StiffPencil

Clairon, Mlle

2005-04-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

She began her career as a soubrette but made her debut at the Comédie-Française in 1743 as Phèdre in the tragedy by Racine. She also portrayed Corneille's heroines, who combined nobility of

Campaign Furniture

2005-04-05T11:19:00.000-07:00

Case furniture was usually teak,

Kathiawar Peninsula

2005-04-03T03:53:00.000-07:00

Peninsula in southwestern Gujarat state, west-central India. It is bounded by the Little Rann (marsh) of Kachchh (Kutch; north), the Gulf of Cambay (east), the Arabian Sea (southwest), and the Gulf of Kachchh (northwest). From the northeast an ancient sandstone formation extends into the peninsula, which has an area of 23,000 square miles (60,000 square km). Most of the sandstone, however, is masked

Metamorphosis

2005-04-02T05:40:00.000-08:00

In biology, striking change of form or structure in an individual after hatching or birth. Hormones called molting and juvenile hormones, which are not species specific, apparently regulate the changes. These physical changes as well as those involving growth and differentiation are accompanied by alterations of the organism's physiology, biochemistry, and

Wasil Ibn 'ata'

2005-04-01T18:35:00.000-08:00

As a young man Wasil went to Basra, Iraq, where he studied under the celebrated ascetic Hasan al-Basri and met other influential religious figures who lived there. In Wasil's time there began the discussions that led to the development of Islamic

Babylon

2005-03-31T22:38:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Suffolk county, southeastern New York, U.S. It lies on southern Long Island, along Great South Bay, east of Freeport. Established in 1872 after separation from Huntington (founded 1653), it includes the villages of Babylon (incorporated 1893), Amityville (1894), and Lindenhurst (1923) and the unincorporated communities of Deer Park, Copiague, and Wyandanch. The Italian inventor Guglielmo

Indian Ocean, Trenches

2005-03-30T06:58:00.000-08:00

The Indian Ocean has the fewest trenches of any of the world's oceans. The narrow (50 miles), volcanic, and seismically active Java Trench is the world's second longest, stretching more than 1,600 miles from southwest of Java and continuing northward as the Sunda Trench past Sumatra, with an extension along the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Agri Decumates

2005-03-29T20:36:00.000-08:00

In antiquity, the Black Forest and adjoining areas of what is now southwestern Germany between the Rhine, Danube, and Main rivers. The name may imply earlier occupation by a tribe with 10 cantons. The Romans under the Flavian emperors began annexing the area in AD 74 to secure better communications between the Rhine and Danube armies. According to Tacitus, the territory was

Yukon River

2005-03-28T22:39:00.000-08:00

Major North American river that flows through the central Yukon Territory of Canada and central Alaska. It measures 1,980 miles (3,190 kilometres) from the headwaters of the McNeil River (a tributary of the Nisutlin River). The Yukon discharges into the Bering Sea after flowing northwestward and then generally southwestward through a low plateau that slopes down across Alaska.

Narai

2005-03-28T07:52:00.000-08:00

Narai was a son of King Prasat Thong by a queen who was a daughter of King Song Tham, and he came to the throne after violent palace upheavals had cut short the reigns of his elder brother and his uncle.

Muris, Jean De

2005-03-26T14:04:00.000-08:00

French philosopher and mathematician who was a leading proponent of the new musical style of the 14th century. In his treatise Ars novae musicae (1319; “The Art of the New Music”) he enthusiastically supported the great changes in musical style and notation occurring in the 14th century and associated with the composer and theorist Philippe de Vitry, whose

Arab

2005-03-25T04:59:00.000-08:00

Arabic singular masculine 'arabi, singular feminine 'arabiyah, plural 'arab, one whose native language is Arabic. (See Arabic language.) Before the spread of Islam and, with it, the Arabic language, “Arab” referred to any of the largely nomadic Semitic inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula. In modern usage, it embraces any of the Arabic-speaking peoples living in the vast region from Mauritania, on the Atlantic coast of Africa, to southwestern Iran,

