FertileKnot

Azzone Dei Porci

2005-11-18T06:30:00.000-08:00

Also called Azzone Soldanus , Latin Azolinus Porcius, Azzone also spelled Azo or Azzo a leader of the Bolognese school of jurists and one of the few to write systematic summaries (summae) rather than textual glosses of Roman law as codified under the Byzantine emperor Justinian I (6th century AD). His Summa codicis and Apparatus ad codicem together provided a methodical exposition of Roman law and were very influential

Auburn University

2005-10-16T02:45:00.000-07:00

Public, coeducational institution of higher education located in Auburn, Alabama, U.S. The university offers a broad range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs and is noted for its colleges of engineering and business. Degrees in nursing, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine are also available. A branch campus in Montgomery offers undergraduate and graduate

Numerals And Numeral Systems, Multiplicative grouping systems

2005-07-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

In multiplicative systems, special names are given not only to 1, b, b2, and so on but also to the numbers 2, 3, , b - 1; the symbols of this second set are then used in place of repetitions of the first set. Thus, if 1, 2, 3, , 9 are designated in the usual way but 10, 100, and 1,000 are replaced by X, C, and M, respectively, then in a multiplicative grouping system one should write 7,392 as 7M3C9X2. The principal example of this kind of

Arpino, Gerald

2005-07-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

While serving in the U.S. Coast Guard (1945–48), Arpino met dancer Robert Joffrey in Seattle, Wash., and learned dancing in his spare time. Later, after training and performing in New York City, he toured with the Ballet Russe and appeared in Broadway musicals. He helped Joffrey

Annelid, Annotated classification

2005-07-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

Body wall covered with a cuticle secreted by the epidermis and containing an outer circular and inner longitudinal muscle layer; chitinous (tough, complex carbohydrate material) setae usually present, secreted by follicular cells and arranged segmentally;

Nova Persei

2005-07-06T01:40:00.000-07:00

Bright nova that attained an absolute magnitude of -9.2. Spectroscopic observations of the nova, which appeared in 1901, provided important information about interstellar gas. The shell thrown off by the exploding star was unusually asymmetrical, and a bright nebulosity near the star appeared to be expanding incredibly fast, at practically the speed of light. This apparent

Gravel

2005-06-29T02:05:00.000-07:00

Fragments in gravel range in size from pebbles

Tallensi

2005-06-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Talensi, a people of northern Ghana who speak a language of the Gur branch of the Niger-Congo language family. They grow millet and sorghum as staples and raise cattle, sheep, and goats on a small scale. Their normal domestic unit is the polygamous joint family of a man and his sons (and sometimes grandsons) with their wives and unmarried daughters. Married daughters live with

Pueblo Rebellion

2005-06-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

(1680), carefully organized revolt of Pueblo Indians (in league with Apaches), who succeeded in overthrowing Spanish rule in New Mexico for 12 years. A traditionally peaceful people, the Pueblos had endured much after New Mexico's colonization in 1598. Catholicism was forced on them by missionaries who burned their ceremonial pits (kivas), masks, and other sacred objects. Indians

Hoosac Tunnel

2005-05-31T22:30:00.000-07:00

The first major rock tunnel built in the United States. The tunnel runs through Hoosac Mountain of the Berkshire Hills, east of North Adams, Mass., and was built to provide a rail connection between Boston and upper New York state. Though only 4.75 miles (7.6 km) long, the tunnel took 24 years (1851–75) to complete, partly because of slow and laborious rock-tunneling techniques in use when construction

Integument

2005-05-17T13:35:00.000-07:00

Among unicellular organisms, such as bacteria and protozoans,

Earth Sciences

2005-05-15T19:20:00.000-07:00

The origins of the Earth sciences lie in the myths and legends of the distant past. The creation story, which can be traced to a Babylonian epic of the 22nd century BC and which is told in the first chapter of Genesis, has proved most influential. The story is cast in the form of Earth history and thus was readily accepted as an embodiment of scientific as well as of theological

