AbleTable

Seto Great Bridge

2005-04-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

Japanese Seto Ohashi, a series of suspension bridges spanning the Inland Sea (Seto-naikai) between the islands of Honshu and Shikoku, Japan. The double-tiered rail and vehicular roadway is a network of six bridges, straddling a chain of five small islands, and extends 5.6 miles (9 km) over water to link the towns of Kojima, on Honshu, and Sakaide, on Shikoku. Its total length is 7.6 miles (12.2 km), and it consists

Ancona

2005-04-03T15:56:00.000-07:00

Capital of Ancona provincia and of Marche regione, in central Italy, on the Adriatic Sea on the farthest branch of the promontory that descends from the Conero massif. Founded by Syracusan colonists in about 390 BC, it was taken by Rome in the 2nd century BC and became a flourishing port, particularly favoured by the Roman emperor Trajan, who enlarged the harbour. Attacked by

Uganda, Flag Of

2005-04-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

Buganda, one of the kingdoms of Uganda, was one of the few precolonial African states to have a national flag of its own; however, to avoid utilizing any flag, symbol, or totem associated with a particular area, the British selected a crested crane as the badge for use on the British Blue Ensign and in other official banners for Uganda. That bird became recognized as the

Cynewulf

2005-04-02T21:07:00.000-08:00

King of the West Saxons, or Wessex (757–786), in England who succeeded to the throne following the deposition of Sigebert. Cynewulf was constantly at war with the Welsh. In 779 Offa of Mercia defeated him and took Bensington. In 785 he was surprised and killed, with all his thanes present, at Marten, in modern Wiltshire (Merantune), by Cyneheard, the brother of the deposed Sigebert.

Jacobi, Mary Putnam

2005-04-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

Mary Putnam was the daughter of George Palmer Putnam, founder of the publishing firm of G.P. Putnam's Sons, and was an elder sister of Herbert Putnam, later librarian of Congress. The family returned from England in 1848, and Mary grew

Christian Reformed Church In North America

2005-04-02T07:41:00.000-08:00

Protestant denomination that developed in the United States from a group that separated in 1857 from the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church (now the Reformed Church in America) and called itself the True Holland Reformed Church. It was strengthened in 1882 when joined by other dissenters from the Reformed Church in America who believed that the parent church should reject

Lochgilphead

2005-03-31T19:56:00.000-08:00

Burgh (town) and holiday resort, Argyll and Bute council area, historic county of Argyllshire, Scotland, situated at the head of Loch Gilp (a marine inlet of Loch Fyne) by the side of the Crinan Canal (built 1793–1801). The burgh developed from an older herring fishing village and is now a tourist centre and the administrative centre of Argyll and Bute. Pop. (1991) 2,421.

Double Dactyls

2005-03-30T20:59:00.000-08:00

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

Interior Design, Fabrics

2005-03-30T05:34:00.000-08:00

There are three basic aspects that determine appearance and suitability of fabrics for interior use: fibre content, weave, and pattern. Fibres are either natural or man-made. The important natural fibres are cotton, wool, linen, and silk. Although silk has long been considered the most elegant and desirable of all natural fibres, it does not stand up well under direct

Indriidae

2005-03-29T03:00:00.000-08:00

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

Sicilian Octave

2005-03-28T11:09:00.000-08:00

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

Morales, Luis De

2005-03-28T07:42:00.000-08:00

Morales may have studied with the Flemish painter Hernando

Atalanta

2005-03-27T03:53:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, a renowned and swift-footed huntress, probably a parallel and less important form of the goddess Artemis. Traditionally, she was the daughter of Schoeneus of Boeotia or of Iasus and Clymene of Arcadia. Her complex legend includes the following incidents: at her father's instance she was left to die at birth but was suckled by a she-bear; she took part

Ecuador

2005-03-26T10:59:00.000-08:00

Officially Republic of Ecuador, Spanish República del Ecuador, country of northwestern South America. It straddles part of the Andes Mountains and occupies part of the Amazon basin. Lying on the Equator, from which its name derives, it borders Colombia to the north, Peru to the east and the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west; it includes the Pacific island group of the Galápagos Islands, or the Archipiélago de Colón. It is a relatively

