ConsciousCake

Mountain, Heating and thermal expansion

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

Rocks, like most materials, expand when they are heated. Some mountain ranges and plateaus are high simply because the crust and upper mantle beneath them are unusually hot. Most broad variations in the topography of the ocean floor, the mid-ocean ridges and rises, are due to horizontal variations in temperature in the outer 100 kilometres of the Earth. Hot areas stand

World War I, The Western Front, JuneDecember 1917

2005-03-18T15:33:00.000-08:00

Pétain's decision to remain temporarily on the defensive after Nivelle's failure gave Haig the opportunity to fulfill his desire for a British offensive in Flanders. He took the first step on June 7, 1917, with a long-prepared attack on the Messines Ridge, north of Armentières, on the southern flank of his Ypres salient. This attack by General Sir Herbert Plumer's 2nd Army proved

Uccello, Paolo

2005-03-16T11:17:00.000-08:00

Original name Paolo Di Dono Florentine painter whose work attempted uniquely to reconcile two distinct artistic styles—the essentially decorative late Gothic and the new heroic style of the early Renaissance. Probably his most famous paintings are three panels representing “The Battle of San Romano” (c. 1456). His careful and sophisticated perspective

Banner System

2005-03-14T19:46:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade–Giles romanization) Ch'i-ping, Pinyin Qibing, the military organization used by the Manchu tribes of Manchuria (now Northeast China) to conquer and control China in the 17th century. The Banner system was developed by the Manchu leader Nurhachi (1559–1626), who in 1601 organized his warriors into four companies of 300 men each. The companies were distinguished by banners of different colours—yellow, red, white, and blue. In 1615 four more

Mierkat

2005-03-12T17:12:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Meerkat, common name for certain carnivores of the civet family (Viverridae): the suricate (q.v.) and various mongoose (q.v.) species.

Río Gallegos

2005-03-10T18:18:00.000-08:00

Founded in 1885, it was named for Blasco Gallegos, one of Ferdinand Magellan's pilots, who is credited with discovering the river. Prehistoric cave paintings

Mamou

2005-03-09T01:17:00.000-08:00

Town, west-central Guinea. Located on the Conakry-Kankan railway and at the intersection of roads from Kindia, Dalaba, Dabola, and Faranah, Mamou was founded in 1908 as a collecting point on the railroad from Conakry (125 miles [201 km] southwest). It is the chief trading centre for the rice, cattle, citrus fruits, bananas, tomatoes, and mangoes raised in the surrounding agricultural area.

Maple Syrup

2005-03-06T05:53:00.000-08:00

The sweet-water sap from which maple syrup is made is different from

Aviary

2005-03-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

A structure for the keeping of captive birds, usually spacious enough for the aviculturist to enter. Aviaries range from small enclosures a metre or so on a side to large flight cages 30 m (100 feet) or more long and as much as 15 m high. Enclosures for birds that fly only little or weakly (e.g., rails, pheasants) are often only one metre high. The private aviary often consists of a room

Fellenberg, Philipp Emanuel Von

2005-03-03T23:17:00.000-08:00

In 1799 Fellenberg purchased the estate of Hofwil, where he founded a school combining manual training and agricultural and academic instruction. His social aim, to be achieved through education, was to try to raise the living conditions of the poor and to weld them and the upper classes together.

Colour Index

2005-02-28T05:01:00.000-08:00

In astronomy, the difference between two measurements of the magnitude (brightness on a logarithmic scale) of a star made at different wavelengths, the value found at the longer wavelength being subtracted from that found at the shorter. Usually the two wavelengths are the blue, measured from ordinary photographic plates that are most sensitive to blue light, and

Hadamard, Jacques-salomon

2005-02-26T17:13:00.000-08:00

The Hadamard family moved to Paris in 1869, just before the beginning of the Franco-German War. In 1884 Hadamard took first place in entrance exams for both

Awka

2005-02-25T13:08:00.000-08:00

Town and capital of Anambra state, southern Nigeria. The town lies along roads leading from Owerri, Umuahia, Onitsha, and Enugu. Formerly covered with tropical forest, the area around Awka now mostly consists of wooded grassland. South of the town on the slopes of the Awka-Orlu Uplands are some examples of soil erosion and gullying. Awka is the traditional home of the

