FirstPipe

Cladoselache

2005-04-05T16:15:00.000-07:00

Cladoselache was a very primitive form and had many archaic features in the skull and skeleton. Two dorsal fins were

Montgomery (of Alamein, Of Hindhead), Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount

2005-04-05T09:50:00.000-07:00

Of Ulster stock, Montgomery was educated at St. Paul's School, London, and the Royal Military Academy (Sandhurst). He distinguished himself during World War I and remained in the army, acquiring a reputation as an efficient and tough leader. Early

Shah Diamond

2005-04-04T10:52:00.000-07:00

Yellow-tinged stone of about 89 carats that bears three ancient Persian inscriptions, indicating it was discovered before 1591, probably in the Golconda mines in India. The inscriptions are to Nezam Shah Borhan II, 1591; Shah Jahan, son of Shah Jahangir, 1641; and Fath 'Ali Shah, 1826. Given to Tsar Nicholas I by Fath 'Ali Shah in 1829, it is displayed in the Diamond Fund of Russia in Moscow.

Valdivia, Pedro De

2005-04-03T06:07:00.000-07:00

Valdivia served with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders before being sent to South America in 1534. During the Peruvian civil war (1538), he fought with Francisco Pizarro against Diego de Almagro. For the Chilean

Seleucid Kingdom

2005-04-03T00:33:00.000-08:00

Seleucus, one of Alexander's leading generals, became satrap (governor) of Babylonia in 321, two years after the death of Alexander. In the

Ribose

2005-04-02T00:53:00.000-08:00

Also called D-ribose, five-carbon sugar found in RNA (ribonucleic acid), where it alternates with phosphate groups to form the “backbone” of the RNA polymer and binds to nitrogenous bases. Ribose phosphates are components of the nucleotide coenzymes and are utilized by microorganisms in the synthesis of the amino acid histidine.

Goddard Family

2005-03-31T21:19:00.000-08:00

Quakers of English ancestry, the Goddards intermarried with the Townsend family, who were equally famous as cabinetmakers. In four generations, 20 Goddard and Townsend craftsmen are known, the peak of their excellent productivity coming in

Siamese Fighting Fish

2005-03-31T18:35:00.000-08:00

(Betta splendens), freshwater tropical fish of the family Belontiidae (classified by some authorities as Anabantidae; order Perciformes), noted for the pugnacity of the males toward one another. The Siamese fighting fish, a native of Thailand, was domesticated there for use in contests. Combat consists mainly of fin nipping and is accompanied by a display of extended

Hypodorian Mode

2005-03-31T18:23:00.000-08:00

In music, second of the eight medieval church modes. See church mode.

Solaro Della Margarita, Clemente, Count

2005-03-30T21:40:00.000-08:00

Entering the Piedmontese diplomatic service in 1816, Solaro della Margarita rose to become foreign minister in 1835. He pursued a policy of cautious neutrality between France and Austria while opposing constitutional reform at home. When agitation

Norilsk

2005-03-29T14:54:00.000-08:00

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

Switzerland, Police and armed forces

2005-03-29T01:06:00.000-08:00

Police authority is generally exercised by the cantons, but larger cities also maintain municipal police forces. A small federal police corps enforces special federal laws concerning such crimes as treason and forgery (mainly in collaboration with cantonal police). However, there is growing support for enlarging the role of the federal police, particularly

Asvamedha

2005-03-28T21:01:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Aswamedha, Ashvamedha, or Ashwamedha, grandest of the Vedic religious rites of ancient India, performed by a king to celebrate his paramountcy. The ceremony is described in detail in various Vedic writings, particularly the Satapatha Brahmana. An especially fine stallion was selected and was allowed to roam freely for a year under the protection of a royal guard. If the horse entered a foreign country, its

Enugu

2005-03-28T19:28:00.000-08:00

State, south-central Nigeria. It was created in 1991 from the eastern two-thirds of Anambra state. Enugu is bounded by the states of Kogi and Benue to the north, Cross River to the east, Abia to the south, and Anambra to the west. It includes most of the Udi-Nsukka Plateau, which rises to more than 1,000 feet (300 m). Enugu state is covered by open grassland, with occasional woodlands and clusters

War Finance

2005-03-28T02:16:00.000-08:00

Government efforts to finance major wars have frequently led to major changes in the tax system. In the United States, for example, the importance

