SeparateNeedle

Lowestoft Porcelain

2005-04-04T17:19:00.000-07:00

English phosphatic soft-paste ware, resembling Bow porcelain, produced in Lowestoft, Suffolk, from 1757 to 1802; the wares are of a domestic kind, such as pots, teapots, and jugs. Generally on a small scale and light in weight, they are decorated in white and blue or in a polychrome that utilizes a bright brick red. After 1770 transfer printing was used. The shapes were copied from silverwork

Saint, Judaism

2005-04-04T00:22:00.000-07:00

The cult of saints in terms of veneration was not a part of the monotheistic religion of Israel. Saintliness, however, was an ideal that many hoped to exhibit. The model of a pious person is depicted in the righteous one of Psalm 5, “his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” In the Hellenistic period (c. 300 BC—c. AD 300), when many Jews were susceptible to foreign

Tracery

2005-04-03T14:37:00.000-07:00

In architecture, bars, or ribs, used decoratively in windows or other openings; the term also applies to similar forms used in relief as wall decoration (sometimes called blind tracery), and hence, figuratively, to any intricate line pattern. The term is applicable to the system of window decoration developed in Europe during the Gothic period as well as to the pierced

Florentine Diamond

2005-04-02T08:55:00.000-08:00

Clear, pale-yellow stone weighing 137 carats; of Indian origin, it was cut as a double rose with 126 facets. Once owned by Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, who lost it when he fell in battle in 1477, the stone came into the possession of Pope Julius II and the Medici family early in the 16th century. Maria Theresa of Austria acquired it through her marriage (1736) to the Duke of Tuscany, and it subsequently

Korea, North

2005-04-01T16:37:00.000-08:00

Officially Democratic People's Republic of Korea , Korean Choson Minjujuui In'min Konghwaguk country in East Asia. It occupies the northern portion of the Korean peninsula, which juts out from the Asian mainland between the Sea of Japan (East Sea) and the Yellow Sea. The country is bordered by China and Russia to the north and by the Republic of Korea (South Korea) to the south. North Korea has an area of 47,399 square miles (122,762 square kilometres), occupying about 55 percent of the

Nader, Ralph

2005-04-01T07:32:00.000-08:00

Nader ran for president of the United States in 1996 but collected less than 1 percent of the vote. In 2000 he was nominated by the Green Party as its U.S. presidential candidate. His campaign focused on universal health care, environmental and consumer protections, campaign finance reform, and strengthened labour rights. Realizing that he had little hope of winning the election, Nader concentrated on obtaining 5 percent of the national vote, the minimum necessary to secure federal matching funds for the Green Party for future presidential campaigns. Nader eventually fell well short of this goal, receiving only 2.7 percent of the national vote, but he may have aided Republican candidate George W. Bush—who narrowly won the presidency over Democrat Al Gore—by attracting votes that otherwise might have gone to Gore, especially in the key state of Florida. In 2004, despite pleas by many Democrats that he not run, Nader campaigned for the presidency as an independent.

Karakum Canal

2005-03-30T23:16:00.000-08:00

Waterway in Turkmenistan. The main section, begun in 1954 and completed in 1967, runs some 520 miles (840 km) from the Amu Darya (river) to Gökdepe, west of Ashgabat, skirting the Karakum Desert. In the 1970s and '80s the canal was extended to the Caspian Sea coast, making the total length 870 miles (1,400 km). Water from the canal, which is navigable for 280 miles (450 km), is used principally for irrigation, and fishing has

Tur, At-

2005-03-30T02:10:00.000-08:00

Town, capital of Janub Sina' muhafazah (governorate), southwestern Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. It lies on the coast of the Gulf of Suez. At-Tur has been an administrative centre and seaport since the Roman and Byzantine periods. In the town the Byzantine emperor Justinian (527–565) built a monastery, its ruins still extant. From the medieval period into the early 20th century, the town served as a

Vajrayogini

2005-03-28T04:33:00.000-08:00

In Vajrayana (Tantric Buddhism), female embodiment of the cognitive function leading to Buddhahood. Vajrayana emphasizes experience over speculation but uses the terms of speculative philosophical Buddhism in an imaginative way. This practice means that images taken from the ordinary life of the individual become the means to further a deeper understanding

Sesto San Giovanni

2005-03-27T17:47:00.000-08:00

Town, Milano province, Lombardia (Lombardy) region, northern Italy. A northeastern industrial suburb of Milan, it has blast furnaces, foundries, glassworks, and aircraft assembly plants and manufactures railway and electrical equipment. With one of the largest concentrations of organized labour in Italy, Sesto San Giovanni has long been a bastion of Italian Communism.

