GreenNeedle

Kuan Ti

2005-04-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

Kuan Ti's immense popularity with the common people rests on the firm belief that his control over evil spirits is so great that even actors who play his part in dramas share his power over demons. Kuan Ti is not only a natural favourite of soldiers but has been chosen patron of numerous trades and professions. Peddlers of bean curd, for example, take

Argentina, Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego

2005-04-05T09:21:00.000-07:00

Patagonia contains zones of deciduous Andean forests and, east of the Andes, of steppe and desert. The largest area—the steppe region—lies in northern Patagonia between the Colorado River and the port city of Comodoro Rivadavia. This zone represents an extension southward of the monte, which gives way gradually to a xerophytic shrub region without trees except

Poison, Classification based on physical form

2005-04-04T20:44:00.000-07:00

Because solids are generally not well absorbed into the blood, they must be dissolved in the aqueous liquid lining the intestinal tract if ingested or the respiratory tract if inhaled. Solids dissolve at different rates in fluids, however. For example,

Hanabilah

2005-04-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

Also called Madhhab Hanbal , English Hanbalites in Islam, the most fundamentalist of the four Sunni schools of religious law. Based on the teachings of Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855), the Hanbali legal school (madhhab) emphasized virtually complete dependence on the divine in the establishment of legal theory and rejected personal opinion (ra'y), analogy (qiyas), and the Hellenistic dogma of the Mu'tazilah school of theology, on the grounds

Central Asia, History Of, The Uzbeks

2005-04-03T01:46:00.000-08:00

The early history of the Uzbek people (whose rulers were descendants of a younger brother of Batu, khan of the Golden Horde) is wrapped in obscurity, but by the mid-15th century they had migrated from their original homeland, east of the Ural Mountains, southeast toward the lower Syr Darya, whence, under their leader, Abu'l-Khayr Khan, they began to threaten the Timurids across

Pippin

2005-04-02T03:24:00.000-08:00

Given the title of king of Italy in 781, Pippin took part in campaigns against Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria from 787 and led an army against the Avars in 796. His Venetian campaign (809–810) enabled Charlemagne later to come to favourable terms with the Byzantine Empire. As early as 806, Charlemagne, in planning the division

Lancisi, Giovanni Maria

2005-04-01T23:01:00.000-08:00

Lancisi graduated in medicine from the University of Rome at age 18. He was appointed physician to Pope Innocent XI in 1688 and subsequently was physician to Popes Innocent XII and Clement XI. Lancisi's monographs on influenza, cattle plague (rinderpest), and

Mabinogion

2005-04-01T17:29:00.000-08:00

The finest of the tales are the four related

Shahpura

2005-04-01T13:59:00.000-08:00

Town, south-central Rajasthan state, northwestern India. It is a major road junction and agricultural mart. A walled town, Shahpura was founded about 1629 and was named after the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who reigned from 1628 to 1658. The town was the seat of the Ramsanehi (“Lovers of Rama”), a medieval sect of mendicants, and was the capital of the former princely state of Shahpura, which became

Abel, Sir Frederick Augustus

2005-03-30T22:19:00.000-08:00

English chemist and explosives specialist who, with the chemist Sir James Dewar, invented cordite (1889), later adopted as the standard explosive of the British army. Abel also made studies of dust explosions in coal mines, invented a device for testing the flash point of petroleum, and found a way to prevent guncotton from

Anglo-norman Literature

2005-03-30T09:25:00.000-08:00

Also called Norman-french Literature, or Anglo-french Literature, body of writings in the Old French language as used in medieval England. Though this dialect had been introduced to English court circles in Edward the Confessor's time, its history really began with the Norman Conquest in 1066, when it became the vernacular of the court, the law, the church, schools, universities, parliament, and later of municipalities and of trade. For the

Bulgarus

2005-03-30T08:29:00.000-08:00

Although popular tradition claims that all four doctors—Bulgarus, Martinus Gosia, Hugo da Porta Ravennate, and Jacobus

Smith, Joseph F(ielding)

2005-03-28T04:29:00.000-08:00

After his uncle Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, and his father, Hyrum Smith, were murdered in Carthage, Ill., in 1844, he and his mother fled with the majority of the Mormons to Utah. Made an apostle of the church

