LeftCake

Wolfenbüttel

2005-04-03T19:53:00.000-07:00

City, Lower Saxony Land (state), northwestern Germany. The city lies along the Oker River, just south of Brunswick. First mentioned in 1118, it grew around the castle that became a favourite Welf residence about 1283. Chartered in 1540, it was captured by the Protestant Schmalkaldic League in 1542 and was transferred to Brunswick in 1753–54. The old town has many Renaissance and Baroque half-timbered

Peribsen

2005-04-03T16:46:00.000-07:00

Egyptian king of the 2nd dynasty (c. 2775–c. 2650 BC), who promoted the cult of the god Seth over that of Horus, the god favoured by his predecessors. His tomb was located in Seth's district in Upper Egypt, at Abydos. According to some scholars, Peribsen's ascendancy was accompanied by a violent reaction against the supporters of Horus, but the supremacy of Horus was restored after his

Cambridge Critics

2005-04-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

Group of critics who were a major influence in English literary studies from the mid-1920s and who established an intellectually rigorous school of critical standards in the field of literature. The leaders were I.A. Richards and F.R. Leavis of the University of Cambridge and Richards' pupil William Empson. In the 1920s the University of Cambridge was distinguished in many

Rousseau, Jean-baptiste

2005-04-02T22:28:00.000-08:00

The son of a poor cobbler, Rousseau as a young man showed a talent for satiric verse. He later attempted to produce several of his plays, becoming involved in a series of disputes and exchanges of insults with detractors and critics.

Gnat

2005-04-01T16:19:00.000-08:00

Any member of several species of small flies that bite and annoy humans. Several nonbiting insects, such as the midges, which resemble mosquitoes, are also sometimes known as gnats. In North America the name is often applied to the black fly, midge, fungus gnat, biting midge, fruit fly (qq.v.), and other small flies that hover about the eyes of humans and other animals. In Great

Catabolism

2005-04-01T14:18:00.000-08:00

Energy is released in three phases. In the first, such large molecules as those of proteins,

Mckinley, Ida

2005-03-31T01:25:00.000-08:00

After William was shot in Buffalo, New York, in 1901, he whispered to an aide as he fell, “My wife, be careful how you tell her—Oh be careful.” Although deeply grieved by her husband's death, she apparently suffered no more seizures for the rest of her life, though some believe a seizure caused her death in 1907. She was entombed in the McKinley Memorial Mausoleum in Canton.

European Union

2005-03-30T20:07:00.000-08:00

The Maastricht Treaty (formally known as the Treaty on European Union), which was signed on February 7, 1992, created the European Union. The treaty met with substantial resistance in some countries. In Denmark, for example, voters who were worried about infringements upon their country's sovereignty defeated a referendum on the original treaty in June 1992, though a revised

Can Tho

2005-03-29T20:44:00.000-08:00

Municipality and provincial seat of Hau Giang tinh (province), Mekong delta region, southeastern Vietnam. Situated on the left bank of the Song (river) Hau Giang, 90 mi (145 km) southwest of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), it is an industrial centre and the largest city of the flat delta region, which includes the Ca Mau Peninsula and the principal rice-growing areas of the country.

Foreign Affairs

2005-03-29T07:09:00.000-08:00

Journal of international relations, published in New York City six times a year, one of the most prestigious periodicals of its kind in the world. The organ of the Council on Foreign Relations, by which it was founded in 1922, it provides a window on the U.S. foreign-policy establishment. It has an international reputation for its careful and probing analyses of political,

Gyrfalcon

2005-03-28T11:37:00.000-08:00

(Falco rusticolus), Arctic bird of prey of the family Falconidae, the world's largest falcon (q.v.). The gyrfalcon may reach 60 cm (2 feet) in length. Confined as a breeder to the circumpolar region except for isolated populations in Central Asian highlands, it is sometimes seen at lower latitudes in winters when food is scarce. The gyrfalcon varies from pure white with black speckling

Tuwim, Julian

2005-03-27T13:25:00.000-08:00

Closely associated with and cofounder of Skamander, Tuwim began his career in 1915 with the publication of a flamboyant Futurist manifesto that created a scandal. His poetry was marked by explosive energy,

Zoning

2005-03-26T22:46:00.000-08:00

The legislative method of controlling land use by regulating such considerations as the type of buildings (e.g., commercial or residential) that may be erected and the population density. Applied primarily to urban areas, it is accomplished by dividing land area into zoning districts, each having specific conditions under which land and buildings may be legally

Ostwald, Wilhelm

2005-03-26T03:45:00.000-08:00

Ostwald took his doctorate from the University of Dorpat (now Tartu State

Rye Whiskey

2005-03-24T16:09:00.000-08:00

Whiskey that is distilled from a mash in which rye grain predominates. See whiskey.

