LateBag

Amtrak

2005-04-04T18:58:00.000-07:00

Formally National Railroad Passenger Corporation federally supported corporation that operates nearly all intercity passenger trains in the United States. It was established by Congress in 1970 and assumed control of passenger service from the nation's private rail companies the following year. Virtually all railways, with the exception of a small handful, signed contracts with Amtrak. The corporation pays the

Bouchardon, Edmé

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

Bouchardon studied with Guillaume Coustou and in 1722 won the Prix de Rome. For the next 10 years he lived in Rome, executing marble replicas of antique statues as well as numerous

Minbu

2005-04-02T23:25:00.000-08:00

Although much of the surrounding land is semidesert scrub forming part of Myanmar's dry zone, large areas around Minbu are

Mindel Glacial Stage

2005-04-02T08:10:00.000-08:00

Major division of Pleistocene time and deposits in Alpine Europe (the Pleistocene epoch began about 1,600,000 years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago). The Mindel Glacial Stage is part of the early geologic scheme (c. 1900) that first recognized the importance of multiple episodes of Pleistocene glaciation. The Mindel Glacial Stage, representing a period of relatively severe climatic

Sogn Og Fjordane

2005-04-01T20:34:00.000-08:00

Fylke (county), western Norway, bordering the North Sea. Its inland extension includes the Jostedals Glacier and part of the Jotunheim Mountains. In the northern part of the fylke is Nord Fjord, which penetrates 55 miles (90 km) inland, and in the south is Norway's longest fjord, Sogn Fjord (q.v.). Centrally located on the northern bank of Sogn Fjord is the village of Leikanger, administrative

Astigmatism

2005-04-01T19:32:00.000-08:00

Lack of symmetry in the curvature of the cornea or, much less commonly, of the crystalline lens (the cornea is the transparent wall of the eye in front of the pupil and iris). The uneven and unequal curvatures on these various refractive surfaces diffuse light rays and interfere with a sharp focus at a point on the retina, the light-sensitive tissue lining the back and

Río Salado, Battle Of

2005-03-30T14:09:00.000-08:00

(October 30, 1340), battle fought by the allied Castilian and Portuguese Christian forces against the Muslim Marinids of North Africa in a final attempt by the latter to invade the Iberian Peninsula. The battle, which interrupted a series of disputes between the Castilian and Portuguese over throne and territorial rights, represented the final alliance of the two to repulse

Dahuk

2005-03-29T19:08:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Dohuk, or Dhok, town, northern Iraq, in the Kurdish Autonomous Region. The town lies near the northern end of the Tigris River Valley. The area in which the town is situated is unsuitable for cultivation but is good for fruit orchards and pasturage. Dahuk has a fruit-canning plant and a textile mill. There has been building of new tourist resorts and improvement of existing ones. Pop. (1970 est.)

Dôn

2005-03-27T17:37:00.000-08:00

In Celtic mythology, leader of one of two warring families of gods; according to one interpretation, the Children of Dôn were the powers of light, constantly in conflict with the Children of Llyr, the powers of darkness. In another view, the conflict was a struggle between indigenous gods and those of an invading people. Although Dôn and other Welsh deities had Irish

Celestine Ii

2005-03-27T09:13:00.000-08:00

A scholar of noble birth, he studied under Peter Abélard, with whom he remained on friendly terms even after Abélard's condemnation at the Council of Sens (1140). He was made cardinal deacon in 1127 by Pope Honorius II and cardinal priest (c. 1134) by Pope Innocent II, whom he was elected to succeed on Sept. 26, 1143. As pope (consecrated

Lusignan Family

2005-03-25T14:02:00.000-08:00

Noble family of Poitou (a province of western France) that provided numerous crusaders and kings of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Lesser Armenia. A branch of the family became counts of La Marche and Angoulême and played a role in precipitating the baronial revolt in England against King Henry III. The castle of Lusignan is associated with the medieval legend of Mélusine.

