BitterCastle

Estate Agent Fitzrovia

2006-10-25T19:05:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services. They are a specialist in estate agent fitzrovia, amongst other London areas such as Soho and Oxford Circus.

Downey, June Etta

2005-03-30T21:55:00.000-08:00

Downey graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1895. After a year of teaching school in Laramie, she resumed her education at the University of Chicago, where in 1898 she took a master's degree in philosophy and

Parallel Bars

2005-03-29T20:22:00.000-08:00

In gymnastics

Canary Islands

2005-03-29T00:31:00.000-08:00

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

Wheeler, William A(lmon)

2005-03-28T16:43:00.000-08:00

He was nominated as vice president in order to lend sectional balance to the ticket, and in his acceptance letter he alluded to the need to end Reconstruction, as Hayes subsequently did. Wheeler ran on a platform favouring administrative integrity, civil service reform, and aid to education in the South. Distracted by health and personal problems—his wife died just prior to the Republican convention in 1876—he retired from public life after his term in office was over.

Mclean, Alice Throckmorton

2005-03-27T22:32:00.000-08:00

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

Ashland

2005-03-27T07:30:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1860) of Ashland county, extreme northern Wisconsin, U.S. It is a port on Chequamegon Bay of Lake Superior. A Jesuit mission was established there in 1665, but not until 1854 did Asaph Whittlesey settle the site, which he named for Henry Clay's Kentucky estate. In 1877 Ashland became the terminus of the first railroad of northern Wisconsin and developed with iron-mining and lumbering

Nichiren

2005-03-25T18:25:00.000-08:00

Original name Zennichi, also called Zenshobo Rencho, posthumous name Rissho Daishi militant Japanese Buddhist prophet who contributed significantly to the adaptation of Buddhism to the Japanese mentality and who remains one of the most controversial and influential figures in Japanese Buddhist history. After an exhaustive study of the various forms of Buddhism, he concluded (in 1253) that the Lotus Sutra teaching

Trade Union

2005-03-25T16:45:00.000-08:00

The

Milkweed

2005-03-25T13:12:00.000-08:00

Any of several species of flowering plants belonging to the family Asclepiadaceae (q.v.).

Ekistics

2005-03-23T23:56:00.000-08:00

Science of human settlements. Ekistics involves the descriptive study of all kinds of human settlements and the formulation of general conclusions aimed at achieving harmony between the inhabitants of a settlement and their physical and sociocultural environments. Descriptive study involves the examination of the content, such as man alone or in societies,

Rovigo

2005-03-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

Landmarks include the octagonal Church of the Beata Vergine del Soccorso (1594), called La Rotonda, with paintings

'abdali Sultanate

2005-03-23T01:39:00.000-08:00

Former semi-independent state in the southern Arabian Peninsula, in what is now Yemen. Located just north of Aden city, it was one of the most important tribal areas of the Aden Protectorate, which was the forerunner of independent Yemen (Aden); its capital was Lahij. The sultanate was earlier tributary to western Yemen (i.e., Yemen [San'a']) but gained its independence in 1728. The 'Abdali

Diamond Cutting

2005-03-22T14:40:00.000-08:00

From the girdler the diamond goes to the lapper, or blocker, who specializes in placing the first 18 main facets on a brilliant-cut diamond. It then goes to the brillianteer, the worker who places and polishes the remaining 40 facets, if the stone is being cut in the standard 58-facet brilliant cut. Placing and polishing are done by setting the stone either in a lead dop or a mechanical

Yevtushenko, Yevgeny (aleksandrovich)

2005-03-21T21:45:00.000-08:00

Yevtushenko, a fourth-generation

Fibre, Man-made, Cellulose-based polymers

2005-03-21T07:23:00.000-08:00

In unaltered native cellulose, X represents hydrogen, forming a number of pendant hydroxyl (OH) groups. Hydroxyl groups, like amides, are capable of forming hydrogen

