BrightSquare

Harai

2005-08-08T23:50:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Harae, Barai, or Barae, in Japanese religion, any of numerous Shinto purification ceremonies. Harai rites, and similar misogi exercises using water, cleanse the individual so that he may approach a deity or sacred power (kami). Salt, water, and fire are the principal purificatory agents. Many of the rites, such as bathing in cold water, are traditionally explained as the method used by Izanagi

Stability

2005-07-27T21:40:00.000-07:00

In mathematics, condition in which a slight disturbance in a system does not produce too disrupting an effect on that system. In terms of the solution of a differential equation, a function f(x) is said to be stable if any other solution of the equation that starts out sufficiently close to it when x = 0 remains close to it for succeeding values of x. If the difference between the

Marechera, Dambudzo

2005-07-26T03:10:00.000-07:00

Marechera grew up in poverty. He reacted against his upbringing and adopted an increasingly self-destructive lifestyle. He studied at the

Barb

2005-07-23T15:45:00.000-07:00

Also called Barbel (genus Barbus), any of numerous freshwater fishes belonging to a genus in the carp family, Cyprinidae. The barbs are native to Europe, Africa, and Asia. The members of this genus typically have one or more pairs of barbels (slender, fleshy protuberances) near the mouth and often have large, shining scales. The species vary widely in size; certain barbs are only about 2.5–5 cm (1–2 inches)

Oberfranken

2005-07-08T13:10:00.000-07:00

English Upper Franconia Regierungsbezirk (administrative district), northeastern Bavaria Land (state), east-central Germany. Oberfranken is bordered by Thuringia and Saxony Länder to the north, the Czech Republic to the east, and the Regierungsbezirke of Oberpfalz (Upper Palatinate) to the southeast, Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia) to the south, and Unterfranken (Lower Franconia) to the

Faridabad

2005-07-06T17:35:00.000-07:00

Town, southeastern Haryana state, northwestern India, connected by road with Delhi (north) and Mathura (southeast). It is a local market for wheat, sugarcane, and cotton. Founded in 1607 by Shaikh Farid, Emperor Jahangir's treasurer, to protect the Delhi–Agra high road, it was constituted a municipality in 1867. A project for Pakistani refugee resettlement and light industrial development

Botany Bay

2005-06-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

The bay was the site in 1770 of Captain James Cook's first landing in Australia. He named it Stingray Harbour but later changed the name because

Mädler, Johann Heinrich Von

2005-06-23T01:45:00.000-07:00

German astronomer who (with Wilhelm Beer) published the most complete map of the Moon of the time, Mappa Selenographica, 4 vol. (1834–36). It was the first lunar map to be divided into quadrants, and it remained unsurpassed in its detail until J.F. Julius Schmidt's map of 1878. The Mappa Selenographica was accompanied in 1837 by a volume providing

Table Tennis

2005-06-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

Also called (trademark) Ping-pong, ball game similar in principle to lawn tennis and played on a flat table divided into two equal courts by a net fixed across its width at the middle (see illustration). The object is to hit the ball so that it goes over the net and bounces on the opponent's half of the table in such a way that the opponent cannot reach it or return it correctly. The lightweight hollow ball is

Tacoma Narrows Bridge

2005-06-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

First suspension bridge across the Narrows of Puget Sound, connecting the Olympic Peninsula with the mainland of Washington state, U.S., and a landmark failure in engineering history. Four months after its opening, on the morning of November 7, 1940, in a wind of about 42 miles (67 km) per hour, the 2,800-foot (840-metre) main span, which had already exhibited a marked flexibility, went into a series

Quimper

2005-06-13T05:50:00.000-07:00

Breton Kemper town, capital of Finistère département, Bretagne region, France, and a port at the estuarine confluence of the Odet and Steir rivers. Once the ancient capital of the countship Cornouaille, it is associated with the legendary (5th century) king Gradlon, who came from Cornwall in Britain. The countship was united with the duchy of Brittany in the 11th century; but the town suffered

