ConsciousSnow

Estate Agent Covent Garden

2006-10-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services. They are an estate agent covent garden amongst other London areas such as Soho and Oxford Circus.

Mauritania, Flag Of

2005-03-30T01:49:00.000-08:00

Although Mauritania includes both black African and Arab-Berber populations, the official symbolism of the nation's flag and coat of arms is associated with the latter. The flag's green background and its star and crescent are traditional Muslim symbols, in use for centuries. The design is of the conservative type common before the 20th century and still used by such

Johannsenite

2005-03-28T00:39:00.000-08:00

Silicate mineral in the pyroxene family. It has a molecular formula of Ca(Mn,Fe)Si2O6. A calcium-manganese-iron silicate mineral, johannsenite is produced either by metamorphic processes in altered limestones or is associated with pyrite or other minerals in copper, lead, and zinc ores. It is moderately hard, has a glassy lustre, and forms brown, gray, or green crystals

Guadalajara

2005-03-25T15:58:00.000-08:00

Guadalajara was founded in 1531 and was relocated several times in the following decade, under pressure from Indians. During the 16th century

Graziano, Rocky

2005-03-23T05:42:00.000-08:00

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

Giles, H.a.

2005-03-21T16:21:00.000-08:00

Educated at Charterhouse school, London, Giles joined the consular service and spent the years 1867–92 in various posts in China. Upon his return, he lived in Aberdeen, Scot.,

Ring-necked Snake

2005-03-19T18:52:00.000-08:00

(species Diadophis punctatus), sole species of snake in the genus Diadophis of the family Colubridae. There are about a dozen subspecies. Ring-necked snakes grow to a length of 60 cm (24 inches) and are usually found under logs or rocks in the western United States and across the Mexican plateau. Ring-necked snakes feed on insects, worms, frogs, lizards, salamanders, and smaller

Percussion Instrument

2005-03-18T22:44:00.000-08:00

Any musical instrument belonging to either of two groups, idiophones or membranophones. Idiophones are instruments whose own substance vibrates to produce sound (as opposed to the strings of a guitar or the air column of a flute); examples include bells, clappers, and rattles. Membranophones emit sound by the vibration of a stretched membrane; the prime examples

English Literature, Theatres in London and the provinces

2005-03-18T03:55:00.000-08:00

So the London theatres were a meeting ground of humanism and popular taste. They inherited, on the one hand, a tradition of humanistic drama current at court, the universities, and the Inns of Court (collegiate institutions responsible for legal education). This tradition involved the revival of classical plays and attempts to adapt Latin conventions to English,

Libraries And Museums

2005-03-16T22:54:00.000-08:00

Earlier in the year the International Council

Cabriolet

2005-03-16T03:28:00.000-08:00

Originally a two-wheeled, doorless, hooded, one-horse carriage, first used in 18th-century France and often let out for hire. The name is thought to derive from cabriole (French: “caper”) because of the vehicle's light, bounding motion. Later cabriolets were built with four wheels. When used as hacks, cabriolets often had a jump seat or a side seat for the driver. Later, the word cabriolet,

France, History Of, The continental system

2005-03-15T01:02:00.000-08:00

Britain, however, was insulated from French military power; only an indirect strategy of economic warfare remained possible. Thus far Britain had driven most French merchant shipping from the high seas, and in desperation French merchants sold most of their ships to neutrals, allowing the United States to surpass France in the size of its merchant fleet. But after

Vulcan Automatic Cannon

2005-03-13T03:51:00.000-08:00

To attain the requisite speed, six barrels are electrically fired and rotated in succession, an arrangement basically like that

Heredity, Multiple alleles

2005-03-12T10:19:00.000-08:00

The traits discussed so far all have been governed by the interaction of two possible alleles. Many genes, however, are represented by multiple allelic forms within a population. (One individual, of course, can possess only two of these multiple alleles.) Human blood groups—in this case, the well-known ABO system—again provide an example. The gene that governs ABO blood

Tactics

2005-03-12T09:33:00.000-08:00

This article discusses the tactics of land warfare. For treatment of tactics on sea, see naval