Rausing, Gad Anders

2005-02-23T06:28:00.000-08:00

Swedish industrialist (b. May 19, 1922, Bromma, near Stockholm, Swed.—d. Jan. 28, 2000, Lausanne, Switz.), was the son of the developer of a sealed, laminated paperboard beverage box that did not require refrigeration and thus revolutionized the milk and juice industries. Rausing (with his younger brother, Hans) built the family business, Tetra Pak (later Tetra Laval Group), from a small Scandinavian

Mid-atlantic Ridge

2005-02-18T08:47:00.000-08:00

Submarine ridge lying along the north-south axis of the Atlantic Ocean; it occupies the central part of the basin between a series of flat abyssal plains that continue to the margins of the continental coasts. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is in effect an immensely long mountain chain extending for about 10,000 miles (16,000 km) in a curving path from the Arctic Ocean to near the southern

Mauritania

2005-02-16T08:41:00.000-08:00

Officially Islamic Republic of Mauritania , Arabic Muritaniya , or al-Jumhuriyah al-Islamiyah al-Muritaniyah , French Mauritanie , or République Islamique de Mauritanie state in northwestern Africa. With an area of 398,000 square miles (1,030,700 square kilometres), it has the shape of an indented rectangle measuring about 930 miles (1,500 kilometres) from north to south and about 680 miles from east to west. It is bordered to the northwest by the Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara), to the northeast by Algeria, to the east and southeast by Mali, and to the southwest

Aksakov, Sergey Timofeyevich

2005-02-15T16:53:00.000-08:00

Brought up in a strongly patriarchal family, Aksakov was educated in the pseudoclassical tradition at home, at school, and at the newly founded university in Kazan. He

Vyshinsky, Andrey Yanuaryevich

2005-02-13T08:36:00.000-08:00

Vyshinsky, a member of the Menshevik branch of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party since 1903, became a lawyer in 1913 and joined the Communist Party in 1920. While teaching at Moscow State University and practicing

National Alliance

2005-02-09T18:57:00.000-08:00

The MSI was formed in 1946 by supporters of former Italian leader Benito Mussolini from elements of the defunct Uomo Qualunque (Average Man) Party that had appeared in 1945. It first contested elections in 1948, when it won six seats in the Chamber of Deputies. From the 1950s

Swamp Deer

2005-02-06T03:31:00.000-08:00

Common name for the barasingha (q.v.) of India and for the marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus), a large reddish brown deer of South American marshes.

Jars, Plain Of

2005-02-04T07:29:00.000-08:00

French Plain des Jarres , Laotian Thông Haihin dissected inner region of the Xiangkhoang Plateau in north-central Laos. Drained principally by the Ngum River, a southward-flowing tributary of the Mekong River, the plain is characterized by narrow river valleys and limestone and sandstone hills ranging from 3,000 to 3,600 feet (900 to 1,100 m) in elevation. The plain's name is derived from several hundred huge and ancient carved stone

Ghent-bruges School

2005-02-03T19:32:00.000-08:00

Group of manuscript illuminators and scribes active during the last quarter of the 15th and first part of the 16th centuries, principally in the Flemish cities of Ghent and Bruges. Credit for founding the tradition that included such masters as Nicolas Spierinc, Liévin van Lathem, Alexander and Simon Bening, and Gerard Horenbout was formerly given to the Master of Mary

Alabama, Transportation

2005-02-01T18:56:00.000-08:00

Together, the six major rivers of Alabama provide about 1,300 miles of navigable waterways, while Mobile Bay has been deepened by a ship channel. Mobile developed as a modernized port and ranks among the top dozen seaports of the nation. The Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway, a 234-mile canal opened in 1985, connected two of the state's main river systems. Although railroad transportation,

Kazembe

2005-01-29T17:22:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Cazembe, the largest and most highly organized of the Lunda kingdoms (see Luba-Lunda states) in central Africa, and the title of all its rulers. At the height of its power (c. 1800), Kazembe occupied almost all of the territory now included in the Katanga region of Congo (Kinshasa) and in northern Zambia. Apparently created about 1740 by an exploring party from western Lunda, the kingdom rapidly

Scab

2005-01-27T20:04:00.000-08:00

In pathology, secondary skin lesion composed of dried serum, blood, or pus. See wound.