Denis, Saint

2005-03-23T07:47:00.000-08:00

According to St. Gregory of Tours's 6th-century Historia Francorum, Denis was one of seven bishops sent to Gaul to convert the people in the reign of the Roman emperor Decius. Little is known of his life; it is believed that he was martyred

Yesenin, Sergey Aleksandrovich

2005-03-23T03:57:00.000-08:00

The son of a peasant family of Old Believers, he left his

Diez, Friedrich Christian

2005-03-23T03:17:00.000-08:00

As a student Diez acquired a deep interest in Italian poetry, but a visit to the great German poet J.W. von Goethe in 1818 directed his attention to exploring

Mitchell, Lucy Myers Wright

2005-03-22T23:44:00.000-08:00

Lucy Wright was the daughter of a missionary to the Nestorian Christians in Persia. In 1860 she was taken to the United States, and a short time later she entered Mount Holyoke Female Seminary

Hands, Imposition Of

2005-03-21T22:48:00.000-08:00

Also called Laying On Of Hands, ritual act in which a priest or other religious functionary places one or both hands palms down on the top of another person's head, usually while saying a prayer or blessing. The imposition of hands was first practiced in Judaism and was adopted by Christianity. In the Hebrew Bible it is associated with three interrelated ideas: consecration (i.e., setting apart for

Astor Family

2005-03-21T20:35:00.000-08:00

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

Mold

2005-03-21T19:28:00.000-08:00

Also spelled mould, in biology, a conspicuous mass of mycelium (masses of vegetative filaments, or hyphae) and fruiting structures produced by various fungi (division Mycota). Fungi of the genera Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Rhizopus form mold and are associated with food spoilage and plant diseases.

Sea Urchin

2005-03-20T08:36:00.000-08:00

Any of about 700 living species of echinoid marine invertebrates (phylum Echinodermata) with a globular body and a radial arrangement of organs, shown by five bands of pores running from mouth to anus over the test (internal skeleton). The pores accommodate tube feet, which are slender, extensible, and often sucker-tipped. From nodules on

4-h Club

2005-03-20T04:03:00.000-08:00

One of an organization of clubs for youth aged 10 to 21 who engage in programs of “learning by doing.” The clubs are found principally in the United States and Canada, though some 80 other nations have adopted the idea. The 4-H Club emblem is the four-leaf clover with the letter H on each leaf; the club colours are green and white. The name 4-H is suggested in the pledge:I pledgeMy Head to

Bohr, Harald August

2005-03-19T16:08:00.000-08:00

The brother of the noted physicist Niels Bohr, he became professor at the Polytechnic Institute in Copenhagen in 1915 and at the University of Copenhagen in 1930. His early mathematical

Fadeyev, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich

2005-03-19T02:14:00.000-08:00

Fadeyev passed his youth in the Ural Mountains and in eastern Siberia, receiving his schooling in Vladivostok. He joined the Communist

Earth, Variation with elevation

2005-03-18T03:44:00.000-08:00

At sea level the gradient is equivalent to -0.3086 milligal per metre;

Breadalbane And Holland, John Campbell, 1st Earl Of

2005-03-18T02:42:00.000-08:00

The son of Sir John Campbell of Glenorchy, 4th Baronet (d. 1686), he took part in the Royalist uprising under the Earl of Glencairn in 1654 and later encouraged the restoration of Charles II in 1660. Charles created him earl of Caithness and viscount of Breadalbane in 1677; but, when this

Ribeirão Prêto

2005-03-17T20:21:00.000-08:00

City, in the highlands of northeastern São Paulo state, Brazil, at 1,700 feet (520 m) above sea level, on the Prêto River, a tributary of the Pardo River. Founded in 1856 and formerly called Entre Rios and São Sebastião do Ribeirão Prêto, the settlement was given town status in 1870 and was made the seat of a municipality in 1871. It was long renowned as a colonization and coffee-growing centre. Now

