CutTrain

organic bed linen

2006-10-29T11:35:00.000-08:00

Livs range of soft luxurious bed linenis sourced ethically from India and using a fair trade policy. Liv also provide duvet cover set and bath towel set.

Antarctica

2005-04-03T14:55:00.000-07:00

Ice averaging 2,160 m (7,087 ft) in thickness covers 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. Human activity consists mainly of scientific research at approximately 40 year-round stations and additional summer-only camps; the population is about 4,100 in summer and 1,000 in winter. In addition, several thousand

Ben-gurion, David

2005-04-03T01:48:00.000-08:00

Zionist statesman and political leader, the first prime minister (1948–53, 1955–63) and defense minister (1948–53; 1955–63) of Israel. It was Ben-Gurion who, on May 14, 1948, at Tel Aviv, delivered Israel's declaration of independence. His charismatic personality won him the adoration of the masses, and, after his retirement

Yurt

2005-04-01T23:19:00.000-08:00

Also spelled yurta , Mongol ger tentlike Central Asian nomad's dwelling, erected on wooden poles and covered with skin, felt, or handwoven textiles in bright colours. The interior is simply furnished with brightly coloured rugs (red often predominating) decorated with geometric or stylized animal patterns. The knotted pile rug, first known from a nomad burial at the foot of the Altai Mountains

William The Aetheling

2005-03-31T00:19:00.000-08:00

In successful battles in Normandy and France, Henry I forced the Norman barons to give homage to

Kirby, William

2005-03-29T21:31:00.000-08:00

Kirby moved in 1832 to the United States and in 1839 to Canada, where he settled in Niagara and became editor of the Niagara Mail (1850–71) and collector of customs from 1871 to 1895. Kirby was a fervent loyalist (favouring

Uaxactún

2005-03-29T13:45:00.000-08:00

Ruined ancient Mayan city of the southern lowlands, located in what is now north-central Guatemala, about 12 miles (20 km) north of the ancient Mayan city of Tikal. Uaxactún was a ceremonial centre of only modest size, compared with Tikal, but it has been important in Mayan archaeology because intensive excavations made there by archaeologists of the Carnegie Institution

China, Japan and Ryukyu

2005-03-26T10:05:00.000-08:00

Three years after the Meiji Restoration of 1868—which inaugurated a period of modernization and political change in Japan—a commercial treaty was signed between China and Japan, and it was ratified in 1873. Understandably it was reciprocal, because both signatories had a similar unequal status vis-à-vis the Western nations. The establishment of the new Sino-Japanese relations

United States, Prelude to revolution

2005-03-26T00:58:00.000-08:00

The prolonged wars had also revealed the need to tighten the administration of the loosely run and widely scattered elements of the British Empire. If the course of the war had confirmed the necessity, the end of the war presented the opportunity. The acquisition of Canada required London officials to take responsibility for the unsettled western territories, now freed from the threat of French occupation. The British soon moved to take charge of the whole field of Indian relations. By royal proclamation (1763) a line was drawn down the Appalachians marking the limit of settlement from the British colonies, beyond which Indian trade was to be conducted strictly through British-appointed commissioners. These steps were not in time to prevent a serious uprising under the Ottawa chief Pontiac, however; and the proclamation, which sprang in part from a respect for Indian rights, caused consternation among British colonists for two reasons. It meant that limits were being set to the prospects of settlement and speculation in western lands, and it took control of the west out of colonial hands. The most ambitious men in the colonies thus saw the proclamation as a loss of power to control their own fortunes.

Vietnam, Relief

2005-03-25T05:34:00.000-08:00

Vietnam's principal physiographic features are the Annamese Cordillera (French: Chaîne Annamitique; Vietnamese: Nui Truong Son), extending from north to south in central Vietnam and dominating the interior, and two extensive alluvial deltas formed by the Red (Hong) River in the north and the Mekong (Cuu Long) River in the south. Between these two deltas is a long, relatively

Bradstreet, Anne

2005-03-23T20:17:00.000-08:00

Née Anne Dudley one of the first poets to write English verse in the American colonies. Long considered primarily of historical interest, she won critical acceptance in the 20th century as a writer of enduring verse, particularly for her sequence of religious poems, “Contemplations,” written