Seafloor Spreading Hypothesis

2005-03-10T09:34:00.000-08:00

The seafloor spreading hypothesis was proposed

Elgin

2005-03-10T01:28:00.000-08:00

On a hill to the west stood the 12th-century castle that in 1291 marked the northern limit of the English occupation of Scotland. The castle was destroyed after the Battle of Bannockburn (1314), which

Aquinas, Thomas, Saint

2005-03-09T00:29:00.000-08:00

In 1259 Thomas was appointed theological adviser and lecturer to the papal Curia, then the centre of Western humanism. He returned to Italy, where he spent two years at Anagni at the end of the reign of Alexander IV and four years at Orvieto with Urban IV. From 1265 to 1267 he taught at the convent of Santa Sabina in Rome and then, at the request of Clement IV, went to the papal Curia in Viterbo.

Interior Design, France

2005-03-08T23:34:00.000-08:00

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

Denizli

2005-03-07T21:17:00.000-08:00

City, southwestern Turkey. It lies near a tributary of the Menderes River. Set among the gardens at the foot of Mount Gökbel (7,572 feet [2,308 m]), Denizli inherited the economic position of ancient Laodicea ad Lycum, 4 miles (6 km) away, when that town was deserted during wars between the Byzantines and the Seljuq Turks in the 12th century. By the 14th century, as Lâdik (Ladiq), Denizli had emerged

Interior Design, France

2005-03-05T10:19:00.000-08:00

Administrative agency established by a treaty ratified in 1952, designed to integrate the coal and steel industries in western Europe. The original members of the ECSC were France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The organization subsequently expanded to include all members of the European Economic Community (later renamed the European

Extinguisher Moss

2005-03-04T02:41:00.000-08:00

Any of the plants of the genus Encalypta (order Bryales), which form large tufts on limestone rocks, ledges, and walls. About eight species are native to North America. They are usually 1 to 3 cm (0.4 to 1.2 inches) tall, with erect capsules (spore cases) borne on setae (stalks) about 5 to 10 mm (0.2 to 0.4 inches) long. The calyptra (hoodlike covering) of each capsule resembles a candle snuffer, or extinguisher,

Grotesque

2005-03-03T08:42:00.000-08:00

First revived in the Renaissance by the school of Raphael

Sard And Sardonyx

2005-03-03T06:55:00.000-08:00

Translucent, light- to dark-brown varieties of the silica mineral chalcedony, historically two of the most widely used semiprecious stones. Sard and its close relative carnelian have been used in engraved jewelry for centuries. Sard (from Sardis, the ancient capital of Lydia) was originally called sardion, which included both sard and carnelian until the Middle

Juàzeiro

2005-03-02T01:10:00.000-08:00

From Juàzeiro southward to Pirapora in Minas Gerais state, the upper course of the

Craigie, Sir William Alexander

2005-02-28T23:42:00.000-08:00

Craigie attended St. Andrews University, studied Scandinavian languages in Copenhagen, and taught at St. Andrews

Ealing

2005-02-28T08:42:00.000-08:00

Outer borough of London, part of the historic county of Middlesex, midway between central London and the western periphery. The borough was established in 1965 by the amalgamation of the former municipal boroughs of Ealing, Acton, and Southall, all in the former county of Middlesex. It includes the districts and neighbourhoods of (from west to east) West End, Northolt, Southall,

Aldecoa, Ignacio

2005-02-26T07:15:00.000-08:00

Aldecoa studied at the University of Madrid, became a newspaper writer, and from 1947 to 1956 was a broadcaster for the radio station Voice of the Falange. He published essays on politics, several collections of short stories, and two books of poems, Todavía la vida

Ahenobarbus, Lucius Domitius

2005-02-25T20:16:00.000-08:00

After the powerful generals Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompey, and Marcus Licinius Crassus formed an unofficial ruling triumvirate in 60 BC, Ahenobarbus repeatedly resisted their designs. As candidate for the consulate of 55, he

Fielding, William Stevens

2005-02-25T14:46:00.000-08:00

In 1864 Fielding joined the staff of the Halifax Morning Chronicle, the leading Liberal newspaper in Nova Scotia, where for 20 years he worked in various departments. From 1884 to 1896 Fielding was premier of Nova Scotia. An opponent

Masjed Soleyman

2005-02-23T17:00:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Masjid-i Sulaiman, town, southwestern Iran. Oil was discovered at Masjed Soleyman in 1908, and the town early became one of Iran's leading oil centres. Pipelines, built in 1909–10, link the town with Abadan, 125 miles (200 km) southwest. Pop. (1986) 104,787.