Triton

2005-03-26T06:23:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, a merman, demigod of the sea; he was the son of the sea god, Poseidon, and his wife, Amphitrite. According to the Greek poet Hesiod, Triton dwelt with his parents in a golden palace in the depths of the sea. Sometimes he was not particularized but was one of many Tritons. He was represented as human down to his waist, with the tail of a fish. Triton's special attribute

Wright, Sir Almroth Edward

2005-03-26T01:30:00.000-08:00

Wright received his medical degree at

Abbott, George

2005-03-26T00:10:00.000-08:00

After graduating from the University of Rochester, N.Y., in 1911, Abbott began acting on Broadway in 1913. He soon began writing and directing plays as well, and he achieved

Radioactive Isotope

2005-03-24T04:28:00.000-08:00

Every chemical element has one or more radioactive isotopes. For example, hydrogen, the lightest element, has three isotopes with mass numbers 1, 2, and 3. Only hydrogen-3

Eichler, August Wilhelm

2005-03-23T14:54:00.000-08:00

Eichler studied mathematics and natural science at the University of Marburg (Ph.D., 1861). He then went to Munich, where he became a private assistant to the naturalist Karl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, with whom he edited Flora

Jawf, Al-

2005-03-23T01:14:00.000-08:00

Town and oasis, northern Saudi Arabia. It lies at the northern edge of an-Nafud desert near the source of the Wadi as-Sirhan. Formerly considered a part of the Jabal Shammar region, the oasis now lies within the northern reaches of the Hejaz. The town is strategically located on an ancient caravan route between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean, and it has long been

Brooks Range

2005-03-22T19:48:00.000-08:00

Northernmost extension of the Rocky Mountains in northern Alaska, U.S. It is separated from the Alaska Range (south) and the Mackenzie Mountains (southeast) by the lowlands of the Yukon and Porcupine river systems. It extends about 600 miles (1,000 km) in a west–east direction across Alaska, from the Chukchi Sea to the Yukon (Canadian) border, and reaches widths of 80 miles (128 km). Its peaks

Antarctica, The development of IGY

2005-03-21T09:04:00.000-08:00

The idea for more frequent programs was born in 1950, when it was proposed that scientists take advantage of increasing technological developments, interest in polar regions, and, not the least, the maximum sunspot activity expected in 1957–58. (The earlier, second polar year was a year of sunspot minimum.) The idea quickly germinated and grew: a formalized version was adopted by

Scandinavian Languages

2005-03-21T05:04:00.000-08:00

Languages forming the North Germanic branch of the Germanic languages. The modern standard languages are Danish, Swedish, Norwegian (Dano-Norwegian and New Norwegian), Icelandic, and Faroese. These languages are usually divided into East Scandinavian (Danish and Swedish) and West Scandinavian (Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese) groups. They developed from the dialects

Gondomar, Diego Sarmiento De Acuña, Count (conde) De

2005-03-20T11:02:00.000-08:00

Gondomar's diplomatic fame rests largely on two missions to England (1613–18 and 1620–22). The chief objective of his first mission was to persuade James I to abandon his alliance with France and the Protestant countries on the Continent and to form an alliance

Perche

2005-03-19T16:03:00.000-08:00

Region of northern France on the border of Normandie, mainly in the east of the Orne département, with extensions into neighbouring départements. Formerly a county, it was united to the French crown in 1525. It is largely hilly country, the Perche Hills having summits as high as 1,000 feet (300 m). Perche is a district of pastoral farming and dairying, famous for its breed of draft horses

Mitchell, Charles E(dwin)

2005-03-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

Mitchell took his first job with the Western Electric Company in Chicago and became the president's assistant in 1903. Three years later he left the firm and became assistant to the president at The Trust Company of America in New York City, a position he held for five years.

Industrial Bank Of Japan

2005-03-18T15:19:00.000-08:00

Japanese Nippon Kogyo Ginko former Japanese commercial bank that operated a general-banking and foreign-exchange business with branches in Japan and overseas. Established in 1902, the bank had specialized in medium- and long-term financing of industrial development, and both its main office and its foreign branches were active in the foreign-exchange markets. In September 2000, Industrial Bank of

Chemical Compound, Polyterpenes

2005-03-18T10:33:00.000-08:00

The vulcanization of rubber involves the establishment of cross-linking between the chains through sulfur atoms.