Zala

2005-03-25T02:13:00.000-08:00

Megye (county), western Hungary. Zala has an area of 1,461 square miles (3,784 square km) and consists of wooded, undulating hill country. The Yugoslav border, partly defined by the Drava River, is on the southwest. There is a high incidence of soil erosion on the valley slopes, but along the valley floors are wet meadows and pastures. There has been some canalization of the rivers in Zala,

Skagen

2005-03-23T09:39:00.000-08:00

Also called The Skaw city and port, Nordjylland amtskommune (county commune), northern Jutland, Denmark, near the northern tip of the peninsula on the Kattegat strait. Chartered in 1413, it is one of the principal fishing centres in Denmark. It is also a summer resort and, from the 1870s, the site of an artists' and writers' colony. Notable are the Rå-bjerg Mile sand dunes to the south and the Old Church, which

Coke, Thomas

2005-03-23T02:07:00.000-08:00

Coke was ordained an Anglican priest in 1772 and served as curate at South Petherton, Somerset, from 1772 to 1776. After meeting Wesley, however,

Saigyo

2005-03-22T11:21:00.000-08:00

Also called Sato Norikiyo Japanese Buddhist priest-poet, one of the greatest masters of the tanka (a traditional Japanese poetic form), whose life and works became the subject matter of many narratives, plays, and puppet dramas. He originally followed his father in a military career, but, like others of his day, he was oppressed by the sense of disaster that overwhelmed Japan as

Hughes, (james Mercer) Langston

2005-03-22T03:49:00.000-08:00

Black poet and writer who became, through numerous translations, one of the foremost interpreters to the world of the black experience in the United States. Hughes's parents separated soon after his birth, and young Hughes was raised by his mother and grandmother. After his grandmother's death, he and his mother moved to half a dozen

Zamoyski, Jan

2005-03-20T11:56:00.000-08:00

Educated in France and Italy, he returned to Poland in 1565 and was appointed secretary to King Sigismund II. After Sigismund's death (1572), he became one of the best-liked

Tachism

2005-03-19T17:59:00.000-08:00

French Tachisme (from tache, “spot”), style of painting practiced in Paris after World War II and through the 1950s that, like its American equivalent, Action painting, featured the intuitive, spontaneous gesture of the artist's brushstroke. Developed by the young painters Hans Hartung, Gérard Schneider, Pierre Soulages, Frans Wols, Chao Wu-chi (Zao Wu-ki), and Georges Mathieu, Tachism was part

Yamasee War

2005-03-18T15:43:00.000-08:00

(1715–16), in British-American colonial history, conflict between Indians, mainly Yamasee, and British colonists in the southeastern area of South Carolina, resulting in the collapse of Indian power in that area. Embittered by settlers' encroachment upon their land and by unresolved grievances arising from the fur trade, a group of Yamasees rose and killed 90 white traders

Existentialism, Manner and style of human existence

2005-03-17T23:43:00.000-08:00

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

Elgar, Sir Edward

2005-03-17T08:33:00.000-08:00

The son of an organist and music dealer, Elgar left school at age 15 and worked briefly in

Robinson, (esmé Stuart) Lennox

2005-03-17T01:17:00.000-08:00

When still young Robinson became devoted to the cause of Irish nationalism through seeing performances of the Abbey Theatre Company in Cork, and his country's troubles were

Wade, Sir Thomas Francis

2005-03-16T17:24:00.000-08:00

The elder son of an English army officer, Wade graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge (1837), and entered the army. Sent to China in 1842, he began an earnest study of Chinese and eventually became an official interpreter,

Widener University

2005-03-15T22:55:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S. It comprises the College of Arts and Sciences and schools of Law, Hospitality Management, Human Service Professions, Engineering, Nursing, and Business Administration. More than 50 undergraduate majors are offered. The university also offers more than 20 master's degree programs, doctoral

Ribeiro, Bernardim

2005-03-15T08:42:00.000-08:00

Ribeiro was

'ashura'

2005-03-13T07:41:00.000-08:00

Muslim holy day observed on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic year (Gregorian date variable). 'Ashura' was originally designated in AD 622 by Muhammad, soon after the Hijrah (Hegira), as a day of fasting from sunset to sunset, probably patterned on the Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. When Jewish-Muslim relations became strained, however, Muhammad made Ramadan the

B.e.m.