Permafrost, Active wedges, inactive wedges, and ice-wedge casts

2005-02-23T16:19:00.000-08:00

Ice wedges may be classified as active, inactive, and ice-wedge casts. Active ice wedges are those that are actively growing. The wedge may not crack every year, but during many or most years cracking does occur, and an increment of ice is added. Ice wedges require a much more rigorous climate to grow than does permafrost. The permafrost table must be chilled to -15° to -20° C (5° to -4° F) for

Switzerland, Government

2005-02-22T21:51:00.000-08:00

The Swiss Confederation consists of some 3,000 communes, which, like the 26 cantons (including six demi-cantons, or Halbkantone, which function as full cantons), are largely autonomous; they range in size from Bagnes in Valais, with an area of 109 square miles (282 square km), to Ponte Tresa in Ticino, with an area of 0.1 square mile (0.3 square km). From the multiplicity of small communal republics

Arts, Islamic, Architecture in Iraq, Syria, and Anatolia

2005-02-21T00:09:00.000-08:00

In Iraq, northern Mesopotamia, Syria, and Egypt (after 1171), the architectural monuments do not, on the whole, appear as overwhelmingly impressive as those of Iran, largely because the taste of Umayyad and 'Abbasid times continued to dominate mosque architecture. It is in the construction of new building types, particularly the madrasah, that the most originality is apparent.

Waqidi, Al-

2005-02-19T07:56:00.000-08:00

As a youth al-Waqidi is said to have been such an authority on the sacred cities of Mecca and Medina that he was guide to the 'Abbasid caliph Harun ar-Rashid during the latter's pilgrimage. Al-Waqidi became a grain dealer

Argon

2005-02-19T01:19:00.000-08:00

(Ar), chemical element, inert gas of Group 0 (noble gases) of the periodic table, terrestrially the most abundant and industrially the most frequently used of the noble gases. Colourless, odourless, and tasteless, argon gas was isolated (1894) from air by the British scientists Lord Rayleigh and Sir William Ramsay. Henry Cavendish, while investigating atmospheric nitrogen (“phlogisticated

Maccarthy Island

2005-02-17T17:05:00.000-08:00

Also called Jangjangbure, originally Lemain Island, island, in the Gambia River, 176 miles (283 km) upstream from Banjul, central Gambia. It was ceded in 1823 to Captain Alexander Grant of the African Corps, who was acting for the British crown. Designated as a site for freed slaves, the island was renamed for Sir Charles MacCarthy, British colonial governor (1814–24). In the 1830s peanut (groundnut) cultivation was introduced by the Wesleyan Mission

Argon

2005-02-17T14:10:00.000-08:00

Third largest trade-union federation in India after the All-India Trade Union Congress and the Indian National Trade Union Congress. The HMS was formed by the Socialists in 1948 but has little real connection with the Socialist Party. It is one of the least political and most pragmatic trade-union federations in India. The HMS is affiliated with the International Confederation

Undersea Cable

2005-02-15T19:48:00.000-08:00

Also called Marine Cable, assembly of conductors enclosed by an insulating sheath and laid on the ocean floor for the transmission of messages. Undersea cables for transmitting telegraph signals antedated the invention of the telephone; the first undersea telegraph cable was laid in 1850 between England and France. The Atlantic was spanned in 1858 between Ireland and Newfoundland, but the cable's

