DeepIsland

Allahabad

2005-04-05T07:33:00.000-07:00

City, southern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It is situated at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna (Jumna) rivers. Allahabad stands on the site of ancient Prayag, a holy city that was comparable in fame to Varanasi (Benares) and Haridwar. Prayag's importance in the ancient Buddhist period of Indian history is attested to by the inscriptions on the Pillar of Asoka. The pillar

Shariqah, Ash-

2005-04-02T22:09:00.000-08:00

English Sharjah constituent emirate of the United Arab Emirates (formerly Trucial States, or Trucial Oman). Some of ash-Shariqah's interior boundaries are only presumptive, but its main portion is an irregularly shaped tract, oriented northwest–southeast, stretching about 60 miles (100 km) from the Persian Gulf (northwest) to the central inland region of the Oman promontory (southeast).

Holcroft, Thomas

2005-03-31T00:16:00.000-08:00

The son of a peddler, Holcroft worked as a stableboy, cobbler, and teacher before he was able to make his living as a writer. He is remembered for his melodrama The Road to Ruin (performed 1792, often revived); his translation of Beaumarchais's play Le Mariage de Figaro (Paris, 1784) under the title The Follies

Fain, Agathon-jean-françois, Baron

2005-03-30T21:53:00.000-08:00

Before his appointment to the emperor's cabinet in 1806, Fain had worked since 1795 in various state archives. Napoleon made him a baron in

Dávid, Ferenc

2005-03-28T09:29:00.000-08:00

After successively rejecting Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism, in 1566 Dávid became bishop of the Calvinist community at Kolozsvár and court preacher to the Unitarian king

Welf Dynasty

2005-03-26T21:00:00.000-08:00

The origin of the “Elder House” of Welf is a matter of controversy, since Welf in the Carolingian period seems

Kazakstan, Drainage

2005-03-23T18:56:00.000-08:00

Kazakstan's east and southeast possess extensive watercourses: most of the country's 7,000 streams form part of the inland drainage systems of the Aral and Caspian seas and Lakes Balkhash and Tengiz. The major exceptions are the great Irtysh, Ishim (Esil), and Tobol rivers, which run northwest from the highlands in the southeast and, crossing Russia, ultimately drain into

Dahlbergh, Eric, Count (greve)

2005-03-21T18:14:00.000-08:00

After serving as an engineer (1655–57) in Sweden's Polish campaign, Dahlbergh returned to fight

China, Rise of the empress Wu-hou

2005-03-19T09:22:00.000-08:00

Kao-tsung was 21 when he ascended the throne. In his first years he was dominated by the remaining great statesmen of T'ai-tsung's court, above all by the Emperor's uncle Chang-sun Wu-chi. But real power soon passed from Kao-tsung into the hands of the empress Wu-hou, one of the most remarkable women in Chinese history. Wu-hou had been a low-ranking concubine of T'ai-tsung. She was

Arabian Desert

2005-03-19T07:22:00.000-08:00

Western Arabia formed part of the African landmass before a rift occurred in the Earth's crust, as a result of which the Red Sea was formed and Africa and the Arabian Peninsula finally became separated some five to six million years ago. Thus, the southern half of the peninsula has a greater affinity with the regions of Somalia and Ethiopia in Africa than with northern

Aeon

2005-03-17T05:19:00.000-08:00

The first aeon was said to emanate directly

Gonorrhea

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

Venereal disease characterized by inflammation of the mucous membranes of the genital tract and urethra. It is caused by the gonococcus, Neisseria gonorrhoeae—a bacterium with a predilection for the type of mucous membranes found in the genito-urinary tract and adjacent areas. All gonococcal infections except eye infections in newborn infants (ophthalmia

Roumanille, Joseph

2005-03-15T20:33:00.000-08:00

While teaching at the Collège Royal of Avignon

Calderdale

2005-03-14T08:30:00.000-08:00

Westernmost metropolitan borough, metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough is part of the historic county of Yorkshire, except for a small area west of Todmorden that belongs to the historic county of Lancashire. The bleak gritstone Pennine moorlands, with scattered sheep farms and reservoirs, rise to an elevation of 1,500 feet (457 metres)

