BeautifulHead

China, Political institutions

2005-04-04T04:06:00.000-07:00

The Ch'ing had come to power because of their success at winning Chinese over to their side; in the late 17th century they adroitly pursued similar policies to win the adherence of the Chinese literati. Ch'ing emperors learned Chinese, addressed their subjects using Confucian rhetoric, reinstated the civil service examination system and the Confucian curriculum,

Bloch, Ernest

2005-04-03T19:58:00.000-07:00

Bloch studied with the noted Swiss composer Émile Jaques-Dalcroze and in Belgium with the violinist Eugène Ysaÿe. From 1911 to 1915 he taught at the Geneva Conservatory.

Lenin Peak

2005-04-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

Formerly Mount Kaufman, highest summit (23,406 feet [7,134 m]) of the Trans-Alay Range on the frontier of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Once thought to be the highest mountain in what was then the Soviet Union, Lenin Peak was relegated to third place by the discovery in 1932–33 that Stalin Peak (called Communism Peak after 1962) was higher and by the finding in 1943 that Victory Peak was also higher. The peak is named after the Soviet

Arezzo

2005-04-01T18:11:00.000-08:00

Latin Arretium, city, capital of Arezzo provincia, Toscana (Tuscany) regione of north-central Italy, in a fertile plain near the confluence of the Chiana and Arno rivers southeast of Florence. An important Etruscan city, it was known to the Romans as Arretium and was noted for its red-clay Arretine pottery. A flourishing commune in the Middle Ages, it fell to Florence in 1384 and later became

Howell, James

2005-04-01T16:59:00.000-08:00

Anglo-Welsh writer known for his Epistolae Ho-Elianae, 4 vol. (1645–55), early and lively essays in letter form. Though vividly recording contemporary phenomena, they lack historical reliability because of plagiarizing and the addition of fictitious dates—despite the author's position as historiographer royal, a post

Catalase

2005-03-30T18:42:00.000-08:00

An enzyme that brings about (catalyzes) the reaction by which hydrogen peroxide is decomposed to water and oxygen. Found extensively in mammalian tissues, catalase prevents the accumulation of and protects the body tissues from damage by peroxide, which is continuously produced by numerous metabolic reactions.

Holbein, Hans, The Elder

2005-03-30T02:00:00.000-08:00

Nothing is known of Holbein's early life and training, but he was married and established as a

Ruways, Ar-

2005-03-28T23:09:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ruweis, or Ru'ays, site of a giant industrial complex, Abu Dhabi emirate, United Arab Emirates. It lies along the Persian Gulf about 140 miles (220 km) west of Abu Dhabi, the national capital. Ar-Ruways has natural-gas-processing plants under the control of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). Ar-Ruways has a small airport and is linked by road with Abu Dhabi city and Jabal az-Zannah.

Adygea

2005-03-27T17:21:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Adygeya republic, southwestern Russia. It extends from the Kuban River south to the Caucasus foothills. Adygea was established as an oblast (province) in 1922 for the Adyghian people, one of two major branches of the Circassians (Cherkess), who make up about one-fifth of its total population. Apart from the foothills in the south, which are covered in deciduous forest, most of Adygea

Olm

2005-03-26T02:52:00.000-08:00

(Proteus anguinus), blind salamander belonging to the family Proteidae (order Caudata) and found in caves of the Carpathian Mountains in southeastern Europe. It grows to about 30 cm (12 inches) long and has a normally white (unpigmented) body, tiny limbs, red gill plumes, narrow head, and a blunt snout. The olm's vestigial but light-sensitive eyes are covered with skin. It usually

Clarence, George Plantagenet, Duke Of

2005-03-25T19:52:00.000-08:00

Soon after Edward IV became king in March 1461, George was made duke of Clarence, and in

Brahmana

2005-03-24T16:02:00.000-08:00

Any of a number of prose commentaries attached to the Vedas, the most ancient Hindu sacred literature, explaining the significance of the Vedas as used in the ritual sacrifices and the symbolic import of the priests' actions. The word brahmana may mean either the utterance of a Brahman (priest) or an exposition on the meaning of the sacred word; the latter is more commonly

