SlowPen

Xenarthran

2005-03-24T22:26:00.000-08:00

Order Cingulata consists primarily of armoured armadillo-like animals, and the name refers to the girdlelike shell of present-day armadillos. The armadillo family (Dasypodidae), with 8 genera and 20 species, is the only surviving family of Cingulata. Five other families in this order are extinct and are known only from fossil remains. Members of extinct families

Alice

2005-03-22T10:13:00.000-08:00

Town, Eastern province, South Africa. It lies on the southwestern bank of the Tyume River, west-northwest of East London, at an elevation of 1,720 feet (524 m). Alice began as a mission station established by the Glasgow Missionary Society for the Xhosa people in 1824. It was named after Princess Alice (a daughter of Queen Victoria) and became the seat of a magistracy in 1847 and a town in 1852. Livestock,

Anastasius I, Saint

2005-03-20T02:43:00.000-08:00

Anastasius earned the praise of St. Jerome (Letter 127) for censuring (c. 400) the works of Origen, one of the most influential theologians of the early Greek church. In papal letters he condemned several Origenist writings and disapproved the spreading of Origen's teaching. Anastasius' virtues

Uralic Languages, The distribution of the daughter languages

2005-03-14T07:23:00.000-08:00

The central Volga origin hypothesis is also supported by the geographic distribution of the daughter languages. Except for Hungarian, which moved westward across the steppes, the Finno-Ugric languages form two chains distributed along major waterways, with the confluence of the Kama and Volga at their centre. One chain extends northward along the Kama, across

Abia

2005-03-11T13:09:00.000-08:00

State, east-central Nigeria. Abia was administratively created in 1991 from the eastern half of former Imo state. It is bordered by the states of Enugu to the north, Cross River and Akwa Ibom to the east, Rivers to the south, and Imo and Anambra to the west. Abia includes areas of oil-palm bush and tropical rain forest in its southern part and woodland savanna in its hilly north.

Number System

2005-03-09T23:51:00.000-08:00

Any of various sets of symbols and the rules for using them to express quantities as the basis for counting, comparing amounts, performing calculations, determining order, making measurements, representing value, setting limits, abstracting quantities, coding information, and transmitting data. The most elementary representation of numbers is the tally or unitary

Furniture, Middle Ages

2005-03-08T08:49:00.000-08:00

Viollet-le-Duc, Dictionnaire raisonné du mobilier français de l'époque carlovingienne à la Renaissance, 6 vol. (1858–75), an authoritative work.

Zane, Betty

2005-03-05T20:54:00.000-08:00

Zane lived in her native Virginia (now part of West Virginia) in the town of Wheeling, which was founded in 1769 by her older brothers Ebenezer,

Hardwicke, Philip Yorke, 1st Earl Of, Viscount Royston

2005-03-04T05:26:00.000-08:00

Called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1715, Hardwicke afterward joined Lincoln's Inn, of which he

Shansi, The people

2005-03-01T15:17:00.000-08:00

Most of the province's people are of Han (Chinese) origin and speak the Northern Mandarin dialect of Chinese. The small minority populations include the Hui (Chinese Muslims), in the T'ai-yüan–Yü-tz'u region, and some Mongols and Manchu around Ta-t'ung. Most of the populace lives in agricultural villages. The highest rural densities occur in the T'ai-yüan Basin, in the southeast

Anomie

2005-02-28T21:46:00.000-08:00

The term was introduced by the French sociologist Émile Durkheim in his study of suicide. He believed that one type of suicide (anomic) resulted from the breakdown of the social standards necessary for regulating behaviour.

Chettle, Henry

2005-02-26T03:45:00.000-08:00

Chettle began his career as a printer and associated with such literary men as Robert Greene and Thomas Nashe. He prepared for posthumous publication Greenes Groats-Worth of Witte (1592), with its reference to Shakespeare as an “upstart Crow,” but offered Shakespeare compliments

Amritsar, Massacre Of

2005-02-24T02:34:00.000-08:00

In 1919 the British government of India enacted the Rowlatt Acts, extending its World War I emergency powers to combat subversive activities.