Neptune

2005-03-17T19:48:00.000-08:00

Neptune's festival (Neptunalia) took place in the heat of the summer (July 23), when water was scarcest; thus, its purpose was probably the propitiation of the

Biblical Literature, Problems resulting from aural conditioning

2005-03-16T14:13:00.000-08:00

Aural conditioning would result from a mishearing of similar sounding consonants when a text is dictated to the copyist. A negative particle lo', for example, could be confused with the prepositional lo, “to him,” or a guttural het with spirant kaf so that ah “brother” might be written for akh “surely.”

Cynghanedd

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

(Welsh: “harmony”), Welsh poetic device, a complicated system of alliteration and internal rhyme, obligatory in the 24 strict metres of Welsh bardic verse. Cynghanedd had developed by the 13th century from the prosodic devices of the early bards and was formally codified at the Caerwys Eisteddfod (Assembly of Bards) of 1524. The device became an obligatory adornment of poems in

Kyaukse

2005-03-15T09:11:00.000-08:00

Town, central Myanmar (Burma). Lying on the Zawgyi River, 25 miles (40 km) south of Mandalay, it is served by the Mandalay-Yangôn (Rangoon) railway. The first Myanmar (Burmese) probably settled in the area about 800, and local 12th- and 13th-century inscriptions refer to Kyaukse as “the first home.” Remains of pagodas and old cities are found throughout the area. The Shwethalyaung pagoda, built

Insurance, General average clause

2005-03-15T06:40:00.000-08:00

The general average clause in ocean marine insurance obligates the insurers of various interests to share the cost of losses incurred voluntarily to save the voyage from complete destruction. Such sacrifices must be made voluntarily, must be necessary, and must be successful. For example, if a shipper's cargo is voluntarily jettisoned in a storm in order to save

Fordham University

2005-03-14T18:44:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in New York, New York, U.S. It is affiliated with the Jesuit order of the Roman Catholic church. The university consists of the original Rose Hill campus in the north Bronx, the Lincoln Center campus in Manhattan, and the Tarrytown campus, at which only graduate courses are offered, in Westchester county. Fordham

Dewas

2005-03-14T14:43:00.000-08:00

City, western Madhya Pradesh state, central India. It is located on the Malwa Plateau at the foot of the conical Chamunda Hill, which rises to a Devivasini shrine. Jaina and Hindu temple ruins lie just south of the city, in Nagara. The surrounding area consists chiefly of level plains of the Malwa Plateau, watered by the Narmada, Sipra, and Kali Sindh rivers. Wheat, sorghum, rice, cotton,

Visconti, Luchino

2005-03-14T01:24:00.000-08:00

In full Don Luchino Visconti, Conte (count) Di Modrone Italian motion-picture director whose realistic treatment of individuals caught in the conflicts of modern society contributed significantly to the post-World War II revolution in Italian filmmaking and earned him the title of father of Neorealism. He also established himself as an innovative theatrical and opera director in the years

Lorca

2005-03-13T16:41:00.000-08:00

Town, Murcia province and autonomous community (region), southeastern Spain. It is situated along the Río Guadalentín in a semiarid and steppelike area that is surrounded by rugged mountains. The town, which sits on both banks of the river, was the Ilurco (Ilukro) of the Romans and the Lurka of the Moors. It was the scene of numerous battles between Christian and Moorish

Water Snake

2005-03-12T09:01:00.000-08:00

Any member of the genus Natrix, family Colubridae, and similar snakes. The 65 to 80 species of Natrix occur on all continents except South America. Some authorities place the New World species in several genera, the largest of which is Nerodia. Most water snakes have dark blotches or dorsal streaks on their stout bodies, and the scales are keeled. They are semiaquatic, preying

Water Milfoil

2005-03-11T16:07:00.000-08:00

Any member of the genus Myriophyllum (family Haloragaceae), about 45 widely distributed species of submerged freshwater plants with whorls of feathery leaves and emergent, wind-pollinated flowers. Some species are cultivated in pools and aquariums, especially the parrot's feather, or water feather, (M. aquaticum) and the myriad leaf (M.