Cell, The vacuole

2005-05-13T16:30:00.000-07:00

Most plant cells contain one or more membrane-bound vesicles called vacuoles. Within the vacuole is the cell sap, a water solution of salts and sugars kept at high concentration by the active transport of ions through permeases in the vacuole membrane. This high concentration causes the entry, via osmosis, of water into the vacuole, which in turn expands the vacuole

Nagaur

2005-03-15T18:53:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Nagor� town, administrative headquarters of Nagaur district, Rajasthan state, western India. Nagaur, a walled town held successively by the 12th-century Hindu ruler of Dilli (Delhi), Prthviraja, by the 12th- and 13th-century Muslim conqueror Muhammad of Ghur, and by Bikaner and Jodhpur chieftains, is said to take its name from its traditional founders, the Naga Rajputs (warrior rulers of the historic

David

2005-03-14T01:55:00.000-08:00

Second of the Israelite kings (after Saul), reigning c. 1000 to c. 962 BC, who established a united kingdom over all Israel, with Jerusalem as its capital. In Jewish tradition he became the ideal king, the founder of an enduring dynasty, around whose figure and reign clustered messianic expectations of the people of Israel. Since he was a symbol of fulfillment

Maser

2005-03-11T01:27:00.000-08:00

Device that produces and amplifies electromagnetic radiation mainly in the microwave region of the spectrum. The maser operates according to the same basic principle as the laser (the name of which is formed from the acronym for �light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation�) and shares many of its characteristics. The first maser was built by the American

Plummer's Disease

2005-03-07T05:29:00.000-08:00

Also called �toxic multinodular goitre� thyroid condition characterized by marked enlargement of the thyroid gland (goitre), firm thyroid nodules, and mild overproduction of thyroid hormone (hyperthyroidism). Plummer's disease, which usually occurs in older people, is of unknown etiology. Its symptoms resemble those of Graves' disease (q.v.), a condition believed to be an autoimmune disorder caused by antibodies

Medicine, Russia

2005-03-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

Teams of physicians with experience in varying specialties work from polyclinics or outpatient

Scheelite

2005-03-04T17:55:00.000-08:00

Calcium tungstate mineral, CaWO4, that is an important ore of tungsten. It acquired commercial value in the 20th century when tungsten became used in alloy steels and electric-light filaments. The mineral is named in honour of the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele, who obtained tungstic acid from it in 1781. Scheelite commonly occurs as compact or granular masses in contact

Physical Sciences, Organic Chemistry.

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

Chemists missed the mark when they picked the original name - inert gases - for a family of six elements that compose group 18 of the periodic table. They thought that helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon were inert and never combined with other elements to form chemical compounds. That notion was upset in the 1960s when researchers made the first xenon compounds and

Christian And Missionary Alliance

2005-03-02T06:23:00.000-08:00

Missionary and evangelistic movement that developed from the work of Albert B. Simpson (d. 1919), a Presbyterian minister who left that church to become an independent evangelist in New York City. In 1887 Simpson and others organized two societies, one for home and one for foreign missions. The two societies were merged into the Christian and Missionary Alliance in 1897. The organization

Bruckner, Anton

2005-03-01T13:06:00.000-08:00

In full� Josef Anton Bruckner � Austrian composer of a number of highly original and monumental symphonies. He was also an organist and teacher who composed much sacred and secular choral music.

Ethiopia, Drainage

2005-02-28T18:57:00.000-08:00

Ethiopia has three principal drainage systems. The first and largest is the western system, which includes the watersheds of the Blue Nile (known as the Abay in Ethiopia), the Tekeze, and the Baro rivers. All three rivers flow west to the White Nile in The Sudan. The second system is the Rift Valley internal drainage system, composed of the Awash River, the Lakes Region, and

Biblical Literature, Biblical criticism

2005-02-27T11:18:00.000-08:00

A prerequisite for the exegetical study of the biblical writings, and even for the establishment of hermeneutical principles, is their critical examination. Most forms of biblical criticism are relevant to many other bodies of literature.