Bedford

2005-03-28T03:49:00.000-08:00

Borough (town), seat (1771) of Bedford county, southern Pennsylvania, U.S., on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Raystown Branch Juniata River, in the Allegheny Mountains, 38 miles (61 km) south of Altoona. A settlement made on the site about 1750 by John Wray (or Ray), a Scottish trader, was known as Raystown. Fort Bedford (built 1758 and apparently named for John Russell, 4th duke of Bedford) was a frontier

Olympic Games, Antwerp, Belgium, 1920

2005-03-27T13:55:00.000-08:00

The city, plagued by bad weather and economic woes, had a very short time to clean up the rubble left

Alcibiades

2005-03-26T07:16:00.000-08:00

Well-born and wealthy, Alcibiades was only a small boy when his father—who was in command of the Athenian army—was killed

Argentina, Transitional period

2005-03-26T06:29:00.000-08:00

The military government faced several urgent and difficult problems, including the decision of whether to remain neutral or choose sides in the war. It also had to decide between the restoration of a representative system and the installation of a long-term military dictatorship. General Arturo Rawson was made president but resigned after two days when his anticonservative

Kyrenia Mountains

2005-03-26T00:24:00.000-08:00

Mountain range in northern Cyprus extending east to west for about 100 miles (160 km) from Cape Andreas, on the Karpas Peninsula, to Cape Kormakiti. Rising from the coast a short distance inland, the range flanks a narrow coastal plain and reaches a maximum height of 3,360 feet (1,024 m) at Mount Kyparissovouno, in the western region, ending in low hills at the tip of Cape Andreas in the east.

Borel, émile

2005-03-24T07:53:00.000-08:00

The son of a Protestant pastor, Borel exhibited his mathematical talent from a young

United Kingdom, The beginning of the Wars of the Roses

2005-03-24T01:57:00.000-08:00

The so-called Wars of the Roses was the struggle between the Yorkist and Lancastrian descendants of Edward III for control of the throne and of local government. The origins of the conflict have been the subject of much debate. It can be seen as brought about as a result of Henry VI's inadequacy and the opposition of his dynastic rival Richard, Duke of York, but local feuds

Argentina, Transportation

2005-03-24T01:54:00.000-08:00

During the Spanish colonial period there were three principal overland transportation routes. The most important led from Buenos Aires to the wealthy mining centre in Upper Peru (now Bolivia) via the northwestern route through Córdoba, Santiago del Estero, San Miguel de Tucumán, and San Salvador de Jujuy. A second route linked Buenos Aires with Chile westward through

Earth Sciences

2005-03-23T16:21:00.000-08:00

Addison, Thomas

2005-03-22T21:02:00.000-08:00

In 1837 Addison became a full

Syrtis Major

2005-03-22T08:35:00.000-08:00

Distinctive dark marking on the surface of the planet Mars, centred near 290° W and 10° N, which extends some 1,500 km (930 miles) north from the planet's equator and spans 1,000 km (620 miles) from west to east. It was noticed as early as 1659, for it appears in a drawing of Mars of that date by Christiaan Huygens. It is an extensive regional slope elongated north to south that drops 4 km (2.5 miles) from its western

Zoochlorella

2005-03-22T04:25:00.000-08:00

Plural Zoochlorellae, any small green alga (often Chlorella) or, sometimes, flagellate protozoan (e.g., the chlamydomonad Carteria) that lives within the bodies of various freshwater protozoans and invertebrates. Zoochlorellae often colour their hosts green (e.g., green hydra and green Paramecium bursaria). As symbionts, zoochlorellae use carbon dioxide and nitrogenous and phosphorous

Aksak

2005-03-21T01:24:00.000-08:00

Also called Bulgarian Rhythm, variety of musical metre characterized by combinations of unequal units of beats, such as 2 plus 3 or 3 plus 2 and their extensions. Thus 3 + 3 + 2, or 2 + 3 + 3, produces 8/8 units quite unlike the 4/4 common to Western music. As non-Western music, as well as eastern European folk music, began to exert influence in the West, aksak rhythms found their way into the works of a number of 20th-century composers

Empiricism, Fundamental distinctions

2005-03-20T19:42:00.000-08:00

If the blurring of the distinction between concepts and propositions has confused discussions of Empiricism, another influence at least equally vexing is that which, embodied in the traditional terminology of the debate, contrasts the empirical not with the a priori but with the innate. Since logical problems are easily confused with psychological problems,

Andrada E Silva, José Bonifácio De

2005-03-20T03:48:00.000-08:00

Andrada went to Portugal as a student and became a distinguished scholar there, earning an international reputation as a naturalist and geologist. He remained in Portugal until