Anquetil-duperron, A(braham)-h(yacinthe)

2005-03-13T06:17:00.000-08:00

At the University of Paris, Anquetil mastered Hebrew as his first Eastern language; later, he added Persian and

La Harpe, Frédéric-césar De

2005-03-12T02:14:00.000-08:00

Resentment of Bernese administration in his native Vaud caused La Harpe to go abroad, and at the Russian imperial court he found employment as tutor to the future tsar Alexander

Perga

2005-03-11T14:51:00.000-08:00

In Perga the apostles Paul and Barnabas began their first mission in Anatolia (Acts of the Apostles 13:13). A difficult mountain route into Phrygia began at Perga, and Alexander the Great used it

Floire Et Blancheflor

2005-03-09T21:07:00.000-08:00

French metrical romance known in two versions from the 12th and 13th centuries and thought to be of Greco-Byzantine or Moorish origin. Its theme of separation and reunion of young lovers is the same as that treated in Aucassin et Nicolette, though the roles and religion of the two main characters are reversed. Floire is the son of a Saracen king; Blancheflor, his beloved,

Bulbourethral Gland

2005-03-09T13:02:00.000-08:00

Also called Cowper's Gland, either of two pea-shaped glands in the male, located beneath the prostate gland at the beginning of the internal portion of the penis; they add fluids to semen during the process of ejaculation (q.v.). The glands, which measure only about 1 cm (0.4 inch) in diameter, have ducts that empty into the urethra, the tube through which both urine and semen pass. They are composed of a network

Van Buren, Hannah

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

Little is known about Hannah, who died of tuberculosis about a month before her 36th birthday. She did not leave writing of her own, and Martin, who never remarried, did not mention even her name in the autobiography he wrote late in life. Their sons were all bachelors when Martin became president in 1837. The following year Abraham married Angelica Singleton, who served as White House hostess until Martin's term ended in 1841.

Cohen, Ernst Julius

2005-03-07T21:10:00.000-08:00

Cohen was educated under J.H. van't Hoff at the University of Amsterdam (Ph.D., 1893) and worked in Paris with Henri Moissan before returning to teach chemistry

Schenectady

2005-03-06T14:19:00.000-08:00

Local Mohawk Indians were involved in the

Awoonor, Kofi

2005-03-04T19:06:00.000-08:00

Awoonor studied at the University College of Ghana (B.A., 1960), University College, London (M.A., 1970), and the State University of New York at Stony Brook (Ph.D., 1972). He lectured in English and African literature at the University of Ghana, directed the Ghana Film Corporation,

Morse, Jedidiah

2005-03-04T16:04:00.000-08:00

While a young man teaching school in New Haven, Morse developed an interest

Swanscombe Skull

2005-03-02T21:23:00.000-08:00

Human fossil remnants, consisting of two fossil parietals and the occipital of a young female, found in well-stratified gravels of the River Thames, Swanscombe, Kent, Eng., in 1935, 1936, and 1955. Chemical tests and associated faunal remains and Acheulian hand axes date the human bones accurately to the Second (Mindel-Riss) Interglacial Period (about 200,000 years ago). Detailed study of the

Kafzeh

2005-03-01T17:15:00.000-08:00

The remains,

Argentina, Transportation

2005-02-28T13:43:00.000-08:00

During the Spanish colonial period there were three principal overland transportation routes. The most important led from Buenos Aires to the wealthy mining centre in Upper Peru (now Bolivia) via the northwestern route through Córdoba, Santiago del Estero, San Miguel de Tucumán, and San Salvador de Jujuy. A second route linked Buenos Aires with Chile westward through