Solar

2005-02-26T15:54:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Sollar, � in architecture, private room in a late medieval English manor house, located on the floor above the great hall. The solar served as a kind of parlour to which the owner of the manor house or castle could retire with his family from the chaotic communal living of the hall below. In fact, by the late 14th century the solar was more often called the �retiring room.� Up a flight of

Mitre

2005-02-25T21:16:00.000-08:00

Three types of mitres are worn in the Roman Catholic Church. The

Self-fertilization

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

Fusion of male and female gametes (sex cells) produced by the same individual. Self-fertilization occurs in bisexual organisms, including most flowering plants, numerous protozoans, and many invertebrates. Autogamy, the production of gametes by the division of a single parent cell, is frequently found in unicellular organisms such as the protozoan Paramecium

Annecy

2005-02-23T18:54:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Haute-Savoie d�partement, Rh�ne-Alpes r�gion, southeastern France. It lies along the northwestern shore of Lake Annecy at the entrance to one of the cluses (transverse gorges) of the Savoy Pre-Alps, south of Geneva. Traces of the Gallo-Roman Boutae have been found nearby. The seat of the counts of Genevois from the 10th century, Annecy was attached to the dukedom

Italian Literature, The Hermetic movement

2005-02-22T21:23:00.000-08:00

Poetry in the fascist period underwent a process of involution, partly influenced by French Symbolism, with its faith in the mystical power of words, and partly under the stress of changed political conditions after World War I, during which literature had declined. Many poets of the wartime generation, weary of tradition and rhetoric, had been seeking new expression:

Scandinavian Literature, Romanticism

2005-02-21T14:50:00.000-08:00

Political changes in Sweden up to 1804 meant that ardent nationalism emerged as a characteristic of Swedish Romanticism. The idealism at the core of this movement was laid by the Kantian teaching of Benjamin H�ijer and the impact of Friedrich Schiller, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and the German Romantics on Swedish literature. Student societies and their periodicals,

Grabski, Wladyslaw

2005-02-20T22:29:00.000-08:00

A Socialist in his youth, Grabski later joined the National Democracy Party and was elected a member of three successive sessions of the Duma (1906 - 12), the legislative body of the Russian Empire, of which

Tsao Shen

2005-02-19T17:40:00.000-08:00

Pinyin �Zao Shen, � in Chinese mythology, the god of the kitchen (god of the hearth), who is believed to report to the celestial gods on family conduct and to have it within his power to bestow poverty or riches on individual families. Because he is also a protector of the home from evil spirits, his periodic absences are thought to make the house especially vulnerable to becoming haunted

Feng Tao

2005-02-17T15:13:00.000-08:00

Pinyin �Feng Dao � Chinese Confucian minister generally given credit for instigating the first printing of the Confucian Classics, in 932. As a result, Confucian texts became cheap and accessible, the number of scholars and the knowledge of literature greatly increased throughout the nation, and the number of people able to compete in the

Ikhwan As-safa'

2005-02-16T20:33:00.000-08:00

Neither the identity nor the period of the Ikhwan as-Safa' has been definitively established, but the

Francis (i)

2005-02-15T03:45:00.000-08:00

He was appointed head of government in 1564 while his father, Cosimo I, was still alive; and he succeeded his father as grand duke in 1574. The title was not precisely legitimate since it had been bestowed by the

Auric, Georges

2005-02-14T09:54:00.000-08:00

Auric studied under Vincent d'Indy and Albert Roussel in Paris, and in 1920 the critic Henri Collet included him in �Les Six,� the group of young French composers under the informal patronage

Anderson, Regina M.

