ShutMap

Estate Agent Fitzrovia

2006-10-25T14:15:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services. They are a specialist in estate agent fitzrovia, amongst other London areas such as Soho and Oxford Circus.

Kirklees

2005-03-18T16:33:00.000-08:00

Metropolitan borough, metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, England. The borough takes its name from Kirklees Hall (17th century), whose estate houses a small Cistercian priory (1155) and the reputed grave of Robin Hood. The borough extends from flat-topped and heather-clad gritstone moorland in the Pennines to more open, industrialized valleys.

China, Provincial separatism

2005-03-17T02:29:00.000-08:00

The post-rebellion settlement not only pardoned several of the most powerful rebel generals but also appointed them as Imperial governors in command of the areas they had surrendered. Hopeh was divided into four new provinces, each under surrendered rebels, while Shantung became the province of An Lu-shan's former garrison army from P'ing-lu in Manchuria, which

Pack, Otto Von

2005-03-15T00:54:00.000-08:00

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

Lurgan

2005-03-13T16:09:00.000-08:00

Market town, Craigavon district (established 1973), formerly in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. In 1610 James I granted land to John Brownlow, who formed an English colony there. By the end of the 17th century, linen manufacture, which is still the chief industry, was established. James Logan emigrated from Lurgan in 1699 to become one of the founders of Pennsylvania. Lurgan Castle (now

Shabestari, Sa'd Od-din Mahmud

2005-03-10T19:05:00.000-08:00

The details of Shabestari's life are obscure; apparently he spent most of it in Tabriz. He grew up in an age of spiritual confusion, following the Mongol invasion of Iran, the sack of Baghdad, and the final fall of the

Biblical Literature, Purification laws

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

With chapter 11 begin the regulations on ritual cleanness and uncleanness, starting with animals and other living things fit and unfit to eat—the basis of the famous Jewish dietary laws. Then come the uncleanness and required purification of women after childbirth, skin diseases, healed lepers, infected houses, and genital discharges. Chapter 16, which belongs in the

Wind Instrument, Trumpet-type aerophones

2005-03-07T06:51:00.000-08:00

As regards sound generation, trumpets and horns differ from other aerophones in their use of the so-called “lip reed,” which is formed when the player's partially closed lips vibrate as they press against the rim of a mouthpiece or mouth hole (although the behaviour of the lips, strictly speaking, is not exactly comparable to the operation of a reed). When the lips vibrate,

Prichard, James Cowles

2005-03-04T13:52:00.000-08:00

Prichard received his early education at Bristol and early acquired knowledge of European

Obote, Milton

2005-03-02T16:57:00.000-08:00

The third of nine children in a farming family in north-central Uganda, Obote

Durban

2005-02-28T07:25:00.000-08:00

Formerly Port Natal, largest city of KwaZulu/Natal province, South Africa, and chief seaport of South Africa, located on Natal Bay of the Indian Ocean. European settlement began with a band of Cape Colony traders led by Francis G. Farewell, who charted the port in 1824 and named the site Port Natal. Land was ceded to the group by Shaka, the Zulu king (whose right to take that action is disputed), and the

Aymara

2005-02-27T17:08:00.000-08:00

Large South American Indian group living in the vast windy Titicaca plateau of the central Andes in modern Peru and Bolivia. They speak languages of the Aymaran group. In colonial times the Aymara tribes were the Canchi, Colla, Lupaca, Collagua, Ubina, Pacasa, Caranga, Charca, Quillaca, Omasuyo, and Collahuaya. In addition, the Aymaran language was anciently spoken in

La Vérendrye, Pierre Gaultier De Varennes, Et De

2005-02-24T15:26:00.000-08:00

French-Canadian soldier, fur trader, and explorer whose exploits, little honoured during his lifetime, rank him as one of the greatest explorers of the Canadian West. Moreover, the string of trading posts he and his sons built in the course of their search for an overland route to the “western sea” broke the monopoly

Monel

2005-02-22T06:10:00.000-08:00

Any of a group of nickel-copper alloys, first developed in 1905, containing about 66 percent nickel and 31.5 percent copper, with small amounts of iron, manganese, carbon, and silicon. Stronger than pure nickel, Monel alloys are resistant to corrosion by many agents, including rapidly flowing seawater. They can be fabricated readily by hot- and cold-working, machining, and welding.