Naresuan

2005-03-11T06:07:00.000-08:00

In 1569 the Myanmar king Bayinnaung (reigned 1551–81) conquered Siam and placed Naresuan's father, Maha Thammaracha, on the throne as his vassal. The capital, Ayutthaya, was pillaged, thousands of Siamese

Waterfall

2005-03-11T03:27:00.000-08:00

Area where flowing river water drops abruptly and nearly vertically (see video). Waterfalls represent major interruptions in river flow. Under most circumstances rivers tend to smooth out irregularities in their flow by processes of erosion and deposition. In time, the long profile of a river (the graph of its gradient) takes the form of a smooth curve, steepest toward

Avocado

2005-03-10T16:33:00.000-08:00

Also called Alligator Pear, fruit of Persea americana of the family Lauraceae, a tree native to the Western Hemisphere from Mexico south to the Andean regions. The tree, tall or spreading, has leaves elliptic to egg-shaped in form and 100–300 mm (4–12 inches) in length. The small, greenish flowers, borne in dense racemes, are devoid of petals and have six perianth lobes, nine stamens arranged in

Ibn Muqlah

2005-03-10T04:24:00.000-08:00

One of the foremost calligraphers of the 'Abbasid Age (750–1258), reputed inventor of the first cursive style of Arabic lettering, the naskhi script, which replaced the angular Kufic as the standard of Islamic calligraphy. In the naskhi script Ibn Muqlah introduced the rounded forms and curved lines that in later styles were

Xylene

2005-03-10T01:20:00.000-08:00

Any of three isomeric dimethylbenzenes [which have the same chemical formula, C6H4(CH3)2, but different molecular structure], used as solvents, as components of aviation fuel, and as raw materials for the manufacture of dyes, fibres, and films. The three isomers, designated ortho (o), meta (m), and para (p), differ structurally only in the location of the methyl groups. All three are

United States, The European background

2005-03-09T06:12:00.000-08:00

During the years separating the failure of the Roanoke colony and the establishment in 1607 of the English settlement in Jamestown, English propagandists worked hard to convince the public that a colony in America would yield instant and easily exploitable wealth. Even men like the English geographer Richard Hakluyt were not certain that the Spanish colonization experience could or should be imitated but hoped nevertheless that the English colonies in the New World would prove to be a source of immediate commercial gain. There were, of course, other motives for colonization. Some hoped to discover the much-sought-after route to the Orient in North America. English imperialists thought it necessary to settle in the New World in order to limit Spanish expansion. Once it was proven that America was a suitable place for settlement, some Englishmen would travel to those particular colonies that promised to free them from religious persecution. There were also Englishmen, primarily of lower- and middle-class origin, who hoped the New World would provide them with increased economic opportunity in the form of free or inexpensive land. These last two motives, while they have been given considerable attention by historians, appear not to have been so much original motives for English colonization as they were shifts of attitude once colonization had begun.

Numbat

2005-03-08T08:58:00.000-08:00

Also called Banded Anteater (Myrmecobius fasciatus), marsupial mammal of the family Dasyuridae (some authorities classify it as a family in its own right, Myrmecobiidae). It forages by day for termites in forests of southwestern Australia. Formerly widespread across southern Australia, the numbat is now restricted to the southwestern corner of the country and is regarded as an endangered

Lentulus Spinther, Publius Cornelius

2005-03-08T04:22:00.000-08:00

As curule aedile, Lentulus in 63 helped Cicero suppress Catiline's conspiracy to overthrow the government. He was praetor in 60 and with Caesar's aid became governor of the province of Nearer Spain in 59. After serving as consul in 57, he governed Cilicia from 56 to 53. Despite

Aurangzeb

2005-03-07T19:15:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Aurangzib , Arabic Awrangzib , kingly title 'alamgir , original name Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad last of the great Mughal emperors of India (reigned 1658–1707). Under him the Mughal Empire reached its greatest extent, although his policies helped lead to its dissolution.