Cell, The electron-transport chain

2005-02-15T07:25:00.000-08:00

The proteins of this chain are embedded in the cristae membrane, actually traversing the lipid bilayer and protruding from the inner and outer surfaces. The coenzymes are dissolved in the lipid and diffuse through the membrane or across its surface. The proteins are arranged in three large complexes, each composed of a number of polypeptide chains. Each complex

Kyoto

2005-02-14T13:30:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Kyoto fu (urban prefecture), west-central Honshu island, Japan. It is located some 30 miles (48 kilometres) northeast of the industrial city of Osaka and about the same distance from Nara, another ancient centre of Japanese culture. Gently sloping downward from north to south, the city averages 180 feet (55 metres) above sea level, and it covers an area of about 236 square miles

Tarbert

2005-02-12T04:49:00.000-08:00

Village at the head of East Loch Tarbert, an inlet on the west side of of Loch Fyne, Argyll and Bute council area, historic county of Argyllshire, Scotland. Its name means isthmus, and it occupies a narrow neck of land joining the Peninsula of Kintyre to the rest of Argyll. The herring fishery, which was its mainstay, has declined, but Tarbert has developed modestly as a resort

Binding Energy

2005-02-12T03:23:00.000-08:00

Nuclear binding energy is the energy required to separate an atomic nucleus

Mauritania, Religious groups

2005-02-10T22:20:00.000-08:00

About 99 percent of all Mauritanians are Muslim. Most Moors belong to the Qadiriyah order. The Tukulor and some of the Tagant tribes belong to the Tijaniyah order. Many tariqas (mystical sects) flow from these orders.

Kafue River

2005-02-10T11:33:00.000-08:00

River rising on the Congo (Kinshasa)–Zambia border. It meanders generally southward until it turns west near the Lukanga Swamp (which it drains). The river then flows south and finally east through the Kafue Flats and Kafue Gorge to join the Zambezi River near Chirundu, Zimbabwe, after a course of 600 miles (960 km). One of Zambia's major rivers, its waters are used for irrigation.

Rowing

2005-02-09T15:06:00.000-08:00

In competitive rowing the oar is

Panofsky, Erwin

2005-02-08T07:58:00.000-08:00

Panofsky studied at the University of Freiburg in Breisgau and was a professor at the University of Hamburg from 1926 to 1933. He first went to the United States in 1931 as visiting

Benedetti, Vincent, Comte

2005-02-07T10:19:00.000-08:00

Benedetti studied law in Paris and in 1840 entered consular service. He served in several embassies in Europe and the Middle East between 1845 and 1864, when he was named ambassador to Prussia with instructions from Napoleon III to prevent

Vestini

2005-02-05T22:42:00.000-08:00

The Vestini's local dialect, belonging to the Northern Oscan group, probably survived until this time. The oldest known

Beinum, Eduard (alexander) Van

2005-02-05T01:06:00.000-08:00

At 17 van Beinum entered the Amsterdam Conservatory after a year of playing in the string section of the Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra. A series of minor appointments led to conductorships of the Haarlem Orchestra and Haarlem Roman Catholic

Pittosporaceae

2005-02-03T13:56:00.000-08:00

Family of nine genera of trees, shrubs, or vinelike plants, in the order Rosales, distributed from tropical Africa to the Pacific islands. Members of the family have long, leathery, evergreen leaves; resin in stem ducts; and white, blue, yellow, or reddish flowers. Species of the genus Pittosporum are commonly known as Australian laurel. Tobira, or house-blooming mock orange

China, Foreign religions

2005-02-02T03:54:00.000-08:00

Tibetan Buddhism always remained outside Chinese civilization, as did other imported religions. A certain number of Muslims came to China, all from the Middle East or from Central Asia. The Turkic Öngüt tribe was largely Nestorian Christian. Many tombstones have been preserved with a bilingual Turkic and Chinese inscription, but none of these believers seems

Peru, Drainage

2005-02-02T03:28:00.000-08:00

Distinctive drainage patterns dissect the Costa, Sierra, and Montaña. Of the more than 50 rivers that flow west from the Andes across the Costa, most are short (usually less than 200 miles long) and precipitous, with highly seasonal rates of flow. Most have a period of peak flow (usually during the December to March rainy season) followed by a long dry period; only the largest of