Thierry

2005-02-21T06:40:00.000-08:00

Also called Thierry Of Alsace, French Thierry D'alsace, Dutch Diederik Van Den Elzas count of Flanders (1128–68), son of Thierry II, duke of Upper Lorraine, and Gertrude, daughter of Robert I the Frisian, count of Flanders. He contested the county of Flanders with William Clito on the death of Charles the Good in 1127. He was recognized by Ghent, Bruges, and Ypres and consolidated his position when William was killed at Alost in 1128. He married the

Ampère, André-marie

2005-02-18T22:46:00.000-08:00

Ampère was a prodigy who mastered all mathematics then extant by the time he was 12 years old. He became a professor of physics and chemistry at Bourg-en-Bresse in 1801 and a professor of mathematics at the École Polytechnique in Paris in

Dennie, Joseph

2005-02-17T22:51:00.000-08:00

Dennie graduated from Harvard College in 1790 and spent three years as a law clerk before being admitted to the bar in 1794. His practice failed to flourish, however, and in the meantime he had turned to writing. He and Royall Tyler formed a literary

Painting, Western, The 17th century

2005-02-15T13:43:00.000-08:00

English painting during the 17th century had been dominated by a series of foreign-born practitioners, mostly portraitists (e.g., Rubens and Van Dyck), even before the Civil War. Sir Peter Lely and Sir Godfrey Kneller continued this trend after the Restoration. The vast majority of the painting executed by native artists remained thoroughly provincial. Lely began his

Pease, Edward Reynolds

2005-02-13T10:44:00.000-08:00

Born to a prosperous family, Pease left a business career and joined with Frank Podmore, a spiritualist and socialist writer, to found the Fabian Society in London in January 1884. The Fabians sought a gradualist approach to socialism in Britain. Early members

Protestantism, Origins

2005-02-11T20:45:00.000-08:00

Puritanism first emerged as a distinct movement in a controversy over clerical vestments and liturgical practices during the reign of Elizabeth. Immediately following the Elizabethan Settlement, Protestant clergy could, within reason, choose what to wear while leading worship. Many preachers took this opportunity to do away with the formal attire as well

Performing Arts, India.

2005-02-09T11:06:00.000-08:00

With the rise of an international taste for “Bollywood”—Indian commercial cinema—two spectacular all-star films vied for the claim to be the most costly films in Indian history; Devdas was directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali from a much-filmed early 20th-century novel with a Romeo and Juliet theme, and Karan Johar's Kabhi khushi kabhie gham ... (2001; Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes

Essen

2005-02-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

City, North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state), western Germany, between the Rhine-Herne Canal and the Ruhr River. It was originally the seat of an aristocratic convent (founded 852), still represented by the cathedral (the seat of a Roman Catholic bishop), completed in the 15th century. In the suburb of Werden, the abbey church was founded in 796 as part of a monastery. The convent and the

Chelmsford

2005-02-04T19:40:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Middlesex county, northeastern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies 24 miles (39 km) north of Boston; the city of Lowell is adjacent to the northeast. Settled in 1633, it was named for Chelmsford, England, and incorporated in 1655. An iron foundry using local bog ore was built there in 1656. During the early 19th century, the production of lumber, textiles, and granite was important. Services,

Argun River

2005-02-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Pinyin) Ergun He or (Wade-Giles) O-erh-ku-na Ho

Durocher, Leo

2005-02-01T05:11:00.000-08:00

Durocher played a year each in Atlanta, Georgia, and St. Paul, Minnesota, before joining the New York Yankees in 1928. He was a superb fielder at shortstop but a mediocre hitter, and he was sold to the Cincinnati Reds in 1930. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals

Shun-chih

2005-01-29T07:52:00.000-08:00

The ninth son of Abahai (1592–1643), the great ruler of the Manchu kingdom of Manchuria, he succeeded to the throne in 1643 at the age of six and ruled under the regency of Dorgon (1612–50), a paternal uncle. In 1644, Manchu troops under Dorgon's command captured Peking, the former capital of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), and the young ruler

Mahal, Taj

2005-01-28T10:26:00.000-08:00

Taj Mahal (the name came to him in a dream) grew up in a musical family. His father, of Jamaican background, was a jazz