Music, Western, Ancient Greece

2005-03-26T02:17:00.000-08:00

Of the eastern Mediterranean cultures, it was undoubtedly that of the Greeks that furnished the most direct link with musical development in western Europe, by way of the Romans, who defeated them but adopted much of Greek culture intact. Entering historical times relatively late, c. 1000 BC, the Greeks soon dominated their neighbours and absorbed many elements of earlier

Outer Banks

2005-03-25T04:08:00.000-08:00

Also called the Banks chain of barrier islands extending southward more than 175 miles (280 km) along the coast of North Carolina, U.S., from Back Bay, Virginia, to Cape Lookout, North Carolina. From north to south they comprise Currituck Banks; Bodie, Hatteras, Ocracoke, and Portsmouth islands; and North Core, South Core, and Shackleford banks. The Outer Banks form a bowlike arc that curves southeastward

Resita

2005-03-25T00:24:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Caras-Severin judet (county), southwestern Romania, near the Yugoslavian border. In a coal- and metal-mining region, it is a long-established metalworking centre. After World War II the ironworks and steelworks of Resita were modernized, and there are several associated heavy-engineering works and a factory producing diesel engines for railway locomotives.

Taiwan, Imperial Chinese rule

2005-03-24T01:51:00.000-08:00

In 1683, 20 years after Cheng Ch'eng-kung's death, the island fell to the Ch'ing and became part of Fukien Province. Meanwhile, sizable migrations of refugees, Ming supporters, had increased the population to about 200,000. As migrants streamed in from southeastern China, large areas in the north were settled. T'ai-nan (then called T'ai-wan) was the capital. By 1842 the population was estimated

Luther, Martin, Brother Martin Luther

2005-03-23T05:46:00.000-08:00

Evidence on the reason for his decision to enter the religious life is scanty. In his later, not always reliable, Tischreden (“Table Talk”), it is related that on July 2, 1505, he was returning from a visit to his parents when he was overtaken by a thunderstorm near the village of Stotternheim and cried out in terror, “Help, St. Anne, and I'll become a monk.” In his De votis monasticis (“Concerning

Yacht

2005-03-22T20:24:00.000-08:00

A sail- or power-driven vessel, usually light and comparatively small, used for racing or for recreation. In recreation the term applies to very large craft, originally powered by sail and later by steam or internal-combustion engines. It is in this sense that the generality of nonyachting (nonsailing) people usually think of the term. Technically, the word yacht excludes

Benda, Wladyslaw Theodor

2005-03-22T01:40:00.000-08:00

Benda studied art in Kraków, Pol., and in Vienna before coming to the United States in 1899. He settled in New York City, becoming a U.S. citizen in 1911. Benda's illustrations were published in books and in a number of magazines. He is best remembered for his masks, which were used in theatre and dance performances

Maharashtra, Education

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

Maharashtra's literacy rate—which consists of more than half of the state's adult population—exceeds the national average. The state provides free compulsory education for children between the ages of 6 and 14. Vocational and multipurpose high schools also have grown in importance. The state operates two universities (including one for women) at Bombay and others at

Mithraism

2005-03-20T21:32:00.000-08:00

The worship of Mithra, the Iranian god of the sun, justice, contract, and war in pre-Zoroastrian Iran. Known as Mithras in the Roman Empire during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, this deity was honoured as the patron of loyalty to the emperor. After the acceptance of Christianity by the emperor Constantine in the early 4th century, Mithraism rapidly declined.

Arabic Literature

2005-03-20T07:57:00.000-08:00

Arabic literature

Interior Design, France

2005-03-19T06:04:00.000-08:00

From the middle of the 15th century, ideas from Italy began to change the face of French buildings; this change came gradually, first in the applied decorative detail superimposed on basically Gothic designs, then extending to a symmetry and regularity of the whole. Indeed, one of the basic differences between the Renaissance in France and in Italy is that in the latter

Amoeba

2005-03-19T05:33:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ameba, plural Amoebas, or Amoebae, any of the microscopic unicellular protozoans of the rhizopodan order Amoebida. The well-known type species, Amoeba proteus, is found on decaying bottom vegetation of freshwater streams and ponds. There are numerous parasitic amoebas. Of six species found in the human alimentary tract, Entamoeba histolytica causes amebic dysentery. Two related free-living

