TightFlower

Hinduism, Philosophical sutras and the rise of the six schools of philosophy

2005-03-18T01:54:00.000-08:00

The most important of the Six Schools is the Vedanta (“End of the Vedas”), also called Uttara-Mimamsa, or later Mimamsa. The most renowned philosopher of this school and, indeed, of all Hinduism was Sankara

France, History Of, Gaul

2005-03-17T02:08:00.000-08:00

Stimulating overviews of Gaul in the context of French prehistory and early history are found in appropriate chapters of J.M. Wallace-Hadrill and John McManners (eds.), France: Government and Society, 2nd ed. (1970); and Stuart Piggott, Glyn Daniel, and Charles McBurney (eds.), France Before the Romans (1974). More detailed surveys are presented in Olwen Brogan, Roman Gaul (1953); J.J. Hatt, Histoire de la Gaule romaine, 120 avant J.-C.–451 après J.-C., 3rd ed. (1970); Paul MacKendrick, Roman France (1971); and J.F. Drinkwater, Roman Gaul: The Three Provinces, 58 BC–AD 260 (1983). Outstanding modern investigations of particular sites and areas of relevance to the study of Gaul as a whole are Paul-Marie Duval, Paris antique: des origines au troisième siècle (1961); Robert Étienne, Bordeaux antique (1962); Edith Mary Wightman, Roman Trier and the Treveri (1970), and Gallia Belgica (1985); Patrick Galliou, L'Armorique romaine (1983); Heinz Heinen, Trier und das Treverland in römischer Zeit (1985); and A.L.F. Rivet, Gallia Narbonensis: With a Chapter on Alpes Maritimae: Southern France in Roman Times (1988). Provoking syntheses of the contacts of Greeks, Celts, and Romans, based on the archaeological evidence, are offered in John Collis, The European Iron Age (1984); and Barry Cunliffe, Greeks, Romans, and Barbarians: Spheres of Interaction (1988). Life in later Roman Gaul is studied in C.E. Stevens, Sidonius Apollinaris and His Age (1933, reprinted 1979); John Matthews, Western Aristocracies and Imperial Court, A.D. 364–425 (1975); and Raymond Van Dam, Leadership and Community in Late Antique Gaul (1985). Herwig Wolfram, History of the Goths (1988; originally published in German, 1979); and Edward James, The Franks (1988), discuss the barbarian invasions. Camille Jullian, Histoire de la Gaule, 8 vol. (1920–26, reprinted 1964); Albert Grenier, Manuel d'archéologie gallo-romaine, 4 vol. in 7 (1931–60); and Paul-Marie Duval, La Gaule jusqu'au milieu de Ve siècle, 2 vol. (1971), are still important fundamental works on Gallic history and archaeology.

Amarna Style

2005-03-15T18:19:00.000-08:00

Also called Tell el-Amarna Style revolutionary style of Egyptian art created by Amenhotep IV, who took the name Akhenaton during his reign (1353–36 BC) in the 18th dynasty. Often referred to as the Amarna heresy, Akhenaton's alteration of the artistic and religious life of Egypt was drastic. He laid the greatest stress on his own divinity as the manifestation of the god whom he designated the supreme and only deity,

Ram, Jagjivan

2005-03-13T13:10:00.000-08:00

Ram was born into an untouchable family and was among the first of his caste to receive a higher education. He attended Benares Hindu University and Calcutta University (B.Sc., 1931), becoming a member of Mohandas K. Gandhi's Congress Party in 1931. He played

Price, George

2005-03-11T14:54:00.000-08:00

As a young man Price did odd jobs in printing offices and did freelance illustrations. During the 1920s he was active in advertising art. Much of the humour in his cartoons lay

Buddhism, Ordination

2005-03-09T00:15:00.000-08:00

Admission to the sangha involves two distinct acts: pabbajja, which consists of renunciation of secular life and acceptance of monasticism as a novice, and upasampada, the official consecration as a monk. The evolution of the procedure is not entirely clear; in early times, the two acts probably occurred at the same time. Subsequently, the Vinaya established that upasampad

