FatPump

Gabon, Ethnic and linguistic composition

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

All of Gabon's 40 or so ethnic groups, except the few thousand Pygmies, speak Bantu languages and, on that basis, can be classified into 10 larger groups. The Myene group (including the Mpongwe and Orungu), though only a small part of the population today, has played an important role in the history of the country as a result of its location along the northern coasts. The Fang, who

Steelhead

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

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

Korosten

2005-03-14T08:58:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Korosten ', city, Zhitomir oblast (province), north-central Ukraine. It lies along the west bank of the Uzh River about 80 miles (130 km) northwest of Kiev. The city, which was incorporated in 1926, is a small industrial centre, a railway junction, and an engineering centre. In addition, it manufactures equipment for the chemical industry and has woodworking, porcelain, food-processing, and clothing

Hylozoism

2005-03-13T09:20:00.000-08:00

(from Greek hyle, “matter”; zoe, “life”), in philosophy, any system that views all matter as alive, either in itself or by participation in the operation of a world soul or some similar principle. Hylozoism is logically distinct both from early forms of animism, which personify nature, and from panpsychism, which attributes some form of consciousness or sensation to all

Ibn Al-farid

2005-03-10T14:04:00.000-08:00

Son of a Syrian-born inheritance-law functionary, Ibn al-Farid studied for a legal career but abandoned law for a solitary religious life in the Muqattam hills near Cairo. He spent some years in or near Mecca, where he met the renowned Sufi as-Suhrawardi of

North Africa, History Of, Carthaginian supremacy

2005-03-08T08:39:00.000-08:00

By the 5th century BC, active military participation by Tyre in the west had doubtlessly ceased; from the latter half of the 6th century Tyre was under Persian rule. Carthage thus became the leader of the western Phoenicians and in the 5th century formed an empire of its own, centred on North Africa, which included existing Phoenician settlements, new ones founded by Carthage

Turaco

2005-03-07T10:02:00.000-08:00

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

Metasomatic Replacement

2005-03-04T05:43:00.000-08:00

The process of simultaneous solution and deposition whereby one mineral replaces another. It is an important process in the formation of epigenetic mineral deposits (those formed after the formation of the host rock), in the formation of high- and intermediate-temperature hydrothermal ore deposits, and in supergene sulfide enrichment (enriched by generally

Light-year

2005-03-03T14:38:00.000-08:00

In astronomy, the distance traveled by light moving in a vacuum in the course of one year, at its accepted velocity of 299,792,458 metres per second (186,282 miles per second). A light-year equals about 9.46053 ´ 1012 km (5.878 ´ 1012 miles), or 63,240 astronomical units. About 3.262 light-years equal one parsec (q.v.).

Antananarivo

2005-02-28T20:16:00.000-08:00

Formerly Tananarive, town and national capital of Madagascar, central Madagascar island. It was founded in the 17th century and was the capital of the Hova chiefs. It stands on a high hill. Avenues and flights of steps lead up to a rocky ridge (4,694 feet [1,431 m]) on which stands the Royal Estate, with towered palaces built by the Imerina kings who captured the town in 1794 and ruled until the end of the 19th century.

Talleyrand(-périgord), Charles-maurice De, Prince De Bénévent

2005-02-26T20:35:00.000-08:00

French statesman and diplomat noted for his capacity for political survival, who held high office during the French Revolution, under Napoleon, at the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, and under King Louis-Philippe.