Iligan

2005-03-20T04:26:00.000-08:00

City, northern Mindanao, Philippines. On the southeastern shore of Iligan Bay, it is the island's major industrial city and an important port at the mouth of the Iligan River. Its growth has stemmed largely from the proximity of the Agus River, with its great hydropower potential harnessed at Maria Cristina Falls. Industries include steel, calcium-carbide, and ferroalloy

Aesthetics

2005-03-20T00:57:00.000-08:00

Thomas Munro, Oriental Aesthetics (1965), includes a comparison of Eastern and Western attitudes and beliefs (with many bibliographic notes). Other informative studies are Indian Aesthetics and Art Activity (1968); Mai-Mai Sze, The Tao of Painting, 2nd ed. with corrections, 2 vol. (1963); and Makoto Ueda, Literary and Art Theories in Japan (1967, reissued 1991).

çanak, Treaty Of

2005-03-19T08:36:00.000-08:00

Implicitly directed

Mahdist

2005-03-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

The Mahdists rose

Orwell, George

2005-03-18T11:48:00.000-08:00

Born Eric Arthur Blair, Orwell never entirely abandoned his original name, but his first book (Down and Out in Paris and London) appeared as the work

Scheffel, Joseph Victor Von

2005-03-18T03:25:00.000-08:00

Scheffel's father was a Baden army engineer, and

Waddington, William Henry

2005-03-17T04:06:00.000-08:00

The son of an English manufacturer living in France

Hadith

2005-03-17T03:44:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Hadit (Arabic: “news,” or “story”) record of the traditions or sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, revered and received as a major source of religious law and moral guidance, second only to the authority of the Qur'an, or scripture of Islam. It might be defined as the biography of Muhammad perpetuated by the long memory of his community for their exemplification and obedience. The development of Hadith is a vital

Biblical Literature, Isaiah

2005-03-16T03:39:00.000-08:00

The Book of Isaiah, comprising 66 chapters, is one of the most profound theological and literarily expressive works in the Bible. Compiled over a period of about two centuries (the latter half of the 8th to the latter half of the 6th century BCE), the Book of Isaiah is generally divided by scholars into two (sometimes three) major sections, which are called First Isaiah (chapters

Gehry, Frank O.

2005-03-15T13:12:00.000-08:00

Gehry's family immigrated to Los Angeles in 1947. He studied architecture at the University of Southern California (1949–51; 1954) and city planning at Harvard University (1956–57). After working for several architectural firms, he established his

Allegany

2005-03-15T08:34:00.000-08:00

County, southwestern New York state, U.S., bordered to the south by Pennsylvania and comprising a region of moderate relief. The principal waterways are the Genesee River and Rushford and Cuba lakes. Public lands include the Oil Spring Indian Reservation and state wildlife management areas at Hanging Bog, Rattlesnake Hill, and Keaney Swamp. The main forest types are

Baha'i Faith

2005-03-14T09:11:00.000-08:00

Religion founded in Iran in the mid-19th century by Mirza Hoseyn 'Ali Nuri, who is known as Baha' Ullah (Arabic: “Glory of God”). The cornerstone of Baha'i belief is the conviction that Baha' Ullah and his forerunner, who was known as the Bab, were manifestations of God, who in his essence is unknowable. The principal Baha'i tenets are the essential unity of all religions and the unity of humanity.

Interior Design, Construction

2005-03-13T21:12:00.000-08:00

The actual building of the interior, be it a renovation or a new construction, needs considerable supervision by the designer, although constant on-site supervision is not always required. For an office or residence, a few visits may be sufficient. The thoroughness of working drawings and details influences the degree of supervision that is needed: the more complete

Augustan History

2005-03-13T06:35:00.000-08:00

The work is incomplete in its surviving form (it probably originally began with one of Hadrian's predecessors, Nerva or Trajan), and its original title is unknown. Its authorship and date of composition are also matters of argument.