Ramazzini, Bernardino

2005-03-24T11:58:00.000-08:00

A professor of medicine at the University of Modena (1682–1700), and an early student of epidemiology, he described outbreaks of lathyrism (1690; chick-pea poisoning) and malaria (1690–95) in Italy. A strong proponent of the use of cinchona bark in the treatment of malaria,

Arts, Central Asian

2005-03-24T06:17:00.000-08:00

Of the relatively few Central Asian languages that have developed written literatures, the most important are Turkic, Tibetan, and Mongol. (For a treatment of these languages, see Altaic languages and Sino-Tibetan languages.) This article will deal with Tibetan and Mongolian literatures from their inception to the 20th century and with Turkic literature from its

Sukhoy

2005-03-23T08:40:00.000-08:00

The Sukhoy design bureau has three

Pippin

2005-03-23T03:42:00.000-08:00

Given the title of king of Italy in 781, Pippin took part in campaigns against Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria from 787 and led an army against the Avars in 796. His Venetian campaign (809–810) enabled Charlemagne later to come to favourable terms with the Byzantine Empire. As early as 806, Charlemagne, in planning the division

Arabia, Tribal relations

2005-03-22T16:34:00.000-08:00

Throughout Arabian history, even during phases of foreign rule, it was the free, arms-bearing tribesmen who dominated other classes of society, be the tribes nomadic or oasis dwellers, settled farmers in the highlands, or sailors, traders, and pirates gaining their livelihood at sea. The sultans, emirs, and sheikhs were drawn from the tribes, whom they had to cosset to

Spotlight: The Spat Over The Spratlys

2005-03-21T05:48:00.000-08:00

Scattered over 388,000 sq km (150,000 sq mi) of the South China Sea midway between Vietnam and the Philippines, the 500-600 largely uninhabited islets, reefs, and shoals of the Spratly Islands (see Map) seem a curious prize in Southeast Asia's most contentious territorial dispute. China, Vietnam, and Taiwan lay claim to the entire archipelago, and Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines to islands

Coronado, Francisco Vázquez De

2005-03-21T00:38:00.000-08:00

Coronado went to New Spain (Mexico) with Antonio de Mendoza, the Spanish viceroy, in 1535 and earned early distinction in pacifying Indians.

Astor Family

2005-03-20T22:39:00.000-08:00

John Jacob Astor (1763–1848), the founder of the family fortune, is covered in a separate article: see Astor, John Jacob. His son, William Backhouse Astor (1792–1875), who inherited the major portion of the estate, continued his father's program of investing in Manhattan

Sweat

2005-03-19T13:56:00.000-08:00

The moisture excreted in visible quantities through the openings of the sweat glands. See perspiration.

Arabian Basin

2005-03-19T10:36:00.000-08:00

Submarine basin of the southern Arabian Sea, rising to meet the submerged Carlsberg Ridge to the south, the Maldive Island chain to the southeast, India and Pakistan to the northeast, Iran to the north, and the Arabian Peninsula to the west. It has a maximum depth of 19,275 feet (5,875 m) and is separated by the Carlsberg Ridge from the deeper Somali Basin to the south and west. The sill

Star

2005-03-19T06:48:00.000-08:00

Throughout the Milky Way Galaxy (and even near the Sun itself), astronomers have discovered stars that are well evolved or even approaching extinction, or both, as well as occasional stars that must be very young or still in the process of formation. Evolutionary effects on these stars are not negligible, not even for a middle-aged star such as the Sun. More massive stars