2005-03-13T00:08:00.000-08:00

Recipient of the British Empire Medal. See British Empire, The Most Excellent Order of the.

Rare-earth Element, Ion exchange

2005-03-12T20:47:00.000-08:00

Ion exchange is a method of separation based on differential absorption and elution (washing off) of substances from certain solid supporting materials, often powdered or finely divided materials held in glass tubes. The technique was first used in the rare-earth field during World War II to separate fission products obtained from nuclear reactors. In December

Schenk, Ard

2005-03-12T17:21:00.000-08:00

In Sapporo, Schenk dominated the Olympic competition, winning handily in the 1,500-, 5,000-, and 10,000-metre races. He was denied a sweep of the men's speed-skating

John George I

2005-03-12T09:39:00.000-08:00

An easygoing, indolent drunkard whose chief wish was “to drink his beer in peace,” he was a faithful adherent of the house of Habsburg. As a result of his inability

Marañón River

2005-03-11T01:14:00.000-08:00

Spanish Río Marañón, headwater of the Amazon, rising in the snowcapped Andes above Lake Lauricocha in central Peru, about 100 miles (160 km) from the Pacific Ocean. It flows northwest across windswept plateaus 12,000 feet (3,650 m) high and carves a deep canyon between Andean ranges. As the Marañón passes through high jungle in its midcourse, it is marked by a series of unnavigable rapids and falls. Emerging from

Shimazaki Toson

2005-03-09T22:27:00.000-08:00

Toson was educated in Tokyo at Meiji Gakuin, where he was also baptized, although Christianity did not lastingly affect either

Fellow Traveller

2005-03-09T15:41:00.000-08:00

Russian Poputchik, originally, a writer in the Soviet Union who was not against the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 but did not actively support it as a propagandist. The term was used in this sense by Leon Trotsky in Literature and the Revolution (1925) and was not meant to be pejorative. Implicit in the designation was the recognition of the artist's need for intellectual freedom and his dependence

Medicine, Public health practice

2005-03-09T11:34:00.000-08:00

The physician working in the field of public health is mainly concerned with the environmental causes of ill health and in their prevention. Bad drainage, polluted water and atmosphere, noise and smells, infected food, bad housing, and poverty in general are all his special concern. Perhaps the most descriptive title he can be given is that of community physician.

Syv Systre

2005-03-08T15:52:00.000-08:00

Also called Knivsflåfoss, waterfalls in the fylke (county) of Møre og Romsdal, west-central Norway. The falls have their sources in Geit Mountain. The water flows over a high perpendicular cliff and plunges several hundred feet into Geiranger Fjord below. The name, which in English means “seven sisters,” is derived from the seven separate streams that join at the top of the falls. East of the falls,

Gravesend

2005-03-07T21:57:00.000-08:00

The discovery of the skull of Swanscombe man near Gravesend dates early settlement in the area to the Second Interglacial Period (about 200,000 years ago). Gravesend is mentioned in Domesday Book (1086) as Gravesham, possessing a hithe

Beaconsfield

2005-03-07T13:05:00.000-08:00

The wide main street of the old town of Beaconsfield, bordered by 18th-century houses, contrasts with the modern town, in which commuters to London—28 miles (39 km) to the southeast—reside. Beaconsfield was adopted by Benjamin Disraeli, the 19th-century British

Scandinavian Literature, The literary Renaissance in Denmark

2005-03-06T04:39:00.000-08:00

The literary Renaissance reached Denmark in the 1600s, giving rise to a strict adherence to classical patterns and blind belief in authority in political, religious, and literary matters. In religious literature Latin dogmatics and pamphlets reflecting the superstitions of the century were dominant. It was, however, a great era of scholarship. Ole Worm is famous for

Aristide, Jean-bertrand

2005-03-05T13:46:00.000-08:00

Aristide attended a school in Port-au-Prince run by the Roman Catholic Salesian order, and in 1966 he moved to the Salesian seminary at Cap-Haitien and began to prepare for the priesthood.