Yukon Territory

2005-02-21T01:03:00.000-08:00

The mineral wealth

La Fontaine, Jean De

2005-02-19T15:34:00.000-08:00

Poet whose Fables rank among the greatest masterpieces of French literature.

Cimarosa, Domenico

2005-02-18T03:57:00.000-08:00

He began his career with the comic opera Le Stravaganze del

Respiration, Human

2005-02-16T05:32:00.000-08:00

The process by which oxygen is taken up and carbon dioxide discharged.

Kamakura

2005-02-14T03:10:00.000-08:00

City, Kanagawa Prefecture (ken), Honshu, Japan, on the Pacific Ocean, south of Yokohama. Situated at the western base of the Miura Peninsula, it is enclosed on three sides by hills and has fine sandy beaches to the south. Kamakura was a small fishing village until it was established as a capital of the Minamoto clan in 1180. It then retained its political status as the second capital

Fishing Cat

2005-02-11T15:12:00.000-08:00

(species Felis viverrina), tropical cat of the family Felidae, found in India and Southeast Asia. The coat of the fishing cat is pale gray to deep brownish gray and marked with dark spots and streaks. The adult animal stands about 40 cm (16 inches) at the shoulder, weighs 8–11 kg (18–24 pounds), and is from 60 to 85 cm long, excluding the black-ringed tail, which accounts for an additional 25–30 cm. The fishing

Performing Arts, World Dance

2005-02-09T20:29:00.000-08:00

Popular folk dance troupes from the former Soviet Union toured the United States and Europe in 2002 and showed that they had lost none of their verve or attraction. Remarkably, the companies were headed by legendary figures active into their 90s. The Moiseyev Dance Company was created in 1937 by choreographer Igor Moiseyev, and in 2002, aged 95, he was still involved with the company.

House Sparrow

2005-02-08T13:21:00.000-08:00

Also called English Sparrow (Passer domesticus), one of the world's best-known and most abundant small birds, sometimes classified in the family Ploceidae (q.v.; order Passeriformes) or separated as Passeridae. It lives in towns and on farms, worldwide, having accompanied Europeans from its original home—most of Eurasia and northern Africa. It was introduced into North America

Fajardo

2005-02-06T23:38:00.000-08:00

Town, eastern Puerto Rico, on the Fajardo River lowlands. Founded in 1772, it was the scene of fighting during the Spanish–American War (1898). Its principal manufactures are cigars, furniture, and metal and electronic components. It is linked by railway to San Juan and lies about 2 miles (3 km) from its port, Playa de Fajardo, which exports sugar. The town is a tourist centre. The University

Fish Processing

2005-02-03T19:42:00.000-08:00

The word fish is commonly used to describe all forms of edible finfish, mollusks (e.g., clams and oysters), and crustaceans (e.g., crabs and lobsters) that inhabit an aquatic environment. Fish from the marine and freshwater bodies of the world have been a major source of food for humankind since before recorded

Miles, Bernard

2005-02-02T05:35:00.000-08:00

Miles studied at Pembroke College, Oxford, and taught briefly before quitting to pursue an acting career. He made his professional

Asher Ben Jehiel

2005-02-01T07:22:00.000-08:00

When the German authorities began to persecute the Jews, Asher fled to France and then to Spain. With the help of Rabbi Solomon ben Adret, one of the most influential

Farel, Guillaume

2005-01-31T06:26:00.000-08:00

As a student at the University of Paris, Farel was the pupil and friend of the scholar Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples, who helped him obtain

Eye Disease

2005-01-31T03:00:00.000-08:00

This article briefly describes the more common diseases of the eye and its associated structures, and the methods used in examination and diagnosis; it also indicates the treatment and prognosis. The first part deals with conditions affecting the orbit, lids, and external eye, and the second with