Backhuysen, Ludolf

2005-03-23T13:50:00.000-08:00

Backhuysen studied under the Dutch painters Allart van Everdingen and Hendrik Dubbels. His numerous compositions are nearly all variations of marine themes, in a style peculiarly his own, marked by intense realism. In his later years Backhuysen employed his time in etching

Furniture, Italy

2005-03-21T18:36:00.000-08:00

Though it was in Italian architecture, painting, and sculpture that the Baroque style was evolved, Italy was not the first to apply this style to furniture. But by the mid-17th century Italy was producing flamboyantly carved, painted, and gilded furniture, decorated with such typical motifs as cupids, acanthus, shells, and boldly drawn scrolls, and was further enriching

Amoghasiddhi

2005-03-19T18:29:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit: “Unfailing Success”), in Mahayana and Vajrayana (Tantric) Buddhism, one of the five “self-born” Buddhas. See Dhyani-Buddha.

Zand Dynasty

2005-03-18T16:20:00.000-08:00

Following the death of the Afsharid ruler Nader Shah (1747), Karim Khan Zand became one of the major contenders for power. By 1750 he had sufficiently consolidated his power to proclaim himself as vakil (regent) for the Safavid Esma'il III. Karim Khan never claimed the title of shahanshah (“king of kings”); instead he maintained Esma'il as a figurehead. Karim

Sea Lily

2005-03-18T06:17:00.000-08:00

Sea lilies occur chiefly in deep waters, where they feed

Pacific Islands, Melanesia

2005-03-16T19:45:00.000-08:00

This is a region of unending contrast. “Beach” populations, who maintain advantages from coastal trading and cultural exchanges, may be compared with more traditional and isolated “bush” populations in the interiors of the larger islands. Polynesian influence touches Fiji and a few outlying islands to the northwest. The massive extent of New Guinea, with its thousands

Sarajevo

2005-03-16T08:43:00.000-08:00

Capital and cultural centre of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies in the narrow valley of the Miljacka River at the foot of Mount Trebevic. The city retains a strong Muslim character, having many mosques, wooden houses with ornate interiors, and the ancient Turkish marketplace (the Bašcaršija); much of the population is Muslim. The city's principal mosques are the Gazi Husreff-Bey's

Duchesne, Saint Rose Philippine

2005-03-16T06:23:00.000-08:00

Duchesne was born into a wealthy family with high political and financial connections. In 1780 she went to study at a convent and, despite her father's opposition, entered the Visitation Order in Grenoble in 1788. When the community

Three Kings, Battle Of The

2005-03-15T11:19:00.000-08:00

Sebastian, a religious zealot, wished to subject Muslim Morocco to Christian rule. Allied with the deposed Moroccan sultan, al-Mutawakkil, he landed at Tangier weighed down by much artillery and an army of 20,000 men. At the Wadi al-Makhazin near Ksar el-Kebir (Alcazarquivir),

Madách, Imre

2005-03-14T07:03:00.000-08:00

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,

Caucasian Languages, Vocabulary

2005-03-13T19:07:00.000-08:00

The original vocabulary of the North Caucasian languages has been fairly well preserved in the modern languages, although many words have been borrowed from Arabic (through Islam), the Turkic languages, and Persian. There are also loanwords that have been taken from the neighbouring languages (Georgian, Ossetic). Russian, which was a major influence from the late 19th

Interior Design, Early medieval Europe

2005-03-13T11:39:00.000-08:00

In the constant warfare that was waged in Europe in the early medieval period, material possessions dwindled to a minimum: a man did not own for long anything he could not defend and had little use or opportunity for interior decoration. If he possessed more than one house, his furniture and possessions would go with him from place to place. During this time, the arts

Kandersteg

2005-03-12T07:54:00.000-08:00

Village, Bern canton, southwest-central Switzerland. It lies in the upper valley of the Kander River, in the Bernese Oberland, southwest of Interlaken. It is a mountaineering and winter-sports resort; the Blümlisalphorn (12,018 feet [3,663 m]), Balmhorn (12,168 feet [3,709 m]), and Doldenhorn (11,952 feet [3,643 m]) are nearby. As the highest station on the north side of the Bern-Lotschberg-Simplon railway, it has direct