Kazakhstan, Flag Of

2005-03-04T15:28:00.000-08:00

The Kazakhs are (in part) descended from the “Blue Horde”—Turkic-Mongol peoples who, centuries ago, flew the “Blue Banner” in Central Asia. The colour also stands for the great skies under which these traditionally nomadic peoples have lived. Light blue was chosen as the background for the national flag of Kazakhstan officially adopted in June 1992. The designer of the flag

Nova Scotia, Cultural life

2005-03-04T10:58:00.000-08:00

Its geographic position has kept Nova Scotia somewhat removed from the mainstream of Canadian life, centred in Ontario and Quebec. The improvement of transportation, however, and the growing impact of the nationwide communications media have brought the province closer to the mainstream, enhancing a modern life-style in the province and eroding some features

Triton

2005-03-03T19:22:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, a merman, demigod of the sea; he was the son of the sea god, Poseidon, and his wife, Amphitrite. According to the Greek poet Hesiod, Triton dwelt with his parents in a golden palace in the depths of the sea. Sometimes he was not particularized but was one of many Tritons. He was represented as human down to his waist, with the tail of a fish. Triton's special attribute

Galactic Halo

2005-03-03T03:32:00.000-08:00

In astronomy, nearly spherical volume of thinly scattered stars, globular clusters of stars, and tenuous gas observed surrounding spiral galaxies, including the Milky Way—the galaxy in which the Earth is located. The roughly spherical halo of the Milky Way is thought to have a radius of some 50,000 light-years (about 5 ´ 1017 kilometres), and its gas is a source of radio emission, particularly

Saint Vincent And The Grenadines

2005-03-02T14:58:00.000-08:00

In April 2000 the House of Assembly's passage of a bill that would increase the pensions and gratuities of parliamentarians proved to be the spark that ignited an already tense political situation in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The Organisation in Defence of Democracy (ODD)—which brought together the official opposition Unity Labour Party, trade union leaders, businessmen,

Dehra Dun

2005-03-01T23:23:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Uttaranchal state, northern India. It lies in the Himalayan foothills at an elevation of 2,200 feet (670 metres). Dehra Dun was founded in 1699, when the heretical Sikh Guru Ram Rai, driven out of the Punjab, built a temple there. During the 18th century the area succumbed to successive invaders, the last of whom were the Gurkhas. When the Gurkha War ended in 1816, the area was ceded to

Mercier, Honoré

2005-03-01T20:57:00.000-08:00

While studying law in the early 1860s Mercier edited the Conservative newspaper Le Courrier de St. Hyacinthe and supported the Conservative administration

Wagner, Richard

2005-03-01T20:48:00.000-08:00

For the next 15 years Wagner was not to present any further new works. Until 1858 he lived in Zürich, composing, writing treatises, and conducting (he directed the London Philharmonic concerts in 1855). Having already studied the Siegfried legend and the Norse myths as a possible basis for an opera, and having written an operatic “poem,” Siegfrieds Tod (Siegfried's Death), in which he

Mohammed, Warith Deen

2005-03-01T05:18:00.000-08:00

The seventh son of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam, Mohammed was marked for leadership of the society even before his birth. The founder

Salesbury, William

2005-02-28T21:11:00.000-08:00

Salesbury spent most of his life at Llanrwst following antiquarian, botanical, and literary pursuits. About 1546 he edited a collection

Ambo

2005-02-27T21:41:00.000-08:00

The Ambo economy rests almost equally on agriculture and animal husbandry,

Kekri

2005-02-27T05:07:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Keyri, or Käyri, in ancient Finnish religion, a feast day marking the end of the agricultural season that also coincided with the time when the cattle were taken in from pasture and settled for a winter's stay in the barn. Kekri originally fell on Michaelmas, September 29, but was later shifted to November 1, All Saints' Day. In the old system of reckoning time, Kekri was a critical period between

