FlatGrass

Balch, Emily Greene

2005-03-19T09:59:00.000-08:00

American sociologist, political scientist, economist, and pacifist, a leader of the women's movement for peace during and after World War I. She received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1946 jointly with John Raleigh Mott. She was also noted for her sympathetic and thorough study of Slavic immigrants

Intendente

2005-03-17T08:13:00.000-08:00

Royal official appointed by the 18th-century kings of the Bourbon dynasty in Spain. Modeled after the French intendants, the intendentes were to serve as instruments of royal centralization and administrative reform but were frequently resisted as conflicting with local privileges. In the Spanish colonies the system was imposed in Cuba (1765) after the brief British

Abbott, Lyman

2005-03-15T01:58:00.000-08:00

Abbott left law practice to study theology and was ordained in 1860. After serving in two pastorates he became associate editor of Harper's Magazine and in 1870 editor of the Illustrated Christian Weekly. In 1876 he joined Henry Ward Beecher's Christian

Madderakka

2005-03-12T23:22:00.000-08:00

Sami goddess of childbirth. She is assisted by three of her daughters—Sarakka, the cleaving woman; Uksakka, the door woman; and Juksakka, the bow woman—who watch over the development of the child from conception through early childhood. Madderakka was believed to receive the soul of a child from Veralden-radien, the world ruler deity, and to give it a body, which Sarakka

Lippmann, Walter

2005-03-11T01:59:00.000-08:00

While studying at Harvard (B.A., 1909), Lippmann was influenced by the philosophers William James and George Santayana. He helped to found (1914) The New Republic and served as its assistant editor under

Zande

2005-03-09T19:56:00.000-08:00

Also called Azande , also spelled Asande a people of central Africa who speak a language of the Adamawa-Ubangi branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Extending across the Nile-Congo drainage divide, they live partly in The Sudan, partly in Congo (Kinshasa), and partly in the Central African Republic. The regions they inhabit, savanna in the north and rainforest in the south, are mostly suitable for agriculture

Muravyov, Nikolay Nikolayevich, Count (graf) Amursky

2005-03-07T05:47:00.000-08:00

A lieutenant general in the Russian army, Muravyov was appointed governor-general of eastern Siberia in 1847. Despite the opposition

Sundbyberg

2005-03-05T16:38:00.000-08:00

Town, Stockholm län (county), east-central Sweden. Sundbyberg lies on the northwestern outskirts of Stockholm. When founded in 1877, it was one of Stockholm's first residential suburbs. It was chartered in 1927 and has become an important industrial centre. The church (1909–11) is noted for its stained glass. Other imposing buildings are the large Marabou chocolate factory and the multistory

Cassel, Gustav

2005-03-02T05:05:00.000-08:00

Cassel was educated at the University of Uppsala and Stockholm University and served as a professor of economics at the latter (1904–33). His most

Zoe

2005-02-28T06:14:00.000-08:00

Also called Brotherhood of Theologians in Eastern Orthodoxy, a semimonastic Greek association patterned on Western religious orders. Founded in 1907 by Eusebius Matthopoulos, Zoe (Greek: “Life”) brought together groups of more than 100 unmarried and highly disciplined members, bound by the monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience; approximately half of the brothers were ordained priests, and the rest

çanak, Treaty Of

2005-02-26T19:40:00.000-08:00

Implicitly directed

Saavedra Fajardo, Diego De

2005-02-25T08:29:00.000-08:00

After studying law at the University of Salamanca, Saavedra went to Rome, where he served under the

Weems, Mason Locke

2005-02-22T19:17:00.000-08:00

Weems was ordained in the Anglican church in 1784 and served as a pastor in Maryland

Bouvard, Alexis

2005-02-21T16:08:00.000-08:00

Astronomer and director of the Paris Observatory, who is noted for discovering eight comets and writing Tables astronomiques of Jupiter and Saturn (1808) and of Uranus (1821). Bouvard's tables accurately predicted orbital locations of Jupiter and Saturn, but his tables for Uranus failed, leading him to hypothesize that irregularities in Uranus'

Germanic Peoples

2005-02-18T22:40:00.000-08:00

No trace of autocracy can be found among the Germans whom Caesar describes. The leading men of the pagi (kindred groups) would try to patch up disputes as they arose, but they acted only in those disputes that broke out between members of their own pagus. There appears to have been no mediatory body at this date. In fact, in peacetime there appears to have been no central

