IllFork

Vanbrugh, Sir John

2005-03-19T22:48:00.000-08:00

Vanbrugh's grandfather was a Flemish merchant, and his father was a sugar baker in Chester, Cheshire, England, where the young Vanbrugh (by tradition)

Animal Learning

2005-03-16T08:44:00.000-08:00

That animals can learn seems to go without saying. The cat that runs to its food dish when it hears the sound of the cupboard opening; the rat that solves a maze in the laboratory; the bird that acquires the song of its species—these

Accompaniment

2005-03-15T18:09:00.000-08:00

In music, auxiliary part or parts of a composition designed to support the principal part or to throw it into relief. In secular medieval music and in much folk and non-European music, instrumental accompaniments for singers consist of unison or octave duplications of the melody (sometimes with slight differences, creating heterophony, the simultaneous performance

Ramillies, Battle Of

2005-03-12T22:24:00.000-08:00

The battle was fought at the village of Ramillies, 13 miles north of Namur (in modern Belgium), between a 62,000-man Allied army under Marlborough and a 60,000-man

France, History Of, The grandsons of Clovis

2005-03-11T01:20:00.000-08:00

At the death of Chlotar I (561) the Frankish kingdom, which had become the most powerful state in the west, was once again divided, this time between his four sons. The partition agreement, based on that of 511, dealt with more extensive territories. Guntram received the eastern part of the former kingdom of Orléans, enlarged by the addition of Burgundy. Charibert I's share was fashioned

Straparola, Gianfrancesco

2005-03-08T20:17:00.000-08:00

Straparola's Piacevoli notti (1550–53; The Nights of Straparola) contains 75 novellas (short prose tales) that were later used as source material by William Shakespeare, Molière, and others; it introduced into European literature 20 folktales, among

Uraninite

2005-03-07T00:06:00.000-08:00

The element uranium was discovered by

R.j. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings

2005-03-04T19:07:00.000-08:00

American manufacturer of tobacco products. The origins of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company date to the post-Civil War era, when Richard Joshua Reynolds (1850–1918) began trading in tobacco, first in his native Virginia and then in Winston, North Carolina, where in 1875 he established his first plug factory. In 1899 the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company was incorporated, with Reynolds as president.

Burglary

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

In criminal law, the breaking and entering of the premises of another with an intent to commit a felony within. Burglary is one of the specific crimes included in the general category of theft (q.v.).

Quinto Real

2005-02-28T13:40:00.000-08:00

(Spanish: “royal fifth”), in colonial Spanish America, a tax levied by the crown on mineral products; it was the principal source of profit derived by Spain from its colonies. The percentage was fixed at one-fifth in 1504, to be paid for 10 years, but the rate remained at generally that level until the 18th century. In 1723 the quinto was almost uniformly reduced to the diezmo (one-tenth); in 1777 the

'arish, Al-

2005-02-26T23:23:00.000-08:00

Known

Philadelphia Zoological Gardens

2005-02-24T21:41:00.000-08:00

First zoo in the United States, opened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1874 with an animal inventory of several hundred native and exotic specimens. It was begun and continues to be operated by the Zoological Society of Philadelphia, founded in 1859. In 1868, three years after the end of the American Civil War, a 42-acre (17-hectare) site was selected in Fairmount Park, an architect was sent

Acrocyanosis

2005-02-23T00:25:00.000-08:00

Uneven reddish-blue discoloration of the hands caused by spasms in arterioles (small arteries) of the skin. Less commonly the feet are affected. The fingers, or toes, are usually cold and sweat copiously. The condition may be the result of an endocrine disorder or of some anxiety state. It is most common in adolescents and those in the 20s and usually improves with age.