Turbay Ayala, Julio César

2005-03-18T23:18:00.000-08:00

Born into a middle-class family descended from Lebanese immigrants, Turbay Ayala was educated at the National Commercial School (Bogotá) and University College of Botero. He served in the House of Representatives from 1943 to 1953 and became

Bog

2005-03-16T23:51:00.000-08:00

Type of wetland ecosystem characterized by wet, spongy, poorly drained peaty soil. Bogs can be divided into three types: (1) typical bogs of cool regions, dominated by the growth of bog mosses, Sphagnum, and heaths, particularly Chamaedaphne (northern bogs with trees growing on them are often called muskegs); (2) fens, dominated by grasslike plants, grasses, sedges, and reeds;

Arzew

2005-03-16T22:58:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Arzeu, port town, northwestern Algeria. Arzew lies near the mouth of the Wadi Mehgoun. Its natural harbour on the Mediterranean is sheltered by a mountainous promontory between the gulfs of Oran and Arzew. Arzew was an Almohad port in the 1100s. It was visited by Italian merchants in the 14th and 15th centuries and was captured and fortified by the Turks in the 16th. Occupied by the Algerian

Ibn Babawayh

2005-03-16T19:56:00.000-08:00

Little is known about Ibn Babawayh's life. According to legend he was born as the result of special prayers to the mahdi (the expected one). In 966 he left Khorasan for Baghdad, possibly attracted by the Shi'i inclination of the

West Bengal Duars

2005-03-16T13:47:00.000-08:00

The West Bengal Duars were ceded to the British by Bhutan in 1863. They constitute a lowland forest belt along the junction between the Himalayan

Arinos River

2005-03-15T17:23:00.000-08:00

Portuguese Rio Arinos, river, west-central Brazil. It rises in the Araporé Mountains northeast of Diamantino and flows west for a short distance and then north-northwest across the Mato Grosso Plateau to its junction with the Juruena River, which is a major headstream of the Tapajós River.

Venosa

2005-03-15T09:16:00.000-08:00

Latin Venusia, town and episcopal see, Potenza provincia, Basilicata regione, southern Italy. It is situated on the lower slope of Mount Vulcano, north of Potenza. Originally a settlement of the Lucanians (an ancient Italic tribe), it was taken by the Romans after the Samnite Wars (291 BC); from its position on the Appian Way it became an important Roman garrison town. The poet Horace was born

Wu Ching-tzu

2005-03-15T05:23:00.000-08:00

Wu Ching-tzu was a member of a scholarly and well-to-do family. He succeeded neither academically nor financially, however, and he was unable or unwilling to pass the higher official examinations. He mismanaged his inheritance

Yangtze Plain

2005-03-15T00:13:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Ch'ang Chiang P'ing-yüan, Pinyin Chang Jiang Pingyuan, series of alluvial plains of uneven width along the Yangtze River and its major tributaries, beginning east of I-ch'ang (Hupeh province), China. The Middle Yangtze Plain comprises parts of northeastern Hunan, southeastern Hupeh, and north-central Kiangsi provinces, including Tung-t'ing, P'o-yang, and Hung lakes. The Lower Yangtze Plain includes the Yangtze River delta

Delhi, Education

2005-03-13T20:49:00.000-08:00

The growth of modern education in Delhi has kept pace with the expansion of the city's population. Primary-level education is nearly universal, and a large proportion of students also attend secondary school. Education for women at all levels has advanced at a much faster pace than it has for men. Among the institutions of higher learning, the most important is the

Aymé, Marcel

2005-03-12T22:58:00.000-08:00

He grew up in the country among farmers, in a world of close-knit families bounded by the barnyard on one side, the schoolhouse on the other.

Hadi, Sayyid Shaykh Bin Ahmad, Al-

2005-03-12T13:32:00.000-08:00

Taken when young to Pulau Penyengat, Riau (now in Indonesia), Sayyid Shaykh was adopted there by a half brother of the sultan and brought up in the intellectual

Abelard, Peter

2005-03-12T08:13:00.000-08:00

The outline of Abelard's career is well known, largely because he described so much of it in his famous Historia calamitatum (“History of My Troubles”). He was born the son of a knight in Brittany south of the Loire River. He sacrificed his inheritance and the prospect of a military career in order to study philosophy, particularly logic, in France. He provoked bitter quarrels

