CommonStreet

Bacillite

2005-04-04T00:48:00.000-07:00

Pinyin Xinhua , Wade-Giles romanization Hsinhua news agency of the People's Republic of China, founded in 1929 as the press outlet of the Chinese Communist Party. The agency is headquartered in Peking and has offices around the world. NCNA has domestic and international services for Chinese and non-Chinese media. Like other news media in China, it operates under governmental control, and its releases reflect official

Ahmedi, Taceddin

2005-04-02T11:29:00.000-08:00

As a young man, Ahmedi studied with the famous scholar Akmal ad-Din (al-Babarti) in Cairo. He then went to Kütahya, in Anatolia, and wrote for the ruler Amir Süleyman (1367–86). Later he went to the court of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I (1389–1403), and, at the Battle of Ankara, in which the Ottomans suffered a drastic defeat,

Biblical Literature, The Pharisees

2005-04-01T23:36:00.000-08:00

The Pharisees (possibly spiritual descendants of the Hasidim [Pious Ones], who were the exponents of Maccabean revolt) were strict adherents to the Law. Their name may come from parush—i.e., “separated” from what is unclean, or what is unholy. They were deeply concerned with the Mosaic Law and how to keep it, and they were innovators in adapting the Law to new situations. They

Xerox Parc

2005-03-29T06:37:00.000-08:00

In full Xerox Corporation Palo Alto Research Center division established in 1970 by Xerox Corporation in Palo Alto, California, U.S., to explore new information technologies that were not necessarily related to the company's core photocopier business. Many innovations in computer design were developed by PARC researchers, including the Alto, the first personal computer; the graphical user interface; the laser printer;

Macpherson, Sir David (lewis)

2005-03-27T06:31:00.000-08:00

Macpherson emigrated in 1835 from Scotland to Montreal, where he amassed a large fortune in shipping. He moved to Toronto in 1853 and obtained a contract to build a railway line in Canada West (now in Ontario)

World War I, Air warfare

2005-03-25T07:45:00.000-08:00

At the start of the war the land and sea forces used the aircraft put at their disposal primarily for reconnaissance, and air fighting began as the exchange of shots from small arms between enemy airmen meeting one another in the course of reconnoitering. Fighter aircraft armed with machine guns, however, made their appearance in 1915. Tactical bombing and the bombing

Ukrainian Literature

2005-03-24T04:18:00.000-08:00

The body of writings in the Ukrainian language. The earliest writings of the Ukrainians, works produced in Kievan Rus from the 11th to the 13th century, were composed in Church Slavonic and are thus the common literary heritage of the Russians and Belarusians as well. After the Mongol invasion (13th century), Ukrainian literature was in decline until its revival in the 16th

Hyperopia

2005-03-21T06:38:00.000-08:00

Also called Farsightedness, or Hypermetropia, visual defect in which the cornea and lens of the eye focus the image of the visual field at a point behind the retina (the light-sensitive layer of tissue lining the back and sides of the eye). The retina thus receives an unfocused image of near objects, though distant objects may be in focus. Hyperopia frequently occurs when an eye is shorter than normal from front to

Dziady

2005-03-19T16:04:00.000-08:00

In Slavic religion, all the dead ancestors of a family, the rites that are performed in their memory, and the day on which those rites are performed. Dziady take place three or four times a year; though the dates vary in different localities, dziady are generally celebrated in the winter before the beginning of Advent and in the spring on the Sunday of Doubting Thomas.

Arecidae, The leaf

2005-03-19T09:42:00.000-08:00

Leaf structure is different and distinctive in each of the six families of the subclass. In Acoraceae both the leaves and the scapes are ensiform (sword-shaped). Leaves in Araceae usually have a basal sheath, a petiole, and a flat blade. The blade is lanceolate to broadly ovate or rarely linear or strap-shaped. The base of the blade may be heart-shaped (cordate), arrowhead-shaped

Mercer, Joseph

2005-03-18T22:59:00.000-08:00

Mercer overcame spindly legs and bad knees to become an outstanding left-half with Everton (1931–46), the champions of Britain's Football League in 1939. That year he was selected to play for England, and while in the Army

Moscow State University

2005-03-16T10:07:00.000-08:00

In full Moscow M.V. Lomonosov State University , Russian Moskovsky Gosudarstvenny Universitet Imeni M.V. Lomonosova state-controlled institution of higher learning at Moscow, the oldest-surviving, largest, and most prestigious university in Russia. It was founded in 1755 by the linguist M.V. Lomonosov and was modeled after German universities, its original faculty being predominantly German. In the second half of the 19th century, Moscow State University became the most important centre