Nebuchadrezzar Ii

2005-02-24T22:03:00.000-08:00

Nebuchadrezzar II was the oldest son and successor of Nabopolassar, founder of the Chaldean empire. He is known from cuneiform inscriptions, the Bible and later Jewish sources,

Puerto Cabello

2005-02-22T22:39:00.000-08:00

Port city, northern Carabobo state, north-central Venezuela, situated on the Caribbean Sea. In colonial times, the waters of its well-protected harbour were said to be so smooth that a single hair (Spanish cabello) could moor a vessel to the dock, hence the name. The settlement has played a prominent part in Venezuelan history as a target of pirate attacks, a smuggling centre,

Anthony Of Padua, Saint

2005-02-20T17:39:00.000-08:00

Anthony also spelled Antony , Italian Sant'Antonio da Padova , original name Fernando Franciscan friar, doctor of the church, and patron of the poor. Baptized Ferdinand, he joined the Augustinian canons (1210) and probably became a priest. In 1220 he joined the Franciscan order, hoping to preach to the Saracens and be martyred. Instead, he taught theology at Bologna, Italy, and at Montpellier,

Heinemann, Barbara

2005-02-20T05:51:00.000-08:00

The Community of True Inspiration had been founded in 1714 by Pietistic mystics and was revived later by Michael Krausert and Christian Metz. In 1818 Heinemann was “illuminated” with a sense of religious calling. She subsequently

Romania, The Slavs

2005-02-18T15:14:00.000-08:00

For nearly eight centuries after the withdrawal of the Roman administration and army, Dacia was overrun by a series of migratory peoples. The earliest of them—the Visigoths (275–376), the Huns (end of the 4th century to 454), and the Germanic Gepidae (454–567)—had little impact on the Daco-Roman population. But the Avars' defeat of the Gepidae in 567 opened the way for a massive advance of Slavs into

Lopes, Fernão

2005-02-18T14:36:00.000-08:00

Nothing certain is known of Lopes' early

Jet Stream

2005-02-16T20:50:00.000-08:00

Any of several long, narrow high-speed air currents that flow eastward in a generally horizontal zone in the stratosphere or upper troposphere. Jet streams are characterized by wind motions that generate strong vertical shearing action, which is thought to be largely responsible for the clear air turbulence so hazardous to aircraft. They also are associated

Atbasar

2005-02-16T11:22:00.000-08:00

City, north-central Kazakstan, on the Zhabay River. Founded as a Cossack settlement in 1846, it became known for its annual fair. Atbasar is now a railway junction and a centre for processing local grain and livestock. Pop. (1991 est.) 40,000.

Biblical Literature, Protestantism

2005-02-15T14:09:00.000-08:00

The term Protestant covers so wide a variety of theological views and religious and cultural groups and so many different ways of worshipping and using the Bible in worship that it is virtually impossible to say anything about the liturgy or the Bible's place in worship that would be true of all Protestants. Among Anglicans, what was said of the Bible in the Roman

Saigon, Treaty Of

2005-02-13T17:53:00.000-08:00

Under the terms of the agreement, the French received Saigon and three of the southern provinces of Cochinchina, the opening of three ports to trade, freedom of missionary

Ploidy

2005-02-13T10:24:00.000-08:00

In genetics, the number of chromosomes occurring in the nucleus of a cell. In normal somatic (body) cells, the chromosomes exist in pairs. The condition is called diploidy. During meiosis the cell produces gametes, or germ cells, each containing half the normal or somatic number of chromosomes. This condition is called haploidy. When two germ cells (e.g., egg and sperm) unite,

Animal, Critical appraisal

2005-02-12T02:22:00.000-08:00

This classification includes only extant groups. Because the aschelminths have not been studied adequately by modern methods, there is no consensus on their classification, and the system used here differs in some respects from that in the article aschelminth. The classification in this article is based on morphological work carried out in the late 1980s and remains

Rommel, Erwin

2005-02-10T17:04:00.000-08:00

Less than a year later, in February 1941, Rommel was appointed commander of the German troops dispatched to aid the all but defeated Italian army in Libya. The deserts of North Africa became the scene of his greatest successes—and of his defeat at the hands of a vastly superior enemy. In the North African theatre of war, the “Desert Fox,” as he came to be called by both friend and

Bohemond Vii

2005-02-10T06:46:00.000-08:00

The son of Bohemond VI by Sibyl, sister of Leo III of Armenia, he succeeded to the county of Tripoli in 1275, with his mother as regent. He had trouble with the Templars, who were established in Tripoli; and in the very year of his death he lost Laodicea to the sultan of Egypt. He died without issue, and within two years Tripoli was captured by the Egyptians