Clodia

2005-03-11T16:27:00.000-08:00

Profligate Roman beauty and sister of the demagogue Publius Clodius. She was married in 63 BC to Quintus Metellus Celer and was suspected of responsibility for his death in 59 BC. She was mistress to the poet Catullus, who wrote of her as Lesbia, and was the most important influence in his life. Another of her lovers was Marcus Caelius Rufus, whom Cicero defended against

Pitot, Henri

2005-03-11T03:18:00.000-08:00

Beginning his career as a mathematician and astronomer, Pitot won election to the Academy of Sciences in 1724. He became interested in the problem of flow of water in rivers and canals and discovered that much contemporary theory was erroneous—for example,

George Ii

2005-03-10T11:47:00.000-08:00

George Augustus was the only son of the German prince George Louis, elector of Hanover (King

Vacarescu Family

2005-03-10T03:32:00.000-08:00

Ienachita (1740–99), after traveling and studying in St. Petersburg and Vienna, wrote poems inspired by Russian folk songs. He wrote the first Romanian grammar book (Gramatica româneasca, 1787). His chief poems, Amarîta turturea (“Sad Turtledove”) and Testamentul, reveal a high artistic

Azerbaijan, Industry

2005-03-09T17:31:00.000-08:00

Azerbaijan has a diversified industrial base, with the leading branches of heavy industry—power, manufacturing, and chemical production—predominating. Branches of the processing industry, producing mineral fertilizers, gasoline, kerosene, herbicides, industrial oils, synthetic rubber, and plastics, have developed, and Sumqayit has emerged as the major centre

Caber, Tossing The

2005-03-08T14:27:00.000-08:00

A Scottish athletic event consisting in throwing a “caber,” a straight, approximately 17-foot- (5-metre-) long log (from which the bark has been removed) so that it turns over in the air and falls on the ground with its small end pointing directly opposite the tosser. See Highland Games.

Adalbert

2005-03-08T11:24:00.000-08:00

Adalbert joined his father in 946–947 in fighting the co-kings of Italy, Hugh of Provence and his son Lothair. After Lothair's death in 950, Adalbert was crowned with Berengar at Pavia.

Kirishima-yaku National Park

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

Japanese Kirishima-yaku Kokuritsu Koen, national park in southern Kyushu island, Japan, centring on the Kirishimayama volcanic group, consisting of 23 volcanoes, 15 craters, and 10 caldera lakes. The two major peaks are the volcanic Karakunidake (5,578 feet [1,700 m]) and Takachihonomine (5,164 feet [1,574 m]), the latter sacred in Japanese mythology as the site where the god Ninigi no Mikoto supposedly descended from heaven. Some of the volcanoes

Ob River

2005-03-07T05:43:00.000-08:00

The Ob River is described in broad geographic surveys of North Asia that provide information on physical features and on economic, social, and cultural conditions: Paul E. Lydolph, Geography of the U.S.S.R., 5th ed. (1990); Michael T. Florinsky (ed.), McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Russia and the Soviet Union (1961), with short articles on the individual rivers; M.F. Grin, et al., Soviet Union: A Geographical Survey, ed. by S.V. Kalesnik and V.F. Pavlenko (1976; originally published in Russian, 1972); and Great Rivers of the World (1984), published by the National Geographic Society. M.I. L'vovich, Reki SSSR (1971), is a well-known work treating the hydrologic characteristics of the main rivers of the former U.S.S.R. Lev Konstantinovich Davydov, Gidrografiia SSSR, vol. 2, Gidrografiia raionov (1955), provides detailed studies of regional hydrology and hydrography. G.V. Voropaev and A.B. Avakian (eds.), Vodokhranilishcha i ikh vozdeistvie na okruzhaiushchuiu sredu (1986), examines the influence of water reservoirs on the environment. Robert Paul Jourdan, “Siberia's Empire Road: The River Ob,” National Geographic, 149(2):145–181 (February 1986), describes the life of the peoples of the area, the environment, and the economic situation. Useful discussions of landscape evolution, the extent of glaciation, and long-term climate change in this region include Mikhail G. Grosswald, “Late-Weichselian Ice Sheets in Arctic and Pacific Siberia,” Quaternary International, 45-46(1):3–18 (1998), and Valery Astakhov “The Last Ice Sheet of the Kara Sea: Terrestrial Constraints on its Age,” Quaternary International, 45-46(1):19–28 (1998).

