DeepKnot

Equatorial Guinea

2005-11-18T09:15:00.000-08:00

Officially Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Spanish República de Guinea Ecuatorial, country located on the west coast of Africa. It consists of Río Muni (also called Mbini), on the continent, and five islands: Bioko (formerly Fernando Po), Corisco, Great Elobey (Elobey Grande), Little Elobey (Elobey Chico), and Annobón. A fragmented country, it has a total area of 10,830 square miles (28,051 square kilometres). The capital of the republic is Malabo on Bioko. Bata is the administrative

California Aqueduct

2005-10-16T05:40:00.000-07:00

Principal water-conveyance structure of the California State Water Project, U.S., running from the Sacramento River Delta east of San Francisco, south through the San Joaquin Valley, and over the summit of the Tehachapi Mountains, a distance of 273 mi (440 km). At this point it divides into east and west branches, the former terminating some 444 mi from the delta. Sizes of channels

Dowson, Ernest (christopher)

2005-07-27T08:50:00.000-07:00

As a boy Dowson lived an unsettled life. In 1886 he entered Queen's College, Oxford, but left in 1888 when a decline in his father's fortunes obliged him to work at his father's dock in the Limehouse district in London. Dowson was an active member of the Rhymers' Club,

Funj Dynasty

2005-07-25T14:05:00.000-07:00

The Funj capital, the city of Sennar, on the left bank of the Blue Nile above its confluence with the White Nile, was founded

Space Shuttle

2005-07-06T04:45:00.000-07:00

Partially reusable rocket-launched vehicle designed to go into orbit around Earth, to transport people and cargo to and from orbiting spacecraft, and to glide to a runway landing on its return to Earth's surface. The first vehicle of this type was developed by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Formally called the Space Transportation System

Muri

2005-06-29T04:50:00.000-07:00

Town and traditional emirate, northwestern Taraba state, eastern Nigeria. Originally part of the 17th-century Jukun kingdom called Kororofa, the region now known as Muri emirate was conquered in the 1804 jihad (holy war) conducted by the Fulani people. By 1817 Hamman Ruwa, a brother of the emir of Gombe, an emirate to the north, had consolidated Fulani control over the non-Muslim

Skamander

2005-06-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

Group of young Polish poets who were united in their desire to forge a new poetic language that would accurately reflect the experience of modern life. Founded in Warsaw about 1918, the Skamander group took its name, and the name of its monthly publication, from a river of ancient Troy. The group was founded by Julian Tuwim and other poets. Tuwim, a lyrical poet of emotional

Kerrier

2005-06-03T06:50:00.000-07:00

The Lizard Peninsula, a heather-covered

Yarim

2005-06-01T01:15:00.000-07:00

Town, southwestern Yemen. It lies in the heart of the Yemen Highlands, on an upland plateau dominated by the massif of nearby Mount Sumarah, which rises to about 10,000 feet (3,000 m) above sea level. In antiquity the Yarim area was the core of the state of Himyar, which ruled over much of southern Arabia from about 115 BC to about AD 575; the Himyarite capital of Zafar (q.v.) was about 9 miles (15 km) south of Yarim. The

Yakima River

2005-05-17T16:25:00.000-07:00

River, south-central Washington, U.S., rising in the Cascade Range, near Snoqualmie Pass. It flows southeastward about 200 miles (320 km) past Ellensburg and Yakima to join the Columbia River near Kennewick in Benton county. The Yakima and its tributaries irrigate about 460,000 acres (190,000 hectares) in the river valley. The Keechelus Dam, near the river's source, is a major unit of the U.S. Bureau

Argentina, Education

2005-05-15T22:05:00.000-07:00

Argentina has one of the more educated populations in Latin America, which is reflected in its large number of schools and high literacy rate. Primary education is compulsory and free; secondary and higher education is offered in free public schools and in private schools subsidized by the state. Higher education in Argentina was seriously hampered by the censorship

Bacchus Marsh

2005-05-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

Town in southern Victoria, Australia. It is located 32 miles (51 km) northwest of Melbourne (to which a growing proportion of its residents commute daily) on the east bank of the Werribee River. In 1838, Captain William Henry Bacchus founded the town, and it grew as a stopping place for Cobb and Company coaches traveling from Melbourne to the Ballarat goldfields. Bacchus Marsh is