Abu Al-'atahiyah

2005-06-01T15:10:00.000-07:00

Abu al-'Atahiyah (“Father of Craziness”) came from a family of mawlas, poor non-Arabs who were clients of the 'Anaza Arab tribe. The family's poverty prevented Abu al-'Atahiyah from receiving

Zamora

2005-05-18T05:40:00.000-07:00

In full Zamora De Hidalgo, city, northwestern Michoacán state, west-central Mexico. It lies at an elevation of 5,141 feet (1,567 m) above sea level in the Zamora valley, formed by the Duero River. It was founded in 1540 as an outpost to guard against Indians. Commerce, agriculture, and livestock raising are the principal sources of income. Corn (maize), wheat, beans, and numerous fruits and vegetables are grown in the

Pacific Mountain System, Climate

2005-05-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

The orientation of the Pacific mountains has a profound effect on the climate of the western United States and Canada. Regionally, they act as a barrier to storms from the Pacific Ocean, which especially in winter bring large quantities of precipitation to the western slopes of the ranges. For example, the highest annual precipitation levels in the 48 coterminous

Henry I

2005-05-14T08:45:00.000-07:00

The son of Robert II the Pious and grandson of Hugh Capet, founder of the Capetian dynasty, Henry was anointed king at Reims (1026) in his father's lifetime, following the death of his elder brother Hugh. His mother, Constance, however, favoured his younger brother

Orange

2005-03-15T20:55:00.000-08:00

County, eastern Vermont, U.S., bounded to the east by New Hampshire; the Connecticut River constitutes the border. It consists of a piedmont region that includes Butterfield, Knox, and Braintree mountains. The county is drained by the Ompompanoosuc, White, Waits, and Wells rivers; Lakes Morey and Fairlee are among the larger lakes. Recreational areas include Allis and

Tachyon

2005-03-14T18:55:00.000-08:00

Hypothetical subatomic particle whose velocity always exceeds that of light. The existence of the tachyon, though not experimentally established, appears consistent with the theory of relativity, which was originally thought to apply only to particles traveling at or less than the speed of light. Just as an ordinary particle such as an electron can exist only

Niccolite

2005-03-04T09:30:00.000-08:00

An ore mineral of nickel, nickel arsenide (NiAs). It is commonly found associated with other nickel arsenides and sulfides, as in the Natsume nickel deposits, Japan; Andreas-Berg, Ger.; Sudbury, Ont.; and Silver Cliff, Colo. Niccolite is classified in a group of sulfide minerals that exhibit a characteristic hexagonal structure. The name, a derivative of the German word Kupfernickel,

Pleurococcus

2005-03-03T09:06:00.000-08:00

Pleurococcus is found as a thin, green covering on the moist, shaded side of trees, rocks, and soil. Because it grows on the north (or shaded) side of trees, stone walls, and fences, Pleurococcus is an

Olmec

2005-03-02T10:01:00.000-08:00

The Olmec people lived in hot, humid lowlands along the Gulf Coast in what is now southern Veracruz and Tabasco states in southern Mexico. The first evidences of their remarkable

Monde, Le

2005-03-01T07:35:00.000-08:00

The newspaper was established in 1944 - as soon as the German army had quit Paris but while World War II continued - on orders of the new government of General Charles de Gaulle as a means of providing a respected voice for France. It was printed on the

Struve, Pyotr Berngardovich

2005-02-28T00:17:00.000-08:00

While studying economic theory and history at the University of St. Petersburg, Struve became a Marxist. The Marxist analysis of Russian capitalism that he presented in 1894 in his Kriticheskiye zametki k voprocy ob ekonomicheskom razviti rossi (�Critical Remarks on

Smith, Alfred E(manuel)

2005-02-27T20:35:00.000-08:00

When his father died, young Smith interrupted his schooling and went to work for seven years at the Fulton fish market in New York City to help support his family. His political career was launched in 1895, when Tammany Hall - the

Jacare�

2005-02-26T09:17:00.000-08:00

City, southeastern S�o Paulo estado (�state�), Brazil, lying along the Para�ba do Sul River. The settlement was granted town status in 1653 and was made the seat of a municipality in 1849. The local economy depends mainly upon dairying, but coffee, rice, corn (maize), fruits, and feij�o (beans) are also cultivated in the surrounding area. Food processing, distilling, tanning, and the manufacture

Vecchio, Palazzo

2005-02-25T20:59:00.000-08:00

The Tuscan Gothic design of the Palazzo Vecchio has been

Music, Opera.