Rushbagot Agreement

2005-03-15T17:28:00.000-08:00

(1817), exchange of notes between Richard Rush, acting U.S. secretary of state, and Charles Bagot, British minister to the United States, that provided for the limitation of naval forces on the Great Lakes in the wake of the War of 1812. Each country was allowed no more than one vessel on Lake Champlain, one on Lake Ontario, and two on the upper lakes. Each vessel was restricted to a maximum

Settlement, Act Of

2005-03-14T10:02:00.000-08:00

Toward the end of 1700 William III was ill and childless; his sister-in-law, the prospective queen, Anne, had just lost her only surviving child; and abroad the supporters of the exiled king, James II, were numerous and active. The need for the act was obvious. It decreed that, in default

Berenice

2005-03-13T06:34:00.000-08:00

The eldest daughter of Herod Agrippa I by his wife Cypros, Berenice was married at a young age to Marcus, the son of Alexander the Alabarch. Before consummating the marriage, Marcus died, and Berenice then married Herod, king of Chalcis, with whom she had two sons. Following

Falconiform

2005-03-13T01:36:00.000-08:00

Falconiforms have no obvious evolutionary links with other birds. Currently they are placed between ducks, on the one hand, and game birds on the other; but they bear no clear resemblance to either, while fossil evidence does not indicate intermediate links. The most obvious physical specializations of falconiforms—the cutting, tearing bill and taloned feet—do

Orbital

2005-03-11T20:21:00.000-08:00

In chemistry and physics, a mathematical expression, called a wave function, that describes properties characteristic of no more than two electrons in the vicinity of an atomic nucleus or of a system of nuclei as in a molecule. An orbital often is depicted as a three-dimensional region within which there is a 95 percent probability of finding the electron (see

Extrinsicism

2005-03-10T01:56:00.000-08:00

In Christian thought, for example, this is illustrated by the tendency

Anarchism, English anarchist thought

2005-03-09T10:12:00.000-08:00

The first sketch of an anarchist commonwealth in this sense was developed in England in the years immediately following the English Civil Wars (1642–51) by Gerrard Winstanley, a dissenting Christian and founder of the Digger movement. In his pamphlet of 1649, Truth Lifting Up Its Head Above Scandals, Winstanley laid down what later became basic principles among anarchists:

Calcisol

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

One of the 30 soil groups in the classification system of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Calcisols are characterized by a layer of translocated (migrated) calcium carbonate—whether soft and powdery or hard and cemented—at some depth in the soil profile. They are usually well-drained soils with fine to medium texture, and they are relatively fertile because

Sabinio

2005-03-08T09:50:00.000-08:00

Also called Volcan Sabinyo, or Volcan Sabyinyo, extinct volcano (11,500 feet [3,505 m]) in the Virunga Mountains of east-central Africa. It lies northeast of Lake Kivu and south-southeast of Rutshuru, Congo (Kinshasa). Its summit marks the junction of the Congo (Kinshasa)–Rwanda–Uganda borders. It forms part of the Virunga National Park, which is the home of the mountain gorilla.

Paleogeography

2005-03-06T17:32:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Palaeogeography, the geography of selected portions of the Earth's surface at specific times in the geologic past. This geography consists of interpreted reconstructions, produced in map form, which represent visual summaries of a wide variety of complex geologic information. The maps provide a series of relatively instantaneous views of the Earth through geologic time. Paleogeographic

Zamora

2005-03-06T08:30:00.000-08:00

Capital of Zamora province, in the autonomous community (region) of Castile-León, northwestern Spain. It lies along the northern bank of the Duero (Portuguese Douro) River, northwest of Madrid. The city occupies a rocky height overlooking the Duero, a little below its confluence with the Valderaduey River. In the early period of the Christian reconquest (8th–11th century)

Hale, Sir Matthew

2005-03-05T00:39:00.000-08:00

Hale was the son of Robert Hale, a barrister. Orphaned at

Attalus, Priscus

2005-03-04T16:28:00.000-08:00

Attalus was born a pagan and was baptized by an Arian bishop. He was a senator at the time of Alaric's second siege of Rome, and he was named emperor of the West by the Goths after the city surrendered in 409. Attalus then urged the legitimate emperor, Honorius, to vacate his throne.