Gauguin, Paul

2005-03-13T03:23:00.000-08:00

In full Eugène-Henri-Paul Gauguin French painter, printmaker, and sculptor who sought to achieve a “primitive” expression of spiritual and emotional states in his work. The artist, whose work has been categorized as Post-Impressionist, Synthetist, and Symbolist, is particularly well known for his creative

Iqbal, Sir Muhammad

2005-03-12T23:21:00.000-08:00

Indian poet and philosopher, known for his influential efforts to direct his fellow Muslims toward the establishment of a separate Muslim state, an aspiration that was eventually realized in the country of Pakistan. He was knighted in 1922.

Gadsden, James

2005-03-12T16:41:00.000-08:00

He graduated from Yale College in 1806 and engaged in business in his native city until 1812, when he was appointed a lieutenant of engineers in the U.S. Army. In 1820 he was made responsible for the establishment of military posts in Florida and supervised

Moseley Braun, Carol

2005-03-12T09:50:00.000-08:00

Carol Moseley attended the University of Illinois at Chicago (B.A., 1969) and received a law degree from the University of Chicago (1972). She married Michael Braun in 1973 (divorced 1986) and worked as an assistant U.S. attorney before her election to the Illinois

Scandinavian Literature, Post-classical literature in Iceland

2005-03-12T08:46:00.000-08:00

In the period following the classical age, little was written that attracted attention outside Iceland. Realism and detached objectivity declined, and sentimentality and fantasy gained the upper hand. The decline in literary standards is sometimes attributed to Iceland's loss of independence in 1262 and the changes that followed. Interest in earlier manuscripts

Aesthetics

2005-03-10T23:56:00.000-08:00

Aesthetics is broader in scope than the philosophy of art, which comprises one of its branches. It deals not only with the nature and value of the arts but also with those responses to natural objects that find expression in the language of the beautiful and the ugly. A problem is encountered at the outset, however, for terms such as beautiful and ugly seem too vague in

Tefé

2005-03-10T06:22:00.000-08:00

City, central Amazonas estado (“state”), northwestern Brazil. Founded by missionaries as Nogueira in the 17th century and also called Ega at one time, Tefé lies on the left (north) bank of the portion of the Amazon River known as the Solimões, on the lake formed by the mouth of the Tefé River. River steamers and hydroplanes use facilities at Tefé, which ships Brazil nuts, tobacco,

Pyran

2005-03-10T03:27:00.000-08:00

Any of a class of organic compounds of the heterocyclic series in which five carbon atoms and one oxygen atom are present in a ring structure. Of two possible simple pyran compounds, only one is known; it was prepared in 1962 and found to be very unstable. Among the stable members of this family is tetrahydropyran, made by hydrogenating the dihydro compound. Sugars often

Terminal Velocity

2005-03-09T09:22:00.000-08:00

Steady speed achieved by an object freely falling through a gas or liquid. A typical terminal velocity for a parachutist who delays opening the chute is about 150 miles (240 kilometres) per hour. Raindrops fall at a much lower terminal velocity, and a mist of tiny oil droplets settles at an exceedingly small terminal velocity. An object dropped from rest will increase its

Melanesian Culture

2005-03-08T23:58:00.000-08:00

The beliefs and practices of those indigenous peoples of the Pacific Islands grouped as Melanesia. The islands include (generally from west to east) the island of New Guinea, the Admiralty Islands, and the Bismarck and Louisiade archipelagoes; the Solomon Islands and the Santa Cruz Islands; New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands; Vanuatu (formerly New Hebrides); Fiji;

Lever Art Gallery

2005-03-08T17:47:00.000-08:00

In full Lady Lever Art Gallery, in Port Sunlight, a model village founded for workers in Bebington, Cheshire (now in Merseyside), Eng. The museum was a gift to the public of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme, as a memorial to his wife, who died in 1913. The building was begun in 1914 and opened in December 1922. The collection of works exhibited at the gallery was formed by Lord Leverhulme and records his personal taste, which