Terbium

2005-03-24T08:41:00.000-08:00

(Tb), chemical element, rare-earth metal of transition Group IIIb of the periodic table. One of the least abundant of the rare earths, terbium, when reduced to metallic form, is silvery white and is slowly oxidized by air at room temperatures and by cold water. The element was discovered in 1843 by Carl Gustaf Mosander in a heavy rare-earth fraction called yttria, but its existence

Wright Glider Of 1902

2005-03-24T01:55:00.000-08:00

Biplane glider designed and built by Wilbur and Orville Wright in Dayton, Ohio, during the late summer of 1902. Tested during the autumn of 1902 and again in 1903 at the Kill Devil Hills, four miles south of the village of Kitty Hawk on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, the 1902 glider demonstrated that the Wright brothers had solved the key problems blocking the route to heavier-than-air

Leaf Monkey

2005-03-22T17:19:00.000-08:00

Species of langur (q.v.).

Almanac

2005-03-22T08:27:00.000-08:00

Book or table containing a calendar of the days, weeks, and months of the year; a record of various astronomical phenomena, often with weather predictions and seasonal suggestions for farmers; and miscellaneous other data. An almanac provides data on the rising and setting times of the Sun and Moon, the phases of the Moon, the positions of the planets, schedules of high

Hero And Leander

2005-03-21T11:59:00.000-08:00

The story is preserved in

Furniture, Early Middle Ages

2005-03-20T15:34:00.000-08:00

With the collapse of the Roman Empire during the 4th–5th centuries, Europe sank into a period in which little furniture, except the most basic, was used: chairs, stools, benches, and primitive chests were the most common items. Several centuries were to pass before the invading Teutonic peoples evolved forms of furniture that approached the Roman standard of domestic

Goshawk

2005-03-20T11:26:00.000-08:00

Any of the more powerful accipiters, or true hawks (i.e., belonging to the genus Accipiter), primarily short-winged, forest-dwelling bird catchers, of which the northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) is best known. Originally called “goose hawk,” perhaps because of its size and its finely barred gray plumage, this bird reaches about 60 centimetres (2 feet) in length with a 1.3-m (4.3-ft) wingspread.

Rousseau, Jean-baptiste

2005-03-19T02:34:00.000-08:00

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

Dion

2005-03-18T15:49:00.000-08:00

When the younger Dionysius, who was weak and inexperienced, succeeded in 367, Dion assumed control and persuaded Plato, whose friendship he had acquired, to train the new tyrant in the practical application of his philosophical principles. The experiment

Pius Ix

2005-03-17T13:07:00.000-08:00

The year of revolutions began in Sicily; soon all Europe was ablaze and Pius was faced with demands, both liberal and nationalist, much beyond what he had been prepared to grant (see Revolutions of 1848). On March 14 he was compelled to grant a constitution establishing a two-chamber parliament with full legislative and fiscal powers subject only to the pope's personal veto. On

Tyrant

2005-03-17T04:14:00.000-08:00

Greek Tyrannos a cruel and oppressive ruler or, in ancient Greece, a ruler who seized power unconstitutionally or inherited such power. In the 10th and 9th centuries BC, monarchy had been the usual form of government in the Greek states; the aristocratic regimes that had replaced monarchy were by the 7th century BC themselves unpopular. Thus the opportunity arose for ambitious men to seize

Chekiang

2005-03-16T16:41:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Che-chiang, (Pinyin) Zhejiang, sheng (province) of China. It is the third smallest province of China and also one of the most densely populated and affluent. Its area is 39,300 square miles (101,800 square kilometres). A coastal province, it is bounded by the East China Sea on the east and by the provinces of Fukien on the south, Kiangsi on the southwest, Anhwei on the west, and Kiangsu on the north. The provincial capital