Aalsmeer

2005-01-26T19:44:00.000-08:00

Gemeente (commune), Noord-Holland provincie, western Netherlands, 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Amsterdam, on the Ring Canal and Westeinder Lake, a remnant of Haarlem Lake. The older part of the town is on peaty soil at about sea level, surrounded by polders with loamy soil 9–15 feet (3–5 m) below sea level. Once known for its eels, whence its name (aal, “eel”; meer, “lake”), it is the flower-growing centre

Roman à Clef

2005-01-23T04:08:00.000-08:00

(French: “novel with a key”), novel that has the extraliterary interest of portraying well-known real people more or less thinly disguised as fictional characters. The tradition goes back to 17th-century France, when fashionable members of the aristocratic literary coteries, such as Mlle de Scudéry, enlivened their historical romances by including in them fictional

Pietism

2005-01-22T17:27:00.000-08:00

German Pietismus influential religious reform movement that began among German Lutherans in the 17th century. It emphasized personal faith against the main Lutheran church's perceived stress on doctrine and theology over Christian living. Pietism quickly spread and later became concerned with social and educational matters. As a phenomenon of personal religious renewal, its

Sokolow, Nahum

2005-01-20T05:02:00.000-08:00

The descendant of an ancient Polish rabbinical family, Sokolow became well known for his contributions to the Jewish press in Hebrew and other languages. At 24 he became assistant editor of the Hebrew scientific weekly ha-Zefirah in Warsaw; later, as its editor, he transformed

Cheddar

2005-01-18T20:45:00.000-08:00

In the traditional method of cheddar manufacture, the firm curd is cut, or “cheddared,” into small bits to drain the whey and then

Tarija

2005-01-16T08:55:00.000-08:00

City, southern Bolivia, situated at 6,122 feet (1,866 m) above sea level in the Río Grande de Tarija (Guadalquivir) Valley. Founded in 1574 by the conquistador Luis de Fuentes as San Bernardo de la Frontera de Tarija, it is one of Bolivia's oldest settlements. The inhabitants are well known for their outdoor religious processions. Although the city is accessible by air and road, transport

China, The decisive year, 1948

2005-01-13T22:23:00.000-08:00

The year 1948 was the turning point. In central China, Communist armies of 500,000 men proved their ability to fight major battles on the plains and to capture, though not always hold, such important towns on the Lung-hai as Lo-yang and K'ai-feng. In North China they encircled T'ai-yüan, the capital of Shansi; took most of Chahar and Jehol, provinces on Manchuria's western flank; and recaptured

Gambetta, Léon

2005-01-11T06:30:00.000-08:00

French republican statesman who helped direct the defense of France during the Franco-German War of 1870–71. In helping to found the Third Republic, he made three essential contributions: first, by his speeches and articles, he converted many Frenchmen to the ideals of moderate democratic republicanism. Second, by his political

Epistemology, Logical versus factual propositions

2005-01-09T15:06:00.000-08:00

The term “logical” in this connection is used in a wide sense to include a proposition such as “All husbands are married.” By analyzing the meaning of its constituent terms one can reduce the proposition to a logical truth, e.g., to “A and B implies A.” In contrast, factual propositions, such as “All Model-T Fords are black,” have syntactical and semantic structures that differentiate

Swakopmund

2005-01-07T18:32:00.000-08:00

Town, northwestern Namibia, on the Atlantic coast about 20 miles (32 km) north of the port of Walvis Bay and 175 miles (280 km) west of Windhoek, Namibia's capital. During the summer, in December and January, the territorial administration moves from Windhoek to Swakopmund, where the weather is somewhat cooler. It is the country's main seaside resort, fishing being a major attraction.

Duricrust

2005-01-06T19:39:00.000-08:00

Surface or near-surface of the Earth consisting of a hardened accumulation of silica (SiO2), alumina (Al2O3), and iron oxide (Fe2O3), in varying proportions. Admixtures of other substances commonly are present and duricrusts may be enriched with oxides of manganese or titanium within restricted areas. Thus, siliceous, ferruginous, and aluminous crusts constitute duricrusts

Tinkisso River

2005-01-03T00:48:00.000-08:00

River, rising in the southern outliers of the Fouta Djallon mountains of Guinea, northeast of Mamou. It flows 250 miles (400 km) north-northeast and east, past Dabola and Bissikrima, across grassy plains and savannas of stunted trees, to enter the Niger River just south of Siguiri. Alluvial gold deposits have long been worked along the Tinkisso River.