Epistemology, Pre-Socratics

2005-03-15T03:43:00.000-08:00

The central focus of ancient Greek philosophy was its attempt to solve the problem of motion. Many pre-Socratic philosophers thought that no logically coherent account of motion and change could be given. This problem was a concern of metaphysics, not epistemology, however, and in the present context it suffices merely to allude to the arguments of Parmenides and

Earthquake

2005-03-11T20:26:00.003-08:00

Any sudden disturbance within the Earth manifested at the surface by a shaking of the ground. This shaking, which accounts for the destructiveness of an earthquake, is caused by the passage of elastic waves through the Earth's rocks. These seismic waves are produced when some form of stored energy, such as elastic strain, chemical energy, or gravitational energy, is

Earthquake

2005-03-11T20:26:00.002-08:00

Earthquake

2005-03-11T20:26:00.001-08:00

Earthquake

2005-03-11T20:26:00.000-08:00

Cond�, Louis Iii, 6e Prince De (6th Prince Of), Duc (duke) De Bourbon

2005-03-07T00:53:00.000-08:00

He was short, with an enormous head and a yellow complexion, and was notoriously malevolent and offensive. In 1685 he was married to one of Louis XIV's bastards, Louise Fran�oise de Bourbon (previously known as Mlle de Nantes). As a soldier

Obando, Jos� Mar�

2005-03-06T21:21:00.000-08:00

Obando fought for the Spanish crown during most of the Latin-American war for independence. He finally joined Sim�n Bol�var's revolutionary forces but opposed Bol�var's centralist

Tiwi

2005-03-05T09:46:00.000-08:00

Resort town, southeastern Luzon, Philippines. It is situated along Lagonoy Gulf of the Philippine Sea. The town lies in a bed of volcanic vents over an active geothermal area; through the vents, sulfurous live steam pours continuously. Tiwi Hot Springs National Park is nearby; there tourists can boil food in the steaming water. There are local handicraft industries

Water Supply

2005-03-04T06:49:00.000-08:00

Available water provided to fulfill a particular need; if the need is domestic, industrial, or agricultural, the water must fulfill both quality and quantity requirements. Water supplies can be obtained by numerous types of water resources projects, such as wells, dams, or reservoirs. See water resource.

Polevskoy

2005-03-03T13:23:00.000-08:00

City, Sverdlovsk oblast (province), western Russia, located near the Chusovaya River in the mid-Urals. Founded in 1724 in connection with copper mining, it was called Polevskoy Zavod until 1928; it became a city in 1942. Copper is still mined and refined there; ferrous metallurgy, hoisting and transport equipment production, and a chemical industry based on Siberian fluorspar are

Hypoxia

2005-03-02T10:52:00.000-08:00

Condition of the body in which the tissues are starved of oxygen. In its extreme form, where oxygen is entirely absent, the condition is called anoxia. There are four types of hypoxia: (1) the hypoxemic type, in which the oxygen pressure in the blood going to the tissues is too low to saturate the hemoglobin; (2) the anemic type, in which the amount of functional hemoglobin is too

Pembroke Table

2005-03-01T21:56:00.000-08:00

Light, drop-leaf table designed for occasional use, probably deriving its name from Henry Herbert, 9th Earl of Pembroke (1693 - 1751), a noted connoisseur and amateur architect. The table has two drawers and flaps on either side that can be raised by brackets on hinges (known as �elbows�) to increase its size. Usually provided with casters (it was often used for bedside meals), the legs of

Hugh Of Lincoln, Little Saint

2005-02-28T03:56:00.000-08:00

The victim of an anonymous

Maastricht

2005-02-26T04:45:00.000-08:00

It was the site of the Roman settlement Trajectum ad

Zanni

2005-02-25T00:38:00.000-08:00

Plural �Zanni, or Zannis, � stock servant character in the Italian improvisational theatre known as the commedia dell'arte. Zanni were valet buffoons, clowns, and knavish jacks-of-all-trades. All possessed common sense, intelligence, pride, and a love of practical jokes and intrigue; they were, however, often quarrelsome, cowardly, envious, spiteful, vindictive, and treacherous. The term is thought