Honduras, Gulf Of

2005-02-09T20:39:00.000-08:00

Also called Bay Of Honduras, wide inlet of the Caribbean Sea, indenting the coasts of Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize. It extends from Dangriga (formerly Stann Creek), Belize, southeastward to La Ceiba, Honduras, a straight-line distance between the two localities of about 115 miles (185 km). The gulf receives many rivers, including the Ulúa and the Motagua, and it contains the reefs known as the Pelican Cays

Canary Current

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

Also called Canaries Current, part of a clockwise-setting ocean-current system in the North Atlantic Ocean. It branches south from the North Atlantic Current and flows southwestward along the northwest coast of Africa as far south as Senegal before turning westward to eventually join the Atlantic North Equatorial Current. The cool temperature of the water is produced by upwelling caused

Beardsley, Aubrey

2005-02-06T15:07:00.000-08:00

Drawing was a strong interest from early childhood, and Beardsley practiced it while earning his living as a clerk. Beardsley's meeting with the English artist Sir Edward Burne-Jones

Kinguélé

2005-02-04T18:34:00.000-08:00

Waterfall and site of a hydroelectric complex on the Mbei River of Gabon. Kinguélé is situated near Kango and is about 95 miles (150 km) by road east of Libreville, the national capital. There are actually two sets of waterfalls. The upper Kinguélé falls drop a total of 115 feet (35 m) in three consecutive leaps. The larger, lower falls drop 148 feet (45 m). Below the lower falls, the Mbei River continues

T'ien-t'ai

2005-02-04T11:55:00.000-08:00

The chief scripture of the school is the Lotus Sutra (Chinese: Fa-hua Ching; Sanskrit: Saddharmapu

Titus

2005-02-03T03:01:00.000-08:00

After service in Britain and Germany, Titus commanded a legion under his father, Vespasian, in Judaea (67). Following the emperor Nero's death in June 68, Titus was energetic in promoting his father's candidacy for the imperial crown. Licinius Mucianus, legate of Syria, whom he reconciled with Vespasian, considered that

Capture

2005-02-01T18:16:00.000-08:00

In nuclear physics, process in which an atomic nucleus absorbs a smaller particle. See beta decay; neutron capture.

Tarde, Gabriel

2005-01-31T18:43:00.000-08:00

In full Jean-Gabriel De Tarde French sociologist and criminologist who was one of the most versatile social scientists of his time. His theory of social interaction (“intermental activity”) emphasized the individual in an aggregate of persons and brought Tarde into conflict with Émile Durkheim, who viewed society as a collective

Mercator, Gerardus

2005-01-31T01:55:00.000-08:00

Original name Gerard De Cremer, or Kremer? Flemish cartographer whose most important innovation was a map, embodying what was later known as the Mercator projection, on which parallels and meridians are rendered as straight lines spaced so as to produce at any point an accurate ratio of latitude to longitude. He also introduced

Aubusson, Pierre D'

2005-01-29T04:23:00.000-08:00

The son of French nobility, Aubusson joined the Knights of St. John c. 1453. The Knights, with their headquarters at Rhodes, held the island as a bar to Ottoman expansion in the Aegean. Aubusson became grand master of the order

China, Reorganization of the KMT

2005-01-27T08:24:00.000-08:00

The KMT held its First National Congress in Canton on Jan. 20–30, 1924. Borodin, who had reached Canton in October 1923, began to advise Sun in the reorganization of his party. He prepared a constitution and helped draft a party program as a set of basic national policies. Delegates from throughout China and from overseas branches of the party adopted the program and the new constitution.

Morales, Cristóbal De

2005-01-26T19:14:00.000-08:00

Morales's first post was as maestro de capilla at the cathedral at Ávila (1526–29). After a short stay at Plasencia he joined the papal choir in Rome (1535), where he remained

Mellon, Andrew W.