Polaris Missile

2005-01-01T03:48:00.000-08:00

After four years of research and development, the U.S. Navy in 1960 began to deploy nuclear-powered submarines armed with 16 Polaris missiles each. Each missile was 31 feet (9.4 m) long and 4.5 feet (1.4 m) in diameter and was powered by two solid-fueled stages. Three

Oasis

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

Fertile tract of land that occurs in a desert wherever a perennial supply of fresh water is available. Oases vary in size, ranging from about 1 hectare (2.5 acres) around small springs to vast areas of naturally watered or irrigated land. Underground water sources account for most oases; their springs and wells, some of them artesian, are supplied from sandstone aquifers

Belasco, David

2004-12-28T10:16:00.000-08:00

As a child actor, Belasco appeared with Charles Kean in Richard III and later played in stock companies touring the mining camps. During

Saavedra Fajardo, Diego De

2004-12-24T08:50:00.000-08:00

After studying law at the University of Salamanca, Saavedra went to Rome, where he served under the

China, Literature and scholarship

2004-12-22T04:19:00.000-08:00

As was the case with much of the painting, Ming poetry and belles lettres were deliberately composed “after the fashion of” earlier masters, and groups of writers and critics earnestly argued about the merits of different T'ang and Sung exemplars. No Ming practitioner of traditional poetry has won special esteem, though Ming literati churned out poetry in prodigious

Industry

2004-12-20T17:14:00.000-08:00

A group of productive enterprises or organizations that produce or supply goods, services, or sources of income. In economics, industries are customarily classified as primary, secondary, and tertiary; secondary industries are further classified as heavy and light.

Lower Canada

2004-12-18T16:55:00.000-08:00

In Canadian history, the region in Canada now known as Quebec. Known as Lower Canada from 1791 to 1841, the region became known as Canada East (q.v.) with the Act of Union of 1841. See also Quebec.

Rhynchotreta

2004-12-16T07:13:00.000-08:00

Extinct genus of brachiopods (lamp shells) commonly found as fossils in Silurian marine rocks (between 438 and 408 million years old). Its small, roughly triangular shell is prominently ornamented by distinct ridges that run lengthwise to the shell margin. Because of its limited time range, Rhynchotreta is a good guide, or index, fossil for Silurian rocks and time.

Hyvinkää

2004-12-15T06:29:00.000-08:00

Swedish Hyvinge, city, Uudenmaan lääni (Uusimaa province), southern Finland, north of Helsinki. It is the centre of Finland's woollen industry, and is an important rail junction with direct lines to the ports of Hangö (Hanko, the southernmost in Finland), Helsinki, and Porvoo (Borgå). The city also has railway workshops, a granite quarry, and a rubber-products plant. Because of its fine climate

Madison

2004-12-12T19:33:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Wisconsin, U.S., and seat of Dane county. It lies in the south-central part of the state, partly on an isthmus between lakes Mendota and Monona, which with lakes Waubesa and Kegonsa to the southeast form the “four lakes” group. Founded by James Duane Doty in 1836 (a year of frenzied land speculation in the newly created Territory of Wisconsin), it was named for President

Accelerator

2004-12-11T14:45:00.000-08:00

The use of alkaline compounds of metals as vulcanization

Algebra, Quaternions and vectors

2004-12-09T23:57:00.000-08:00

Remaining doubts about the legitimacy of complex numbers were finally dispelled when their geometric interpretation became widespread among mathematicians. This interpretation, initially and independently conceived by the Norwegian surveyor Caspar Wessel and the French bookkeeper Jean-Robert Argand (see Argand diagram), was made known to a larger audience

Evans, Rowland

2004-12-07T00:29:00.000-08:00

American journalist (b. April 28, 1921, Whitemarsh, Pa.—d. March 23, 2001, Washington, D.C.), advocated conservative causes as a prominent newspaper columnist and television host. With journalist Robert Novak, Evans published a syndicated column, called “Inside Report,” from 1963 to 1993. From 1980 the pair served as cohosts of Cable News Network's political talk show Evans & Novak, which was renamed Evans,