Hisham Ibn 'abd Al-malik

2005-02-24T18:27:00.000-08:00

Before his accession to the throne in 724, Hisham led a quiet life in the Umayyad court, holding no important public offices. He reigned during a time of relative calm. Hisham easily maintained internal security but was forced to mount a number

Puffbird

2005-02-23T06:54:00.000-08:00

Puffbirds feed on flying insects. They resemble their close relatives the jacamars in habits

Fair Labor Standards Act

2005-02-22T15:55:00.000-08:00

Also called �Wages and Hours Act� the first act in the United States prescribing nationwide compulsory federal regulation of wages and hours, sponsored by Sen. Robert F. Wagner of New York and signed on June 14, 1938, effective October 24. The law, applying to all industries engaged in interstate commerce, established a minimum wage of 25 cents per hour for the first year, to be increased to 40 cents within seven years.

Mau Mau

2005-02-21T11:52:00.000-08:00

Militant African nationalist movement that originated in the 1950s among the Kikuyu people of Kenya. The Mau Mau (origin of the name is uncertain) advocated violent resistance to British domination in Kenya; the movement was especially associated with the ritual oaths employed by leaders of the Kikuyu Central Association to promote unity in the independence

Ghats

2005-02-20T09:01:00.000-08:00

Two mountain ranges forming the eastern and western edges, respectively, of the Deccan (q.v.) plateau of peninsular India. In Hindi ghat means �river landing stairs� or �mountain pass� and has been extended in its Anglicized plural form (formerly �ghauts�) to include the mountains themselves. The word refers as well to riverbanks that have been artificially terraced for bathing

Felix I, Saint

2005-02-19T05:58:00.000-08:00

Pope from 269 to 274. Elected to succeed St. Dionysius, Felix was the author of an important dogmatic letter on the unity of Christ's Person. He received the emperor Aurelian's aid in settling a theological dispute between the anti-Trinitarian Paul of Samosata, the deposed bishop of Antioch, and the orthodox Domnus, Paul's successor. Felix was buried in the

Sabotage

2005-02-18T19:47:00.000-08:00

Deliberate destruction of property or slowing down of work with the intention of damaging a business or economic system or weakening a government or nation in a time of national emergency. The word is said to date from a French railway strike of 1910 when workers destroyed the wooden shoes (sabots) that held the rails in place. A few years later sabotage was employed in

Finsen, Niels Ryberg

2005-02-17T10:12:00.000-08:00

Finsen was born into a prominent Icelandic family that was involved in the administration of

Spain, Wildlife

2005-02-16T21:46:00.000-08:00

The proximity of Africa has given Spain more African species than are found in the other Mediterranean peninsulas, while the Pyrenean barrier and the general extent of the country explain the number of indigenous species. The European wolf and the brown bear survive in the wildest areas of the northeast. The Barbary ape is possibly indigenous but more likely an

Ogilby, John

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

Ogilby's early career as a dancing master and theatre owner in Ireland, crowned by the success of a theatre he built in Dublin, ended in 1641 with

Tachism

2005-02-14T06:14:00.000-08:00

French �Tachisme� (from tache, �spot�), style of painting practiced in Paris after World War II and through the 1950s that, like its American equivalent, Action painting, featured the intuitive, spontaneous gesture of the artist's brushstroke. Developed by the young painters Hans Hartung, G�rard Schneider, Pierre Soulages, Frans Wols, Chao Wu-chi (Zao Wu-ki), and Georges Mathieu, Tachism was part

Canaanite Religion

2005-02-13T00:38:00.000-08:00

Beliefs and practices prevalent in ancient Palestine and Syria during the 2nd and 1st millennia BC, centring primarily on the deities El, Baal, and Anath (qq.v.). From time to time it subverted the essential monotheism of the Israelites after they occupied Canaan, the Promised Land of the Old Testament.