Minamoto Yoshitomo

2005-03-07T09:25:00.000-08:00

Japanese warrior whose support of Taira Kiyomori, the leader of the Taira clan, in the Hogen Disturbance (1156) was decisive in a Taira victory over the Minamoto clan, headed by Yoshitomo's own father, Minamoto Tameyoshi. After Kiyomori's victory, Yoshitomo was ordered to kill his father. He refused, but another Minamoto officer, saying it would

Liger

2005-03-05T18:08:00.000-08:00

Offspring of a lion and a tigress. The liger is a zoo-bred hybrid, as is the tigon, the result of mating a tiger with a lioness. It is probable that neither the liger nor the tigon occurs in the wild, as differences in the behaviour and habitat of the lion and tiger make interbreeding unlikely. The liger and the tigon possess features of both parents, in variable proportions,

Theatre, Developments in staging

2005-03-02T18:37:00.000-08:00

In the latter half of the 16th century, intermezzi became a popular element of theatrical production. These entertainments, inserted between the acts of a play and totally unrelated to it, were generally on classical themes and were originally mounted during masked balls and banquets. The need to change settings rapidly for the alternating segments of plays and

Euler-chelpin, Hans Von

2005-02-26T14:15:00.000-08:00

After graduating from the University of Berlin (1895), Euler-Chelpin worked with Walther Nernst and in 1897 became assistant to Svante Arrhenius at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.

Kamelaukion

2005-02-24T01:20:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the kamelaukion was made of precious metal, sometimes of fabric; in either event, it might be richly decorated with jewels. The

Seleucus I Nicator

2005-02-23T13:03:00.000-08:00

Macedonian army officer, founder of the Seleucid kingdom. In the struggles following the death of Alexander the Great, he rose from governor of Babylon to king of an empire centring on Syria and Iran.

Indian Tobacco

2005-02-21T15:08:00.000-08:00

The Indian tobacco's leafy flower spike, about 1 m (3 feet) tall, begins blooming at the bottom

Tachinid Fly

2005-02-19T09:48:00.000-08:00

Tachinids are of great importance in the

Jourdan, Jean-baptiste, Count

2005-02-16T11:45:00.000-08:00

After being a soldier in King Louis XVI's army and serving in the West Indies (1778–84), Jourdan retired and became a draper in Limoges. He supported the Revolution, however; and, having been elected

Müntzer, Thomas

2005-02-15T21:13:00.000-08:00

Thomas Müntzer was the son of a burgher in Stolberg in the Harz Mountains. Of his childhood and youth very little is known. His name appears in the 1506 register of the University of Leipzig, and in 1512 he attended the University of Frankfurt an der Oder, later earning the academic ranks of master of arts and bachelor of theology. Müntzer became a linguistic specialist in Latin,

Reference Frame

2005-02-13T07:55:00.000-08:00

Also called Frame Of Reference, in dynamics, system of graduated lines symbolically attached to a body that serve to describe the position of points relative to the body. The position of a point on the surface of the Earth, for example, can be described by degrees of latitude, measured north and south from the Equator, and degrees of longitude, measured east and west from the great circle passing through

Sun Orchid

2005-02-10T19:03:00.000-08:00

A sun orchid derives its name from its habit of remaining closed except in strong sunlight. Some self-pollinating species never open their flowers. The lemon orchid

World War I, Peace moves and U.S. policy to February 1917

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

There were few efforts by any of the Central or Allied Powers to achieve a negotiated peace in the first two years of the war. By 1916 the most promising signs for peace seemed to exist only in the intentions of two statesmen in power—the German chancellor Bethmann and the U.S. president Woodrow Wilson. Wilson, having proclaimed the neutrality of the United States in August

Elgon, Mount

2005-02-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

Extinct volcano on the Kenya-Uganda boundary. Its crater, about 5 miles (8 km) in diameter, contains several peaks, of which Wagagai (14,178 feet [4,321 m]) is the highest. Its extrusions cover about 1,250 square miles (3,200 square km) and consist largely of fragmental rocks and only a smattering of lavas. The mountain slope is gentle and the outline unimpressive. On the east and southeast at about 6,200 feet