Aurunci

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

Ancient tribe of Campania, in Italy. They were exterminated by the Romans in 295 BC as the culmination of 50 years of Roman military campaigns against them. The Aurunci occupied a strip of coast situated between the Volturnus and Liris (Volturno and Liri) rivers in the modern province of Caserta, with their capital at Suessa (modern Sessa Aurunca). No written record of their language

Biblical Literature, Pesharim

2005-01-28T00:26:00.000-08:00

An important source of knowledge about the history of the Dead Sea sect is the pesharim (“commentaries”; singular pesher). The sectarian authors commented on the books of Old Testament prophets and the book of Psalms and in the commentaries explained the biblical text as speaking about the history of the sect and of events that happened in the time of its existence.

Canary Creeper

2005-01-27T05:01:00.000-08:00

Also called Canarybird Flower, Canarybird Vine, or Canary Nasturtium (species Tropaeolum peregrinum), annual climbing herb, of the family Tropaeolaceae, native to northwestern South America and introduced to other regions as a cultivated garden plant. It grows to a height of 1.8–3 m (6–10 feet). The leaves are round and deeply five-lobed. The flowers, about 2.5 cm (1 inch) across, are pale yellow and have a long, green spur.

Cambon, Joseph

2005-01-26T21:16:00.000-08:00

Cambon was a prosperous businessman in Montpellier when the Revolution broke out in 1789. As a deputy to the Legislative Assembly (October 1791–September

Ara

2005-01-25T10:36:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Arrah city, Bihar state, northeastern India. The city is a major rail and road junction. Agricultural trade and oilseed milling are carried on there. It is the site of several colleges affiliated with Magadh University. The Little House at Ara is a building that was defended by the British against Kunwar Singh during the Indian Mutiny in 1857. Ara was constituted a municipality

Fu-shou-lu

2005-01-24T15:41:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Fushoulu, in Chinese mythology, a collective term for the three so-called stellar gods, taken from their names: Fu Hsing, Shou Hsing, and Lu Hsing (qq.v.).

Black Hundreds

2005-01-23T21:30:00.000-08:00

Russian Chernosotentsy, reactionary, antirevolutionary, and anti-Semitic groups formed in Russia during and after the Russian Revolution of 1905. The most important of these groups were the League of the Russian People (Soyuz Russkogo Naroda), League of the Archangel Michael (Soyuz Mikhaila Arkhangela), and Council of United Nobility (Soviet Obedinennogo Dvoryanstva). The Black Hundreds were

Bylina

2005-01-23T08:13:00.000-08:00

Plural Byliny, traditional form of Old Russian and Russian heroic narrative poetry transmitted orally, still a creative tradition in the 20th century. The oldest byliny belong to a cycle dealing with the golden age of Kievan Rus in the 10th–12th century. They centre on the deeds of Prince Vladimir I and his court. One of the favourite heroes is the independent Cossack Ilya of Murom, who defended

Rabin, Yitzhak

2005-01-21T19:35:00.000-08:00

Israeli statesman and soldier who, as prime minister of Israel (1974–77, 1992–95), led his country toward peace with its Palestinian and Arab neighbours. He was chief of staff of Israel's armed forces during the Six-Day War (June 1967). Along with Shimon Peres, his foreign minister, and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) chairman

Ruiz De Alarcón (y Mendoza), Juan

2005-01-20T07:20:00.000-08:00

Born into a prosperous family in Mexico, Ruiz de Alarcón went to Spain in 1600 to study at the University of Salamanca, from which he graduated in about 1602. After studying further at the University of Mexico,

Elf Owl

2005-01-19T20:12:00.000-08:00

(Micrathene whitneyi), tiny bird of prey of the family Strigidae (order Strigiformes) of Mexico and the southwestern United States. It is the smallest owl and is about the size of a sparrow. In the cactus deserts, elf owls are among the most common birds, but they also inhabit forested areas, dry grasslands, and wet savanna. They nest in holes in cacti

