LooseClock

Bahrain

2005-03-19T21:52:00.000-08:00

Officially State of Bahrain, Arabic Dawlat Al-Bahrayn small Arab state in the Persian Gulf. It is an archipelago consisting of Bahrain Island—extending about 30 miles (50 km) from north to south and 10 miles (16 km) from east to west—and some 30 smaller islands. Its Arabic name means “two seas.” Bahrain is situated in a bay on the southwestern coast of the Persian Gulf; Saudi Arabia lies to the west across the Gulf of Bahrain, while the Qatar peninsula

Oaks

2005-03-17T03:31:00.000-08:00

One of the English Classic horse races (along with the Derby, Saint Leger, Two Thousand Guineas, and One Thousand Guineas), an event for three-year-old fillies, established in 1779, and run over a 1.5-mile (about 2,400-metre) course at Epsom Downs, Surrey, also the site of the Derby. The Oaks was named for the nearby residence of the 12th Earl of Derby, whose horse Bridget won the first running.

Barreto, Francisco

2005-03-14T05:01:00.000-08:00

Barreto served in the East Indies, was governor of Portuguese India, and was probably instrumental in exiling Luís de Camões to Macau after the poet had published criticisms of Portuguese administration in India. In 1569 Barreto was entrusted by King Sebastian of Portugal with an expedition to

Spahn, Warren

2005-03-12T23:44:00.000-08:00

In full Warren Edward Spahn American professional baseball player whose total of 363 major-league victories established a record for left-handed pitchers. His feat of winning 20 or more games in each of 13 seasons also was a record for left-handers. He set still another mark by striking out at least 100 batters each year for 17 consecutive seasons

Euripides

2005-03-10T00:30:00.000-08:00

Last of classical Athens' three great tragic dramatists, following Aeschylus and Sophocles.

Bearden, Romare (howard)

2005-03-08T14:39:00.000-08:00

Bearden studied at the Art Students League in New York City with George Grosz (1936–37) and at Columbia University (1943). His early paintings were realistic and often

Roubiliac, Louis-françois

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

Roubiliac was apprenticed to a sculptor of ivory and porcelain, Balthasar Permoser, and later became assistant to Nicolas Coustou, a French Baroque sculptor. He moved to London about 1732. His first independent commission was a statue of Handel for Vauxhall Gardens in 1737. A year

Africa, Volcanism and rifting

2005-03-05T19:02:00.000-08:00

Tectonic movements during the Miocene and Pliocene scored the African continent with a network of faults that generally trended northeast to southwest and northwest to southeast. Volcanic eruptions and basaltic upwellings accompanied fracturing in the Ahaggar area of southern Algeria, in the Tibesti area of Libya and Chad, in Ethiopia, throughout East Africa,

Mitchell, John Thomas Whitehead

2005-03-02T20:27:00.000-08:00

At an early age, Mitchell joined the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers and was appointed its secretary in 1857. He shaped the policy of the Co-operative Wholesale Society, established in 1863, and was its chairman from 1874 until his death. Mitchell emphasized

Godard, Jean-luc

2005-02-28T07:38:00.000-08:00

Godard spent his formative years on the Swiss side of Lake Geneva, where his father directed a clinic. His higher education consisted of study for a degree in ethnology at the University of Paris, interminable student café conversations,

Aviation

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

The first man-made objects to fly were balloons, which were pioneered in France by the Montgolfier brothers in 1783. Some of the

Arnold, Matthew, Prose works.

2005-02-24T20:12:00.000-08:00

The Popular Education of France with Notices of That of Holland and Switzerland (1861; revised text of the 1860 report prepared by Arnold for the Education Commission); On Translating Homer (1861); On Translating Homer: Last Words (1862); A French Eton: or, Middle Class Education and the State (1864); Essays in Criticism (1865; including “The Function of Criticism at the Present Time,” “The Literary Influence of Academies,” “Maurice de Guérin,” “Eugénie de Guérin,” “Heinrich Heine,” “Joubert,” “Spinoza,” and “Marcus Aurelius”); On the Study of Celtic Literature (1867); Schools and Universities on the Continent (1868; reprinted from Arnold's report On Secondary Education in Foreign Countries of 1866); Culture and Anarchy (1869); St. Paul and Protestantism (1870); Friendship's Garland (1871); Literature and Dogma (1873); God and the Bible (1875); Last Essays on Church and Religion (1877); Mixed Essays (1879); Irish Essays (1882); Discourses in America (1885); Essays in Criticism. Second Series (1888; including “The Study of Poetry” and essays on Milton, Thomas Gray, Keats, Wordsworth, Byron, Shelley, Tolstoy, and Amiel); Reports on Elementary Schools 1852–1882, edited by Sir Francis Sandford (1889; new edition with added material and introduction by F.S. Marvin, 1908).