Venezuela

2005-03-18T22:07:00.000-08:00

Officially Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Spanish República Bolivariana de Venezuela country located at the northern end of South America. It occupies a roughly triangular area of 352,144 square miles (912,050 square km)—larger than the combined areas of France and Germany. Venezuela is bounded by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Guyana to the east, Brazil to the south, and Colombia to the southwest and west. The national capital, Caracas, is Venezuela's

Adam And Eve, Life Of

2005-03-18T06:04:00.000-08:00

Pseudepigraphal work (a noncanonical writing that in style and content resembles authentic biblical works), one of many Jewish and Christian stories that embellish the account of Adam and Eve as given in the biblical Genesis. Biography was an extremely popular literary genre during the late Hellenistic period of Judaism (3rd century BC to 3rd century AD), and legends of

Lighthouse, Oil lamps

2005-03-17T16:58:00.000-08:00

In 1782 a Swiss scientist, Aimé Argand, invented an oil lamp whose steady smokeless flame revolutionized lighthouse illumination. The basis of his invention was a circular wick with a glass chimney that ensured an adequate current of air up the centre and the outside of the wick for even and proper combustion of the oil. Eventually, Argand lamps with as many as 10 concentric

Deer

2005-03-17T10:08:00.000-08:00

(family Cervidae), any of the ruminant mammals (order Artiodactyla) having two large and two small hooves on each foot and having antlers in the males of most species and in the females of some species. Indeed, the feature most commonly associated with deer is the presence of antlers. Deer occur mainly in forests but may be found in habitats as diverse as deserts, tundra,

Sá-carneiro, Mário De

2005-03-17T08:21:00.000-08:00

Sá-Carneiro studied in Paris at the Sorbonne. His first poems, Dispersão (“Dispersion”), were written in Paris and published in 1914. In the same year he published a novel, A Confissão de Lúcio (“The Confession of Lúcio”), and back in Portugal he

Heiden, Eric

2005-03-16T19:22:00.000-08:00

Heiden started skating

Tibet, Settlement patterns

2005-03-15T23:05:00.000-08:00

Tibet was traditionally divided into three regions, or Chol-kha-gsum (Chol-kha means “region”; gsum means “three”). The Dbus-Gtsang region stretches from Mnga'-ris skor-gsum at the border of Jammu and Kashmir to Sog-la skya-bo near the town of Sog. The Khams, or Mdo-stod, region consists of the territory between Sog-la skya-bo and the upper bend of the Huang Ho (Yellow River), now located

Biblical Literature, Nature and significance

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

Biblical exegesis is the actual interpretation of the sacred book, the bringing out of its meaning; hermeneutics is the study and establishment of the principles by which it is to be interpreted. Where the biblical writings are interpreted on a historical perspective, just as with philological and other ancient documents, there is little call for a special discipline

Forcados River

2005-03-15T14:51:00.000-08:00

River, a major navigable channel of the Niger Delta, southern Nigeria. It leaves the main course of the Niger River about 20 miles (32 km) downstream from Aboh and flows through zones of freshwater swamps, mangrove swamps, and coastal sand ridges before completing its 123-mile (198-kilometre) westerly course to the Bight of Benin. Since about 1900 it has been the chief link for small ship

Conte

2005-03-15T07:12:00.000-08:00

Plural contes a short tale, often recounting an adventure. The term may also refer to a narrative that is somewhat shorter than the average novel but longer than a short story. Better known examples include Jean de La Fontaine's Contes et nouvelles en vers (Tales and Novels in Verse), published over the course of many years; Charles Perrault's Contes de ma mère l'oye (1697; Tales of Mother

Forberg, Friedrich Karl

2005-03-13T15:41:00.000-08:00

An exponent of the Idealist school developed by Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Forberg is best known for his essay Über die Entwicklung des Begriffs Religion (1798; “On the Development of the Concept of Religion”), a work that occasioned Fichte's dismissal from the University of Jena on the

Swan Service

2005-03-13T06:37:00.000-08:00

Set of porcelain tableware made at the Meissen factory in Germany between 1737 and 1741 by Johann Joachim Kändler and Johann Friedrich Eberlein. Made for Heinrich, Count von Brühl, the factory director, it was composed of 2,200 pieces modeled and painted in the Rococo style with such aquatic motifs as swans and water nymphs. It is probably the single finest table service ever made