2005-02-13T14:18:00.000-08:00

Anderson attended several colleges, including Wilberforce University in Ohio and the University of Chicago. She received a Master of Library Science degree from Columbia University

Quadruple Alliance

2005-02-11T06:50:00.000-08:00

Alliance formed on April 22, 1834, between Britain, France, and the more liberal claimants to the thrones of Spain and Portugal against the conservative claimants to those thrones. The alliance successfully supported Maria Cristiana, who was acting as regent for Isabella II in Spain and had allied herself with the liberals against the pretender Don Carlos in the First

Quadruple Alliance

2005-02-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

A liberal independent political organization in the United States. It was formed in 1947 by a group of labour leaders, civic and political leaders, and academics who were liberal in their views on national affairs, internationalist in world outlook, and anticommunist in conviction. The ADA is devoted to the propagation of liberal ideas, the election of liberal public

Mutanabbi, Al-

2005-02-09T11:31:00.000-08:00

Al-Mutanabbi was the son of a water carrier who claimed noble and ancient southern Arabian descent. Owing

Subsistence Farming

2005-02-08T03:26:00.000-08:00

Form of farming in which nearly all of the crops or livestock raised are used to maintain the farmer and his family, leaving little, if any, surplus for sale or trade. Preindustrial agricultural peoples throughout the world have traditionally practiced subsistence farming. Some of these peoples moved from site to site as they exhausted the soil at each location.

Qalyubiyah, Al-

2005-02-07T21:03:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Kalyubia, � small muhafazah (governorate), just north of Cairo at the apex of the Nile River delta, Lower Egypt. It is bounded on the northeast by Ash-Sharqiyah muhafazah and on the northwest by the Damietta Branch of the Nile. With a total area of 387 square miles (1,001 square km), it is densely populated. About three-fifths of its population relies on agriculture. The alluvial farmland is irrigated

Riau

2005-02-06T23:11:00.000-08:00

Provinsi (�province�), east-central Sumatra, Indonesia. It is bounded by the provinces of Jambi on the south, Sumatera Barat (West Sumatra) on the west, Sumatera Utara (North Sumatra) on the north and northwest, the Malacca Strait on the east, and the Berhala Strait on the southeast. Riau provinsi includes the Riau Islands, an archipelago lying at the southern entrance to the

Keble, John

2005-02-05T19:46:00.000-08:00

Ordained in 1816, Keble was educated at the University of Oxford and served as a tutor there from 1818 to 1823, when he left to assist

Argentite

2005-02-04T07:49:00.000-08:00

Argentite, like several other sulfides, selenides, and tellurides of silver and copper, forms isometric crystals at high temperatures, but upon

Eskimo-aleut Languages, Yupik

2005-02-03T07:03:00.000-08:00

Yupik, a dialectal form meaning �real person,� includes five languages: Central Alaskan Yupik, spoken southward from Norton Sound; Pacific Yupik, commonly called Alutiiq, spoken from the Alaska Peninsula eastward to Prince William Sound; Naukanski Siberian Yupik, whose speakers were resettled southward from Cape Dezhnyov, the easternmost point of the Eurasian

Heng-yang

2005-02-02T13:16:00.000-08:00

Heng-yang has been a communication centre since early times, being on the ancient post road from Ch'ang-sha into Kwangtung province

Avalon, Frankie

2005-02-01T14:27:00.000-08:00

A wunderkind trumpet player, Avalon was already an experienced performer when, as a Philadelphia teenager, he joined Rocco and the Saints (whose drummer was future pop star Bobby Rydell). Guided by manager

Beijing, The Ming and Qing dynasties

2005-01-31T04:02:00.000-08:00

In the mid-14th century Zhu Yuanzhang headed a peasant revolt that overthrew the Mongol dynasty and, as the Hongwu emperor, established the Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644). He moved the capital to Jinling in Jiangsu province and called it Nanjing; Dadu was renamed Beiping (�Northern Peace�) and was placed under his son's rule. On Zhu's death (1398) the throne passed to his grandson in Nanjing, but his

Andes Mountains

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

As mentioned above, the Andes have been populated for millennia. By the time of the Spanish conquest in the 1530s, the indigenous highland peoples had developed a thorough knowledge of the Andes and had built in them an extensive network of cities and connecting roads. Early Spanish exploration of the mountains consisted of plundering raids, although in the process