Alaska Range

2005-01-26T16:45:00.000-08:00

Segment of the Pacific Coast Ranges that extends generally northward and eastward in an arc for about 400 miles (640 km) from the Aleutian Range to the Yukon boundary in southern Alaska, U.S. Mount McKinley (20,320 feet [6,194 m]), near the centre of the range, in Denali National Park, is the highest point in North America. Many nearby peaks exceed 13,000 feet (3,960 m), including Mounts Silverthrone, Hunter, Hayes,

Palencia

2005-01-23T08:38:00.000-08:00

Capital of Palencia provincia, in the Castile-León comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”), north-central Spain. It lies on the Campos Plain southwest of Burgos. Called the Pallantia by the ancient Greek geographers Strabo and Ptolemy, it was the chief town of the Vaccaei, an Iberian tribe. Its history during the Gothic and Moorish periods is obscure, but it was the

Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr

2005-01-21T10:26:00.000-08:00

Outstanding Welsh poet of the 12th century, court bard to Madog ap Maredudd, prince of Powys (d. 1160), and then to Madog's enemy Owain Gwynedd, prince of Gwynedd (d. 1170). The extant poems ascribed to him (about 50), composed in the Welsh bardic tradition of deliberate archaism, include a small amount of religious verse and a large number of eulogies to the chief princes throughout Wales. Cynddelw

Smith, Cyril Stanley

2005-01-20T23:23:00.000-08:00

Obtaining his education in England and the United States, Smith became a research associate (1926–27) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Chat-thrush

2005-01-18T16:11:00.000-08:00

Any of the 190 species belonging to the songbird family Turdidae (order Passeriformes) that are generally smaller and have slenderer legs and more colourful plumage than true, or typical, thrushes. Chat-thrushes are sometimes treated as a distinct subfamily, Saxicolinae. They are found almost worldwide but are most common in the tropics, especially

Chat-thrush

2005-01-15T00:03:00.000-08:00

Former union of garment and apparel workers in the United States and Canada. It was formed in 1976 by the merger of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA), a large union representing workers in the men's clothing industry, with the Textile Workers Union of America, a smaller union founded in 1939. The ACWA was originally formed when militant elements within the United

Sea Snake

2005-01-13T04:44:00.000-08:00

Any of more than 50 species of venomous marine snakes of the family Hydrophiidae. In adaptation to marine life, sea snakes have oarlike tails and flattened bodies. Their nostrils have valvelike closings and are usually on top of the snout. Several sea snakes have bodies much thicker than their heads and necks affording them greater stability

Jordan

2005-01-12T17:25:00.000-08:00

The World Economic Forum (WEF) convened its extraordinary meeting, held June 21–23, 2003, on the Jordanian shores of the Dead Sea. Klaus Schwab, president of the WEF, justified the meeting place by stating that “the world and, above all, the [Middle Eastern] region were in urgent need of healing processes.” Policy makers, political leaders, academicians, intellectuals, and religious

Akhlame

2005-01-09T17:50:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Akhlamû, ancient Semitic nomads of northern Syria and Mesopotamia and traditional enemies of the Assyrians. They are first mentioned about 1375 BC in an Egyptian source (one of the Tell el-Amarna letters), in which they are said to have advanced as far as the Euphrates River; about the same time there was also evidence of them in Assyria, at Nippur, and around the Persian Gulf. During the

Nagaland, The land

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

Nearly all of Nagaland is mountainous. In the north, the Naga Hills rise abruptly from the Brahmaputra valley to about 2,000 feet (610 metres) and then increase in elevation toward the southeast to more than 6,000 feet. The mountains merge with the Patkai Range along the Myanmar border, reaching a maximum height of 12,552 feet (3,826 metres) at Mount Saramati. The region is deeply dissected by rivers:

Uruapan

2005-01-05T01:14:00.000-08:00

In full Uruapan Del Progreso, city, west-central Michoacán estado (“state”), west-central Mexico. Founded in 1533, Uruapan (from a Tarascan Indian term meaning “where the flowers abound”) is famous for its Spanish-colonial atmosphere and colourful lacquerware and Indian handicrafts (see photograph). It is a rail terminus and agricultural marketing and processing centre in an area producing coffee, grains,