2005-02-24T10:07:00.000-08:00

Germany and The Netherlands provided particularly fertile ground for new operas. Commissioned by Brussels' Th��tre de la Monnaie, Peter Schat's Symposium--based on the death of Tchaikovsky and the controversial theory that he committed suicide to avoid exposure as a homosexual--was premiered by the Netherlands Opera. The Holland Festival also saw the first performances

Indes, Compagnie Fran�aise Des

2005-02-23T20:37:00.000-08:00

(French: �French Company of the Indies�), one of the companies known as the French East India Company (q.v.).

Dante

2005-02-22T14:12:00.000-08:00

Dante's years of exile were years of difficult peregrinations from one place to another - as he himself repeatedly says, most effectively in Paradiso [XVII], in Cacciaguida's moving lamentation that �bitter is the taste of another man's bread and . . . heavy the way up and down another man's stair.� Throughout his exile Dante nevertheless was sustained by work on his great poem,

Empiricism, Stricter senses

2005-02-21T15:33:00.000-08:00

As a more strictly defined movement, Empiricism reflects certain fundamental distinctions and occurs in varying degrees.

Fredegarius

2005-02-20T20:32:00.000-08:00

The supposed author of a chronicle of Frankish history composed between 658 and 661. All the extant manuscripts of this chronicle are anonymous, and the attribution of it to �Fredegarius� dates from the edition of it by Claude Fauchet in 1579. The author set a fairly detailed history of his own times in the framework of a universal chronicle, drawing, for early Merovingian

Grace

2005-02-19T04:20:00.000-08:00

In Christian theology, the spontaneous, unmerited gift of the divine favour in the salvation of sinners, and the divine influence operating in man for his regeneration and sanctification. The English term is the usual translation for the Greek charis, which occurs in the New Testament about 150 times (two-thirds of these in writings attributed to Paul). Although the word

Radical

2005-02-18T09:01:00.000-08:00

Also called �Free Radical, � in chemistry, molecule that contains at least one unpaired electron. Most molecules contain even numbers of electrons, and the covalent chemical bonds holding the atoms together within a molecule normally consist of pairs of electrons jointly shared by the atoms linked by the bond. Most radicals may be considered to have arisen by cleavage of normal electron-pair

Ah Kin

2005-02-17T04:13:00.000-08:00

(Mayan: �He of the Sun�), the regular clergy of the Yucatec Maya in pre-Columbian times. The Ah Kin are best known historically for their performance in the ritual sacrifice of victims, whose hearts were offered to the Mayan gods. The chief priest (Ah Kin Mai) served in the various capacities of administrator, teacher, healer, astronomer, adviser to the chief, and diviner. Priests

Banha

2005-02-16T21:34:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Benha, � town, capital of Al-Qalyubiyah muhafazah (governorate), Lower Egypt. The town lies on the right (east) bank of the Damietta Branch of the Nile and on the At-Tawfiqi Canal in the delta area. It is about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Cairo on the highway to Alexandria. Its Arabic name is derived from the Coptic name Panaho. Since the early European Middle Ages, Banha has been known for the production

Jefferson, Martha

2005-02-15T02:25:00.000-08:00

After Jefferson became president in 1801, he often called upon Dolley Madison, wife of his secretary of state, James Madison, to handle social events at the White House. On other occasions his daughters Patsy and Polly served as hostesses. During Jefferson's second administration, Patsy gave birth to a son, the first baby to be born in the White House.