Korosten

2005-03-08T06:12:00.000-08:00

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

Cranston

2005-03-07T11:57:00.000-08:00

City, Providence county, central Rhode Island, U.S. It lies on the western shore of Narragansett Bay and adjoins Providence city. The first settlement was made on the Pawtuxet River in 1638 by William Arnold, an ancestor of Benedict Arnold and a compatriot of Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island colony. Separated from Providence in 1754, it became a town and was named for Samuel

Bothe, Walther

2005-03-06T13:05:00.000-08:00

Bothe taught at the universities of Berlin (1920–31), Giessen (1931–34), and Heidelberg (1934–57). In 1925 he and Hans Geiger used two Geiger counters to gather data on the Compton

Cylinder

2005-03-06T05:08:00.000-08:00

In mechanical engineering, chamber of an engine in which a piston moves. See piston and cylinder.

China, Neolithic Period

2005-03-05T15:00:00.000-08:00

The complex of developments in stone tool technology, food production and storage, and social organization that is often characterized as the “Neolithic Revolution” was in progress in China by at least the 6th millennium BC. Developments in the Chinese Neolithic were to establish some of the major cultural dimensions of the subsequent Bronze Age.

Cinquefoil

2005-03-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

(genus Potentilla), any of many flowering plants of the rose family (Rosaceae), comprising about 500 species of herbs and shrubs. The common name, which means “five-leaved,” refers to the number of leaflets in the compound leaf; some species, however, have three or seven leaflets. Most of the species are native to the North Temperate Zone and the Arctic and are

Ahikar, The Story Of

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

Negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union that were aimed at reducing those two countries' arsenals of nuclear warheads and of the missiles and bombers capable of delivering such weapons. The START negotiations were successors to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks of the 1970s. In resuming strategic-arms negotiations with the Soviet Union in

Asalluhe

2005-03-03T22:42:00.000-08:00

In Mesopotamian religion, Sumerian deity, city god of Ku'ara, near Eridu in the southern marshland region. Asalluhe was active with the god Enki (Akkadian: Ea) in rituals of lustration (purification) magic and was considered his son. He may have originally been a god of thundershowers and would thus have corresponded to the other Sumerian gods Ishkur and Ninurta. In incantations

Forel, Auguste-henri

2005-03-03T17:30:00.000-08:00

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

Pacific Ocean, The trade winds

2005-03-03T00:01:00.000-08:00

The trade winds of the Pacific represent the eastern and equatorial parts of the air circulation system; they originate in the subtropical high-pressure zones that are most pronounced, respectively, over the northeast and southeast Pacific between the 30th and 40th parallels N and S. The obliquity of the ecliptic (an angle of approximately 23 1/2° that is the difference between

Wagner, Cosima

2005-03-02T21:54:00.000-08:00

Cosima was the illegitimate daughter of the composer-pianist Franz Liszt and the countess Marie d'Agoult, who also bore Liszt two other children. Liszt later legitimatized their births; he also provided

Paraldehyde

2005-03-02T11:17:00.000-08:00

Also called paracetaldehyde colourless liquid of disagreeable taste and pungent odour used in medicine as a sedative–hypnotic drug and in chemistry in the manufacture of organic chemicals. When administered as a medicine, it is largely excreted by the lungs and gives an unpleasant odour to the breath. It is most useful for recalcitrant cases and is an older drug for treatment of acute alcoholic

Asthenia

2005-03-01T03:13:00.000-08:00

A condition in which the body lacks or has lost strength either as a whole or in any of its parts. General asthenia occurs in many chronic wasting diseases, such as anemia and cancer, and is probably most marked in diseases of the adrenal gland. Asthenia may be limited to certain organs or systems of organs, as in asthenopia, characterized by ready fatigability of vision,