Burette

2005-01-03T01:10:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Buret, laboratory apparatus used in quantitative chemical analysis to measure the volume of a liquid or a gas. It consists of a graduated glass tube with a stopcock (turning plug, or spigot) at one end. On a liquid burette, the stopcock is at the bottom, and the precise volume of the liquid dispensed can be determined by reading the graduations marked on the glass tube at the liquid

Hyaenodon

2005-01-01T21:42:00.000-08:00

Extinct genus of early, primitive mammalian carnivores that first appears in the fossil record in late Eocene time and persists through the Oligocene (the Oligocene Epoch, which followed the Eocene, began 36.6 million years ago and lasted 12.9 million years). Hyaenodon, a creodont (see Creodonta), was a large and efficient predator. Its skull was long and narrow, with teeth that

Permafrost, Agriculture

2004-12-31T16:03:00.000-08:00

Permafrost affects agricultural developments in many parts of the discontinuous permafrost zone. Its destructive effect on cultivated fields in both Russia and North America results from the thawing of large masses of ice in the permafrost. If care is not exercised in selecting areas to be cleared for cultivation, thawing of the permafrost may necessitate

Lajes

2004-12-26T23:38:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Lages, city, east-central Santa Catarina estado (“state”), southern Brazil, lying north of the Caveiras River in the Paraná Mountains, at 3,000 feet (900 m) above sea level. Formed as a municipality in 1800, it was settled chiefly by Germans and in 1866 was elevated to city status. Livestock raising and industry are now the main economic activities. Principal products include lumber, corn (maize), feij

Macbride, Seán

2004-12-25T03:47:00.000-08:00

MacBride was the son of the Irish actress and patriot Maud Gonne and her husband, Major John MacBride, who was executed in 1916 for his part in the Easter Rising of that year against the British. Educated in Paris and Ireland, Seán MacBride,

Profit

2004-12-22T15:38:00.000-08:00

In business usage, the excess of total revenue over total cost during a specific period of time. In economics, profit is the excess over the returns to capital, land, and labour (interest, rent, and wages). To the economist, much of what is classified in business usage as profit consists of the implicit wages of manager-owners, the implicit rent on land owned by the firm, and

Mobile

2004-12-20T01:54:00.000-08:00

Abstract sculpture that has moving parts, driven either by motors or the natural force of wind. The word mobile was initially suggested by Marcel Duchamp for a 1932 Paris exhibition of such works by the American artist Alexander Calder. One of Calder's first mobiles consisted of coloured spheres motorized to move up and down curving wires at different speeds. Later, he

Atherosclerosis

2004-12-19T11:49:00.000-08:00

An arteriosclerosis characterized by the deposition of fatty substances in and fibrosis of the inner layer of the arteries. See arteriosclerosis.

Aspergillus

2004-12-17T00:05:00.000-08:00

Genus of the Fungi Imperfecti (form-class Deuteromycetes). Those species for which the sexual phase is known are placed in the order Eurotiales. A. niger causes black mold of foodstuffs; A. flavus, A. niger, and A. fumigatus cause aspergillosis in humans. A. oryzae is used to ferment sake, and A. wentii to process soybeans. Three genera of the class Ascomycetes have

Art And Architecture, Oceanic, Australia

2004-12-15T05:56:00.000-08:00

The Australian continent is liberally dotted with thousands of rock-art sites. They include rock shelters, outcrops of rock, and surface sheets of rock and are decorated with painted, pecked, or engraved figurative and nonfigurative forms in a wealth of styles. These are the main testimonials to the prehistoric art of the Aborigines; the only portable works from

Uffizi Gallery

2004-12-12T05:04:00.000-08:00

Italian Galleria Degli Uffizi, art museum in Florence that has the world's finest collection of Italian Renaissance painting, particularly of the Florentine school. It also has antiques, sculpture, and more than 100,000 drawings and prints. In 1559 the grand duke of Tuscany, Cosimo I de' Medici, engaged the painter-architect Giorgio Vasari to plan a building for the offices (uffizi) of the government judiciary.

Nutrition, Human, Vitamin D

2004-12-10T14:43:00.000-08:00

Vitamin D is fat-soluble, and cholecalciferol is the major active substance. Its main function is to stimulate the absorption of calcium. The natural source of vitamin D is from the action of short-wave ultraviolet light from the Sun on a derivative of cholesterol in the skin. Vitamin D also occurs in some foods. It is only when people live in high latitudes, consistently

Peter Iii

2004-12-08T22:36:00.000-08:00

King consort of Portugal from 1777, with Queen Maria I. The younger son of John V of Portugal, he was married in July 1760 to the daughter of his elder brother, King Joseph. When she became queen as Maria I (February 1777), Peter became nominally king. He devoted himself entirely to religious practices.