Textile, Plain weave

2005-03-15T15:33:00.000-08:00

Plain, or tabby, weave, the simplest and most common of all weaves, requires only two harnessses and has two warp and weft yarns in each weave unit. To produce it, the warp yarns are held parallel under tension while a crosswise weft yarn isshot over and under alternate warps across the width of the web. The weave unit is completed at the end of the second row, when the weft

Radiation Pressure

2005-03-15T07:48:00.000-08:00

Although the pressure of solar radiation is exceedingly small, a sufficiently large surface could produce a force that would be technologically

Coleroon River

2005-03-13T16:07:00.000-08:00

River in Tiruchchirappalli and Thanjavur districts, Tamil Nadu state, southeastern India, formed by the northern bifurcation of the Cauvery River at Srirangam. The river flows between South Arcot and Thanjavur districts for 36 mi (58 km) and empties through several mouths into the Bay of Bengal, 3 mi south of Porto Novo. The Coleroon is part of the Cauvery Delta, the most fertile and

Biblical Literature, Early stages

2005-03-13T08:06:00.000-08:00

The earliest Christian exegesis of the Old Testament is found in the New Testament, not in the written texts only but in the oral tradition lying behind them. Some lines of exegesis are present in so many separate strands of primitive Christian teaching that they are most reasonably assigned to Jesus, who began his Galilaean ministry with the announcement that

Hippel, Theodor Gottlieb Von

2005-03-13T01:59:00.000-08:00

German writer of the late Enlightenment and a disciple of the philosopher Immanuel Kant. Although he was a minor writer of his time, his works have enjoyed an unusually long-lasting popularity and can now be seen to have foreshadowed the novels of Jean Paul (Johann Friedrich

Sharqiyah, Ash-

2005-03-11T10:23:00.000-08:00

English Eastern region, eastern Saudi Arabia. The region includes most of the desert Rub' al-Khali (the Empty Quarter) and extends southward from a neutral zone jointly administered with Kuwait to indefinite borders with Yemen and Oman. It is bounded by Kuwait on the north, the Persian Gulf on the east, and the Ar-Riyad region on the west. Ash-Sharqiyah consists mainly of an undulating plain

Bárány, Robert

2005-03-11T01:30:00.000-08:00

Bárány graduated in medicine from the University of Vienna in 1900. After study at German clinics he became assistant at the ear clinic of the University of Vienna

Skelton Glacier

2005-03-10T23:42:00.000-08:00

Antarctic glacier situated on the Hillary Coast of Victoria Land, to the northeast of the Cook Mountains, near McMurdo Sound. It flows sluggishly southward into the Ross Ice Shelf. The greatest known thickness of ice along its 39-mi (62-km) length occurs at a point about 30 mi from the tip of its floating terminus. There the ice is about 4,760 ft (1,450 m) thick. The east side of the glacier is covered

Vrata

2005-03-10T14:49:00.000-08:00

In Jainism, a religious vow. See Jaina vrata.

Papini, Giovanni

2005-03-09T09:37:00.000-08:00

Though largely self-educated,

Fibula

2005-03-08T15:44:00.000-08:00

(Latin: “brooch”), outer of two bones of lower leg or hindlimb, probably so named because the other bone, the tibia, and the fibula together resemble an ancient brooch, or pin. In humans the head of the fibula is joined to the head of the tibia by ligaments and does not form part of the knee. The base of the fibula forms the outer projection (malleolus)

Anielewicz, Mordecai

2005-03-08T11:17:00.000-08:00

Anielewicz was born into a working-class family and attended a Hebrew academic secondary school. As a boy he joined Betar, a Zionist youth organization that among other things advocated self-defense for Jews. By 1940 he had gone to Warsaw and become

Byng, John

2005-03-08T02:25:00.000-08:00

British admiral executed for failing to relieve the naval base at Minorca (in the western Mediterranean) from a French siege. By initiating legal proceedings against Byng, the administration of Prime Minister Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, hoped to divert public attention from its