Aeacus

2005-03-12T22:58:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, son of Zeus and Aegina, the daughter of the river god Asopus. His mother was carried off by Zeus to the island of Oenone, afterward called by her name. Aeacus was celebrated for justice and in Attic tradition became a judge of the dead, together with Minos and Rhadamanthus. His successful prayer to Zeus for rain during a drought was commemorated by a

Fibiger, Johannes

2005-03-12T03:54:00.000-08:00

A student of the bacteriologists Robert Koch and Emil von Behring in Berlin, Fibiger became professor of pathological

Garrett

2005-03-11T20:05:00.000-08:00

County, extreme western Maryland, U.S., lying between West Virginia to the west and south and Pennsylvania to the north. Parklands and lakes occupy one-fifth of the county area. Waterways such as the Casselman, Savage, and Youghiogheny rivers as well as Deep Creek Lake, the state's largest freshwater lake, line the valleys of the Allegheny Mountains. Backbone

Culpeper's Rebellion

2005-03-11T17:44:00.000-08:00

(1677–79), early popular uprising against proprietary rule in the Albemarle section of northern Carolina, caused by the efforts of the proprietary government to enforce the British Navigation acts. These trade laws denied the colonists a free market outside England and placed heavy duties on commodities. The colonists' resentment found an object in the deputy governor,

Aspergillus

2005-03-11T02:24:00.000-08:00

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

Fungus

2005-03-10T19:30:00.000-08:00

The origin of the fungi is obscure, the fossil record being scanty and virtually meaningless. The older theory supposed the fungi to have originated by loss of chlorophyll from one or two groups of algae, one school favouring the development of the fungi monophyletically (i.e., from a single ancestor) from the green algae, the other postulating that the lower fungi originated

Berakah

2005-03-09T07:34:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Berakha, or Berachah (Hebrew: “blessing”), plural Berakoth, Berakot, Berachoth, or Berachot, in Judaism, a benediction (expression of praise or thanks directed to God) that is recited at specific points of the synagogue liturgy, during private prayer, or on other occasions (e.g., before performing a commandment or for being spared from harm in the face of danger). Most berakoth begin with the words Barukh Attah Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha-Olam (“Blessed art Thou, O Lord

Philip Iv

2005-03-09T02:04:00.000-08:00

Byname Philip The Fair, French Philippe Le Bel king of France from 1285 to 1314 (and of Navarre, as Philip I, from 1284 to 1305, ruling jointly with his wife, Joan I of Navarre). His long struggle with the Roman papacy ended with the transfer of the Curia to Avignon, Fr. (beginning the so-called Babylonian Captivity, 1309–78). He also secured French royal power by wars on barons and neighbours and by restriction of

Hindu Kush

2005-03-08T17:21:00.000-08:00

The Hindu Kush is one of the great watersheds of Central Asia, forming part of the vast Alpine zone that stretches across Eurasia from east to west. It runs northeast to southwest and divides the valley of the Amu Darya (the ancient Oxus River) to the north from the Indus

Wurtzite

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

A zinc sulfide mineral that occurs typically in Potosí, Bolivia; Butte, Mont.; and Goldfield, Nev. It is a rare and unstable (at temperatures below 1,020° C, [1,870° F]) hexagonally symmetrical modification of sphalerite, to which it inverts crystallographically; it may be made artificially from sphalerite by rapid cooling from 1,020° C. For detailed physical properties, see sulfide

Pavement

2005-03-07T00:56:00.000-08:00

In civil engineering, durable surfacing of a road, airstrip, or similar area. The primary function of a pavement is to transmit loads to the sub-base and underlying soil. Modern flexible pavements contain sand and gravel or crushed stone compacted with a binder of bituminous material, such as asphalt, tar, or asphaltic oil. Such a pavement has enough plasticity to absorb

Strain Theory

2005-03-06T14:58:00.000-08:00

In chemistry, a proposal made in 1885 by the German chemist Adolf von Baeyer that the stability of carbocyclic compounds (i.e., those of which the molecular structure includes one or more rings of carbon atoms) depends on the amount by which the angles between the chemical bonds deviate from the value (109°28¢) observed in compounds not containing such rings. The amount of deviation