Adams, Hannah

2005-03-07T01:35:00.000-08:00

Adams was the daughter of a notably eccentric bibliophile father whose lack of business acumen kept the large family in poverty. She inherited his love of books and his remarkable memory, and, although she received no formal schooling, she was well tutored

Abo Blood Group System

2005-03-06T11:32:00.000-08:00

Method of classifying human blood on the basis of the inherited properties of red blood cells (erythrocytes) as determined by their possession or lack of the so-called antigens A (including A1 and A2) and B. Persons may, thus, have type A, type B, type O, or type AB blood. (Antigens of other blood group systems may also be present.) The A, B, and O blood groups were first identified by

Essex, Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl Of, Viscount Hereford Lord Ferrers, Lord Bourchier

2005-03-06T03:13:00.000-08:00

Because his father, Robert Devereux, 2nd earl of Essex, had been executed for treason (1601), Devereux had to obtain special permission from Parliament to succeed (1604) to his family titles

Alastor

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

Any of certain avenging deities or spirits, especially in Greek antiquity. The term is associated with Nemesis, the goddess of divine retribution who signified the gods' disapproval of human presumption. Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem Alastor; or, The Spirit of Solitude (1816) was a visionary work in which he warned idealists (like himself) not to abandon “sweet human love” and

Arnold, Thomas

2005-03-05T10:15:00.000-08:00

Thomas Arnold was educated at Winchester and at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He was elected a fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, in 1815. After ordination and

Wilson, August

2005-03-05T03:59:00.000-08:00

Largely self-educated, Wilson grew up in poverty and quit school at age 15. He joined the black aesthetic movement in the late 1960s, became the cofounder and director

Bulgakov, Macarius

2005-03-04T01:38:00.000-08:00

The son of a country priest, Bulgakov took the name Macarius on becoming a monk. After studying at the Ecclesiastical Academy of Kiev, he joined the faculty and taught history. Called in 1842 to the chair of theology at the Academy of St. Petersburg,

Ann Arbor

2005-03-03T13:19:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1827) of Washtenaw county, southeastern Michigan, U.S., on the Huron River. John Allen and Elisha W. Rumsey founded the community in 1824, which they named for their wives (both called Ann) and the local natural groves, or arbors. The settlement developed as an agricultural trading centre after the arrival in 1839 of the Michigan Central Railroad, which connected it with Detroit

Duarte, Fausto (castilho)

2005-03-02T18:58:00.000-08:00

Duarte was educated under the official program of assimilaçao (“assimilation”), which after 1921 had social and political equality for Africans in the Portuguese sphere of influence as a goal. He was then

Tooele

2005-03-02T01:50:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Tooele county, north-central Utah, U.S. It lies 32 miles (52 km) southwest of Salt Lake City. Settled in 1849, it was a centre for mining operations in the 1860s and '70s after rich silver and gold veins were discovered in the nearby Oquirrh Mountains. Its name may refer to Tuilla, a local Indian leader, or to the abundant tules, or bulrushes, that grew near the local springs. The city

Utrera

2005-03-01T01:59:00.000-08:00

The site has been occupied since prehistoric times and was known as Utricula during the Roman period. The city, an episcopal see before domination

Palenque

2005-02-28T13:47:00.000-08:00

Also called Guarine, Indian tribe of northern Venezuela at the time of the Spanish conquest (16th century). The Palenque were closely related to the neighbouring Cumanagoto (q.v.); their language probably belonged to the Arawakan family. They were a tropical-forest people known to eat human flesh, to be warlike, and to live in settlements surrounded by palisades (palenques). The Patángoro (q.v.