Middlebury

2005-03-06T11:05:00.000-08:00

Town (township), seat of Addison county, west-central Vermont, U.S. The area was chartered in 1761, along with Salisbury and New Haven, and named for its location midway between the other two. Settled in 1773 by Benjamin Smalley, it was temporarily abandoned (1778–83) because of Tory and Indian attacks. Middlebury College (noted for its summer Bread Loaf Writers' Conference) was chartered in

Pyran

2005-03-06T02:00:00.000-08:00

Any of a class of organic compounds of the heterocyclic series in which five carbon atoms and one oxygen atom are present in a ring structure. Of two possible simple pyran compounds, only one is known; it was prepared in 1962 and found to be very unstable. Among the stable members of this family is tetrahydropyran, made by hydrogenating the dihydro compound. Sugars often

Biblical Literature, Moral interpretation

2005-03-05T17:07:00.000-08:00

Moral interpretation is necessitated by the belief that the Bible is the rule not only of faith but also of conduct. The Jewish teachers of the late pre-Christian and early Christian Era, who found “in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth” (Rom. 2:20), were faced with the necessity of adapting the requirements of the Pentateuchal codes to the changed social conditions

Sabre

2005-03-04T03:28:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Saber, heavy military sword with a long cutting edge and, often, a curved blade, derived from a Hungarian cavalry sword introduced from the Orient in the 18th century; also a light fencing weapon developed in Italy in the 19th century for duelling. The military sabre had been relegated to a ceremonial role by the 20th century, while the fencing sabre had become one of the sport's standard

Arnhem Land

2005-03-03T14:10:00.000-08:00

Historical region of Northern Territory, Australia. It consists of the eastern half of the large peninsula that forms the northernmost portion of the Northern Territory. The region, with a total area of about 37,000 square miles (95,900 square km), consists of a ruggedly dissected plateau and associated lowlands lying between the Roper and Alligator rivers. The coast of Arnhem

Argyll, Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke Of, Duke Of Greenwich, Marquess Of Kintyre And Lorne, Earl Of Campbell And Cowall, Earl Of Greenwich, Viscount Of

2005-03-03T05:17:00.000-08:00

Campbell served in the army for a short time under the Duke of Marlborough, but he was appointed treasurer of Scotland in 1705 and the following year was one of the commissioners for negotiating the union of the two

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Parable

2005-03-01T19:45:00.000-08:00

Parables do not analyze social systems so much as they remind the listener of his beliefs. The moral and spiritual stress of the form falls upon memory rather than on the critical faculty. The audience hearing the parable is assumed to share a communal truth but perhaps to have set it aside or forgotten it. The rhetorical appeal of a parable is directed primarily toward

Nsukka

2005-03-01T08:15:00.000-08:00

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

Ibn Gabirol

2005-03-01T04:38:00.000-08:00

In full Solomon Ben Yehuda Ibn Gabirol, Arabic Abu Ayyub Sulayman Ibn Yahya Ibn Gabirut, Latin Avicebron, or Avencebrol one of the outstanding figures of the Hebrew school of religious and secular poetry during the Jewish Golden Age in Moorish Spain. He was also an important Neoplatonic philosopher.

Mason City

2005-02-27T08:17:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1855) of Cerro Gordo county, northern Iowa, U.S., along the Winnebago River, about 120 miles (195 km) north of Des Moines. The area was inhabited by Winnebago and Sioux peoples when Freemasons arrived to settle the site in 1853; its earlier names were Shibboleth, Masonic Grove, and Masonville before the present name was adopted. The city is underlain by deposits of clay and limestone,

Floor Covering, Selection and preparation of design

2005-02-27T03:52:00.000-08:00

Design creation or selection involves consideration of the range or limitations of the various methods of carpet manufacture. The number of colours that can be used for Jacquard Wilton and gripper Axminster are limited; spool and chenille Axminster allow unlimited colour range. Density tends to be greatest for Wilton carpet, sometimes reaching as high as 130 per

Half-timber Work

2005-02-27T00:45:00.000-08:00

Method of building in which external and internal walls are constructed of timber frames and the spaces between the structural members are filled with such materials as brick, plaster, or wattle and daub. Traditionally, a half-timbered building was made of squared oak timbers joined by mortises, tenons, and wooden pegs; the building's cagelike structural skeleton