Wind Instrument, The Classical period

2005-02-15T21:34:00.000-08:00

The Classical technique of winds doubling strings emerged in scoring for opera orchestras in the mid-17th century and continued to be important through the next century in the compositions of Haydn and Mozart. (Most 18th-century orchestras included at least four winds, usually two oboes and two horns; by the 1770s, Mozart was writing for double flutes, oboes, and bassoons, a

Balochi

2005-02-13T01:38:00.000-08:00

The original

Therapeutics, Peptic ulcer

2005-02-11T11:45:00.000-08:00

In the past a bland diet and frequent ingestion of milk and cream were the mainstays of ulcer treatment. Today the only dietary regimen is the avoidance of such irritating foods as spicy and highly seasoned foods and coffee. The newer drug therapies decrease gastric acidity much more than antacids and other dietary measures do. The infection of the stomach by Helicobacter

Coptic Literature

2005-02-08T14:59:00.000-08:00

Body of writings, almost entirely religious, that dates from the 2nd century, when the Coptic language of Egypt, the last stage of ancient Egyptian, began to be used as a literary language, until its decline in the 7th and 8th centuries. It contains, in addition to translations from the Greek, original writings by the Greek Fathers and founders of Eastern monasticism and

Dolomites

2005-02-07T10:57:00.000-08:00

Italian Alpi Dolomitiche, mountain group lying in the eastern section of the northern Italian Alps, bounded by the valleys of the Isarco (northwest), the Pusteria (north), the Piave (east and southeast), the Brenta (southwest), and the Adige (west). The range comprises a number of impressive peaks, 18 of which rise to more than 10,000 ft (3,050 m). The highest point is the Marmolada (10,964 ft), the southern face of which consists of

Caucasian Languages, The Lezgian languages

2005-02-04T09:44:00.000-08:00

This language group includes Lezgi (with 240,000 speakers in Dagestan and about 170,000 in Azerbaijan); Tabasaran (about 90,000); Agul (about 12,000); Rutul (about 15,000); Tsakhur (about 11,000); Archi (fewer than 1,000); Kryz (about 6,000); Budukh (about 2,000); Khinalug (about 1,500); and Udi (about 3,700). The majority of Lezgi languages are spoken in southern Dagestan, but some of them (Kryz, Budukh, Khinalug, Udi) are spoken chiefly in Azerbaijan; and one village

Wolfe, Charles

2005-02-03T00:55:00.000-08:00

Irish poet and clergyman, whose “Burial of Sir John Moore” (1817), commemorating the commander of the British forces at the Battle of Corunna (La Coruña, Spain) during the Peninsular War, is one of the best-known funeral elegies in English. Wolfe attended Trinity College, Dublin, was ordained in 1817, and held curacies in County Tyrone.

China, The Nien Rebellion

2005-02-01T04:37:00.000-08:00

Often in the first half of the 19th century plundering gangs, called nien, ravaged northern Anhwei, southern Shantung, and southern Honan. In mid-century, however, their activities were suddenly intensified, partly by the addition to their numbers of a great many starving people who had lost their livelihood from repeated floods of the Huang Ho in the early 1850s, and partly

Byron, John Byron, 1st Baron

2005-01-29T10:25:00.000-08:00

He was the eldest son of Sir John Byron (d. 1625), a member of an old Lancashire family which had settled at Newstead, near Nottingham. During the third decade of the 17th century Byron was member of Parliament for the town and afterward for the county of Nottingham. In December 1641, King Charles I made him lieutenant

Alaska, Tourism

2005-01-28T17:25:00.000-08:00

Alaska has had an upsurge of tourism. Travelers arrive mainly by air or sea and can now cover large areas by airplane and road. The influx is partly the result of the 500-passenger, 100-car ferries that operate as the Alaska Marine Highway. One ferry system connects Kodiak with mainland Seward and the Alaska Railroad, another links Cordova and Valdez, and a third serves panhandle

Wyat, Sir Thomas

2005-01-24T17:51:00.000-08:00

Wyat was educated at St. John's, Cambridge, and became a member of the court circle of Henry VIII, where he seems to have been popular and admired for his attractive appearance and skill in music, languages,

Dendrocolaptidae

2005-01-22T22:59:00.000-08:00

Songbird family, order Passeriformes, consisting of a number of brownish birds of the forest or brushland and found from Mexico through South America. Representative members are the scythebill and the woodcreeper (qq.v.).