Argentina, Military government, 196673

2005-03-18T06:43:00.000-08:00

Adalbert Krieger Vasena, minister of economy and labour, attempted to stabilize the economy by again devaluing the currency and then undertaking programs in electric power, steel, roads, and housing. In May 1969 disturbances and riots in the cities of Corrientes, Rosario, and particularly Córdoba rose out of student and labour conflicts; these incidents, later known

Tabulata

2005-03-17T19:18:00.000-08:00

Major division of extinct coral animals found as fossils in Ordovician to Jurassic marine rocks (505 million to 144 million years old). Tabulata is characterized by the presence of interior platforms, or tabulae, and by a general lack of vertical walls, or septa. Colonial masses of these tabulate corals sometimes comprised sizable structures.

Robert De Torigni

2005-03-17T07:31:00.000-08:00

Robert was born to a family apparently of high rank. In 1128 he joined the monastery at Bec, where he was ordained deacon (1131) and elected prior (1149). He became abbot of Mont-Saint-Michel in

Pachycephalosaurus

2005-03-16T01:26:00.000-08:00

Genus of large and unusual dinosaurs found as fossils in deposits of North America dating to the Late Cretaceous Epoch (97.5 to 66.4 million years ago). Pachycephalosaurus,which grew to be about 5 m (16 feet) long, was a biped with strong hind limbs and much less developed forelimbs. The unusual and distinctive feature of Pachycephalosaurusis the high, domelike skull formed by a

Cameroon

2005-03-15T20:29:00.000-08:00

The Bantu settled in the Cameroons from equatorial Africa. The first group that invaded

Chincha Islands

2005-03-15T15:03:00.000-08:00

Spanish Islas De Chincha, island group that is part of Los Libertadores-Wari región, Peru. Located in the Pacific Ocean 13 miles (21 km) off Peru's southwestern coast, the three small islands are situated to the northwest of Paracas Bay and west-northwest of the city of Pisco. They have extensive guano deposits, which have been exploited for fertilizer.

Raymond Vii

2005-03-13T21:46:00.000-08:00

After helping to recover lands of which his

Robert I

2005-03-13T10:22:00.000-08:00

Also called Robert the Frisian , French Robert le Frison , Dutch Robrecht de Fries count of Flanders (1071–93), second son of Count Baldwin V. In 1063 he married Gertrude and became guardian of her son, who had inherited Frisia east of the Scheldt River. Upon this marriage, Robert's father also invested him with Imperial Flanders, including the islands of Frisia west of the Scheldt. He thus in his own right and that of his stepson became ruler

Naftah

2005-03-12T04:48:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Nefta, oasis town, southwestern Tunisia. It lies on the northwest shore of Al-Jarid saline lake, which is an important source of phosphates. It was known to the Romans as Aggarsel Nepte. Naftah has many small mosques and is a date-growing and trans-Saharan transport centre. The larger oasis of Tawzar (Tozeur) is 15 miles (24 km) east-northeast. Pop. (1984) 15,511; (1989 est.) 17,216.

Devawongse Varoprakar, Prince

2005-03-11T14:09:00.000-08:00

The 42nd child of King Mongkut, Devawongse was the younger half brother of King Chulalongkorn. After only a smattering of formal Thai and English education in schools his half brother organized in the early 1870s, he began his

Uttar Pradesh

2005-03-11T00:50:00.000-08:00

The most populous state of India. Lying in north-central India, it is bordered by Nepal and the Indian state of Uttaranchal to the north, the Indian states of Haryana and Rajasthan and the union territory of Delhi to the west, the state of Madhya Pradesh to the south, the state of Bihar to the east, and the states of Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh to the southeast. Uttar Pradesh extends

Antigonish

2005-03-10T19:57:00.000-08:00

Town, seat of Antigonish county, northeastern Nova Scotia, Canada. It lies at the head of Antigonish Bay, an inlet of St. Georges Bay, 31 miles (50 km) east of New Glasgow. The site was originally settled by the French in 1762; the first British immigrants (soldiers and Scottish Highlanders) did not arrive until after 1785. The earlier name, Dorchester, was replaced by Antigonish, a word that

Hinduism, Challenges to Brahmanism (7th-2nd century BC)

2005-03-10T18:33:00.000-08:00

The century from about 550 BC onward was a period of great change in the religious life of India. This century saw the rise of breakaway sects of ascetics who denied the authority of the Vedas and of the Brahmans and who followed founders claiming to have discovered the secret of obtaining release from transmigration. By far the most important of these were Siddhartha Gautama,

Sea Buckthorn

2005-03-09T02:17:00.000-08:00

Also called Sallow Thorn (Hippophae rhamnoides, family Elaeagnaceae), willowlike shrub growing to about 2.5 m (about 8 feet) high with narrow leaves that are silvery on the underside and globose, orange-yellow fruits about 8 mm ( 1/3 inch) in diameter. It is common on sand dunes along the eastern and southeastern coasts of Great Britain and is widely distributed in the mountains of Europe and Asia. The sea