Príbram

2005-02-26T16:40:00.000-08:00

Príbram's other

Biblical Literature, Allegorical interpretation

2005-02-26T13:04:00.000-08:00

Allegorical interpretation places on biblical literature a meaning that, with rare exceptions, it was never intended to convey. Yet at times this interpretation seemed imperative. If the literal sense, on which heretics, such as the 2nd-century biblical critic Marcion, and anti-Christian polemicists, such as the 2nd-century philosopher Celsus, insisted, was unacceptable,

Cartwright, Edmund

2005-02-25T01:15:00.000-08:00

Cartwright began his career as a clergyman, becoming, in 1779, rector of Goadby Marwood, Leicestershire; in 1786 he was a prebendary in Lincoln (Lincolnshire) cathedral. He probably would have spent his life as an obscure

Atlantic Ocean

2005-02-23T15:21:00.000-08:00

The Atlantic is, generally speaking, S-shaped and narrow in relation

Menderes River

2005-02-23T03:52:00.000-08:00

Turkish Büyük Menderes Nehri , historically Maeander river, southwestern Turkey. It rises on the Anatolian plateau south and west of Afyon and flows westward through a narrow valley and canyon. At Sarayköy it expands into a broad, flat-bottomed valley with a typical Mediterranean landscape, dotted with fig trees, olive groves, and vineyards. Near the town of Aydin the river turns southwest, emptying into the Aegean Sea

Jena Glass

2005-02-21T06:07:00.000-08:00

Jena glass was first produced by the German glass chemist Friedrich Otto Schott, who, with Ernst Abbe and Carl Zeiss, founded a glassworks in Jena, Ger., in 1884. The early Jena

Rousseau, Théodore

2005-02-20T14:50:00.000-08:00

Rousseau, the son of a tailor, began to paint at age 14. In the 1820s he began to paint out-of-doors directly from nature, a novel procedure at that time. Although

Pageant Wagon

2005-02-20T04:15:00.000-08:00

Wheeled vehicle used in the processional staging of medieval vernacular cycle plays. Processional staging is most closely associated with the English cycle plays performed from about 1375 until the mid-16th century in such cities as York and Chester as part of the Corpus Christi festival, but it was also common in Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Each play in the cycle

Irish Sea

2005-02-18T19:16:00.000-08:00

Irish Muir Éireann arm of the North Atlantic Ocean that separates Ireland from Great Britain. The Irish Sea is bounded by Scotland on the north, England on the east, Wales on the south, and Ireland on the west. The sea is connected with the Atlantic by the North Channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland and by St. George's Channel between the southeastern tip of Ireland and southwestern

Field Emission

2005-02-18T16:00:00.000-08:00

Also called Cold Emission, discharge of electrons from the surface of a material subjected to a strong electric field. In the absence of a strong electric field, an electron must acquire a certain minimum energy, called the work function, to escape through the surface of a given material, which acts as a barrier to electron passage. If the material is placed in an electric circuit that renders

Malcolm X

2005-02-16T10:38:00.000-08:00

Growing up in Lansing, Mich., Malcolm saw his house burned down at the hands

Faraday, Michael

2005-02-16T01:44:00.000-08:00

Faraday, who became one of the greatest scientists of the 19th century, began his career as a chemist. He wrote a manual of practical chemistry that reveals his mastery of the technical aspects

Wa-fang-tien

2005-02-14T23:18:00.000-08:00

Formerly Fu-hsien, Pinyin Wafangdian, or Fu Xian, city in Liaoning sheng (province), China. The city is situated in the centre of the Liaotung Peninsula and is an important market centre for the agriculture and fruit industry of the area, which specializes in growing apples, pears, and grapes. It has developed industries producing various industrial chemicals as well as fertilizers and insecticides. It also has a

'awali

2005-02-14T00:22:00.000-08:00

Municipality in the state and emirate of Bahrain, on central Bahrain island, in the Persian Gulf. Founded in the 1930s by the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO), it is situated just north of Bahrain's oil fields and southwest of the country's oil refinery, one of the largest in the world. The municipality was built to house the main offices, headquarters staff, and foreign executives

Doyle, Richard

2005-02-12T04:44:00.000-08:00

A student of his father, Doyle regularly contributed (from 1843) decorations, theatre sketches, and political caricatures to Punch. The cover

Metacinnabar

2005-02-11T21:12:00.000-08:00

A mercury sulfide mineral that has the same chemical composition as cinnabar (HgS). Typical specimens have been obtained from Italy, Romania, and California. A member of the sphalerite group of sulfide minerals having isometric crystal symmetry, metacinnabar is transformed to cinnabar, a more stable form, upon heating to 400°–550° C (750°–1,020° F). For detailed physical properties, see

Economic Affairs, United States.