Asgard

2005-01-17T23:34:00.000-08:00

Each important god had his own palace in Asgard, and many Germanic peoples believed that

Radical

2005-01-15T06:41:00.000-08:00

Also called Free Radical, in chemistry, molecule that contains at least one unpaired electron. Most molecules contain even numbers of electrons, and the covalent chemical bonds holding the atoms together within a molecule normally consist of pairs of electrons jointly shared by the atoms linked by the bond. Most radicals may be considered to have arisen by cleavage of normal electron-pair

Hooft, Gerardus 't

2005-01-14T20:39:00.000-08:00

Dutch physicist, corecipient with Martinus J.G. Veltman of the 1999 Nobel Prize for Physics for their development of a mathematical model that enabled scientists to predict the properties of both the subatomic particles that constitute the universe and the fundamental forces through which they interact. Their work facilitated the finding of

Oberhausen

2005-01-11T06:34:00.000-08:00

City, North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state), western Germany. It is situated on the Rhine-Herne-Kanal, within the densely developed Ruhr industrial belt, and it adjoins Essen (east), Mülheim (south), and Duisberg (southwest). Oberhausen is an important rail junction, and the city also has good autobahn connections with The Netherlands. It is the centre of a network of lines radiating

Belgium, History Of

2005-01-09T09:01:00.000-08:00

After the Burgundian regime in the Low Countries (1363–1477), the southern as well as the northern provinces had dynastic links with the Austrian Habsburgs, then with Spain and the Austrian Habsburgs together. Later, as a consequence of revolt in

F-16

2005-01-07T18:06:00.000-08:00

Also called Fighting Falcon, single-seat, single-engine jet fighter built by the General Dynamics Corporation (now part of the Lockheed Martin Corporation) for the United States and more than a dozen other countries. The F-16 originated in an order placed in 1972 for a lightweight, cost-effective air-to-air fighter; current models are also all-weather capable, and it is effective for ground attack as well.

Mahendra

2005-01-06T07:24:00.000-08:00

Mahendra ascended the throne in 1955 upon the death of his father, King Tribhuvan. The new king came into conflict with his Cabinet, which was dominated by a coalition of the Nepali Congress Party and the Ranas (a line of hereditary prime ministers). In order to assert his control, Mahendra staged a coup in 1960, dissolving

Amulet

2005-01-04T11:02:00.000-08:00

Natural amulets

Great Circle Route

2005-01-02T07:34:00.000-08:00

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

Coleopteran, Beetles as prey

2004-12-30T05:07:00.000-08:00

In general, beetles are very well armoured insects and thus are reasonably protected against enemies; most, however, have parasites. Some tachinid flies, for example, lay their eggs on adult beetles, and the larvae feed inside their bodies. Beetle larvae also often have hymenopterous parasites; e.g., wasps. Wood-boring long-horned beetle larvae (Cerambycidae) are parasitized

Boito, Arrigo

2004-12-29T04:15:00.000-08:00

The son of an Italian painter of miniatures and a Polish countess, Boito attended the Milan Conservatory and travelled to Paris on a scholarship. There he met Verdi, for whom, in 1862, he wrote

Arenas, Reinaldo

2004-12-27T16:06:00.000-08:00

As a teenager Arenas joined the revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power in 1959. He moved to Havana in 1961 and became a researcher in the José Martí National Library (1963–68), an editor for the Cuban Book Institute

Rescue Mission

2004-12-24T16:13:00.000-08:00

Also called Inner Mission, Christian religious organization established to provide spiritual, physical, and social assistance to the poor and needy. It originated in the city mission movement among evangelical laymen and ministers early in the 19th century. The work of rescue missions resembles that of settlement houses, institutional churches, and charitable societies, but rescue missions

Chiatura

2004-12-23T15:43:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ciatura, city, central Georgia. Chiatura lies along the Kvirila River in a deep trench in the southern foothills of the Greater Caucasus range. It is the centre of one of the largest manganese-mining areas of the world. The ore, which was first discovered in 1849, has been exploited since 1879. The city and its ore-enriching plants cluster in the narrow valley, with the mines in the surrounding

Korean Art

2004-12-21T00:12:00.000-08:00

A number of artifacts, including pottery and bronze and iron objects, indicate the early influence of China on Korean art. There is also evidence that Scythian, Siberian, and other non-Chinese cultures had an effect on the design and decoration