Earth, Composition of the crust

2004-12-04T13:11:00.000-08:00

Most of the Earth's surface is covered by oceanic crust. The composition of this crust is documented on the basis of rocks sampled by deep-sea dredging and by studies of ophiolites, which are slivers of oceanic crust and uppermost mantle that have been tectonically emplaced on land. The oceanic crust is found to be relatively uniform in composition (Table 3). It consists

Capablanca, José Raúl

2004-12-02T18:25:00.000-08:00

Capablanca learned the moves of chess at the age of four by watching his father play, and he went on to defeat Cuba's best player in 1901. He attended Columbia University in New York City in

Moschus

2004-12-01T08:01:00.000-08:00

Greek pastoral poet and grammarian from Syracuse, in Sicily, whose only surviving works are three short extracts from his Bucolica, a longer piece translated as Love the Runaway, and an elegiac piece on love as a plowman. The short epic poem Europa is perhaps correctly attributed to him, the Lament for Bion, considered an excellent work, less certainly so. No traces

Fabrizi, Nicola

2004-11-26T01:11:00.000-08:00

As a young man, Fabrizi helped plan and execute the 1831 Milan rising against the Austrians. Unsuccessful in his attempt to revive the revolution in Modena, he was forced to flee but was captured by the Austrians and

Aptian Stage

2004-11-24T02:56:00.000-08:00

The fifth of six main divisions (in ascending order) in the Lower Cretaceous Series, representing all those rocks deposited worldwide during the Aptian Age (119 to 113 million years ago). No global stratotype section and point (GSSP) for the base of the Aptian Stage has been approved by the International Commission on Stratigraphy. The name of the stage is derived from the town

Zamora

2004-11-22T10:26:00.000-08:00

Province, in the autonomous community (region) of Castile-León, northwestern Spain. It was formed in 1833 from part of the historic province of León and is bounded by Portugal and Orense (west), by León (north), by Valladolid (east), and by Salamanca (south). It has an area of 4,077 square miles (10,559 square km) and is traversed from east to west by the Duero (Portuguese Douro) River; the Tormes River

Ka

2004-11-20T17:01:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Koi, in ancient Egyptian religion, with ba and akh, a principal aspect of the soul of a human being or of a god. The exact significance of ka remains a matter of controversy, chiefly for lack of an Egyptian definition; the usual translation “double” is incorrect. Written by a hieroglyph of uplifted arms, it seemed originally to have designated the protecting divine spirit of

Qatar

2004-11-18T05:31:00.000-08:00

Officially State of Qatar , Arabic Dawlat Qatar independent emirate on the west coast of the Persian Gulf. It occupies a small desert peninsula that extends from the larger Arabian Peninsula north of eastern Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It has an area of 4,416 square miles (11,437 square km), the total including a number of nearby small islands and the Hawar Islands (which are also claimed by Bahrain) in the Persian

Conestoga Wagon

2004-11-16T16:18:00.000-08:00

Horse-drawn freight wagon that originated during the 18th century in the Conestoga Creek region of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, U.S. Ideally suited for hauling freight over bad roads, the Conestoga wagon had a capacity of up to six tons, a floor curved up at each end to prevent the contents from shifting inside, and a white canvas cover to protect against bad weather;

Malatesta, Errico

2004-11-15T05:12:00.000-08:00

Malatesta became politically active while still in his teens, joining the First International in 1871. A dynamic

Mountain Goat

2004-11-13T15:33:00.000-08:00

Also called Rocky Mountain Goat (Oreamnos americanus), North American ruminant, family Bovidae (order Artiodactyla). Mountain goats occur from the Yukon to the northern U.S. Rockies. Although goatlike, they are more closely related to antelopes than to true goats. Stocky, and with a slight hump at the withers, mountain goats stand about 1 m (39 inches) at the shoulder. Members of both sexes

Insurance, RDC clause

2004-11-11T03:12:00.000-08:00

The RDC, or “running down” clause, provides coverage for legal liability of either the shipper or the common carrier for claims arising out of collisions. (Collision loss to the vessel itself is part of the hull coverage.) The RDC clause covers negligence of the carrier or shipper that results in damage to the property of others. A companion clause, the protection and indemnity