Shigaraki

2005-03-06T11:29:00.000-08:00

Town, one of the six major pottery centres of ancient Japan, located in southern Shiga ken (prefecture), east of Kyoto and southeast of Nara. The wares for which the town is known were first produced in 1278; they have a crude shape and an oatmeallike surface covered with various glazes. Water urns, seed jars, and bottles were produced for daily use by the farming community. Shigaraki

General Council Of Congregational Christian Churches

2005-03-06T01:51:00.000-08:00

The Congregational churches developed from the churches established by the settlers at Plymouth,

Schrieffer, John Robert

2005-03-05T08:24:00.000-08:00

Schrieffer was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign,

Hungary, The revolution of 1956

2005-03-05T06:14:00.000-08:00

Rákosi—who in 1952 came to preside over the government as well as the party—was, under Moscow, all-powerful until the death of Stalin in 1953, when a period of fluctuation began. In July 1953 Rákosi was deposed from the prime ministership in favour of Imre Nagy—a “Muscovite” but a Hungarian in his attitudes and not unpopular in the country. Nagy promised a new course—an end to the forced

Ankaratra

2005-03-04T14:55:00.000-08:00

Volcanic mountainous region in central Madagascar (Malagasy), covering an area of approximately 2,000 square miles (5,200 square km) and rising to 8,671 feet (2,643 m) in Mount Tsiafajavona, the nation's second highest peak. The main range runs south-southwest from the town of Antananarivo. Antsirabe (q.v.), situated on the slopes of Mount Tsiafajavona, is the principal town in the region.

Astigmatism

2005-03-04T08:53:00.000-08:00

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

Ursins, Marie-anne De La Trémoille, Princesse Des

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

Ursins moved to Italy with her first husband, and after his death she married an Italian duke, who died in 1698. She remained in Rome until 1701, where her salon became a centre of French

Aesopus, Claudius

2005-03-02T14:10:00.000-08:00

Claudius also spelled Clodius most eminent of the Roman tragedians, contemporary and intimate friend of Cicero, whom he instructed in elocution, and regarded by Horace as the equal of the great Roman comic actor Roscius. Aesopus became completely absorbed in his roles; the biographer Plutarch mentions that, while playing the part of Atreus deliberating revenge, Aesopus forgot himself

Racism

2005-03-02T13:51:00.000-08:00

Also called racialism any action, practice, or belief that reflects the racial worldview—the ideology that humans are divided into separate and exclusive biological entities called "races," that there is a causal link between inherited physical traits and traits of personality, intellect, morality, and other cultural behavioral features, and that some races are innately superior to

Horned Owl

2005-03-02T07:35:00.000-08:00

Any owl of the genus Bubo (family Strigidae), with hornlike tufts of feathers. The name refers especially to the great horned owl (B. virginianus) of America. The great horned owl ranges from Arctic tree limits southward to the Strait of Magellan. It is a powerful, mottled-brown predator that is often more than 60 cm (about 2 feet) in length, with a wingspread often approaching

Ibn Wahshiyah

2005-03-01T23:27:00.000-08:00

Middle Eastern agriculturist and toxicologist alleged to have written al-Fillahah an-Nabatiyah (“Nabatean Agriculture”), a major treatise dealing with plants, water sources and quality, weather conditions, the causes of deforestation, soils and their improvement, crop cultivation, and other similar subjects. The Arabic text, although not original, having been derived

Graham, Jorie

2005-03-01T15:45:00.000-08:00

Graham grew up in France and Italy. After attending the Sorbonne, she continued her education at New York University (B.F.A., 1973) and at the University of Iowa (M.F.A., 1978). She taught in Kentucky, California, and New York City before returning

Aranyakas

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

(Sanskrit: “Books of the Forest”), a later development of the Brahmanas, or expositions of the Vedas, which were composed in India in about 700 BC. The Aranyakas are distinguished from the Brahmanas in that they may contain information on secret rites to be carried out only by certain persons, and more philosophic speculation. Thus they were intended to be studied only by the initiated,

Vaughan, Frankie

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

British theatre and cabaret singer who was one of the most popular romantic crooners of the 1950s through the '90s; darkly handsome and elegantly dressed, “Mr. Moonlight” (as he was known from his signature tune, “Give Me the Moonlight”) also appeared on television in Britain, the U.S., and across Europe and in motion pictures, notably in a musical number with Marilyn Monroe in Let's

Nashville 1960s Overview

2005-02-27T17:42:00.000-08:00

From 1958 through 1962 some of the biggest international hits were made by country singers recording in Nashville, Tennessee, including the Everly Brothers, Jim Reeves, Marty Robbins, Johnny Cash, Leroy Van Dyke, Jimmy Dean, Patsy Cline, and Johnny Horton. Nevertheless, the market for “pure” country was shrinking fast, and by 1961 only about 80 radio stations programmed country music.