2005-02-11T16:46:00.000-08:00

The report of the Dunlop Commission on the Future of Worker-Management Relations became available in January 1995. Though the commission made a number of recommendations, the report was widely viewed as a disappointing document that failed to address a number of problems affecting American labour-management relations. Admittedly, any radical proposals would have

Mexico, Relief

2005-02-09T10:57:00.000-08:00

Mexico is located in one of the Earth's most dynamic tectonic areas. It is a part of the circum-Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a region of active volcanism and frequent seismic activity. Towering peaks, such as Citlaltépetl (also called Orizaba; 18,701 feet [5,700 metres]) and Popocatépetl (17,883 feet [5,452 metres]), are extremely young in geologic terms (late Tertiary) and are examples of the volcanic forces

Earth, Development of the Earth's structure and composition

2005-02-08T18:35:00.000-08:00

The origin of the Earth in its present form has been the subject of intellectual interest for centuries, but the decades since 1950 have seen major advances both in concepts and in measurements pertaining to this topic. The quantitative analysis by geochemists of the isotopes in meteorites and, in particular, the study of lunar rocks obtained during the U.S. Apollo program

Ghana

2005-02-07T14:22:00.000-08:00

First of the great medieval trading empires of western Africa (fl. 7th–13th century). It was situated between the Sahara (Desert) and the headwaters of the Sénégal and Niger rivers, in an area that now comprises southeastern Mauritania and part of Mali. Ghana was populated by Soninke clans of Mande-speaking people who acted as intermediaries between the Arab and Berber

Shilling

2005-02-07T13:14:00.000-08:00

Former English (and British) coin, nominally valued at one-twentieth of a pound sterling, or 12 pence. A silver coin of 12 pence, called a teston, or testoon, was first struck in 1504, bearing a profile likeness of Henry VII and engraved by Alexander Bruchsal. This coin was continued by Henry VIII and was renamed the shilling during the succeeding reign of Edward VI. (The direct origin

Earth, Physiographic expressions of crustal deformation

2005-02-04T23:14:00.000-08:00

Folding and faulting of the Earth's crust produces mountains, such as the Rocky Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, Himalayas, and Alps. Jointing, by contrast, plays only a minor role in shaping the terrestrial surface.

Kilis

2005-02-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

Town, extreme southern Turkey. It lies near the Syrian border north of Aleppo, Syria, and is often identified with the ancient town of Kilisi mentioned in Assyrian records. It was occupied by France after World War I but was returned to Turkey in 1921. The country around Kilis is fertile, producing olives, grapes, and pistachio nuts. The town's major industries are silk and cotton

Hythe

2005-02-02T09:07:00.000-08:00

Town (“parish”), Shepway district, administrative and historic county of Kent, England, on the English Channel coast at the eastern end of Romney Marsh and on the Royal Military Canal. (The canal was built as a defensive moat when Napoleon threatened invasion of Britain.) The old town lies on the hillside inland from the canal, and the modern town, a seaside resort, lies between

Eureka

2005-02-02T07:14:00.000-08:00

Gold and silver mining is the chief economic activity, although there is some agriculture. The county was created in 1873, and its seat is Eureka. Area 4,176 square miles (10,816 square

Metallurgy

2005-02-01T04:46:00.000-08:00

Art and science of extracting metals from their ores and modifying the metals for use. Metallurgy customarily refers to commercial as opposed to laboratory methods. It also concerns the chemical, physical, and atomic properties and structures of metals and the principles whereby metals are combined to form alloys.