Arts, Islamic, Architecture

2005-03-08T15:21:00.000-08:00

The Mamluks created a monumental setting for Syria and Egypt that lasted until the 20th century. It was at its most remarkable in architecture, and nearly 3,000 major monuments have been preserved or are known from texts in cities from the Euphrates to Cairo. No new architectural types came into being, although many more urban commercial buildings and private houses have

Jovellanos, Gaspar Melchor De

2005-03-07T22:04:00.000-08:00

After studying law, Jovellanos was appointed to judicial posts at Sevilla (1767) and Madrid (1778). He gained fame for his literary and scholarly activities and for his personal integrity, but from 1790 to 1797, after unsuccessfully intervening

Saint Augustine Grass

2005-03-07T18:58:00.000-08:00

Saint Augustine grass is cultivated as a lawn grass in some areas

Sorrentino, Gilbert

2005-03-07T04:17:00.000-08:00

From 1956 to 1960 Sorrentino was editor and publisher of Neon, a magazine that featured works by Beat writers; he was also book editor (1961–65) for Kulchur. His poetry collections

Papua

2005-03-06T04:01:00.000-08:00

Formerly (1969–2002) Irian Jaya (until 1969) Irian Barat propinsi (province), Indonesia, the western half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands—including the individual islands of Yapen, Adi, Waigeo, Batanta, Kofiau, Salawati, Misool, and Yos Sudarsa and the Schouten Islands. Papua fronts the Ceram and Banda seas to the west, the Arafura Sea to the southwest, and the Pacific Ocean to the north; it is bounded by Papua

Cynewulf

2005-03-05T11:56:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Cynwulf, or Kynewulf author of four Old English poems preserved in late 10th-century manuscripts. Elene and The Fates of the Apostles are in the Vercelli Book, and The Ascension (which forms the second part of a trilogy, Christ, and is also called Christ II) and Juliana are in the Exeter Book. An epilogue to each poem, asking for prayers for the author,

John

2005-03-05T05:35:00.000-08:00

Byname John Lackland, French Jean Sans Terre king of England from 1199 to 1216. In a war with the French king Philip II, he lost Normandy and almost all his other possessions in France. In England, after a revolt of the barons, he was forced to seal the Magna Carta (1215).

Theatre, Western, Imitation of Greek models

2005-03-04T15:30:00.000-08:00

In the literary theatre, plot invention and characters were largely taken from Greek plays. Livius Andronicus, a Greek living in Rome, was the first to adapt Greek plays (in 240 BC), and his example was followed in 235 BC by the poet Gnaeus Naevius, a native of Campania. Naevius can be regarded as the first native Italian playwright, and the genre of comedies he founded was called fabula

Ash'ari, Abu Al-hasan Al-

2005-03-03T09:37:00.000-08:00

Muslim Arab theologian noted for having integrated the rationalist methodology of the speculative theologians into the framework of orthodox Islam. In his Maqalat al-Islamiyin (“Theological Opinions of the Muslims”), compiled during his early period, al-Ash'ari brought together the varied opinions of scholars on Muslim theological questions. From

Madách, Imre

2005-03-02T20:24:00.000-08:00

Madách possessed keen and varied interests; he was successively a lawyer, a public servant, and a member of the Hungarian parliament (from 1861). His masterpiece,

Esteban Echeverría

2005-03-01T23:26:00.000-08:00

Partido (county) at the southern limits of Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina, in Buenos Aires provincia. Created in 1913 from portions of the partidos of Lomas de Zamora and San Vicente, Esteban Echeverría is an agricultural (and, more recently, low-income suburban) zone with an area of 146 square miles (377 square km), characterized by green villas that support dairy farms and orchards

Muir, Edwin

2005-03-01T11:21:00.000-08:00

His stature as a poet

Constantine, Arch Of

2005-02-28T09:54:00.000-08:00

(AD 312), one of three surviving ancient Roman triumphal arches in Rome. Erected hastily to celebrate Constantine's victory over Maxentius, it incorporates sculptures from many earlier buildings, including part of a battle frieze and figures of prisoners from the Forum of Trajan, a series of Hadrianic roundels, and a set of eight Aurelian panels.