Germany, Insurance and services

2005-03-11T22:30:00.000-08:00

Health and retirement insurance are compulsory for all hourly workers and salaried employees earning below a certain level of income. Differing rules and rates apply to each group. Employees above a certain salary level or self-employed persons are generally exempt from most obligatory payment systems; however, although the former usually participate in a

Silicone

2005-03-11T17:33:00.000-08:00

Also called Polysiloxane, any of a diverse class of chemical polymers manufactured in the form of fluids, resins, or elastomers. Although they are partially organic in composition, the molecules of silicones differ from those of most polymers in that the backbone of their structure does not contain carbon, the characteristic element of organic compounds, but is a polysiloxane chain, in which

Turing Machine

2005-03-11T09:27:00.000-08:00

Hypothetical computing device introduced in 1936 by the English mathematician and logician Alan M. Turing. Turing originally conceived the machine as a mathematical tool that could infallibly recognize undecidable propositions—i.e., those mathematical statements that, within a given formal axiom system, cannot be shown to be either true or false. (The mathematician

Rimsky-korsakov, Nikolay

2005-03-09T19:35:00.000-08:00

In full Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov Russian composer, teacher, and editor who was at his best in descriptive orchestrations suggesting a mood or a place.

Aemilian

2005-03-09T02:37:00.000-08:00

Aemilian was a senator and served as consul before receiving the command of the army of Moesia (in present eastern Yugoslavia) during the reign of the emperor Trebonianus Gallus (reigned 251–253). After turning back an invasion by the Goths, Aemilian rebelled against the emperor in the summer of 253 and

Protestantism, Origins

2005-03-08T03:10:00.000-08:00

Puritanism first emerged as a distinct movement in a controversy over clerical vestments and liturgical practices during the reign of Elizabeth. Immediately following the Elizabethan Settlement, Protestant clergy could, within reason, choose what to wear while leading worship. Many preachers took this opportunity to do away with the formal attire as well

Ealing

2005-03-07T04:47:00.000-08:00

Outer borough of London, part of the historic county of Middlesex, midway between central London and the western periphery. The borough was established in 1965 by the amalgamation of the former municipal boroughs of Ealing, Acton, and Southall, all in the former county of Middlesex. It includes the districts and neighbourhoods of (from west to east) West End, Northolt, Southall,

Substitution

2005-03-06T13:45:00.000-08:00

In Greek or Latin prosody, the replacement of a prosodic element that is required or expected at a given place in a given metre by another which is more or less equivalent in temporal quantity. In modern prosody, substitution refers to the use within a metrical series of a foot other than the prevailing foot of the series. A silence may also replace expected sound and

Stefansson, Vilhjalmur

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

Of Icelandic descent, Stefansson lived for a year among the Eskimo in 1906–07, acquiring an intimate knowledge of their language and culture and forming the belief that

Tasmania, Education

2005-03-04T02:35:00.000-08:00

School attendance is compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 16. Government-supported schools include infant, primary (some with preschool facilities), area, district, and high schools (nonselective, comprehensive, mostly coeducational), together with matriculation colleges (secondary colleges that prepare students in their final one or two years for the

Hirah, Al-

2005-03-03T05:26:00.000-08:00

(from Syriac hirta, “camp”), English Hira, ancient city located south of al-Kufah in south-central Iraq; it was prominent in pre-Islamic Arab history. The town was originally a military encampment, but in the 5th and 6th centuries AD it was the capital of the Lakhmids, who were Arab vassals of Sasanian Persia (Iran). As such it was a centre of diplomatic, political, and military activities

Abruzzo, Ben L.

2005-03-02T15:45:00.000-08:00

Abruzzo graduated from the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) in 1952 and served two years in the U.S. Air Force at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, N.M. (1952–54). He settled in Albuquerque

Edgar

2005-03-02T07:54:00.000-08:00

The younger son of Edmund I, king of the English, Edgar was made king of the Mercians

Hughes, Howard (robard)

2005-02-28T22:39:00.000-08:00

He studied at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, and later at the Rice Institute of Technology, Houston. Orphaned at 17, he quit school and

Conservatism

2005-02-28T20:55:00.000-08:00

The term conservatism, although it has had different implications in varying historical and geographical contexts, is best reserved to denote a preference for institutions and practices that have evolved historically and that are thus