Korean War, Back to the 38th parallel

2005-02-26T21:21:00.000-08:00

As UNC troops crossed the 38th parallel, Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong received a plea for direct military aid from Kim Il-sung. The chairman was willing to intervene, but he needed assurances of Soviet air power. Stalin promised to extend China's air defenses (manned by Soviets) to a corridor above the Yalu, thus protecting air bases in Manchuria and hydroelectric

Arts, Central Asian, Nepal

2005-02-26T00:28:00.000-08:00

The art of Nepal is centred in the Kathmandu Valley, in an area of less than 250 square miles (650 square kilometres). The artists are Newars, or Mongoloids, different ethnically from, though partly intermingled with, the peoples of India, whose art they made their own—whether its themes were Hindu or Buddhist.

Hypnosis

2005-02-25T19:54:00.000-08:00

A special psychological state with certain physiological attributes, resembling sleep only superficially and marked by a functioning of the individual at a level of awareness other than the ordinary conscious state. This state is characterized by a degree of increased receptiveness and responsiveness in which inner experiential perceptions are given

Yamato-koriyama

2005-02-24T15:55:00.000-08:00

Also called Koriyama-kingyo (Koriyama-Goldfish), city, Nara ken (prefecture), western Honshu, Japan. It is located 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Nara city. A prehistoric settlement, it became a castle town during the last decade of the 15th century. With the opening of a trunk line of the National Railway, a modern textile factory was established there in 1893. The most important industry of the city has been goldfish

Melamine

2005-02-23T23:56:00.000-08:00

Melamine is manufactured by heating dicyandiamide under pressure. Its most important reaction is that with formaldehyde, forming resinous compounds of high molecular weight.

Liguori, Saint Alfonso Maria De'

2005-02-22T01:54:00.000-08:00

After practicing law for eight years, he was ordained

Radegunda, Saint

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

A Thuringian princess, Radegunda was captured about 531 by Chlotar I during an expedition against the Thuringians. She was educated in letters at his court;

Mauritania, Flag Of

2005-02-21T13:44:00.000-08:00

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

Kebnekaise

2005-02-20T18:10:00.000-08:00

Mountain range in the län (county) of Norrbotten, northern Sweden. It lies 25 miles (40 km) from the Norwegian border and about 103 miles (166 km) north of the Arctic Circle. The name is a Sami word meaning “kettle top.” One of its peaks, Mount Kebne (6,926 feet [2,111 m]), is the highest in Sweden. The roughly triangular area of the mountain range covers approximately 18 square miles (47 square km); it is uninhabited

Exercise, Overall conditioning

2005-02-19T18:03:00.000-08:00

Much emphasis has been given in the foregoing discussion to aerobic fitness, because this form of conditioning is extremely important. It should be noted, however, that other types of conditioning also have benefits. A total exercise program should include strengthening exercises, to maintain body mass and appropriate levels of strength for daily functioning,

Tombolo

2005-02-19T09:10:00.000-08:00

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

Jiang Qing

2005-02-18T09:03:00.000-08:00

Third wife of Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong and the most influential woman in the People's Republic of China until her downfall in 1976, after Mao's death. As a member of the Gang of Four (q.v.) she was convicted in 1981 of “counter-revolutionary crimes” and

Empiricism, In contemporary philosophy

2005-02-17T08:33:00.000-08:00

The most influential Empiricist of the 20th century was the great British philosopher and logician Bertrand Russell (1872–1970), who at first was Lockean in his theory of knowledge—admitting both synthetic a priori knowledge and concepts of unobservable entities. Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951), the influential pioneer of the school of Linguistic Analysis, convinced Russell that

Arabian Desert, Physiography

2005-02-16T14:15:00.000-08:00

Plateaus are a common desert feature. Jordan east of the Dead

Mace, James

2005-02-16T05:23:00.000-08:00

Traveling as a youth with a show booth in which he played the violin and gave boxing exhibitions, Mace attracted