Lamarr, Hedy

2005-02-22T21:46:00.000-08:00

Austrian-born American actress (b. Nov. 9, 1913, Vienna, Austria—d. Jan. 19, 2000, Orlando, Fla.), possessed such a combination of exotic glamour and sex appeal that she was labeled the movie world's most beautiful woman. Although she appeared opposite many of Hollywood's most famous male stars, her films were not highly regarded, and she never came to be considered to have much acting ability;

Glassware, After the War of 1812

2005-02-20T05:28:00.000-08:00

The few houses that survived the 1790s and the depression after the War of 1812 had multiplied to more than 90 by 1830. For convenience, the glassworks are divided into three geographical groups: New England, the Middle Atlantic, and the Midwest. Until that time, they had produced little more than simple imitations of European glasses, at best interesting and often very handsome combinations

Arabian Sea

2005-02-19T01:10:00.000-08:00

To medieval Arabs the Arabian Sea was known as the Sea of India or as part of the “Great Sea,” from which smaller gulfs such as the Sea of Faris (Persian Gulf) or Sea of Kolzum (Red Sea) were distinguished. From about the 8th or 9th century onward, Arab and Persian seafarers learned to use the surface currents propelled by the summer and winter monsoon winds. Detailed navigational

Itata And Baltimore Incidents

2005-02-17T03:12:00.000-08:00

The civil war was precipitated by a conflict between the Chilean Congress and President José Manuel Balmaceda, in which the navy supported the insurgent Congress and the army backed the president. The U.S. government

Adams, Douglas

2005-02-14T15:25:00.000-08:00

Adams received an M.A. (1974) in English literature

Mosquito

2005-02-13T08:09:00.000-08:00

As a night fighter, the Mosquito downed more than 600 Luftwaffe

Ars Antiqua

2005-02-11T10:14:00.000-08:00

(Medieval Latin: “Ancient Art”), in music history, period of musical activity in 13th-century France, characterized by increasingly sophisticated counterpoint (the art of combining simultaneous voice parts), that culminated in the innovations of the 14th-century Ars Nova (q.v.). The term Ars Antiqua originated, in fact, with the Ars Nova theorists, some of whom spoke of the “Ancient

Oslo Fjord

2005-02-08T14:03:00.000-08:00

Norwegian Oslofjorden, fjord on the Skagerrak (strait) penetrating the southern coast of Norway for 60 miles (100 km) from about Fredrikstad to Oslo. With an area of 766 square miles (1,984 square km), the fjord occupies a glacier-formed depression, or graben, that has been partially filled and partially reexcavated. The fjord's forested shoreline is dotted with numerous towns and seaports and is one of the most

Plymouth

2005-02-06T03:24:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Windsor county, south-central Vermont, U.S. The town includes the villages of Plymouth, Plymouth Union, and Tyson. It was chartered in 1761 as Saltash and renamed in 1797. Calvin Coolidge, 30th president of the United States, was born (July 4, 1872) in Plymouth in a small house behind the crossroads village store. The homestead in Plymouth Notch where he took the presidential

German Literature, Bourgeois Realism

2005-02-05T16:40:00.000-08:00

The deaths of Hegel in 1831 and of Goethe in 1832 released many German writers from the feeling that they stood in the shadow of great men. A new group of writers, only very loosely connected, began to emerge who felt that the aesthetic models of the age of Goethe could be laid aside in favour of a distinctly political form of literature. Inspired by the July Revolution in France

Italian Liberal Party

2005-02-02T00:39:00.000-08:00

The Liberal Party was first formed as a parliamentary group within the Piedmont assembly in 1848 by Count Camillo di Cavour, who eventually brought about the unification of Italy and became

Cromwell, Oliver

2005-02-01T07:44:00.000-08:00

As one of the generals on the parliamentary side in the English Civil War against King Charles I, Cromwell helped to bring about

Corbett, James J.