Melchite

2005-02-28T03:00:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Melkite, any of the Christians of Syria and Egypt who accepted the ruling of the Council of Chalcedon (451) affirming the two natures—divine and human—of Christ. Because they shared the theological position of the Byzantine emperor, they were derisively termed Melchites—that is, Royalists or Emperor's Men (from Syriac malka: “king”)—by those who rejected the Chalcedonian definition

Berbice River

2005-02-27T18:12:00.000-08:00

River in eastern Guyana. The Berbice River rises in the highlands of the Rupununi region and flows northward for 370 miles (595 km) through dense forests to the coastal plain. It enters the Atlantic Ocean at New Amsterdam, where its flow is obstructed by shallows. The basin of the Berbice is restricted by the proximity of its larger neighbours, the Essequibo and Courantyne

Cozumel

2005-02-27T07:26:00.000-08:00

Island, Caribbean Sea, approximately 10 mi (16 km) off the eastern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, in the jurisdiction of Quintana Roo territory. With a total area of 189 sq mi (489 sq km), and measuring 29 mi (46 km) from northeast to southwest and averaging 9 mi (14 km) in width, it is the largest of the islands off the peninsula. Geologically similar to the peninsula, Cozumel is a plain broken

Arundel, Thomas Fitzalan, 5th Earl Of, 11th Earl Of Surrey

2005-02-26T10:41:00.000-08:00

King Richard II made him a ward of John Holland, duke of Exeter, from whose keeping he escaped about 1398 and joined his uncle, Archbishop Thomas Arundel, at Utrecht, returning to England in 1399 with Henry of Lancaster, afterward King Henry IV. In October 1400 he was restored to

Celestina, La

2005-02-25T10:21:00.000-08:00

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

Jackson, Andrew

2005-02-25T02:15:00.000-08:00

A collection of Andrew Jackson's letters and documents can be found in Sam B. Smith et al. (eds.), The Papers of Andrew Jackson (1980– ). Biographies of Jackson are Robert V. Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Empire, 3 vol. (1977–84), also available in a one-volume condensed and rev. ed., The Life of Andrew Jackson (1988); Marquis James, Andrew Jackson: The Border Captain (1933, reprinted 1985), and Andrew Jackson: Portrait of a President (1937, reprinted 1983); James C. Curtis, Andrew Jackson and the Search for Vindication (1976); and Burke Davis, Old Hickory (1977). Various aspects of Jackson's career and influence are presented in Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., The Age of Jackson (1945, reissued 1989), a classic work; Robert V. Remini, The Election of Andrew Jackson (1963, reprinted 1980), and The Legacy of Andrew Jackson: Essays on Democracy, Indian Removal, and Slavery (1988); Richard P. McCormick, The Second American Party System: Party Formation in the Jacksonian Era (1966, reissued 1973); Michael Paul Rogin, Fathers and Children: Andrew Jackson and the Subjugation of the American Indian (1975, reissued 1991); Anthony F.C. Wallace, The Long, Bitter Trail: Andrew Jackson and the Indians (1993), discussing Jackson's role in the forced relocation of many Native Americans; Richard B. Latner, The Presidency of Andrew Jackson: White House Politics, 1829–1837 (1979); Donald B. Cole, The Presidency of Andrew Jackson (1993), a detailed account of Jackson's presidency, portraying him as more uncertain of himself than many believed; John M. Belohlavek, Let the Eagle Soar!: The Foreign Policy of Andrew Jackson (1985); Richard E. Ellis, The Union at Risk: Jacksonian Democracy, States' Rights, and the Nullification Crisis (1987); and Harry L. Watson, Liberty and Power: The Politics of Jacksonian America (1990), which deals with politics and public life during the years just before Jackson's presidency into the decade afterward. Robert V. Remini and Robert O. Rupp, Andrew Jackson (1991), provides an annotated bibliography.

Stahl, Franklin W.