Klamath Mountains

2005-02-28T09:17:00.000-08:00

Segment of the Pacific mountain system (q.v.) of western North America. The range extends southward for about 250 miles (400 km) from the foothills south of the Willamette Valley in southwestern Oregon, U.S., to the northwestern side of the Central Valley of California. The mountains rise to Mount Eddy (9,038 feet [2,755 m]) west of Mount Shasta in California and include numerous subranges. They

Karajan, Herbert Von

2005-02-28T05:51:00.000-08:00

A child prodigy on the piano, Karajan studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. He made his professional conducting debut in 1929 at Salzburg, and he was appointed to a conducting position in Ulm, Ger., later that year. He remained

Teague, Walter Dorwin

2005-02-26T00:40:00.000-08:00

After study at the Art Students League of New York (1903–07) and four years with an advertising agency, Teague became a successful free-lance advertising designer. Increasingly, his clients sought his advice for product

Aurangzeb

2005-02-25T19:14:00.000-08:00

Aurangzeb was the third son of the emperor Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal (for whom the Taj Mahal was built). He grew up as a serious-minded and devout youth, wedded to the Muslim orthodoxy of the day and free from the royal Mughal traits of sensuality and drunkenness. He early showed signs of military and administrative ability; and these qualities, combined with a taste for power,

Biblical Literature, Parallelism

2005-02-25T16:01:00.000-08:00

Parallelism, the interpretation of Scripture by means of Scripture, is a corollary of the belief in the unity of Scripture. But as a hermeneutical principle it must be employed sparingly, since the unity of Scripture should be based on comprehensive exegetical study, rather than itself provide a basis. Where one or two biblical documents (e.g., the letters to the Romans

Terbium

2005-02-25T05:09:00.000-08:00

(Tb), chemical element, rare-earth metal of transition Group IIIb of the periodic table. One of the least abundant of the rare earths, terbium, when reduced to metallic form, is silvery white and is slowly oxidized by air at room temperatures and by cold water. The element was discovered in 1843 by Carl Gustaf Mosander in a heavy rare-earth fraction called yttria, but its existence

Neap Tide

2005-02-24T23:01:00.000-08:00

Tide of minimal range occurring near the time when the Moon and the Sun are in quadrature. This condition is geometrically defined as the time at which the line from the Earth to the Moon is at right angles to the line from the Earth to the Sun. Thus, the tide-producing effects of the Sun and the Moon cancel each other, and tidal ranges are usually 10 to 30 percent less than the

Buzuluk

2005-02-24T22:25:00.000-08:00

City, Orenburg oblast (province), in the southern Ural Mountains of west-central Russia. The oblast is situated along the Samara River (a tributary of the Volga), near its confluence with the Buzuluk. Founded in 1736 as a Russian fortress, it was chartered in 1781. Industries include the manufacture of heavy metallurgical and agricultural machinery. The city has four technical

Tara

2005-02-23T22:50:00.000-08:00

(Irish: “Place of Assembly”), low hill (about 507 feet [154 m]) in County Meath, Ireland, occupying an important place in Irish legend and history. The earliest local remains consist of a small passage grave (c. 2100 BC) known as Dumha na nGiall (“Mound of the Hostages”). Numerous Bronze Age burials were found in the earth mound, which lies just inside the perimeter of a vast oval enclosure called R

Biblical Literature, Apocalypticism

2005-02-22T13:46:00.000-08:00

In intertestamental Jewish literature a special trend developed: namely, apocalypticism. Apokalypsis is a Greek term meaning “revelation of divine mysteries,” both about the nature of God and about the last days (eschatology). Apocalyptic writings were composed in both Judaism and Christianity; one of them (the Book of Daniel) was accepted in the Jewish canon and another

Gahadavala Dynasty

2005-02-22T09:45:00.000-08:00

One of the many ruling families of North India on the eve of the Muslim conquests in the 12th–13th century. Its history, ranging between the second half of the 11th century and the mid-13th century, illustrates all the features of early medieval North Indian polity—dynastic hostilities and alliances, feudal-state structure, absolute dependence on Brahminical social ideology,

Pauling, Linus

2005-02-20T15:18:00.000-08:00

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

Norian Stage

2005-02-20T09:05:00.000-08:00

Middle of three divisions in the Upper Triassic Series, representing those rocks deposited worldwide during Norian time (221 million to 210 million years ago) in the Triassic Period. The stage was named after an ancient Roman province south of the Danube River in present-day Austria. The stratotype for the Norian is a formation known as the beds with Cyrtopleurites

Korbut, Olga Valentinovna

2005-02-20T03:36:00.000-08:00

At age 11, Korbut entered a Soviet sports school led by Renald Knysh, her future coach. He taught her the difficult backward somersault on the balance beam. Using this maneuver, she first competed in the 1969 U.S.S.R. championships, placing fifth. In the