Plumbaginales

2005-02-05T02:54:00.000-08:00

The plumbago, or leadwort, order of dicotyledonous flowering plants comprising the family Plumbaginaceae, with 10 genera of herbs and shrubs, found throughout the world but especially in semi-arid salt steppes and seacoasts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. The plants are characterized by alternating, simple leaves that often bear glands

Kagame, (abbé) Alexis

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

Kagame, the son of a deputy chief of the Tutsi people, was baptized in 1928 and ordained a priest in 1941. His considerable activity before and after taking his doctorate at the Pontifical Gregorian University

Qom

2005-01-31T13:14:00.000-08:00

In the 8th century, Qom was one of the centres of Shi'ism; in 816 Fatimah, the sister of the imam (leader of Shi'ite Islam) 'Ali ar-Rida, died in the town and was buried there. It became a place of pilgrimage in the 17th century, when the Safavid rulers built a golden-domed

Malankarese Catholic Church

2005-01-29T09:41:00.000-08:00

The Syrian Orthodox Church came into existence in 1653, when the Christians of St. Thomas—as the Indian Christians of Malabar (now Kerala) called themselves—broke with Rome after severe Latinization by Portuguese

Hardwick, Elizabeth

2005-01-27T23:07:00.000-08:00

Hardwick attended the University of Kentucky (B.A., 1938; M.A., 1939) and Columbia University in New York City. Her experience as a young Southern woman in Manhattan provided the backdrop for her somber, introspective first novel, The Ghostly

Amnesty

2005-01-26T09:45:00.000-08:00

In criminal law, sovereign act of oblivion or forgetfulness (from Greek amnesia) for past acts, granted by a government to persons who have been guilty of crimes. It is often conditional upon their return to obedience and duty within a prescribed period. Amnesty is granted usually for political crimes against the state, such as treason, sedition, or rebellion. It is addressed

Chan Painting

2005-01-24T05:18:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Ch'an school of Chinese painting inspired by the “meditative” school of Buddhism called, in Chinese, Chan (Japanese: Zen). Although Chan originated in China with an Indian monk, Bodhidharma, it came to be the most Chinese of Buddhist schools. The ideals of the school later frequently found expression in a special kind of art, typically composed

O'brien, James Bronterre

2005-01-22T13:59:00.000-08:00

O'Brien was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and moved to London in 1829, intending to practice at the English bar. In London he was quickly drawn into radical activities and later into working-class journalism,

Osaka-kobe Metropolitan Area, The city site

2005-01-19T23:32:00.000-08:00

The city of Osaka is situated on the delta of the Yodo River. To the east of the central city, Osaka Castle, originally built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, stands on a northern extension of the upland (about 65 feet [20 metres] above sea level) that rises in the southern part of Osaka urban prefecture to more than 3,000 feet. The metropolitan area spreads over the deltas of the Yodo, Yamato, and other

Latin-american Literature, Vanguard literature

2005-01-18T14:10:00.000-08:00

When the Modernist leaders Darío and Lugones turned to frequent use of more traditional forms and especially to themes dealing with the troubled external world, their followers and many younger poets continued to explore the complex versification and language and new thematic sources with which Modernism had enriched Hispanic poetry. Prominent among them

Hussite

2005-01-16T23:35:00.000-08:00

Any of the followers of the Bohemian religious reformer Jan Hus, who was condemned by the Council of Constance (1414–18) and burned at the stake. After his death in 1415 many Bohemian knights and nobles published a formal protest and offered protection to those who were persecuted for their faith. The movement's chief supporters were Jakoubek of Stríbro (died 1429), Hus's successor as preacher

Albert, Lake

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

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

Are

2005-01-09T08:18:00.000-08:00

Basic unit of area in the metric system, equal to 100 square metres and the equivalent of 0.0247 acre. Its multiple, the hectare (equal to 100 ares), is the principal unit of land measurement for most of the world.