2005-01-29T08:44:00.000-08:00

Byname Gentleman Jim American world heavyweight boxing champion from September 7, 1892, when he knocked out John L. Sullivan in 21 rounds at New Orleans, until March 17, 1897, when he was knocked out by Robert Fitzsimmons in 14 rounds at Carson City, Nevada. Corbett was a quick and agile boxer, and he led the movement toward what came to be called

Hadera

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

City, western Israel. It lies on the Plain of Sharon midway between Tel Aviv–Yafo and Haifa, near the Mediterranean Sea. The first Jewish settlement on the northern coastal plain, Hadera (from Arabic khadhir, “green”) was founded in 1890 by Jewish immigrants from tsarist-ruled Poland and Lithuania. The seasonal watercourse Nahal Hadera (then called by its Arabic name of Nahr Mufjir),

Tedder (of Glenguin), Arthur William Tedder, 1st Baron

2005-01-26T08:25:00.000-08:00

Marshal of the Royal Air Force and deputy commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force under General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who contributed significantly to the success of the Allied invasion of Normandy (June 6, 1944) and the German defeat on the Western Front during World War II through his policy of bombing

Aerospace Engineering, Aerospace engineering

2005-01-23T06:16:00.000-08:00

The use of rocket engines for aircraft propulsion opened a new realm of flight to the aeronautical engineer. Robert H. Goddard, an American, developed, built, and flew the first successful liquid-propellant rocket on March 16, 1926. Goddard proved that flight was possible at speeds greater than the speed of sound and that rockets can work in a vacuum. The major impetus in rocket

Tipperary

2005-01-22T06:25:00.000-08:00

Irish Tiobraid Árann (“House of the Well of Ara”) town and urban district, County Tipperary, Ireland. The town grew up around a castle erected by Prince John (later King John) when he was lord of Ireland; the outline of the bailey remains. A chancel arch from a 13th-century Augustinian abbey still stands. In 1339 the town was burned by the O'Briens. New Tipperary was founded in 1890, but it was later abandoned. There is a monument to the

Rosidae, The order Proteales

2005-01-20T01:13:00.000-08:00

The Proteales consists of two families, Elaeagnaceae and Proteaceae, although this might not be a natural affiliation. The Proteaceae is composed of about 75 genera and more than 1,000 species distributed throughout tropical and subtropical regions of the world, especially in South Africa and Australia. They are evergreen woody plants that thrive in nutrient-poor soils

Pius I, Saint

2005-01-17T20:31:00.000-08:00

Pius was a slave, according to his supposed brother, the apostolic father Hermas. As pope, Pius combatted Gnosticism—a religious movement teaching that matter is evil and that emancipation comes through spiritual truth attained only by revelatory esoteric knowledge—and the Marcionites, followers of a heretical

Biblical Literature, Hosea

2005-01-16T09:39:00.000-08:00

The Book of Hosea, the first of the canonical Twelve (Minor) Prophets, was written by Hosea (whose name means “salvation,” or “deliverance”), a prophet who lived during the last years of the age of Jeroboam II in Israel and the period of decline and ruin that followed the brief period of economic prosperity. The Assyrians were threatening the land of Israel and the people of

Handbell

2005-01-14T21:27:00.000-08:00

Throughout ancient Asia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, handbells played an important role in religious

Amoco Corporation

2005-01-12T01:16:00.000-08:00

Formerly (1889–1985) Standard Oil Company (Indiana), American petroleum corporation that was founded in 1889 by the Standard Oil trust (see Standard Oil Company and Trust) to direct the refining and marketing of oil in the Midwestern states. The company's first refinery, outside Whiting, Ind., produced fuel oil, kerosene, and other petroleum products. Beginning in the late 1890s, the company's production of gasoline rapidly increased

Affective Disorder

2005-01-09T02:58:00.000-08:00

Mental disorder characterized by dramatic changes or extremes of mood. Affective disorders may include manic (elevated, expansive, or irritable mood with hyperactivity, pressured speech, and inflated self-esteem) or depressive (dejected mood with disinterest in life, sleep disturbance, agitation, and feelings of worthlessness or guilt) episodes, and often combinations