Khorram-dinan

2005-02-21T00:55:00.000-08:00

The doctrinal beliefs of the Khorram-dinan are not altogether clear. Although the sect accepted the general principles of Islam, its members also believed in transmigration of the soul and placed special emphasis on the

Gamma Ray

2005-02-19T04:01:00.000-08:00

Gamma rays were named (1903) by Ernest Rutherford when evidence showed they differed from beta rays (electrons ejected by radioactive nuclei). Gamma radiation originates in atomic nuclei during

Durham

2005-02-16T04:06:00.000-08:00

Administrative, geographic, and historic county of northeastern England, on the North Sea coast. The administrative, geographic, and historic counties cover somewhat different areas. The administrative county comprises seven districts: Chester-le-Street, Derwentside, the city of Durham, Easington, the borough of Sedgefield, Teesdale, and Wear Valley. The geographic

Hypostyle Hall

2005-02-15T19:58:00.000-08:00

In architecture, interior space whose roof rests on pillars or columns. The word means literally “under pillars,” and the design allows for the construction of large spaces—as in temples, palaces, or public buildings—without the need for arches. It was used extensively in ancient Egypt—where the Temple of Amon at Karnak provides a good example—and in Persia—where the

Sporophyte

2005-02-13T16:59:00.000-08:00

In certain plants and algae, nonsexual phase (or an individual representing the phase) in the alternation of generations—a phenomenon in which two distinct phases (a haploid and a diploid phase) occur in the life history of a plant, each phase producing the other. (The alternate, sexual phase is the gametophyte.) In the sporophyte phase, a diploid plant body grows and eventually

Blanqui, Adolphe

2005-02-11T02:00:00.000-08:00

In 1833 Blanqui succeeded Jean-Baptiste Say, under whom he had studied, to the chair of political economy at the Conservatory of Arts and Trades. Blanqui's work blended theoretical and empirical approaches in an

Biblical Literature, Prophetic themes and actions

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

The first section of the book (chapters 1–24) contains prophecies against Judah and Jerusalem. Ezekiel's call is recorded in chapter 1 to chapter 3, verse 15. It came in a vision of four heavenly cherubim, who appeared in a wind from the north, a cloud, and flashing fire (lightning?)—traditional symbolic elements of a theophany (manifestation of a god) in ancient Near Eastern religions.

Qualitative Chemical Analysis

2005-02-06T19:52:00.000-08:00

Branch of chemistry that deals with the identification of elements or grouping of elements present in a sample. The techniques employed in qualitative analysis vary in complexity, depending on the nature of the sample. In some cases it is necessary only to verify the presence of certain elements or groups for which specific tests applicable directly to the sample

Japanese Torreya

2005-02-05T01:55:00.000-08:00

Also called nut-bearing torreya , or Kaya (Torreya nucifera) an ornamental evergreen timber tree of the yew family (Taxaceae), native to the southern islands of Japan. Although it is the hardiest species of its genus and may be 10 to 25 m (about 35 to 80 feet) tall, it assumes a shrubby form in less temperate areas. Spreading, horizontal, or slightly ascending branches give the tree a compact ovoid or pyramidal head. The bark

Belarus, Flag Of

2005-02-03T17:19:00.000-08:00

The Slavic peoples of what is now Belarus were in the past ruled by Prussia, Poland, Lithuania, and Russia. Consequently no distinctive national symbols were developed until the 20th century, when for the first time Belarus became independent. With the breakup of the Russian Empire near the end of World War I, a Belarusian state existed briefly. Its first flag was plain

Mabini, Apolinario

2005-02-01T11:26:00.000-08:00

Born into a peasant family, Mabini studied at San Juan de Letran College in Manila and won a law degree from the University of Santo Tomás in 1894. In an insurrection organized in August 1896 by nationalists, he joined the

Ramathibodi I

2005-01-29T13:07:00.000-08:00

Little is known of Ramathibodi's early career, but he is thought to have been related to the ruling family of the principality of Lop Buri and to have married the daughter of the ruler of U Thong (now Suphan Buri) in central Siam. He succeeded to the throne of U Thong in about 1347 and moved

Atar

2005-01-28T16:41:00.000-08:00

Town, west-central Mauritania. It is an oasis and a caravan stopping point and lies on a road leading southwest to Nouakchott, the national capital. The oasis produces dates and grains and supports cattle, sheep, and goat grazing. Atar is the site of an airstrip; it also has a school for traditional weaving, and it is an important source of rugs. Pop. (1977) 16,326; (1988) 21,366.

