SoftFowl

Atatürk, Kemal

2005-03-19T15:48:00.000-08:00

The Allies did not wait for a peace treaty to begin claiming Ottoman territory. Early in December 1918, Allied troops occupied sections of Istanbul and set up an Allied military administration. On Feb. 8, 1919, the French general Franchet d'Espèrey entered the city on a white horse, emulating Mehmed the Conqueror's entrance in 1453 but signifying that Ottoman sovereignty over the

Beak Style

2005-03-17T20:27:00.000-08:00

Distinctive use of birdlike forms in human figures carved in wood in the lower Sepik and Ramu regions of Papua New Guinea. The head of the figure is generally placed on a short neck that connects it to a thick body, over which a long, beaklike nose often projects. Facial features have a thin, linear quality that emphasizes the downward thrust of the nose and contrasts

Zeiss, Carl

2005-03-15T01:08:00.000-08:00

In 1846 Zeiss opened a workshop in Jena for producing microscopes and other optical instruments. Realizing that improvements in optical instruments depended on advances in optical theory, he engaged as research

Subbituminous Coal

2005-03-12T10:05:00.000-08:00

Also called Black Lignite, dark brown to black coal intermediate in rank between lignite and bituminous coal. Subbituminous coals often have a silky lustre and sometimes are macroscopically indistinguishable from the bituminous variety. The fibrous structure characteristic of lignite is absent in subbituminous coals, many of which have evolved alternating dull and bright bands

Azuela, Mariano

2005-03-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

Azuela received an M.D. degree in Guadalajara in 1899 and practiced medicine, first in his native town and after 1916 in Mexico City. His best-known work, Los de abajo (1916; The Under Dogs), depicting the futility of the revolution, was written at the

Salam, Abdus

2005-03-08T10:09:00.000-08:00

Salam attended the Government College at

Tea Ceremony

2005-03-07T18:12:00.000-08:00

The ceremony takes place in a tea house (cha-shitsu), which ideally is a small structure detached from the

Indricotherium

2005-03-05T13:24:00.000-08:00

Formerly Baluchitherium, genus of giant browsing perissodactyls found as fossils in Asian deposits of the Late Oligocene and Early Miocene epochs (30 to 16.6 million years ago). The indricotherium, which was related to the modern rhinoceros but was hornless, was the largest land mammal that ever existed. It stood about 5.5 m (18 feet) high at the shoulder, was 8 m (26 feet) long, and weighed an estimated 30 tons, which

Ben-hadad I

2005-03-02T00:27:00.000-08:00

Assyrian Adad-idri king of Damascus who led a coalition against the invading forces of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III, repulsing them at Karkar in 853. In a battle with him King Ahab of Israel was killed (I Kings 22:29–36). Ben-hadad was murdered by the usurper Hazael.

Resonance

2005-02-28T14:34:00.000-08:00

In physics, relatively large selective response of an object or a system that vibrates in step or phase, with an externally applied oscillatory force. Resonance was first investigated in acoustical systems such as musical instruments and the human voice. An example of acoustical resonance is the vibration induced in a violin or piano string of a given pitch when

'abbas I

2005-02-27T00:30:00.000-08:00

L.L. Bellan, Chah 'Abbas I: sa vie, son histoire (1932), the only biography of Shah 'Abbas I in any European language—generally accurate; R.M. Savory, “ 'Abbas I” in the Encyclopaedia of Islam, new ed., vol. 1, pp. 7–8 (1960); for general background to the period of Shah 'Abbas, the reader is referred to: J. Chardin, Voyages du Chevalier Chardin, 4th ed., 4 vol. (1811); Sir John Malcom, The History of Persia from the Early Period to the Present Time, 2 vol. (1815); and V. Minorsky, Tadhkirat al-Muluk (1943), especially the introduction, commentary, and appendixes.