Dandridge, Dorothy

2005-02-14T18:31:00.000-08:00

Dandridge's mother was an entertainer and comedic actress who, after settling in Los Angeles, had some success in radio and, later, television. The young Dorothy and her sister Vivian

Sinkiang, Uygur Autonomous Region Of, Government

2005-02-13T00:23:00.000-08:00

The administrative structure of Sinkiang reflects the policies of recognition of ethnic minorities and self-administration, in which local leaders are appointed to governmental positions. The Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang is divided on the subprovincial level into three types of administrative units. There are three municipalities (shih) under direct

Sinkiang, Uygur Autonomous Region Of, Government

2005-02-12T06:45:00.000-08:00

American symphony orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded by Adella Prentiss Hughes in 1918 and was one of the last major American orchestras to be created. Nikolai Sokoloff (1918 - 33), the first music director, was succeeded by Artur Rodzinski (1933 - 43), Erich Leinsdorf (1943 - 46, mostly in absentia; he was serving concurrently in the U.S. armed forces), George Szell (1946 - 70), Pierre Boulez (1970 - 72), Lorin Maazel

Rakshasa

2005-02-11T09:01:00.000-08:00

Sanskrit (male) �Raksasa�, or (female) �Raksasi� in Hindu mythology, a type of demon or goblin. Rakshasas have the power to change their shape at will and appear as animals, as monsters, or in the case of the female demons, as beautiful women. They are most powerful in the evening, particularly during the dark period of the new moon, but they are dispelled by the rising sun. They especially detest sacrifices and prayer. Most

Theatrical Production, Dramatist and director domination

2005-02-09T05:57:00.000-08:00

During certain periods the work of the dramatist, regardless of his subsequent involvement, determined the creative process in production. In ancient Greece the selection of a play was the first step in production. In the 19th and 20th centuries the acquisition of a script was also the preliminary step in establishing the single-show association. Only occasionally,

Robert The Devil

2005-02-08T01:07:00.000-08:00

French �Robert Le Diable, � legendary son of a duke of Normandy, born in answer to prayers addressed to the devil. He uses his immense strength only for crime. Directed by the pope to consult a certain holy hermit, he is delivered from his curse by maintaining absolute silence, feigning madness, taking his food from the mouth of a dog, and provoking ill-treatment from the common people without retaliating.

Qalamkari Textile

2005-02-07T08:47:00.000-08:00

The textile designs reflect the Persianized tastes of the wealthy ruling class and also

Gatling, Richard Jordan

2005-02-06T03:15:00.000-08:00

Gatling's career as an inventor began when he assisted his father in the construction and perfecting of machines for sowing cotton seeds and for thinning cotton plants. In 1839 he perfected a practical

Guinea

2005-02-05T06:20:00.000-08:00

There is a distinction

Buzzards Bay

2005-02-04T23:11:00.000-08:00

Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, indenting southeastern Massachusetts, U.S. The bay is 30 miles (48 km) long and 5 - 10 miles (8 - 16 km) wide. It extends to the base of the Cape Cod peninsula (northeast) and is bounded on the southeast by the Elizabeth Islands. It is connected to Cape Cod Bay by the Cape Cod Canal (northeast). The name Buzzards Bay may have originated from the misidentification of ospreys

U Thong Style

2005-02-03T18:53:00.000-08:00

One of the canonical styles for Buddha icons developed in Thailand (Siam) in the southern capital of Ayutthaya, beginning in the 14th century. To retain the greatest spiritual potency, Buddha icons in Thai temples had to resemble as closely as possible an original prototype that tradition erroneously believed had been made during the lifetime of the Buddha. Of the

Cynodont

2005-02-02T00:31:00.000-08:00

The cynodont skull

Narbonensis

2005-02-01T05:26:00.000-08:00

The area first entered ancient history when the Greek colony of Massilia (modern Marseille) was founded about 600 BC. Roman armies first entered the area in 154 BC to help defend Massilia against Celtic invaders. The Romans conquered

Narbonensis

2005-01-31T03:59:00.000-08:00

Narbonensis

2005-01-30T21:57:00.000-08:00

The company was incorporated in 1892, acquiring all the assets of the Edison General Electric

Woolsey, Sarah Chauncey

2005-01-28T02:39:00.000-08:00

Woolsey displayed a love for reading and writing stories at an early age. In 1855 she moved with her family to New Haven, Connecticut (her uncle, Theodore Dwight Woolsey, was president of Yale College). During the