Macdowell Colony

2005-01-25T01:59:00.000-08:00

After Edward's death

Adams, Franklin Pierce

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

Adams' newspaper career began in 1903, with the Chicago Journal. The next year he went to New York, where

Insurance, Abandonment clause

2005-01-22T23:42:00.000-08:00

If salvaging or rehabilitating a ship or cargo following a marine loss costs more than the goods are worth, the loss is said to be constructively total. Under such conditions, the ocean marine policy permits the insured to abandon the damaged ship or cargo to the insurer and make a claim for the entire value. In this case, the salvage belongs to the insurer, who may dispose

Shamanism

2005-01-20T11:17:00.000-08:00

I.M. Lewis, Ecstatic Religion: A Study of Shamanism and Spirit Possession, 2nd ed. (1989), provides an excellent introduction. A thorough description of the shamanism of the peoples of Siberia is given in M.A. Czaplicka, Aboriginal Siberia (1914, reissued 1969); and Mircea Eliade, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstacy, rev. and enlarged ed. (1964, reissued 1989; originally published in French, 1951), with an extensive bibliography. Eliade's work not only deals with phenomena in Central and North Asia but also in North and South America, Southeast Asia, and Oceania; especially useful are the chapters on “Shamanic Ideologies and Techniques Among the Indo-Europeans” and “Shamanic Symbolisms and Techniques in Tibet, China, and the Far East.” Uno Holmberg, Finno-Ugric, Siberian, vol. 4 in Louis Herbert Gray and George Foot Moore, The Mythology of All Races (1927, reissued 1964), describes shamanism among these peoples. A very thorough summary of the worldview and specific traits of shamanism in North Asia, based on a good knowledge of literature on the subject in Russian, may be found in Georg Nioradze, Der Schamanismus bei den sibirischen Völkern (1925); and the traits considered most significant are discussed by Åke Ohlmarks, Studien zum Problem des Schamanismus (1939). V. Diószegi (ed.), Popular Beliefs and Folklore Tradition in Siberia (1968; originally published in German, 1963), contains studies on the shamanistic conceptions of the Sami, Hungarian, and Siberian peoples. Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer, Shamanism: Soviet Studies of Traditional Religion in Siberia and Central Asia (1990), summarizes contemporary Soviet research. Several studies explore Latin American shamanism. Jon Christopher Crocker, Vital Souls: Bororo Cosmology, Natural Symbolism, and Shamanism (1985), demonstrates the intimate relationship between social structure generally—and the structure of the village community in particular—and cosmological symbolism and analyzes the role of the shaman in conserving both the social and the cosmic order; this important study also challenges psychological approaches to the study of shamanism, which focus on the shaman's apparent psychological abnormality, and analyzes the larger social forces that are gradually destroying Bororo shamanism, and with it Bororo culture in general. Johannes Wilbert, Tobacco and Shamanism in South America (1987), examines both the pharmacological and the social aspects of nicotine use by the Warao shamans of Venezuela. A fascinating scholarly and artistic exploration of hallucinogenic medicine is found in Luis Eduardo Luna and Pablo Amaringo, Ayahuasca Visions: The Religious Iconography of a Peruvian Shaman (1991), produced through a unique partnership between a professional anthropologist and a practicing Peruvian shaman. Women's roles in Korean shamanism are explored in Laurel Kendall, Shamans, Housewives, and Other Restless Spirits: Women in Korean Ritual Life (1985), while The Life and Hard Times of a Korean Shaman (1988) chronicles the shamanic career of one South Korean woman through extensive use of her own words and stories and thereby examines the recent social history of South Korea through an interesting lens. David Lan, Guns & Rain: Guerrillas & Spirit Mediums in Zimbabwe (1985), examines the complex interaction between the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army and the traditional shamanic religious leaders of the Dande and Korekore subgroups of Shona during the 1970s; it is a good example of the study of shamanism in tension with modernity.