Refractive Index

2005-01-08T20:06:00.000-08:00

Also called Index Of Refraction, measure of the bending of a ray of light when passing from one medium into another. If i is the angle of incidence of a ray in vacuum (angle between the incoming ray and the perpendicular to the surface of a medium, called the normal; see figure), and r is the angle of refraction (angle between the ray in the medium and the normal), the refractive index n is defined as the ratio

West Berlin

2005-01-05T14:46:00.000-08:00

The western half of the German city of Berlin (q.v.), which until the reunification of the German state in 1990 was treated as a city and Land (state) of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), though it was not constitutionally part of that nation.

Cohn, Edwin Joseph

2005-01-04T04:03:00.000-08:00

Cohn received his Ph.D.

Murad Iv

2005-01-01T17:10:00.000-08:00

Murad, who came to the throne at age 11, ruled for several years through the regency of his mother, Kösem, and a series of grand viziers. Effective

China, The bureaucratic style

2004-12-31T19:49:00.000-08:00

Regular posts in the Nan Sung civil service numbered about 20,000 without counting numerous sinecures, temporary commissions, and a slightly larger number of military officers. Besides eliminating most patronage privileges, by which high officials were entitled to obtain an official title for a son or other family member, the court occasionally considered a general

Rickets

2004-12-28T00:14:00.000-08:00

Vitamin D is a steroid hormone that is produced in the skin by the action of sunlight's ultraviolet rays on its precursor, 7-dehydrocholesterol (provitamin D3). Vitamin D is also absorbed from the diet, especially from irradiated milk, liver, and fish oils.

Naracoorte

2004-12-27T10:08:00.000-08:00

Town and rail junction, southeastern South Australia. It lies 190 miles (310 km) southeast of Adelaide, near the Victoria border. Founded as Kincraig in 1845, it took its present name in 1869 from an Aboriginal word meaning “large waterhole.” During the 1850s Naracoorte was an important stopping place along the route to the Victorian goldfields. Created a municipality in 1924, it now serves as a

Mitral Insufficiency

2004-12-24T16:45:00.000-08:00

Also called Mitral Regurgitation, inability of the mitral valve to prevent the flow of blood back from the left ventricle, or lower chamber of the heart, into the left atrium, or upper chamber. Normally, the valve permits blood to flow from the atrium to the ventricle but prevents its return. Most often, the inability of the mitral valve to close adequately is caused by scarring from rheumatic heart disease;

Mitchell, Joan

2004-12-23T20:46:00.000-08:00

Mitchell attended Smith College (1942–44), Northampton, Mass., U.S., and then studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, receiving a bachelor of fine arts degree (1947) and, after scholarship study in France, a master of fine arts degree (1950). In the early 1950s she studied art briefly

Dualism

2004-12-18T19:27:00.000-08:00

In religion, the doctrine that the world (or reality) consists of two basic, opposed, and irreducible principles that account for all that exists. It has played an important role in the history of thought and of religion.

Pacific Mountain System, Plant life

2004-12-16T06:02:00.000-08:00

Climate is the major influence on vegetation type. Conifers predominate and can grow to enormous size, especially on the moister, western slopes. The Sitka spruce is dominant along the coast from southern British Columbia to northern California. The largest standing mid-latitude rain forest in the United States is on the west side of the Olympic Mountains. Inland

Round Table

2004-12-12T03:20:00.000-08:00

In Arthurian legend, the table of Arthur, Britain's legendary king, which was first mentioned in Wace of Jersey's Roman de Brut (1155). This told of King Arthur's having a round table made so that none of his barons, when seated at it, could claim precedence over the others. The literary importance of the Round Table, especially in romances of the 13th century and afterward, lies in

Handedness

2004-12-11T05:58:00.000-08:00

A tendency to use one hand rather than the other to perform most activities; it is the usual practice to classify persons as right-handed, left-handed, or ambidextrous. See laterality.