Technical Assistance

2005-02-27T03:03:00.000-08:00

Form of aid given to less-developed countries by international organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and its agencies, individual governments, foundations, and philanthropic institutions. Its object is to provide those countries with the expertise needed to promote development. Most technical-assistance programs began after World War II, when much of

Medicine, Public health practice

2005-02-26T22:04:00.000-08:00

Epistemology, Contemporary

2005-02-25T20:10:00.000-08:00

Two excellent anthologies are Harold Morick (ed.), Challenges to Empiricism (1972, reprinted 1980); and Paul K. Moser and Arnold Vander Nat (eds.), Human Knowledge: Classical and Contemporary Approaches (1987). Edmund L. Gettier, “Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?” in Analysis, 23:121–23 (June 1963), is considered by many to be a decisive refutation of the justified, true-belief analysis of knowledge. Noam Chomsky, Language and the Problems of Knowledge (1988), discusses innateness, language, and psychology. Roderick M. Chisholm, Theory of Knowledge, 3rd ed. (1989); and Robert Audi, Belief, Justification, and Knowledge (1988), are two good introductions to standard epistemological problems.

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Renaissance

2005-02-25T10:53:00.000-08:00

Romance and romantic forms provide the main vehicle for the entrance of allegory into the literature of the Renaissance period. The old Arthurian legends carry a new sophistication and polish in the epics of the Italians Boiardo, Ariosto, and Tasso and in the work of Edmund Spenser. By interlacing several simultaneous stories in one larger narrative, the literary

Man-chou-li

2005-02-24T23:38:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Manzhouli, formerly (1910–49) Lupin, city in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, China. It is situated on the border opposite the Russian town of Zabaykalsk and lies 100 miles (160 km) west of Hailar and 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Lake Hu-lun. Man-chou-li was long a small Mongolian settlement in the Hu-lun-pei-erh League. It developed after 1900 when it became the western terminus of the Russian-built Chinese Eastern Railway

Babson College

2005-02-24T17:19:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Wellesley, Massachusetts, U.S. Business management education is emphasized at the college, which offers B.S. and M.B.A. degrees. It consists of divisions of accounting and law, arts and humanities, economics, finance, history and society, management, marketing, and math and science. Students are required to take

Mahathir Bin Mohamad

2005-02-24T09:40:00.000-08:00

The son of a schoolmaster, Mahathir was educated at Sultan Abdul Hamid College and the University of Malaya in Singapore, where he studied medicine. After graduating in 1953, he worked as a government

Coloration, Benzoquinones

2005-02-23T07:50:00.000-08:00

Benzoquinones occur in certain fungi and in roots, berries, or galls (abnormal growths) of higher plants, from which they can be recovered as yellow, orange, red, violet, or darker coloured crystals or solids. Small quantities of pale-yellow crystals of coenzyme Q, often called ubiquinones, are almost universally distributed in plants and animals. The ubiquinones impart

Mammal, Nervous and endocrine systems

2005-02-22T17:19:00.000-08:00

The nervous system and the system of endocrine glands are closely related to one another in their function, for both serve to coordinate activity. The endocrine glands of mammals generally have more complex regulatory functions than do those of lower vertebrates. This is particularly true of the pituitary gland, which supplies hormones that regulate the reproductive

Uzbekistan

2005-02-22T15:39:00.000-08:00

Officially Republic of Uzbekistan , Uzbek Uzbekiston , or Uzbekistan Respublikasi country in Central Asia. It lies mainly between two major rivers, the Syr Darya (ancient Jaxartes River) on the northeast and the Amu Darya (ancient Oxus River) on the southwest, though they only partly form its boundaries. Uzbekistan is bordered by Kazakstan on the northwest and north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on the east and southeast, Afghanistan on the south, and

Interior Design, England

2005-02-22T05:56:00.000-08:00

The breakup of the feudal system during the Wars of the Roses and under Henry VII in the late 15th century had far-reaching effects on the social structure of the time and consequently on domestic buildings and their decoration. The new conditions necessitated a larger number of rooms, and a great hall, though still an important apartment, was no longer the focus of indoor