Rachmaninoff, Sergey

2005-03-25T00:23:00.000-08:00

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Rachmaninoff went into his second self-imposed exile, dividing his time between residences in Switzerland and the United States. Although for the next 25 years he spent most of his time in an English-speaking country, he never mastered its language or thoroughly acclimatized himself. With his family and a small circle of friends, he

U2

2005-03-24T15:58:00.000-08:00

Cluster, Structure

2005-03-24T05:59:00.000-08:00

The abundance distributions for several kinds of clusters show that there are certain sizes of clusters with exceptional stability, analogous to the exceptional stability of the atoms of the inert gases helium, neon, argon, krypton, and xenon and of the so-called magic number nuclei—i.e., the sequence of unusually stable atomic nuclei beginning with the a-particle,

North American Desert, Plant life

2005-03-23T15:45:00.000-08:00

In the North American Desert, available moisture is the most critical factor for life. Local environmental factors also are significant in determining the nature of desert plant communities and their dependent animal life (see video). Most desert plants are xerophytes (plants adapted to arid conditions) or phraetophytes (plants dependent on a permanent water

Ogoja

2005-03-22T19:54:00.000-08:00

Town, Cross River state, southeastern Nigeria, on the road from Abakaliki. A major trade centre (yams, cassava, corn [maize], rice, palm oil and kernels, kola nuts), it is mainly inhabited by the Ekoi peoples. Ogoja is the headquarters of a local government council and the site of a teacher-training college, a secondary school, and several hospitals and clinics. Pop. (1982 est.) 22,020.

Zamosc

2005-03-22T16:07:00.000-08:00

City, Zamosc województwo (province), east-central Poland. One of the few large communities in the Lublin uplands, it was founded on the estates of Polish chancellor Jan Zamoyski (1542–1605) that lay on the trade route between the Black Sea and northern and western Europe. In 1578 the Paduan architect Bernardo Morando conceived and implemented the city's modern design, which remains a

Porcupine River

2005-03-21T02:34:00.000-08:00

Major tributary of the Yukon River, in northern Yukon Territory, Can., and northeastern Alaska, U.S. Discovered in 1842 by John Bell of the Hudson's Bay Company, the Porcupine rises in the Mackenzie Mountains of west central Yukon Territory and flows for 448 mi (721 km) in a great arc, first north and then west across the international boundary and into the Yukon River near Fort Yukon,

Roman Catholicism, History Of, Religious life in the 17th and 18th centuries

2005-03-20T10:56:00.000-08:00

Yet it would be a mistake to allow the narrative of these controversies to monopolize one's attention. Less dramatic but no less important was the continuing life of the Roman Catholic Church during these centuries as “mother and teacher.” Bossuet was not only the formulator of Gallican ideology but also one of the finest preachers of Christian history. He addressed

Estonia

2005-03-20T03:23:00.000-08:00

Officially Republic of Estonia, Estonian Eesti, or Eesti Vabariik, country in northeastern Europe, the northernmost of the three Baltic states. It is bounded on the west and north by the Baltic Sea and on the east by Lake Peipus (Peipsi; Russian: Chudskoye Ozero) and the Narva River; it is bordered on the east and southeast by Russia and on the south by Latvia. Estonia has an area of 17,462 square miles (45,227 square kilometres), of which about one-tenth

Seth, Vikram

2005-03-19T08:44:00.000-08:00

The son of a judge and a businessman, Seth was raised in London and India. He attended exclusive Indian schools and then graduated from Corpus Christi College, Oxford (B.A., 1975). He received a master's degree in economics from Stanford University

Greeley, Horace

2005-03-18T11:27:00.000-08:00

A printer's apprentice in East Poultney, Vt., he moved to New York City, where he became senior editor for a new literary magazine, The New Yorker (1834). A liberal Whig, Greeley caught the attention of New York political

Quilon

2005-03-18T00:47:00.000-08:00

Town, administrative headquarters of Quilon district, southern Kerala state, southwestern India. Quilon has existed for many centuries and was called Elancon by early travellers, Kaulam Mall by the Arabs, and Coilum by the 13th-century Venetian traveller Marco Polo. Its location made it commercially important; the first Europeans there were the Portuguese, followed

World War Ii, Iwo Jima and the bombing of Tokyo

2005-03-17T19:30:00.000-08:00

With U.S. forces firmly established in the Mariana Islands, the steady long-range bombing of Japan by B-29s under the command of General Curtis E. LeMay continued throughout the closing months of 1944 and into 1945. But it was still 1,500 miles from Saipan to Tokyo, a long flight even for the B-29s. Strategic planners therefore fixed their attention on the little volcanic island of Iwo