Furniture, Late 18th to 20th century

2004-12-06T08:57:00.000-08:00

During the Neoclassical period, no basic changes took place in chair forms, but legs became straight and dimensions lighter. Backs in the shape of classical vases replaced the fanciful outlines of the Rococo period. Around 1800, freely executed imitations of Greek and Roman chairs of the klismos type, with curved legs and backrest, appeared. French chairs of the Empire

Vieux-colombier, Theatre Of The

2004-12-04T10:27:00.000-08:00

French theatre founded in Paris in 1913 by the writer and critic Jacques Copeau to present alternatives to both the realistic “well-made” plays of the time and the star system of actor-celebrities. Copeau sought to renovate French theatre by focusing attention on the actor, whom he viewed as the essential element in translating the dramatic text into the “poetry of the

Li Keran

2004-12-03T07:21:00.000-08:00

Li showed a gift for painting, calligraphy, and music as a child. When he was 13, he began to study landscape

Sara Lee Corporation

2004-12-01T11:21:00.000-08:00

The company was incorporated in 1941 as the South Street Company and went through several name changes before it adopted the name Consolidated Grocers Corporation in 1945 and Consolidated Foods Corporation

Pottery, Thailand and Annam

2004-11-28T02:41:00.000-08:00

Pottery was made in the old Siamese capitals of Sukhothai and Sawankhalok. It is also thought that potteries persisted at Ayutthaya until the 18th century. Little is known of the early history of the region, and definite information on its pottery is almost nonexistent. Dating of the pottery from these regions for the most part has been by analogy with related Chinese

Anthemius

2004-11-27T18:03:00.000-08:00

The son-in-law of the Eastern emperor Marcian, Anthemius was appointed to his office by Marcian's successor, Leo I, who wanted help in attacking the Vandals in North Africa. The powerful patrician Ricimer, kingmaker of the Western Empire, accepted Anthemius with the stipulation that his daughter, Alypia, marry Ricimer.

Perch

2004-11-25T14:41:00.000-08:00

The common and yellow perches are found, respectively, in the fresh waters of Eurasia

Byzantine Empire

2004-11-22T02:19:00.000-08:00

The very name Byzantine illustrates the misconceptions to which the empire's history has often been subject, for its inhabitants would hardly have considered the term

Cuman

2004-11-20T11:08:00.000-08:00

Hungarian Kun, member of a nomadic Turkish people, comprising the western branch of the Kipchak confederation until the Mongol invasion (1237) forced them to seek asylum in Hungary. During the 12th century the Cumans acted as auxiliary troops for the Russian princes and in that capacity clashed with Hungarian expeditionary forces; but, by the beginning of the 13th century, they had become

Van, Lake

2004-11-19T05:52:00.000-08:00

Turkish Van Gölü, lake, largest body of water in Turkey and the second largest in the Middle East. The lake is located in the region of eastern Anatolia near the border of Iran. It covers an area of 1,434 square miles (3,713 square km) and is more than 74 miles (119 km) across at its widest point. Known to the ancient Greek geographers as Thospitis Lacus, or Arsissa Lacus, its modern Turkish name, Van Gölü, is derived

Itami

2004-11-17T11:45:00.000-08:00

City, Hyogo ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It lies along the Fukuchiyama railway line, 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Osaka. Itami was a castle town from the 13th to the 16th century and became a major sake-brewing centre in the Tokugawa period (1603–1867). The opening of the railway and the construction of company-owned housing made Itami a residential suburb of the Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area. The

Devey, George

2004-11-15T20:29:00.000-08:00

Devey was educated in London and studied painting before he trained as an architect. His considerable, and exclusively domestic, practice included designs for lodges, cottages, and country mansions containing design

Sanger, John And George

2004-11-12T09:18:00.000-08:00

The brothers were assistants in their father's touring peep show and formed their own show in 1853. By 1871 they had leased Astley's Amphitheatre

Fish River

2004-11-11T17:55:00.000-08:00

Afrikaans Visrivier, stream in southern Namibia. It rises in Namaqualand and flows south across the Great Namaqualand plateau, where it cuts a spectacular gorge 1,000 to 2,300 feet (300 to 700 m) deep, to empty into the Orange River. It is about 375 miles (600 km) long and is intermittent.