Padua

2005-01-19T09:02:00.000-08:00

Italian Padova, Latin Patavium, city, capital of Padova province, Veneto region, northern Italy, on the River Bacchiglione, west of Venice. The Roman Patavium, founded, according to legend, by the Trojan hero Antenor, it was first mentioned in 302 BC, according to the Roman historian Livy, who was born there (59 BC). The town prospered greatly and, in the 11th–13th century, was a leading Italian commune. The poet Dante lived

Spodosol

2005-01-17T07:10:00.000-08:00

One of the 12 soil orders in the U.S. Soil Taxonomy. Spodosols are ashy gray, acidic soils with a strongly leached surface layer. Their suitability for cultivation is limited to acid-tolerant crops and orchards, provided that sufficient lime and fertilizer are applied. Covering about 3.5 percent of the nonpolar continental land area on Earth, they are mainly found bordering

Antony, Mark

2005-01-16T22:45:00.000-08:00

Mark Antony was the son and grandson of men of the same name. His father was called Creticus because of his military operations in Crete, and his grandfather, one of the leading orators of his day, was vividly portrayed as a speaker in Cicero's De oratore. After a somewhat dissipated youth, the future triumvir served with distinction in 57–54 as a cavalry commander under Aulus

Pacific Mountain System, Physiography

2005-01-15T21:51:00.000-08:00

The arrangement of the ranges in the system can be visualized as being in the shape of an extremely elongated H with a closed base. From north to south the west side of the H is made up of the ranges of the Queen Charlotte Islands and Vancouver Island, the Olympic Mountains, and the Washington, Oregon, and California Coast Ranges. From north to south the east side of the H

Catechumen

2005-01-14T18:28:00.000-08:00

A person who receives instruction in the Christian religion in order to be baptized. According to the New Testament, the apostles instructed converts after baptism (Acts 2:41–42), and Christian instruction was evidently given to all converts (Luke 1:4, Acts 18:25, Galatians 6:6). As the number of Gentiles in the church increased, instruction became more definite. In the 4th century, with the

Facsimile

2005-01-13T06:38:00.000-08:00

Most office and home fax machines conform to the Group 3 standard, which was adopted in 1980 in order to ensure the compatibility of digital machines operating through public telephone systems worldwide. As a standard letter-size sheet is fed through a machine, it is scanned repeatedly across its width by a strip of 1,728 photosensors. Each photosensor in turn generates a low

Horse Racing

2005-01-12T18:05:00.000-08:00

The ownership of racetracks ranges from complete state control, in which case the national government may own the tracks and horses and employ trainers, jockeys, grooms, and other necessary personnel, to complete private enterprise, as in most of the United States (where tracks are privately owned and operated for profit, as are the horses, and trainers and jockeys

Skin Cancer

2005-01-11T06:15:00.000-08:00

Most cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer are caused by damage to DNA resulting from exposure to ultraviolet radiation of the sun. People with light complexions have a higher rate of skin cancer than those with dark skin, and males are more likely to develop skin cancer than females. Exposure to substances such as arsenic, coal, and tar has been linked to skin cancer, as

Graziano, Rocky

2005-01-10T17:13:00.000-08:00

In his youth Graziano was a juvenile delinquent, and he later deserted from the U.S. Army after punching an officer. Though he had begun using the name Graziano, he was nevertheless found, sentenced to nine months in the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, and dishonourably

Margaret I

2005-01-09T01:47:00.000-08:00

Regent of Denmark (from 1375), of Norway (from 1380), and of Sweden (from 1389), who, by diplomacy and war, pursued dynastic policies that led to the Kalmar Union (1397), which united Denmark, Norway, and Sweden until 1523 and Denmark and Norway until 1814.