Ugaritic Alphabet

2005-02-16T00:44:00.000-08:00

Cuneiform writing system used on the Syrian coast from the 15th to 13th century BC. It is believed that it was invented independent of other cuneiform writing systems and of the linear North Semitic alphabet, though similarities in certain letters suggest that it may have been patterned after the North Semitic alphabet. Unlike the North Semitic alphabet, however, Ugaritic

Jackson, William

2005-02-14T23:04:00.000-08:00

Jackson was organist and choirmaster at Exeter cathedral from 1777. His best-known other compositions are Twelve Songs (1755) and Twelve Canzonets for Two Voices (c. 1770). His name is also associated with an Anglican service of dubious authenticity,

Aegina

2005-02-14T16:31:00.000-08:00

Modern Greek Aíyina island, one of the largest in the Saronic group of Greece, about 16 miles (26 km) south-southwest of Piraeus. With an area of about 32 square miles (83 square km), it is an eparkhía (“eparchy”) of the nomós (department) of Piraeus. The northern plains and hills are cultivated with vines and olive, fig, almond, and pistachio trees, while along the east coast stretches a ridge of light volcanic

Ribbentrop, Joachim Von

2005-02-14T07:39:00.000-08:00

Ribbentrop was the son of an army officer in a middle-class family. After attending schools in Germany, Switzerland, France, and England, he went to Canada (1910), but he returned to Germany at the outbreak of World

Adams, John

2005-02-11T22:24:00.000-08:00

Adams remained the central figure of the Continental Congress for the following two years. He drafted the Plan of Treaties in July 1776, a document that provided the framework for a treaty with France and that almost inadvertently identified the strategic priorities that would shape American foreign policy over the next century. He was the unanimous choice to head the Board of War and Ordnance and was thereby made in effect a one-man war department responsible for raising and equipping the American army and creating from scratch an American navy. As the prospects for a crucial wartime alliance with France improved late in 1777, he was chosen to join Benjamin Franklin in Paris to conduct the negotiations. In February 1778 he sailed for Europe, accompanied by 10-year-old John Quincy.

Padri War

2005-02-11T21:19:00.000-08:00

(1821–37), armed conflict in Minangkabau (Sumatra) between reformist Muslims, known as Padris, and local chieftains assisted by the Dutch. In the early 19th century the puritan Wahhabiyah sect of Islam spread to Sumatra, brought by pilgrims who entered the island through Pedir, a northern port. The Padris, as these Sumatran converts to Wahhabiyah came to be known, objected to local institutions

Feminism

2005-02-11T06:11:00.000-08:00

Throughout most of Western history, women were confined to the domestic sphere, while public life was reserved

East Chicago

2005-02-10T14:05:00.000-08:00

Industrial city and port, Lake county, northwestern Indiana, U.S., adjoining Gary, Hammond, and Whiting. It is a part of the Chicago-Calumet industrialized metropolitan complex. Laid out in 1887, its industrial development was stimulated by construction of Indiana Harbor, connected with the Grand Calumet River by a 3-mile (5-kilometre) ship canal and including an extensive system

Merryman, Ex Parte

2005-02-10T05:13:00.000-08:00

On May 25, 1861, a secessionist named John Merryman was imprisoned by military order at Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Md., for his alleged pro-Confederate activities. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, sitting as a federal circuit

Allegory

2005-02-09T03:03:00.000-08:00

Literary allegories typically describe situations and events or express abstract ideas in terms of material objects,

Romain Du Roi

2005-02-08T10:34:00.000-08:00

(French: King's Roman), in printing, a roman typeface developed in France at the express order of King Louis XIV, who, in 1692, directed that a typeface be designed at any necessary expense for the exclusive use of the royal printer. The design was the work, for several years, of a committee of the Academy of Sciences, whose members ignored calligraphic models in favour of analytical