Berengar

2005-03-16T16:54:00.000-08:00

After the fall of the emperor Charles III the Fat, Berengar was elected king of Italy

Zaghwan

2005-03-16T10:32:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Zaghouan, town, northeastern Tunisia. It lies on the fertile, northern slope of Mount Zaghwan at an elevation of 4,247 feet (1,295 m). It is built on the ancient Roman site of Zigus. Parts of a Roman aqueduct and canal network built in the 2nd century BC under the emperor Hadrian are still used to bring water from Zaghwan to Tunis. The importance of Zaghwan water is reflected in the location there of a Roman

Pitchstone

2005-03-16T03:32:00.000-08:00

Most pitchstone occurs as dikes or marginal phases of dikes and therefore may grade into porphyry. Pitchstone porphyry (vitrophyre)

Chad, Lake

2005-03-16T00:45:00.000-08:00

French Lac Tchad, freshwater lake located in the Sahelian zone of west-central Africa at the conjunction of Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger. It is situated in an interior basin formerly occupied by a much larger ancient sea that is sometimes called Mega-Chad. Lake Chad ranks as the fourth largest lake in Africa, though its surface area varies greatly. When the surface of the lake is

Cohenite

2005-03-14T13:35:00.000-08:00

The mineral iron and nickel carbide [(Fe,Ni)3C] that occurs as an accessory constituent of several iron meteorites, of all coarse octahedrites containing 7 percent or less nickel, and of at least one stony meteorite, an enstatite chondrite. Cohenite closely resembles the meteoritic mineral schreibersite, and it may be more common in meteorites than is supposed. When

Newfoundland And Labrador, The west coast

2005-03-13T22:56:00.000-08:00

The west coast region stretches southward from Bonne Bay, at the base of the Great Northern Peninsula, to Cape Ray on the Cabot Strait. The northern section is well forested, while from St. George's Bay to the Codroy Valley is the province's best agricultural land. The principal population centres are Corner Brook, a city based on a large pulp and paper complex, and Stephenville,

Valencia

2005-03-13T06:46:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Carabobo state, northwestern Venezuela, on the Río Cabriales in the central highlands at 1,600 ft (490 m) above sea level, near the western shore of Lake Valencia. It was founded in 1555, eight years before the founding of Caracas, the national capital, as Nueva Valencia del Rey by Alonso Díaz Moreno, a soldier from the Spanish city of Valencia; it rivalled Caracas as the

Nechung Oracle

2005-03-13T04:35:00.000-08:00

Oracle-priest of Tibet who, until the conquest of Tibet in 1959 by the People's Republic of China, was consulted on all important occasions. The priest chosen to be the Nechung oracle was the chief medium of Pe-har, a popular folk divinity incorporated into Buddhism, and resided at the Nechung (Gnas-chung-lcog) monastery near Drepung ('Bras-spungs), the centre of the Pe-har cult.

Alecsandri, Vasile

2005-03-12T21:45:00.000-08:00

His lyrical poems,

Germany

2005-03-12T10:16:00.000-08:00

On a visit to Bonn in early January, UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali appealed for Germany to find a way around its constitutional restrictions and play a full part in international security missions. German medical troops were already involved in a UN humanitarian mission in Cambodia, and the German air force was taking part in mercy flights to Sarajevo,

Rovenky

2005-03-12T06:23:00.000-08:00

Russian Rovenki, city, Luhansk oblast (province), southeastern Ukraine. Rovenky is 37 miles (60 km) south of the city of Luhansk on the Debaltseve-Likhovsky rail line. It was incorporated as a city in 1934. Rovenky is located in a coal-mining area and has an ore-enrichment plant. Food processing, woodworking, and stone products manufacturing are other important industries. The city has a mining tekhnikum

Dance Suite

2005-03-10T22:37:00.000-08:00

Musical arrangement consisting of related dance movements. See suite.

Pendleton, Ellen Fitz

2005-03-10T11:14:00.000-08:00

Pendleton graduated from Wellesley College in 1886. She remained at Wellesley as a tutor in mathematics, Latin, and Greek until 1888, when she received an appointment as instructor in mathematics. She pursued graduate studies at Newnham

Harun Ar-rashid

2005-03-10T05:20:00.000-08:00

In full Harun ar-Rashid ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ibn al-Mansur al-'Abbasi fifth caliph of the 'Abbasid dynasty (786–809), who ruled Islam at the zenith of its empire with a luxury in Baghdad memorialized in The Thousand and One Nights (The Arabian Nights Entertainment).