Sunderland, Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl Of, Baron Spencer Of Wormleighton

2004-12-18T20:45:00.000-08:00

Spencer was the only son and heir of the 1st Earl of Sunderland, and in 1679 he became secretary

Vihari

2004-12-17T00:57:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Vehari, town, south-central Punjab province, Pakistan. The town lies on a flat alluvial plain bordered by the Sutlej River on the southeast. It is a market and processing centre for cotton and oilseeds. Wheat, rice, sugarcane, and vegetables are also grown nearby, and there are rice and flour mills in the area. Vihari lies on the main road between Multan and Lahore. Pop. (1981) town, 53,799.

Lipalian Interval

2004-12-12T08:14:00.000-08:00

In geology, time span suggested in an attempt to explain the sudden appearance of abundant life forms in the earliest known Cambrian rocks (approximately 570,000,000 years old), in contrast to their absence in the latest Precambrian strata (no more than about 800,000,000 years old). Unlike Precambrian indications of life, Cambrian faunas are comparatively highly developed and diverse,

Webster, Daniel

2004-12-10T23:00:00.000-08:00

During the postwar sectional crisis Webster nevertheless spoke out, March 7, 1850, in favour of Clay's compromise proposals, one of which would organize territories in the Mexican cession with no prohibition of slavery. His argument that such a prohibition was unnecessary because the West was geographically unsuitable for the plantation system pleased businessmen

Mercara

2004-12-08T19:47:00.000-08:00

Also called Madhu-keri town, southern Karnataka (formerly Mysore) state, southern India, in the Western Ghats, at an elevation of 3,800 feet (1,160 m), on the national highway from Mysore city to Mangalore. In 1681 Mudda Raja selected the central but inaccessible site for the capital of the independent Hindu dynasty of Coorg. A fort built in 1812 by Linge Raja and the hilltop Onkeshwara Temple overlook the quiet town.

Vanadic Anhydride

2004-12-07T09:43:00.000-08:00

Vanadium pentoxide, a compound of vanadium and oxygen widely used as an oxidation catalyst, as in the oxidation of unburned hydrocarbons in automobile exhaust (see vanadium).

Bald Cypress

2004-12-05T15:22:00.000-08:00

A young bald cypress is symmetrical and pyramidal;

Congé D'élire

2004-12-02T01:50:00.000-08:00

English permission to elect formal message conveying the English sovereign's permission for the dean and chapter of the cathedral of a vacant bishopric to proceed in regular chapter to a new election. Before the Norman Conquest (1066) it was the king's prerogative to appoint bishops to vacant sees. This came to be contested by the popes, though the sovereign usually was able to secure the appointment

Jerusalem, Siegfried

2004-11-30T14:43:00.000-08:00

Siegfried Jerusalem's name and voice were both well suited to a Wagnerian heldentenor. Strong, clear, and expressive, with a slight vibrato to give it richness, his voice was, Jerusalem believed, perfect for the role of Siegmund in Die Walküre. He also was praised for his effortless phrasing and seductive tone. In addition, Jerusalem had the good looks and athletic build

Aureole

2004-11-28T17:06:00.000-08:00

Brightly illuminated area surrounding an atmospheric light source, such as the Sun, when the light is propagated through a medium containing many sizes of particles or droplets that are large compared to the wavelength of the light. Because the wavelength of visible light is about 0.00005 cm (0.5 micrometre), particles of size greater than about 0.0001 cm (1 micrometre) will give rise

Gwynn, Tony

2004-11-27T09:35:00.000-08:00

Gwynn attended San Diego (California) State University on a basketball scholarship, where he set a school record for assists as the team's point guard. He also excelled at baseball and was drafted in 1981 by

Yamethin

2004-11-25T03:16:00.000-08:00

Town, central-northern Myanmar (Burma), occupying a high point on the central plain. For centuries it was an important junction on the caravan trade route between the Shan region to the east and Myingyan, 90 miles (145 km) northwest, on the Irrawaddy River. Modern Yamethin, a municipality since 1888, has railway workshops and is irrigated by the Kyeni Tank (reservoir), built in the 11th

Wells, Emmeline Blanche Woodward

2004-11-22T20:44:00.000-08:00

Emmeline Woodward followed her widowed mother in converting to Mormonism in 1842. She moved with her first husband to the Mormon settlement of Nauvoo, Illinois,