Sabará

2005-02-25T07:26:00.000-08:00

City, east-central Minas Gerais state, Brazil, on the Velhas River, east of Belo Horizonte, the state capital, at 2,313 feet (705 m) above sea level. Made a seat of a municipality in 1711, it was elevated to city status in 1838. Cobblestone streets, colonial buildings, and a gold-mining museum attest to Sabará's former eminence as a mining centre. A spinning and weaving factory and other industrial

Dominic, Saint

2005-02-22T13:06:00.000-08:00

Spanish in full Santo Domingo De Guzmán founder of the Order of Friars Preachers (Dominicans), a religious order of mendicant friars with a universal mission of preaching, a centralized organization and government, and a great emphasis on scholarship.

Block And Tackle

2005-02-21T09:43:00.000-08:00

Combination of a flexible rope, or cable, and pulleys commonly used to augment pulling force; it can be used to lift heavy weights or to exert large forces in any direction. In the Figure there are four freely rotating pulleys, two on the upper block, which remains fixed, and two on the lower block, which moves up as the load W is lifted; one end of the rope is anchored to the upper

Steelhead

2005-02-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

Saltwater form of rainbow trout (q.v.).

Turaco

2005-02-17T15:11:00.000-08:00

Turacos are remarkable for their coloration. Some are predominantly gray, brown, and white, but the 10 species of the

Lorengau

2005-02-15T17:58:00.000-08:00

Town, northeastern Manus Island, in the Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea. It lies on Seeadler Harbour. Captured by the Japanese in 1942, the settlement was retaken by Allied forces in 1944 and eventually became part of a large U.S. naval and air base. As a port, the town handles the local copra production. Pop. (1990 prelim.) 4,547.

Deforcement

2005-02-13T18:34:00.000-08:00

In English property law, wrongful taking and possession of land belonging to another. Deforcement had its primary legal significance in feudal England. Deforcement arose particularly in cases in which land possessed by a tenant escheated (was forfeited) to his lord (either for reason of the tenant's wrongful act against the manor or for nonpayment of rent due the

Kahr, Gustav, Ritter Von

2005-02-11T08:44:00.000-08:00

Kahr was appointed provincial governor of Upper Bavaria in 1917. Shortly after the abortive Kapp Putsch against the Weimar Republic in March 1920, Kahr

Altimeter

2005-02-09T13:39:00.000-08:00

A typical pressure altimeter

Lindsay

2005-02-07T23:03:00.000-08:00

Town, seat (1861) of Victoria county, southeastern Ontario, Canada. It lies along the Scugog River, 21 miles (34 km) west-northwest of Peterborough. Laid out in 1825 as Purdy's Mills (after William Purdy, who built the first mills), it was renamed for one of the original land surveyors. The town's growth has been due partly to the Trent Canal (1833) and the improvement of the waterway between Sturgeon

Bloc National

2005-02-04T17:09:00.000-08:00

Right-wing coalition elected to the French Chamber of Deputies (lower house of the legislature) on a wave of nationalist sentiment at the end of World War I; it controlled the French government until 1924. The Bloc gained about three-fourths of the seats in the elections of November 1919, one of the largest conservative majorities in the history of the Third Republic (1870–1940). The Chamber

Linus, Saint

2005-02-03T09:40:00.000-08:00

Pope from about 67 to 76 or 79, who may have been the immediate successor to St. Peter. St. Irenaeus identifies him with the Linus in 2 Timothy 4:21 and writes that “the blessed Apostles passed on the sacred ministry of the episcopacy to Linus.” Although his martyrdom is doubtful, he is among the martyrs named in the canon of the mass.