Edenderry

2005-01-07T18:52:00.000-08:00

Irish Éadan Doire market town, County Offaly, Ire., on the northern edge of the Bog of Allen. The town, including the Court House, was largely built by the marquesses of Downshire in the 18th and early 19th centuries. South of the town are the ruins of Peter Blundell's castle. There are many castles in the area, for Edenderry was located on the edge of the Pale, the medieval English enclave centred

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Fable

2005-01-05T06:49:00.000-08:00

Fable and parable are short, simple forms of naive allegory. The fable is usually a tale about animals who are personified and behave as though they were humans (see photograph). The device of personification is also extended to trees, winds, streams, stones, and other natural objects. The earliest of these tales also included humans and gods as characters, but fable tends

Ramazan Dynasty

2005-01-04T06:10:00.000-08:00

In 1352 Ramazan, founder of the dynasty, was recognized by the Mamluk sultan of Egypt as the ruler of the Üçok branch of Oguz Turkmen in Çukurova. After a period of attempts to overthrow Mamluk suzerainty, the dynasty's principality about 1418 came under direct Mamluk control and lost its

Saenredam, Pieter Jansz(oon)

2005-01-02T01:45:00.000-08:00

Saenredam also spelled Zaenredam painter, pioneer of the “church portrait,” and the first Dutch artist to abandon the tradition of fanciful architectural painting in favour of a new realism in the rendering of specific buildings. His paintings of churches show a scrupulous neatness and precision, combined with subtle atmospheric light and tonal unity achieved

Mobile River

2004-12-31T08:56:00.000-08:00

River formed by the confluence of the Tombigbee and Alabama rivers, southwestern Alabama, U.S. It enters Mobile Bay after a southerly course of 45 miles (72 km) through the delta region. With its tributaries it drains some 44,000 square miles (114,000 square km), making it the sixth largest river basin in the United States. Mobile, on the west side of the river at the head of the bay, is its chief

Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl Of, Baron Cooper Of Pawlett, Baron Ashley Of Wimborne St. Giles

2004-12-29T08:32:00.000-08:00

He was the eldest son of Cropley Cooper (a younger brother of the 5th Earl of Shaftesbury) and of Anne, daughter of the 4th Duke of Marlborough. He became Lord

Crambo

2004-12-27T17:54:00.000-08:00

Plural cramboes , also called capping the rhyme a game in which one player gave a word or line of verse to be matched in rhyme by other players. Thus, one said, “I know a word that rhymes with bird.” A second asked, “Is it ridiculous?” “No, it is not absurd.” “Is it a part of speech?” “No, it is not a word.” This proceeded until the right word was guessed. Under the name of the ABC of Aristotle, crambo reportedly was played in England as early as

Christo And Jeanne-claude

2004-12-25T18:53:00.000-08:00

On June 25, 1995, when the last panel of silver fabric fell into place, the biggest artwork of the year was completed in Berlin by site artists Christo and his wife, Jeanne-Claude. But this was a veiling, not an unveiling; "Wrapped Reichstag" covered the 101-year-old German parliament building with 100,000 sq m (1,076,000 sq ft) of fabric held in place by nearly 16 km (10 mi) of blue rope. In a now-familiar pattern, skeptics

Metalogic

2004-12-23T03:50:00.000-08:00

The study and analysis of the semantics (relations between expressions and meanings) and syntax (relations among expressions) of formal languages and formal systems. It is related to, but does not include, the formal treatment of natural languages. (For a discussion of the syntax and semantics of natural languages, see the articles linguistics and semantics.)

Jack-in-the-pulpit

2004-12-21T03:35:00.000-08:00

Also called Indian Turnip, Bog Onion, Brown Dragon, or Starchwort (species Arisaema triphyllum), a North American plant of the arum family (Araceae), noted for the unusual shape of its flower. The plant is native to wet woodlands and thickets from Nova Scotia to Minnesota and southward to Florida and Texas. It is a stoutish perennial, 1 to 2.5 feet (0.3 to 0.8 m) high, and usually bears two long-stalked, three-parted leaves that overshadow the flower. The