Nabokov, Vladimir

2004-11-09T23:32:00.000-08:00

In Russian (English translations after 1940 mainly by the author and his son, Dmitri Nabokov): Mashenka (1926; Mary, trans. by Michael Glenny with Nabokov's assistance, 1970); Korol-dama-valet (1928; King, Queen, Knave, 1968); Zashchita luzhina (1930; The Defense, 1964); Podvig (1932; Glory, 1971); Camera obscura (1933; first Eng. trans. 1936, altered by Nabokov for U.S. version and retitled Laughter in the Dark, 1938); Otchayaniye (1934; Despair, 1937, altered and enlarged by Nabokov for U.S. version, 1966); Priglasheniye na kazn (1935; Invitation to a Beheading, 1959); Dar (incomplete 1937–38, complete 1952; The Gift, 1963). In English: The Real Life of Sebastian Knight (1941); Bend Sinister (1947); Lolita (1955); Pnin (1957); Pale Fire, including a long poem (1962); Ada; or, Ardor: A Family Chronicle (1969); Transparent Things (1972).

Gabrieli, Giovanni

2004-11-06T15:53:00.000-08:00

Various motets, among them In ecclesiis; madrigals in various collections; Canzoni e sonate (1615); Sacrae symphoniae, book 1 (1597), including the Sonata pian'e forte; Sacrae symphoniae (1615); Concerti di Andrea et di Giovanni Gabrieli a 6–16 voci (1587, containing pieces by Andrea).

Sabin, Florence Rena

2004-11-04T22:12:00.000-08:00

Sabin was educated in Denver, Colorado, and in Vermont and graduated from Smith College in Massachusetts, in 1893. After teaching in Denver and at Smith to earn tuition money, she entered

Tzetzes, John

2004-11-02T08:10:00.000-08:00

Tzetzes was for a time secretary to a provincial governor, then earned a meagre living by teaching and writing. He has been described as the perfect specimen of the Byzantine pedant.

Beagle

2004-10-29T13:30:00.000-07:00

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

Arnold, Sir Edwin

2004-10-28T01:48:00.000-07:00

Poet and scholar, best known as the author of The Light of Asia (1879), an epic poem that tells, in elaborate language, of the life and teachings of the Buddha. The Light of the World (1891), on the Christian theme, was less successful. From 1873 Arnold was chief editor of The Daily Telegraph of London. Before joining the Telegraph, he had been principal of

Jhabvala, Ruth Prawer

2004-10-25T01:39:00.000-07:00

A Polish Jew, Jhabvala immigrated to England with her family in 1939. After receiving an M.A. in English (1951) from Queen Mary College, London, she married an Indian architect and moved to India, where she lived for the next 24 years. After 1975 she lived

Albalag, Isaac

2004-10-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

Jewish philosopher who rendered a Hebrew translation of parts of the Maqasid al-falasifah (“Aims of the Philosophers”), a review of doctrines of earlier thinkers by the Arabic philosopher al-Ghazali, to which Albalag added his own views and comments. In defending philosophy against the accusation that it undermined religion,

Mckenzie, Sir John

2004-10-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

McKenzie's deep antagonism toward land monopolists was rooted in his boyhood in Scotland, where he witnessed the dispossession of small farmers by Highland landlords. After

Le Maistre De Sacy, Isaac-louis

2004-10-19T18:08:00.000-07:00

Important figure in the Jansenist religious movement in France, a member of the Arnauld family (q.v.).