Baptistery

2005-01-30T14:05:00.000-08:00

Hall or chapel situated close to, or connected with, a church, in which the sacrament of baptism is administered. The form of the baptistery originally evolved from small, circular Roman buildings that were designated for religious purposes (e.g., the Temple of Venus, Baalbek, Lebanon, AD 273, and the Mausoleum of Diocletian, Spalato [Split, Croatia], AD 300); but because baptism originally

Price, Richard

2005-01-29T20:56:00.000-08:00

A Dissenter like his father, he ministered to Presbyterians near London. His Review of the Principal

Vaida-voevod, Alexandru

2005-01-29T09:07:00.000-08:00

A native of Hungarian-ruled Transylvania, Vaida-Voevod joined a small Romanian nationalist group in the Hungarian Parliament after

Allen, Phog

2005-01-27T13:36:00.000-08:00

Allen succeeded James Naismith, who created the sport, as basketball coach in 1908–09 at the University of Kansas, Lawrence. Allen's Kansas teams of 1920–56 won 771 games and lost 233; his 1951–52 Kansas team won the championship of the National Collegiate Athletic

Alonso, Dámaso

2005-01-27T03:40:00.000-08:00

Educated at the University of Madrid, Alonso taught at the Centre of Historical Studies, Madrid (1923–36), and was a professor at the University of Valencia (1933–39) and the University of Madrid (1939–68). He was also a lecturer or visiting professor at universities in

Lead

2005-01-26T23:06:00.000-08:00

City, Lawrence county, western South Dakota, U.S. It lies in the northern Black Hills, 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Rapid City. Situated just southwest of Deadwood at the head of Gold Gulch Run, it spreads out over the tops of the nearby hills. Established in 1876 following the discovery of gold, its name was inspired by the lode mines in the area, a ledge or outcrop of ore being termed a

Wichita State University

2005-01-25T16:44:00.000-08:00

Public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Wichita, Kan., U.S. The university comprises the W. Frank Barton School of Business, Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School, and colleges of Education, Engineering, Fine Arts, and Health Professions. In addition to undergraduate studies, Wichita State offers more than 40 master's degree

Gulf

2005-01-24T07:17:00.000-08:00

Most existing gulfs were formed or greatly extended as a result of the rise in sea level that accompanied the melting of the last Pleistocene glacial ice mass, as vast sections of the continental margins were drowned. Some pronounced

Macadamia

2005-01-23T09:45:00.000-08:00

Macadamias originated in the coastal rain forests and scrubs of what is now Queensland in northeastern Australia. The macadamias grown commercially in Hawaii and Australia are principally

Biograph Company

2005-01-22T08:29:00.000-08:00

One of the major American motion-picture studios in the early days of filmmaking. Its most significant contribution to the film comes from the work of D.W. Griffith, the first great director, who developed the art of the cinema during his five years at Biograph. The American Mutoscope and Biograph Company released its first film, Empire State Express, in 1896. It quickly became

Belchatów

2005-01-21T02:43:00.000-08:00

A major lignite deposit was discovered in 1960 near Belchat

Pabianice

2005-01-20T07:33:00.000-08:00

Town and suburb of Lódz city, in Lódz województwo (province), central Poland, in the Lódz highlands on the Dobrzynka River. The second most important town in the Lódz industrial region, it lies on the Lódz–Wroclaw rail line and is a major textile centre. The oldest community in the region, it was first settled in the 11th century and was granted town rights in 1297. Because it lay on the trade route

End Rhyme

2005-01-18T03:05:00.000-08:00

End rhyme is the most common type of rhyme in English poetry. Compare beginning rhyme; internal

Yogyakarta

2005-01-17T19:49:00.000-08:00

Most of the western half of the special district comprises coastal plains, as much as 15 miles (24 km) wide, consisting of lava and ash soils that are