Abreu, Capistrano De

2004-12-19T09:29:00.000-08:00

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

Biqa', Al-

2004-12-17T04:22:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Bekaa , or Beqaa , classical Coele Syria broad valley of central Lebanon, extending in a northeast-southwest direction for 75 miles (120 km) along the Litani and Orontes rivers, between the Lebanon Mountains to the west and Anti-Lebanon Mountains to the east. The valley contains nearly half of Lebanon's arable land but is not as intensively farmed as the country's coastal plain because of less rainfall and a wider variation

France, History Of, The development of central government

2004-12-15T04:35:00.000-08:00

Louis's inner council was on the model of the royal council in Richelieu's days, a High Council (Conseil d'en Haut) consisting of only three or four members and excluding the king's own relatives. Members of this council were known as ministers, but they held no formal right to the title and ceased to be minister if the king chose not to summon them. The first of these great

Jackson Hole National Monument

2004-12-12T15:59:00.000-08:00

Fertile mountain valley and wildlife reserve mostly in Grand Teton National Park (q.v.), northwestern Wyoming, U.S.

Dagly, Gerhard

2004-12-11T06:54:00.000-08:00

After importers brought goods from the Orient, lacquer work won such enormous popularity that European artisans began imitating the medium. In the town of Spa, craftsmen specialized

China, Incipient Neolithic

2004-12-09T07:11:00.000-08:00

Study of the historical reduction of the size of human teeth suggests that the first human beings to eat cooked food did so in South China. The southern sites of Hsien-jen-tung in Kiangsi and Tseng-p'i-yen in Kwangsi have yielded artifacts from the 10th to the 7th millennium BC that include low-fired, cord-marked sherds with some incised decoration and mostly chipped stone

Libraries And Museums

2004-12-07T10:11:00.000-08:00

Earlier in the year the International Council

Lateen Sail

2004-12-04T21:44:00.000-08:00

Triangular sail that was of decisive importance to medieval navigation. The ancient square sail permitted sailing only before the wind; the lateen was the earliest fore-and-aft sail. The triangular sail was affixed to a long yard or crossbar, mounted at its middle to the top of the mast and angled to extend aft far above the mast and forward down nearly to the deck. The

Malwa Plateau

2004-12-03T09:10:00.000-08:00

Plateau in north central India, bounded by the Gujarat Plains on the west, the Vindhya Range on the south, the Madhya Bharat Plateau and Bundelkhand Upland on the north, and the Vindhya Range on the east. Of volcanic origin, the plateau comprises central Madhya Pradesh state and southeastern Rajasthan state. The name Malwa is derived from the Sanskrit term Malav and means

Gwinnett, Button

2004-12-01T03:21:00.000-08:00

Gwinnett emigrated from England to Georgia

Guadalupe, Basilica Of

2004-11-29T21:37:00.000-08:00

Officially Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe , Spanish Basílica de Guadalupe , or Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Roman Catholic church that is the chief religious centre of Mexico, located in Villa de Guadalupe Hidalgo, a northern neighbourhood of Mexico City. The church was erected near the spot where two apparitions of the Virgin are said to have appeared to an Indian convert named Juan Diego in December 1531 and commanded that a church be built. The second apparition resulted

Computers, Early business machines

2004-11-26T20:49:00.000-08:00

Throughout the 19th century, business machines were coming into common use. Calculators became available as a tool of commerce in 1820 (see the earlier section Digital calculators), and in 1874 the Remington Arms Company, Inc., sold the first commercially viable typewriter. Other machines were invented for other specific business tasks. None of these machines was a computer,

Brehon Laws

2004-11-25T16:17:00.000-08:00

Analysis

Seton Hall University

2004-11-23T16:52:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher education in South Orange Village, New Jersey, U.S. It is affiliated with the Roman Catholic church, specifically the Diocese of Newark, and offers more than 80 undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs. Seton Hall comprises nine academic units: colleges of Arts and Sciences, Education and Human Services,

Kuwait

2004-11-20T13:54:00.000-08:00

Low oil prices caused 1998 to be an extremely difficult year for all oil producers, and Kuwait was obliged to take a hard look at its industry and initiate some significant

Fish Louse

2004-11-18T00:15:00.000-08:00

Also called Carp Louse, plural Fish Lice, or Carp Lice, any member of the crustacean subclass Branchiura, a group of parasites of migratory marine and freshwater fishes. Of the approximately 120 known species, most belong to the genus Argulus. The fish louse has a very distinctive oval-shaped, flattened body formed by a broad carapace. Other notable physical features include compound eyes, a pair of large suckers, four pairs