Gammarid

2005-02-28T04:53:00.000-08:00

Any member of the family Gammaridae, the largest of 80 or so families that make up the crustacean order Amphipoda. The name is sometimes also used to refer to amphipods of the genus Gammarus. The body of a gammarid is of basic amphipod shape: it is flattened from side to side, with seven pairs of thoracic walking legs (the first two pairs often enlarged) and six pairs of abdominal

Jackson, Rachel

2005-02-28T00:52:00.000-08:00

As Rachel was reluctantly preparing to move to Washington, D.C., following Andrew's electoral victory in 1828—she said that she “would rather be a door-keeper in the house of God than to live in that palace in Washington”—she died of a heart attack. She was buried on the grounds of the Hermitage on Christmas Eve in what was to be her inaugural gown. A young niece, Emily Donelson, became the surrogate first lady; after Emily's death in 1836, Sarah Yorke Jackson, the wife of Andrew Jackson, Jr., became the official White House hostess.

Toledo, Alejandro

2005-02-27T23:49:00.000-08:00

On July 28, 2001, nearly five centuries after Europeans conquered the Incas—and after two years of campaigning—Alejandro Toledo was sworn in as Peru's first democratically elected president of Quechua ethnicity. Although easily half of Peruvians were Amerindians, the white and mestizo minorities had held the key to economic, scholastic, and political power since colonial

Italian Confederation Of Workers' Unions

2005-02-27T18:10:00.000-08:00

Italian Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori (CISL), Italy's second largest trade union federation. The CISL was formed in 1950 by the merger of the Free General Italian Confederation of Labour (Libera Confederazione Generale Italiana dei Lavoratori) and the Italian Federation of Labour (Federazione Italiana del Lavoro). From its founding it had strong ties with Roman Catholics and Christian Democrats. It vigorously

Maharashtra

2005-02-26T19:44:00.000-08:00

State of India that occupies a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau in the western peninsular part of the subcontinent. Its shape roughly resembles a triangle, with the 450-mile (725-kilometre) western coastline forming the base and the interior narrowing to a blunt apex some 500 miles to the east. It has an area of 118,809 square miles (307,713 square kilometres). It is bounded by the states

Cord Moss

2005-02-26T16:49:00.000-08:00

Any of the plants of the genus Funaria (order Bryales), distinguished by the spirally twisted seta (stalk) of the capsule (spore case). More than 100 species of Funaria are found in many habitats throughout the world, especially on limestone or recently burned areas. About nine species are present in North America; the most common is F. hygrometrica, which

Pole Of Inaccessibility

2005-02-26T15:47:00.000-08:00

The term is also used occasionally

Africa

2005-02-25T02:40:00.000-08:00

Initially, the province comprised the territory that had been subject to Carthage in 149 BC; this was an area of about 5,000 square miles (13,000 square km), divided from the kingdom of

East Hampton

2005-02-24T15:33:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Suffolk county, southeastern New York, U.S. It lies on the southern shore of Long Island, 100 miles (161 km) east of New York City, and includes East Hampton village and Gardiners Island. Settled in 1648 by English yeomen from Kent and first called Maidstone, the town prospered as a whaling and fishing centre. Several colonial homes have survived. Lyman Beecher, father

Vychegda River

2005-02-24T09:42:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Vycegda tributary of the Northern Dvina River, Komi republic and Arkhangelsk oblast (province), northwestern Russia. The river's length is 702 miles (1,130 km), and the area of its basin is 47,400 square miles (122,800 square km). The Vychegda rises on the slopes of the Timan Ridge and joins the Northern Dvina at Kotlas. Its course frequently is marked by marshes, lakes, cutoffs, and sandbanks, but it is navigable