Paleoclimatology

2005-03-02T18:22:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Palaeoclimatology, scientific study of the extended climatic conditions of past geologic ages. Paleoclimatologists seek to explain climate variations for all parts of the Earth during any given geologic period, beginning with the time of the Earth's formation. Many related fields contribute to the field of paleoclimatology, but the basic research data are drawn mainly from geology

Eckstine, Billy

2005-02-28T10:47:00.000-08:00

Eckstine left Howard University after winning an amateur contest in 1933 and began singing in nightclubs and with xance bands. From 1939 to 1943 he sang with Earl Hines's band, and at his urging Hines hired

Padilla, Juan De

2005-02-27T20:41:00.000-08:00

Padilla was a member of an ancient noble family of Toledo. Charles, who came to the Spanish throne in 1516, had inflamed national opinion by appointing

Apology Of The Augsburg Confession

2005-02-27T19:12:00.000-08:00

One of the confessions of Lutheranism, a defense and elaboration of the Augsburg Confession, written by the Reformer Philipp Melanchthon in 1531. The first version of the Apology was hastily written and presented to Emperor Charles V on Sept. 22, 1530, at the Diet of Augsburg, after the Emperor had declared that the Confutation (Aug. 3, 1530), prepared by Catholic theologians to refute the

Oamaru

2005-02-26T05:27:00.000-08:00

Town and port, Otago local government region, southeastern South Island, New Zealand. Its name comes from a Maori term meaning “place of sheltered fire.” It was established as a grazing run in 1853. Situated on a small bay, the town began to improve its harbour in 1872. It is a commercial fishing centre and the chief port for the neighbouring coastal plain and the Waitaki River

France, History Of, The prewar years

2005-02-24T21:58:00.000-08:00

From 1899 to 1905 a fairly coherent coalition of left-wing and centre parties (the so-called Bloc Républicain) provided France with stable government. The Cabinets headed by Waldeck-Rousseau in 1899–1902 and Émile Combes in 1902–1905 managed to liquidate the Dreyfus affair and to carry through the anticlerical reforms that culminated in the separation of church and state. The Entente Cordiale

Daily Telegraph, The

2005-02-23T19:04:00.000-08:00

Founded in 1855 as the Daily Telegraph and Courier, the paper has consistently combined a high standard of reporting with the selection of interesting feature subjects and editorial presentation. Its appeal is a conservative and middle-class

Outback

2005-02-23T14:48:00.000-08:00

In Australia, any inland area remote from large centres of population. Generally, the term is applied to semiarid inland areas of eastern Australia and to the arid centre of the Western Plateau and its semiarid northern plains (in Western Australia) where bodies of water are scattered and frequently dry. The Macdonnell, Musgrave, and Petermann mountain ranges and

Daily Telegraph, The

2005-02-21T22:31:00.000-08:00

Founded in 1868, the TUC held annual conferences of independent unions for the exposition of trade

Azhari, Isma'il Al-

2005-02-20T14:57:00.000-08:00

Educated at Gordon Memorial College at Khartoum and at the American University of Beirut, al-Azhari became president of the Graduates' General Congress in 1940. At first concerned primarily with educational and social reforms, the

Malaria

2005-02-19T09:47:00.000-08:00

A serious, acute and chronic relapsing infection in humans, characterized by periodic attacks of chills and fever, anemia, splenomegaly (enlargement of the spleen), and often fatal complications. Malaria also is found in apes, monkeys, rats, birds, and reptiles. It is caused by various species of protozoa (one-celled organisms) called sporozoans (subphylum Sporozoa) that

Lanao, Lake

2005-02-18T23:36:00.000-08:00

Lake, west-central Mindanao, Philippines. It is situated just south of Marawi, northwest of the Butig Mountains. Lake Lanao is the second largest lake in the Philippines and has an area of 131 square miles (340 square km). Its outlet is the Agus River, which flows north, over Maria Cristina Falls, where there is a hydroelectric power plant, to Iligan Bay. There are numerous Muslim

Amakihi

2005-02-18T13:20:00.000-08:00

(Loxops virens), perhaps the most common native songbird in Hawaii, a member of the Hawaiian honeycreeper family, Drepanididae (order Passeriformes). It is 12 cm (5 inches) long, with yellow body, black eye-mark, and rather short, slightly curved bill. It feeds on insects and small fruits in brushland and forest, and it has mewing and trilling calls.

Prosobranch

2005-02-16T07:29:00.000-08:00

Any snail of the subclass Prosobranchia, class Gastropoda. Most of these primitive snails are marine; a few live on land or in fresh water. Many prosobranchs breathe by means of gills, which are located in front of the heart; some have a special respiratory structure on the mantle or, in land species, a simple pulmonary cavity. The auricle of the heart is in front of the ventricle.

July Revolution

2005-02-15T07:07:00.000-08:00

French Révolution De Juillet, also called July Days (1830), insurrection that brought Louis-Philippe to the throne of France. The revolution was precipitated by Charles X's publication (July 26) of restrictive ordinances contrary to the spirit of the Charter of 1814. Protests and demonstrations were followed by three days of fighting (July 27–29), the abdication of Charles X (August 2), and the proclamation of Louis-Philippe as “king of the

Bingham, Caleb

2005-02-14T17:49:00.000-08:00

Bingham was educated at local schools before entering Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. He graduated in 1782 and took the position of master at Moor's Indian Charity School. In 1784 he moved to Boston in order to establish

Fibrosarcoma

2005-02-13T22:38:00.000-08:00

An uncommon malignant tumour of fibrous tissue found in young adults and most often occurring in the thighbone, upper arm bone, or jaw. The mass is felt before pain occurs. This tumour invades surrounding tissues, which makes complete surgical excision difficult. It often recurs and may metastasize.