Earth

2005-02-18T20:39:00.000-08:00

Terrestrial body whose solid surface, abundant waters, and oxygen-rich atmosphere have combined to create conditions suitable for life. This article discusses the structure, composition, and properties of the solid Earth. For detailed treatment of its surface features, atmosphere, and waters, see the articles atmosphere, hydrosphere, ocean, river, lake, and continental

Ekkehard Iv

2005-02-18T13:44:00.000-08:00

He grew up at Sankt Gallen, being educated by the celebrated German scholar Notker Labeo, Ekkehard I's nephew. From sometime after 1022 until 1031 he was director

France, History Of, The July monarchy

2005-02-17T21:21:00.000-08:00

The renovated regime (often called the July monarchy or the bourgeois monarchy) rested on an altered political theory and a broadened social base. Divine right gave way to popular sovereignty; the social centre of gravity shifted from the landowning aristocracy to the wealthy bourgeoisie. The Charter of 1814 was retained but no longer as a royal gift to the nation; it

Infection, Q fever

2005-02-16T10:28:00.000-08:00

Q fever is a disease caused by the rickettsial agent Coxiella burnetii. The Q stands for query, for its cause was at first unknown. It spreads rapidly in cows, sheep, and goats, and whole herds, flocks, and areas often are contaminated with the Coxiella organisms. The germs are passed in vast quantities in milk, urine, and feces, in vaginal discharges, and on placentas, and they

Margaret Maultasch

2005-02-15T13:23:00.000-08:00

The daughter of Henry, duke of Carinthia and count of Tirol, Margaret was married to the nine-year-old John Henry

Yamanoue Okura

2005-02-15T05:34:00.000-08:00

One of the most individualistic, even eccentric, of Japan's classical poets, who lived and wrote in an age of bold experimentation when native Japanese poetry was developing rapidly under the stimulus of Chinese literature. His poems are characterized by a Confucian-inspired moral emphasis unique in Japanese poetry. The stern logic of Confucian morality, however,

Absalom

2005-02-14T23:52:00.000-08:00

The picture of Absalom that is presented in 2 Samuel 13–19 suggests that he was the Alcibiades of the Old Testament, alike in his personal attractiveness, his lawless insolence, and his tragic fate. He is first mentioned as murdering his half brother Amnon, David's eldest son, in revenge for the rape of his

Johanan Ben Zakkai

2005-02-14T01:56:00.000-08:00

As is the case with all the Talmudic teachers (the rabbis who interpreted and applied the Oral Law), little strictly biographical information

Mahé Island

2005-02-13T09:31:00.000-08:00

Largest island of the Seychelles archipelago, Republic of Seychelles, in the western Indian Ocean. The island is 4 miles (6 km) wide and 16 miles (26 km) long and has an area of 57 square miles (148 square km). The island is granitic in origin and mountainous; the highest peak is Morne Seychellois, which rises to 2,969 feet (905 m) and forms part of a national park of the same name. Port Launay Marine National

Beretta Spa

2005-02-12T08:25:00.000-08:00

The founder of the business, Bartolomeo Beretta, was known as a maestro da canne, or master gun-barrel maker, for the republic of

Neoptolemus

2005-02-12T01:08:00.000-08:00

In Greek legend, the son of Achilles, the hero of the Greek army at Troy, and of Deïdamia, daughter of King Lycomedes of Scyros; he was sometimes called Pyrrhus, meaning Fair. In the last year of the Trojan War the Greek hero Odysseus brought him to Troy after the Trojan seer Helenus had declared that the city could not be captured without the aid of a descendant of Aeacus,

'arad

2005-02-11T05:39:00.000-08:00

Town, southern Israel, in the northeast Negev, named for the biblical Arad, the ruins of which are visible at Tel 'Arad, about 5 1/2 miles (9 km) east-northeast. The book of Numbers (21:1–3) tells how the Canaanite king of 'Arad fought the Israelites during the exodus from Egypt, but his cities were “utterly destroyed” by Israel's armies. The city's name appears on the Temple of Amon, al-Karnak, Egypt,