Peter The Venerable

2004-11-08T11:30:00.000-08:00

Peter joined Bernard of Clairvaux in supporting Pope Innocent II, thereby weakening the position of the antipope, Anacletus II. After Peter Abelard's

Lenard, Philipp

2004-11-06T18:18:00.000-08:00

After working as a lecturer and as an assistant to Heinrich

Latin-american Literature, Recent trends

2004-11-04T19:55:00.000-08:00

The literature of the last half of the 20th century has been characterized by an increased preoccupation with man as the victim of alienating forces—solitude, identity crises, anguish, and evil—and by a marked determination to create new forms and techniques. Above all, it has put forth a new language more responsive to the demands imposed by increasingly complex spiritual,

Theatre, Western

2004-11-03T19:14:00.000-08:00

For a discussion of drama as a literary form, see dramatic literature, and the articles on individual national literatures. For detailed information on the arts of theatrical performance and stagecraft, see theatre, directing, acting, and theatrical production.

Earth Sciences, Pressure, temperature, and atmospheric circulation

2004-10-31T11:33:00.000-08:00

If clouds are essentially multicompartmented balloons, their motions could be explained by the movements of winds blowing on them. Descartes suggested that the winds might blow upward as well as laterally, causing the clouds to rise or at least preventing them from descending. In 1749 Benjamin Franklin explained updrafts of air as due to local heating of the atmosphere

Ijolite

2004-10-28T04:09:00.000-07:00

Intrusive igneous rock that is composed essentially of nepheline and an alkali pyroxene, usually aegirinaugite. It is the plutonic equivalent of the volcanic nephelinites and nepheline dolerites. Typically, the pyroxene is well-crystallized and is surrounded by the nepheline. Accessory minerals include black garnet, titanite, perovskite, apatite, cancrinite,

Amon

2004-10-25T03:36:00.000-07:00

Amon may have been originally a local deity at Khmun (Hermopolis) in Middle Egypt; his cult reached Thebes, where he became the patron of the pharaohs by the reign of Mentuhotep I (2008–1957 BC). At that date he was already identified with the sun god Re of Heliopolis and, as Amon-Re, was received as a national god. Represented in human form,

Alaska, The land

2004-10-23T16:27:00.000-07:00

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

Quintus Smyrnaeus

2004-10-22T23:32:00.000-07:00

Quintus claimed that the Muses inspired him when, still a beardless lad, he kept sheep near the temple of Artemis. His style is monotonous, and his vocabulary

Chia-mu-ssu

2004-10-19T18:13:00.000-07:00

Until the 18th century this region, which has fertile agricultural

Dewas

2004-10-18T05:19:00.000-07:00

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,

Theosophy

2004-10-15T03:11:00.000-07:00

Religious philosophy with mystical concerns that can be traced to the ancient world but that has been of catalytic significance in religious thought in the 19th and 20th centuries. The term theosophy is derived from the Greek theos, “god,” and sophia, “wisdom,” and is generally translated as “divine wisdom.” All theosophical speculation has as its foundation the mystical

Rybinsk Reservoir

2004-10-14T16:40:00.000-07:00

Russian Rybinskoye Vodokhranilishche, large artificial body of water on the upper Volga River, northwestern Russia, formed by two dams on the Volga and its tributary, the Sheksna. The project began in 1935, the artificial lake began to form in 1941, and, when the project was completed in 1947, a lake of 1,768 square miles (4,580 square km) in area, a maximum width of 37 miles (60 km), and an average depth of 18 feet (5.6 m) had been formed. At that time, the Rybinsk

Bonstetten, Karl Viktor Von

2004-10-11T13:07:00.000-07:00

Of a conservative and patrician family, Bonstetten for 12 years had to resist being forced into the traditional career of municipal magistrate. Instead he studied Horace and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, traveled abroad, and cultivated friendships in the liberal intellectual

Seurat, Georges

2004-10-07T19:46:00.000-07:00

Painter, founder of the 19th-century French school of Neo-Impressionism whose technique for portraying the play of light using tiny brushstrokes of contrasting colours became known as Pointillism. Using this techique, he created huge compositions with tiny, detached strokes of pure colour too small to be distinguished when looking at the