Ammonius Hermiae

2005-02-01T16:21:00.000-08:00

Greek philosopher whose thinking was primarily oriented toward logic and the sciences. He spent a good part of his intellectual life in writing critical works on Aristotle. As a student, he worked closely with Proclus and, later in life, was appointed the head of the Alexandrian school. His major commentaries, on the Categoriae and Analytica priora of Aristotle's

Sandeau, Léonard-sylvain-julien

2005-01-30T15:00:00.000-08:00

As a young man, Sandeau became the lover of Amandine-Aurore-Lucie Dudevant (later known as George Sand) and worked with her on the novel Rose et Blanche (1831; “Red and White”), which was published under the pseudonym Jules Sand. At the end of 1832, she broke off the

Steiger, Niklaus Friedrich Von

2005-01-29T16:33:00.000-08:00

From a Bernese patrician family, Steiger was dispatched to Halle in Germany and Utrecht, Neth., for his education, eventually returning to Bern in 1754. Thereafter, he held several minor

Camargo Society

2005-01-29T10:41:00.000-08:00

Group credited with keeping ballet alive in England during the early 1930s. Named after Marie Camargo, the noted 18th-century ballerina, the society was formed in 1930 by Philip J.S. Richardson, the editor of Dancing Times, the critic Arnold Haskell, and other patrons to stimulate interest in creating a national ballet. For the next three years the group annually commissioned

Kyonggi

2005-01-28T18:48:00.000-08:00

Do (province), northwestern South Korea. It is bounded by the truce line with North Korea (north), by the do of Kangwon (east) and Kyongsang-puk and Ch'ungch'ong-nam (south), and by the Yellow Sea (west). The nation's capital, Seoul, is in the middle of the province but was separated from it administratively in 1946 as a special city. Formerly Kyonggi do was the granary of Seoul; the Kyonggi plain,

Levi-montalcini, Rita

2005-01-26T07:56:00.000-08:00

Levi-Montalcini studied medicine at the University of Turin and did research there on the

Ubon Ratchathani

2005-01-25T22:18:00.000-08:00

The area in which Ubon Ratchathani is situated produces rice, freshwater fish, cattle, pigs, sugarcane, timber, and cotton. There are large numbers of

Om

2005-01-25T16:13:00.000-08:00

In Hinduism and other religions chiefly of India, a sacred syllable that is considered to be the greatest of all the mantras, or sacred formulas. The syllable Om is composed of the three sounds a-u-m (in Sanskrit, the vowels a and u coalesce to become o), which represent several important triads: the three worlds of earth, atmosphere, and heaven; the three major Hindu gods,

Feline Respiratory Disease

2005-01-23T19:48:00.000-08:00

A complex of viral contagions of cats (including rhinotracheitis, pneumonitis, and influenza), marked by fever, sneezing, and running eyes and nose. Rhinotracheitis and pneumonitis are the most common and have identical symptoms. Mortality is low, but recovery from severe cases may be difficult and prolonged, with relapses. A vaccine is available against pneumonitis.

Antarctica

2005-01-22T13:30:00.000-08:00

Lying almost concentrically around the South Pole, Antarctica—the name of which means “opposite to the Arctic”—is the southernmost continent, a circumstance that has had momentous consequences for all aspects of its character. It covers about 5.5 million square miles

Zealand

2005-01-22T08:30:00.000-08:00

Danish Sjælland largest and most populous island of Denmark, between the Kattegat and the Baltic Sea, separated from Sweden by The Sound (Øresund) and from Funen (Fyn) island by the Great Belt. Zealand is divided into seven major administrative units: the municipalities of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg and the amtskommuner (counties) of København, Frederiksborg, Vestsjælland, Roskilde

Mitiaro

2005-01-20T15:14:00.000-08:00

Island in the lower Cook Islands, a dependency of New Zealand, southwest Pacific Ocean. It is a raised coral atoll, with a land area of 8.6 sq mi (22.3 sq km), and is encircled by a reef. Its interior of fertile volcanic soil, ringed by swamps and limestone, supports copra and citrus fruits. Stands of sandalwood occur. Pop. (1981) 256.