Interior Design, Ancient world

2004-10-18T20:20:00.000-07:00

Murger, Henri

2004-10-16T23:11:00.000-07:00

The son of a concierge and a tailor, Murger left school at 13. Later he became secretary to Count Aleksey Tolstoy and was able to improve his education. He began writing poems and became part of the bohemian life in Paris, but he was often destitute and his health deteriorated. Both

Proboscis Monkey

2004-10-14T16:24:00.000-07:00

(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

Philodemus

2004-10-12T01:11:00.000-07:00

After studying under the Epicurean Zeno of Sidon at Athens, he moved to Rome c. 75 BC and became the mentor of the Roman aristocrat Lucius Calpurnius Piso, who invited Philodemus to live in his villa at Herculaneum, near Naples. In the ruins of that villa

Bellanca, Dorothy Jacobs

2004-10-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

Dorothy Jacobs immigrated with her family to the United States from Latvia in 1900. They settled in Baltimore, Maryland. At age 13 Jacobs left school and went to work in a clothing factory. Working conditions quickly led her to the cause

Art For Art's Sake

2004-10-07T19:51:00.000-07:00

A slogan translated from the French l'art pour l'art, which was coined in the early 19th century by the French philosopher Victor Cousin. The phrase expresses the belief held by many writers and artists, especially those associated with Aestheticism, that art needs no justification, that it need serve no political, didactic, or other end.

Disasters

2004-10-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

May 30, Minsk, Belarus. A stampede occurred in a passageway

Mesopotamia, History Of, Adad-nirari III and his successors

2004-10-04T23:56:00.000-07:00

Shamshi-Adad V died while Adad-nirari III (810–783) was still a minor. His Babylonian mother, Sammu-ramat, took over the regency, governing with great energy until 806. The Greeks, who called her Semiramis, credited her with legendary accomplishments, but historically little is known about her. Adad-nirari later led several campaigns against the Medes and also against Syria and

Aicard, Jean

2004-10-04T11:50:00.000-07:00

As a young man Aicard studied law but abandoned it to devote himself to literature. His first book of poetry, Jeunes croyances (1867; “Beliefs of a Youth”), showed the influence of the Romantic poet Alphonse de Lamartine and was well received upon its appearance. He went

Vigilius

2004-10-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

Vigilius, of noble birth, became a Roman deacon and was with Pope St. Agapetus I during the latter's unsuccessful mission in March 536 to Constantinople to deter the Byzantine

Stahl, Georg Ernst

2004-10-01T17:23:00.000-07:00

German physician and chemist who developed the phlogiston theory of combustion and of such related biological processes as respiration, fermentation, and decay. The theory dominated chemical thought for almost a century. He also, at times, believed in alchemy and animism.

Medicine, Costs of health care

2004-09-29T08:27:00.000-07:00

The costs to national economics of providing health care are considerable and have been growing at a rapidly increasing rate, especially in countries such as the United States, Germany, and Sweden; the rise in Britain has been less rapid. This trend has been the cause of major concerns in both developed and developing countries. Some of this concern is based upon the

Naga Hills

2004-09-29T06:13:00.000-07:00

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

Lizard, Locomotion and limb adaptations

2004-09-28T03:09:00.000-07:00

The majority of lizards are quadrupedal, with powerful limb musculature. They are capable of rapid acceleration and possess great ability to change direction of motion rapidly. The racerunners (Cnemidophorus) can attain speeds of 24 kilometres (15 miles) per hour, which, in terms of their own body length, puts them in a class with fast terrestrial mammals. A tendency toward

V.c.

2004-09-27T07:04:00.000-07:00

Recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest military award bestowed in Great Britain. See Victoria Cross.

Gray, Walter De

2004-09-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

He became chancellor of England in 1205 and, after John had made his peace with the church, was elected bishop of Worcester (1214). In 1215 John advanced him as a candidate for the see of York against the wishes of the cathedral chapter, and Pope Innocent

Penderecki, Krzysztof

2004-09-25T03:35:00.000-07:00

Penderecki studied composition at the Superior School of Music in Kraków (graduated 1958), subsequently becoming a professor there. He first drew attention in 1959 at the third Warsaw Festival of Contemporary Music, where his Strophes

Rio Claro

2004-09-24T19:44:00.000-07:00

City, in the highlands of east-central São Paulo estado (“state”), Brazil. It is situated at 2,050 feet (625 m) above sea level along the Corumbataí River. Formerly called São João Batista da Beira do Ribeirão Claro and São João Batista do Morro Azul, it was given town status in 1845. Rio Claro is now the trade and processing centre for an agricultural region producing coffee, cotton, rice, sugarcane,

Neurogenic Arthropathy

2004-09-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

Also called Charcot's joint (after Jean-Martin Charcot, a 19th-century French neurologist), massive destruction of a stress-bearing joint, with development of large flanges and spurs of new bone at the sides of the joint. The condition eventually causes inability to use the joint but is accompanied by little or no sensation of pain or discomfort. The disorder accompanies damage to the nervous system