Fock, Jeno

2005-02-08T01:42:00.000-08:00

Hungarian politician (b. May 17, 1916, Budapest, Austria-Hungary—d. May 23, 2001, Budapest, Hung.), was a moderate communist who tried to institute economic reforms while serving as Hungarian deputy prime minister (1961–67) and prime minister (1967–75). His efforts were blocked by the Soviet Union, however, and he was pushed out of office in 1975. Fock continued to criticize General Secretary Janos Kadar's hard-line

Floral Decoration

2005-02-07T18:53:00.000-08:00

Many different kinds of plant materials are used in floral decorations, among them flowers, foliage, grasses, grains, branches, berries, seeds, nuts, cones, fruits, and vegetables. The materials may be living, dried, or artificial. Initially, man was restricted to using native wildings, or uncultivated plants, but as civilization developed over a period of thousands of

Nigeria

2005-02-06T14:37:00.000-08:00

A republic and suspended member of the Commonwealth, Nigeria is located in West Africa, on the Gulf of Guinea. Area: 923,768 sq km (356,669 sq mi). Pop. (1995 est.): 95,434,000. Cap.: Abuja. Monetary unit: naira, with (Oct. 6, 1995) an official par value of 22 naira to U.S. $1 (free rate of 34.78 naira = £ 1 sterling); a truer value of the naira was on the free market, where 86.10 naira = U.S. $1 (136.11 naira = £ 1 sterling). Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council in 1995, Gen. Sani

Silverius, Saint

2005-02-05T23:29:00.000-08:00

Silverius was born to the future pope St. Hormisdas before Hormisdas had entered the priesthood. Silverius was a subdeacon when the Ostrogothic king Theodahad nominated him to the papacy. He was consecrated

Holmes, Sherlock

2005-02-05T14:15:00.000-08:00

Fictional character created by the Scottish writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The prototype for the modern mastermind detective, Holmes first appeared in Conan Doyle's

Zama, Battle Of

2005-02-03T22:10:00.000-08:00

(202 BC), victory of the Romans led by Scipio Africanus over the Carthaginians commanded by Hannibal. It was the last and decisive battle of the Second Punic War. The battle took place at a site identified by the Roman historian Livy as Naraggara (now Saqiyat Sidi Yusuf, Tunisia). The name Zama was given to the site (which modern historians have never precisely identified) by the Roman

Rosten, Leo

2005-02-03T19:58:00.000-08:00

At age three Rosten immigrated with his parents to Chicago. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 1930 and received his Ph.D. in 1937. After working as a screenwriter

Pride, Sir Thomas

2005-02-03T13:18:00.000-08:00

Pride's early life is obscure. Entering the Parliamentary army as a captain, he became a lieutenant

Atalanta

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

In Greek mythology, a renowned and swift-footed huntress, probably a parallel and less important form of the goddess Artemis. Traditionally, she was the daughter of Schoeneus of Boeotia or of Iasus and Clymene of Arcadia. Her complex legend includes the following incidents: at her father's instance she was left to die at birth but was suckled by a she-bear; she took part

Hay, Oliver Perry

2005-02-02T04:36:00.000-08:00

While serving as professor of biology and geology at Butler University, Indianapolis, Ind. (1879–92), he helped organize the Indiana Academy of Science (1890) and embarked on

Earth, Paleomagnetism

2005-02-01T03:24:00.000-08:00

All rocks contain what is referred to as natural remanent magnetism. This property is due to magnetism acquired by iron-bearing minerals during the cooling and crystallization of an igneous rock, to the formation of iron-bearing minerals at low temperatures during the weathering of previously formed minerals, to the rotation of iron-bearing minerals during

Reproductive System, Animal, Sponges, coelenterates, flatworms, and aschelminths

2005-01-31T18:23:00.000-08:00

Sponges are at a cellular level of organization and thus do not have organs or even well-developed tissues; nevertheless, they produce sperm and eggs and also reproduce asexually. Some species of sponge are monoecious, others are dioecious. Sperm and eggs are formed by aggregations of cells called amoebocytes in the body wall; these are not considered gonads because

Digestive System Disease, Roundworms

2005-01-31T03:51:00.000-08:00

Roundworms, particularly Ascaris lumbricoides, may cause intestinal obstruction if present in sufficient numbers. As they mature from the larval state to the adult worm, roundworms migrate through the body, causing ascariasis, an infection characterized by fever, pneumonitis (lung inflammation), cholangitis (inflammation of the bile ducts), and pancreatitis

Walking

2005-01-31T00:44:00.000-08:00

Activity that ranges from a competitive sport, usually known as race walking, to a primary and popular form of outdoor recreation and mild aerobic exercise.