National Academy Of Sciences

2005-01-31T01:50:00.000-08:00

In 1916 the academy established

Downpatrick

2005-01-29T08:21:00.000-08:00

Irish Dún Pádraig town and seat, Down district (established 1973), formerly in County Down, Northern Ireland. Downpatrick is located where the River Quoilé broadens into its estuary in Strangford Lough (inlet of the sea). The town takes its name from dún (fortress) and from its association with St. Patrick. It is the Dun-da-leth-glas (Fortress of the Two Broken Fetters) of Irish chroniclers. Formerly

Arnaud, Georges

2005-01-27T07:27:00.000-08:00

Arnaud's father was Georges Girard, a state official and noted historian who was killed along with Arnaud's aunt on the family estate near Perigueux in central France (1941). Accused of the murders, Arnaud spent 19 months in jail before he was declared innocent in 1943. Disgusted with the judicial system,

Annelid, Excretory system

2005-01-26T13:50:00.000-08:00

Ammonia

Nirmala

2005-01-23T04:44:00.000-08:00

An ascetic order of the Sikhs, a religious group of India. Nirmalas (“those without blemish”) at first wore only white garments but later adopted the ochre robes worn by Hindu ascetics and shared some other practices, such as birth and death rites, with Hindus. Like the Udasi order of Sikh ascetics the Nirmalas carried on missionary activities for the Sikhs and served as

Saxifragaceae

2005-01-21T18:52:00.000-08:00

The saxifrage family of flowering plants, in the order Rosales, comprising 36 genera of mostly perennial dicotyledonous herbs. The members are cosmopolitan in distribution but native primarily to northern cold and temperate regions. Members of the family have leaves that characteristically alternate along the stem and sometimes are deeply lobed or form rosettes.

Minahasa

2005-01-19T10:28:00.000-08:00

Northeasternmost portion of the longest of the four peninsulas that project from the curiously shaped, mountainous island of Celebes (Sulawesi), Indonesia. The peninsula protrudes northeast between the Celebes and Molucca seas. The name is derived from the Minahasan, a local Malayan tribe that was converted to Christianity in the 19th century. See Celebes.

Seton, Ernest Thompson

2005-01-18T18:13:00.000-08:00

Seton was raised in North America, his family having emigrated to Canada in 1866. Drawn to nature, Seton resisted his family's attempt to make an artist of him. He gained experience as a naturalist by trailing and

Ashtabula

2005-01-15T20:22:00.000-08:00

City, Ashtabula county, northeastern Ohio, U.S. It lies along Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Ashtabula River, 65 miles (105 km) northeast of Cleveland. The site was settled in 1801; its name, of Algonquian Indian origin, possibly means “river of many fish” and was applied to the township (1808). In the 1850s Hubbard Homestead and other houses in the city were stations on the Underground Railroad, an escape

Iliocostalis Muscle

2005-01-14T07:37:00.000-08:00

Any of the deep muscles of the back that, as part of the erector spinae (sacrospinalis) muscle group, aid in extension (bending backward), lateral flexion (bending to the side), and rotation of the spinal column. The iliocostalis group consists of a lower part (iliocostalis lumborum) that extends from the ilium (upper part of the hipbone) to the lower ribs, a middle part (iliocostalis

Metalanguage

2005-01-11T04:12:00.000-08:00

In semantics and philosophy, language used for the analysis of object language (language that is used to talk about objects in the world). Thus, a metalanguage may be thought of as a language about another language. Such philosophers as the German-born Logical Positivist Rudolf Carnap and Alfred Tarski, Polish-born mathematician, argued that philosophical problems

Race, The influence of Franz Boas

2005-01-09T02:49:00.000-08:00

Typological thinking about race, however, was soon contradicted by the works of some early 20th-century anthropologists. Franz Boas, for example, published studies that showed that morphological characteristics varied from generation to generation in the same population, that skeletal material such as the cranium was malleable and subject to external influences,

Harderwijk

2005-01-07T04:42:00.000-08:00

Gemeente (commune), in the Veluwe (wooded heath) district of Gelderland provincie, The Netherlands. Chartered in 1231, Harderwijk was an important port on the former Zuiderzee and was a member of the Hanseatic League. It now lies opposite Flevoland, Oost, one of the polders created by the Dutch in their 20th-century project to drain part of the Zuiderzee (now called the IJsselmeer).