Heike Monogatari

2005-01-16T08:49:00.000-08:00

English The Tale of the Heike medieval Japanese heroic epic, which is to Japanese literature what the Iliad is to Western literature, a prolific source of later dramas, ballads, and tales. It stems from unwritten traditional tales and variant texts composed between 1190 and 1221, which were gathered together (c. 1240) by an unknown author to form a single epic. Its poetic prose is intended to be chanted to the accompaniment

Cultural Revolution

2005-01-16T04:09:00.000-08:00

In full Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, Wade-Giles romanization Wu-ch'an Chieh-chi Wen-hua Ta Ke-ming, Pinyin Wuchanjieji Wenhua Dageming, upheaval launched by Chinese Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong during his last decade in power (1966–76) to renew the spirit of the Chinese revolution. Fearing that China would develop along the lines of the Soviet model and concerned about his own place in history, Mao threw China's cities into turmoil in a monumental effort to reverse the historic processes

Arts, Central Asian, Ghaznavids and Ghurids

2005-01-14T02:53:00.000-08:00

Alp Tigin, a slave of Turkic origin at the Samanid court, escaped in AD 962 to Kabul, where he rapidly gained control of the town. He transferred his headquarters to Ghazna in central Afghanistan and established his dynasty there. Few Ghaznavid works of art have survived, but the admirably proportioned and decorated mortuary towers at Ghazna are architectural achievements

Sabadell

2005-01-14T02:24:00.000-08:00

City, Barcelona provincia, in the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Catalonia, northeastern Spain. The city, just north of Barcelona in the Vallés parish, originated as an Iberian and Roman settlement known as Arragona and became a medieval fief of the Castle of Arahona. Called Sabadell in the 12th century, in 1373 it was incorporated as a royal village (with municipal

Yan

2005-01-12T18:50:00.000-08:00

Pottery yan first appeared during the so-called Longshan culture

Biblical Literature, Additions to Daniel and Esther

2005-01-12T04:47:00.000-08:00

Two of the Old Testament Hagiographa (Ketuvim; see above The Hebrew canon)—Daniel and Esther—contain, in their Greek translations, numerous additions.

Mansart, François

2005-01-11T23:28:00.000-08:00

In 1642 René de Longeuil, an immensely wealthy financier and officer of the royal treasury, commissioned Mansart to build a château on his estate. The château of Maisons (now called Maisons-Laffitte, in the chief town of the département of Yvelines) is unique in that it is the only building by Mansart in which the interior decoration (graced particularly by a magnificent

Yale School

2005-01-09T21:23:00.000-08:00

Group of literary critics at Yale University, who became known in the 1970s and '80s for their deconstructionist theories. The Yale school's skeptical, relativistic brand of criticism drew inspiration from the work of French philosopher Jacques Derrida. Its most prominent members were Paul de Man and J. Hillis Miller. De Man, a professor of comparative literature and author

Spratling, William

2005-01-08T18:22:00.000-08:00

A graduate of the New York Fine Arts Institute and Auburn University, in Alabama (where he studied architecture), Spratling taught art and architecture at Tulane University, New Orleans,

Oviparity

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

Expulsion of undeveloped eggs rather than live young. The eggs may have been fertilized before release, as in birds and some reptiles, or are to be fertilized externally, as in amphibians and many lower forms. In general, the number of eggs produced by oviparous species greatly exceeds the number of offspring from species that bear live young, but the chances of survival

Biblical Literature, Life of Adam and Eve

2005-01-06T14:01:00.000-08:00

The many Christian legends in many languages about the lives of Adam and Eve probably have their origin in a Jewish writing (or writings) about the biblical first man and woman. The most important of these works are the Latin Vita Adae et Evae (Life of Adam and Eve) and a Greek work closely parallel to it, named erroneously by its first editor the Apocalypse of Moses. The

China, The rise of Neo-Confucianism

2005-01-04T14:20:00.000-08:00

The rise of the particular school of Neo-Confucianism led by Chu Hsi takes on special meaning in this context. The Neo-Confucian upsurge beginning in the late T'ang embraced many exciting extensions of the Classical vision. Noteworthy during the Pei Sung was the emergence of a new Confucian metaphysics that was influenced by Buddhism and that borrowed freely from