Amakihi

2005-02-28T04:48:00.000-08:00

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

Ubayyid, Al-

2005-02-28T00:57:00.000-08:00

Also spelled el-Obeid town, central Sudan. It lies on a sandy, scrub-covered plateau at an elevation of 1,869 feet (570 m). Founded by the Egyptians in 1821, the town was captured and largely destroyed by the Mahdist forces in 1882, but it was rebuilt after Kurdufan was federated with the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1899. Al-Ubayyid is encircled by a forest reserve that tends to alleviate dust storms. Located on a spur of the

Tiepolo, Giovanni Battista

2005-02-27T20:47:00.000-08:00

Great Italian painter of the 18th century. His luminous, poetic frescoes (e.g., “The Banquet of Anthony and Cleopatra,” before 1750), while extending the tradition of Baroque ceiling decoration, epitomize the lightness and elegance of the Rococo period (see photograph).

La Marmora, Alfonso Ferrero

2005-02-27T20:17:00.000-08:00

A graduate of the Turin Military Academy, La Marmora entered the army in 1823 and first distinguished himself in the Italian wars of independence against Austria, especially at Borghetto and Peschiera (May 1848). He also

Acheampong, Ignatius Kutu

2005-02-27T11:01:00.000-08:00

Ghanaian army officer, who, after leading a military revolt that overthrew the government of Kofi Busia, became Ghana's chief of state in 1972. In July 1978 he was forced to resign, and the following June he and his successor, Lieut. Gen. F.W.K. Akuffo, were executed after a coup led by young officers, whose Armed Forces Revolutionary Council returned

Dunqulah

2005-02-26T14:31:00.000-08:00

The historic town of Old Dunqulah (Dunqulah al-'Ajuz) was situated on the

Essy, Amara

2005-02-25T20:11:00.000-08:00

On July 9, 2002, Amara Essy of Côte d' Ivoire became secretary-general of the newly established 53-country African Union (AU), which replaced the 39-year-old Organization of African Unity (OAU). Essy, a career diplomat, was charged with leading the new body, a difficult task given the continent's ethnic, religious, economic, and political differences and the fact that the AU was granted

Caciquism

2005-02-25T09:09:00.000-08:00

The word cacique is of Indian origin but was adopted by the Spanish conquistadores and used to describe heads of Indian tribes or, in the more developed Indian states, governors of districts.

Interior Design, Early medieval Europe

2005-02-25T00:49:00.000-08:00

In the constant warfare that was waged in Europe in the early medieval period, material possessions dwindled to a minimum: a man did not own for long anything he could not defend and had little use or opportunity for interior decoration. If he possessed more than one house, his furniture and possessions would go with him from place to place. During this time, the arts

Kazak Uplands

2005-02-24T16:05:00.000-08:00

Kazak Saryarqa , Russian Kazakhsky Melkosopochnik , also spelled Kazachskij Melkosopocnik hilly upland in central and eastern Kazakstan, occupying about one-fifth of the republic. It is a peneplain, the mountainous Paleozoic foundation of which had already been worn down into an undulating plain by the beginning of the Mesozoic Era, beginning about 245 million years ago. Low hills are characteristic, and there are extensive depressions occupied by saline

Ribaut, Jean

2005-02-23T14:01:00.000-08:00

Jean Ribaut began his naval career as a youth, rising through the ranks to become one of the most dependable officers serving under Admiral Gaspard de Coligny. In 1558 Ribaut was commander of a French supply vessel at the successful capture of Calais from the English, and the following year

Rusk, Dean

2005-02-23T05:12:00.000-08:00

After graduating from Davidson College in 1931, Rusk earned his master's degree at St. John's College, Oxford, as a Rhodes scholar.

Aron, Raymond (-claude-ferdinand)

2005-02-23T03:32:00.000-08:00

The son of a Jewish jurist, Aron obtained his doctorate in 1930 from the École Normale Supérieure with a thesis on the philosophy of history. He was a professor of social philosophy at the University of Toulouse when World War II

Aerospace Industry, Secondary and tertiary aerospace systems

2005-02-22T04:23:00.000-08:00

The secondary product line of the aerospace industry comprises the numerous onboard subsystems required by the designs of the various flight vehicles. Propulsion and avionics are the two most important secondary systems. The industry's tertiary product line includes those ground-based items necessary for the support of flight vehicles.