Karat

2005-01-05T22:35:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Carat, a measure of the fineness (i.e., purity) of gold. It is spelled carat outside the United States but should not be confused with the unit used to measure the weight of gems, also called carat. A gold karat is 1/24 part, or 4.1667 percent, of the whole, and the purity of a gold alloy is expressed as the number of these parts of gold it contains. Thus, an object that contains 16 parts gold and 8 parts alloying

Switzerland, Neutrality and internal challenges

2005-01-03T00:39:00.000-08:00

During the 1850s the young republic clashed with Prussia over sovereignty in Neuchâtel, but the Prussian king finally renounced his hereditary rights to the former principality. Otherwise, Switzerland's foreign relations were relatively untroubled in the 19th century. The country adopted a policy of armed but cautious neutrality as the best strategy for a nation

Maa-alused

2005-01-01T13:38:00.000-08:00

These terms refer to beings living under the earth with an existence quite parallel to that of people living on earth. The main differences are in the opposite

Khorat Plateau

2004-12-31T01:46:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Korat Plateau, saucer-shaped tableland of northeastern Thailand. It occupies 60,000 square miles (155,000 square km), is situated 300–650 feet (90–200 m) above sea level, and tilts southeastward. The plateau is drained by the Chi and Mun rivers and is bounded by the Mekong River (north and east on the Laos border), the Phetchabun and Phang Hoei ranges (west), and the Phanom Dong Rak Range (south). The interior has low hills

Gum

2004-12-29T16:45:00.000-08:00

In botany, adhesive substance of vegetable origin, mostly obtained as exudate from the bark of trees or shrubs belonging to the family Fabaceae (Leguminosae) of the pea order Fabales. Some plant gums are used in the form of water solutions in the manufacture of cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and foods. When the water evaporates, a film having a considerable adhesive character

Salé

2004-12-26T11:49:00.000-08:00

Arabic Sla, old walled city on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. It lies at the mouth of the Wadi Bou Regreg, opposite Rabat. Founded in the 10th century, it reached its zenith as a medieval merchant port and entrepôt. After 1627 Salé—with Rabat as its vassal—became the corsair republic of Bou Regreg and the base for the notorious Sallee Corsairs, the most dreaded of the Barbary pirates; because

Ribot, Théodule-armand

2004-12-25T01:41:00.000-08:00

Ribot received his doctorate from the École Normale Supérieure.

Dwarf Star

2004-12-22T00:33:00.000-08:00

Any star of average or low luminosity, mass, and size. Important subclasses of dwarf stars are white dwarfs (see white dwarf star) and red dwarfs. Dwarf stars include most so-called main-sequence stars, among which is the Sun. The colour of dwarf stars can range from blue to red, the corresponding temperature varying from high (above 10,000 K) to low (a few thousand degrees).

Valdivia

2004-12-20T11:09:00.000-08:00

Capital of Valdivia provincia, Los Lagos región, southern Chile. It lies at the confluence of the Callecalle and Cruces rivers, which there form the Valdivia River, 11 miles (18 km) from the Pacific Ocean. Although it was founded in 1552 and was a strategically significant outpost during the colonial era, Valdivia did not flourish until after the mid-19th century, when a large influx

Nepenthes

2004-12-17T16:56:00.000-08:00

Nepenthes species are perennial,

Ombre

2004-12-14T14:03:00.000-08:00

Card game for three players, fashionable in Europe in the 17th century and into the 18th but now practically obsolete. It was similar to Whist, involving bidding, trump suit, and taking tricks. Originally played with the Spanish packs of 40 or 48 cards, it was adapted to the French pack of 52. In the course of time it acquired terms from Spanish, French, Italian, and English, as well as a

Fairfield

2004-12-13T09:46:00.000-08:00

Fairfield is now a trade

Ashe, Arthur (robert)

2004-12-10T02:19:00.000-08:00

Ashe began to play tennis at the age of seven in a neighbourhood park. He was coached by Walter Johnson of Lynchburg, Va., who had coached tennis champion Althea Gibson. Ashe moved to St. Louis, Mo., where he was coached by Richard Hudlin, before he entered