Sarazen, Gene

2005-02-13T19:20:00.000-08:00

Born to impoverished Italian immigrants, Sarazen began caddying when he was eight.

Gammexane

2005-02-12T07:49:00.000-08:00

Trade name for an insecticide composed of the most toxic of the isomeric forms of benzene hexachloride (q.v.).

Canary Islands

2005-02-11T16:13:00.000-08:00

Spanish Islas Canarias comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Spain, consisting of an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, the nearest island being 67 miles (108 km) off the northwest African mainland. The Canaries comprise the Spanish provincias of Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, as well as the insular councils of Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Tenerife, La Palma, Gomera, and

Raytheon Company

2005-02-10T18:10:00.000-08:00

Major American industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in corporate and special-mission aircraft, defense systems, and defense and commercial electronics. It is the third largest defense contractor in the United States (after Lockheed Martin and Boeing). Established in 1922, the company reincorporated in 1928 and adopted its present name in 1959. Headquarters

World War I, The Eastern Front, 1916

2005-02-09T20:13:00.000-08:00

In the hope of diverting German strength from the attack at Verdun on the Western Front, the Russians gallantly but prematurely opened an offensive north and south of Lake Naroch (Narocz, east of Vilna) on March 18, 1916, and continued it until March 27, though they won very little ground at great cost and only for a short time. They then reverted to preparations for a major offensive

Gainesville

2005-02-07T11:33:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1853) of Alachua county, north-central Florida, U.S., about 70 miles (115 km) southwest of Jacksonville. The Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto marched through the area in 1539, and settlement eventually developed around a trading post known as Hog Town (established 1830). In 1853 the city was laid out as the county seat and named for General Edmund Pendleton Gaines, a commander during the

Pala Dynasty

2005-02-07T03:39:00.000-08:00

Ruling dynasty in Bihar and Bengal, India, from the 8th to the 12th century. Its founder, Gopala, was a local chieftain who rose to power in the mid-8th century during a period of anarchy. His successor, Dharmapala (reigned c. 770–810), greatly expanded the kingdom and for a while was in control of Kannauj. Pala power was maintained under Devapala (reigned c. 810–850), who carried out raids in the north, the

Photography, Technology Of, X-ray radiography

2005-02-05T19:43:00.000-08:00

The most familiar

Swaziland, Flag Of

2005-02-05T03:56:00.000-08:00

The Swazi, famed as warriors, have a traditional shield that is made of black-and-white ox hide stretched over a wooden frame. A representation of such a shield appeared briefly on a Swazi flag flown in the late 19th century when they administered their land jointly with the (Boer) South African Republic and the British. The current national flag, however, dates to 1941. At that

Roman à Clef

2005-02-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

(French: “novel with a key”), novel that has the extraliterary interest of portraying well-known real people more or less thinly disguised as fictional characters. The tradition goes back to 17th-century France, when fashionable members of the aristocratic literary coteries, such as Mlle de Scudéry, enlivened their historical romances by including in them fictional

Potrerillos

2005-02-02T23:34:00.000-08:00

Mining area, Atacama región, northern Chile. The open-pit copper mine lies in the Andean Atacama Desert, 9,440 feet (2,877 m) above sea level and 75 miles (120 km) inland from the port of Chañaral, to which it is linked by rail. Although the deposits are smaller and the ores of poorer quality than at Chuquicamata, the mine and smelter at Potrerillos contribute a substantial portion of Chile's

Germanic Religion And Mythology

2005-02-01T19:59:00.000-08:00

The Germanic peoples were converted to Christianity in different periods: many of the Goths in the 4th century, the English in the 6th and 7th centuries, the Saxons, under force of Frankish arms, in the late 8th century, and the Danes, under German pressure, in the course of the 10th century. The pagan religion held out longest in the most northerly lands, Iceland, Norway, and

Interior Design, France

2005-01-31T11:11:00.000-08:00

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

Cheboksary

2005-01-31T07:39:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ceboksary , Chuvash Shupashkar city and capital, Chuvashia republic, Russia. It lies on the right bank of the middle Volga River, between Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan. Although Cheboksary is known to have existed since the mid-15th century, and a fortress was built there in 1555, the town remained unimportant until the building of a rail link to Kanash in 1939. Thereafter it grew rapidly, with modern apartment blocks