2005-01-25T22:26:00.000-08:00

After completing his studies at Western University (now the University of Pittsburgh), Mellon entered

Ryle, Sir Martin

2005-01-25T01:45:00.000-08:00

British radio astronomer who developed revolutionary radio telescope systems and used them for accurate location of weak radio sources. With improved equipment, he observed the most distant known galaxies of the universe. Ryle and Antony Hewish shared the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1974, the first Nobel prize

Mineral, Halides

2005-01-23T02:08:00.000-08:00

Members of this class are distinguished by the large-sized anions of the halogens chlorine, bromine, iodine, and fluorine. The ions carry a charge of negative one and easily become distorted in the presence of strongly charged bodies. When associated with rather large, weakly polarizing cations of low charge, such as those of the alkali metals, both anions and cations

Paulinus, Saint

2005-01-22T17:52:00.000-08:00

In 601 Paulinus was sent with St. Mellitus (later first bishop of London) and St. Justus (later first bishop of Rochester) to England by Pope St. Gregory I the Great to assist Archbishop

Gray, Simon

2005-01-22T17:27:00.000-08:00

Gray alternately lived in Canada and England, attending Westminster School in London; Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (B.A., 1957); and Trinity College, Cambridge (B.A.,

Metanephros

2005-01-21T03:06:00.000-08:00

Permanent kidney in reptiles, birds, and mammals, developing by the 10th week in human embryos from the lower part of the Wolffian duct, and replacing the embryonic structure called the mesonephros. It consists of a compact, paired organ containing many nephrons; a ureter separate from the Wolffian duct leads from the metanephros to the bladder.

Eck, Johann

2005-01-20T02:51:00.000-08:00

Early in his career Maier adopted the name of his home village, Egg (or Eck), as his surname. He studied at the universities of Heidelberg, Tübingen, Cologne, and Freiburg im Breisgau. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1508 and became a doctor

Coast Ranges

2005-01-18T05:23:00.000-08:00

Also called Pacific Coast Ranges, segment of the Pacific mountain system (q.v.) of western North America, consisting of a series of ranges in the United States running parallel to the Pacific coast for more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from west-central Washington in the north to southern California in the south. The Coast Ranges are separated from the higher mountains of the Cascade Range and the Sierra Nevada to

Algeria, Mining

2005-01-17T05:11:00.000-08:00

The main mining centres are at Ouenza and Djebel Onk near the eastern border with Tunisia and at El-Abed in the west, the latter the source of most of Algeria's zinc and lead production. Nearly all of the country's substantial output of high-grade iron ore from the open-cut works at Ouenza is used to supply the domestic steel industry. About one-third of Djebel Onk's phosphate

Mountain, The Andes

2005-01-17T02:20:00.000-08:00

The Nazca Plate, which underlies most of the southeastern Pacific, is being subducted beneath most of the west coast of South America at a rapid rate of 80 to 100 millimetres per year. A nearly continuous chain of volcanoes lines the margin of South America, and the world's tallest volcano, Ojos del Salado (6,893 metres), is one of these peaks. The Andean range, however, is more than just

Râmnicu Vâlcea

2005-01-13T18:49:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Rîmnicu Vîlcea, city, capital of Vâlcea judet (county), south-central Romania, on the Olt River. Documented as a town in the late 14th century, it was a local market town during the Middle Ages. Historic buildings in the city include the house of Anton Pann, folklorist and writer; a fortified church, Cetatuia; and the local museum, with art and history sections. Since World War II Râmnicu Vâlcea has

Hasa, Al-

2005-01-12T23:46:00.000-08:00

Arabic Al-Ahsa' oasis and region in eastern Saudi Arabia. Al-Hasa oasis, the largest oasis in Saudi Arabia, lies about 40 miles (65 km) west of the Persian Gulf. It has about 30,000 acres (12,000 hectares) of palm groves and other crops that are irrigated by the flow of 60 or more artesian springs. Many varieties of dates are grown on the more than 3 million trees in the oasis. The oasis's population consists of almost