Tibet, Tibet under Manchu overlordship

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

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

Sendak, Maurice (bernard)

2005-03-06T21:22:00.000-08:00

Sendak was the son of Polish immigrants and received his formal art training at the Art Students' League in New York City. While attending school he drew backgrounds for All-American Comics and did window displays for a toy store. The first children's books he illustrated were Marcel

Bottesini, Giovanni

2005-03-06T15:00:00.000-08:00

Bottesini received basic training in music at an early age from his father, a composer and clarinetist. His choice of the double bass as his specialty came about

T'ien-shui

2005-03-05T22:04:00.000-08:00

The area,

Hsiung Shih-li

2005-03-05T15:56:00.000-08:00

Hsiung was an anti-Manchu revolutionary in early youth, but after the age of 30 he devoted himself wholly to philosophy. He first studied metaphysical idealism in the

Yap Ah Loy

2005-03-04T11:23:00.000-08:00

Yap Ah Loy arrived in the Malay state of Selangor in 1856 at the age of 19. He spent his first years in the peninsula as a miner and petty trader, but in 1862 his fortunes

Cork

2005-03-04T07:49:00.000-08:00

Irish Corcaigh county in the province of Munster, Ireland. The largest county in Ireland, with an area of 2,880 sq mi (7,460 sq km), it is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean (south), by Counties Waterford and Tipperary (east), by County Limerick (north), and by County Kerry (west). Cork has long east–west ridges forming uplands and hills. Less than three-tenths of its area is rough pasture, and farmlands climb as high

Akimov, Nikolay Pavlovich

2005-03-04T00:01:00.000-08:00

Scenic designer and producer, known for the diversity of his bold experiments in stage design and dramatic interpretation—most especially for his cynical reinterpretation of Hamlet (1932), in which the king's ghost was represented as a fiction cunningly devised by Hamlet,

Yi-dam

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

In Tibetan Buddhism, a tutelary, or guardian, deity with whom a lama (monk) has a special, secret relationship. The lama first prepares himself by meditation, then selects from among the guardian deities the one that reveals itself as offering the right guidance for a specific or lifelong goal. The lama will thereafter begin each day by worshiping his yi-dam. Any of the

Mon-khmer Languages

2005-03-02T21:35:00.000-08:00

Language family included in the Austroasiatic stock. Mon-Khmer languages constitute the indigenous language family of mainland Southeast Asia. They range north to southern China, south to Malaysia, west to Assam state in India, and east to Vietnam. The most important Mon-Khmer languages, having populations greater than 100,000, are Vietnamese, Khmer, Muong, Mon, Khasi, Khmu

Paraboloid

2005-03-02T08:38:00.000-08:00

An open surface generated by rotating a parabola (q.v.) about its axis. If the axis of the surface is the z axis and the vertex is at the origin, the intersections of the surface with planes parallel to the xz and yz planes are parabolas (see Figure, top). The intersections of the surface with planes parallel to and above the xy plane are circles. The general equation for this

Yui Shosetsu

2005-03-02T01:10:00.000-08:00

A famous military teacher in the Japanese capital of Edo (now Tokyo), Yui gained a large following among the local ronin

Mars, Canals Of

2005-03-01T00:52:00.000-08:00

Apparent systems of long, straight linear markings on the surface of Mars that are now known to be illusions caused by the chance alignment of craters and other natural surface features seen in telescopes near the limit of resolution. They were the subject of much controversy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and influenced popular thinking about the possibility

Scipio Africanus The Elder

2005-02-28T22:34:00.000-08:00

After his capture of Tunis, the Carthaginians sought peace terms, but Hannibal's subsequent return to Africa led to their renewing the war in 202. Scipio advanced southwestward to join the Numidian prince Masinissa, who was bringing his invaluable cavalry to his support. Then he turned eastward to face Hannibal at the Battle of Zama; his outflanking tactics failed against