Arnold, Henry Harley

2005-01-18T02:00:00.000-08:00

Arnold graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., (1907), and in 1911 received flying instruction from Orville Wright. He rose in the ranks of the Air Corps;

Main River

2005-01-15T14:10:00.000-08:00

Latin Moenus, river, an important right- (east-) bank tributary of the Rhine in Germany. It is formed, near Kulmbach, by the confluence of the Weisser (White) Main, which rises in the Fichtel Mountains, and the Roter (Red) Main, which rises on the eastern slope of the Fränkische Mountains (Franconian Jura). The Main River flows southwesterly around the northern end of the Fränkische Mountains

Arisaema

2005-01-13T04:38:00.000-08:00

Of the hardy species often planted in the shady wild garden, two are especially familiar. The jack-in-the-pulpit, or Indian turnip (A. triphyllum), native to eastern North America, usually has

Camargo, Marie (-anne De Cupis De)

2005-01-11T00:45:00.000-08:00

Camargo studied in Paris under Françoise Prevost and danced in Brussels and Rouen before her Paris Opéra debut in 1726 in Les Caractères de la danse. Her success provoked the jealousy of her aging teacher, Prevost, who

Gravesham

2005-01-10T21:21:00.000-08:00

Borough (district), administrative and historic county of Kent, southeastern England. Its centre is the town of Gravesend, but it includes a section of the south bank of the River Thames above and below the town, and it runs inland to the crest of the chalk hills (North Downs) that traverse the county from west to east. The borough was once agricultural, with areas of orchards

Malaysia, Malaya

2005-01-06T01:54:00.000-08:00

Except for Malacca, there was little Western influence in Malaya and northern Borneo until the late 18th century, when Britain became interested in the area. The British sought a source for goods to be sold in China, and in 1786 the English East India Company acquired Penang (or Pinang) Island, off Malaya's northwest coast, from the sultan of Kedah. The island soon became a major

Andamanese Language

2005-01-03T18:03:00.000-08:00

Language spoken by the indigenous people of the Andaman Islands. The number of speakers of the language has been steadily decreasing. Andamanese dialects are usually classified into northern, central, and southern groups, with the southern dialects being the most archaic. The dialect of Little Andaman island is the southernmost of the Andamanese dialects and

Brazil, Guiana Highlands

2005-01-02T09:03:00.000-08:00

Brazil shares the rugged Guiana Highlands with Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. Forested mesas and mountain ranges, scenic waterfalls, and white-water rivers characterize the area. The highest point in Brazil is Neblina Peak, which reaches 9,888 feet (3,014 metres) along the Venezuelan border in the Serra do Imeri. The Serra da Pacaraima, farther east, rises to 9,094 feet

Nsukka

2004-12-31T14:15:00.000-08:00

University town, Enugu state, southern Nigeria. It lies in the Udi Hills at an elevation of 1,300 feet (396 m). Nsukka is an agricultural-trade centre for the yams, cassava, corn (maize), taro, pigeon peas, and palm oil and kernels produced by the local Igbo (Ibo) people. Weaving is a traditional local craft. Coal deposits have been discovered east of Nsukka around Obolo, a town on the main

Romanesque Art

2004-12-29T16:31:00.000-08:00

The name Romanesque

Lebed, Aleksandr Ivanovich

2004-12-26T06:11:00.000-08:00

Soviet general and politician (b. April 20, 1950, Novocherkassk, near Rostov, Russian S.F.S.R., U.S.S.R.—d. April 28, 2002, Abakan, Russia), was a decorated military hero who made headlines in 1991 when he refused to lead troops against Russian Pres. Boris Yeltsin in the aborted coup against Soviet Pres. Mikhail Gorbachev; in 1996 he unsuccessfully ran against Yeltsin in the Russian Federation's presidential

Demeter

2004-12-25T14:05:00.000-08:00

Demeter is rarely mentioned by Homer, nor is she included among the Olympian gods, but the roots of her legend are probably ancient. The legend centred on the story of her daughter Persephone

Culloden, Battle Of

2004-12-23T10:34:00.000-08:00

Also called Battle Of Drummossie (April 16, 1746), the last battle of the “Forty-five Rebellion,” when the Jacobites, under Charles Edward, the Young Pretender (“Bonnie Prince Charlie”), were defeated by British forces under William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. Culloden is a tract of moorland in the county of Inverness, Scotland, forming a part of the northeast of Drummossie Moor and lying about 6 miles (10 km) east of

Brune, Guillaume(-marie-anne)

2004-12-20T23:29:00.000-08:00

At first dedicated to a literary career, Brune became associated in Paris with the Revolutionary leader Georges Danton,