2005-02-24T09:40:00.000-08:00

Educated at Harvard (A.B., 1951) and the University of Rochester (Ph.D., 1956), Stahl pursued his research

Zionism

2005-02-23T09:54:00.000-08:00

Jewish nationalist movement that has had as its goal the creation and support of a Jewish national state in Palestine, the ancient homeland of the Jews (Hebrew: Eretz Yisra'el, “the Land of Israel”). Though Zionism originated in eastern and central Europe in the latter part of the 19th century, it is in many ways a continuation of the ancient nationalist attachment of the

Annelid

2005-02-22T14:49:00.000-08:00

Phylum name Annelida, also called segmented worm, any member of a phylum of invertebrate animals that are characterized by the possession of a body cavity (or coelom), movable bristles (or setae), and a body divided into segments by transverse rings, or annulations, from which they take their name. The coelom is reduced in leeches, and setae are lacking a few specialized forms, including leeches. A major invertebrate phylum

Chahar

2005-02-22T09:59:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Chakhar, eastern tribe of Mongols, prominent in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Chahar were part of the empire of Dayan Khan (1470–1543), the last great khan of a united Mongolia. After his death the khanate remained formally among the Chahar, although it was substantially weakened. The last noteworthy Chahar khan, Ligdan (1604–34), attempted strenuously to reassert his authority, but he was defeated

Guayaquil

2005-02-22T01:06:00.000-08:00

In full Santiago De Guayaquil, largest city and chief port of Ecuador. It is situated on the west bank of the Guayas River, 45 miles (72 km) upstream from the Gulf of Guayaquil of the Pacific Ocean. The original settlement was founded in the 1530s at the mouth of the Babahoyo River, just east of the present site, by Sebastián de Belalcázar, a lieutenant of the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, but Indians

Sudra

2005-02-21T09:38:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Shudra, Sanskrit Sudra, the fourth and lowest of the traditional varnas, or social classes, of Hindu India, traditionally artisans and labourers. The term does not appear in the earliest Vedic literature. In its first application it probably included all conquered peoples of the Indus civilization as they were assimilated as menials to the three-class society of the Brahmans (priests

Tasmania, The postwar period

2005-02-21T02:55:00.000-08:00

Through the next quarter-century Tasmania benefited much from Australia's general prosperity. The population passed 370,000 by 1966, and living standards approached the national norm. Premiers Robert Cosgrove (1939–58) and Eric Elliott Reece (1958–69 and 1972–75) were tough and efficient; they saved the local Labor Party from the blows it was suffering elsewhere. They sustained faith in hydroelectricity,

Maddalena Island

2005-02-20T04:10:00.000-08:00

Italian Isola Maddalena, island, Sassari provincia, Italy. It lies in the Tyrrhenian Sea (of the Mediterranean) off the northeast coast of Sardinia. It has an area of 8 square miles (20 square km) and is the principal island of the Maddalena Archipelago, which includes the islands of Maddalena, Caprera, Santo Stefano, Spargi, Budelli, Santa Maria, and Razzoli. Its port, La Maddalena, is the administrative

Haarlem

2005-02-20T00:50:00.000-08:00

Gemeente (commune) and capital, Noord-Holland provincie, western Netherlands. It lies along the Spaarne River, 4.5 miles (7 km) from the North Sea, just west of Amsterdam. Haarlem was mentioned in the 10th century and by the 12th century had become a fortified town and the residence of the counts of Holland. It was chartered in 1245 and was ravaged in 1346 and 1351 during the civil wars in Holland.

Hengelo

2005-02-18T19:15:00.000-08:00

Hengelo is a rail junction and has a state agricultural school and cattle

Epistemology, Continental philosophy

2005-02-18T15:05:00.000-08:00

The German philosopher Edmund Husserl (1859–1938) thought that the standard

Bream

2005-02-18T05:36:00.000-08:00

The

Radic, Stjepan

2005-02-18T05:11:00.000-08:00

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

Sarcophagus

2005-02-17T05:11:00.000-08:00

Stone coffin. The original term is of doubtful meaning; Pliny explains that the word denotes a coffin of limestone from the Troad (the region around Troy) which had the property of dissolving the body quickly (Greek sarx, “flesh”; phagein, “to eat”). This explanation is questionable; religious and folkloristic ideas may have been involved in calling a coffin a body eater. The

Van Dine, S.s.