Waco

2005-02-12T10:23:00.000-08:00

After the American Civil War Waco became a river-bridge crossing on cattle trails; later its economy was based almost exclusively on cotton,

Feller, Bob

2005-02-11T10:06:00.000-08:00

Feller was signed to a contract with the New Orleans Pelicans in 1935 and joined the Cleveland Indians mid-season in 1936. Initially Feller

Residual Landform

2005-02-09T09:43:00.000-08:00

Also called �Relict Landform, � landform that was produced as the remains of an ancient landscape, escaping burial or destruction to remain as part of the present landscape. Residual landforms are often the result of changed climatic conditions, but they may be due to volcanism or to crustal uplift and downwarping. Examples of residual landforms are extinct volcanic cones, inactive stone rivers

Abe Kobo

2005-02-08T21:01:00.000-08:00

He grew up in Mukden (now Shen-yang), in Manchuria, where his father, a physician, taught at the medical college. The youngster was interested in insect collecting, mathematics, and the writings of Fyodor

Albert, Lake

2005-02-06T14:01:00.000-08:00

Also called �Albert Nyanza� and �Lake Mobutu Sese Seko, � northernmost of the lakes in the Western Rift Valley, in east-central Africa, on the border between Congo (Kinshasa) and Uganda. In 1864 the lake was first visited by a European, Samuel Baker, who was seeking the sources of the Nile; he named it after Queen Victoria's consort and published his experiences in The Albert N'yanza (1866). Romolo Gessi, an Italian soldier and explorer, circumnavigated

Hand Tool, Ax and adz

2005-02-05T06:29:00.000-08:00

The ax and adz are similar enough to be considered together. This is especially the case with ancient tools that were small and ineffective because they were made of brittle stone or had unsatisfactory hafting. The difference between the tools lies in the relation of the cutting edge to the handle. In the ax the cutting edge and handle are parallel, whereas in the adz

Great Barrier Reef

2005-02-04T00:19:00.000-08:00

Pahlavi Language

2005-02-03T21:38:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Pehlevi� major form of the Middle Persian language (see Persian language), which existed from the 3rd to the 10th century and was the official language of the Sasanian empire (AD 226 - 652). It is attested by Zoroastrian books, coins, and inscriptions. Pahlavi books were written in a confusing writing system of Aramaic origin called the Pahlavi alphabet. The major part of Pahlavi literature is

Utopia Planitia

2005-02-02T01:41:00.000-08:00

Northern lava plain on the planet Mars that was selected as the landing site of the U.S. Viking 2 planetary probe. Photographs transmitted from the Viking 2 lander, which touched down at 47.97� N, 225.74� W, on September 3, 1976, depicted a boulder-strewn plain that superficially resembles the Viking 1 landing site in Chryse Planitia. Soil-sample analyses conducted by the landers show that the

Breda, Treaty Of

2005-02-01T16:28:00.000-08:00

(July 31, 1667), treaty between England, the Dutch Republic, France, and Denmark, which brought to an inconclusive end the second Anglo-Dutch War (1665 - 67), in which France and Denmark had supported the Dutch. The Dutch had the military advantage during the war (fought mostly at sea) but were compelled to make peace quickly to deal with Louis XIV's invasion of the Spanish Netherlands in the

Furniture, The American colonies

2005-01-31T01:26:00.000-08:00

Information in inventories and

Duality

2005-01-30T13:34:00.000-08:00

In mathematics, principle whereby one true statement can be obtained from another by merely interchanging two words. It is a property belonging to the branch of algebra known as lattice theory, which is involved with the concepts of order and structure common to different mathematical systems. A mathematical structure is called a lattice if it can be ordered in

Heimdall

2005-01-29T22:34:00.000-08:00

Old Norse �Heimdallr� in Norse mythology, the watchman of the gods. Called the shining god and whitest skinned of the gods, Heimdall dwelt at the entry to Asgard, where he guarded Bifrost, the rainbow bridge. He required less sleep than a bird, could see 100 leagues, and could hear grass growing in the meadows and wool growing on sheep. Heimdall kept the �ringing� horn, Gjallarhorn, which could be heard