Faguet, émile

2005-02-21T14:45:00.000-08:00

Faguet was educated at Poitiers and at the École Normale in Paris. He served as drama critic (1888–1907) for the Journal des Débats, was appointed to a chair at the Sorbonne in 1890, and was elected to the French Academy in 1900. He contributed

Waikaremoana, Lake

2005-02-21T03:33:00.000-08:00

Lake in eastern North Island, New Zealand. Created by a landslide damming the Waikare Taheke River, the 21-square-mile (54-square-kilometre) lake, measuring 12 miles (19 km) by 6 miles (10 km), drains a 165-square-mile (427-square-kilometre) basin and empties via the same river, which is a tributary of the Wairoa. From its surface elevation of 2,015 feet (614 m), the lake extends to a depth of 840 feet (256 m). It is bounded on

Andreotti, Giulio

2005-02-20T16:21:00.000-08:00

Andreotti took a degree in law at the University of Rome and was president of the Catholic students' federation. In 1942 he became a protégé of Alcide De

Margherita Peak

2005-02-20T01:39:00.000-08:00

French Pic Marguerite, highest summit of the Ruwenzori Range in East Africa and the third highest in Africa (after Mounts Kilimanjaro and Kenya). Margherita Peak is the highest peak on Mount Stanley. It rises to 16,795 feet (5,119 m) between Lake Albert (Lake Mobutu Sese Seko) to the north and Lake Edward to the south on the Congo (Kinshasa)–Uganda border. It was first climbed in 1906 by an expedition led by Luigi Amedeo

Swatow

2005-02-19T06:57:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Shan-t'ou, or (Pinyin) Shantou, city in eastern Kwangtung sheng (province), southern China. Swatow lies on the coast of the South China Sea a few miles west of the mouth of the Han River, which, with its tributary, the Mei River, drains most of eastern Kwangtung. The Han forms a delta, and Swatow is on an inlet that extends some 9.5 miles (15 km) inland on the southwest part of the delta. The city stands at the narrow seaward

Voyageurs National Park

2005-02-18T08:36:00.000-08:00

Region of lakes and wilderness in northern Minnesota, U.S. The park lies along the Canadian border, east of International Falls. Authorized in 1971 and established in 1975, it was named for the mostly French Canadian frontiersmen called voyageurs (French: “travelers”), who were involved in fur trading in the area in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The voyageurs used large birch

Basel-landschaft

2005-02-18T08:30:00.000-08:00

French Bâle-campagne, Halbkanton (“demicanton”), northern Switzerland, traversed by the Jura Mountains and drained by the Ergolz and Birs rivers. It was formed in 1833 by the division of Basel canton into two half cantons, or demicantons, and its early history is linked with Basel (q.v.) city. Its present constitution dates from 1892, and its capital is Liestal (q.v.). Approximately one-third of its 165 square miles

Tietê River

2005-02-18T06:51:00.000-08:00

Several of the state's

Ma-an-shan

2005-02-18T06:08:00.000-08:00

The region along the southern bank of the Yangtze between Ma-an-shan and T'ung-ling (about

Binomial Theorem

2005-02-16T21:57:00.000-08:00

In which n! (called n factorial) is the product of the first n natural numbers 1, 2, 3, . . . n (and where 0! is defined

Black-figure Pottery

2005-02-16T14:23:00.000-08:00

Type of Greek pottery that originated in Corinth c. 700 BC and continued to be popular until the advent of red-figure pottery c. 530 BC. In black-figure painting, figures and ornamentation were drawn on the natural clay surface of a vase in glossy black pigment; the finishing details were incised into the black. The first significant use of the black-figure technique was on the

Ligand Field Theory

2005-02-15T23:07:00.000-08:00

In chemistry, one of several theories that describe the electronic structure of coordination or complex compounds, notably transition metal complexes, which consist of a central metal atom surrounded by a group of electron-rich atoms or molecules called ligands. The ligand field theory deals with the origins and consequences of metal– ligand interactions as

House

2005-02-15T13:41:00.000-08:00

In astrology, 1 of the 12 sectors, or divisions, of the celestial sphere. See horoscope.

Tiepolo, Giovanni Battista

2005-02-15T01:25:00.000-08:00

Great Italian painter of the 18th century. His luminous, poetic frescoes (e.g., “The Banquet of Anthony and Cleopatra,” before 1750), while extending the tradition of Baroque ceiling decoration, epitomize the lightness and elegance of the Rococo period (see photograph).