Mammal, Dentition

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

Specialization in food habits has led to profound dental changes. The primitive mammalian tooth had high, sharp cusps and served to tear flesh or crush chitinous material (primarily the exoskeletons of terrestrial arthropods, such as insects). Herbivores tend to have specialized cheek teeth with complex occlusal (contact) patterns and various ways of expanding

Szolnok

2005-01-28T14:45:00.000-08:00

Town and seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok megye (county), east-central Hungary, at the confluence of the Zagyva and Tisza rivers. Under the Árpád kings (c. 890–1301) Szolnok was a market town and distributing centre for rock salt from the Maramures Mountains (now in Romania). Later in the European Middle Ages it was a strategic settlement fiercely contested by Magyars and Turks. In modern

Cracow, Republic Of

2005-01-28T00:46:00.000-08:00

Also called Free City of Cracow , Cracow also spelled Kraków , Polish Krakowska Rzeczpospolita , or Wolne Miasto Kraków tiny state that, for the 31 years of its existence (1815–46), was the only remaining independent portion of Poland. Established by the Congress of Vienna at the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars (1815), the free Republic of Cracow consisted of the ancient city of Cracow and the territory surrounding it. Containing a population of 95,000, it was placed under the joint protection of Austria, Prussia,

Antidepressant

2005-01-27T04:19:00.000-08:00

Introduced in the late 1950s, antidepressant drugs have been used most widely

Italy, Tourism

2005-01-26T20:38:00.000-08:00

Italy's tourist industry has flourished under both national and international patronage. The most popular locations, apart from the great cultural centres of Rome, Florence, Venice, and Naples, are the coastal resorts and islands or the Alpine hills and lakes of the north; the Ligurian and Amalfi rivieras; the northern Adriatic coast; the small islands in the Tyrrhenian

Weld, Theodore Dwight

2005-01-24T16:46:00.000-08:00

While a ministerial student at Lane Seminary, Cincinnati, Ohio, Weld participated in antislavery debates and led a group of students who withdrew from Lane to enroll at Oberlin (Ohio) College. Weld left his studies in 1834 to become an agent for

Fish, Stanley

2005-01-24T05:22:00.000-08:00

Fish was educated at the University of Pennsylvania (B.A., 1959) and Yale University (M.A., 1960; Ph.D., 1962). He taught at Johns Hopkins University from 1974 to 1985 and at Duke University

Amu Darya

2005-01-22T20:06:00.000-08:00

English Amu River, Tajik Daryoi Amu, Turkmen Amyderya, Uzbek Amudaryo, ancient name Oxus River one of the longest rivers of Central Asia. It is formed by the confluence of the Vakhsh and Panj (Pyandzh) rivers and flows west-northwest to its mouth on the southern shore of the Aral Sea. In its upper course the Amu Darya forms part of Afghanistan's northern border with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. It then flows across the desert of eastern Turkmenistan

Cheese

2005-01-22T18:11:00.000-08:00

Nutritious food consisting primarily of the curd, the semisolid substance formed when milk curdles, or coagulates. Curdling occurs naturally if milk is not used promptly: it sours, forming an acid curd, which releases whey, a watery fluid containing the soluble constituents; and it leaves semisolid curd, or fresh cheese. In some areas, cheese is still made simply by

Cabedelo

2005-01-20T01:47:00.000-08:00

City, eastern Paraíba estado (“state”), northeastern Brazil. Built on the site of the 17th-century fortress of Santa Rita, Cabedelo lies on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Paraíba River and serves as the port for João Pessoa, the state capital, approximately 12 miles (20 km) by rail and highway to the southeast. Cotton, agave fibres, sugar, and various minerals are handled at the

Priapulid

2005-01-19T02:47:00.000-08:00

(phylum or class Priapulida), any of some 15 species of predatory, marine, mud-inhabiting, unsegmented worms of uncertain classification. Sometimes considered a class of the phylum Aschelminthes, priapulids are perhaps best considered to be a very small phylum with no clear relationship to any other. The largest of the priapulids are 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 inches) long and inhabit

Muhammadiyah

2005-01-17T08:24:00.000-08:00

Socioreligious organization in Indonesia, established in 1912 at Jogjakarta, aimed at adapting Islam to modern Indonesian life. The organization was chiefly inspired by an Egyptian reform movement, led by Muhammad 'Abduh, that had tried to bring the Muslim faith into harmony with modern rational thought. The Muhammadiyah advocated the abolition of all superstitious

Hawd Plateau

2005-01-16T09:32:00.000-08:00

Hawd also spelled Haud, plateau sloping southeastward and spanning the northern Ethiopian-Somali border, southeast of the northern Somalian highlands. It covers an area of about 25,000 square miles (64,750 square km) and slopes from about 4,000 feet (1,220 m) in the northwest to about 1,500 feet (450 m) in the southeast. It is a vast savanna of varying fertility and is a major wet-season grazing area for herds of camels, goats, and