East Aurora

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

Village, Erie county, western New York, U.S. It lies 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Buffalo and, oddly enough, 90 miles (145 km) west of Aurora. Settled in 1804, it was incorporated as Willink in 1849 and as East Aurora in 1874. Inspired by the English designer William Morris and his communal Kelmscott Press, the editor and publisher Elbert Hubbard established the Roycroft Press in East Aurora in 1893; he later

Sporophyte

2005-01-07T02:02:00.000-08:00

In certain plants and algae, nonsexual phase (or an individual representing the phase) in the alternation of generations—a phenomenon in which two distinct phases (a haploid and a diploid phase) occur in the life history of a plant, each phase producing the other. (The alternate, sexual phase is the gametophyte.) In the sporophyte phase, a diploid plant body grows and eventually

Detective Story

2005-01-06T13:10:00.000-08:00

The traditional elements of the detective story are: (1) the seemingly perfect crime; (2) the wrongly accused suspect at whom circumstantial evidence points; (3) the bungling of dim-witted police; (4) the greater powers of observation and superior mind of the detective;

Detective Story

2005-01-05T01:55:00.000-08:00

The member countries of the Organisation for European Economic

France, History Of, France after de Gaulle

2005-01-04T11:55:00.000-08:00

De Gaulle's departure from the scene provoked some early speculation about the survival of the Fifth Republic and of the Gaullist party (the UDR); both, after all, had been tailored to the general's measure. But both proved to be durable, although his successors gave the system a somewhat different tone. Georges Pompidou won the presidency in June 1969 over several left and

Sarangpur

2005-01-03T10:57:00.000-08:00

City, northwestern Madhya Pradesh state, central India, just east of the Kali Sindh River. Sarangpur is located on an ancient site. It has a number of Jaina and Hindu ruins, including a 12th-century Jaina statue. It rose to importance in the 13th century under Sarang Singh Khichi, after whom it is named, and was a chief Mughal trade centre. It passed to Dewas princely state by treaty

Beach

2005-01-02T18:04:00.000-08:00

Sediments that accumulate along the sea or lake shores, the configuration and contours of which depend on the action of coastal processes, the kinds of sediment involved, and the rate of delivery of this sediment. There are three different kinds of beaches. The first occurs as a sediment strip bordering a rocky or cliffy coast; the second is the outer margin of a plain

West Flanders

2004-12-31T05:21:00.000-08:00

Drained

Arundinaria

2004-12-30T00:04:00.000-08:00

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

Voyageurs National Park

2004-12-29T16:21:00.000-08:00

Region of lakes and wilderness in northern Minnesota, U.S. The park lies along the Canadian border, east of International Falls. Authorized in 1971 and established in 1975, it was named for the mostly French Canadian frontiersmen called voyageurs (French: “travelers”), who were involved in fur trading in the area in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The voyageurs used large birch

Uganda, Flag Of

2004-12-28T21:06:00.000-08:00

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

Loyola University Chicago

2004-12-27T17:09:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Chicago, Ill., U.S. It is affiliated with the Jesuit order of the Roman Catholic church. Comprising nine schools and colleges across six campuses, it offers bachelor's and master's degrees in more than 40 fields, doctoral degrees in more than 30 programs, and several professional degrees. One of the two Chicago campuses,

Argyle, Lake

2004-12-26T01:47:00.000-08:00

Formed by the Ord River Dam (1972), it has a storage capacity of 204,719,140,000 cubic feet (5,797,000,000 cubic m). The dam, fed by the 300-mile (480-kilometre) Ord River, measures 325 feet (99 m) high and 1,119 feet (341 m) long. Lake Argyle is the main reservoir in the Ord River Irrigation Scheme, a public works project dating from 1945 and

Bridge

2004-12-25T23:07:00.000-08:00

In electrical measurement, instrument for measuring electrical quantities. The first such instrument, invented by British mathematician Samuel Christie and popularized in 1843 by Sir Charles Wheatstone, measures resistance by comparing the current flowing through one part of the bridge with a known current flowing through another part. The Wheatstone

Lode

2004-12-23T20:45:00.000-08:00

In mining, ore body disseminated within definite boundaries in unwanted rock. See vein.