Ostariophysan, Feeding habits

2005-02-23T20:03:00.000-08:00

The remarkable diversity of feeding habits among ostariophysians is associated with a fantastic variety of adaptations in mouth shapes and tooth types (especially in the suborder Characoidei) probably unsurpassed by any other group. At one extreme are certain cyprinids (e.g., Notropis atherinoides) with highly developed gill rakers that strain phytoplankton

Rosidae, The order Celastrales

2005-02-23T08:03:00.000-08:00

The Celastrales consists of up to 12 families and a little more than 2,000 species, of which Celastraceae, Hippocrateaceae, Aquifoliaceae, and Icacinaceae comprise the bulk of the order. The members are generally woody plants with simple leaves and regular flowers with fused petals. There is usually a single set of stamens that normally alternate with the petals. The order

Dubrovnik

2005-02-22T16:59:00.000-08:00

Italian Ragusa, port of Dalmatia in Croatia. Situated on the southern Adriatic coast, it is usually regarded as the most picturesque city on the Dalmatian coast. It occupies a promontory jutting into the sea under the bare limestone mass of Mount Srdj. The port's sea fortifications rise directly from the water's edge, and a massive round tower dominates the city on the landward

Subotica

2005-02-22T11:17:00.000-08:00

Hungarian Szabadka, town in the autonomous pokrajina (province) of Vojvodina in Serbia, Yugoslavia. It lies along the Belgrade–Budapest railway line near the Hungarian border. It is the market centre of the Backa, a fertile agricultural district in which paprika is a specialty. The town is also an industrial centre, with a large thermal-power station. Metal consumer goods, fertilizers, and

Alembert, Jean Le Rond D'

2005-02-22T09:11:00.000-08:00

His earlier literary and philosophical activity, however, led to the publication of his Mélanges de littérature, d'histoire et de philosophie (1753). This work contained the impressive Essai sur les gens de lettres, which exhorted writers to pursue “liberty, truth and poverty” and also urged aristocratic patrons to respect the talents and independence of such

Fenestella

2005-02-21T09:24:00.000-08:00

Genus of extinct bryozoans, small colonial animals, especially characteristic of the Early Carboniferous Period (360 to 320 million years ago). Close study of Fenestella reveals a branching network of structures with relatively large elliptical openings and smaller spherical openings that housed individual members of the colony. Fenestella was a marine form.

Bacillus

2005-02-20T19:46:00.000-08:00

(genus Bacillus), any of a group of rod-shaped, gram-positive, aerobic or (under some conditions) anaerobic bacteria widely found in soil and water. The term bacillus in a general sense has been applied to all cylindrical or rodlike bacteria. The largest species are about 2 mm (micrometres; 1 mm = 10-6 m) across by 7 mm long and frequently occur in chains. Bacillus species form dormant spores

Atlas Mountains, Transportation

2005-02-20T09:51:00.000-08:00

The massifs constitute an obstacle to traffic; roads and railroads traverse them by means of tunnels and viaducts, which are costly to build. Traffic between

Mahesh Yogi, Maharishi

2005-02-20T07:08:00.000-08:00

Little is known of the Maharishi's early life. He studied physics at the University of Allahabad and worked for a time in factories. He later left for the Himalayas, where for 13 years he studied under Guru Dev, the founder of TM. When Guru Dev died in 1952, the Maharishi organized

Yang Hsiung

2005-02-19T11:57:00.000-08:00

As a quiet and studious young man he came to admire and practice the fu form. When he was over 40 years of age he went to live in the Imperial capital, Ch'ang-an (Sian), where his reputation as a poet won him a position

Amylase

2005-02-18T19:31:00.000-08:00

Alpha-amylase is widespread

Kwangsi, Education

2005-02-18T17:12:00.000-08:00

A special educational feature in Kwangsi is the program for the education of national minorities. Minority languages are used for instruction in primary and middle schools, written scripts, such as that for Chuang, are developed for spoken minority languages wherever needed, minority teachers are trained, and government subsidies are provided for minority

Biblical Literature, The history of canonization

2005-02-18T13:55:00.000-08:00

Because no explicit or reliable traditions concerning the criteria of canonicity, the canonizing authorities, the periods in which they lived, or the procedure adopted have been preserved, no more than a plausible reconstruction of the successive stages involved can be provided. First, it must be observed that sanctity and canonization are not synonymous terms.