Uddevalla

2005-01-27T06:04:00.000-08:00

Town, V�stra G�taland l�n (county), southwestern Sweden. It lies along the B�ve River, at the head of By Fjord (an inlet of the Skagerrak), north of G�teborg. The site has been identified with Odensvold, a pagan place of sacrifice. The town was incorporated in 1498. On several occasions during the Danish-Swedish wars, large parts of it were destroyed and ravaged by fire. Uddevalla

Arts, East Asian, Painting and pictorial arts

2005-01-26T00:10:00.000-08:00

Practically nothing survives of Chou painting, although from literary evidence it seems that the art developed considerably, particularly during the period of the Warring States. Palaces and ancestral halls were decorated with wall paintings. Late Chou texts tell of a craftsman working for the Duke of Chou (Chou Kung) who covered the stock of a whip with minute

Nigeria

2005-01-25T02:49:00.000-08:00

In 1999 Nigeria underwent major political change. Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, interim leader since the death of Sani Abacha in June 1998, oversaw the transition to a democratically elected government and the establishment of a new constitution. Three parties participated in the national elections: the centre-left People's Democratic Party (PDP), the Alliance for Democracy

Dielasma

2005-01-24T10:54:00.000-08:00

Genus of extinct brachiopods, or lamp shells, that occur as fossils in rocks deposited in marine environments of Carboniferous to Permian age (between 360 and 245 million years old). The two small, rather smooth valves of the shell of Dielasma are slightly convex in profile, but the pedicle, or foot, valve is much larger than the brachial, or upper, valve. Growth lines

Teresa Of �vila, Saint

2005-01-23T10:27:00.000-08:00

Also called �Saint Teresa of Jesus�, original name �Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada� Spanish nun, one of the great mystics and religious women of the Roman Catholic church, and author of spiritual classics. She was the originator of the Carmelite Reform, which restored and emphasized the austerity and contemplative character of primitive Carmelite life. St. Teresa was elevated

Falkland Current

2005-01-22T22:11:00.000-08:00

Branch of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the Southern Hemisphere, flowing northward in the South Atlantic Ocean along the east coast of Argentina to about latitude 30� to 40� S, where it is deflected eastward after meeting the southward-flowing Brazil Current. Characterized by cold temperatures varying from 41� to 66� F (5� to 19� C), the current has a relatively low salinity averaging

General Sarmiento

2005-01-21T16:54:00.000-08:00

Partido (county) of Gran (�Greater�) Buenos Aires, Argentina. It lies northwest of the city of Buenos Aires, in Buenos Aires provincia. The early settlement of the county centred on the agricultural plantation San Jos� del Pilar, established by Adolfo Sordeaux in 1862. This plantation settlement led Sordeaux to establish the towns of San Miguel and Bella Vista in 1872. In 1889 General

Egypt, Ancient, Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton)

2005-01-20T05:35:00.000-08:00

The earliest monuments of Amenhotep IV, who in his fifth regnal year changed his name to Akhenaton (�one useful to Aton�), are conventional in their iconography and style, but from the first he gave the sun god a didactic title naming Aton, the solar disk. This title was later written inside a pair of cartouches, as a king's name would be. The king declared his religious allegiance

Tz'u

2005-01-19T07:40:00.000-08:00

In Chinese poetry, song form characterized by lines of unequal length, with prescribed rhyme schemes and tonal patterns, each bearing the name of a musical air. The varying line lengths are comparable to the natural rhythm of speech and therefore easily understood when sung. First sung by ordinary folk, they were popularized by professional women singers and poets

Denon, Dominique Vivant, Baron

2005-01-18T21:08:00.000-08:00

Denon studied law in Paris but turned to the theatre, writing a successful comedy at age 23. He drew and painted and was commissioned by Louis XV to arrange a cabinet of carved gems. Between 1772 and 1787 he carried

Shedd Aquarium

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

In full� John G. Shedd Aquarium, � one of the largest indoor aquariums in the world. Built with funds donated by John Graves Shedd, a prominent local businessman, the aquarium opened in Chicago in 1929. It contains more than 200 exhibition tanks, housing in excess of 5,000 specimens of 560 species of fishes (both freshwater and marine) and other aquatic animals from around the world. The total water capacity is more than