Andretti, Mario

2004-12-09T09:25:00.000-08:00

Mario and his twin brother, Aldo, studied automobile mechanics, frequented racing-car garages, and participated in a race-driving training program in Italy. In 1955 the family came to the United States and settled in Nazareth, Pennsylvania;

Crabbe, Buster

2004-12-06T06:16:00.000-08:00

Crabbe, who grew up in Hawaii and swam for the University of Southern California, competed at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, winning a bronze medal in the 1,500-metre freestyle and finishing in fourth place in the 400-metre freestyle. At the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, Crabbe

Rack And Pinion

2004-12-04T09:36:00.000-08:00

If the pinion rotates about a fixed axis, the rack will translate; i.e.,

Ryazan

2004-12-02T20:39:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Riazan, or R'azan ', oblast (province), western Russia. It occupies an area of 15,300 square miles (39,600 square km) in the middle Oka River basin and extends southward across the northern end of the Central Russian Upland and Oka-Don Plain to the upper Don River basin. North of the Oka is the Meshchera Lowland, with extensive swamps of reed and grass marsh and mixed forest of oak, spruce, pine, and birch. Considerable

Faience Fine

2004-11-30T04:06:00.000-08:00

Fine white English lead-glazed earthenware, or creamware, imported into France from about 1730 onward. Staffordshire “salt glaze” was imported first, followed by the improved Wedgwood “Queen's ware” and the Leeds “cream-coloured ware.” It was cheaper than French faience, or tin-glazed earthenware, and more durable and was therefore subjected to heavy tariffs in 1741 and 1749. A Franco-British

Beaconsfield

2004-11-28T13:12:00.000-08:00

The wide main street of the old town of Beaconsfield, bordered by 18th-century houses, contrasts with the modern town, in which commuters to London—28 miles (39 km) to the southeast—reside. Beaconsfield was adopted by Benjamin Disraeli, the 19th-century British

Rydberg Constant

2004-11-27T00:40:00.000-08:00

(symbol R¥), fundamental constant of atomic physics that appears in the formulas developed (1890) by the Swedish physicist J. R. Rydberg, describing the wavelengths or frequencies of light in various series of related spectral lines, such as those emitted by hydrogen atoms. The value of this constant is based on the premise that the nucleus of the atom emitting light is exceedingly

Arend-roland, Comet

2004-11-25T03:41:00.000-08:00

Comet remarkable for its anomalous second tail, which projects toward rather than away from the Sun. It was discovered on the night of Nov. 8–9, 1956, by S. Arend and P. Roland in Belgium. Its perihelion passage (i.e., its closest approach to the Sun) occurred on April 20, 1957. Because it was discovered months before perihelion, lengthy observations could be carried out. The anomalous tail appeared

Priestly Code

2004-11-23T02:01:00.000-08:00

Also called Priestly Source, or P, biblical source that, according to the document hypothesis, is one of the four original sources of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament). The priestly writings are so named because they emphasize the priestly tradition or interest, giving detailed explanations and descriptions of ritual laws and procedures.

Petén

2004-11-21T09:52:00.000-08:00

Region of northern Guatemala, bounded on the north and west by Mexico and on the east by Belize. It constitutes more than one-third of the nation's territory. Petén is a low limestone plateau, varying in elevation between 500 and 700 feet (150 and 210 m) above sea level at the base of the Yucatán Peninsula. Except for areas of savanna vegetation, the region is covered by dense tropical rain

Latrobe, Benjamin (henry)

2004-11-18T16:56:00.000-08:00

Latrobe attended the Moravian college at Niesky, Saxony, and traveled in France and Italy, acquiring a knowledge

Handcuffs

2004-11-17T01:27:00.000-08:00

Device for shackling the hands, used by police on prisoners under arrest. Until modern times, handcuffs were of two kinds: (1) the figure 8, which confined the hands close together either in front of or behind the body, and (2) rings that fitted around the wrists and were connected by a short chain, these being somewhat like those used by modern police forces. The old names were