Houston, Whitney

2005-01-28T16:55:00.000-08:00

The daughter of Emily (“Cissy”) Houston—whose vocal group, the Sweet Inspirations, sang backup for Aretha Franklin—and the cousin of singer Dionne Warwick, Whitney Houston began singing in church as a child. While still

Talented Tenth

2005-01-28T10:16:00.000-08:00

(1903), concept espoused by black educator and author W.E.B. Du Bois, emphasizing the necessity for higher education to develop the leadership capacity among the most able 10 percent of black Americans. Du Bois was one of a number of black intellectuals who feared that what they saw as the overemphasis on industrial training (as evidenced, for example, by the plan proposed by

Bureau

2005-01-28T01:48:00.000-08:00

In the United States, a chest of drawers; in Europe a writing desk, usually with a hinged writing flap that rests at a sloping angle when closed and, when opened, reveals a tier of pigeonholes, small drawers, and sometimes a small cupboard. The bureau (French: “office”) first appeared in France at the beginning of the 17th century as just a flat table with drawers below the top, the

Backhuysen, Ludolf

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

Backhuysen studied under the Dutch painters Allart van Everdingen and Hendrik Dubbels. His numerous compositions are nearly all variations of marine themes, in a style peculiarly his own, marked by intense realism. In his later years Backhuysen employed his time in etching

Pacific Islands

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

Andretti, Mario

2005-01-26T09:53:00.000-08:00

Mario and his twin brother, Aldo, studied automobile mechanics, frequented racing-car garages, and participated in a race-driving training program in Italy. In 1955 the family came to the United States and settled in Nazareth, Pennsylvania;

Shimodate

2005-01-25T08:35:00.000-08:00

City, Ibaraki ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, situated on a tributary of the Kokai River. Shimodate was a cotton textile centre during the Tokugawa era (1603–1867). The construction of railways during the Meiji era (1868–1912) connected the city with Mito (east) and Utsunomiya (northwest). It is now a major commercial and transport centre producing electrical appliances. Pop. (1990) 66,030.

Stefan Nemanja

2005-01-25T05:12:00.000-08:00

Nemanja became grand zupan (clan leader) of Raška under Byzantine suzerainty in 1169. He subsequently sided with the Venetians and was eventually defeated by the avenging Byzantines, but he was pardoned. Nemanja later conquered Skopje, Prizren, and Tetovo. Though again defeated, he retained Kosovo, Pec, Prizren, Bar, Skadar (Shkodër), and Kotor. He abdicated

Gandía

2005-01-24T20:19:00.000-08:00

City, Valencia provincia, in the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Valencia, eastern Spain. It lies south of Valencia city at the mouth of the Serpis River. Once a Greek settlement, Gandía was occupied by the Moors in the 8th century and recaptured in 1252 by James I of Aragon, who ordered it rebuilt. It later became a duchy of the Borgia (Borja) family, whose 14th-century

Holly

2005-01-23T18:44:00.000-08:00

Any of the shrubs and trees of the genus Ilex, in the family Aquifoliaceae, comprising about 400 species of red- or black-berried plants, including the popular Christmas hollies. They have alternate, simple leaves and single or clustered, small, usually greenish flowers (male and female being usually on separate plants). English holly (I. aquifolium), a tree growing

Pauling, Linus

2005-01-23T09:51:00.000-08:00

In full Linus Carl Pauling American chemist who applied quantum mechanics to the study of molecular structures, particularly in connection with chemical bonding. Pauling received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1954 and the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1962 (the latter in recognition of his efforts on behalf of the international control of nuclear weapons and his