Advocates, Faculty Of

2005-02-14T09:56:00.000-08:00

The members of the bar of Scotland. Barristers are the comparable group in England. The faculty grew out of the Scots Act of 1532, which established the Court of Session in Scotland. The advocates had, and still have, the sole right of audience in the Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary. They constitute a self-governing faculty under annually elected officers. When

Gmunden

2005-02-14T04:23:00.000-08:00

Town, Oberösterreich Bundesland (“federal state”), north-central Austria, where the Traun River flows out of the Traunsee, a mountain lake. The site of Celtic and Roman settlements, Gmunden was fortified in the 12th century and chartered in the 13th. Its Baroque parish church on 13th-century foundations was consecrated in 1723, and the town hall dates from 1659. Once an important centre

Sasan

2005-02-13T00:56:00.000-08:00

Eponymous ancestor of the Sasanian dynasty in ancient Persia. Details of his life vary, but most scholars believe he was originally a prince in the province of Persis and a vassal of Gochihr, the chief petty king in Persis. His son or descendant was Babak, who was the father of Ardashir I, the founder of the Sasanian Empire. According to one tradition, Sasan married a daughter

Pendergast, Thomas J(oseph)

2005-02-12T06:20:00.000-08:00

Pendergast went to Kansas City in 1893, where he learned the rudiments of municipal politics from precinct captains and where, by 1916, he had become political boss of Kansas

Claesz, Pieter

2005-02-12T05:47:00.000-08:00

Also called Pieter Claesz Van Haarlem Dutch painter who achieved a striking simplicity and atmospheric quality in still-life representations. Avoiding the crowded compositions and strong local colouring of the Mannerist tradition, he concentrated on the monochrome “breakfast piece,” the depiction of a simple meal

Tectogene

2005-02-11T23:35:00.000-08:00

Great downbuckle of the Earth's crust into the mantle below deep-sea trenches that are filled with marine sediments. The sediments become crumpled and folded within the deep downbuckle; some portions are squeezed downward into the mantle, while others are squeezed upward in highly deformed and dislocated strata. According to the theory of Dutch geophysicists

Bridge

2005-02-10T20:32:00.000-08:00

In electrical measurement, instrument for measuring electrical quantities. The first such instrument, invented by British mathematician Samuel Christie and popularized in 1843 by Sir Charles Wheatstone, measures resistance by comparing the current flowing through one part of the bridge with a known current flowing through another part. The Wheatstone

Floral Decoration, 17th century

2005-02-09T21:20:00.000-08:00

The arrangement of plant materials truly became an art and an important decorative device in the 17th century. During this period of worldwide exploration, colonization, and commerce, new plants were introduced into Europe, where an avid interest in horticulture developed. Still-life paintings of the late 16th, 17th, and early 18th centuries reveal what a great variety of

Ancient Rome, The Illyrian emperors

2005-02-09T16:31:00.000-08:00

After Claudius II's unexpected death, the empire was ruled from 270 to 284 by several “Illyrian” emperors, who were good generals and who tried in an energetic way to restore equilibrium. The most remarkable was Aurelian. He first gained hard-won victories over the Alemanni and the Juthungi, who had invaded the Alpine provinces and northern Italy. To cheer the inhabitants of

La Follette, Robert M

2005-02-09T06:49:00.000-08:00

Resigning as governor in 1906, he was elected to the Senate at a time when that institution was widely believed to be a refuge for millionaires. La Follette acquired instant fame as a new type of senator, one who was not controlled by “the interests,” and in his first three years there La Follette achieved the passage of laws aimed against the freight rates, labour policies,

Bka'-brgyud-pa

2005-02-08T02:09:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kagyupa (Tibetan: “Transmitted Word”), third largest Buddhist sect in Tibet. Its members are followers of the 11th-century teacher Mar-pa, who distinguished himself as a translator of Buddhist texts while continuing to live the life of a householder. Mar-pa studied in India under the master yogin (spiritual adept, or ascetic) Naropa, and the school stresses the more severe practices