African Literature, Oral traditions

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

The following works cover and analyze some of the best and most representative collections of oral art forms from many parts of Africa: Uchegbulam N. Abalogu, Garba Ashiwaju, and Regina Amadi-Tshiwala, Oral Poetry in Nigeria (1981), containing articles on a number of different oral genres in contemporary Nigeria; B.W. Andrzejewski and I.M. Lewis, Somali Poetry: An Introduction (1964), a detailed and authoritative account of the main genres and their social context by a linguist and a sociologist; Ulli Beier (comp. and ed.), Yoruba Poetry: An Anthology of Traditional Poems (1970), a good introduction to the rich and complex Yoruba oral traditions; James Stuart (comp.), Izibongo: Zulu Praise-Poems (1968), long poems to kings and chiefs, rich in imagery and allusions, with a discussion of their form, function, and social context; A. Coupez and Th. Kamanzi, Littérature de cour au Rwanda (1970), analysis and texts of the royal poetry of the kings of Rwanda and accounts of the poets responsible for them; Pierre Smith (ed.), Le Récit populaire au Rwanda (1975), 30 popular tales from Rwanda that interpret the history of the region in a different way from the royal praises; M. Damane and P.B. Sanders (eds. and trans.), Lithoko: Sotho Praise-Poems (1974), an authoritative anthology of praise poems of Basotho chiefs, covering 200 years; Francis Mading Deng, The Dinka and Their Songs (1973), a careful account of the performed poetry of the Dinka people of The Sudan; Ruth Finnegan (comp. and trans.), Limba Stories and Story-Telling (1967, reprinted 1981), stories from the Limba of Sierra Leone, with attention to the creative role of individual narrators; Veronika Görög-Karady, Noirs et blancs: leur image dans la littérature orale africaine: étude-anthologie (1976), an analysis of a large number of tales exploring the different perceptions of the relations between races that the stories reveal; Olatunde O. Olatunji, Features of Yorùbá Oral Poetry (1984), a full account of the oral genres from the point of view of Yoruba poetics; Denise Paulme, La Mère dévorante: essai sur le morphologie des contes africains (1976), essays that discuss the social role of the tale and analyze eight archetypal African tales; Jeff Opland, Xhosa Oral Poetry: Aspects of a Black South African Tradition (1983), an analysis primarily of Xhosa praise poetry and poets, incorporating discussion of the interplay of print, literacy, and orality; and Harold Scheub, The Xhosa Ntsomi (1975), an important collection of Xhosa and Zulu stories with an emphasis on the creative role of the storyteller.

Bulgaria, Slavic invasions

2005-02-10T13:05:00.000-08:00

The story of the modern Bulgarian people begins with the Slavic invasions of the Balkan Peninsula in the 6th and 7th centuries AD, a time when Byzantium was absorbed in prolonged conflict with Persia and could not resist the incursions from the north. Ancient sources refer to two Slavic tribes north of the Danube at this time, the Slavenae and the Antae. Evidence suggests

Romanov Dynasty

2005-02-10T02:13:00.000-08:00

Rulers of Russia from 1613 until the Russian Revolution of February 1917. Descendants of Andrey Ivanovich Kobyla (Kambila), a Muscovite boyar who lived during the reign of the grand prince of Moscow Ivan I Kalita (reigned 1328–41), the Romanovs acquired their name from Roman Yurev (d. 1543), whose daughter Anastasiya Romanovna Zakharina-Yureva was the first wife of Ivan IV the Terrible (reigned

Jiddah

2005-02-09T03:53:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Jidda, Jeddah , or Juddah city and major port in central Hejaz region, western Saudi Arabia. It lies along the Red Sea west of Mecca. The principal importance of Jiddah in history is that it constituted the port of Mecca and was thus the site where the majority of Muslim pilgrims landed who were journeying to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The city in fact owes its commercial foundations

Aesthetics

2005-02-08T04:04:00.000-08:00

All aesthetic experience, whether of art or nature, seems to be informed by and dependent upon an exercise of taste. We choose the object of aesthetic experience, and often do so carefully and deliberately. Moreover, we are judged by our choices, not only of works of art but also of colour schemes, dresses, and garden ornaments, just as we are judged by our manners and our

Annam

2005-02-07T23:29:00.000-08:00

The central section of Vietnam known to the French as Annam is largely a highland

Aaron

2005-02-07T08:35:00.000-08:00

Aaron is described in the Old Testament book of Exodus as a son of Amram and Jochebed of the tribe of Levi, three years older than his brother Moses. He acted together with his brother in the desperate situation of the Israelites in Egypt and took an active part in the Exodus. Although Moses was the actual leader, Aaron acted as his “mouth.” The two brothers went to the pharaoh

Suffolk

2005-02-06T21:38:00.000-08:00

Administrative and historic county in East Anglia, eastern England, bounded to the north by Norfolk, to the west by Cambridgeshire, to the south by Essex, and to the east by the North Sea. The administrative county comprises seven districts: Forest Heath and the borough of Saint Edmundsbury in the west, Mid Suffolk in the middle, Babergh and the borough of Ipswich in the

Managerial Economics

2005-02-05T21:57:00.000-08:00

Application of economic principles to decision-making in business firms or of other management units. The basic concepts are derived mainly from microeconomic theory, which studies the behaviour of individual consumers, firms, and industries, but new tools of analysis have been added. Statistical methods, for example, are becoming increasingly important in

K.t.