Moses De Le�

2005-01-29T23:30:00.000-08:00

The details of Moses de Le�n's life, like those of most Jewish mystics,

Arishtanemi

2005-01-28T11:29:00.000-08:00

While the last two Tirthanakaras may be considered historical personages, Arishtanemi is a legendary figure. Said to have lived 84,000 years before the coming of the next Tirthankara, Parshvanatha, he is believed to have been the contemporary and cousin of the Hindu god Krishna

Fagaras

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

Hungarian �Fogaras, � town, Brasov judet (county), central Romania. It lies north of the Fagaras Mountains, a range of the Transylvanian Alps (Southern Carpathian Mountains), on the Olt River. First mentioned in documents in 1291, Fagaras became a military centre during the Middle Ages. The Fagaras Castle, built during the 15th century and now restored to its original form, is one of the outstanding examples of medieval

Penderecki, Krzysztof

2005-01-26T02:35:00.000-08:00

Penderecki studied composition at the Superior School of Music in Krak�w (graduated 1958), subsequently becoming a professor there. He first drew attention in 1959 at the third Warsaw Festival of Contemporary Music, where his Strophes

Canterbury

2005-01-25T04:41:00.000-08:00

Local government region, east-central South Island, New Zealand, centred on the Canterbury Plains. The region borders the Pacific Ocean to the east and extends southward from the vicinity of Kaikoura to the Waitaki River and includes the city of Christchurch and Banks Peninsula. Canterbury's area also stretches westward to include the eastern slopes of the Southern

Alaskan Mountains

2005-01-24T08:15:00.000-08:00

The mountain ranges of Alaska give their state a rugged and beautiful terrain across its entire expanse. They include the highest peak in North America and are characterized by glaciers, earthquakes, and continuing volcanic activity. Structurally, the ranges are

Camden

2005-01-23T08:36:00.000-08:00

Fort Nassau, near present-day Gloucester City, was one of the first colonial settlements in New Jersey (1623). At that time Delaware

Nafusah Plateau

2005-01-22T14:55:00.000-08:00

Arabic �Jabal Nafusah, Nafusah �also spelled �Nefusa, � hilly limestone massif, northwestern Libya. It extends in a west-northeasterly arc between Al-Jifarah (Gefara) plain and Al-Hamra' Plateau. With heights ranging from 1,500 to 3,200 feet (460 to 980 m), the plateau runs east for 120 miles (190 km) from the Tunisian border to the Kiklah Trough and then curves northeast for 93 miles (150 km), ending in hills near the Mediterranean coast at Al-Khums. It is crowned by a

Baseball

2005-01-21T13:06:00.000-08:00

Robert Verdi

Great Fire Of London

2005-01-20T20:41:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, September 2, 1666, the fire began accidentally in the house of the king's baker in Pudding Lane near London Bridge. A violent east wind encouraged the flames, which raged during

Kirkcaldy

2005-01-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

First developed by Dunfermline Abbey nearby, Kirkcaldy was a flourishing port during the later Middle Ages. It was designated a royal burgh in 1450, and the royal charter was confirmed by King Charles II in 1662. In the course of the 16th century it became an important

Cabasilas, Nicholas

2005-01-18T23:40:00.000-08:00

In the Byzantine

Al Bu Sa'id Dynasty

2005-01-16T22:10:00.000-08:00

Ahmad ibn Sa'id, who had been governor of Suhar, Oman, in the 1740s under the Persian Ya'rubids, managed to displace the Ya'rubids by about 1749 and become imam of Oman and of Zanzibar, Pemba, and Kilwa, in East Africa. His successors - known as sayyids, or, later, as sultans - expanded their possessions

