayer is Greek in origin, but it may have existed in a Hebrew version, of which the Greek is

Porcupine Fish

2005-02-11T09:59:00.000-08:00

Porcupine fishes are short and broad-bodied, with large eyes, beaklike teeth, and skins set with spines, hence the name. These spines are short and permanently

Utsunomiya

2005-02-11T02:04:00.000-08:00

Capital, Tochigi ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. The city is situated on the alluvial plain between the Ta River and the Kinu River. A castle town in the 11th century, it later served as a post town on the Nikko Highway during the Tokugawa era (1603–1867). The city became the prefectural administrative centre in 1884. During World War II industries were relocated to Utsunomiya from Tokyo, producing

Biblical Literature, Background

2005-02-11T01:15:00.000-08:00

The historical background of the New Testament and its times must be viewed in conjunction with the Jewish matrix from which it evolved and the Hellenistic (Greek cultural) world into which it expanded during a period of Jewish religious propaganda. It is difficult, however, to separate the phenomena of the Jewish and Hellenistic backgrounds, because the Judaism

Indriidae

2005-02-10T03:13:00.000-08:00

Family of arboreal Madagascan primates. See avahi; indri; sifaka.

Kschessinska, Mathilde

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

Kschessinska also spelled Kshessinska, Russian in full Mathilda-maria Feliksovna Kshesinskaya prima ballerina assoluta of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the first Russian dancer to master 32 consecutive fouettés en tournant (“whipped turns” done in place and on one leg), a feat previously performed only by Italian dancers and considered in that era the supreme achievement in dance

Water-supply System

2005-02-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

There is much archaeological evidence to indicate

Moro, Aldo

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

A professor of law at the University of Bari, Moro published several books on legal subjects and served also as president of the Federazione

Brazil, Minerals

2005-02-07T23:50:00.000-08:00

Brazil contains extremely rich mineral reserves that are only partly exploited, including iron ore, tin, copper, pyrochlore (from which ferroniobium is derived), and bauxite. There are also significant amounts of granite, manganese, asbestos, gold, gemstones, quartz, tantalum, and kaolin (china clay). Most industrial minerals are concentrated in Minas Gerais and