Selebi-phikwe

2005-01-16T02:37:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Selebi-pikwe, � mining town, eastern Botswana. Selebi-Phikwe is located 62 miles (100 km) southeast of Francistown. Situated in the centre of a large copper-nickel mine and a smelter complex, it was one of the fastest-growing towns in the country in the late 20th century. The copper and nickel operation, in which the government of Botswana had a 15 percent share, began production in 1974. Laid out as a fully

Anckarsv�rd, Carl Henrik, Greve(count)

2005-01-15T02:45:00.000-08:00

Unlike many other �men of 1809,� Anckarsv�rd did not retreat from his liberal principles when a democratization of society became a practical possibility.

Agrostology

2005-01-14T17:43:00.000-08:00

The branch of botany concerned with the study of grasses, especially their classification. In 1708 the German botanist Johann Scheuchzer wrote Agrostographiae Helveticae Prodromus, a taxonomic paper on grasses that some authors consider to mark the birth of agrostology. Many systems of classification followed this brief beginning. The earliest were based purely

Asherah

2005-01-13T07:19:00.000-08:00

Ancient West Semitic goddess, consort of the supreme god. Her principal epithet was probably �She Who Walks on the Sea.� She was occasionally called Elath (Elat), �the Goddess,� and may have also been called Qudshu, �Holiness.� According to texts from Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra, Syria), Asherah's consort was El, and by him she was the mother of 70 gods. As mother goddess she was widely worshiped

Konovalov, Aleksandr Ivanovich

2005-01-12T23:23:00.000-08:00

Born into a prosperous family engaged in textile manufacturing, Konovalov was educated in England

Systems Engineering

2005-01-11T11:13:00.000-08:00

Systems engineering is not so much a branch of engineering as it is a technique for applying knowledge from other branches of engineering and disciplines of science in effective combination

Respiration, Human

2005-01-10T05:02:00.000-08:00

The process by which oxygen is taken up and carbon dioxide discharged.

Wicca

2005-01-09T16:43:00.000-08:00

A predominantly Western movement whose followers practice witchcraft and nature worship and who see it as a religion based on pre-Christian traditions of northern and western Europe. It spread through England in the 1950s and subsequently attracted followers in Europe and the United States.

Taraba

2005-01-08T11:49:00.000-08:00

Most of the northern part of the state is a wooded savanna region drained by the Benue River and its tributaries.

Farjeon, Eleanor

2005-01-07T11:08:00.000-08:00

The daughter of a British novelist and granddaughter of a U.S. actor, Eleanor Farjeon grew up in the bohemian literary and dramatic circles of London. Attending opera and

Radishchev, Aleksandr Nikolayevich

2005-01-06T14:48:00.000-08:00

Radishchev, a nobleman, was educated in Moscow (1757 - 62), at the St. Petersburg Corps of Pages (1763 - 66), and at Leipzig, where he studied law (1766 - 71). His career as a civil servant brought him into contact with people from all social strata. Under the influence

Earth Sciences, Observation and study of storms

2005-01-05T03:08:00.000-08:00

Storms, particularly tropical revolving storms, were subjects of much interest. As early as 1697 some of the more spectacular features of revolving storms were recorded in William Dampier's New Voyage Round the World. On July 4, 1687, Dampier's ship survived the passage of what he called a �tuffoon� off the coast of China. The captain's vivid account of this experience clearly describes

Lipalian Interval

2005-01-04T13:18:00.000-08:00

In geology, time span suggested in an attempt to explain the sudden appearance of abundant life forms in the earliest known Cambrian rocks (approximately 570,000,000 years old), in contrast to their absence in the latest Precambrian strata (no more than about 800,000,000 years old). Unlike Precambrian indications of life, Cambrian faunas are comparatively highly developed and diverse,

Jackson, John

2005-01-03T21:00:00.000-08:00

American blues guitarist (b. Feb. 25, 1924, Woodville, Va. - d. Jan. 20, 2002, Fairfax, Va.), was considered a master of the Piedmont blues tradition. While playing guitar for friends at a gas station in Fairfax, Va., in 1964, Jackson was discovered by University of Virginia folklorist Charles L. Perdue, who subsequently arranged for Jackson to go on tour and introduced him to record company executives.