Antarctic Circle

2004-10-06T01:09:00.000-07:00

Parallel, or line of latitude around the Earth, at 66°30¢ S. Because the Earth's axis is inclined about 23.5° from the vertical, this parallel marks the northern limit of the area within which, for one day or more each year, at the summer and winter solstices, the Sun does not set (December 21 or 22) or rise (June 21 or 22). The length of continuous day or night increases southward from one day at the Antarctic

Biblical Literature, The Revised Standard Version

2004-10-03T14:52:00.000-07:00

The American Standard Version had been an expression of sensitivity to the needs of the American public. At the same time, several individual and unofficial translations into modern speech made from 1885 on had gained popularity, their appeal reinforced by the discovery that the Greek of the New Testament used the common nonliterary variety of the language spoken

Lebed, Aleksandr Ivanovich

2004-10-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

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

Aldridge, Ira Frederick

2004-09-29T16:11:00.000-07:00

Accounts of his life in the United States are conflicting. The great British-American actor James William Wallack is believed to have engaged him as a personal attendant while on a passage from the United States to England, where Aldridge established himself

Berenice Iv

2004-09-28T04:58:00.000-07:00

Ptolemy, driven from Egypt by the threat of popular insurrection in 58, went to Rome. When his queen died shortly after his departure, Berenice was proclaimed queen. In 57 Ptolemy, employing bribery and

China, Chou and Shang

2004-09-25T20:28:00.000-07:00

The name Chou appears often in the oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang kingdom, sometimes as a friendly tributary neighbour and at other times as a hostile one. This pattern is confirmed by records found at the Chou archaeological site. Marriages were occasionally made between the two ruling houses. The Chou also borrowed such arts as bronze casting from their

Gabon

2004-09-23T18:31:00.000-07:00

After the violent protests that nearly paralyzed the government in 1994, 1995 proved to be one of compromise

Iran, Nadir Shah (173647)

2004-09-21T18:27:00.000-07:00

Nadr later dethroned Tahmasp II in favour of the latter's son, the more pliant 'Abbas III. His successful military exploits, however, which included victories over rebels in the Caucasus, made it feasible for this stern warrior himself to be proclaimed monarch—as Nadir Shah—in 1736. He attempted to mollify Persian-Ottoman hostility by establishing in Iran a less aggressive form

Biblical Literature, Hellenistic religions

2004-09-20T01:08:00.000-07:00

With the expansion of Christianity into the Hellenistic world either to Jews or increasingly to Gentiles, there were various reasons why the Christian message that spread, for example by Paul, met the needs of the Hellenistic Age and world. There was no lack of religions, but there was a crisis of upheaval, unrest, and uncertainty and a desire to escape from mortality

Caribbean Literature

2004-09-17T07:54:00.000-07:00

Literary works of the Caribbean area written in Spanish, French, or English. The literature of the Caribbean has no indigenous tradition. The pre-Columbian American Indians left few rock carvings or inscriptions (petroglyphs), and their oral traditions did not survive 16th-century Spanish colonization. The West Africans who replaced them were also without a written

Flogging

2004-09-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

A beating administered with a whip or rod, usually on the person's back. Flogging was once a common method of punishing criminals and of preserving discipline in the home, school, armed forces, and prisons. In the Mosaic code flogging was a punishment for crime. Slaves in the ancient world were frequently flogged to death when they were sufficiently numerous to be of

All-or-none Law

2004-09-13T02:34:00.000-07:00

A physiological principle that relates response to stimulus in excitable tissues. It was first established for the contraction of heart muscle by the American physiologist Henry P. Bowditch in 1871. Describing the relation of response to stimulus, he stated, “An induction shock produces a contraction or fails to do so according to its strength; if it does so at all, it produces

Sill

2004-09-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

Also called sheet tabular igneous intrusion emplaced parallel to the bedding of the enclosing rock. Although they may have vertical to horizontal orientations, nearly horizontal sills are the most common. Sills may be a fraction of an inch to hundreds of feet thick and up to hundreds of miles long. Rock compositions of all types are found in sills; the famous basic sills have received

Alien And Sedition Acts

2004-09-10T23:11:00.000-07:00

(1798), four internal security laws passed by the U.S. Congress, restricting aliens and curtailing the excesses of an unrestrained press, in anticipation of an expected war with France. After the XYZ Affair (1797), war appeared inevitable. Federalists, aware that French military successes in Europe had been greatly facilitated by political dissidents in invaded countries, sought