Quiché

2004-11-19T15:54:00.000-08:00

Also called Quiché Maya, Mayan Indians living in the midwestern highlands of Guatemala. The Quiché Maya had an advanced civilization in pre-Columbian times, with a high level of political and social organization. Archaeological remains show large population centres and a complex class structure. Written records of Quiché history and mythology are preserved in the Popol Vuh, written

Annaba

2004-11-16T03:18:00.000-08:00

Formerly Bône , or Bona town and Mediterranean port, northeastern Algeria. It lies near the mouth of the Wadi Seybouse, close to the Tunisian border. Its location on a natural harbour (Annaba Gulf) between Capes Garde and Rosa early attracted the Phoenicians, probably in the 12th century BC. It passed to the Romans as Hippo Regius, was the residence of the Numidian kings, and achieved independence

Ben Bella, Ahmed

2004-11-15T13:51:00.000-08:00

Ben Bella was the son of a farmer and small businessman in Maghnia in the département of Oran. There, he successfully completed his early studies

Sarcocystis

2004-11-12T07:40:00.000-08:00

Genus of sporozoan parasites (phylum Protozoa) that are found in the heart and skeletal muscles of mammals (cattle, pigs, sheep, and man), birds, and reptiles. Infected muscle tissue contains white, cystlike masses (sarcocysts) that range from 25 micrometres (0.001 inch) to several millimetres in length. Each sarcocyst is divided into walled compartments, and each compartment

Tibet, The people

2004-11-11T08:19:00.000-08:00

The Tibetan and Burmese languages are related, although they are mutually unintelligible

Hinton, Milt

2004-11-09T03:55:00.000-08:00

Hinton grew up in Chicago, where he began playing bass in high school and then worked with jazz bands in the early to mid-1930s, most notably with violinist Eddie

Hume, John

2004-11-07T17:04:00.000-08:00

Originally

San Justo

2004-11-05T00:50:00.000-08:00

Cabecera (principal built-up area) of La Matanza partido (political subdivision), Gran (Greater) Buenos Aires, Arg. It lies directly southwest of the city of Buenos Aires, in Buenos Aires province. In 1856 the poblador (person granted land as an incentive to settle an area) of San Justo, José Gorsch, donated the land for the founding of the town on behalf of the Justo Villegas family.

Hokusai

2004-11-03T00:49:00.000-08:00

In full Katsushika Hokusai , professional names Shunro, Sori, Kako, Taito, Gakyojin, Iitsu , and Manji Japanese master artist and printmaker of the ukiyo-e (“pictures of the floating world”) school. His early works represent the full spectrum of ukiyo-e art, including single-sheet prints of landscapes and actors, hand paintings, and surimono (“printed things”), such as greetings and announcements. Later he concentrated on the classical

Holmes, Sherlock

2004-10-31T03:08:00.000-08:00

Fictional character created by the Scottish writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The prototype for the modern mastermind detective, Holmes first appeared in Conan Doyle's

Clothing

2004-10-29T09:22:00.000-07:00

Also called Clothes, garments for the human body. See dress.

Houston

2004-10-28T17:36:00.000-07:00

The first settlement in the area, Harrisburg (1826), was

Houston

2004-10-25T03:25:00.000-07:00

Small to medium-sized herbivorous dinosaurs that flourished about 115 million to 110 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous Period. Hypsilophodon was up to 2 metres (6.5 feet) long and weighed about 60 kg (130 pounds). It had short arms with five fingers on each hand and was equipped with much longer four-toed hind feet. In its mouth was a set of high, grooved, self-sharpening cheek

Ezra And Nehemiah, Books Of

2004-10-24T01:57:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Esdras and Nehemias, two Old Testament books that together with the books of Chronicles formed a single history of Israel from the time of Adam. Ezra and Nehemiah are a single book in the Jewish canon. Roman Catholics long associated the two, calling the second “Esdras alias Nehemias” in the Douay-Confraternity. Later works, e.g., the Jerusalem Bible, maintain separate identities but associate

Skara

2004-10-21T00:46:00.000-07:00

Town, Västra Götaland län (county), south-central Sweden, southeast of Lake Vänern. One of Sweden's oldest towns, it was a religious centre both before and after the arrival of Christianity. In 1015 it became the seat of Sweden's first bishop. The cathedral was built in the 12th century and has been restored several times. One of Sweden's earliest secondary schools was established