2005-02-05T13:37:00.000-08:00

Knight of the Thistle, member of a Scottish order of knighthood. See Thistle, The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the.

Community Ecology, Climatic effects

2005-02-04T04:30:00.000-08:00

The maximum development of greenhouse conditions occurred in the Cretaceous and was probably associated with an increase of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (see geochronology: Cretaceous environment: Paleoclimate). There were no polar ice caps during this time, and land within both the Arctic and Antarctic circles was able to support

Jacob

2005-02-03T20:34:00.000-08:00

According to the Old Testament, Jacob was the younger twin brother of Esau, who was the ancestor of Edom and the Edomites. The two are representatives of two different grades of social order,

Antarctica

2005-02-03T08:24:00.000-08:00

Ice averaging 2,160 m (7,085 ft) in thickness covers about 98% of the continent of Antarctica, which has an area of 14 million sq km (5.4 million sq mi). There is no indigenous human population, and there is no land-based industry. Human activity consists mainly of scientific research. The 43-nation Antarctic Treaty is the managerial mechanism for the region south of latitude 60° S, which includes

Arts, Central Asian, Music

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

Richard A. Waterman et al., “Bibliography of Asiatic Musics,” 13th installment, Notes of the Music Library Association, 8:100–118 (1950); Mark Slobin, “Zentralasien,” in Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, vol. 14 (1968), see sect. 1, “Afghanistan and the Sedentary Population of Turkestan”; and Record notes for “Afghanistan,” vol. 1–4, series Anthology of the World's Music, include photographs, musical illustrations; H.G. Farmer, “Turkestani Music,” Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed., vol. 8, pp. 610–612 (1954), historical background and general information; A. Huth, “Instruments of East Turkestan,” ibid., pp. 608–610, historical background; Johanna Spector, “Musical Tradition and Innovation,” in Edward Allworth (ed.), Central Asia: A Century of Russian Rule, pp. 434–484 (1967), detailed information on Turkistani music, with emphasis on the court tradition, including excellent illustrations and charts. (Music of the Turkic nomads, Mongolia, and Siberia): Ernst Emsheimer et al., The Music of the Mongols (1943, reprinted 1971), the classic work; Mark Slobin, Kirgiz Instrumental Music (1969), detailed study of one Central Asian tradition. (Music of the Himalayan peoples): P. Crossley-Holland, “Tibetan Music,” Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, vol. 8, pp. 456–464, a thorough basic survey; Luther G. Jerstad, Mani-rimdu: Sherpa Dance-Drama (1969), a thorough account of a specific Himalayan tradition.

Christensen, Willam

2005-02-01T18:16:00.000-08:00

Christensen studied with the great ballet master and reformer Michel Fokine. He performed in vaudeville with his brothers before joining the San Francisco Opera Ballet as

Rotimi, Ola

2005-02-01T07:23:00.000-08:00

Rotimi was born to an Ijaw mother and a Yoruba father, and cultural diversity was a frequent theme in his work. Educated in Nigeria in Port Harcourt and Lagos, he traveled to the United States in 1959 to study at Boston University. After receiving a B.A. in fine arts in 1963, he attended the Yale School

Amalasuntha

2005-01-31T21:54:00.000-08:00

When her husband died, Amalasuntha was left with a son, Athalaric, and a daughter. At Theodoric's death, in 526, Athalaric was 10 years old, and Amalasuntha assumed the regency. Her pro-Byzantine policy, her patronage of literature and the arts, and her desire to educate

West Lindsey

2005-01-30T08:38:00.000-08:00

District, administrative and historic county of Lincolnshire, east-central England, north of the city of Lincoln. West Lindsey district comprises two low-lying fertile clay valleys at an elevation of less than 100 feet (30 metres) split by the Lincoln Edge, a narrow limestone ridge 200 feet (60 metres) high that extends north from the Cotswold Hills. On the northeast, this overwhelmingly