Boxing

2005-02-27T16:35:00.000-08:00

The most positive note in an otherwise disappointing year for boxing was the crowning of a new undisputed heavyweight champion on Nov. 13, 1999, when the World Boxing Council (WBC) titleholder, British/Canadian Lennox Lewis (see Biographies), defeated Evander Holyfield (U.S.), the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion, in a lacklustre

Hierta, Lars Johan

2005-02-27T11:06:00.000-08:00

Hierta's work as a clerk for the noble estate of the Riksdag (estates assembly) in the 1820s acquainted him with the operation of the increasingly conservative Swedish regime and made him its critic. He established the Aftonbladet (“Evening

Blondel, Maurice (édouard)

2005-02-26T10:58:00.000-08:00

He studied at the École Normale Supérieure under Léon Ollé-Laprune and first formulated his philosophy in L'action (1893). Blondel was influenced

Aufbau Principle

2005-02-24T09:33:00.000-08:00

(from German Aufbauprinzip, “building-up principle”), rationalization of the distribution of electrons among energy levels in the ground (most stable) states of atoms. The principle, formulated by the Danish physicist Niels Bohr about 1920, is an application of the laws of quantum mechanics to the properties of electrons subject to the electric field created by the positive

Stainer, Sir John

2005-02-24T05:32:00.000-08:00

As a boy Stainer sang in the choir of St. Paul's Cathedral (1847–56). At the age of 16 he was appointed organist at the newly opened St. Michael's College, Tenbury, a school for church musicians. Named organist at St. Paul's in 1872, Stainer served in that prestigious position until 1888, when

Aenesidemus

2005-02-24T02:49:00.000-08:00

Philosopher and dialectician of the Greek Academy who revived the Pyrrhonian principle of “suspended judgment” (epoche) as a practical solution to the vexing and “insoluble” problem of knowledge. In his Pyrrhonian Discourses Aenesidemus formulated 10 tropes in defense of Skepticism, four suggesting arguments that arise from the nature

Briareus

2005-02-23T16:26:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, one of three 100-armed, 50-headed Hecatoncheires (from the Greek words for “hundred” and “hands”), the sons of the deities Uranus and Gaea. The gods called him Briareus; mortals called him Aegaeon. According to one legend, Briareus and his brothers successfully aided Zeus, the king of the gods, against the attack by the Titans. Another account made Briareus an opponent

France, History Of, The Dreyfus affair

2005-02-22T15:04:00.000-08:00

The 1890s also saw the Third Republic's greatest political and moral crisis—the Dreyfus affair. In 1894 Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a career army officer of Jewish origin, was charged with selling military secrets to the Germans. He was tried and convicted by a court-martial and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island off the South American coast. Efforts by the Dreyfus

Kernite

2005-02-22T11:24:00.000-08:00

Also called Rasorite, borate mineral, hydrated sodium borate (Na2B4O7×4H2O), that was formerly the chief source of borax (q.v.). It forms very large crystals, often 60 to 90 centimetres (2 to 3 feet) thick; the largest observed measured 240 by 90 cm. The crystals are colourless and transparent but are usually covered by a surface film of opaque white tincalconite. Kernite is associated with other borate minerals as

Joyce, James

2005-02-22T05:03:00.000-08:00

In full James Augustine Aloysius Joyce Irish novelist noted for his experimental use of language and exploration of new literary methods in such large works of fiction as Ulysses (1922) and Finnegans Wake (1939).