Spadebill

2005-02-17T22:22:00.000-08:00

Any of six species of New World flycatchers (family Tyrannidae, order Passeriformes) whose triangular bill is very broad and flat. The white-throated, or stub-tailed, spadebill (Platyrinchus mystaceus), scarcely 10 centimetres (4 inches) long, is the most widespread species; it inhabits forest undergrowth from southern Mexico to Argentina in southern South America.

Shifting Attitudes In A Changing World

2005-02-16T18:18:00.000-08:00

It was once said that "almost everything in history almost never happened"--a feeling, perhaps, that many of us have had about our own lives. When we look back, we often find an awkward chain of events that escapes logic, and only by willful disregard of such complicating factors as facts will we succeed in finding anything resembling a pattern or a plan guiding us. In westernized

Antaimoro

2005-02-16T10:22:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Antimorona, a Malagasy people living on and near the southeastern coast of Madagascar. Numbering about 350,000 in the late 20th century, the Antaimoro (“People of the Coast”) speak one of the Malagasy languages, a group of closely related Western Austronesian languages. Traditionally the Antaimoro were ruled by five families of Arabic origin who probably came to Madagascar at different

Louvet, Jean

2005-02-15T06:21:00.000-08:00

Louvet was the son of a miner. As a young man, he was influenced by Existentialism, and left-wing politics led him into work in the theatre. Strongly autobiographical, his work goes beyond ideology to embrace the history of the Walloon people of southern

Biblical Literature, II Enoch

2005-02-15T02:51:00.000-08:00

Similar in content is II Enoch, or The Book of the Secrets of Enoch, which is preserved only in an Old Slavonic translation. The oldest text does not contain any Christian additions nor any passage from which it could be concluded that the book was written in Greek. Thus, the book could have been written originally in Hebrew or Aramaic, probably in the 1st century CE. The hero

Blondel, André-eugène

2005-02-15T01:17:00.000-08:00

Blondel became a professor of electrotechnology at the School of Bridges and Highways and the School of Mines in Paris. In 1893 he invented the electromagnetic oscillograph, a device that allowed electrical

Abreu, Capistrano De

2005-02-14T16:52:00.000-08:00

After serving at the National Library of Rio de Janeiro (1875–83), Abreu became professor of history at the Colégio Dom Pedro II in 1883. Influenced by the sociology of Auguste Comte and Herbert Spencer and the historical enterprises of Henry

Azov, Sea Of

2005-02-14T03:03:00.000-08:00

Russian Azovskoye More, or Azovskoe More, inland sea situated off the southern shores of Ukraine and Russia. It forms a northern extension of the Black Sea, to which it is linked on the south by the Kerch Strait. The Sea of Azov is about 210 miles (340 km) long and 85 miles (135 km) wide and has an area of about 14,500 square miles (37,600 square km). Into the Sea of Azov flow the great Don and Kuban rivers and many lesser ones such as the Mius, the Berda,

Wolffian Duct

2005-02-14T00:13:00.000-08:00

In advanced vertebrates the Wolffian duct develops

Carnivore, Form and function

2005-02-12T23:56:00.000-08:00

The smallest living member of the Carnivora is the least weasel (Mustela nivalis), which weighs about two ounces. The largest terrestrial form is the Alaskan grizzly (Ursus arctos), weighing up to 780 kilograms (1700 pounds). The largest aquatic form is the elephant seal (Mirounga leonina), which may weigh 3,640 kilograms (four tons). Most carnivores weigh between four and eight kilograms