Farinacci, Roberto

2004-12-18T22:10:00.000-08:00

After dropping out of school to work for the railroad in Cremona (1909), Farinacci became an ardent Socialist. When World War I broke out, he advocated Italian intervention,

Vulcan

2004-12-17T13:28:00.000-08:00

In Roman religion, god of fire, particularly in its destructive aspects as volcanoes or conflagrations. Poetically, he is given all the attributes of the Greek Hephaestus (q.v.). His worship was very ancient, and at Rome he had his own priest (flamen). His chief festival, the Volcanalia, was held on August 23 and was marked by a rite of unknown significance: the heads of Roman families

Charadriiform

2004-12-15T00:44:00.000-08:00

The earliest known Charadrii are represented by miscellaneous bones from the Upper Cretaceous rock layers of Wyoming, considered to constitute a family, the Cimolopterygidae, of the Charadrii. These bones, comprising two genera and four species, show closest resemblance to the avocets. Of similar age, but extending into middle Eocene times, are the Paleotringinae

Subatomic Particle, The weak nuclear force

2004-12-12T01:48:00.000-08:00

Since the 1930s physicists have been aware of a force within the atomic nucleus that is responsible for certain types of radioactivity that are classed together as beta decay. A typical example of beta decay occurs when a neutron transmutes into a proton. The force that underlies this process is known as the weak nuclear force to distinguish it from the strong nuclear

Black Hole

2004-12-10T20:00:00.000-08:00

Cosmic body of extremely intense gravity from which nothing, not even light, can escape. A black hole can be formed by the death of a massive star. When such a star has exhausted its internal thermonuclear fuels at the end of its life, it becomes unstable and gravitationally collapses inward upon itself. The crushing weight of constituent matter falling in from all

Actinide Element, Nuclear

2004-12-09T05:12:00.000-08:00

All of the actinide elements are unstable toward radioactive decay; the reason that actinium, thorium, protactinium, and uranium are found in nature at all is because some of their isotopes are unusually stable and others are being formed constantly by decay of the long-lived isotopes. It is convenient to divide the naturally occurring isotopes into families based

Augustine, Saint

2004-12-07T18:44:00.000-08:00

As outlined above, the story of Augustine's life will seem in numerous ways unfamiliar to readers who already know some of it. The story of his early life is exceedingly well known—better known than that of virtually any other Greek or Roman worthy. Augustine's Confessions recounts that early life with immense persuasiveness, and few biographers can resist abridging

Belgian Literature, The 20th century

2004-12-04T19:26:00.000-08:00

Walloon literature explored new paths during the course of the 20th century. Scholars undertook dialect studies, and standardization of spelling and grammar extended the literary possibilities of the dialect, as did attempts by Émile Lempereur and some other writers to renew the sources of inspiration. Alongside several veteran authors, such as the talented

Ba

2004-11-30T14:16:00.000-08:00

In ancient Egyptian religion, with ka and akh, a principal aspect of the soul; the ba appears in bird form, thus expressing the mobility of the soul after death. Originally written with the sign of the jabiru bird, and thought to be an attribute of only the god-king, the ba was later represented by a man-headed hawk, often depicted hovering over the mummies of king and populace

Art And Architecture, Oceanic, Aesthetics

2004-11-28T06:35:00.000-08:00

Pacific languages seem to be deficient in terms to express appreciation of or reactions to art, apart from a few that designate the mastery of individual specialists. Little is understood, moreover, about the islanders' aesthetic concepts. Reactions to works of art seem to range from the pragmatic and rational in the secular realm to the violently emotional in the

Wage-price Control:

2004-11-26T07:26:00.000-08:00

Setting of government guidelines for limiting increases in wages and prices. It is a principal tool in incomes policy (q.v.).