Biblical Literature, Ecclesiastes

2004-09-07T09:02:00.000-07:00

The book of Ecclesiastes is a work of the Hebrew wisdom movement, associated by its title and by tradition with King Solomon. It is evident, however, that the book is of much later composition; the author may have identified himself with the famous king and wise man of the past to give greater authority to his work. The language of the book, including the relatively large

France, History Of, Merovingian and Carolingian age

2004-09-05T15:31:00.000-07:00

Comprehensive introductions to the period are found in Margaret Deanesly, A History of Early Medieval Europe, from 476 to 911, 2nd ed. (1960, reissued 1974); Jean Favier (ed.), Histoire de France, 6 vol. (1984–88), vol. 1; and Karl Ferdinand Werner, Les Origines (avant l'an mil) (1984). The history of invasions, with the archaeological background, is presented in Lucien Musset, The Germanic Invasions: The Making of Europe, AD 400–600 (1975; originally published in French, 1965), and Les Invasions: le second assaut contre l'Europe chrétienne, VIIe–XIe siècles, 2nd ed. (1971); and Patrick Périn and Laure-Charlotte Feffer, Les Francs, 2 vol. (1987). On the Merovingians, see Eugen Ewig, Die Merowinger und das Frankenreich (1988); Bernard S. Bachrach, Merovingian Military Organization, 481–751 (1972); and J.M. Wallace-Hadrill, The Long-Haired Kings and Other Studies in Frankish History (1962, reprinted 1982). For the Carolingians, Louis Halphen, Charlemagne and the Carolingian Empire (1977; originally published in French, 1947), remains the classic work. Later scholarship is reflected in Rosamond McKitterick, The Frankish Kingdoms Under the Carolingians, 751–987 (1983); and F.L. Ganshof, The Carolingians and the Frankish Monarchy, trans. from French (1971). Special studies of the civilization of the period include J.M. Wallace-Hadrill, The Frankish Church (1983); Pierre Riché, Education and Culture in the Barbarian West, Sixth Through Eighth Centuries (1976; originally published in French, 3rd ed., 1973); Suzanne Fonay Wemple, Women in Frankish Society: Marriage and the Cloister, 500 to 900 (1981); and Renée Doehaerd, The Early Middle Ages in the West: Economy and Society (1978; originally published in French, 1971).

Leaf Fibre

2004-09-03T21:30:00.000-07:00

Hard, coarse fibre obtained from leaves of monocotyledonous plants (flowering plants that usually have parallel-veined leaves, such as grasses, lilies, orchids, and palms), used mainly for cordage. Such fibres, usually long and stiff, are also called “hard” fibres, distinguishing them from the generally softer and more flexible fibres of the bast, or “soft,” fibre group. Commercially

Genealogy

2004-09-02T20:19:00.000-07:00

The study of family origins and history. Genealogists compile lists of ancestors, which they arrange in pedigree charts or other written forms. The word genealogy comes from two Greek words—one meaning “race” or “family” and the other “theory” or “science.” Thus is derived “to trace ancestry,” the science of studying family history. The term pedigree comes from the Latin pes

Baikie, William Balfour

2004-08-30T19:48:00.000-07:00

Educated in medicine at the University of Edinburgh, Baikie entered the Royal Navy as an assistant surgeon in 1848 and served on several ships as well as on land (1851–54). In 1854 he joined an expedition up the Niger River and, on the death

Prosper Of Aquitaine, Saint

2004-08-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

Latin Prosper Tiro early Christian polemicist famous for his defense of Augustine of Hippo and his doctrine on grace, predestination, and free will, which became a norm for the teachings of the Roman Catholic church. Prosper's chief opponents were the Semi-Pelagians, who believed in the power of man's innate will to seek God, but at the

Haarlem Lake

2004-08-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

Dutch Haarlemmermeer, polder (area 45,700 acres [18,486 hectares]) coextensive with the gemeente (commune) of Haarlemmermeer in Noord-Holland provincie, western Netherlands. Originally, a number of lakes—with a combined area of about 14,000 acres (5,700 hectares) in 1531—were formed into one by successive inundations, and by the 1830s the water area had increased to nearly 45,000 acres (18,200 hectares). Floods frequently threatened the cities