Switzerland, Industrialization

2005-01-11T22:59:00.000-08:00

The 17th and 18th centuries were periods of peace and rising prosperity. Industry, which had existed in certain Swiss communities as far back as the 14th century, expanded, setting the foundation for future growth and diversification. Swiss neutrality during the Thirty Years' War was beneficial to the economy. The influx of refugees was particularly important in rehabilitating

Conservation

2005-01-11T16:17:00.000-08:00

Although the idea of conservation is probably as old as the human species, the use of the word in its present context is relatively recent. Over the years conservation

Padilla, Heberto

2005-01-09T13:41:00.000-08:00

After elementary and secondary education in his native province of Pinar del Río, Padilla studied law at the University of Havana but did not finish a degree. From 1949 to 1952 and 1956 to 1959, he lived in the United

Mujica Láinez, Manuel

2005-01-08T18:29:00.000-08:00

Mujica Láinez was descended from an Argentine family that included the writers Juan Cruz Varela and Miguel Cané. He was educated in

Thailand, Gulf Of

2005-01-08T05:36:00.000-08:00

Formerly Gulf Of Siam, inlet of the South China Sea bordering Thailand (southwest through north), Cambodia, and southern Vietnam (northeast). The Gulf of Thailand is 300 to 350 miles (500 to 560 km) wide and 450 miles (725 km) long. The Chao Phraya and Nakhon Chai Si rivers enter the gulf near its head. The main harbours in Thailand are located along the Gulf of Thailand at Bangkok, Pattani, Songkhla (Singgora), Pak Phanang

Saarinen, Eero

2005-01-06T16:35:00.000-08:00

Like many contemporary architects, Saarinen was challenged by furniture design, especially the chair, which presents aesthetical and structural problems that are particularly difficult to solve. In 1941 he and the designer-architect Charles Eames won a national furniture award for a chair design in molded plywood. In 1948 Saarinen created a womblike chair using a glass

Vulgate

2005-01-05T15:25:00.000-08:00

(from the Latin editio vulgata: “common version”), Latin Bible used by the Roman Catholic Church, primarily translated by St. Jerome. In 382 Pope Damasus commissioned Jerome, the leading biblical scholar of his day, to produce an acceptable Latin version of the Bible from the various translations then being used. His revised Latin translation of the Gospels appeared about

Saint Bartholomew's Hospital

2005-01-05T04:40:00.000-08:00

Byname Bart's or Saint Bart's, oldest hospital in London. It lies just southeast of the Central Markets in the Smithfield area of the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by the Augustinian monk Rahere, who also founded the adjacent priory (the surviving part of which is now the church of Saint Bartholomew-the-Great). In 1381 Wat Tyler, the leader of the Peasant's Revolt, was brought to the hospital for treatment

Canadian High

2005-01-03T02:41:00.000-08:00

Also called Alaskan high large atmospheric high-pressure centre produced by the extremely low winter temperatures over northwestern Canada. Its cold, dense air does not extend above 3 km (2 miles). The high's location east of the Canadian Rockies shelters it from the relatively warm Pacific Ocean and helps it maintain its identity. Its average January sea level pressure is 1,020 millibars (30.12 inches

Garrett

2005-01-01T09:30:00.000-08:00

County, extreme western Maryland, U.S., lying between West Virginia to the west and south and Pennsylvania to the north. Parklands and lakes occupy one-fifth of the county area. Waterways such as the Casselman, Savage, and Youghiogheny rivers as well as Deep Creek Lake, the state's largest freshwater lake, line the valleys of the Allegheny Mountains. Backbone

Cariboo Mountains

2005-01-01T01:59:00.000-08:00

Range in eastern British Columbia, Canada, forming the northern subdivision of the Columbia Mountains. The Cariboo Mountains lie within an area enclosed by the great bend of the Fraser River and its tributary, the North Thompson. The mountains extend for about 190 miles (305 km) and parallel the Rocky Mountain Trench, which separates them from the Canadian Rockies. From Mount