Pereyaslav Agreement

2004-11-25T08:11:00.000-08:00

The hetman of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, had been leading a revolt against Polish rule in Ukraine

Arabian Sea

2004-11-23T16:41:00.000-08:00

Most of the Arabian Sea has depths that exceed 9,800 feet, and there are no islands in the middle. Deep water reaches close to the bordering lands except in the northeast, off Pakistan and India. To the southeast the Lakshadweep atolls form part of the submarine Maldive Ridge, which extends farther south into the Indian Ocean where it rises above the surface to form the atolls

Babbitt, Irving

2004-11-20T23:16:00.000-08:00

A vigorous teacher, lecturer, and essayist, Babbitt was the

Quimby, Harriet

2004-11-19T11:46:00.000-08:00

Quimby's birth date and place are not well attested. (She sometimes claimed 1884 in Arroyo Grande, California.) By 1902, however, it is known that she and her family were living in California, and in that year she became

Spurgeon, C.h.

2004-11-16T22:33:00.000-08:00

Reared a Congregationalist, Spurgeon became a Baptist in 1850 and, the same year, at 16, preached his first sermon. In 1852 he became minister at Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire,

Cyril Of Alexandria, Saint

2004-11-14T11:27:00.000-08:00

He succeeded his uncle Theophilus

Pack, Otto Von

2004-11-12T21:48:00.000-08:00

Pack, a Saxon nobleman, studied law at the University of Leipzig, after which he entered the service of George, duke of Saxony. By 1519 most important governmental matters in Saxony were entrusted to him, and he represented his

Aeschylus, Works

2004-11-11T09:27:00.000-08:00

Persai (472 BC; Persians); Hepta epi Thebais (467 BC; Seven Against Thebes); Hiketides (c. 463 BC; Latin trans., Supplices; Eng. trans., Suppliants); the trilogy known as the Oresteia (458 BC), comprising Agamemnon, Choephoroi (Libation Bearers), and Eumenides; Prometheus desmotes (date uncertain, probably late; Prometheus Bound).

Quantification

2004-11-08T17:45:00.000-08:00

In logic, the attachment of signs of quantity to the predicate or subject of a proposition. The universal quantifier, symbolized by (-) or (-), where the blank is filled by a variable, is used to express that the formula following holds for all values of the particular variable quantified. The existential quantifier, symbolized ($-), expresses that the formula following holds

Hesilrige, Sir Arthur, 2nd Baronet

2004-11-04T01:10:00.000-08:00

A native of Leicestershire, Hesilrige succeeded to his father's baronetcy in 1629. He sat in both the Short and Long Parliaments

Gneisenau, August, Count (graf) Neidhardt Von

2004-11-02T01:29:00.000-08:00

Of impoverished noble parentage, Gneisenau served in the Austrian army and with an Ansbach regiment under

Herzen, Aleksandr Ivanovich

2004-10-31T17:48:00.000-08:00

Herzen also spelled Hertzen, or Gertsen political thinker, activist, and writer who originated the theory of a unique Russian path to socialism known as peasant populism. Herzen chronicled his career in My Past and Thoughts (1861–67), which is considered to be one of the greatest works of Russian prose.

Feline Respiratory Disease

2004-10-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

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

Grito De Dolores

2004-10-27T10:24:00.000-07:00

Hidalgo was involved in a plot against the Spanish colonial government, and, when the plot was betrayed, he decided to act immediately. After arming the people, he addressed them from the pulpit,

Earth, Energy sources for convection

2004-10-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

Measurements of temperature in deep mines and oil wells indicate that there is a substantial temperature increase with depth. In part, this is due to the weight of overlying rocks. Such temperature increases are not accompanied by a change in heat content and are referred to as adiabatic temperature increases. Convection within the Earth occurs only if the temperature

Mid Devon

2004-10-24T22:42:00.000-07:00

District, administrative and historic county of Devon, southwestern England, located between the bleak moorlands of Exmoor and Dartmoor. Mid Devon is a heavily dissected interior plateau 400 to 800 feet (120 to 245 metres) in elevation. It has variable soil types suited for grassland cultivation, except in the south-central area where the merging Exe, Culm, and Yeo river valleys

Weber, Carl Maria Von

2004-10-21T05:47:00.000-07:00

In full Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst, Freiherr (baron) Von Weber German composer and opera director during the transition from Classical to Romantic music, noted especially for his operas Der Freischütz (The Freeshooter, 1821), Euryanthe (1823), and Oberon (1826). Der Freischütz, the most immediately and widely popular German opera that had then been written, established German Romantic

Spallanzani, Lazzaro

2004-10-17T11:34:00.000-07:00

Spallanzani was the son of a distinguished

Abreu, Capistrano De

2004-10-16T09:26:00.000-07:00

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

Parade

2004-10-14T22:55:00.000-07:00

A type of pageant (q.v.) whose main feature is a public procession.