Alismatales

2004-10-20T21:57:00.000-07:00

Also called Alismales, the water-plantain order of flowering plants, belonging to the class Liliopsida (monocotyledons; characterized by a single seed leaf). Most species are aquatic and grow submerged or partially exposed to the air in marshes and other freshwater habitats. Many are aquatic weeds that hinder irrigation and navigation, though others provide important habitats for

ögödei

2004-10-18T05:07:00.000-07:00

The third son of Genghis, Ögödei succeeded his father in 1229. He was the first ruler of the Mongols to call himself khagan (“great khan”); his father used only the title khan. He made his headquarters on the Orhon River in central Mongolia, where he built the

Hui-yüan

2004-10-16T23:21:00.000-07:00

Pinyin Huiyuan celebrated early Chinese Buddhist priest who formed a devotional society of monks and lay worshipers of the Buddha Amitabha. The society inspired the establishment in later centuries (6th–7th) of the Ch'ing-t'u (“Pure Land”) cult, which is today the most popular form of Buddhism in East Asia. On his advice, the ruler of the Eastern Chin dynasty

Kern, Jerome (david)

2004-10-14T02:15:00.000-07:00

Kern studied music in New York City and in 1903 in Heidelberg, Ger., later gaining theatrical experience in London. After his return to New York in 1905, he worked as a pianist and salesman for

Maupin, Armistead

2004-10-12T01:54:00.000-07:00

Maupin was reared in North Carolina. He showed an early interest in film and theatre. His adolescent years were complicated by his growing awareness of his homosexuality. Graduating from the University of North Carolina in 1966, Maupin worked for a time under the future senator Jesse Helms

Scandinavian Literature, The Romantic period

2004-10-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

The Romantic movement came to Denmark from Germany, inspired partly by the German Jena Romantics and partly by the Neoclassicism of Goethe and Schiller. Friedrich Schelling's philosophy was interpreted in Denmark by the Norwegian Henrik Steffens, but the leading Danish Romantics gave it a form very different from the original. The leader of the Romantic movement

Bab, The

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

At an early age, 'Ali Mohammad became familiar with the Shaykhi school of the Shi'i branch of Islam and with its leader, Sayyid Kazim Rashti, whom he had met on

Drummond, William Henry

2004-10-06T03:50:00.000-07:00

Drummond immigrated to Canada about 1864, left school at the age of 15 to help support his family, but at 30 took a degree in medicine at Bishop's College in Quebec. After

Manx

2004-10-03T04:27:00.000-07:00

Breed of tailless domestic cat of unknown origin but presumed by tradition to have come from the Isle of Man. Noted for being affectionate, loyal, and courageous, the Manx is distinguished both by its taillessness and by its characteristic hopping gait. It is compactly built, with a rounded head; large, round eyes; and small, wide-set ears. The rump is also rounded and, because

Manx

2004-10-01T20:47:00.000-07:00

African organization established by the Treaty of Lagos in May 1975 to promote economic trade, cooperation, and self-reliance. The organization seeks to harmonize agricultural policies and to facilitate the free movement of peoples, services, and capital between members. The original 15 members were Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali,

Veneti

2004-09-29T17:56:00.000-07:00

The chief Venetic settlement was Este (later the Roman colony of Ateste), which was

Latin Averroism

2004-09-27T16:31:00.000-07:00

The teachings of a number of Western Christian philosophers who, in the later Middle Ages and during the Renaissance, drew inspiration from the interpretation of Aristotle put forward by Averroës, a Muslim philosopher. The basic tenet of Latin Averroism was the assertion that reason and philosophy are superior to faith and knowledge founded on faith. The Latin

Západní Slovensko

2004-09-26T06:35:00.000-07:00

Czech Západoslovenský , English Western Slovakia kraj (region), southwestern Slovakia. It is bordered on the northwest by the Czech Republic, on the southwest by Austria, on the southeast by Hungary, and on the northeast by Strední Slovensko kraj. Plains formed by the Morava (March), Danube (Dunaj), Váh, Nitra, and Hron rivers dominate the southern part of the region. Wheat, rye, barley, corn (maize), vegetables, hemp, grapes, and tobacco

Pieris

2004-09-23T09:45:00.000-07:00

The leaves are usually alternate, broad, leathery, lance-shaped, and toothed. The flowers, which are cylindrical or urn-shaped, have a five-lobed calyx (the sepals, collectively) and grow in a terminal or