Garrett

2004-12-31T09:37:00.000-08:00

The economic policy of the government of the Soviet Union from 1921 to 1928, representing a temporary retreat from its previous policy of extreme centralization and doctrinaire socialism. The policy of War Communism, in effect since 1918, had by 1921 brought the national economy to the point of total breakdown. The Kronshtadt Rebellion of March 1921 convinced the Communist Party and

Cellulose Acetate

2004-12-30T16:09:00.000-08:00

Original name Acetate Rayon, also called Acetate, man-made textile fibre produced from the plant substance cellulose, which is obtained from soft woods or the short fibres adhering to cotton seeds (linters) and treated with acetic acid and acetic anhydride, and then partially hydrolyzed so that the product, secondary acetate, is soluble in acetone. It forms a cellulose acetate solution that is extruded through

Pytheas

2004-12-28T22:58:00.000-08:00

Sailing from the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic, Pytheas stopped at the Phoenician city of

Tribonian

2004-12-28T04:02:00.000-08:00

From 530 to 532, and from 534 until his death, Tribonian served as Justinian's quaestor sacri

Hannum, Alex

2004-12-26T10:36:00.000-08:00

American basketball coach (b. July 19, 1923, Los Angeles, Calif.—d. Jan. 18, 2002, San Diego, Calif.), was the first coach to win championships in both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the American Basketball Association (ABA); he was also one of only two coaches ever to win NBA titles with two different teams. Hannum played professional basketball from 1948 to 1957. He then became the head coach

Endocrine System, Human

2004-12-26T08:02:00.000-08:00

It is important to

Malachowski, Stanislaw

2004-12-25T13:48:00.000-08:00

The son of Jan Malachowski, the royal grand chancellor, Malachowski was named marshal (speaker) of the Sejm (Diet) in 1788. He was the prime force behind a constitution, adopted in 1791, that embodied such modern western European

China, Phase two: stalemate and stagnation

2004-12-23T19:43:00.000-08:00

During the second stage of the war (1939–43) the battle lines changed very little, although there were many engagements of limited scale. Japan tried to bomb Free China into submission; Chungking suffered repeated air raids in which thousands of civilians were killed. In 1940 Japan set up a rival government in Nanking under Wang Ching-wei. But the Chinese would not submit. Hundreds

Piero Di Cosimo,

2004-12-23T18:19:00.000-08:00

His name derives from that of his master, Cosimo Rosselli, whom he assisted (1481) in the frescoes “Crossing of the Red Sea” and “Sermon on the Mount” in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. There he saw the frescoes of Sandro Botticelli and Domenico Ghirlandajo,

Dysphagia

2004-12-20T13:37:00.000-08:00

Difficulty or pain in swallowing, caused by lesions or stricture of the upper digestive tract, obstruction of the upper digestive tract by tumours or foreign bodies, or disturbances in the nervous or muscular control of swallowing. Obstruction of the esophagus is the most common cause of dysphagia. People with dysphagia may experience a sensation that food or

Frederick Iii

2004-12-19T11:22:00.000-08:00

King of Prussia and German emperor for 99 days in 1888, during which time he was a voiceless invalid, dying of throat cancer. Although influenced by liberal, constitutional, and middle-class ideas, he retained a

Bouchardon, Edmé

2004-12-18T04:37:00.000-08:00

Bouchardon studied with Guillaume Coustou and in 1722 won the Prix de Rome. For the next 10 years he lived in Rome, executing marble replicas of antique statues as well as numerous

Itard, Jean-marc-gaspard

2004-12-17T01:34:00.000-08:00

Itard was originally marked for the banking profession, but, when the French Revolution intervened, he became a military surgeon, initially attached to Napoleon's famous surgeon Baron Larrey. After meeting the Abbé Sicard, the director of a school for