Orléans, Louis-philippe-joseph, Duc D' (duke Of)

2004-11-15T01:09:00.000-08:00

The cousin of King Louis XVI (ruled 1774–92) and the son of Louis-Philippe (later duc d'Orléans), he became duc de Chartres in 1752 and succeeded to his father's title in 1785. Orléans's hostility to Louis XVI's queen, Marie-Antoinette, caused him to live away from the royal court

Muff

2004-11-13T20:14:00.000-08:00

In the 17th century they were used by both men and women. In the 19th century, however,

Bulgakov, Macarius

2004-11-11T23:25:00.000-08:00

The son of a country priest, Bulgakov took the name Macarius on becoming a monk. After studying at the Ecclesiastical Academy of Kiev, he joined the faculty and taught history. Called in 1842 to the chair of theology at the Academy of St. Petersburg,

Yungang Caves

2004-11-09T13:56:00.000-08:00

The caves are among the earliest remaining examples of the first major flowering of Buddhist art in China. About 20 major cave temples and many smaller

Ocean Ranching

2004-11-06T03:30:00.000-08:00

The rearing of fish and shellfish under artificially controlled conditions to restock the sea. See aquaculture.

Schmidt, Arno

2004-11-04T21:20:00.000-08:00

In full Arno Otto Schmidt novelist, translator, and critic, whose experimental prose established him as the preeminent Modernist of 20th-century German literature. With roots in both German Romanticism and Expressionism, he attempted to develop modern prose forms that correspond more closely to the workings of the conscious and subconscious mind

Permafrost, Air temperature and ground temperature

2004-11-03T08:08:00.000-08:00

In areas where the mean annual air temperature becomes colder than 0° C, some of the ground frozen in the winter will not be completely thawed in the summer; therefore, a layer of permafrost will form and continue to grow downward gradually each year from the seasonally frozen ground. The permafrost layer will become thicker each winter, its thickness controlled by

Oberfranken

2004-11-01T15:09:00.000-08:00

English Upper Franconia Regierungsbezirk (administrative district), northeastern Bavaria Land (state), east-central Germany. Oberfranken is bordered by Thuringia and Saxony Länder to the north, the Czech Republic to the east, and the Regierungsbezirke of Oberpfalz (Upper Palatinate) to the southeast, Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia) to the south, and Unterfranken (Lower Franconia) to the

Water Hyacinth

2004-10-30T08:04:00.000-07:00

Any aquatic plant of the genus Eichhornia of the pickerelweed family (Pontederiaceae), consisting of about five species, native primarily to tropical America. Some species float in shallow water; others are rooted in muddy stream banks and lakeshores. All have slender rootstocks, feathery roots, rosettes of stalked leaves, and few to many flowers

Race, India's caste system

2004-10-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

India has a huge population encompassing many obvious physical variations, from light skins to some of the darkest in the world, from straight coarse hair to frizzled and crinkly hair, and a wide variety of facial features. In addition, the Hindu sociocultural system is divided into castes that are exclusive, hereditary, and endogamous. They are also ranked and unequal

Mitford, Mary Russell

2004-10-27T18:36:00.000-07:00

She was the only daughter of George Mitford, a dashing, irresponsible character whose extravagance compelled the family, in 1820, to leave their house in Reading (built when Mary, at the age of 10, won £20,000 in a lottery)

épinay, Louise-florence-pétronille Tardieu D'esclavelles, Dame De La Live D'

2004-10-27T00:08:00.000-07:00

Mme d'Épinay interested herself in literature

Lancaster, House Of

2004-10-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

The family name first appeared in 1267, when the title earl of Lancaster was granted to Edmund “Crouchback” (1245–96), the youngest son of Henry III. Two of Edmund's sons by his second