Arts, South Asian, Mughal style: Aurangzeb and the later Mughals (1659 - 1806)

2005-01-02T16:07:00.000-08:00

From the reign of Aurangzeb (1659 - 1707), a few pictures have survived that essentially continue the cold style of Shah Jahan; but the rest of the work is nondescript, consisting chiefly of an array of lifeless portraits, most of them the output of workshops other than the imperial atelier. Genre scenes, showing gatherings of ascetics and holy men, lovers in a garden or on a terrace,

Altria Group

2005-01-01T03:50:00.000-08:00

The ancestor of the present company was incorporated in 1919 as Philip Morris

Karun River

2004-12-31T19:45:00.000-08:00

Persian �Rud-e Karun�, ancient �Ulai�, or �Eulaeus� river in southwestern Iran, a tributary of the Shatt al-Arab, which it joins at Khorramshahr. It rises in the Bakhtiari Mountains west of Esfahan and follows a tortuous course trending basically southwest. The Karun's total length is 515 miles (829 km), though the direct distance from its source to the junction with the Shatt al-Arab is only 180 miles (290 km). Its catchment basin up to Ahvaz has an

Aguadilla

2004-12-30T19:51:00.000-08:00

Town, northwestern Puerto Rico. The town is a port on a wide bay formed on the south by the hills of Punta Hig�ero (Jiguera) and on the north by Punta Borinquen, the northwestern corner of the island. It was established as a town in 1775 and elevated to the royal rank of villa in 1861. The town is a processing and trading centre for a prosperous agricultural hinterland; products include

Argun River

2004-12-29T17:41:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Pinyin) �Ergun He� or �(Wade-Giles) �O-erh-ku-na Ho�

Utrecht

2004-12-28T00:36:00.000-08:00

The site of successive Roman, Frisian, and Frankish fortresses, Utrecht became

�rhus

2004-12-27T05:35:00.000-08:00

Amtskommune (county commune), eastern Jutland, Denmark, created in 1970 from the former county communes of �rhus, Randers, and part of Skanderborg. It extends along Jutland's eastern coast between Mariager and Horsens fjords. The northern part of the county commune is dominated by the Djursland peninsula, an area of castles and estates, including Rosenholm Castle (home

Mesopotamia, History Of, Mesopotamia under the Persians

2004-12-26T21:13:00.000-08:00

Cyrus II, the founder of the Achaemenian Empire, united Babylonia with his country in a personal union, assuming the title of �King of Babylonia, King of the Lands.� His son Cambyses was appointed vice-king and resided in Sippar. The Persians relied on the support of the priests and the business class in the cities. In a Babylonian inscription, Cyrus relates with pride his

Russell

2004-12-25T00:38:00.000-08:00

Community, Northland local government region, northeastern North Island, New Zealand, on the southeastern shore of the Bay of Islands. Under its original name of Okiato, the town was chosen (1840) by Lieutenant Governor William Hobson to be the first capital of New Zealand. It was subsequently renamed in honour of Lord John Russell, then secretary of state for the colonies.

Sabaean

2004-12-24T17:43:00.000-08:00

Member of a people of South Arabia in pre-Islamic times, founders of the kingdom of Saba' (q.v.), the biblical Sheba.