Pre-columbian Civilizations, Internal division and external expansion

2005-02-21T17:01:00.000-08:00

For some time there had been palace intrigue in Cuzco over who would succeed Viracocha Inca to the throne. The Emperor chose Inca Urcon ('Inka 'Urqon) as his successor, but the two generals Vicaquirao and Apo Mayta preferred another son, Cusi Inca Yupanqui (Kusi 'Inka Yupanki). As the Chanca approached Cuzco, Viracocha Inca and Inca Urcon withdrew to a fort near Calca, while

Pacifism

2005-02-21T03:02:00.000-08:00

In the ancient world, war was taken for granted as a necessary evil by some societies, while in others it was not even regarded as an evil. Individual

France, History Of, The Grand Empire

2005-02-20T20:06:00.000-08:00

Napoleon now had a free hand to reorganize Europe and numerous relatives to install on the thrones of his satellite kingdoms. The result was known as the Grand Empire. Having annexed Tuscany, Piedmont, Genoa, and the Rhineland directly into France, Napoleon placed the Kingdom of Holland (which until 1806 was the Batavian Commonwealth) under his brother Louis, the Kingdom

Mammal, Importance to humans

2005-02-20T18:59:00.000-08:00

Wild and domesticated mammals are so interlocked with our political and social history that it is impractical to attempt to assess the relationship in precise economic terms. Throughout our own evolution, for example, humans have been dependent on other mammals for food and clothing. Domestication of mammals helped to provide a source of protein for ever-increasing

Kyd, Thomas

2005-02-19T21:50:00.000-08:00

English dramatist who, with his The Spanish Tragedie (sometimes called Hieronimo, or Jeronimo, after its protagonist), initiated the revenge tragedy of his day. Kyd anticipated the structure of many later plays, including the development of middle and final climaxes. In addition, he revealed an instinctive sense of tragic situation,

Plant Disease, Biological control

2005-02-19T19:09:00.000-08:00

Biological control of plant diseases involves the use of organisms other than humans to reduce or prevent infection by a pathogen. These organisms are called antagonists; they may occur naturally within the host's environment, or they may be purposefully applied to those parts of the potential host plant where they can act directly or indirectly on the

Ganesan, Sivaji

2005-02-19T04:52:00.000-08:00

Ganesan dropped out of school at a young age in order to join a boys' acting troupe. In 1946 he made his mark playing the title role of the Maratha emperor Sivaji (the historical character who gave him his screen name) in C.N. Annadurai's play Sivaji Kanda Indhu Rajyam. When Annadurai formed the Dravida

Bohra

2005-02-19T00:03:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Bohora, in general, any Shi'i Isma'ili Muslim of the Musta'li sect, living in western India. The name is a corruption of a Gujarati word, vahaurau, meaning “to trade.” The Bohras include, in addition to this Shi'i majority, often of the merchant class, a Sunni minority who are usually peasant farmers. The Musta'li sect (see Isma'ilite), which originated in Egypt and later moved its religious centre to Yemen,

Salamander

2005-02-17T11:01:00.000-08:00

Any member of a group of about 400 species of amphibians that have tails and that constitute the order Caudata. The order comprises 10 families, among which are newts and salamanders proper (family Salamandridae) as well as hellbenders, mud puppies, and lungless salamanders. They most commonly occur in freshwater and damp woodlands,

Paella

2005-02-16T22:32:00.000-08:00

In Spanish cuisine, a dish of saffron-flavoured rice cooked with meats, seafood, and vegetables. Originating in the rice-growing areas on Spain's Mediterranean coast, the dish is especially associated with the region of Valencia. Paella takes its name from the paellera, the utensil in which it is cooked, a flat round pan with two handles; paella is traditionally eaten

Biblical Literature, Arabic versions

2005-02-16T19:13:00.000-08:00

There is no reliable evidence of any pre-Islamic Arabic translation. Only when large Jewish and Christian communities found themselves under Muslim rule after the Arab conquests of the 7th century did the need for an Arabic vernacular Scripture arise. The first and most important was that of Sa'adia ben Joseph (892–942), made directly from Hebrew and written in Hebrew script,

Black Hundreds

2005-02-16T06:27:00.000-08:00

Russian Chernosotentsy, reactionary, antirevolutionary, and anti-Semitic groups formed in Russia during and after the Russian Revolution of 1905. The most important of these groups were the League of the Russian People (Soyuz Russkogo Naroda), League of the Archangel Michael (Soyuz Mikhaila Arkhangela), and Council of United Nobility (Soviet Obedinennogo Dvoryanstva). The Black Hundreds were