Lenard, Philipp

2004-12-15T06:38:00.000-08:00

After working as a lecturer and as an assistant to Heinrich

World War I, The end of the German War

2004-12-14T02:47:00.000-08:00

Georg von Hertling, who had taken the place of Michaelis as Germany's chancellor in November 1917 but had proved no more capable than he of restraining Ludendorff and Hindenburg, tendered his resignation on Sept. 29, 1918, the day of the Bulgarian armistice and of the major development of the British attack on the Western Front. Pending the appointment of a new chancellor, Ludendorff

Crocidolite

2004-12-13T16:40:00.000-08:00

Crocidolite is often replaced

Mandalgovi

2004-12-12T10:59:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Mandal Gobi, town, central Mongolian People's Republic. The town is located on the transition zone of scattered bunch grass of the great Gobi (desert) about 186 miles (300 km) south of Ulaanbaatar, the national capital. The area's economy is dominated by animal husbandry, as the terrain and climate are too harsh for agriculture. Sheep, cattle, and goats survive on the scanty vegetation. Light

Graves, Robert (von Ranke)

2004-12-11T17:10:00.000-08:00

English poet, novelist, critic, and classical scholar who carried on many of the formal traditions of English verse in a period of experimentation. His more than 120 books also include a notable historical novel, I, Claudius (1934); an autobiographical classic of World War I, Good-Bye to All That (1929; rev. ed. 1957); and erudite, controversial studies in

Trachea

2004-12-11T10:40:00.000-08:00

In vertebrates and invertebrates, a tube or system of tubes that carries air. In insects, a few land arachnids, and myriapods, the trachea is an elaborate system of small, branching tubes that carry oxygen to individual body cells; in most land vertebrates, the trachea is the windpipe, which conveys air from the larynx to the two main

Kahn, Herman

2004-12-10T06:05:00.000-08:00

Kahn graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1945. Over the next three years he worked for several aircraft-manufacturing companies and completed his master's degree at the California Institute of Technology.

Eye, Human, The aqueous humour

2004-12-08T21:47:00.000-08:00

The aqueous humour is a clear colourless fluid with a chemical composition rather similar to that of blood plasma (the blood exclusive of its cells) but lacking the high protein content of the latter. Its main function is to keep the globe reasonably firm. It is secreted continuously by the ciliary body into the posterior chamber, and flows as a gentle stream through

Succinic Acid

2004-12-08T16:55:00.000-08:00

Succinic acid was first obtained as a distillation product of amber (Latin: succinum), for which it is named. The

Ghassulian Culture

2004-12-07T05:49:00.000-08:00

Archaeological stage dating to the Middle Chalcolithic Period in southern Palestine (c. 3800–c. 3350 BC). Its type-site, Tulaylat al-Ghassul, is located in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea in modern Jordan and was excavated (1929–38) by the Jesuits. The Ghassulian stage was characterized by small settlements of farming peoples, immigrants from the north, who built mud-brick, trapezoid-shaped

Punic War, Second

2004-12-05T17:38:00.000-08:00

In the years after the First Punic War, Rome wrested Corsica and Sardinia from Carthage and forced Carthaginians to pay an even greater indemnity than the payment exacted immediately following the war. Eventually,

Okene

2004-12-05T05:42:00.000-08:00

Town, Kogi state, south-central Nigeria. It lies at the intersection of roads from Lokoja, Kabba, Ikare, Ajaokuta, and Anchi. Originally founded on a hill near the present site, it now lies in the valley of the Ubo River, which is a minor tributary of the Niger River. The town is a major trade centre for the yams, cassava, corn (maize), sorghum, beans, peanuts (groundnuts), palm oil and

Zalaegerszeg

2004-12-03T19:41:00.000-08:00

Town and seat of Zala megye (county), western Hungary. It lies on the right bank of the Zala River. The town was of medieval origin and was a frontier fort in Hungary's wars with Turkey (16th–17th century). It was never occupied by the Turks. The town's notable buildings include the Göcsej Museum, with a rich historical and ethnographic collection; the twin-spired Baroque parish