Baden-baden

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

City, Baden-Württemberg Land (state), southwestern Germany. It lies along the middle Oos River in the Black Forest (Schwarzwald). Baden-Baden is one of the world's great spas. Its Roman baths (parts of which survive) were built in the reign of Caracalla (AD 211–217) for the garrison of Strasbourg. The town fell into ruins but reappeared in 1112 as the seat (until 1705) of the margravate of Baden. Almost

John Of Ephesus,

2005-03-08T04:54:00.000-08:00

A Syrian monk, he became a deacon at Amida in 529, but because of the Byzantine persecution of the Monophysites he was forced to lead a nomadic life. Later, at the Eastern imperial court of Constantinople, John was

Roman Catholicism, History Of, The rise of heresy

2005-03-07T17:22:00.000-08:00

Before the middle of the 12th century heresy on a large scale was unknown in the West. The early dissenters were often radical reformers such as the Italian canon Arnold of Brescia (d. 1155), an outspoken critic of clerical wealth and corruption. Then there appeared in northern Italy and southern France the sect, Eastern and Manichaean in origin, later known as the Cathari (the

Lippmann, Gabriel

2005-03-07T00:11:00.000-08:00

Though born of French parents in Luxembourg, Lippmann grew up in Paris

Tarbes

2005-03-06T04:44:00.000-08:00

After the Roman occupation, when it was a city of considerable importance, Tarbes was seized for a time by the Arabs. In the 10th century it became the capital of the ancient countship

Sevilla

2005-03-05T23:11:00.000-08:00

City, Cauca departamento, western Colombia, on an abutment of the Cordillera Central. Founded as San Luis in 1903 by Heraclio Uribe Uribe, the city was renamed for Sevilla, Spain, when it became a municipality in 1914. Gold, silver, and platinum mines are nearby, and agricultural products (beef, coffee, sugar, tobacco, cacao, bananas, cassava, and cereals) are marketed. Pop. (1993) 51,081; (1999 est.) 62,316.

Juba

2005-03-05T05:37:00.000-08:00

Dance of Afro-American slaves, found as late as the 19th century from Dutch Guiana to the Caribbean and the southern United States. It was danced by a circle of men around two men who performed various steps (e.g., the juba, the long dog scratch, the pigeon wing) in response to a rhythmic call and to the clapping (patting juba) of the other dancers. As a refrain, after each new step

Gnat

2005-03-05T01:30:00.000-08:00

Any member of several species of small flies that bite and annoy humans. Several nonbiting insects, such as the midges, which resemble mosquitoes, are also sometimes known as gnats. In North America the name is often applied to the black fly, midge, fungus gnat, biting midge, fruit fly (qq.v.), and other small flies that hover about the eyes of humans and other animals. In Great

Fore-and-aft Sail

2005-03-04T18:39:00.000-08:00

One of the two basic types of sailing rig, the other being the square sail. The fore-and-aft sail, now usually triangular, is set completely aft of a mast or stay, parallel to the ship's keel, and takes the wind on either side. The mainsail always has a boom, pivoted on the mast. Historically, it represented an important advance over the ancient square sail; it first appeared in

Aladdin

2005-03-03T10:11:00.000-08:00

Arabic 'ala' Ad-din, hero of one of the best known stories in The Thousand and One Nights. The son of a deceased Chinese tailor and his poor widow, Aladdin is a lazy, careless boy who meets an African magician claiming to be his uncle. The magician brings Aladdin to the mouth of a cave and bids him enter and bring out a wonderful lamp that is inside, giving him a magic ring for his safety in the meantime.