Toba, Go-

2005-01-15T18:22:00.000-08:00

After reigning for 15 years, Go-Toba in 1198 abdicated

Earth Exploration, Seismic refraction methods

2005-01-14T01:00:00.000-08:00

Seismic methods are based on measurements of the time interval between initiation of a seismic (elastic) wave and its arrival at detectors. The seismic wave may be generated by an explosion, a dropped weight, a mechanical vibrator, a bubble of high-pressure air injected into water, or other sources. The seismic wave is detected by a Geophone on land or by a hydrophone

Fidei Commissum

2005-01-12T04:38:00.000-08:00

In Roman law and civil-law systems, a gift of property to a person (usually by will), imposing upon that person the obligation to transfer it to a specified ultimate recipient, the latter being a person legally incapable of taking the property directly or at least not in the amount designated. It constituted a means of evading the inheritance requirements in Roman and

She Chi

2005-01-11T16:13:00.000-08:00

Pinyin �She Ji� (Chinese: �Earth and Millet�), ancient Chinese compound patron deity of the soil and harvests. China's earliest legendary emperors are said to have worshiped She (Earth), for they alone had responsibility for the entire earth and country. This worship was meant to include the five spirits of the earth that resided in mountains and forests, rivers and lakes, tidelands and

Lanchester, Frederick William

2005-01-10T02:33:00.000-08:00

In 1891, after attending Hartley University College (now the University of Southampton) and the National School of Science, Lanchester went to work for a gas-engine works in Birmingham. During his employment at the firm he improved its products

Papandreou, Andreas

2005-01-09T09:58:00.000-08:00

The son of Georgios Papandreou, he attended the American College in Athens and studied law at the University of Athens. A Trotskyite, he was imprisoned briefly by the dictator Ioannis Metaxas and, when freed, fled to the United States, where he received

Oahu

2005-01-08T14:28:00.000-08:00

Island, Honolulu county, Hawaii, U.S., separated from the islands of Kauai (northwest) and Molokai (southeast) by the Kauai and Kaiwi channels. Of volcanic origin with an area of 607 square miles (1,574 square km), Oahu is third in size and the most populated of the Hawaiian Islands. Two parallel mountain groups, the Koolau Range (see photograph) and Waianae Ranges, are connected by a central

Cyril And Methodius, Saints

2005-01-07T18:36:00.000-08:00

Brothers who for christianizing the Danubian Slavs and for influencing the religious and cultural development of all Slavic peoples received the title �the apostles of the Slavs.� Both were outstanding scholars, theologians, and

Periyar

2005-01-06T21:30:00.000-08:00

River and lake in southern Kerala state, southwestern India. The river, 140 mi (225 km) long, rises in the Western Ghats range near the border with Tamil Nadu state and flows north to Periyar Lake in Kottayam district. The lake, 12 sq mi (31 sq km) in area, is an artificial reservoir created by damming the river. It lies at an altitude of 2,800 ft (850 m), is ringed by mountain peaks, and is surrounded by a wildlife

Daud Khan, Mohammad

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

Educated in Kabul and France, Daud Khan, a cousin and brother-in-law of Zahir Shah, pursued a career in the military. He rose to command an army corps in 1939 and held the post of minister

China, The Y�an dynasty

2005-01-04T17:34:00.000-08:00

On Chinese contacts with Asia and the West, see E. Bretschneider, Mediaeval Research from Eastern Asiatic Sources: Fragments Towards the Knowledge of the Geography and History of Central and Western Asia from the 13th to the 17th Century, 2 vol. (1888, reprinted 1967); Herbert Franke, �Sino-Western Contacts Under the Mongol Empire,� Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 6:49 - 72 (1966); Leonard Olschki, Marco Polo's Asia: An Introduction to His �Description of the World� called �Il Milione� (1960; originally published in Italian, 1957); and Igor de Rachewiltz, Papal Envoys to the Great Khans (1971).