Azerbaijan

2005-01-28T21:40:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Azerbaidzhan, �officially �Azerbaijani Republic, �Azerbaijani �Az�rbayjan Respublikasi, � country of eastern Transcaucasia. Occupying an area that fringes the southern flanks of the Caucasus Mountains, it is bounded on the north by Russia, on the east by the Caspian Sea, on the south by Iran, on the west by Armenia, and on the northwest by Georgia. The exclave of Nax�ivan (Nakhichevan) is located southwest of Azerbaijan proper, bounded by Armenia, Iran, and

Biblical Literature, Greek versions

2005-01-27T20:02:00.000-08:00

The first New Testament was done by Maximus of Gallipoli in 1638 (at Geneva?). The British

La Farge, John

2005-01-26T20:49:00.000-08:00

After graduating from St. Mary's College in Maryland, La Farge studied law, but in 1856 he went to Europe to study art. He worked independently, studying briefly in Paris with Thomas Couture and coming under the influence of the work of the Pre-Raphaelites in

Berlin, Free University Of

2005-01-25T04:04:00.000-08:00

German �Freie Universit�t Berlin, � autonomous, state-financed German university. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948, after Berlin was divided, by a group of professors and students who broke away from East Berlin's Friedrich Wilhelm (now Humboldt) University (founded 1809 - 10) to seek academic freedom. The Free University was restructured in 1970 and again in 1974. Its governing board includes the government, faculty, and

Swale

2005-01-24T00:40:00.000-08:00

Borough (district), administrative and historic county of Kent, southeastern England, on the south side of the Thames estuary at its mouth. Swale borough includes the Isle of Sheppey, 9 miles (14 km) long and 4 miles (6 km) wide, to the north. The island is separated from the mainland (south) by The Swale, a branch of the River Medway estuary, which gives its name to the district. Land on

Hinduism, Ahimsa: non-injury

2005-01-23T15:17:00.000-08:00

A further characteristic of Hinduism is the ideal of ahimsa. Ahimsa, �non-injury� or the absence of the desire to harm, is regarded by Indian thinkers as one of the keystones of their ethics. Historically, ahimsa is unrelated to vegetarianism; in ancient India, killing people in war or in capital punishment and killing animals in Vedic sacrifices were acceptable to many

Puff Daddy

2005-01-22T05:40:00.000-08:00

To the delight of his fans and the dismay of his critics, music mogul-producer-rapper Sean ("Puffy") Combs, aka Puff Daddy, remained in the forefront of the music industry in 1998. Although hip-hop devotees derided the self-aggrandizing showman for his creation of hit singles through the liberal "borrowing" of entire choruses of classic songs, most fans and many fellow musicians

Hale Telescope

2005-01-21T10:06:00.000-08:00

In full� George Ellery Hale Telescope,� one of the world's largest and most powerful reflecting telescopes, located at the Palomar Observatory, Mount Palomar, Calif. Having a diameter of 5 m (200 inches), it is second only to the 6-metre (236-inch) reflector of the Special Astrophysical Observatory, Zelenchukskaya, Russia. Financed by the Rockefeller Foundation, the telescope at Palomar was completed in 1948 and named in honour

Arason, J�

2005-01-20T17:27:00.000-08:00

The son of poor parents, he rose quickly to eminence in the church and was consecrated bishop of H�lar, the northern diocese of Iceland, in 1522. He administered his diocese prosperously until Christian III of Denmark began to impose Lutheranism

Clough, Arthur Hugh

2005-01-19T17:50:00.000-08:00

While at Oxford, Clough had intended to become a clergyman, but his increasing religious skepticism caused him to leave the university. He became head of University

Contract Bridge

2005-01-18T13:54:00.000-08:00

In 1994 bridge playing and exchanges of information about the game via computerized networks expanded rapidly. Many professionals began using the networks for coaching clients and for gaining match practice with other pros. Duplicate tournaments were open to all. The 1994 NEC world bridge championships were held in Albuquerque, N.M., from September 17 to October 1, and the tournament's

Carlisle, John G(riffin)

2005-01-17T16:03:00.000-08:00

Carlisle was admitted to the Kentucky bar in 1858 and practiced law in Covington before his election to a term in the state legislature (1859 - 61); he also served in the Kentucky state senate (1866 - 71) and as lieutenant