Nizhegorod

2005-03-03T09:10:00.000-08:00

Formerly (1932–90) Gorky, oblast (province) in western Russia, in the middle of the Volga River basin. Nizhegorod oblast is bisected by the Volga River. The northern half of the oblast is a low plain, mostly in dense coniferous forest of spruce, pine, and fir, while lower parts are often swampy. Its soils are infertile. The southern half comprises rolling morainic hills, with deciduous trees, especially

Calligraphy, Chinese calligraphy

2005-03-03T06:44:00.000-08:00

The earliest known Chinese logographs are engraved on the shoulder bones of large animals and on tortoise shells. For this reason, the script found on these objects is commonly called jiaguwen, or shell-and-bone script. It seems likely that each of the ideographs was carefully composed before it was engraved. Although the figures are not entirely uniform in size,

Atef, Muhammad

2005-03-02T18:33:00.000-08:00

Egyptian-born Islamist militant (b. 1944?, Egypt—d. Nov. 14/15, 2001, near Kabul, Afg.), was believed to have been a close associate of Osama bin Laden (in early 2001 his daughter married Bin Laden's son) and chief military strategist for the Islamic terrorist organization al-Qaeda. He reportedly trained as a police officer before joining the radical Egyptian Islamic Jihad, members of which assassinated

Kunlun Mountains, Plant and animal life

2005-03-02T18:09:00.000-08:00

The desert or, at best, steppe conditions prevailing throughout the Kunluns inhibit development of vegetation. Much of the terrain consists of rock deserts. Occasional stagnant water pools provide browsing and water for several wild ungulates, such as the Tibetan gazelle and Tibetan goat antelope (chiru), along with large herds of wild asses (kiang) and clusters

Alabama Claims

2005-03-02T04:13:00.000-08:00

Maritime grievances of the United States against Great Britain, accumulated during and after the American Civil War (1861–65). The claims are significant in international law for furthering the use of arbitration to settle disputes peacefully and for delineating certain responsibilities of neutrals toward belligerents. The dispute centred on

Wagner, Richard

2005-03-01T20:52:00.000-08:00

The artistic and theatrical background of Wagner's early years (several elder sisters became opera singers or actresses) was a main formative influence. Impulsive and self-willed, he was a negligent scholar at the Kreuzschule, Dresden, and the Nicholaischule, Leipzig. He frequented concerts, however, taught himself the piano and composition, and read the plays of

Allégret, Marc

2005-02-28T21:52:00.000-08:00

Allégret was educated in law in Paris, but while accompanying his uncle André Gide on a trip to Africa, he recorded the trip on film. He served as an assistant director to Robert Florey and Augusto Genina and in 1931 directed his first feature, Mam'zelle Nitouche. It was

Ramesseum

2005-02-28T08:55:00.000-08:00

Funerary temple of Ramses II (1279–13 BC), erected on the west bank of the Nile River at Thebes in Upper Egypt. The temple, famous for its 57-foot (17-metre) seated statue of Ramses II (of which only fragments are left), was dedicated to the god Amon and the deceased king. The walls of the Ramesseum, which is only about half preserved, are decorated with reliefs, including scenes depicting the

Aedesius

2005-02-28T04:57:00.000-08:00

Aedesius founded the so-called Pergamum school of philosophy, whose major concerns were theurgy (the magic practiced by some Neoplatonists who believed miracles could be worked by the intervention of divine and beneficent spirits) and

Newton

2005-02-27T19:13:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1846) of Jasper county, central Iowa, U.S., about 30 miles (50 km) east of Des Moines. It was settled in 1846 as the county seat and was named for John Newton, a soldier of the American Revolution. The railroad arrived in the 1860s and the community developed as a lumber-milling and agricultural trading centre. In 1898 the washing machine industry began there with the manufacture of ratchet-slat

Mark

2005-02-26T14:47:00.000-08:00

Former German monetary unit. In the 19th century the mark was a common small coin in the German states, but its value varied between states. In 1873, soon after the creation of the German empire, the gold mark, equal to 100 pfennigs, was adopted as the standard of value and the money of account for the empire. In 1948 the deutsche mark (DM; “German mark”) was introduced in West Germany, and in 1990 it

Fuchu

2005-02-26T08:23:00.000-08:00

City, Tokyo Metropolis (to), Honshu, Japan, on the Tama-gawa (Tama River). The capital of Musashi Province about the 7th century AD, it flourished as a post town and regional commercial and administrative centre. Fuchu declined when it was bypassed by the railway between Tokyo and Tachikawa (1889), but it revived with the arrival of two other railways in the late 1920s and the construction