Roberts, Owen (josephus)

2004-12-09T10:03:00.000-08:00

Upon graduating from law school, Roberts taught law at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, but by 1918 he had to devote his full time to his practice. While he was still teaching, Roberts had served as assistant district attorney and as special deputy attorney

Anastasius Ii

2004-12-06T06:19:00.000-08:00

In notifying the Byzantine emperor Anastasius I of his accession, Anastasius expressed a conciliatory attitude toward the late patriarch Acacius of Constantinople, who had been deposed and excommunicated in 484 by Pope St. Felix III. The Acacian Schism resulted from this act. The pope's reception of the Byzantine deacon Photinus,

Kudirka, Vincas

2004-12-05T20:57:00.000-08:00

Educated in medicine,

Pius V, Saint

2004-12-03T18:43:00.000-08:00

Original name Antonio Ghislieri Italian ascetic, reformer, and relentless persecutor of heretics, whose papacy (1566–72) marked one of the most austere periods in Roman Catholic church history. During his reign, the Inquisition was successful in eliminating Protestantism in Italy, and the decrees of the Council of

Ear Disease, Skull fracture and concussion

2004-12-01T03:47:00.000-08:00

Skull fracture and concussion from a severe blow on the head can impair the functioning of the auditory and vestibular nerves in varying degrees. The greatest hearing loss arises when a fracture of the skull passes through the labyrinth of the inner ear, totally destroying its function.

Durham

2004-11-28T14:55:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Strafford county, southeastern New Hampshire, U.S., on the Oyster River just southwest of Dover. Settled in 1635, it was known as the parish of Oyster River until it was incorporated in 1732 and named for Durham, England. A series of savage Indian attacks began in 1675; in 1694 the town was burned, and more than 100 residents were killed or captured. During the American

Fiddler Crab

2004-11-27T03:18:00.000-08:00

Also called calling crab any of the approximately 65 species of the genus Uca (order Decapoda of the subphylum Crustacea). They are named “fiddler” because the male holds one claw, always much larger than the other, somewhat like a violin. Both claws in the female are relatively small. If a male loses his large claw, the small one develops into a large claw, and a small one replaces the lost large

Madox, Thomas

2004-11-24T09:40:00.000-08:00

Madox studied common law (though not called to the bar) and was clerk in the office of the Exchequer, later working in the augmentation

Insurance, Rate making

2004-11-23T00:14:00.000-08:00

The rate is the price per unit of exposure. In fire insurance, for example, the rate may be expressed as $1 per $100 of

Brisbane, Sir Thomas Makdougall, Baronet

2004-11-17T03:51:00.000-08:00

Brisbane

Aeolipile

2004-11-15T10:25:00.000-08:00

Steam turbine invented in the 1st century AD by Heron of Alexandria and described in his Pneumatica. The aeolipile was a hollow sphere mounted so that it could turn on a pair of hollow tubes that provided steam to the sphere from a cauldron. The steam escaped from the sphere from one or more bent tubes projecting from its equator, causing the sphere to revolve. The aeolipile

Palace Museum

2004-11-13T00:46:00.000-08:00

The palace itself consists of many separate halls and courtyards. The outer buildings of the palace became a museum in 1914, although the imperial family continued to live in the private apartments until 1924. Many

Scandinavian Literature, Norway

2004-11-11T00:09:00.000-08:00

Several of Denmark's leading writers of the 18th century were of Norwegian birth, preeminently Ludvig Holberg and the members of Det Norske Selskab (the Norwegian Society). Established in Copenhagen in 1772 by a group of resident Norwegians, it looked to French rather than to German and English literature for models. Within Norway itself there was little overt literary

Scandinavian Literature, Norway

2004-11-08T22:15:00.000-08:00

Cystic fibrosis is the most common inherited disorder affecting people of European ancestry. It is estimated to occur in 1 per 2,000 live births in these populations and is particularly concentrated

Schlaak, Evelin

2004-11-07T23:18:00.000-08:00

Schlaak began throwing the discus at the age of 13, winning the European junior championship in 1973 and setting a world junior record the following year.