Vent, îles Du

2005-02-15T22:17:00.000-08:00

English Windward Group eastern group of islands within the Society Islands, French Polynesia, in the central South Pacific. The group is composed of volcanic islands surrounded by coral reefs. The far larger Tahiti and Moorea (qq.v.) lie at the centre of the group. Maiao, covering about 3 square miles (8 square km) and located some 60 miles (95 km) west of Tahiti, is sparsely populated and is cultivated for

Addison, Thomas

2005-02-15T15:01:00.000-08:00

In 1837 Addison became a full

Soignies

2005-02-15T10:06:00.000-08:00

(French), Flemish Zinnik town (commune), Hainaut province, south-central Belgium. It lies along the Senne River, just northeast of Mons. There was a Roman castrum (fortress) at the site, and the town was said to have been founded in the 7th century by St. Vincent, who built a monastery there. A procession during Pentecost honours St. Vincent. The former conventual church (10th–13th century), one of Belgium's best-preserved

Capsian Industry

2005-02-14T14:26:00.000-08:00

A Mesolithic (8000 BC–2700 BC) cultural complex prominent in the inland areas of North Africa. Its most characteristic sites are in the area of the great salt lakes of what is now southern Tunisia, the type site being Jabal al-Maqta', near Qafsah (Capsa, French Gafsa). Although the tool kit of the Capsian is a classic example of the industries of the late Würm Glacial Period, and, while it is apparently

Denikin, Anton Ivanovich

2005-02-13T19:59:00.000-08:00

A professional in the Imperial Russian Army, Denikin served in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05) and in World War I (1914–16). After the February Revolution of 1917, which overthrew the Romanov dynasty, he became chief of staff

Moshav

2005-02-12T07:07:00.000-08:00

Plural Moshavim, in Israel, a type of cooperative agricultural settlement. The moshav, which is generally based on the principle of private ownership of land, avoidance of hired labour, and communal marketing, represents an intermediate stage between privately owned settlements and the complete communal living of the kibbutz. Moshavim are built on land belonging to the Jewish

Arrow, Kenneth J.

2005-02-12T05:01:00.000-08:00

In full Kenneth Joseph Arrow American economist known for his contributions to welfare economics and to general economic equilibrium theory. He was cowinner (with Sir John R. Hicks) of the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1972. Perhaps his most startling thesis (built on elementary mathematics) was the “impossibility theorem” (or “Arrow's theorem”), which holds that, under certain

Baqdash, Khalid

2005-02-12T01:23:00.000-08:00

As a young man Baqdash went to law school in Damascus but was expelled for illegal political activity. In 1930 he joined the Communist Party and began to acquire a reputation for skillful public debate, dedication

Alonso, Dámaso

2005-02-10T17:07:00.000-08:00

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

Glaucoma

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

Disease caused by an increase in pressure within the eye as a result of blockage of the flow of aqueous humour, a watery fluid produced by the ciliary body. (The ciliary body is a ring of tissue directly behind the outer rim of the iris; besides being the source of aqueous humour, it contains the muscle that flattens the curvature of the lens for far vision.) The normal flow

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

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

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

Doxology

2005-02-10T02:44:00.000-08:00

1. The greater doxology, or Gloria in Excelsis, is the Gloria of the Roman Catholic and Anglican masses, and in its hundreds of musical settings it is usually sung in Latin. It is used in the Roman Catholic liturgy in a contemporary translation and is used liturgically, often in older

Biblical Literature, Major themes and characteristics

2005-02-09T21:19:00.000-08:00

The great biblical themes are about God, his revealed works of creation, provision, judgment, deliverance,

Cradle

2005-02-08T18:43:00.000-08:00

In furniture, infant's bed of wood, wicker, or iron, having enclosed sides and suspended from a bar, slung upon pivots, or mounted on rockers. The rocking motion of the cradle is intended to lull the infant to sleep. The cradle is an ancient type of furniture, and its origins are unknown. Early cradles developed from hollowed-out tree trunks to oblong, lidless wood boxes, originally