Bonapartist

2004-10-24T06:36:00.000-07:00

After Napoleon I's abdication (1814), many of his followers

Scheffel, Joseph Victor Von

2004-10-23T07:04:00.000-07:00

Scheffel's father was a Baden army engineer, and

Saki

2004-10-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

Any of seven species of arboreal South American monkeys having long nonprehensile furred tails. The “true” sakis of the genus Pithecia are approximately 30–50 cm (12–20 inches) long, not including the bushy, tapering tail of 25–55 cm. Females generally weigh less than 2 kg (4.4 pounds) and males more than 2 kg. These sakis are covered with long, coarse hair that falls like a hood

Wad

2004-10-21T14:52:00.000-07:00

Also called Bog Manganese, black and earthy substance that consists mainly of hydrated manganese oxides; it is an important ore of manganese. It varies considerably in chemical composition and contains different impurities, often in large amounts. Wad is very soft, readily soils the fingers, and may be considered to be a mixture chiefly of pyrolusite and psilomelane. It results from the decomposition

Biblical Literature, German versions

2004-10-20T20:21:00.000-07:00

The early Old Testament in Gothic has already been described. The New Testament remains are far more extensive and are preserved mainly in the Codex Argenteus (c. 525) and Codex Gissensis. The translation, essentially based on a Byzantine text, is exceedingly literal and not homogeneous. It is difficult to determine the degree of contamination that the original Gospels

Alkali Feldspar

2004-10-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

Any of several common silicate minerals that often occur as variously coloured, glassy crystals. They are used in the manufacture of glass and ceramics; transparent, highly coloured, or iridescent varieties are sometimes used as gemstones. The alkali feldspars are primarily important as constituents of rocks; they are very widespread and abundant in alkali and

Vendôme

2004-10-19T01:31:00.000-07:00

Historic town and capital of an arrondissement in the département of Loir-et-Cher, Centre région, north-central France. It lies southwest of Paris and 20 miles (30 km) northwest of Blois. Vendôme stands on the Loir River, which there divides and intersects the town. To the south stands a hill on which are ruins of the 11th-century castle of the counts (later dukes) of Vendôme. The town

West Liberty State College

2004-10-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

Public, coeducational institution of higher learning in West Liberty, West Virginia, U.S. It is a four-year liberal arts college that confers two-year associate as well as bachelor's degrees. The campus is on a hilltop in a rural region of northern West Virginia that is near the metropolitan areas of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Steubenville, Ohio; and Wheeling, West Virginia.

Amory, Thomas

2004-10-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

A staunch Unitarian

Korean Provisional Government

2004-10-16T14:42:00.000-07:00

Government in exile organized in April 1919 in Shanghai by Korean patriots. The provisional government was formed in reaction to Japanese suppression of the March 1st Movement, the struggle for Korean independence from Japanese rule that had begun with a proclamation of independence issued by 33 prominent Koreans on March 1, 1919, and a number of massive demonstrations that

Bohemond Iii

2004-10-14T23:52:00.000-07:00

The son of Constance (daughter of Bohemond II) by her first husband, Raymond of Poitiers, he succeeded to the principality upon attaining his majority and then exiled his mother. In the following year (1164) he suffered defeat and was captured by the Muslims. It was the influence of the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus that secured Bohemond's early

Armenian Catholic Church

2004-10-14T01:46:00.000-07:00

An Eastern-rite member of the Roman Catholic church. The Armenians embraced Christianity about AD 300 and were the first people to do so as a nation. About 50 years after the Council of Chalcedon (451), the Armenians repudiated the Christological decisions of the council and became the Armenian Apostolic (Orthodox) Church, a body that basically adhered to the doctrinal beliefs

Altare Glass

2004-10-12T14:55:00.000-07:00

Type of Italian glassware produced in the town of Altare, near Genoa. The Altare glass industry was established in the 11th century by glassmakers from Normandy and developed independently of the much better known glassworks of Venice. During the 15th century the great demand for Venetian glass and, consequently, its profitability led the Venetians to confine glassmakers

Christ, Two Natures Of

2004-10-12T01:18:00.000-07:00

The clarification of Trinitarian doctrine during the first four centuries

Switzerland

2004-10-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

With political maneuvering for the next general elections--scheduled

Boeotian League

2004-10-10T01:35:00.000-07:00

League that first developed as an alliance of sovereign states in Boeotia, a district in east-central Greece, about 550 BC, under the leadership of Thebes. After the defeat of the Greeks at Thermopylae, Thebes and most of Boeotia sided with the Persians during the Persian invasions of 480 and 479. Subsequently, the victorious Greeks dissolved the Boeotian League as punishment.