2005-02-17T02:12:00.000-08:00

Wright was educated at St. Vincent and Pomona colleges in California, at Harvard University, and in Munich and Paris. Pursuing a career as a writer, Wright became literary editor of the

Toadstool

2005-02-16T23:38:00.000-08:00

Any of various inedible or poisonous species of mushrooms (division Mycota). See mushroom.

'abd-us-samad, Khwaja

2005-02-16T15:37:00.000-08:00

'Abd-us-Samad was born into a family of good social standing in Iran, and he had already gained a reputation as a calligrapher

Annelid, Nervous system

2005-02-15T05:13:00.000-08:00

The nervous system of free-moving polychaetes is similar to that of oligochaetes. It consists of a dorsal brain, or supraesophageal ganglion, which is a discrete mass of nervous tissue in the prostomium; a pair of nerves united ventrally to form the ventral subesophageal ganglion; and paired nerve cords with one ganglion per segment. In sedentary polychaetes, the

Toadstool

2005-02-15T00:28:00.000-08:00

Daniel Rutherford, a medical student in Edinburgh, is usually

Molenbeek-saint-jean

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

(French), Flemish Sint-Jans-Molenbeek commune, Brabant province, central Belgium. A residential and industrial suburb west of Brussels, it is one of the communes that make up Greater Brussels. It originated as a distinct village on a slope overlooking a brook (molenbeek, “mill stream”). Molenbeek Ridge was the site from which Louis XIV's forces bombarded Brussels in 1695. Today Molenbeek-Saint-Jean is a highly urbanized

Hormisdas, Saint

2005-02-14T10:30:00.000-08:00

Born of a wealthy family of Frosinone in the Campania, Hormisdas was married before he rose in the church. (His son became pope as Silverius.) Pope Symmachus made him deacon, and he was prominent in attendance

Pen

2005-02-13T19:20:00.000-08:00

Tool for writing or drawing with a coloured fluid, such as ink. The earliest ancestor of the pen probably was the brush used for writing by the Chinese by the 1st millennium BC. The early Egyptians employed thick reeds for penlike implements about 300 BC. A specific allusion to the quill pen occurs in the 7th-century writings of St. Isidore of Sevilla, but such pens made of bird feathers

Sea Fan

2005-02-13T15:07:00.000-08:00

(Gorgonia), any of a genus of invertebrate marine animals of the order Gorgonacea (class Anthozoa, phylum Cnidaria). It is a variety of coral composed of polyps, cylindrical sessile (attached) forms, that grow together in a flat, fanlike pattern; hence, the name sea fan. Each polyp in the colony has some multiple of six tentacles, as opposed to the eightfold symmetry of the similar

Dominica Channel

2005-02-13T09:24:00.000-08:00

Marine passage in the Lesser Antilles, West Indies, connecting the Caribbean Sea with the open Atlantic Ocean to the east. It flows between the island of Dominica (north) and the French island and overseas département of Martinique (south) and is about 25 miles (40 km) wide.

Tobruk

2005-02-12T06:08:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Tubruq port, northeastern Libya. It was the site of Antipyrgos, an ancient Greek agricultural colony, and thereafter of a Roman fortress guarding the Cyrenaican frontier. The town later became a way station on the coastal caravan route. Because it is Libya's only natural harbour, Tobruk was occupied by the Italians as early as 1911 and was subsequently used as a naval and air base

Christian Iii

2005-02-11T17:40:00.000-08:00

The eldest son of Frederick I, king of Denmark and Norway, Christian was educated as a Lutheran and showed Protestant

Feng Yü-hsiang

2005-02-11T11:58:00.000-08:00

A soldier at the age of 11, Feng was largely self-educated. He rose through the ranks, gathering under his command a highly disciplined body of troops. He urged his men to become Protestants, to engage in social reform, to acquire

'abd Al-malik

2005-02-10T04:57:00.000-08:00

In full 'abd Al-malik Ibn Marwan fifth caliph (685–705) of the Umayyad Arab dynasty centred in Damascus. He reorganized and strengthened governmental administration and, throughout the empire, adopted Arabic as the language of administration.