Chandpur

2004-11-17T05:14:00.000-08:00

River port, south-central Bangladesh, situated at the confluence of the Dakatia and Meghna rivers. It is a major jute-shipping centre, connected by road and rail with Comilla and Noakhali and by river steamer with Calcutta (through the Sundarbans), Goalundo Ghat, and Narayanganj. Industries served by its thermal power station include jute presses, oilseed and plywood mills,

Metz

2004-11-14T23:43:00.000-08:00

Metz derives its name from the Mediomatrici, a Gallic tribe who made it their capital. It was

Azorín

2004-11-12T11:02:00.000-08:00

Azorín studied law at Valencia, Granada,

Bridalveil Fall

2004-11-10T21:01:00.000-08:00

Cataract on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada in Yosemite National Park, east-central California, U.S. Fed mainly by melting snow, the waterfall has a height of 620 feet (189 m) and forms one of the most scenic features in the park.

Alaska, Mining booms

2004-11-09T23:02:00.000-08:00

Other significant events in Alaska's history included early gold discoveries on the Stikine River in 1861, at Juneau in 1880, and on Fortymile Creek in 1886, and later the stampede to the Atlin and Klondike placer goldfields of adjoining British Columbia and Yukon Territory in 1897–1900. Gold discoveries followed at Nome in 1898 and at Fairbanks in 1903. The gold rush made Americans aware of the economic

Dance, Western, The Soviet ballet

2004-11-07T23:55:00.000-08:00

Although Diaghilev's achievements were ignored there, the Soviet Union in the 1920s abounded with the daring choreographic experiments of Fyodor Lopukhov (1886–1973) and others. Despite the official imposition of “socialist realism” as the criterion of artistic acceptability in 1932, ballet gained enormous popularity with the Soviet people. They loved their dancers, who were superbly

Dagestanian Languages

2004-11-05T13:00:00.000-08:00

Also called East Caucasian Languages, group of languages spoken in the northeastern part of the Caucasus and including the Avar-Andi-Dido, the Lak-Dargin (Lak-Dargwa), and the Lezgian groups. One of the distinctive characteristics of a majority of these languages is the contrast of strong and weak voiceless consonants. The Dagestanian languages are often classified together with the Nakh

Lancaster

2004-11-01T23:41:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Lancaster county, northern South Carolina, U.S., near the Catawba River. It was founded in the 1750s by settlers from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The architect Robert Mills designed the jail (1823) and the courthouse (1828). In the early 19th century the community was identified with the Waxhaw Revival, part of the Great Revival (a nationwide movement of religious vagaries), and

Nabuco De Araújo, Joaquim Aurelio Barreto

2004-10-29T16:27:00.000-07:00

Nabuco was a member of an old aristocratic family in northeastern Brazil. Both in the national Chamber of Deputies (from 1878) and in the Brazilian Anti-Slavery Society, which he founded, he worked tirelessly for the emancipation of Brazil's

Murrelet

2004-10-28T22:49:00.000-07:00

Breeding in Alaska are the

Surduc Pass

2004-10-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

Also called Jiu Defile , or Jiu Pass Romanian Pasul Surduc pass, southwestern Romania. The Jiu River flows through the pass between the Vâlcan (west) and the Parâng (east) mountains, in the Transylvanian Alps (Southern Carpathians). The pass connects the Petrosani Depression (upper Jiu Valley) with the Plain of Oltenia. A road and the Bumbesti–Livezeni railway line, opened in 1947, follow the pass by means of 30 tunnels and several

Biblical Literature, The conclusion of the Sinai sojourn

2004-10-23T04:10:00.000-07:00

The book opens with a command from God to Moses, early in the second year after the Exodus, to take a census of the arms-bearing men over 20 in each of the clans of Israel. Moses and Aaron, aided by the clan chiefs, take the count, clan by clan, and reach a total of 603,550 men—according to critical scholars, an unbelievably large total for the time and conditions. The Levites, to whom is entrusted

Rio De Janeiro Botanical Garden

2004-10-22T03:20:00.000-07:00

Portuguese Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro one of the great tropical botanical gardens and arboretums of the world. It was founded in 1808 by John, prince regent of the United Kingdom of Brazil and Portugal (later King John VI), for introducing and acclimatizing economically beneficial plants brought from other tropical regions of the world. The garden, located on a 350-acre (141-hectare) site below high peaks, has a collection