National Bank

2005-02-25T06:55:00.000-08:00

The first Bank of the United States (1791–1811) and the second Bank of the United States (1816–36) had functioned as agents of the U.S. Treasury and competed with the state, or private, banks, thereby ensuring that the private banks redeemed their banknotes

Great Dane

2005-02-25T00:54:00.000-08:00

Breed of working dog developed at least 400 years ago in Germany, where it was used for boar hunting. The Great Dane is typically a swift, alert dog noted for courage, friendliness, and dependability. It has a massive, square-jawed head, and body lines that give it an elegant appearance. Its short coat is black, golden brown, brindle, blue-gray, or white with black patches. The tallest

Oz, Amos

2005-02-24T17:01:00.000-08:00

Oz's symbolic, poetic novels reflect the splits and strains in Israeli life. Locked in conflict are the traditions

Traube, Isidor

2005-02-24T09:42:00.000-08:00

In 1882 Traube joined the faculty of the Technische Hochschule, Berlin, and there became professor of chemistry in 1900. He left Germany in 1939 and accepted a position

Celery Cabbage

2005-02-24T04:12:00.000-08:00

(Brassica pekinensis), species of mustard cultivated for its edible leaves. See Chinese cabbage.

Interest

2005-02-23T00:42:00.000-08:00

Interest may also be viewed as the income derived from the possession of contractual promises from others to pay sums in the future. The question may be asked, “What is the value today of a promise to pay $100 a year from now?” If the answer is $100, then no interest income is generated.

Joule

2005-02-22T05:13:00.000-08:00

Unit of work or energy in the International System of Units (SI); it is equal to the work done by a force of one newton acting through one metre. Named in honour of the English physicist James Prescott Joule, it equals 107 ergs, or approximately 0.7377 foot-pounds. In electrical terms, the joule equals one watt-second—i.e., the energy released in one second by a current of one ampere through

Oats

2005-02-21T09:32:00.000-08:00

The wild oat was first found in western Europe, apparently as

Melfi

2005-02-21T07:28:00.000-08:00

Town and episcopal see, Potenza provincia, Basilicata regione, southern Italy, at the foot of the volcanic mass of Monte Vulture, at an elevation of 1,742 feet (531 m), north of Potenza. Of Roman origin, the town was taken from the Byzantines by the Normans, who, for a period, made it their capital. It was a favourite residence of the Holy Roman emperor Frederick II, who there assembled

Porphyria

2005-02-21T06:23:00.000-08:00

Any of a group of diseases characterized by the marked overproduction and excretion of porphyrins or of one or another of their precursors. The porphyrins are reddish constituents of heme, the deep red iron-containing pigment of hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein of the red blood cells. The deposition of porphyrin compounds in body tissues, notably the skin,

Rye

2005-02-20T15:45:00.000-08:00

Town (“parish”), Rother district, administrative county of East Sussex, historic county of Sussex, England, on a hill by the River Rother. The community's cobbled streets and timber-framed and Georgian houses attract many tourists. Originally a seaport, Rye was incorporated in 1289 and became a full member of the Cinque Ports (a confederation of English Channel ports) in about

Hawkins, Sir John

2005-02-20T05:55:00.000-08:00

A kinsman of Sir Francis Drake, Hawkins began his career as a merchant in the African trade and soon became the first English slave trader. By carrying slaves from Guinea, in West Africa,

Ben Khedda, Benyoussef

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

Algerian independence leader (b. Feb. 23, 1920, Berrouaghia, Alg.—d. Feb. 4, 2003, Algiers, Alg.), negotiated Algeria's independence from France in 1962, but he was forced from power shortly thereafter. In 1943, after he protested against French attempts to recruit Algerians in World War II, Ben Khedda was imprisoned for eight months. After the war he became general secretary of the pro-independence

Han River

2005-02-19T14:26:00.000-08:00

Wade–Giles romanization Han Chiang, Pinyin Han Jiang, river in eastern Kwangtung Province (sheng), China. The Han River rises in the Wu-i Shan (mountains) in southwest Fukien Province to the north of Ch'ang-t'ing. Its upper course is known as the T'ing Chiang, and it flows south to Feng-shih, below which it is joined by the Yung-ting Chi (river). Flowing south over the border into Kwangtung Province, it is joined at San-ho-pa by its principal

Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli

2005-02-18T18:46:00.000-08:00

Scholar and statesman who was president of India from 1962 to 1967. He served as professor of philosophy at Mysore (1918–21) and Calcutta (1921–31; 1937–41) universities and as vice chancellor of Andhra University (1931–36). He was professor of Eastern religions and ethics at the University of Oxford (1936–52) and vice chancellor of Benares Hindu University (1939–48), India. From 1953 to 1962 he was chancellor

Amphiuma

2005-02-18T17:11:00.000-08:00

Although there are both three-toed and one-toed species,

Hafiz Ibrahim, Muhammad

2005-02-17T20:47:00.000-08:00

Hafiz was a lawyer and later a lieutenant in the Egyptian army, from which he retired in 1901. During the next 10 years he wrote his well-known odes denouncing imperialism and wrote his nationalistic poems. His superb skill as a reciter of poetry won him a prominent place in society, and he became director of literature

Holguín

2005-02-17T11:56:00.000-08:00

Provincia, southeastern Cuba. It is bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean and by the provinces of Las Tunas on the west, Granma on the southwest, Santiago de Cuba on the south, and Guantánamo on the southeast. The province consists of hilly country that fronts the Sierra de Nipe and the Sierra del Cristal in the southeast and is traversed by tributaries of the Salado

Weser-ems

2005-02-16T07:48:00.000-08:00

Regierungsbezirk (administrative district), western Lower Saxony Land (state), northwestern Germany. Weser-Ems is bordered by The Netherlands to the west, the North Sea to the north, Bremen Land and the Regierungsbezirke of Lüneburg and Hannover (Hanover) to the east, and North Rhine-Westphalia Land to the south. The district occupies an area of 5,773 square miles (14,952 square km)

Aesthetics

2005-02-16T03:28:00.000-08:00

Many attempts have been made to develop a specifically Marxist aesthetics, one that would incorporate the Marxian theory of history and class consciousness and the critique of bourgeois ideology, so as to generate principles of analysis and evaluation and show the place of art in the theory and practice of revolution. William Morris in En-gland and Georgy V. Plekhanov

Theatre, Developments in staging

2005-02-15T14:37:00.000-08:00

In the latter half of the 16th century, intermezzi became a popular element of theatrical production. These entertainments, inserted between the acts of a play and totally unrelated to it, were generally on classical themes and were originally mounted during masked balls and banquets. The need to change settings rapidly for the alternating segments of plays and

Anthimus Vii Tsatsos

2005-02-15T11:20:00.000-08:00

Like Anthimus VI, his predecessor of a half-century earlier, Anthimus VII is known for his encyclical letter to the Orthodox world refuting a papal encyclical, Praeclara Gratulationis (“Splendid

Fa Ngum

2005-02-14T18:48:00.000-08:00

Fa Ngum was the grandson of Souvanna Khamphong, the last in a long line of local rulers of the principality of Muang Swa, later called Luang Prabang, on the upper Mekong River. According to local legend, Souvanna Khamphong banished Fa Ngum's father for having seduced

Wilkes, Charles

2005-02-14T08:24:00.000-08:00

Wilkes entered the navy as a midshipman in 1818, became a lieutenant in 1826, and in 1830 was placed in charge of the depot of instruments and charts from which the Naval Observatory and Hydrographic Office developed. From 1838 to 1842 he commanded an exploring and surveying expedition

Quindío

2005-02-14T02:40:00.000-08:00

Departamento, west-central Colombia, on the western slopes of the Andean Cordillera Central. The smallest department in the nation, it occupies an area of 712 square miles (1,845 square km) in one of Colombia's leading coffee-producing regions. Bananas, corn (maize), sugarcane, and beans are among the other crops, and livestock raising is widespread. Quindío has rich deposits of

Ringgold, Faith

2005-02-13T09:18:00.000-08:00

Ringgold grew up in New York City's Harlem, and while still in high school she decided to be an artist. She attended City College of New York, where she received B.S. (1955) and M.A. (1959) degrees. In the mid-1950s she began teaching art in New York

Kraft Foods Inc.