Paleoanthropology

2005-01-13T10:46:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Palaeoanthropology, also called Human Paleontology, interdisciplinary branch of anthropology concerned with the origins and development of early humans. Fossils are assessed by the techniques of physical anthropology, comparative anatomy, and the theory of evolution. Artifacts, such as bone and stone tools, are identified and their significance for the physical and mental development of early humans interpreted

Taree

2005-01-13T07:04:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern New South Wales, Australia, 10 miles (16 km) above the coastal mouth of the Manning River. Established in 1854 as a private town, it was proclaimed a municipality in 1885 and a city in 1981; it derives its name from the Aboriginal tareehin, or tarrebit, referring to a local wild fig. Situated on the Sydney-Brisbane rail line and the Pacific Highway, 80 miles (130 km) northeast of Newcastle,

Integrator

2005-01-11T17:03:00.000-08:00

The earliest integrator was a mechanical instrument called the planimeter (q.v.). The illustration (top) shows a simple mechanical integrator of the disk-and-wheel variety,

Lima Barreto, Afonso Henriques De

2005-01-11T09:41:00.000-08:00

Lima Barreto was an active journalist throughout his adult life. His often vitriolic social analysis and criticism are more direct and less

Olympia

2005-01-10T09:54:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Washington, U.S., seat (1852) of Thurston county, on Budd Inlet and Capitol Lake (at the south end of Puget Sound), at the mouth of the Deschutes River, 29 miles (47 km) southwest of Tacoma. Laid out in 1851 as Smithfield, it became the site of a U.S. customs house and was renamed for the nearby Olympic Mountains. Chosen as the territorial capital in 1853, Olympia developed port facilities

Jackson, Andrew

2005-01-09T23:15:00.000-08:00

A collection of Andrew Jackson's letters and documents can be found in Sam B. Smith et al. (eds.), The Papers of Andrew Jackson (1980– ). Biographies of Jackson are Robert V. Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Empire, 3 vol. (1977–84), also available in a one-volume condensed and rev. ed., The Life of Andrew Jackson (1988); Marquis James, Andrew Jackson: The Border Captain (1933, reprinted 1985), and Andrew Jackson: Portrait of a President (1937, reprinted 1983); James C. Curtis, Andrew Jackson and the Search for Vindication (1976); and Burke Davis, Old Hickory (1977). Various aspects of Jackson's career and influence are presented in Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., The Age of Jackson (1945, reissued 1989), a classic work; Robert V. Remini, The Election of Andrew Jackson (1963, reprinted 1980), and The Legacy of Andrew Jackson: Essays on Democracy, Indian Removal, and Slavery (1988); Richard P. McCormick, The Second American Party System: Party Formation in the Jacksonian Era (1966, reissued 1973); Michael Paul Rogin, Fathers and Children: Andrew Jackson and the Subjugation of the American Indian (1975, reissued 1991); Anthony F.C. Wallace, The Long, Bitter Trail: Andrew Jackson and the Indians (1993), discussing Jackson's role in the forced relocation of many Native Americans; Richard B. Latner, The Presidency of Andrew Jackson: White House Politics, 1829–1837 (1979); Donald B. Cole, The Presidency of Andrew Jackson (1993), a detailed account of Jackson's presidency, portraying him as more uncertain of himself than many believed; John M. Belohlavek, Let the Eagle Soar!: The Foreign Policy of Andrew Jackson (1985); Richard E. Ellis, The Union at Risk: Jacksonian Democracy, States' Rights, and the Nullification Crisis (1987); and Harry L. Watson, Liberty and Power: The Politics of Jacksonian America (1990), which deals with politics and public life during the years just before Jackson's presidency into the decade afterward. Robert V. Remini and Robert O. Rupp, Andrew Jackson (1991), provides an annotated bibliography.

Earth Sciences

2005-01-08T22:23:00.000-08:00

Bijapur

2005-01-07T22:26:00.000-08:00

City, northern Karnataka (formerly Mysore) state, southern India. An important site of medieval Indian Islamic architecture, it was formerly called Vijayapura (meaning “city of victory”) and was an important community under the Yadava dynasty for more than a century until 1294, when it became a provincial capital of the Bahmani. In 1489 with the advent of Yusuf 'Adil Shah, the first 'Adil

Asceticism

2005-01-06T10:41:00.000-08:00

In all strictly ascetic movements, celibacy (q.v.) has been regarded as the first commandment. Virgins and celibates emerged among the earliest Christian communities and came to occupy a prominent status. Among the earliest Mesopotamian Christian communities, only the celibates were accepted as full members of the church, and in some religions only celibates have