Earth Sciences

2005-01-19T16:07:00.000-08:00

The origins of the Earth sciences lie in the myths and legends of the distant past. The creation story, which can be traced to a Babylonian epic of the 22nd century BC and which is told in the first chapter of Genesis, has proved most influential. The story is cast in the form of Earth history and thus was readily accepted as an embodiment of scientific as well as of theological

Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

2005-01-18T10:25:00.000-08:00

English Dresden State Art Collections art museum in Dresden, Ger., that includes collections of painting, sculpture, graphic and applied arts, and coins. It is best known for its picture gallery, the core of which is the collection of paintings that originally belonged to the Kunstkammer, founded by Prince August in 1560. Its most popular works, however, were later acquisitions dating from the 18th century. There

Tsuyama

2005-01-17T07:52:00.000-08:00

City, Okayama ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It lies along the upper Yoshii River, in the centre of the Tsuyama basin. A castle was built there in 1442. An important post town during the Tokugawa period (1603–1867), Tsuyama is still a centre of traditional home industries, producing tabi (socks), sickles, and silk gauze textiles. The remains of the castle and old buildings around it attract

Dygasinski, Adolf

2005-01-16T08:38:00.000-08:00

Dygasinski was a teacher by profession and a worshiper of science. He published about 50 volumes of short stories of uneven literary quality, the best pieces of which deal with the lives of domestic and wild animals.

Amalekite

2005-01-16T01:30:00.000-08:00

Member of an ancient nomadic tribe, or collection of tribes, described in the Old Testament as relentless enemies of Israel, even though they were closely related to Ephraim, one of the 12 tribes of Israel. The district over which they ranged was south of Judah and probably extended into northern Arabia. The Amalekites harassed the Hebrews during their Exodus from Egypt

Interior Design, Governmental interiors

2005-01-15T19:59:00.000-08:00

A notable characteristic of interior design for public buildings—such as court rooms, assembly halls (on all levels of government including the United Nations), city halls, and cultural buildings—is that the consumer is excluded from participation in decision making. Another is that in all cases the interiors try to present a very definite image or symbol. Governmental

Tsuyama

2005-01-15T01:29:00.000-08:00

Any of five species of large, robust, and primarily terrrestrial monkeys found in dry regions of Africa and Arabia. Males of the largest species, the chacma baboon (Papio ursinus), average 30 kg (66 pounds) or so, but females are only half this size. The smallest is the hamadryas, or sacred baboon (P. hamadryas), with males weighing about 17 kg and females only

Abbott, Diane

2005-01-14T08:27:00.000-08:00

In full Diane Julie Abbott British politician, the first woman of African descent elected to the House of Commons. Abbott's parents, originally from Jamaica, immigrated to the United Kingdom in the early 1950s. She was educated at Harrow County Grammar School for Girls and received a degree in history from the University of Cambridge in 1973. Abbott worked as a civil servant

Sapru, Sir Tej Bahadur

2005-01-13T23:10:00.000-08:00

Educated at Agra College, Allahabad, Sapru practiced law before the High Court at Allahabad from 1896. He was a member of

Black Friday

2005-01-13T16:45:00.000-08:00

In U.S. history, Sept. 24, 1869, when plummeting gold prices precipitated a securities market panic. The crash was a consequence of an attempt by financier Jay Gould and railway magnate James Fisk to corner the gold market and drive up the price. The scheme depended on keeping government gold off the market, which the manipulators arranged through political influence. When

Fabriano

2005-01-13T05:28:00.000-08:00

Town, Ancona province, in Marche (The Marches) region, central Italy. The town was the home of a minor school of painting founded in the late 14th century by Allegretto Nuzi and Gentile da Fabriano; frescoes by the former decorate the local cathedral. A Romanesque-Gothic mayoral palace (1255) and a municipal art gallery are other notable buildings. The town was severely damaged