Ayacucho, Battle Of

2005-02-28T08:06:00.000-08:00

(Dec. 9, 1824), in the Latin-American wars of independence, revolutionary victory over royalists on the high plateau near Ayacucho, Peru. It freed Peru and ensured the independence of the nascent South American republics from Spain. The revolutionary forces, numbering about 6,000 men—among them Venezuelans, Colombians, Argentines, and Chileans, as well as Peruvians—were under the

Tractor Loader

2005-02-27T20:44:00.000-08:00

Tractor carrying a front-mounted bucket that can be raised, lowered, and tilted forward and backward hydraulically. It is forced into the digging by forward motion of the tractor and retracted and swung by backing and steering the tractor. Tractor loaders are used primarily for loading trucks, digging basements, and doing bulldozer work. They also transport material

Carter, Rosalynn

2005-02-27T16:49:00.000-08:00

Jimmy Carter sometimes pointed out that his wife's first name was Eleanor and that she had been as valuable a working partner to him as had Eleanor Roosevelt to her husband. Most Americans would agree, and Rosalynn's popularity was consistently high compared with that of other first ladies.

Hrdlicka, Ale

2005-02-25T18:43:00.000-08:00

Though born in Bohemia, Hrdlicka came to America with his family at an early age. He studied medicine and practiced briefly until he left for Paris in 1896 to study anthropology with

Hesburgh, Theodore M(artin)

2005-02-25T15:33:00.000-08:00

Hesburgh, who said he knew he wanted to be a priest from early childhood, joined the Order of

Heijermans, Herman

2005-02-25T14:22:00.000-08:00

After failing in business, Heijermans became a journalist in Amsterdam. His novel Kamertjeszonde (1898; “Petty Sin”), published under the pseudonym Koos Habbema, sharply criticizes prevailing sexual attitudes, and,

Harbour Seal

2005-02-25T08:26:00.000-08:00

Also called Common Seal, Hair Seal, or Spotted Seal (Phoca vitulina), nonmigratory, earless seal (family Phocidae) found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The harbour seal is whitish or grayish at birth and as an adult is generally gray with black spots. The adult male may attain a length and weight of about 1.8 m (6 feet) and 130 kg (290 pounds); the female is somewhat smaller. Found along coastlines and in a few freshwater lakes in Canada

Ghaghara River

2005-02-24T11:15:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Gogra, Ghaghra , or Ghagra , Nepali Kauriala major left-bank tributary of the Ganges River, rising as the Karnali River (Chinese: K'ung-ch'iao Ho) in the Tibetan Himalayas and flowing southeast into Nepal. Cutting southward across the Siwalik Hills, it splits into two branches, to rejoin south of the Indian border and form the Ghaghara proper. It flows southeast through Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states to enter the Ganges

Alexander Romance

2005-02-24T05:15:00.000-08:00

The chief source of all Alexander romance literature was a folk epic written in Greek by a Hellenized Egyptian in Alexandria during the 2nd century AD. Surviving translations and copies make its reconstruction possible.

Philip Ii

2005-02-23T17:53:00.000-08:00

Byname Philip Of Macedon 18th king of Macedonia (359–336 BC), who restored internal peace to his country and then, by 339, had gained domination over all Greece by military and diplomatic means, thus laying the foundations for its expansion under his son Alexander III the Great.