Bona Dea

2005-01-03T22:28:00.000-08:00

(Latin: “Good Goddess”), in Roman religion, deity of fruitfulness, both in the earth and in women. She was identified with various goddesses who had similar functions. The dedication day of her temple on the Aventine was May 1. Her temple was cared for and attended by women only, and the same was the case at a second celebration, at the beginning of December, in the house of a sovereign

Baikonur

2005-01-02T16:48:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Baykonur, Baykonyr, or Bajkonur, also called Tyuratam, or Turatam, former Soviet and current Russian space centre in south-central Kazakstan. Baikonur was a Soviet code name for the centre, but American analysts often called it Tyuratam, after the railroad station at Tyuratam (Leninsk), the nearest large city. Baikonur lies on the north bank of the Syr Darya, about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Qyzylorda. The Soviet Union's secretiveness about

Kazoku

2005-01-02T05:48:00.000-08:00

In Japan, the unified, crown-appointed aristocracy of the period 1869–1947, which replaced the feudal lords. The kazoku (“flower family”) class was created in 1869 as part of the Westernizing reforms of the Meiji Restoration. In this class the old feudal lords (daimyo) and court nobles (kuge) were merged into one group and deprived of territorial privileges. In 1884 the kazoku was reorganized

Mar-pa

2005-01-01T16:24:00.000-08:00

The chief source of information on the life of Mar-pa is a 14th-century biography written by the “Mad Yogin of Tsang.” According to it, Mar-pa was born of wealthy parents. He had a violent nature and was

Mitscherlich, Eilhardt

2004-12-31T01:55:00.000-08:00

From 1818 to 1820 Mitscherlich worked in the Berlin laboratory of the German botanist Heinrich F. Link, where he first undertook the study of arsenates and phosphates. In 1819 he discovered

Biblical Literature, Meaning of the term gospel

2004-12-29T23:36:00.000-08:00

From the late AD 40s and until his martyrdom in the 60s, Paul wrote letters to the churches that he founded or guided. These are the earliest Christian writings that the church has, and in them he refers to “the gospel” (euangelion). In Romans, chapter 1, verse 1, he says: “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God . . .” and goes on to describe this “gospel

Arctic Fox

2004-12-28T08:21:00.000-08:00

Also called White Fox, or Polar Fox (species Alopex lagopus), northern fox of the family Canidae, found throughout the Arctic, usually on tundra or mountains near the sea. In adaptation to the climate, it has short, rounded ears, a short muzzle, and fur-covered soles. Its length is about 50–60 cm (20–24 inches), exclusive of the 30-centimetre tail; and its weight is about 3–8 kg (6.6–17 pounds). Coloration depends on whether the animal is

Rush, Benjamin

2004-12-28T04:11:00.000-08:00

American physician and political leader, a member of the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. His encouragement of clinical research and instruction was frequently offset by his insistence upon bloodletting, purging, and other debilitating therapeutic

Ibrahim Al-haqilani

2004-12-27T20:27:00.000-08:00

Ordained a deacon, Ibrahim taught Arabic and Syriac first at Pisa, then in Rome, and in 1628 he published a Syriac grammar. In 1640 he began collaborating on the Le Jay Polyglot Bible, publishing the Book of Ruth in Arabic,

Masai

2004-12-26T05:07:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Maasai nomadic pastoralists of East Africa. Masai is essentially a linguistic term, referring to speakers of this Eastern Sudanic language (usually called Maa) of the Nilo-Saharan language family. These include the pastoral Masai who range along the Great Rift Valley of Kenya and Tanzania, the Samburu of Kenya, and the semipastoral Arusha and Baraguyu (or Kwafi) of