Policy

2004-12-23T06:57:00.000-08:00

Policy, a true lottery initiated in the United States by Italian-Americans, derives its name from the Italian polizza (“receipt,” or “ticket”) and retains only occasional

Chandos, Sir John

2004-12-22T04:57:00.000-08:00

Chandos was a lifelong follower and companion of Edward the Black Prince, fighting under him at Crécy (1346), Poitiers (1356), and Nájera (1367). Given the lands of the Viscount de Saint-Sauveur in the Cotentin, Chandos was made constable of Guyenne in 1362 and was seneschal of Poitou

Qajar Dynasty

2004-12-21T03:00:00.000-08:00

In 1779, following the death of Mohammad Karim Khan Zand, the Zand dynasty ruler of southern Iran, Agha Mohammad Khan (reigned 1779–97), a leader of the Turkmen Qajar tribe, set out to reunify Iran. By 1794 he had eliminated all his rivals, including Lotf 'Ali Khan, the last of the Zand dynasty, and had reasserted Iranian sovereignty over the former Iranian territories in

Pemberton, John Clifford

2004-12-20T04:21:00.000-08:00

Pemberton grew up and was educated in Philadelphia, entered West Point in 1833, and graduated four years later. He fought in the Mexican War and was cited for bravery while participating in many of

Hoosac Tunnel

2004-12-20T01:38:00.000-08:00

The first major rock tunnel built in the United States. The tunnel runs through Hoosac Mountain of the Berkshire Hills, east of North Adams, Mass., and was built to provide a rail connection between Boston and upper New York state. Though only 4.75 miles (7.6 km) long, the tunnel took 24 years (1851–75) to complete, partly because of slow and laborious rock-tunneling techniques in use when construction

Alani

2004-12-18T21:46:00.000-08:00

Also called Alans, an ancient nomadic pastoral people that occupied the steppe region northeast of the Black Sea. The Alani were first mentioned in Roman literature in the 1st century AD and were described later as a warlike people that specialized in horse breeding. They frequently raided the Parthian empire and the Caucasian provinces of the Roman Empire. About AD 370, however, they were

Gonzaga Dynasty

2004-12-17T14:20:00.000-08:00

Italian dynasty whose heads ruled Mantua from 1328 to 1707 and also Montferrat, with the stronghold of Casale, from 1536 to 1707. Their origins are uncertain, but by the 12th century the Corradi family of Gonzaga were established as members of the feudal gentry owning estates near Mantua, to which during the 13th century they managed to add other extensive properties. They took their name

France, History Of, The constitution of the Third Republic

2004-12-15T00:42:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile, the task of writing a constitution for the republic could no longer be postponed. The assembly began its deliberations in 1873; in 1875 it adopted a series of fundamental laws, which, taken collectively, came to be known as the constitution of the Third Republic. A patchwork compromise, it established a two-house legislature (with an indirectly elected Senate as a

Sosa, Sammy

2004-12-14T22:08:00.000-08:00

As a child, Sosa worked at a number of jobs, including shining shoes, to help support his family following his father's death. At the age

Macedo, José Agostinho De

2004-12-14T01:40:00.000-08:00

Macedo took vows as an Augustinian in 1778. Because of his turbulent character he spent much time in prison and was constantly transferred from one community to another. In 1792 he was unfrocked but obtained a papal brief that gave him the status of a secular priest. He was

Sarcophagus

2004-12-12T21:30:00.000-08:00

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

Floral Decoration

2004-12-12T00:32:00.000-08:00

Since the earliest days of civilization, humans have used floral decorations, composed of living or dried cut-plant materials or artificial facsimiles, to embellish their environment and persons. Flowers have played

Kigali

2004-12-09T07:43:00.000-08:00

The

Kerr, Deborah

2004-12-09T02:52:00.000-08:00

Kerr trained as a dancer in her aunt's drama school in Bristol, England. She won a scholarship