China, Economic policies

2004-10-08T06:01:00.000-07:00

In the 1950s and '60s a number of far-reaching changes occurred in China's economic policies and priorities. During the First Five-Year Plan period (1953–57), emphasis was placed on rapid industrial development, partly at the expense of other sectors of the economy. The bulk of the state's investment was channeled into the industrial sector, while agriculture, which occupied more than

Davies, Arthur B.

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

Trained in Utica, New York City, and Chicago, Davies at first painted atmospheric landscapes

Ribera, José De

2004-10-06T15:38:00.000-07:00

He was born in Spain but spent most of his life in Italy. Little is known of his life in Spain, though he is said by the painter and biographer Antonio Palomino to have received his

Hardenberg, Karl August, Fürst Von (prince Of)

2004-10-05T10:06:00.000-07:00

Also called (until 1814) Freiherr (baron) von Hardenberg Prussian statesman and administrator, who preserved the integrity of the Prussian state during the Napoleonic Wars. Domestically he was able to continue the reforms introduced by Karl, Freiherr vom Stein; in foreign affairs he exchanged Prussia's alliance with France for an alliance with Russia in 1813, and in 1814–15 he represented

Canaan Dog

2004-10-04T03:14:00.000-07:00

Breed of herding dog developed in Israel in the 20th century from semiwild pariah dogs that were the descendants of animals present in the region since biblical times. Over time they had been utilized as guardians and hunting dogs, but most had reverted to a wild state, living in desert areas. In the 1930s a breeding program was begun to redomesticate these wild dogs to serve

Wollstonecraft, Mary

2004-10-03T15:45:00.000-07:00

The daughter of a farmer, Wollstonecraft taught school and worked as a governess, experiences that inspired her views in Thoughts on the Education of Daughters (1787). In 1788 she began working as a translator for the London publisher James Johnson, who published

Rupert's Land

2004-10-01T19:10:00.000-07:00

Also called Prince Rupert's Land, historic region in northern and western Canada. The name was applied to the territory comprising the drainage basin of Hudson Bay, granted by King Charles II in 1670 to the Hudson's Bay Company. Prince Rupert, cousin of Charles, was the first governor of the company, whence the name. Rupert's Land ceased to exist as a territorial entity in 1869, when the land became part of the Dominion

Grace

2004-09-30T00:41:00.000-07:00

Greek Charis, plural Charites, Latin Gratia, in Greek religion, one of a group of goddesses of fertility. The name refers to the “pleasing” or “charming” appearance of a fertile field or garden. The number of Graces varied in different legends, but usually there were three: Aglaia (Brightness), Euphrosyne (Joyfulness), and Thalia (Bloom). They are said to be daughters of Zeus and Hera (or Eurynome, daughter of Oceanus) or of

Dorris, Michael Anthony

2004-09-29T22:08:00.000-07:00

American writer whose best-known book, the 1989 National Book Award-winning The Broken Cord, chronicled the struggle his adopted son faced as a result of fetal alcohol syndrome; suffering from chronic depression, separated from his wife, writer Louise Erdrich, and facing legal difficulties, Dorris took his own life (b. Jan 30, 1945--found dead April 11, 1997).

Carnivore, Form and function

2004-09-29T00:59:00.000-07:00

Cats have a reduced number of premolar and molar teeth; the typical dental formula includes only 30 teeth. The incisors are small and chisel-like and the canines long and pointed. The premolars are sharp, and occasionally an upper premolar may be lacking. The lower molar is elongate and sharp, the upper molar rudimentary. Because of the reduction in the number and size