La Oroya

2004-12-25T17:03:00.000-08:00

Also called Oroya, city, Junín departamento, central Peru, at the junction of the Mantaro and Yauli rivers on a central plateau of the Andes, at an elevation of 12,195 feet (3,717 m). The city, located in a rich mining region based on the Cerro de Pasco, Morococha, and Casapalca mines, is a smelting and refining centre for copper, zinc, silver, and lead ores; it is also the site of a hydroelectric station fed by

Ocaña

2004-12-24T08:54:00.000-08:00

City, Norte de Santander departamento, northern Colombia, in the Hacarí valley. Founded (c. 1570) as Nueva Madrid by Francisco Fernández, the city was renamed for Ocaña in New Castile, Spain. An independence convention that was held there in 1828 is commemorated by a triumphal arch. Barium mining and onion growing are basic economic activities. Ocaña is the superior court of a judicial

Auk

2004-12-22T04:09:00.000-08:00

Birds of the auk family, often called alcids, range in length from about 15 to 40 cm (6 to 16 inches), though

La Salle, Saint Jean-baptiste De

2004-12-22T01:49:00.000-08:00

Of noble birth, La Salle was ordained priest in 1678 and devoted himself to education of the poor. He helped to establish

Amphibian, Distribution and abundance

2004-12-21T14:07:00.000-08:00

Found in almost every type of environment except the high latitudes in the Arctic, Antarctica, various oceanic islands, and some extremely xeric (dry) deserts, frogs and toads show the greatest diversity in humid tropical environments. Salamanders primarily inhabit the Northern Hemisphere and are most abundant in cool, moist, montane forests;

Indian Philosophy, Religious consequences

2004-12-19T11:49:00.000-08:00

The one religious consequence of the Samkhya-Yoga is an emphasis on austere asceticism and a turning away from the ritualistic elements of Hinduism deriving from the Brahmanical sources. Though they continue to remain as an integral part of the Hindu faith, no major religious order thrived on the basis of these philosophies.

Analytic Geometry, General classes of curves

2004-12-18T14:24:00.000-08:00

Caustic is an envelope of rays; more specifically, when the light rays emanating from a source are reflected by a given curve, the envelope of the reflected rays is the caustic by reflection, or catacaustic, of the given curve with respect to the source in question. When the rays from a source are refracted by a given curve, the envelope of refracted rays is called the caustic

Allegheny Mountains

2004-12-18T11:46:00.000-08:00

Also called Alleghenies, mountainous eastern part of the Allegheny Plateau in the Appalachian Mountains, U.S. The Allegheny range extends south-southwestward for more than 500 miles (800 km) from north-central Pennsylvania to southwestern Virginia. Rising to Mount Davis (3,213 feet [979 m]; highest point in Pennsylvania) and Spruce Knob (4,862 feet [1,482 m]; highest point in West Virginia), the mountains consist of nearly

Insurance, Russia

2004-12-17T11:09:00.000-08:00

Insurance in Russia was nationalized after the Russian Revolution of 1917. Domestic insurance in the Soviet Union was offered by a single agency, Gosstrakh, and insurance on foreign risks by a companion company, Ingosstrakh. Ingosstrakh continues to insure foreign-owned property in Russia and Russian-owned property abroad. It accepts reinsurance from foreign insurers.

Crusade, The Latin East after the Third Crusade

2004-12-16T09:52:00.000-08:00

Saladin died on March 3, 1193, not long after the departure of the Third Crusade. One of the greatest of the Muslim leaders and a man devoutly religious and deeply committed to jihad against the infidel, he was, yet, respected by his opponents. His death led once again to divisions in the Muslim world, and his Ayyubid successors were willing to continue a state of truce with the crusaders,

Fylde

2004-12-14T19:04:00.000-08:00

Borough (district), administrative and historic county of Lancashire, England. It lies on the north bank of the estuary of the River Ribble at the Irish Sea, just east of the resort of Blackpool. Fylde borough is part of the Fylde geographic region, a low coastal plain 18 miles (29 km) wide between the Ribble and Morecambe Bay to the north. It is an area of undulating terrain containing