Bijapur

2005-01-05T16:43:00.000-08:00

Judicial organ established in 1959 that is charged with supervising the enforcement of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950; commonly known as the European Convention on Human Rights), which was drawn up by the Council of Europe. The convention obligates signatories to guarantee various civil and political freedoms, including

Hohenzollern Dynasty

2005-01-04T10:31:00.000-08:00

Dynasty prominent in European history, chiefly as the ruling house of Brandenburg-Prussia (1415–1918) and of imperial Germany (1871–1918). It takes its name from a castle in Swabia first mentioned as Zolorin or Zolre (the modern Hohenzollern, south of Tübingen, in the Land Baden-Württemberg). Burchard I, the first recorded ancestor of the dynasty, was count of Zollern in the 11th century. In the

Punjab

2005-01-02T01:04:00.000-08:00

The foundations of the present Punjab (historical Pañjab) were laid by Banda Singh Bahadur, a hermit who became a military leader and, with his fighting band of Sikhs, temporarily liberated the eastern part of the province from Mughal rule in 1709–10. Banda Singh's defeat and execution in 1716 were followed by a prolonged struggle between the Sikhs on one side and the Mughals and Afghans

Space Perception, Visual cues

2005-01-01T08:56:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the most important perceptual cues of distance and depth depend on so-called binocular disparity; that is, since the eyes are imbedded at different points in the skull, they receive slightly different (disparate) images of any given object. The two retinal images of the same object seem to be combined perceptually in the brain into one three-dimensional experience.

Slavic Languages, Innovations

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

Each branch of Slavic originally developed from Proto-Slavic, the ancestral parent language of the group, which in turn developed from an earlier language that was also the antecedent of the Proto-Baltic language. Both Slavic and Baltic share with the eastern Indo-European languages (called satem languages) the same change of Indo-European palatal k and g sounds (consonants

Tjokroaminoto, Omar Said

2004-12-30T22:13:00.000-08:00

The Sarekat Dagang Islam (Association of Islamic Traders), established in 1911 to promote the interests of Indonesian traders faced with growing

China, Early man

2004-12-29T11:19:00.000-08:00

The fossil record in China promises fundamental contributions to the understanding of human origins. There is considerable evidence of Homo erectus by the time of the Lower Paleolithic (the Paleolithic Period began c. 2,500,000 years ago and ended 10,000 years ago) at sites such as Lan-t'ien, Shensi; Ho-hsien, Anhwei; Yüan-mou, Yunnan; and, the most famous, that of so-called Peking man at Chou-k'ou-tien

Austin, Louis Winslow

2004-12-29T03:00:00.000-08:00

Physicist known for research on long-range radio transmissions. He was educated at Middlebury College, Vermont, and the University of Strasbourg, Germany. In 1904 he began work on radio transmissions for the U.S. Bureau of Standards. In 1908 Austin became head of a naval radiotelegraphy laboratory at the bureau (later to become the Naval Research

Tiznit

2004-12-28T18:39:00.000-08:00

Town, provincial capital, and province, Sud region, Morocco. The town lies near the Atlantic coast and the Tachilla and Ouarzemimene mountains of the Anti-Atlas range. It was founded in 1882 during the reign of Maulay Hasan as a military base from which he launched expeditions to subdue the peoples of the Oued (river) Sous region and the neighbouring mountainous areas. Tiznit

Jackson, Andrew

2004-12-27T05:13:00.000-08:00

Jackson approached the problems of the presidency as he had approached all other problems in life. He met each issue as it arose, and he exhibited the same vigour and determination in carrying out decisions that had characterized his conduct as commander of an army. He made it clear from the outset that he would be the master of his own administration, and, at times, he was so strong-willed and decisive that his enemies referred to him as “King Andrew I.” In making decisions and policy, Jackson relied on an informal group of newspaper editors and politicians who had helped elect him; they came to be known as his "kitchen cabinet."

Eliade, Mircea

2004-12-24T14:36:00.000-08:00

Eliade took an M.A. in philosophy from the University of Bucharest

Adalbero Of Ardennes

2004-12-24T08:04:00.000-08:00

Adalbero, a native of Lorraine, had opposed the attempts of the Carolingian king of France, Lothair, to gain Lorraine from the Holy Roman emperor Otto

Mures River

2004-12-23T01:16:00.000-08:00

Hungarian Maros, river, rising in the Giurgeu Range in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, east-central Romania. It cuts a gorge between the Caliman and Gurghiu ranges, crosses the Transylvanian Basin southwestward, and then cuts across the Western Carpathians between the Poiana Ruscai and the Bihoru mountains and emerges onto the Tisa Plain to join the Tisa (Tisza) River at Szeged, Hung.,