Forel, Auguste-henri

2004-12-08T11:11:00.000-08:00

Forel studied medicine at the University of Zürich from 1866 to 1871 and then did work in neuroanatomy at the University of Vienna, where he received his medical degree in 1872. In 1879 he was appointed director of the Burghölzli Asylum

Protein, Others

2004-12-06T03:14:00.000-08:00

The most thoroughly investigated scleroprotein has been fibroin, the insoluble material of silk. The raw silk comprising the cocoon of the silkworm consists of two proteins. One, sericin, is soluble in hot water; the other, fibroin, is not. The amino acid composition of the latter differs from that of all other proteins. It contains large amounts of glycine, alanine, tyrosine,

Lupemban Industry

2004-12-05T02:43:00.000-08:00

Also called Lupembian Industry, a sub-Saharan African stone tool industry dating from the late Pleistocene, beginning about 40,000 years ago. The Lupemban industry was derived from and replaced the Sangoan industry, which is found in forested areas of sub-Saharan Africa. The Lupemban industry is characterized by fairly small, well-shaped tools: chisels, adzes, planes (probably demonstrating intensive

Tiverton

2004-12-04T16:40:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Newport county, eastern Rhode Island, U.S. It lies along the Sakonnet River and Mount Hope Bay, opposite Portsmouth and Bristol. Originally a part of Plymouth colony and named for Tiverton, Devon, England, it was annexed to Rhode Island in 1746 and was incorporated in 1747. Southwest of Tiverton Four Corners, the Battle of Almy's Pea Field was fought during King Philip's

Gaulish Language

2004-12-04T11:42:00.000-08:00

Ancient Celtic language or languages spoken in western and central Europe and Asia Minor before about 500. Gaulish is attested by inscriptions from France and northern Italy and by names occurring in classical literature. Modern knowledge of the vocabulary and sounds of Gaulish is slight, and its exact relation to the Celtic languages of Britain and Ireland is not

Alexander Ii

2004-12-02T06:57:00.000-08:00

Russian in full Aleksandr Nikolayevich emperor of Russia (1855–81). His liberal education and distress at the outcome of the Crimean War, which had demonstrated Russia's backwardness, inspired him toward a great program of domestic reforms, the most important being the emancipation (1861) of the serfs. A period of repression after 1866 led to a resurgence

Alexander Ii

2004-12-01T16:26:00.000-08:00

Moshav

2004-11-29T16:49:00.000-08:00

Plural Moshavim, in Israel, a type of cooperative agricultural settlement. The moshav, which is generally based on the principle of private ownership of land, avoidance of hired labour, and communal marketing, represents an intermediate stage between privately owned settlements and the complete communal living of the kibbutz. Moshavim are built on land belonging to the Jewish

Ogata Kenzan

2004-11-29T08:29:00.000-08:00

Kenzan received a classical Chinese and Japanese education and pursued Zen Buddhism. At the age of 27 he began studying with the potter Ninsei and in 1699 established his own kiln in Narutaki. Encountering financial

Boina

2004-11-27T14:47:00.000-08:00

The other son, Adriamandisoarivo, continued the migration

Céspedes, Pablo De

2004-11-27T10:38:00.000-08:00

Céspedes was educated at Alcalá de Henares, where he studied theology and Oriental languages. On leaving the university he went to Rome. In 1560, while in Rome, proceedings were taken against him by the Inquisition at Valladolid, but they were dropped. He returned to Spain a little before 1577 and received

Aedui

2004-11-26T18:16:00.000-08:00

Celtic tribe of central Gaul (occupying most of what was later Burgundy), chiefly responsible for the diplomatic situation exploited by Julius Caesar when he began his conquests in that region in 58 BC. The Aedui had been supported by Rome since 121 BC, but they were heavily defeated in about 61 BC by the Sequani and lost their revenue from tolls on the Arar (Saône) River. Appealing to