'adud Ad-dawlah

2005-01-12T16:39:00.000-08:00

Becoming ruler of Fars province in southern Iran in 944, 'Adud ad-Dawlah did not actually reign on his own until almost a decade later. But by 979 his authority extended, through inheritance and conquest, over all southern Iran and most of what is now Iraq. He became famous for his public works, which included a dam still standing near

Reference Frame

2005-01-11T21:22:00.000-08:00

Also called Frame Of Reference, in dynamics, system of graduated lines symbolically attached to a body that serve to describe the position of points relative to the body. The position of a point on the surface of the Earth, for example, can be described by degrees of latitude, measured north and south from the Equator, and degrees of longitude, measured east and west from the great circle passing through

Singhasari

2005-01-11T20:31:00.000-08:00

Kingdom based in eastern Java that emerged in the first half of the 13th century after the decline of the kingdom of Kadiri. Singhasari's first king, Ken Angrok (or Ken Arok), defeated the king of Kadiri, Kertajaya, in 1222. The last king of Singhasari, Kertanagara (q.v.; 1268–92), was able to unite eastern Java temporarily. Toward the end of Kertanagara's reign, Kublai Khan, the great khan of the Mongols

Rydberg, Johannes Robert

2005-01-09T07:09:00.000-08:00

Educated at the University of Lund, Rydberg received his bachelor's degree in 1875 and his doctorate in mathematics in 1879. He became lecturer in physics there in 1882 and assistant at the Physics Institute in 1892. He was permanent professor of physics from 1901 until his retirement in

Ankara, Treaty Of

2005-01-09T06:45:00.000-08:00

Also called Franklin-Bouillon Agreement (Oct. 20, 1921), pact between the government of France and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey at Ankara, signed by the French diplomat Henri Franklin-Bouillon and Yusuf Kemal Bey, the Turkish nationalist foreign minister. It formalized the de facto recognition by France of the Grand National Assembly, rather than the government of the Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI, as the sovereign

Coke, Sir Edward

2005-01-08T15:09:00.000-08:00

British jurist and politician whose defense of the supremacy of the common law against Stuart claims of royal prerogative had a profound influence on the development of English law and the English constitution.

Cimarron River

2005-01-07T08:23:00.000-08:00

River rising in northeastern New Mexico, U.S., near Capulin Mountain National Monument and flowing 698 mi (1,123 km) to enter the Arkansas River near Tulsa, Okla. From its source, the Cimarron flows east past Black Mesa, a peak 4,973 ft (1,516 m) high, through the northern Oklahoma Panhandle and bends northward through the southeastern corner of Colorado and the southwestern corner of Kansas.

Uraninite

2005-01-06T20:48:00.000-08:00

The element uranium was discovered by

Low, Juliette Gordon

2005-01-06T17:53:00.000-08:00

Juliette Gordon was born into a prominent Georgia family. She was educated at private schools in Virginia and New York City and for some years thereafter traveled widely. She married William M. Low, a fellow native of Savannah, Georgia, who was living in England,

Fyodor Ii

2005-01-05T13:15:00.000-08:00

The son of Boris Godunov (reigned 1598–1605), Fyodor received an excellent education and was well acquainted with state affairs when his father unexpectedly died and he ascended the Russian throne (April 13 [April 23], 1605). His rule was immediately challenged, however, by the first False

Aldanov, Mark

2005-01-05T09:27:00.000-08:00

In 1919 Aldanov emigrated to France, which he left for the United States in 1941. He wrote an essay on Lenin (1921); Deux Révolutions (1921; “Two Revolutions”), a work comparing the Russian and French revolutions; Actinochimie (1936; “Actinic Chemistry”), a scientific

Malakbel

2005-01-04T19:25:00.000-08:00

West Semitic sun god and messenger god, worshiped primarily in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra; he was variously identified by the Greeks with Zeus and with Hermes and by the Romans with Sol. His name may have been of Babylonian origin, and he was considered the equivalent of the Babylonian sun god Shamash. Engravings on the four sides of a marble altar from Palmyra