Jan Mayen

2005-01-03T03:32:00.000-08:00

Island, part of the Kingdom of Norway, in the Greenland Sea of the Arctic Ocean, about 300 mi (500 km) east of Greenland. It is approximately 35 mi long and 9 mi across at its widest point, with an area of 144 sq mi (373 sq km). It is the peak of a submarine volcanic ridge, and Beerenberg volcano (7,470 ft [2,277 m]), the last major eruption of which was in 1732, forms the Nord-Jan, the northeastern region of the island. The remainder,

Avon, River

2005-01-02T17:30:00.000-08:00

With a drainage area

Macaw

2005-01-01T11:20:00.000-08:00

Common name of about 18 species of large colourful parrots native to tropical America. These brightly coloured, long-tailed birds are some of the most spectacular parrots in the world. The sexes look alike, which is uncommon among vividly coloured birds. The cobalt-blue hyacinthine macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) of Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay is the

Great Dane

2004-12-31T14:22:00.000-08:00

Breed of working dog developed at least 400 years ago in Germany, where it was used for boar hunting. The Great Dane is typically a swift, alert dog noted for courage, friendliness, and dependability. It has a massive, square-jawed head, and body lines that give it an elegant appearance. Its short coat is black, golden brown, brindle, blue-gray, or white with black patches. The tallest

Hope

2004-12-30T13:32:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1939) of Hempstead county, southwestern Arkansas, U.S., about 35 miles (56 km) northeast of Texarkana. It was founded in 1852 as a station on the Cairo and Fulton (now Union Pacific) Railroad and was named for the daughter of James Loughborough, a railroad land commissioner who laid out the town site. It developed as a shipping centre for timber and agricultural products, notably

Antagonist

2004-12-29T09:42:00.000-08:00

In literature, the principal opponent or foil of the main character, who is referred to as the protagonist, in a drama or narrative. The word is from the Greek antagnistes, �opponent or rival.�

Hughes, (james Mercer) Langston

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

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

League

2004-12-27T17:45:00.000-08:00

Any of several European units of measurement ranging from 2.4 to 4.6 statute miles (3.9 to 7.4 km). In English-speaking countries the land league is generally accepted as 3 statute miles (4.83 km), although varying lengths from 7,500 feet to 15,000 feet (2.29 to 4.57 km) were sometimes employed. An ancient unit derived from the Gauls and introduced into England by the Normans, the league was estimated by the Romans

Basil I

2004-12-26T01:40:00.000-08:00

Basil came of a peasant family that had settled in Macedonia, perhaps of Armenian origin. He was a handsome and physically powerful man who gained employment in influential official circles in Constantinople and was fortunate

Tiwanaku

2004-12-25T03:45:00.000-08:00

Some scholars date the earliest remains found at the site to the early part of the Early Intermediate Period (c. 200 BC - AD 200); others suggest that the culture is evident in artifacts

Bridges, Robert (seymour)

2004-12-24T14:51:00.000-08:00

From 1869 until 1882 Bridges

Jackson, Robert H(oughwout)

2004-12-23T04:08:00.000-08:00

An adept scholar, Jackson pleaded his first case by special permission while still a minor and was admitted to the bar at the age of 21. He served as corporation counsel for Jamestown, N.Y., and, after the Stock Market Crash of 1929, helped merge the city's three financial institutions,

Silk Road

2004-12-22T09:27:00.000-08:00

Originating at Sian, the 4,000-mile (6,400-kilometre) road, actually a caravan tract, followed the Great Wall

Ithna 'ashariyah

2004-12-21T18:49:00.000-08:00

Each of the imams - 'Ali, his sons Hasan and Husayn, 'Ali Zayn al-'Abidin, Muhammad al-Baqir, Ja'far as-Sadiq, Musa al-Kazim, 'Ali ar-Rida, Muhammad al-Jawad, 'Ali al-Hadi, Hasan al-'Askari, and Muhammad

Gary

2004-12-20T02:11:00.000-08:00

City, Lake county, extreme northwest Indiana, U.S. It lies at the southern end of Lake Michigan in the Calumet district east of Chicago. In 1906 the town (named for Elbert H. Gary, chief organizer of the United States Steel Corporation) was laid out as an adjunct of the company's vast new manufacturing complex. The site was chosen because it lay on navigable water midway between