Avon, River

2004-10-20T11:28:00.000-07:00

Also called East Avon or Hampshire Avon river that rises 3 miles (5 km) east of Devizes, Wiltshire, England, on the north side of the Vale of Pewsey and flows generally southward for 48 miles (77 km) to the English Channel. The river shares the name Avon (derived from a Celtic word meaning “river”) with several other rivers in Great Britain, including the Avon of Bristol (or Lower Avon) and the Avon of Warwickshire (or Upper

Kamil, Mustafa

2004-10-17T09:25:00.000-07:00

Kamil believed that Egypt was already a nation and fully qualified to rule itself. To put forward his views, he founded the newspaper Al-Liwa' (“The Standard”) in 1900. He realized that independence would be difficult to obtain, and he looked

Lodge, Henry Cabot

2004-10-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

He was the grandson of Senator Henry Cabot Lodge (1850–1924) and a member of a politically dedicated family that included six U.S. senators and a governor of Massachusetts. Lodge began his career in politics, after several years as a journalist, with

Severoceský

2004-10-13T07:34:00.000-07:00

Also called Severní Cechy , English Northern Bohemia kraj (region), northwestern Czech Republic. It is the smallest of the country's regions. Severoceský is bounded on the north by Germany and Poland, on the east by Východoceský kraj, on the south by Stredoceský kraj, and on the west by Západoceský kraj. The north of the region is dominated by the Ore (Krušné), Ceské Stredo, Lusatian (Luzické), and Jizera (Jizerské) mountains. Through a gap in

Ulama

2004-10-11T05:58:00.000-07:00

Also spelled ulema , Arabic 'ulama' the learned of Islam, those who possess the quality of 'ilm, “learning,” in its widest sense. From the 'ulama', who are versed theoretically and practically in the Muslim sciences, come the religious teachers of the Islamic community—theologians (mutakallimun), canon lawyers (muftis), judges (qadis), professors—and high state religious officials like the shaikh al-Islam. In a narrower

Scherchen, Hermann

2004-10-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

Scherchen was musically self-taught. Early in his career he played the viola, and for a time he toured with the Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg. Interned in Russia during World War I, he returned to Berlin after

Greenwich

2004-10-08T05:40:00.000-07:00

Inner borough of London on the south bank of the River Thames, in the historic county of Kent. Greenwich is famous for its naval and military connections and its green spaces. The borough was established in 1965 by the amalgamation of the former metropolitan boroughs of Greenwich and Woolwich, excluding a small area north of the Thames. The borough comprises the areas

Shih Ching

2004-10-05T04:08:00.000-07:00

The book, one of the Five Classics (Wu

Marzuq

2004-10-03T05:19:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Murzuk, oasis, southwestern Libya. It lies on the northern edge of the Sahra' Marzuq (“Sea of Sand”). An ancient assembly place for caravans to Lake Chad and the Niger River, it was the traditional capital of the Fezzan province (16th–19th century) and a centre of the Arab slave and arms trade. Once called the “Paris of the Desert,” it was a base for Saharan explorers, including Frederick Hornemann

Calasanz, Saint Joseph

2004-10-01T15:03:00.000-07:00

Calasanz also spelled Calasanctius, Italian San Giuseppe Calasanzio, Spanish San José de Calasanz priest, teacher, patron saint of Roman Catholic schools, and founder of the Ordo Clericorum Regularium Pauperum Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum (Order of Poor Clerks Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools), popularly called Piarists. The Piarists are a teaching order that, in addition to the usual vows of

Mind

2004-09-29T01:41:00.000-07:00

To the extent that mind is manifested in observable

Breed Association

2004-09-27T18:03:00.000-07:00

Organization that promotes the respective breeds of horses and registers horses that meet certain qualifications. A new association may admit horses that meet certain qualifications but whose parents are not registered; this is called an open association. The qualifications may be type, colour, or speed. Standardbred horses, for example, are admitted to the registry