Bhaisajya-guru

2004-11-05T03:02:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit), Tibetan Sman-bla-rgyal-po , Chinese Yao-shih-fo , Japanese Yakushi Nyorai the healing Buddha, widely worshiped in Tibet, China, and Japan. According to popular belief in those countries, some illnesses are effectively cured by merely touching his image or calling out his name. More serious illnesses, however, require the performance of complex ritual acts, as described in the principal scripture of the Bhaisajya-guru cult. Bhaisajya-guru

Abu Al-'abbas As-saffah

2004-11-03T13:38:00.000-08:00

Islamic caliph (reigned 749–754), first of the 'Abbasid dynasty, which was to rule over eastern Islam for approximately the next 500 years. The 'Abbasids were descended from an uncle of Muhammad and were cousins to the ruling Umayyad dynasty. The Umayyads were weakened by decadence and an unclear line of succession, and they enjoyed little popular support, prompting the 'Abb

Permafrost, Effects of climate

2004-11-01T20:52:00.000-08:00

The most conspicuous change in thickness of permafrost is related to climate. At Barrow, Alaska, U.S., the mean annual air temperature is -12° C (10° F), and the thickness is 400 metres. At Fairbanks, Alaska, in the discontinuous zone of permafrost in central Alaska, the mean annual air temperature is -3° C (27° F), and the thickness is about 90 metres. Near the southern border of permafrost, the mean

West Lindsey

2004-10-29T02:55:00.000-07:00

District, administrative and historic county of Lincolnshire, east-central England, north of the city of Lincoln. West Lindsey district comprises two low-lying fertile clay valleys at an elevation of less than 100 feet (30 metres) split by the Lincoln Edge, a narrow limestone ridge 200 feet (60 metres) high that extends north from the Cotswold Hills. On the northeast, this overwhelmingly

Futures

2004-10-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

Commercial contract calling for the purchase or sale of specified quantities of a commodity at specified future dates. The origin of futures contracts was in trade in agricultural commodities, and the term commodity is used to define the underlying asset even though the contract is frequently completely divorced from the product. It therefore differs from

Ibaraki

2004-10-25T06:52:00.000-07:00

Prefecture (ken), central Honshu, Japan, facing the Pacific Ocean. It occupies 2,351 sq mi (6,090 sq km) of the northeastern Kanto Plain. Ibaraki is bordered (south) by the Tone-gawa (Tone River) and contains part of Suigo-Tsukuba Quasi-national Park. Main features of this section of the park include Kasumiga-ura (Lake Kasumi), the second largest Japanese lake after Lake Biwa; the canals and

Sexual Behaviour, Human, Sexual problems

2004-10-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

Physiological problems of a specifically sexual nature are rather few. Only a small minority of

Religion

2004-10-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

Human beings' relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, spiritual, or divine. Religion is commonly regarded as consisting of a person's relation to God or to gods or spirits. Worship is probably the most basic element of religion, but moral conduct, right belief, and participation in religious institutions are generally also constituent elements of the religious

Madhya Pradesh

2004-10-19T15:12:00.000-07:00

In November 2000 the new state of Chhattisgarh was formed from Madhya Pradesh's eastern provinces. Encompassing 56,510 square miles (146,361 square

Debré, Olivier

2004-10-18T00:48:00.000-07:00

French abstract painter best known for his large-format commissions, including huge ornamental paintings for the French pavilions at the World's Fairs in Montreal (1967) and Osaka, Japan (1970), and the stage curtains for the Hong Kong Opera, the Shanghai Opera, and both the Comédie Française and the Théâtre des Abbesses in Paris (b. April 14/15, 1920, Paris, France—d. June 1, 1999, Paris).

Stabiae

2004-10-16T23:45:00.000-07:00

The town was originally settled by Oscan-speaking people, the native inhabitants of Campania. It entered the Social War (the “war of the allies” against Rome) in 90 BC and was destroyed

Juan José De Austria

2004-10-13T02:17:00.000-07:00

Juan José was the son of King Philip IV of Spain and María Calderón, a celebrated actress. He received a princely education and a large

Arts, Islamic

2004-10-12T13:07:00.000-07:00

The literary, performing, and visual arts of the vast populations of the Middle East and elsewhere that adopted the Islamic faith from the 7th century onward. These adherents of the faith have created such an immense variety of literatures, performing arts, visual arts, and music that it virtually defies any comprehensive definition. In the narrowest sense, the arts

Henlein, Konrad

2004-10-09T08:27:00.000-07:00

Henlein, educated at a commercial academy, became a bank clerk and later a

Kathiri Sultanate

2004-10-07T03:02:00.000-07:00

Former semi-independent state in the southern Arabian Peninsula, in the inland Hadhramaut region now included in Yemen. The sultanate, with its capital at Saywun (Say'un), once extended from the Wadi Hadramawt, an intermittent stream, northward to the Rub' al-Khali, the vast southern Arabian desert. The Kathiri tribe dominated the Hadhramaut from about 1500 until the early 19th century,

Pitt, William, The Younger

2004-10-03T13:15:00.000-07:00

British prime minister (1783–1801, 1804–06) during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. He had considerable influence in strengthening the office of the prime minister.