Kierkegaard, Søren

2004-10-12T19:22:00.000-07:00

In full SØren Aabye Kierkegaard Danish religious philosopher and critic of rationalism, regarded as the founder of existentialist philosophy. He is famous for his critique of systematic rational philosophy, particularly Hegelianism, on the grounds that actual life cannot be contained within an abstract conceptual system. With this stance, he intended to

Computers

2004-10-10T06:37:00.000-07:00

A computer might be described with deceptive simplicity as “an apparatus that performs routine calculations automatically.” Such a definition would owe its deceptiveness to a naive and narrow view of calculation as a strictly mathematical process. In fact, calculation

Moscow, Grand Principality Of

2004-10-07T01:01:00.000-07:00

Muscovy became a distinct principality during the second half of the 13th century under the rule of Daniel, the youngest son of the Rurik prince Alexander

Hardinge (of Penshurst), Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron

2004-10-06T07:24:00.000-07:00

A grandson of Lord Hardinge, governor-general of India in 1844–48, Charles Hardinge entered the diplomatic service in 1880. Appointed ambassador to Russia in 1904 and permanent under secretary

Qalamkari Textile

2004-10-03T20:07:00.000-07:00

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

Kiefer, Anselm

2004-10-02T19:01:00.000-07:00

Kiefer abandoned his law studies at the University of Freiburg in 1966 to pursue art. He subsequently studied at art academies in Freiburg, Karlsruhe, and Dusseldorf. In the latter city in 1970 he became a student of the conceptual

Tibet, Tibet under Manchu overlordship

2004-09-30T22:26:00.000-07:00

The Dalai Lama's death in 1682 and the discovery of his five-year-old reincarnation in 1688 were concealed by Sangs-rgyas rgya-mtsho, who was intent on continuing the administration without disturbance. He informed the Manchu only in 1696. Emperor K'ang-hsi (reigned 1661–1722) was incensed at the deception. In 1703 he discovered an ally in Tibet and an antagonist to Sangs-rgyas rgya-mtsho when Lha-bzang

Faridkot

2004-09-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

Town, southwestern Punjab state, northwestern India, 70 miles (116 km) southwest of Ludhiana town. It was founded by Bhallan of the Burai Jat (a warrior community of northern India) during the 16th-century reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar. It later came under British rule. Seized in 1803 by Ranjit Singh, the Sikh ruler of the historic Punjab, it was subsequently restored to the British by

Aldfrith

2004-09-26T02:43:00.000-07:00

King of Northumbria (685–704) and patron of literature. An illegitimate son of Oswiu, he succeeded to the throne when his brother Ecgfrith was killed at the Battle of Nechtansmere. Educated for the priesthood, he stimulated the growth of scholarship in Northumbria during his reign, producing conditions under which the historian Bede flourished.

'abd Al-mu'min

2004-09-20T07:23:00.000-07:00

In full 'Abd al-Mu'min ibn 'Ali Berber caliph of the Almohad dynasty (reigned 1130–63), who conquered the North African Maghrib from the Almoravids andbrought all the Berbers under one rule.

Arikara

2004-09-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

American Plains Indian people of the Caddoan linguistic family who lived along the Missouri River between the Cheyenne River in South Dakota and Fort Berthold in North Dakota. The cultural roots of Caddoan-speaking peoples lay in the prehistoric mound-building societies of the lower Mississippi River valley. The Arikara were culturally related to

Argentina, Diet

2004-09-15T23:51:00.000-07:00

The combination of Old and New World cultures is also seen in the Argentine diet. Southern European influences appear especially in the cities, where breakfast is generally a serving of three sweet rolls (medialunas) and coffee, and supper is taken, in the Spanish tradition, after 9:00 PM. The Italian influence is seen in the popularity of pasta dishes. But the New World asserts

Henry, William

2004-09-14T08:49:00.000-07:00

Henry took his doctor of medicine degree at Edinburgh (1807). When ill health forced him

'umar Ibn Abi Rabi'ah

2004-09-11T20:54:00.000-07:00

'Umar belonged to the wealthy merchant family of Makhzum, a member of the Meccan tribe of Quraysh (of which the Prophet Muhammad was also a member). He spent most of his life in Mecca, also traveling to southern Arabia, Syria, and Mesopotamia.