'abd Al-wadid Dynasty

2005-01-03T13:34:00.000-08:00

Also called Zayyanid Dynasty , or Banu Zayyan dynasty of Zanatah Berbers (1236–1550), successors to the Almohad empire in northwestern Algeria. In 1236 the Zanatahs, loyal vassals to the Almohads, gained the support of other Berber tribes and nomadic Arabs and set up a kingdom at Tilimsan (Tlemcen), headed by the Zanatah amir Yaghmurasan (ruled 1236–83). Yaghmurasan was able to maintain internal peace through the successful control of the rival

Azerbaijan

2005-01-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Azarbaijan , or Azarbayjan , Persian Azarbayjan, geographic region that comprises the extreme northwestern portion of Iran. It is bounded on the north by the Aras River, which separates it from independent Azerbaijan and Armenia; on the east by the Iranian region of Gilan and the Caspian Sea; on the south by the Iranian regions of Zanjan and Kordestan; and on the west by Iraq and Turkey. Azerbaijan is about 40,000 square miles

Domestic System

2005-01-01T20:09:00.000-08:00

Also called Putting-out System production system widespread in 17th-century western Europe in which merchant-employers “put out” materials to rural producers who usually worked in their homes but sometimes laboured in workshops or in turn put out work to others. Finished products were returned to the employers for payment on a piecework or wage basis. The domestic system differed from the handicraft

Skiffle

2005-01-01T08:59:00.000-08:00

Style of music played on rudimentary instruments, first popularized in the United States in the 1920s but revived by British musicians in the mid-1950s. The term was originally applied to music played by jug bands (in addition to jugs, these bands featured guitars, banjos, harmonicas, and kazoos), first in Louisville, Kentucky, as early as 1905 and then more prominently in Memphis, Tennessee,

Cosmati Work

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

Type of mosaic technique that was practiced by Roman decorators and architects in the 12th and 13th centuries, in which tiny triangles and squares of coloured stone (red porphyry, green serpentine, and white and other coloured marbles) and glass paste were arranged in patterns and combined with large, stone disks and strips to produce geometric designs. Cosmati work

Frederick Viii

2004-12-30T18:30:00.000-08:00

Frederick served in the disastrous Danish–German War of 1864, which lost the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg for Denmark. He then assisted his father, Christian IX, in affairs of state. In 1907, as king, he formed a commission to draft a partial home rule bill for Iceland, but nothing came of it. Frederick VIII's popularity

Logical Positivism

2004-12-30T10:48:00.000-08:00

The Logical Positivist school differs from earlier empiricists and positivists (David Hume, Ernst Mach) in holding that the ultimate basis of knowledge

Levanter

2004-12-29T17:35:00.000-08:00

Also spelled levante strong wind of the western Mediterranean Sea and the southern coasts of France and Spain. It is mild, damp, and rainy and is most common in spring and fall. Its name is derived from Levant, the land at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, and refers to the wind's eastward direction. The levanter reaches its maximum intensities in the Strait of Gibraltar, where it sometimes

Cano, Alonso

2004-12-28T15:40:00.000-08:00

Moving to Sevilla in 1614, Cano studied sculpture under Juan Martínez Montañés and painting under Francisco Pacheco. Forced to leave

Pavía Y Lacy, Manuel

2004-12-27T22:55:00.000-08:00

Pavía was encouraged to enter the military by his father, an infantry colonel, and eventually was admitted to the elite Guards regiment. When Isabella became queen in 1833, he fought for her against her uncle Don Carlos in the

Epirus, Despotate Of

2004-12-27T07:42:00.000-08:00

The despotate was founded in what is now southern Albania and northwestern Greece by Michael Comnenus Ducas, a member of the dethroned Byzantine imperial house. His half brother and successor, Theodore

Catch-as-catch-can Wrestling

2004-12-25T19:40:00.000-08:00

Basic wrestling style in which nearly all holds and tactics are permitted in both upright and ground wrestling. Rules usually forbid only actions that may injure an opponent, such as strangling, kicking, gouging, and hitting with a closed fist. The object is to force the opponent into a position in which both shoulders touch the ground at the same time. Formerly known