Arzew

2005-02-08T17:32:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Arzeu, port town, northwestern Algeria. Arzew lies near the mouth of the Wadi Mehgoun. Its natural harbour on the Mediterranean is sheltered by a mountainous promontory between the gulfs of Oran and Arzew. Arzew was an Almohad port in the 1100s. It was visited by Italian merchants in the 14th and 15th centuries and was captured and fortified by the Turks in the 16th. Occupied by the Algerian

Texas, Revolution and the republic

2005-02-08T11:38:00.000-08:00

Unrest throughout Mexico, including Texas, resulted in a coup by Antonio López de Santa Anna, who assumed the presidency in 1833. Texans, hopeful for relief from restrictive governmental measures, supported Santa Anna. Austin expected a friendly hearing about these grievances but instead was imprisoned in Mexico City for encouraging insurrection. He was freed in 1835 and

Canute (i)

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

Neither the place nor date of Canute's birth is known. As a youth he accompanied his father, Sweyn I Forkbeard, king of Denmark, on his invasion of England in 1013. Canute was left in charge of the fleet at Gainsborough, Lincolnshire,

Metalloid

2005-02-08T01:59:00.000-08:00

A chemical element with properties intermediate between those of typical metals and nonmetals. Usually considered under this classification are the chemical elements boron, silicon, germanium, arsenic, antimony, and tellurium. The rare elements polonium and astatine are also sometimes included. Most of these elements are important industrial materials, being

Gypsisol

2005-02-06T13:34:00.000-08:00

One of the 30 soil groups in the classification system of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Gypsisols are characterized by a subsurface layer of gypsum (a hydrated calcium sulfate) accumulated by the precipitation of calcium and sulfate from downward percolating waters in the soil profile. With intensive management, irrigated crops can be grown on these

Mu'allaqat, Al-

2005-02-06T10:08:00.000-08:00

Taken together, the poems of the Mu'allaqat provide an excellent picture

Gully

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

Trench cut into land by the erosion of an accelerated stream of water. Various conditions make such erosion possible: the natural vegetation securing the soil may have been destroyed by human action, by fire, or by a climatic change; or an exceptional storm may send in torrents of water down the streambed. Gully erosion is closely related to intense local thunderstorms

Bashkirtseff, Marie

2005-02-06T05:04:00.000-08:00

Bashkirtseff was the daughter of Russian nobility, and she spent a peripatetic childhood with her mother

Toreva Block

2005-02-05T08:55:00.000-08:00

Landslide product consisting of a very large block of undisturbed material that has been tilted backward toward the parent cliff during movement down a gentle slope. In northeastern Arizona such blocks are thought to have formed during more humid periods of the last glacial advance of the Pleistocene Epoch (1,600,000 to 10,000 years ago). Toreva blocks also occur, however, as a simple

Paragliding

2005-02-05T01:59:00.000-08:00

The pilot is

Agnon, S.y.

2005-02-04T18:07:00.000-08:00

Born of a family of Polish Jewish merchants, rabbis, and scholars, Agnon wrote at first (1903–06) in Yiddish and Hebrew, under his own

Astronomical Observatory

2005-02-04T10:32:00.000-08:00

Any structure containing telescopes and auxiliary instruments with which to observe celestial objects. Observatories can be classified on the basis of the part of the electromagnetic spectrum in which they are designed to observe. The largest number of observatories are optical; i.e., they are equipped to observe in and near the region of the spectrum visible

Gambaga Scarp

2005-02-03T19:53:00.000-08:00

Line of cliffs along the Volta River basin, northeastern Ghana, western Africa. The scarp forms the elevated northern boundary of the Volta River basin and the eastern section of the granite plateaus of Wa and Mamprusi. To the south is another narrow plateau, followed by a gradual descent to the surrounding land. The Gambaga's steep erosional scarps reveal a composition

Biblical Literature, Obadiah

2005-02-03T02:44:00.000-08:00

The Book of Obadiah, the fourth book of the Twelve (Minor) Prophets, contains only 21 verses. Nothing is known about the prophet as a person or about his times. It may have been written before the Exile, though many scholars believe that it was composed either some time after 586 BCE or in the mid-5th century, when the Jews returned to the area around Jerusalem. The prophet concentrates

Tit-babbler

2005-02-03T02:18:00.000-08:00

Any of a number of birds belonging to the babbler family Timaliidae (order Passeriformes). The 35 to 40 species are small and short-billed, rather like titmice in appearance and behaviour but mostly somewhat larger with proportionately shorter tails. Tit-babblers are chunky birds, 10 to 18 cm (4 to 7 inches) in length, with fluffy plumage, characterized by hairlike feathers on the

Anole

2005-02-02T14:18:00.000-08:00

(genus Anolis) any of about 250 species of small, tree-dwelling lizard related to iguanas (family Iguanidae). Anoles occur throughout the warmer regions of North and South America and are abundant in the West Indies. Like the gecko, all anoles have enlarged finger and toe pads that are covered with microscopic hooks. These clinging pads, together with sharp claws, enable them to

Bloch, Konrad E.