Lahore

2005-01-16T03:34:00.000-08:00

Little is known of the history of the settlement prior to the Muslim period. Hindu legend attributes the founding of Lahore to Lava, or Loh, son of Rama, for whom it is said to have been named Lohawar. The city

Wicksell, (johan Gustaf) Knut

2005-01-15T20:49:00.000-08:00

In Geldzins und G�terpreise (1898; Interest and Prices, 1936) he propounded an explanation of price-level movements by an aggregate demand - supply analysis focussed on the relations between prospective profit and

Quenching

2005-01-14T06:48:00.000-08:00

Rapid cooling, as by immersion in oil or water, of a metal object from the high temperature at which it has been shaped. This usually is undertaken to maintain mechanical properties associated with a crystalline structure or phase distribution that would be lost upon slow cooling. The technique is commonly applied to steel objects, to which it imparts hardness. On

Dielectric Heating

2005-01-13T10:52:00.000-08:00

Also called �Capacitance Heating, � method by which the temperature of an electrically nonconducting (insulating) material can be raised by subjecting the material to a high-frequency electromagnetic field. The method is widely employed industrially for heating thermosetting glues, for drying lumber and other fibrous materials, for preheating plastics before molding, and for fast jelling and

Ch'i-ying

2005-01-12T23:03:00.000-08:00

A member of the Imperial family of the Ch'ing dynasty (1644 - 1912), Ch'i-ying served in various high governmental positions before being sent to the east-central Chinese city of Nanking in 1842 to negotiate a treaty with the

Kiritimati Atoll

2005-01-11T08:55:00.000-08:00

Also called �Christmas Atoll� largest island of purely coral formation in the world, having an area of 150 square miles (388 square km) and a circumference of about 100 miles (160 km). It is in the Northern Line Islands, part of Kiribati, in the west-central Pacific Ocean. Kiritimati Atoll was sighted on Christmas Eve in 1777 by the English navigator Captain James Cook. Although claimed by the United States under the Guano

India, The Deccan

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

In the Deccan, the Vakataka dynasty was closely tied to the Guptas. With a nucleus in Vidarbha, the founder of the dynasty, Vindhyasakti, extended his power northward as far as Vidisa (near Ujjain). At the end of the 4th century, a collateral line of the Vakatakas was established by Sarvasena in Vatsagulma (Basim, in Akola district), and the northern line helped the southern to conquer

Subiaco

2005-01-09T17:55:00.000-08:00

Ancient (Latin) �Sublaqueum� town, Roma provincia, Lazio (Latium) regione, central Italy. It lies along the Aniene River, 1,345 feet (410 m) above sea level, about 45 miles (73 km) east of Rome. Its ancient name recalls its position below three small lakes where the emperor Nero built a villa. An inundation destroyed the lakes in 1305, and only traces remain of the villa. St. Benedict retired as a hermit (c. 494) to a cave, Sacro Speco (�Holy

Miracle, Sacred places

2005-01-08T20:26:00.000-08:00

Miracles are often connected with special sacred places. Normally these are natural shrines, such as sacred groves, or temples and sanctuaries in which a god or spirit lives or has manifested himself or in which his statue, symbol, holy objects, or relics are enshrined. Holy places, such as Mecca and the Ka'bah in Islam or the Buddhist stupas, are centres of pilgrimages

Duchamp, Marcel

2005-01-07T23:17:00.000-08:00

French artist who broke down the boundaries between works of art and everyday objects. After the sensation caused by �Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2� (1912), he painted few other pictures. His irreverence for conventional aesthetic standards led him to devise his famous ready-mades and heralded an artistic revolution. Duchamp was friendly

Avery, Tex

2005-01-06T21:12:00.000-08:00

Avery's only formal art training consisted of a three-month course at the Art Institute of Chicago during the late 1920s. He began his animation career in 1929 for cartoon producer Walter Lantz at Universal

Eure River

2005-01-05T02:08:00.000-08:00

River in northern France, a left-bank tributary of the Seine, with a length of 140 miles (225 km). From its source in the Perche Hills, Orne d�partement, at an elevation of about 800 feet (240 m), to its confluence with the Seine River above Rouen at Pont de l'Arche, it flows chiefly through agricultural and wooded regions, receiving numerous tributaries, including the Blaise, the Avre, and the