Locarno, Pact Of

2004-09-10T21:53:00.000-07:00

The agreements consisted of (1) a treaty of mutual guarantee between Germany, Belgium, France, Great Britain, and Italy; (2) arbitration agreements between

Moscow Canal

2004-09-10T05:26:00.000-07:00

Russian Kanal Moskva, ship waterway linking Moscow to the Volga River at Ivankovo, north of Moscow. Built between 1932 and 1937, the canal replaced the canalized Moskva River, which can take only small craft, as the main water access to Moscow. The water journey to the important industrial centre of Nizhny Novgorod (formerly Gorky) was shortened by 75 miles (120 km). Along the Moscow Canal's length of 80 miles (128 km)

Computers, Early history and overviews

2004-09-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

Charles Eames and Ray Eames, A Computer Perspective, ed. by Glen Fleck (1973, reprinted 1990), is a pictorial record of the authors' creation of a computer exhibition for IBM that covered developments from the 1890 U.S. Census up to the stored-program computer, 1890–1950.

Caryophyllales, Distribution

2004-09-07T15:17:00.000-07:00

The most striking single ecological feature in the order is the dominance of the Chenopodiaceae in alkaline situations and the prominence of succulent Aizoaceae in the deserts of southern Africa. The other members of the order occur in any of several types of habitat, but in general none is conspicuous. Even the Aizoaceae in the southern African deserts are not

Cancer And Capricorn, Tropics Of

2004-09-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

Latitudes approximately 23°27¢ N and 23°27¢ S of the terrestrial Equator, respectively. These latitudes correspond to the northernmost and southernmost declinations of the Sun's ecliptic (q.v.) to the celestial equator. At the summer solstice (in the Northern Hemisphere), around June 21, the Sun attains its greatest declination north and is directly over the Tropic of Cancer. At that

North America, 30 to 2.5 million years ago

2004-09-06T21:46:00.000-07:00

About 30 million years ago North America began to override the East Pacific Rise, an oceanic spreading ridge. This activity placed a progressively longer segment of the coast in contact with the plate west of the ridge. The western plate—which contains the Pacific Coast Ranges of California—has been moving to the northwest relative to North America along the San Andreas

Consciousness

2004-09-04T07:30:00.000-07:00

A psychological condition defined by the English philosopher John Locke as “the perception of what passes in a man's own mind.”

Aelred Of Rievaulx, Saint

2004-09-04T03:45:00.000-07:00

Of noble birth, Aelred was reared at the court of King David I of Scotland, whose life story he later wrote and for whom he was royal steward. He entered the Cistercian abbey of Rievaulx

Synthesis

2004-09-03T06:09:00.000-07:00

In philosophy, the combination of parts, or elements, in order to form a more complete view or system. The coherent whole that results is considered to show the truth more completely than would a mere collection of parts. The term synthesis also refers, in the dialectical philosophy of the 19th-century German philosopher G.W.F. Hegel, to the higher stage of truth that combines

Osinniki

2004-09-02T02:34:00.000-07:00

City, Kemerovo oblast (province), central Russia. It is situated at the confluence of the Kandalep and Kondoma rivers. The city developed in the 1930s as a mining centre in the Kuznetsk Coal Basin; it supplies coal to the Kuznetsk metallurgical complex located in Novokuznetsk. A college of mining technology is located there. Inc. city, 1938. Pop. (1991 est.) 63,200.

Manasseh, Prayer Of

2004-09-01T22:58:00.000-07:00

Apocryphal work (noncanonical for Jews and Protestants), one of a collection of songs appended to the Old Testament book of Psalms in several manuscripts of the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible). The Prayer of Manasseh, best known of the collection, is a penitential prayer written as an extension of 2 Chronicles 33:11–13, wherein Manasseh, successor to Hezekiah