Margam

2004-10-01T19:50:00.000-07:00

Locality, Neath Port Talbot county borough, historic county of Glamorgan (Morgannwg), Wales. Situated inland of the sandy Margam Burrows at the base of the peaks Mynydd Margam and Moel Ton-mawr, the community of Margam developed around a Cistercian abbey founded by Robert, earl of Gloucester, in 1147. Margam Abbey was a prominent cultural and educational centre until its

Abel Tasman National Park

2004-09-29T10:31:00.000-07:00

Wildlife preserve in northwestern South Island, New Zealand. Established in 1942, it was named for Abel Tasman, the Dutch navigator. With an area of 55,699 acres (22,541 hectares), it extends inland for about 6 miles (10 km) from the beaches of Tasman Bay on its western shores between Separation Point and Marahau Inlet, about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Nelson. The park includes the Tata Islands in Golden

Sweater

2004-09-28T00:32:00.000-07:00

Outer garment, usually knitted or crocheted, that is worn on the upper part of the body, either pulled over the head or buttoned down the front or back. Although hand knitting of wool had been practiced for about 2,000 years, it was not until the 15th century that the first knitted shirts or tunics were produced on the English Channel islands of Guernsey and Jersey; hence the English

Dmitry, False

2004-09-26T15:36:00.000-07:00

After Fyodor I (reigned 1584–98), the last tsar of the Rurik dynasty, died and his brother-in-law Boris Godunov succeeded him, the first False Dmitry appeared and

God And Saints Of Christ, Church Of

2004-09-24T20:55:00.000-07:00

Religious sect founded in 1896 by Prophet William S. Crowdy. He passed his mantle of leadership to Bishop William Plummer, who announced himself as “Grand Father Abraham.” This group believes that all Jews were originally black and that modern-day blacks are descendants of the “lost tribes of Israel.” Their beliefs centre on the “Seven Keys,” the “Stone of Truth,” and the Ten Commandments.

Jhabua

2004-09-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

Town, administrative headquarters of Jhabua district, Madhya Pradesh state, central India. Located on Bahadur Sagar (lake), it was founded in the 16th century by a Labhana freebooter and served as the capital of the former Jhabua princely state. It is a local agricultural and timber market connected by road with Dhar. There is a government college affiliated with Vikram

Forbach

2004-09-20T14:44:00.000-07:00

Town, Moselle département, Lorraine region, northeastern France, just southwest of Saarbrücken, Ger. The town, which has an important cokery and manufactures mining equipment, is at the edge of the Saar Coal Basin. Remains of the medieval castle of the counts of Forbach crown a nearby hill (Schlossberg). Forbach was the scene of a French defeat (Aug. 6, 1870) during the Franco-German

Qatar, Flag Of

2004-09-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

The Ottoman Empire, Iran, and Britain all had an interest in finding allies among the small Arab sheikhdoms in the Persian Gulf during the 19th century. A treaty signed in 1868 between Britain and one of those states, Qatar, may have been the occasion for the creation of the distinctive Qatari flag. Later the Turkish flag flew there, but during World War I, when the United Kingdom

Anteater

2004-09-16T00:44:00.000-07:00

Unlike the giant anteater, the lesser anteater, or tamandua (genus Tamandua), is arboreal as well as terrestrial. The two tamandua species are similar in size—about 1.2 metres (4 feet) long, including the almost hairless prehensile tail, which is used for climbing. They are often tan with a blackish “vest” around the shoulders and on the body, but some are

Cameroon

2004-09-13T07:09:00.000-07:00

The Bantu settled in the Cameroons from equatorial Africa. The first group that invaded