Lipalian Interval

2005-02-23T11:17:00.000-08:00

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

Aelfheah, Saint

2005-02-21T19:46:00.000-08:00

Of noble birth, Aelfheah entered the Benedictine abbey of Deerhurst, Gloucestershire, and later became a hermit at Bath, Somerset, where followers elected him abbot. Aelfheah was a friend of Archbishop St. Dunstan of Canterbury,

Sukhothai Style

2005-02-21T13:39:00.000-08:00

The most direct influence on Sukhothai style

Sunday

2005-02-21T07:33:00.000-08:00

First day of the week; in Christianity, the Lord's Day, the weekly memorial of Jesus Christ's Resurrection from the dead. The practice of Christians gathering together for worship on Sunday dates back to apostolic times, but details of the actual development of the custom are not clear. Before the end of the 1st century AD, the author of Revelation gave the first day its name

Existentialism, Manner and style of human existence

2005-02-21T03:55:00.000-08:00

Existentialism is never a solipsism in the proper sense of the term (that I alone exist), because every existential possibility relates man to things and to other men. Sometimes it is presented as humanism in the sense that it places human destiny in the hands of men themselves. But this version is rejected by all of the currents of the movement that, starting with Heidegger,

Margai, Sir Milton (augustus Striery)

2005-02-20T16:36:00.000-08:00

The grandson of a paramount chief and the

Indo-iranian Languages

2005-02-19T17:12:00.000-08:00

Group of languages constituting the easternmost major branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Indo-Aryan (Indic) languages are spoken by some 800 million persons in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and other areas of the Himalayan region. In addition, languages of the Indo-Aryan group are spoken by about 5,000,000 people in Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania:

Alcuin

2005-02-19T14:19:00.000-08:00

Anglo-Latin poet, educator, and cleric who, as head of the Palatine school established by Charlemagne at Aachen, introduced the traditions of Anglo-Saxon humanism into western Europe. He was the foremost scholar of the revival of learning known as the Carolingian Renaissance. He also made important reforms in the Roman

Hyalophane

2005-02-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

A barium-rich variety of potassium feldspar; see celsian.

Rourke, Constance Mayfield

2005-02-18T09:32:00.000-08:00

After earning an A.B. from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., (1907) and studying at the Sorbonne in Paris, Rourke taught English at Vassar. In 1915 she resigned, thereafter working as a research historian and free-lance writer devoted to defining the historical aspects

Hindemith, Paul

2005-02-17T18:18:00.000-08:00

One of the principal German composers of the first half of the 20th century and a leading musical theorist. He sought to revitalize tonality, the system underlying Western music for three centuries, which had begun to disintegrate, and also pioneered in the writing of Gebrauchsmusik, or “utility music,” compositions

Router

2005-02-17T16:01:00.000-08:00

Portable electric power tool used in carpentry and furniture making that consists of an electric motor, a base, two handle knobs, and bits (cutting tools). The motor has a chuck for holding the bits by their straight shanks on one end of its shaft and fits upright (chuck down) in the base. The motor can be raised or lowered relative to the base to adjust the depth of cut made

Gumilyov, Nikolay Stepanovich

2005-02-17T05:48:00.000-08:00

The son of a naval surgeon, Gumilyov was educated at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, where he was influenced by the poet and teacher Innokenty Annensky. Gumilyov's earliest published volumes

Tarde, Gabriel

2005-02-16T03:35:00.000-08:00

In full Jean-Gabriel De Tarde French sociologist and criminologist who was one of the most versatile social scientists of his time. His theory of social interaction (“intermental activity”) emphasized the individual in an aggregate of persons and brought Tarde into conflict with Émile Durkheim, who viewed society as a collective

Tetraodontiform, Feeding habits

2005-02-16T01:17:00.000-08:00

As one would suspect from their usually well-developed and massive dentition, often with the teeth fused together in a parrotlike beak, most tetraodontiforms feed on hard-shelled crustaceans, mollusks, and echinoderms. But some, with massive, crushing jaws and teeth, such as the ocean sunfishes, often feed extensively on such soft-bodied invertebrates as jellyfishes

Paleo-siberian Languages

2005-02-15T18:42:00.000-08:00

Paleo-Siberian also spelled Paleosiberian , also called Paleo-Asiatic languages or Hyperborean languages languages spoken in Asian Russia (Siberia) that belong to four genetically unrelated groups—Yeniseian, Luorawetlan, Yukaghir, and Nivkh.