Franceschini, Marcantonio

2005-01-04T22:45:00.000-08:00

Franceschini worked in Genoa, Modena, and Rome as well as in Bologna and worked extensively for patrons in Austria and Germany. He was made director of the Clementina Academy in Bologna in 1721. Franceschini was the last important representative of the

Philip Ii

2005-01-02T04:46:00.000-08:00

In 358 he invaded Paeonia, and then he defeated the Illyrians decisively, in a battle that already suggests a master of war. The next year his marriage with Olympias, the Molossian princess of Epirus (the mother of Alexander the Great), helped to stabilize his western frontier. Now he ventured to antagonize Athens by recapturing Amphipolis, the strategic key securing the

Tarboosh

2005-01-01T14:54:00.000-08:00

The tarboosh, which is of

Feldspathoid

2004-12-31T20:31:00.000-08:00

Any of a group of alkali aluminosilicate minerals similar to the feldspars in chemical composition but either having a lower silica-alkali ratio or containing chloride, sulfide, sulfate, or carbonate. They are considered to be the specific minerals of igneous rocks usually termed alkalic, which is the designation applied to igneous rocks whose alkali content

Rabin, Yitzhak

2004-12-30T05:55:00.000-08:00

Israeli soldier, politician, and statesman (b. March 1, 1922, Jerusalem--d. Nov. 4, 1995, Tel Aviv, Israel), was for some five decades a central figure in shaping his country's history while serving as both a brilliant military strategist and a peace-seeking prime minister. In one of the more memorable moments in recent history, Rabin, at the urging of U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton, shook the hand of Palestine

United Kingdom, Labour and taxation

2004-12-29T10:07:00.000-08:00

Government revenues are derived from several main sources, including income taxes, corporate taxes, taxes on the sale of goods and services, and national insurance contributions. After World War II the government adopted individual income tax rates that were among the highest in Europe. During the last two decades of the 20th century, individual income tax rates

Shimada

2004-12-28T18:08:00.000-08:00

City, Shizuoka ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, on the lower Oi River. During the Tokugawa era (1603 - 1867) it was an important post town on the Tokaido (Eastern Sea Highway) because fording the river was both difficult and dangerous. Since the early 20th century the city has become a trade centre for timber from the forest-covered Akaishi Range upstream. Shimada contains several large paper

Reformed Church Of Hungary

2004-12-27T19:47:00.000-08:00

Except for minor reverses, the Protestants

France, History Of, Louis XIII

2004-12-26T22:01:00.000-08:00

Henry's reign was followed by the regency of his widow, Marie de M�dicis, who ruled on behalf of their young son Louis XIII (1610 - 43). Once more the security of the country was threatened as factions disputed around the throne. The work of Henry IV seemed likely to be undone. Crown and country, however, were rescued by probably the greatest minister of the whole Bourbon dynasty - Armand-Jean

Kildare, Thomas Fitzgerald, 10th Earl Of

2004-12-25T14:03:00.000-08:00

When his father, the Irish lord deputy Gerald, 9th Earl of Kildare, was called to London in February 1534 to answer charges of

Vistula Lagoon

2004-12-24T14:15:00.000-08:00

German �Frisches Haff�, Polish �Zalew Wislany�, Russian �Vislinsky Zaliv� shallow, marsh-fringed lagoon on the Baltic coast, bisected by the Polish-Russian border and considered part of the Gulf of Gdansk. Covering 330 square miles (855 square km), it is 56 miles (90 km) long, 6 to 15 miles (10 to 19 km) wide, and up to 17 feet (5 m) deep. The Nogat, the eastern distributary of the Vistula River delta, is the principal river entering the lagoon. The long, narrow Vistula Spit protects the

Sordone

2004-12-23T09:04:00.000-08:00

Rare double-reed wind instrument of the 16th and 17th centuries, an early precursor of the bassoon. It differs from the curtal, the bassoon's direct predecessor, in having a cylindrical bore (a bassoon bore is conical). The bore, cut into a single piece of wood, doubled in a narrow U-shape and emerged in a lateral hole. Finger holes were cut in the instrument wall. The sordone produced