Ada

2004-09-26T10:30:00.000-07:00

City, seat (1907) of Pontotoc county, south-central Oklahoma, U.S. It lies along Clear Boggy Creek, south of the Canadian River, and was named for the daughter of the first postmaster, William J. Reed, who built a log store there in 1889. The railroad arrived in 1900, and the city developed as a marketing and trading centre for a large cattle and grain area. The discovery of oil in the vicinity

Facta, Luigi

2004-09-24T07:53:00.000-07:00

After studying law, Facta became a journalist. He was elected deputy in 1891. He served as undersecretary first of justice and then of the interior in Giovanni Giolitti's coalition cabinet (1903–05). In succeeding ministries he was three times minister of finance

Heimlich Maneuver

2004-09-21T03:33:00.000-07:00

Emergency procedure that is used to dislodge foreign bodies from the throats of choking victims. In the early 1970s, the American surgeon Henry J. Heimlich observed that food and other objects causing choking were not freed by the recommended technique of delivering sharp blows to the back. As an alternative, he devised a method of using air expelled from the victim's

Heimlich Maneuver

2004-09-19T01:19:00.000-07:00

Formed at the urging of Britain and the United States, the Central Treaty Organization was intended to counter the threat of Soviet

Oshawa

2004-09-18T21:32:00.000-07:00

City, regional municipality of Durham county, southeastern Ontario, Canada. It lies on the north shore of Lake Ontario, just northeast of Toronto. Founded as Skea's Corners on the military Kingston Road in 1795, it was renamed Oshawa—an Indian word referring to a stream crossing—in 1842, when a post office was established there. The city, which is now a port of entry and a major manufacturing

Visser 't Hooft, Willem Adolph

2004-09-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

Visser 't Hooft was educated at the Haarlem Gymnasium and prepared for the ministry of the Netherlands Reformed Church at the University of Leiden. His long career as a leader of Christian organizations began with the post of

Argentina, Demographic trends

2004-09-13T10:15:00.000-07:00

The population of Argentina has increased 20-fold since 1869, when 1.8 million people were recorded there by the first census. Population growth was rapid through the early part of the 20th century, but it declined thereafter as both the birth rate and immigration began to drop off; the proportion of young people also declined. Argentina's rates of birth and population growth

Factoring

2004-09-11T02:55:00.000-07:00

In finance, the selling of accounts receivable on a contract basis by the business holding them—in order to obtain cash payment of the accounts before their actual due date—to an agency known as a factor. The factor then assumes full responsibility for credit analysis of new accounts, payments collection, and credit losses. Factoring differs from borrowing in that

Spondylolisthesis

2004-09-10T00:25:00.000-07:00

Forward slipping of the body of one of the lumbar (lower back) vertebrae on the subjacent vertebra or on the sacrum, the triangular bone at the base of the spinal column. The condition is often associated with incompleteness of the vertebral arch, which surrounds the spinal cord. Pressure transmitted to the arch from above encourages slippage. Deformity (lordosis)

Encyclopaedia, The Arab world

2004-09-07T21:36:00.000-07:00

The early encyclopaedias written in Arabic can be roughly divided into two classes: those designed for people who wished to be well informed and to make full use of their cultural heritage, and those for the rapidly growing number of official administrators. The latter type of encyclopaedia originated when the Arabs established their rule through so many parts

Encyclopædia Britannica

2004-09-05T22:48:00.000-07:00

The oldest and largest English-language general encyclopaedia. The Encyclopædia Britannica has been published since 1768, when its first edition began to appear in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Mcmahon, Sir William

2004-09-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

He was educated at the University of Sydney, where he earned a degree in law. After practicing as a solicitor in Sydney he enlisted in the Australian Army in 1939 and rose to the rank of major. He served in the House of Representatives for Lowe (New South Wales)

Pinski, David

2004-09-01T09:08:00.000-07:00

Reared in Moscow, Vitebsk, and Vienna, Pinski moved as a young man to Warsaw, where he became a friend of the leading Yiddish writer Isaac Peretz. It was also in Warsaw that Pinski began his lifelong associations with the Jewish workers' movement. His first short story, “Der Groyser

Congo, Democratic Republic Of The (zaire)

2004-08-30T18:28:00.000-07:00

On May 25, 1998, Pres. Laurent Kabila promulgated a decree that established a national constituent and legislative assembly. This apparent move toward democracy was, however, belied by a series of arrests of people believed to be critical of the government, including,