Gray, Elisha

2005-02-12T14:59:00.000-08:00

Gray invented a number of telegraphic devices and in 1869 was one of two partners who founded what became Western Electric Company. On Feb. 14, 1876, the day that Bell filed an application for a patent for a telephone, Gray

Furniture, Low Countries

2005-02-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

In the 16th century, Italian Renaissance ornament was adopted and transformed by artists and designers of northern Europe, particularly in northern Germany and the Low Countries, who created an independent style of decoration. Strapwork, cartouches, and grotesque masks are characteristic features of this northern Renaissance style, and are found repeatedly

Montagna, Bartolommeo

2005-02-12T05:53:00.000-08:00

His most important work is

Regeneration

2005-02-10T20:58:00.000-08:00

Organisms differ markedly in their ability to regenerate parts. Some grow a new structure on the stump of the old one. By such regeneration whole organisms may dramatically replace substantial portions of themselves when they have been cut in two, or may grow organs or

Asheboro

2005-02-10T18:13:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1796) of Randolph county, central North Carolina, U.S. It lies in the forested Uwharrie Mountains about 25 miles (40 km) south of Greensboro. Asheboro (originally Asheborough) was founded in 1796 on land that was once the home of Keyauwee Indians; a prehistoric Native American burial ground nearby was excavated in 1936. The name honours North Carolina Governor Samuel Ashe (1725–1813). The community

Lismore

2005-02-10T08:19:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern New South Wales, Australia, on the north arm of the Richmond River. It is situated between rainforest and sea, 18 miles (29 km) inland from the Pacific Ocean, and has its outport at Ballina. Ward Stephens first settled the site in 1843; it was later occupied by William Wilson and named by him, probably for the Scottish island of Lismore. It is a farm processing centre

Local Group

2005-02-10T07:38:00.000-08:00

In astronomy, the group of more than 20 galaxies to which the Milky Way Galaxy belongs. About half are elliptical galaxies, with the remainder being of the spiral or irregular type. As in other clusters of galaxies, members are probably kept from separating by their mutual gravitational attraction. The Milky Way system is near one end of the volume of space occupied by

Buenos Aires, Museums and libraries

2005-02-09T23:17:00.000-08:00

The city's museums—several of which are run by the municipal government—house varied collections. The Bernardino Rivadavia Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences has an exceptionally rich fossil collection and operates a scientific institute. The National Museum of Fine Arts contains collections of world masters and of Argentine painters and sculptors, while

Omagh

2005-02-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

District (established 1973), formerly in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It covers 434 square miles (1,125 square km) of rolling lowlands and hills and is bordered by the districts of Strabane to the north, Magherafelt and Cookstown to the east, Dungannon to the south, and Fermanagh to the west. Northern and eastern Omagh district includes relatively unproductive moorlands and

Schleicher, August

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

German linguist whose work in comparative linguistics was a summation of the achievements up to his time and whose methodology provided the direction for much subsequent research. He was influenced by the philosophy of G.W.F. Hegel, which he espoused during his student days at the University of Tübingen, and, later, by

San Francisco, Exploration and early settlement

2005-02-07T02:37:00.000-08:00

It is extraordinary that the site of San Francisco should have been explored first by land instead of from the sea, for San Francisco Bay is one of the most splendid natural harbours of the world, yet great captains and explorers—Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo (1542–43), Sir Francis Drake (1579), and Sebastián Vizcaíno (1602)—sailed unheeding past the entrance. In 1769 a scouting party from an expedition

Religious Symbolism And Iconography, Relation to the literary and visual arts

2005-02-06T20:19:00.000-08:00

Religious symbols and pictures may be identical with, related to, or similar to those of language (metaphors) and to pictorial expressions in prose and poetry. They are related in allegory, parable, fairy tales, fables, and legends in which they can appear in a form that is closely related to that of religious symbolism. Religious symbols are used in the plastic arts, in

Boito, Arrigo

2005-02-06T18:53:00.000-08:00

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