2005-02-12T13:22:00.000-08:00

Kraft grew out of a wholesale cheese-delivery business established in Chicago in 1903 by James L. Kraft. Three years later he and his brother Charles began processing cheese for distribution to area retailers. Two other brothers later

Waagenoceras

2005-02-12T11:34:00.000-08:00

Genus of extinct cephalopods (animals related to the modern squid, octopus, and nautilus) found as fossils in Permian marine rocks (from about 286 to 245 million years ago). Waagenoceras has a small, globular shell whose distinctive pattern of sutures between shell chambers is complexly convoluted, aiding in identification. Some species of Waagenoceras serve as excellent

Ziyarah

2005-02-12T10:41:00.000-08:00

(Arabic: “visit”), in Islam, a visit to the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad in the mosque at Medina, Saudi Arabia; also a visit to the tomb of a saint or a holy person. The legitimacy of these latter visits has been questioned by many Muslim religious authorities, particularly by the Wahhabiyah, who consider ziyarah a bid'ah (innovation) that should be condemned by all true believers. The

D.c.b.

2005-02-11T06:35:00.000-08:00

Dame commander of the Bath, member of the second highest rank of knightly class in a British order of knighthood. See Bath, The Most Honourable Order of the.

Ovington, Mary White

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

Born three days before the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, Ovington was reared in an upper-middle-class home by abolitionist

Spain, Literature

2005-02-10T17:07:00.000-08:00

The most famous writer of the century, however, was poet and playwright Federico García Lorca (1898–1936). He was executed

National Zoological Gardens Of South Africa

2005-02-09T01:34:00.000-08:00

Also called Pretoria Zoo, zoo near Pretoria, S.Af., that is noted for its wildlife conservation programs. It was opened in 1899 by the State Museum of the South African Republic on a small stretch of land along the Apies River, which flows through Pretoria. In 1913 the zoo became the Transvaal Zoological Gardens, independent of the state museum; in 1916 it adopted its present name, and in 1933 the state took over management

Outlawry

2005-02-08T06:34:00.000-08:00

Act of putting a person beyond the protection of the law for his refusal to become amenable to the court having legal jurisdiction. In the past, this deprivation of legal benefits was invoked when a defendant or other person was in civil or criminal contempt of court; and, in cases of alleged treason or the commission of a felony (referred to as major outlawry), it amounted

Rural Electrification

2005-02-07T05:30:00.000-08:00

Project implemented in the United States in the second quarter of the 20th century by the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), a federal agency established in 1935, under the New Deal, in an effort to raise the standard of rural living and to slow the extensive migration of rural Americans to urban centres; more than 98 percent of the United States' farms were equipped

John (xxiii)

2005-02-07T01:01:00.000-08:00

After receiving his doctorate of law at Bologna, Cossa entered the Curia during the Western Schism, when the papacy suffered from rival claimants (1378–1417) to the throne of St. Peter. Pope Boniface IX made him cardinal in 1402. From 1403 to 1408 he served as papal representative in Bologna. The Schism worsened with the hopeless deadlock between

Staffordshire Ware

2005-02-07T00:31:00.000-08:00

Lead-glazed earthenware and unglazed or salt-glazed stoneware made in Staffordshire, England, from the 17th century onward. Abundance of local clays and coal gave rise to a concentration of pottery factories that made Staffordshire one of the foremost pottery centres in Europe. Porcelain was first made at Longton Hall c. 1750. Among the distinguished factories located

Cancellaresca Corsiva

2005-02-06T16:43:00.000-08:00

Also called cancellaresca, littera da brevi , or chancery cursive in calligraphy, script that in the 16th century became the vehicle of the New Learning throughout Christendom. It developed during the preceding century out of the antica corsiva, which had been perfected by the scribes of the papal chancery. As written by the calligrapher and printer Lodovico degli Arrighi of Vicenza in the early decades of the 16th century, the cancellaresca

Jackson, Milt

2005-02-06T11:44:00.000-08:00

Jackson began playing the vibraphone (also called vibes or vibraharp) professionally at age 16. He attended Michigan State University and joined Dizzy Gillespie's sextet in 1945; he then worked with Gillespie's big band

Aegis

2005-02-06T09:12:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Egis, plural Aegises, or Egises, in ancient Greece, leather cloak or breastplate generally associated with Zeus, the king of the gods, and thus thought to possess supernatural power. Zeus's daughter Athena adopted the aegis for ordinary dress. Occasionally, another god used it—e.g., Apollo in the Iliad, where it provoked terror. As early as Homer the aegis was more than an ordinary goatskin cloak, for it