2005-02-01T15:26:00.000-08:00

After receiving a chemical engineering degree in 1934 at the Technische Hochschule in Munich,

Desgarcins, Magdeleine-marie

2005-02-01T06:33:00.000-08:00

Desgarcins made her debut at the Comédie-Française in Jean Racine's Bajazet (1788) and was at once made a full member of the company. When the conflicts of the Revolution caused a split in the company in 1791, she and François Talma, with whom she usually appeared, formed a new company

Theatres, War Of The

2005-02-01T04:33:00.000-08:00

In English literary history, conflict involving the Elizabethan playwrights Ben Jonson, John Marston, and Thomas Dekker. It covered a period when Jonson was writing for one children's company of players and Marston for another, rival group. In 1599 Marston presented a mildly satirical portrait of Jonson in his Histrio-mastix. In 1599 Jonson replied in Every Man Out of His

Ear Disease, Aero-otitis media

2005-01-31T22:14:00.000-08:00

Aero-otitis media is a painful type of hearing loss that can result from an inability to equalize the air pressure in the middle-ear cavity when a sudden change in altitude occurs, as may happen in a rapid descent in a poorly pressurized aircraft. Allergies or a preexisting head cold may inhibit an individual's ability to equalize, which is accomplished by yawning

Abbess

2005-01-30T17:12:00.000-08:00

To be elected, an abbess must be at least 40 years old and a professed nun for at least 10 years. She is solemnly blessed

Jane Seymour

2005-01-29T13:23:00.000-08:00

Jane's father was Sir John Seymour of Wolf Hall, Savernake, Wiltshire. She became a lady in waiting to Henry's first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and then to Anne Boleyn,

Catch

2005-01-29T05:22:00.000-08:00

Also called Round, perpetual canon designed to be sung by three or more voices, especially popular in 17th- and 18th-century England. Like all rounds, catches are indefinitely repeatable pieces in which all voices begin the same melody on the same pitch but enter at different time intervals. The name may derive from caccia, a 14th-century canonic form, or may refer to each singer's “catching” the

Amanollah Khan

2005-01-29T01:27:00.000-08:00

A favoured son of the Afghan ruler Habibollah Khan, Amanollah took possession of the throne immediately after his father's assassination in 1919, at a time when Great Britain exercised an important influence on Afghan affairs. In his coronation address

Bohemian Glass

2005-01-28T13:25:00.000-08:00

Decorative glass made in Bohemia and Silesia from the 13th century. Especially notable is the cut and engraved glass in high Baroque style made from 1685 to 1750. Early in the 17th century, Caspar Lehmann, gem cutter to Emperor Rudolf II in Prague, adapted to glass the technique of gem engraving with copper and bronze wheels. Although intaglio (Tiefschnitt, “deep cut”) and high relief

Aalto, Alvar

2005-01-28T06:03:00.000-08:00

A definitive review of Aalto's work, extremely well illustrated with photographs and plans, is the two-volume work edited by Karl Fleig: Alvar Aalto (1963) and Alvar Aalto 1963–1970 (1971). A brief essay by Farederick Gutheim, Alvar Aalto (1960), contains descriptive and critical comments as well as many photographs. A similar book is George Baird, Alvar Aalto (1970). A substantial chapter on Aalto appears in Sigfried Giedion, Space, Time and Architecture, 5th ed. rev. (1967), and is an excellent critical treatment of Aalto's architecture. No purely biographical work exists.

Arundinaria

2005-01-28T04:37:00.000-08:00

Arundinaria gigantea—which is known as giant cane, southern cane, or canebrake bamboo—was once widely utilized as a forage plant in the southeastern