Lorant, Stefan

2004-12-03T05:56:00.000-08:00

Lorant attended the Academy of Economics in Budapest and then worked as a director, cameraman, and editor of films in Vienna and Berlin. From 1926 to 1933 he was editor in

Mclean, Alice Throckmorton

2004-12-01T17:02:00.000-08:00

McLean traveled widely as a child, mastered several languages, and was educated privately. An early marriage

Johannesburg

2004-12-01T02:29:00.000-08:00

One of the youngest of the world's major cities, Johannesburg was founded in 1886, following the discovery of gold. The city was initially part of the Transvaal, an independent Afrikaner, or Boer, republic that later became one of the four provinces of South Africa. Today the

Tannenberg, Battle Of

2004-11-29T21:11:00.000-08:00

Polish and Lithuanian forces proceeding toward

Plasma, Extraterrestrial forms

2004-11-29T04:49:00.000-08:00

It has been suggested that the universe originated as a violent explosion about 10 billion years ago and initially consisted of a fireball of completely ionized hydrogen plasma. Irrespective of the truth of this, there is little matter in the universe now that does not exist in the plasma state. The observed stars are composed of plasmas, as are interstellar and interplanetary

Chrissie, Lake

2004-11-27T08:53:00.000-08:00

The lake lies in the farming region known as New Scotland, which was settled about 1866 by Alexander McCorkindale.

Lathrop, Julia Clifford

2004-11-27T02:04:00.000-08:00

Lathrop attended Vassar College, graduating in 1880. Over the next 10 years she worked in her father's law office and interested herself in various reform movements. In 1890 she moved to Chicago and joined Jane Addams at the newly established Hull House settlement.

Yale University

2004-11-25T20:11:00.000-08:00

Private university in New Haven, Conn., one of the Ivy League schools. It was founded in 1701 and is the third oldest university in the United States. Yale was originally chartered by the colonial legislature of Connecticut as the Collegiate School and was held at Killingworth and other locations. In 1716 the school was moved to New Haven, and in 1718 it was renamed Yale College in honour

Irish Rebellion

2004-11-25T16:10:00.000-08:00

During 1795 an alliance between radicals and discontented sections of the working class had brought a new association of United Irishmen into being; it was secret and organized on military lines and aimed at a radical reform of the Irish Parliament and “a national

Sanger, Margaret

2004-11-24T00:27:00.000-08:00

The sixth of 11 children, she attended Claverack College and then took nurse's training in New York at the White Plains Hospital and the Manhattan Eye and Ear Clinic. She was married

Arabian Sea

2004-11-23T15:39:00.000-08:00

To medieval Arabs the Arabian Sea was known as the Sea of India or as part of the “Great Sea,” from which smaller gulfs such as the Sea of Faris (Persian Gulf) or Sea of Kolzum (Red Sea) were distinguished. From about the 8th or 9th century onward, Arab and Persian seafarers learned to use the surface currents propelled by the summer and winter monsoon winds. Detailed navigational

Pauli Exclusion Principle

2004-11-21T22:24:00.000-08:00

Subatomic

Athanaric

2004-11-20T19:58:00.000-08:00

Visigothic chieftain from 364 to 376 who fiercely persecuted the Christians in Dacia (approximately modern Romania). The persecutions occurred between 369 and 372; his most important victim was St. Sabas the Goth. In 376 Athanaric was defeated by the Huns. He fled with a few followers to Transylvania (region in present-day Romania), but the bulk of his people, led by Fritigern, fled to the

Heterophony

2004-11-18T19:32:00.000-08:00

In music, texture resulting from simultaneous performances of melodic variants of the same tune, typical of Middle Eastern practices as well as of a vast array of folk music. Balkan Slavic epic singers, for example, accompany themselves heterophonically on the gusle (fiddle). In Persian art music, instrumentalists are expected to vary the singers' improvised lines.