La Salle

2005-02-15T06:23:00.000-08:00

City, Montréal region, southern Quebec province, Canada, on the south shore of Île de Montréal (Montreal Island), at the head of the Lachine Rapids of the St. Lawrence River. Settlement of the site began in 1668, when Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, established a fortified townsite first known as Saint-Sulpice and later as La Petite Chine, or Lachine. Surviving an Iroquois Indian

Discharge Printing

2005-02-13T23:25:00.000-08:00

Also called Extract Printing, method of applying a design to dyed fabric by printing a colour-destroying agent, such as chlorine or hydrosulfite, to bleach out a white or light pattern on the darker coloured ground. In colour-discharge printing, a dye impervious to the bleaching agent is combined with it, producing a coloured design instead of white on the dyed ground. See also resist printing; roller

Christian, Charlie

2005-02-13T15:51:00.000-08:00

Reared in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Christian studied music with

Ma'amadot

2005-02-13T07:14:00.000-08:00

(Hebrew: “stands,” or “posts”), 24 groups of Jewish laymen that witnessed, by turns of one week each, the daily sacrifice in the Second Temple of Jerusalem as representatives of the common people. Gradually ma'amadot were organized in areas outside Jerusalem, so that the people could hold special services in their villages while their representatives were present in the Temple.

Argentina, Political developments

2005-02-13T05:53:00.000-08:00

Works on Juan Perón and Peronism include Frederick C. Turner and José Enrique Miguens (eds.), Juan Perón and the Reshaping of Argentina (1983); Joseph A. Page, Perón: A Biography (1983); Nicholas Fraser and Marysa Navarro, Eva Perón (1980, reissued as Evita, 1996); Jeane Kirkpatrick, Leader and Vanguard in Mass Society: A Study of Peronist Argentina (1971); and Guido Di Tella, Argentina Under Perón, 1973–76: The Nation's Experience with a Labour-Based Government (1983).

Tarascon

2005-02-12T14:01:00.000-08:00

Town, Bouches-du-Rhône département, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, southeastern France, east of Nîmes. Situated on the left bank of the Rhône opposite Beaucaire, the town is associated with a legendary monster, La Tarasque, which was said to have ravaged the region until it was tamed by St. Marthe. Since the late 19th century it has also been associated with the mock-heroic

Pius Ii

2005-02-12T10:07:00.000-08:00

Original name Enea Silvio Piccolomini outstanding Italian humanist and astute politician who as pope (reigned 1458–64) tried to unite Europe in a crusade against the Turks at a time when they threatened to overrun all of Europe. He wrote voluminously about the events of his day.

Aquarium

2005-02-11T23:21:00.000-08:00

Receptacle for maintaining aquatic organisms, either freshwater or marine, or a facility in which a collection of aquatic organisms is displayed or studied.

Earth, Seismic-wave velocity profiles

2005-02-11T08:19:00.000-08:00

The techniques of deep seismic sounding, carried out mainly in the United States and western Europe, have yielded high-resolution velocity profiles for the crust and uppermost mantle since the late 1960s. These studies, complemented by detailed waveform analyses and seismic tomography, prove conclusively that the crust and upper mantle can vary significantly in

Glinka, Mikhail

2005-02-10T23:17:00.000-08:00

Glinka first became interested in music at age 10 or 11, when he heard his uncle's private orchestra. He studied at the Chief Pedagogic Institute at St. Petersburg

Saw-scaled Viper

2005-02-10T20:53:00.000-08:00

The saw-scaled viper is irritable and aggressive and commonly hides under stones and in rodent runs. It is sand-coloured or gray,

Tuareg

2005-02-10T06:36:00.000-08:00

The northern Tuareg live mainly in true desert country, whereas the southerners

Francis I

2005-02-10T01:21:00.000-08:00

From

Silverius, Saint

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

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