China, The Five Dynasties and the Ten Kingdoms

2004-12-22T21:00:00.000-08:00

The period of political disunity between the T'ang and the Sung lasted little more than half a century, from 907 to 960. During this brief era, when China was truly a multistate system, five short-lived regimes succeeded one another in control of the old Imperial heartland in northern China, hence the name Wu-tai (Five Dynasties). During these same years, 10 relatively stable regimes

Cone

2004-12-21T01:49:00.000-08:00

Also called �strobilus� in botany, mass of scales or bracts, usually ovate in shape, containing the reproductive organs of certain non-flowering plants. The cone, a distinguishing feature of pines and other conifers, is roughly analogous to the flower of other plants. Cones (strobili) are also found on club mosses and horsetails.

Tombolo

2004-12-20T15:08:00.000-08:00

One or more sandbars or spits that connect an island to the mainland. A single tombolo may connect a tied island to the mainland, as at Marblehead, Mass. A double tombolo encloses a lagoon that eventually fills with sediment; fine examples of these occur off the coast of Italy. The shallower waters that occur between an island and the mainland are the loci of such features

Malcolm X

2004-12-19T20:24:00.000-08:00

Growing up in Lansing, Mich., Malcolm saw his house burned down at the hands

Kochi

2004-12-18T09:31:00.000-08:00

Ken (prefecture), southern Shikoku, Japan, stretching in an arc around Tosa Bay of the Pacific Ocean. It is the largest prefecture on the island, with an area of 2,744 square miles (7,107 square km). The population is concentrated on the Tosa plain, which, except on the south, is surrounded by mountains. Although it is isolated by poor communications, there is a railway from Kochi, the prefectural

Guatemala, Transportation

2004-12-17T18:14:00.000-08:00

Two primary highways extend east-west across Guatemala.

Stafford

2004-12-16T21:13:00.000-08:00

Founded by Aethelflaed, daughter of Alfred the Great, the town of Stafford had its own mint from the reign of Aethelstan to that of Henry II. Stafford town was chartered in

M�laga

2004-12-15T18:19:00.000-08:00

Port city and capital of M�laga provincia, in the comunidad aut�noma (�autonomous community�) of Andalusia, southern Spain. It lies along a wide bay of the Mediterranean Sea at the mouth of the Guadalmedina River in the centre of the Costa del Sol. It was founded by the Phoenicians in the 12th century BC, conquered successively by the Romans and the Visigoths, and taken by the

Averro�

2004-12-14T05:45:00.000-08:00

Medieval Latin �Averrho�s�, also called �Ibn Rushd�, Arabic in full �Abu al-Walid Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Rushd � influential Islamic religious philosopher who integrated Islamic traditions with ancient Greek thought. At the request of the Almohad caliph Abu Ya'qub Yusuf, he produced a series of summaries and commentaries on most of Aristotle's works (1169 - 95) and on Plato's Republic, which exerted considerable influence in

Orangeburg

2004-12-13T01:33:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Orangeburg county, central South Carolina, U.S. It is situated on the North Fork Edisto River. In 1735 Germans, Swiss, and Dutch established a settlement, naming it for William IV, prince of Orange. The Donald Bruce House (c. 1735), on nearby Middlepen Plantation, served as the headquarters for Governor John Rutledge, General William Moultrie, and Lord Rawdon during the

Italy, The age of the Hohenstaufen

2004-12-12T23:23:00.000-08:00

The 12th century witnessed the creation of a new political order in Italy. It was not a tidy process, however. In the south, the foundations laid by the Normans of Capua and by the Hautevilles gained strength with the conquest of Sicily from the Muslims in the late 11th century. Following the death of Robert Guiscard, his brother, Roger I, count of Sicily, went to the mainland

Aspasia

2004-12-11T07:51:00.000-08:00

Mistress of the Athenian statesman Pericles and a vivid figure in Athenian society. Although Aspasia came from the Greek Anatolian city of Miletus and was not a citizen of Athens, she lived with Pericles from about 445 until his death in 429. Because a law sponsored by Pericles in 451 required that for a person to be a citizen both parents must be citizens, their son,