Mesopotamia, History Of, Literary and other historical sources

2004-12-21T10:03:00.000-08:00

The picture offered by the literary tradition of Mesopotamia is clearer but not necessarily historically relevant. The Sumerian king list has long been the greatest focus of interest. This is a literary composition, dating from Old Babylonian times, that describes kingship (nam-lugal in Sumerian) in Mesopotamia from primeval times to the end of the 1st dynasty of

Devequt

2004-12-21T09:39:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Devekut (Hebrew: “attachment”), in Jewish religious thought, an adherence to or communion with God that stops short of mystical union. The notion of devequt apparently derived from the biblical reference to “loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him” (Deuteronomy 11:22). As a fundamental concept of the Jewish mystical system called the Kabbala, devequt was

Alicatado

2004-12-19T16:33:00.000-08:00

Mosaic formed of polygonal, coloured glazed tiles. Made up into geometric patterns, they have been used mostly for paving Spanish and Moorish patios but also for wall surfaces. The expansion of the lands under Christian control in Spain in the 13th century led to a mixture of Gothic and Islamic styles (known as the Mudéjar style), in which alicatado was much used

Calligraphy, Chinese calligraphy

2004-12-18T03:08:00.000-08:00

The earliest known Chinese logographs are engraved on the shoulder bones of large animals and on tortoise shells. For this reason, the script found on these objects is commonly called jiaguwen, or shell-and-bone script. It seems likely that each of the ideographs was carefully composed before it was engraved. Although the figures are not entirely uniform in size,

Indexation

2004-12-17T08:15:00.000-08:00

In fiscal policy, a means of offsetting the effect of inflation or deflation on social security payments and taxes by measuring the “real value” of money from a fixed point of reference, usually a price index. Without indexing, recipients of social security benefits, for example, would suffer during times of inflation if their benefits remained at a fixed rate. Indexation

Ruyter, Michiel Adriaanszoon De

2004-12-16T17:14:00.000-08:00

Employed at sea at the age of nine, de Ruyter by 1635 had become a merchant captain. After serving as

Hughes, John Ceiriog

2004-12-16T04:43:00.000-08:00

After working successively as a grocer's helper, a clerk in Manchester, and a railway official in Wales, Hughes began winning poetry prizes in the 1850s and thereafter published several volumes of verse, the first

Gabriel

2004-12-14T15:28:00.000-08:00

Hebrew Gavri'el, Arabic Gibra'il, Jabra'il, or Jibril, in the Bible and the Qur'an, one of the archangels. Gabriel was the heavenly messenger sent to Daniel to explain the vision of the ram and the he-goat and to communicate the prediction of the Seventy Weeks. He was also employed to announce the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah and to announce the birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary. It is because he stood in the divine presence

Gates, John Warne

2004-12-14T05:32:00.000-08:00

Dissatisfied with his partnership in a country hardware store at the age of 19 and impressed with the possibilities of a new product known as barbed wire, Gates became a traveling barbed-wire salesman.

CommonStreet

Bacillite

Ahmedi, Taceddin

Biblical Literature, The Pharisees

Xerox Parc

Macpherson, Sir David (lewis)

World War I, Air warfare

Ukrainian Literature

Hyperopia

Dziady

Arecidae, The leaf

Mercer, Joseph

Moscow State University

Rushbagot Agreement

Settlement, Act Of

Berenice

Falconiform

Orbital

Extrinsicism

Anarchism, English anarchist thought

Calcisol

Sabinio

Paleogeography

Zamora

Hale, Sir Matthew

Attalus, Priscus

Paleoclimatology

Eckstine, Billy

Padilla, Juan De

Apology Of The Augsburg Confession

Oamaru

France, History Of, The prewar years

Daily Telegraph, The

Outback

Daily Telegraph, The

Azhari, Isma'il Al-

Malaria

Lanao, Lake

Amakihi

Prosobranch

July Revolution

Bingham, Caleb

Fibrosarcoma

Sarazen, Gene

Gammexane

Canary Islands

Raytheon Company

World War I, The Eastern Front, 1916

Gainesville

Pala Dynasty

Photography, Technology Of, X-ray radiography

Swaziland, Flag Of

Roman à Clef

Potrerillos

Germanic Religion And Mythology

Interior Design, France

Cheboksary

Mammal, Dentition

Szolnok

Cracow, Republic Of

Antidepressant

Italy, Tourism

Weld, Theodore Dwight

Fish, Stanley

Amu Darya

Cheese

Cabedelo

Priapulid

Muhammadiyah

Hawd Plateau

Paleoanthropology

Taree

Integrator

Lima Barreto, Afonso Henriques De

Olympia

Jackson, Andrew

Earth Sciences

Bijapur

Asceticism

Bijapur

Rushbagot Agreement