France, History Of, The Great Depression and political crises

2004-09-22T07:19:00.000-07:00

France at the end of the 1920s had apparently recovered its prewar stability, prosperity, and self-confidence. For a time it even seemed immune to the economic crisis that spread through Europe beginning in 1929; France went serenely on behind its high-tariff barrier, a healthy island in a chaotic world. By 1931, however, France in its turn succumbed to the effects of the depression,

Moivre, Abraham De

2004-09-21T03:43:00.000-07:00

A French Huguenot, de Moivre was jailed as a Protestant upon the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. When he was released shortly thereafter, he fled to England. In London he became a close friend of Sir Isaac Newton and the astronomer

Alcaraz Carpet

2004-09-19T00:52:00.000-07:00

There are several different patterns of carpet with “wheels” in rectangular compartments. Other carpets imitate a wide range of brocade

Obscene Publications Act

2004-09-18T00:46:00.000-07:00

In British law, either of two codifications of prohibitions against obscene literature adopted in 1857 and in much revised form in 1959. The earlier act, also called Lord Campbell's Act (one of several laws named after chief justice and chancellor John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell), not only outlawed obscene publications but empowered police to search premises on which obscene

Early, Jubal A(nderson)

2004-09-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

Confederate general in the American Civil War (1861–65) whose army at one time threatened Washington, D.C., but whose series of defeats during the Shenandoah Valley campaigns of late 1864 and early 1865 led to the final collapse of the South. A West Point graduate, Early served in the Second Seminole War in Florida (1835–42) and the Mexican War (1846–48). In the period

Aerospace Industry, Inspection technologies

2004-09-17T02:36:00.000-07:00

The most critical portion of maintenance work is inspection to detect cracks, flaws, debonds, delamination, corrosion, and other detrimental changes before they threaten the aircraft. Inspectors do much of their work visually, often using nothing more sophisticated than a flashlight and a mirror. For most of the remainder, they use ultrasound, X-rays, eddy currents,

Mars

2004-09-14T23:07:00.000-07:00

Mars's festivals at Rome occurred in the spring and the

Florence, William Jermyn

2004-09-14T17:10:00.000-07:00

Born of Irish parents and reared on the Lower East Side of New York City, Florence worked at various jobs before becoming a call boy at the Old Bowery

ConsciousCake

Mountain, Heating and thermal expansion

World War I, The Western Front, JuneDecember 1917

Uccello, Paolo

Banner System

Mierkat

Río Gallegos

Mamou

Maple Syrup

Aviary

Fellenberg, Philipp Emanuel Von

Colour Index

Hadamard, Jacques-salomon

Awka

Rausing, Gad Anders

Mid-atlantic Ridge

Mauritania

Aksakov, Sergey Timofeyevich

Vyshinsky, Andrey Yanuaryevich

National Alliance

Swamp Deer

Jars, Plain Of

Ghent-bruges School

Alabama, Transportation

Kazembe

Scab

Alaska Range

Palencia

Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr

Smith, Cyril Stanley

Chat-thrush

Chat-thrush

Sea Snake

Jordan

Akhlame

Nagaland, The land

Uruapan

Burette

Hyaenodon

Permafrost, Agriculture

Lajes

Macbride, Seán

Profit

Mobile

Atherosclerosis

Aspergillus

Art And Architecture, Oceanic, Australia

Uffizi Gallery

Nutrition, Human, Vitamin D

Peter Iii

Furniture, Late 18th to 20th century

Vieux-colombier, Theatre Of The

Li Keran

Sara Lee Corporation

Pottery, Thailand and Annam

Anthemius

Perch

Byzantine Empire

Cuman

Van, Lake

Itami

Devey, George

Sanger, John And George

Fish River

Nabokov, Vladimir

Gabrieli, Giovanni

Sabin, Florence Rena

Tzetzes, John

Beagle

Arnold, Sir Edwin

Jhabvala, Ruth Prawer

Albalag, Isaac

Mckenzie, Sir John

Le Maistre De Sacy, Isaac-louis

Interior Design, Ancient world

Murger, Henri

Proboscis Monkey

Philodemus

Bellanca, Dorothy Jacobs

Art For Art's Sake

World War I, The Western Front, JuneDecember 1917