Monongahela River

2004-12-23T08:42:00.000-08:00

River formed by the confluence of the Tygart and West Fork rivers in Marion county, W.Va., U.S. It flows 128 miles (206 km) in a northerly direction past Morgantown into Pennsylvania, past Brownsville and Charleroi, joining the Allegheny River at Pittsburgh to become a major headwater of the Ohio River. In its upper reaches the river has a swift current and furnishes hydroelectric

Shensi, Southern Shensi

2004-12-22T06:09:00.000-08:00

The history of the southern part of the province has been considerably more placid than that of the north. Until the late 17th century the area was very sparsely peopled, and much of it, apart from the Han-chung basin, is still virgin forest. In the period after about 1680 the introduction of corn (maize) and sweet potatoes, followed in the 18th century by the introduction of the Irish

Grant, Bernie

2004-12-21T08:37:00.000-08:00

In full �Bernard Alexander Montgomery Grant� British politician who, with Paul Boateng and Diane Abbott, was one of the first persons of African descent to win election to the House of Commons. The son of educators, he attended St. Stanislaus College, one of the finest schools in British Guiana. In the early 1960s he moved to the United Kingdom and became

Desgarcins, Magdeleine-marie

2004-12-20T14:58:00.000-08:00

Desgarcins made her debut at the Com�die-Fran�aise in Jean Racine's Bajazet (1788) and was at once made a full member of the company. When the conflicts of the Revolution caused a split in the company in 1791, she and Fran�ois Talma, with whom she usually appeared, formed a new company

Cable

2004-12-19T05:29:00.000-08:00

Electric cables used to transmit information are quite different from power cables, both in function and in design. Power cables are designed for high voltages and high current loads, whereas both voltage and current in a communication cable are small. Power cables operate on direct current or low-frequency alternating current, while communication cables operate

Saalfelden

2004-12-18T16:10:00.000-08:00

Also called �Saalfelden Am Steinernen Meer, � town, Bundesland (federal province) Salzburg, west central Austria, at the southwest foot of the Steinernes Meer (Sea of Stones) Mountains, near the Saalach River southwest of Salzburg. An old market town, it is also a winter and summer resort and makes leather goods and beer. There are several castles nearby, including the 14th-century Schloss Lichtenberg. The late Gothic

Saalfelden

2004-12-16T15:37:00.000-08:00

Vision

2004-12-15T08:52:00.000-08:00

Physiological process of distinguishing, usually by means of an organ such as the eye, the shapes and colours of objects. See eye; photoreception; sense.

Literature, Danish.

2004-12-14T04:18:00.000-08:00

Danish writers cast reality to the wind and explored �surreality� in 2001. Per H�jholt's novel Auricula described a universal silence that is followed by the marvelous conception of actual ears that witness pivotal events of the 20th century; gossip with artists, philosophers, and politicians; and serve as �ear witnesses

Petaling Jaya

2004-12-13T18:52:00.000-08:00

City, West Malaysia (Malaya), about 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Kuala Lumpur, the national capital. Established (1953) originally as a satellite settlement for squatters of Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya is among the most industrialized and prosperous cities in Malaysia. Local industries include the processing of food, rubber, and wood and the manufacture of paper, chemicals, pharmaceuticals,

Bridge

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

In stringed musical instruments, piece of elastic wood that transmits the vibrations of the string to the resonating body. Bridges are of two kinds. In the pressure bridge, the string is fastened at one end to a tuning peg or a wrest pin and at the other to a pin or a tailpiece; it passes over the bridge (or bridges), which may be glued to the soundboard (as in the piano) or held

China, Japanese aggression

2004-12-11T19:15:00.000-08:00

In September 1931 a group of officers in the Kwantung Army set in motion a plot to compel the Japanese government to extend its power in Manchuria. The Japanese government was drawn, step by step, into the conquest of Manchuria and the creation of a regime known as Manchukuo. China was unable to prevent Japan from seizing this vital area. In 1934, after long negotiations, Japan

Rambouillet, Catherine De Vivonne, Marquise De

2004-12-10T00:04:00.000-08:00

Mme de Rambouillet was of noble background and was married at the age of 12 to Charles d'Angennes, later marquis de Rambouillet. Revolted by the coarseness of the French court under Henry IV and distressed by the amount

Pittsburgh, University Of

2004-12-09T09:56:00.000-08:00

Coeducational state system of higher learning in Pennsylvania, U.S., comprising a main campus in Pittsburgh and branches in Bradford, Greensburg, Johnstown, and Titusville. The Pittsburgh campus is a comprehensive research institution of higher learning and includes 16 schools that offer more than 360 degree programs. Among these schools are those of Medicine, Dental