Fibre, Man-made

2004-09-11T07:39:00.000-07:00

Fibre whose chemical composition, structure, and properties are significantly modified during the manufacturing process. Man-made fibres are spun and woven into a huge number of consumer and industrial products, including garments such as shirts, scarves, and hosiery; home furnishings such as upholstery, carpets, and drapes; and industrial parts such as tire cord,

Celestial Sphere

2004-09-09T01:57:00.000-07:00

The apparent surface of the heavens, on which the stars seem to be fixed. For the purpose of establishing coordinate systems to mark the positions of heavenly bodies, it can be considered a real sphere at an infinite distance from the Earth. The Earth's axis, extended to infinity, touches this sphere at the north and south celestial poles, around which the heavens seem

Squash

2004-09-07T17:16:00.000-07:00

With most of the world's top squash players participating at the Commonwealth Games, held on July 25–August 4 in Manchester, Eng., the singles events became something of an unofficial world championships. The men's final saw another duel between the number one and number two players, Peter Nicol of England and Jonathon Power of Canada. Nicol had taken the title four years

A Cappella

2004-09-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

The a cappella style arose about the time of the composer Josquin des Prez, in the late 15th century, and reached preeminence with Palestrina in the late 16th century in the music

Algebra, The structural approach dominates

2004-09-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

After the late 1930s it was clear that algebra, and in particular the structural approach within it, had become one of the most dynamic areas of research in mathematics. Structural methods, results, and concepts were actively pursued by algebraists in Germany, France, the United States, Japan, and elsewhere. The structural approach was also successfully applied to redefine

Argentina, Dominance of Buenos Aires

2004-09-02T10:58:00.000-07:00

By then, military leaders had assumed power in almost every province. Each provincial political regime soon acquired its own character, according to the relative power held by military strongmen (caudillos) and by local political interests. This differentiation was not, however, cause for friction between the provinces; rather, economic and geographic factors

Abbado, Claudio

2004-08-30T13:31:00.000-07:00

One of a long line of Milanese musicians—his father, Michelangelo Abbado, was a violinist—Claudio Abbado at first studied privately. He entered the Giuseppe

Alaska, The land

2004-08-29T00:40:00.000-07:00

The immense area of Alaska has a great variety of physical characteristics. Nearly one-third of the state lies within the Arctic Circle and has perennially frozen ground (permafrost) and treeless tundra. The southern coast and the panhandle at sea level are fully temperate regions. In these latter and in the adjoining Canadian areas, however, lies the world's largest

Mcminnville

2004-08-27T10:39:00.000-07:00

City, seat (1886) of Yamhill county, northwestern Oregon, U.S., on the South Yamhill River. Settled in 1844 and named for McMinnville, Tennessee, it developed as a service centre for Yamhill Valley farmers. Linfield College (1849), affiliated with the American Baptist Churches, sponsors the Linfield Research Institute, a scientific laboratory. The economy is geared to lumber and food-processing

Ear Disease, Congenital nerve deafness

2004-08-24T21:11:00.000-07:00

Congenital nerve deafness, a defect of the auditory nerve in the cochlea, may be present at birth or acquired during or soon after birth. Usually both inner ears are affected to a similar degree, and as a rule there is a severe impairment of hearing, although in some cases of congenital nerve loss the impairment is moderate. Many cases of congenital nerve deafness have

Absolution

2004-08-23T23:29:00.000-07:00

In the Christian religion, a pronouncement of remission (forgiveness) of sins to the penitent. In Roman Catholicism, penance is a sacrament and the power to absolve lies with the priest, who can grant release from the guilt of sin to the sinner who is truly contrite, confesses his sin, and promises to perform satisfaction to God. In the New Testament the grace of forgiveness

Ibn Al-bawwab

2004-08-21T06:15:00.000-07:00

Ibn al-Bawwab was from

Rheinberger, Joseph (gabriel)

2004-08-19T21:44:00.000-07:00

Rheinberger studied organ at Vaduz and became organist at the parish church when he was only seven years old. He later studied at Feldkirch and Munich and in 1867 became professor of organ and composition at the Munich