Gamaliel Ii

2005-02-21T19:53:00.000-08:00

In the ancient biblical city of Jabneh, many Jews had taken refuge from the Roman siege of Jerusalem in AD 70. Gamaliel

Gaultier, Denys

2005-02-21T04:34:00.000-08:00

Gaultier came from a renowned family of lutenists that also included Jacques and Ennemond Gaultier. Little is known of his life except that he resided for many years in Paris. He was the last great representative of the Parisian school of

Constable

2005-02-21T00:10:00.000-08:00

Officer of state in western European countries from medieval times and also of certain executive legal officials in Great Britain and the United States. The title comes stabuli is found in the Roman and particularly in the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire from the 5th century AD as that of the head of the stables at the imperial court. The Franks borrowed the title,

Byron Bay

2005-02-20T06:11:00.000-08:00

Town, northeastern New South Wales, Australia. The town is situated on Cape Byron, easternmost point of the Australian mainland, which shelters Byron Bay and was discovered in 1770 by Captain James Cook, who named it after Commodore (later Admiral) John Byron, grandfather of the poet Lord Byron. Founded in 1860 as a timber port, Byron Bay was declared a town in 1896 and a shire in 1906. Before

Islam, The Black Muslims

2005-02-19T17:24:00.000-08:00

After World War II an Islamic movement arose among blacks in the United States; members called themselves the Nation of Islam, but they were popularly known as Black Muslims. Although they adopted some Islamic social practices, the group was in large part a black separatist and social protest movement. Their leader, Elijah Muhammad, who claimed to be an inspired prophet,

Vigo

2005-02-19T06:09:00.000-08:00

Port town and naval station, Pontevedra provincia, in the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Galicia, northwestern Spain. Vigo lies along the southeastern shore of the Vigo Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, southwest of Pontevedra city. It was attacked by the English admiral Sir Francis Drake in 1585 and 1589. In 1702 a British-Dutch fleet under Sir George Rooke and James Butler,

Great Circle Route

2005-02-18T11:12:00.000-08:00

The shortest course between two points on the surface of a sphere. It lies in a plane that intersects the sphere's centre and was known by mathematicians before the time of Columbus. Until the 19th century ships generally sailed along rhumb lines, which made use of prevailing winds and fixed compass headings. The development of steamships in the 19th century allowed complete

Eastern Orthodoxy, The reforms of Peter the Great (reigned 16821725)

2005-02-18T06:49:00.000-08:00

The son of Tsar Alexis, Peter the Great, changed the historical fate of Russia by radically turning away from the Byzantine heritage and reforming the state according to the model of Protestant Europe. Humiliated by his father's temporary submission to Patriarch Nikon, Peter prevented new patriarchal elections after the death of Patriarch Adrian in 1700. After a long

Base

2005-02-16T18:41:00.000-08:00

Also called Radix, in mathematics, an arbitrarily chosen number in terms of which any number can be expressed. See number system.

Augsburg, Peace Of

2005-02-16T10:42:00.000-08:00

The emperor Charles V's provisional ruling on the religious question, the Augsburg Interim of 1548, had been overthrown in 1552 by the revolt of the Protestant elector Maurice of Saxony

Niuatoputapu

2005-02-16T06:09:00.000-08:00

Also called Keppel Island one of the northernmost islands of Tonga, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Of volcanic origin, the island has an area of 7 square miles (19 square km) and rises to 350 feet (110 m). Although the island lacks an adequate anchorage, it serves as a regular port of call for interisland shipping between Tonga and Samoa. Copra and breadfruit are produced. Pop. (1986) 1,616.

Hugh Town

2005-02-15T18:30:00.000-08:00

Village and capital of the Isles of Scilly, historic county of Cornwall, England. Located on a sandy peninsula on the southwestern side of St. Mary's Island, the village has a harbour and a roadstead where large vessels can lie at anchor. Hugh Town gave shelter to Prince Charles (later Charles II) until his escape to Jersey in 1646. The economy is centred on fishing and tourism.