Art And Architecture, Mesopotamian, Architecture

2004-11-25T17:47:00.000-08:00

The beginnings of monumental architecture in Mesopotamia are usually considered to have been contemporary with the founding of the Sumerian cities and the invention of writing, in about 3100 BC. Conscious attempts at architectural design during this so-called Protoliterate period (c. 3400–c. 2900 BC) are recognizable in the construction of religious buildings. There is, however,

Alaska, Power

2004-11-24T14:29:00.000-08:00

Alaska's immense hydropower reserve is virtually untapped. The largest project is at Lake Eklutna, near Anchorage. A hydroelectric development near Juneau delivers power to the panhandle area, and the Bradley Lake dam, on the Kenai Peninsula, went into operation in 1991 to deliver power to the central and southern regions. Most other communities depend on diesel and

New England Range

2004-11-24T10:02:00.000-08:00

Also called Northern Tableland, section of the Eastern Highlands, or Great Dividing Range, northeastern New South Wales, Australia. The range extends 200 mi (320 km) north from the Moonbi Range (near Tamworth) to the Queensland border and 80 mi from east to west (10–50 mi inland from the coast). It is Australia's largest plateau, having 9,000 sq mi (23,000 sq km) above an elevation of 3,000 ft (900 m). The loftiest point is at Round Mountain (5,300 ft) on the eastern

Silchar

2004-11-22T13:48:00.000-08:00

City, southern Assam state, northeastern India. Situated on the Surma River near the Bangladesh border, it is a trade and processing centre for tea, rice, and other agricultural products. There is limited industry, principally papermaking and tea-box manufacturing. The city has an airport and lies on both a rail line and a motor road connecting Aizawl in Mizoram state

Computers, Lady Lovelace: The first programmer

2004-11-22T13:20:00.000-08:00

Augusta Ada King, the countess of Lovelace, was the daughter of the poet Lord George Gordon

Ironbridge

2004-11-20T23:53:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Iron-bridge, structure that is generally considered the first cast-iron bridge, spanning the River Severn at Ironbridge, near Coalbrookdale, in Shropshire, England. It is now a British national monument. The bridge's semicircular arch spans 100.5 feet (30.6 m) and has five arch ribs, each cast in two halves. Designed by Abraham Darby or Thomas Pritchard, the bridge was erected by Darby in 1777–79. (A similar

Ararat

2004-11-19T10:18:00.000-08:00

City, southwestern Victoria, Australia, on the northern flanks of the Pyrenees Range, near the Hopkins River. The community and a nearby peak (2,020 ft [616 m]) were named in 1840 by a sheep farmer who likened his settling there to the legendary resting of Noah's Ark on Mt. Ararat in Turkey after the Flood. Although gold was discovered in 1854, the rush of miners was delayed until 1857. Declared a borough

Biblical Literature, Texts and manuscripts

2004-11-18T13:52:00.000-08:00

In referring to manuscript text types by their place of origin, one posits the idea that the major centers of Christendom established more or less standard texts: Alexandria; Caesarea and Antioch (Eastern); Italy and Gallia plus Africa (Western); Constantinople, the home for the Byzantine text type or the Textus Receptus. While such a geographical scheme has become

Interior Design

2004-11-17T19:10:00.000-08:00

It is important to emphasize that interior design is a specialized branch of architecture or environmental design; it is equally important to keep in mind that no specialized branch in any field would be very meaningful if practiced out of context. The best buildings and the best interiors are those in which there is no obvious disparity between the many elements

Quintus Smyrnaeus

2004-11-16T19:58:00.000-08:00

Quintus claimed that the Muses inspired him when, still a beardless lad, he kept sheep near the temple of Artemis. His style is monotonous, and his vocabulary

Mormon

2004-11-15T20:00:00.000-08:00

Mormons accept the Bible “as far as it is translated correctly.” Smith did not finish his translation of the Bible, which incorporates prophecies of his own coming and of the Book of Mormon, which is central to Mormon belief. The Book of Mormon is largely similar in style and themes to the Old Testament. It recounts the history of a group of Hebrews who migrated from Jerusalem