Tapestry, Eastern Asia

2004-12-19T11:25:00.000-08:00

Called k'o-ssu (cut silk), tapestry has long been produced in China, traditionally being made entirely of silk; Chinese tapestries are extremely fine in texture and light in weight. The weave is finished perfectly on both sides so that the tapestries are reversible. The warps are vertical in relation to the pattern, rather than horizontal as in European weaving. Sometimes

Drafting

2004-12-18T16:54:00.000-08:00

At the design stage, both freehand and mechanical drawings serve the functions of inspiring and guiding the designer and of communicating among the designer, collaborators,

Heredity, Multiple alleles

2004-12-17T14:33:00.000-08:00

The traits discussed so far all have been governed by the interaction of two possible alleles. Many genes, however, are represented by multiple allelic forms within a population. (One individual, of course, can possess only two of these multiple alleles.) Human blood groups - in this case, the well-known ABO system - again provide an example. The gene that governs ABO blood

Tsong-kha-pa

2004-12-16T22:46:00.000-08:00

Tibetan lama who founded a new Tibetan Buddhist sect known as the Dge-lugs-pa (q.v.), literally �Model of Virtue� but more commonly referred to as the Yellow Hat sect to distinguish it from the older Red Hat sect. Hoping to restore monastic discipline, Tsong-kha-pa enforced celibacy, required the wearing of yellow robes, and insisted on adherence to a rigorous routine. The

Tigellinus, Ofonius

2004-12-15T14:01:00.000-08:00

A Sicilian by birth, Tigellinus was prefect of the vigiles (�fire brigades�) before becoming prefect of the Praetorian Guard in 62. Early sources maintain that he rose to power by encouraging Nero in his vices. He actively pressed Nero's reign

Becket, Saint Thomas

2004-12-14T13:33:00.000-08:00

Thomas was born to Norman parents of the merchant class. He was educated first at Merton priory, then in a City of London school, and finally at Paris. Deeply influenced in childhood by a devout mother who died when he was 21, Thomas entered adult life as a city clerk and accountant in the service of the sheriffs. After three years he was introduced by his father to Archbishop

Habitual Offender

2004-12-13T07:07:00.000-08:00

Person who frequently has been convicted of criminal behaviour and is presumed to be a danger to society. In an attempt to protect society from such criminals, penal systems throughout the world provide for lengthier terms of imprisonment for them than for first-time offenders. In the 1990s habitual-offender laws became harsher, and in extreme cases some offenders

Mormaer

2004-12-12T00:53:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Mormaor� (from Gaelic mor, �great�; maer, or maor, �steward,� or �bailiff�), ruler of any of seven provinces into which Celtic Scotland (i.e., the part of the country north of the Forth and the Clyde) was divided. This Celtic title was rendered jarl by the Norsemen and after the 12th century, under Anglo-Norman influence, �earl.� The seven mormaerships, or original �earldoms,� of Scotland were Angus, Atholl

Haber, Fritz

2004-12-11T03:50:00.000-08:00

German physical chemist, winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1918) for his development of a method of synthesizing ammonia. With Carl Bosch, he invented a process for the large-scale production of ammonia for use in nitrogen fertilizer.

Araraquara

2004-12-10T04:27:00.000-08:00

City, in the highlands of central S�o Paulo state, Brazil, at 2,119 ft (646 m) above sea level on a tributary of the Rio Jacar�-Gua�u. Formerly known as Freguesia de S�o Bento de Araraquara, it was given town status in 1817 and was made the seat of a municipality in 1832. Araraquara's industries process sugarcane and coffee from the hinterland. Textiles, liquor, and furniture are also produced

Tasmania, Self-government and Federation

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

Once the importation and exploitation of convicts had ended, the way opened for the grant of colonial self-government in 1855 - 56. Tasmania became the colony's official name, a portent of a happier age. Yet penalism had given the island an economic undergirding and historical import that have never been matched. Post-1860 Tasmania continued to be shadowed by its Vandiemonian