San Cristóbal

2005-02-15T15:06:00.000-08:00

Also called Makira , formerly Cristoval island in the Solomon Islands, southwestern Pacific Ocean, 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Guadalcanal. The island is about 80 miles (130 km) long, has a maximum width of 25 miles (40 km), and has an area of 1,231 square miles (3,188 square km). It is fairly rugged, with a central mountain rising to 4,100 feet (1,250 metres). Islets off the northern coast are Uki Ni Masi Island and the Olu Malau Islands (Three Sisters Islands);

Pitman, Sir Isaac

2005-02-15T04:30:00.000-08:00

After clerking in a textile mill, Pitman entered a training college for teachers (1831) and taught in elementary schools for 11 years before opening his own private school in Bath. Earlier he had taken up Samuel Taylor's system of shorthand and become interested

Anne Of France

2005-02-15T01:09:00.000-08:00

Anne's energy, strength of will, cunning, and political sense enabled her to overcome the difficulties threatening the kingdom,

Furrer, Jonas

2005-02-13T23:25:00.000-08:00

A doctor of jurisprudence and lawyer of national renown, Furrer became, after 1839, leader of the Zürich liberals but only reluctantly aspired to political office. In the cantonal assembly, he rose to the vice presidency (1842) and later the presidency (1846), serving also in 1846 as

Eisenerz

2005-02-13T11:10:00.000-08:00

Town, Bundesland Steiermark (federal province of Styria), Austria, in the Erzbach Valley, at the northern foot of the Erzberg (Ore Mountain; 5,033 ft [1,534 m]), northwest of Leoben. Iron has been mined on the Erzberg by terraced open-pit methods since Roman times, and Eisenerz (“iron ore”) is the principal centre of Austrian iron mining, supplying most of the nation's total output. Notable

Arts, Central Asian, Mongols

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

Genghis Khan (died 1227), the renowned Mongol conqueror, sacked and destroyed Bukhara in 1224, sparing only the 12th-century Kalyan tower, which was used for throwing criminals to their death. The 14th-century Turkic conqueror Timur, however, endowed Samarkand with new glory by building a series of religious monuments widely renowned for their splendour and decorative use of glazed

Kuei River

2005-02-12T14:48:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Kuei Chiang , Pinyin Gui Jiang , conventional Kwei Kiang northern tributary of the Hsi River, southern China. The Kuei River rises in the Mao-erh Mountains to the north of Kuei-lin in the northern part of the Kwangsi Chuang Autonomous Region and flows southward to join the Hsi River at Wu-chou on the border of Kwangsi Chuang and Kwangtung province. The level of the river varies from season to season, and its course has many dangerous

Tariq Ibn Ziyad

2005-02-10T14:40:00.000-08:00

Musa ibn Nusayr, the Arab conqueror of Morocco, left his general Tariq to govern Tangier in his place. Spain at this time was under Visigothic rule but was rent by civil war. The dispossessed sons of the recently deceased Visigothic king of Spain, Witiza, appealed to the Muslims for help in the civil war, and the Arabs quickly responded

Pacific Islands, The island ecosystem

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

To know what it is like to live on a Pacific island, the intermixture of physical and biological characteristics of the particular island must be considered. Each of the myriad ecological systems in the Pacific is a unique complex of living organisms and their nonliving environment. Each is a functional system of interacting components that tends toward an equilibrium

Biblical Literature, Anglo-Saxon versions

2005-02-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

For about seven centuries after the conversion of England to Christianity (beginning in the 3rd century), the common man had no direct access to the text of the Scriptures. Ignorant of Latin, his knowledge was derived principally from sermons and metrical prose paraphrases and summaries. The earliest poetic rendering of any part of the Bible is credited to Caedmon

Europe, History Of

2005-02-10T04:12:00.000-08:00

History of European peoples and cultures from prehistoric times to the present. Europe is a more ambiguous term than most geographic expressions. Its etymology is doubtful, as is the physical extent of the area it designates. Its western frontiers seem clearly defined by its coastline, yet the position of the British Isles remains equivocal. To outsiders, they seem

Melanesian Languages

2005-02-09T16:02:00.000-08:00

Languages belonging to the Eastern, or Oceanic, branch of the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) language family and spoken in the islands of Melanesia. The Melanesian languages, of which there are about 400, are most closely related to the languages of Micronesia and Polynesia; most have a few hundred or a few thousand speakers, and the total number of speakers of Melanesian

Olmütz, Punctation Of

2005-02-09T15:33:00.000-08:00

German Olmützer Punktation (Nov. 29, 1850), agreement signed at Olmütz (Olomouc, Moravia, in modern Czech Republic) between Prussia and Austria that regulated those two powers' relations. The development leading up to the punctation was triggered when the elector of Hesse in the autumn of 1850 appealed for help against his rebellious subjects; both Austria and Prussia sent troops in response, and these threatened