Asaba

2005-02-07T22:30:00.000-08:00

Town and capital of Delta state, southern Nigeria. It lies on the west bank of the Niger River (opposite Onitsha) and on the road to Benin City. A traditional market centre (cassava, yams, palm oil and kernels, kola nuts) for the Igbo (Ibo) people, it was the place where Richard and John Lander, the British explorers of the Niger, were taken captive by the Igbos in 1830. It later became

Procession

2005-02-07T22:13:00.000-08:00

Of the vast number of processions

Amanollah Khan

2005-02-07T06:25:00.000-08:00

A favoured son of the Afghan ruler Habibollah Khan, Amanollah took possession of the throne immediately after his father's assassination in 1919, at a time when Great Britain exercised an important influence on Afghan affairs. In his coronation address

New Hampshire, Flag Of

2005-02-06T18:31:00.000-08:00

The seal of New Hampshire was adopted in 1784 following the Revolutionary War. On December 28, 1792, a regulation was adopted by the legislature that required regiments in the state militia to carry the national flag and regimental colours displaying the state seal. More than a century passed, however, before the adoption of a state flag for general purposes. The 1909 flag law provided

Florida State University

2005-02-06T17:32:00.000-08:00

Public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Tallahassee, Florida, U.S. It is part of the State University System of Florida and consists of eight schools and eight colleges, including a college of engineering that is jointly operated with Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. Branch campuses are located in Panama City and the Central American

Culture System

2005-02-06T06:11:00.000-08:00

According to the system, a villager should provide land rent to the government by setting aside one-fifth

Beirut, American University Of

2005-02-05T01:49:00.000-08:00

Private, nondenominational, coeducational international and intercultural university in Beirut, Lebanon, chartered in 1863 by the state of New York, U.S., as the Syrian Protestant College. Classes started in 1866. Although founded by the American Protestant Mission to Lebanon, the school was set up as an autonomous organization and has no official relationship with any religious

Annunciation

2005-02-04T14:13:00.000-08:00

The Feast of the Annunciation, one of the principal feasts of the Christian church, is celebrated on March 25 (Lady Day). The first authentic allusions to the feast (apart from the Gelasian and Gregorian sacramentaries, in both

John

2005-02-03T21:27:00.000-08:00

A penniless younger son of the French count Erard II of Brienne and Agnes of Montbéliard, John passed most of his life as a minor noble until befriended by King Philip II Augustus of France, who arranged for him to

Ryde

2005-02-03T06:55:00.000-08:00

Town on the northeastern coast of the Isle of Wight, historic county of Hampshire, England, opposite Portsmouth on the mainland. It is located on the site of a former village called La Rye, which the French destroyed early in the 14th century. Still a small fishing hamlet by 1800, Ryde grew rapidly in the railway age as an attractive holiday resort (being incorporated in 1868). It is

D'urban, Sir Benjamin

2005-02-02T21:14:00.000-08:00

As a soldier D'Urban began his service in 1793 and fought in the Napoleonic Wars, where he won distinction in the Peninsular War as a quartermaster general. In 1820 D'Urban was

Ear Disease, Otosclerosis

2005-02-02T17:54:00.000-08:00

The commonest cause for progressive hearing loss in early and middle adult life is a disease of the hard shell of bone that surrounds the labyrinth of the inner ear. This disease of bone is known as otosclerosis, a name that is misleading, for in its early and actively expanding stage the nodule of diseased bone is softer than the ivory-hard bone that it replaces. The

Balanopales

2005-02-02T11:48:00.000-08:00

Order of dicotyledonous flowering plants comprising the family Balanopaceae, with a single genus (Balanops) and 12 species of trees and shrubs that have simple, alternately positioned or somewhat whorled leaves. The plants are further characterized by flowers that lack showy parts (sepals and petals). The male and female flowers occur on separate plants (i.e., the plants

East Friesland

2005-02-02T00:18:00.000-08:00

German Ostfriesland, cultural region bordering the North Sea and encompassing the coastal marshlands and East Frisian Islands (Ostfriesische Inseln) of northwestern Lower Saxony Land (state), north-central Germany. The region has close cultural ties with West Friesland in The Netherlands and North Friesland on the west coast of the Jutland Peninsula. The Frisians, traditionally