Azaïs, Pierre-hyacinthe

2004-09-21T00:08:00.000-07:00

Philosopher whose optimism was rooted in the idea that human experience is imbued with a natural and harmonious balance between joy and sadness and that it is in this balance that meaning can be discovered. He advocated the idea in the work that first brought him fame, Des compensations dans les destinées humaines, 3 vol. (1809). In a following work,

Smith, Abby Hadassah; And Smith, Julia Evelina

2004-09-19T16:17:00.000-07:00

The Smith sisters, the youngest of five children, lived almost their entire lives at the Connecticut

Bara, Theda

2004-09-17T07:19:00.000-07:00

Theodosia Goodman attended the University of Cincinnati in 1903–05. In New York City she tried briefly

Czechoslovak Hussite Church

2004-09-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

Formerly Czechoslovak Church, church established in Czechoslovakia in 1920 by a group of dissident Roman Catholic priests. Its forerunner was the Jednota (Union of the Catholic Czechoslovak Clergy), founded in 1890 to promote such reforms as use of the vernacular in the liturgy and voluntary clerical celibacy. The new church, formed when these demands were rejected by the Vatican in 1919, adopted a rationalistic

Extremum

2004-09-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

Plural Extrema, in calculus, any point at which the value of a function is largest (a maximum) or smallest (a minimum). There are both absolute and relative (or local) maxima and minima. At a relative maximum the value of the function is larger than its value at immediately adjacent points, while at an absolute maximum the value of the function is larger than its value at any other point in

Baldpate

2004-09-12T03:09:00.000-07:00

Popular North American game duck, also known as the American wigeon. See wigeon.

Sorolla Y Bastida, Joaquín

2004-09-09T07:38:00.000-07:00

Sorolla was from a poor family and was orphaned at age two. He displayed an early talent and was admitted to the Academy of San Carlos in Valencia at

Pushkin, Aleksandr Sergeyevich

2004-09-07T19:59:00.000-07:00

Russian poet, novelist, dramatist, and short-story writer; he has often been considered his country's greatest poet and the founder of modern Russian literature.

Furniture, England

2004-09-06T01:17:00.000-07:00

The Italian Renaissance did not affect the design or ornament of furniture in England until about 1520. Evolution from the Gothic style was a gradual process, influence coming first from Italy and, in the second half of the 16th century, from the Low Countries. In the early stages, furniture remained Gothic in form, though Italian motifs slowly replaced the older Gothic ornament.

Latrobe, Benjamin (henry)

2004-09-03T01:06:00.000-07:00

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

Arts, Central Asian, Uighurs

2004-09-02T07:34:00.000-07:00

The figural arts found new patrons in eastern Turkistan among the Turkic Uighurs, who while living in T'ang dynasty China had been influenced by Manichaean figurative art. The overthrow in China in AD 846 of Buddhism by official Confucianism forced the Buddhist Uighurs to migrate to eastern Turkistan. Gradually, they gained control over the Tien Shan region, Turfan, and

Pitt, William, The Younger

2004-08-31T17:15:00.000-07:00

British prime minister (1783–1801, 1804–06) during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. He had considerable influence in strengthening the office of the prime minister.

Music

2004-08-28T18:15:00.000-07:00

Both the simple folk song and the complex electronic composition belong to the same activity, music. Both are humanly engineered; both are conceptual and auditory, and

Sicard, Roch-ambroise Cucurron, Abbé

2004-08-26T11:09:00.000-07:00

From 1786 to 1789, Sicard, an abbé, was principal of a Bordeaux school for deaf-mutes. He then succeeded Abbé de l'Epée in Paris. Although he long supported teaching deaf-mutes through sign language, Sicard turned to the oral method toward the end of his long career.

Farmerlabor Party

2004-08-24T06:04:00.000-07:00

An offshoot, the National Farmer–Labor Party, nominated P.P. Christensen in the 1920 presidential election. Lacking adequate finances and organization, the party won few votes and expired in 1923.

Callahan, Harry Morey

2004-08-22T02:36:00.000-07:00

American photographer (b. Oct. 22, 1912, Detroit, Mich.—d. March 15, 1999, Atlanta, Ga.), experimented with the use of light, line, and space to produce images that portray ordinary scenes and objects in innovative, abstract ways. He felt that photographs had to have more significance than was apparent at first look; he focused on such favourite themes as his wife and daughter, landscapes, and