Argentina, National consolidation, 185280

2005-03-20T02:57:00.000-08:00

General Urquiza called a constitutional convention that met in Santa Fe in 1852. Buenos Aires refused to participate, but the convention adopted a constitution for the whole country that went into effect on May 25, 1853. Buenos Aires recoiled from the new confederation, the first elected president of which was Urquiza and the first capital of which was Paraná. The porteño dissidence

Frederick William

2005-03-19T03:32:00.000-08:00

Elector of Hesse-Kassel from 1847 after 16 years' co-regency with his father; he was noted for his reactionary stand against liberalizing trends manifested during the revolutionary events of 1848. In 1850 he re-instated an unpopular adviser, Hans Daniel Hassenpflug, who called on the German Confederation to restore by force the authority of the elector. At the end of

Bothe, Walther

2005-03-18T13:22:00.000-08:00

Bothe taught at the universities of Berlin (1920–31), Giessen (1931–34), and Heidelberg (1934–57). In 1925 he and Hans Geiger used two Geiger counters to gather data on the Compton

Azariah, The Prayer Of

2005-03-17T22:32:00.000-08:00

The Prayer of Azariah and the accompanying Song of the Three Young Men form part of chapter three and embellish the story of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, three young Jewish men who were bound and

Pachacamac

2005-03-17T11:01:00.000-08:00

Large pre-Columbian ruin located in the Lurin Valley on the central coast of present-day Peru. The earliest major occupation and construction of Pachacamac dates to the Early Intermediate Period (c. 200 BC–AD 600) and to a culture generally known as Early Lima (Maranga, Interlocking style). The terraced adobe pyramid and temple known as the Temple of Pachacamac belongs to this time

Mies Van Der Rohe, Ludwig

2005-03-17T02:15:00.000-08:00

Original name Maria Ludwig Michael Mies German-born American architect whose rectilinear forms, crafted in elegant simplicity, epitomized the International Style (q.v.) of architecture.

Biblical Literature, Psalms

2005-03-16T07:28:00.000-08:00

The Psalms (from Greek psalmas, “song”) are poems and hymns, dating from various periods in the history of Israel, that were assembled for use at public worship and that have continued to play a central role in the liturgy and prayer life of both Jews and Christians. Known in Hebrew as Tehillim (Songs of Praise), the Psalter (the traditional English term for the Psalms, from

Ear Squeeze

2005-03-15T20:47:00.000-08:00

The middle ear, the cavity behind the eardrum membrane, is connected with the nasal cavity (nasopharynx) by

Gabriel

2005-03-15T14:03:00.000-08:00

The son of an African-born mother, Gabriel grew up as the slave of Thomas H. Prosser. Gabriel became a deeply religious man, strongly influenced

Arnica

2005-03-15T05:57:00.000-08:00

One of the most important species (A. montana) is a perennial herb of northern and central European

Epistilbite

2005-03-14T11:02:00.000-08:00

Hydrated sodium and calcium aluminosilicate mineral in the zeolite family. It forms piezoelectric crystals of monoclinic symmetry and platy habit; the latter property has caused epistilbite to be assigned to a group typified by heulandite (q.v.). More recently, X-ray diffraction studies have shown that the three-dimensional structure of epistilbite's aluminosilicate

Electronic Music, Tape music

2005-03-14T01:38:00.000-08:00

With tape music the history of electronic music in the narrower sense begins. This history seems split into three main periods: an early (by now classical) period lasting from the commercial introduction of the tape recorder immediately following World War II until about 1960; a second period that featured the introduction of electronic music synthesizers and the

Saint Catherine's

2005-03-13T23:59:00.000-08:00

Greek Orthodox monastery situated on Mount Sinai more than 5,000 feet (1,500 m) above sea level in a narrow valley north of Mount Musa in the Sinai peninsula. Often incorrectly called the Sinai Independent Greek Orthodox Church, the monastic foundation is the smallest of the autonomous churches that together constitute the Eastern Orthodox church. The abbot of the monastery,

São João Del Rei

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

City, south-central Minas Gerais estado (“state”), Brazil. It lies along the Lenheiro River on a site sandwiched between two hills, at 2,822 feet (860 m) above sea level. Originally a gold-mining town, it was given city status in 1838. The city retains a colonial atmosphere and has two notable 18th-century Baroque churches, the Carmo and the Church of São Francisco de Assis, with sculptures by

Carter, Howard

2005-03-11T23:29:00.000-08:00

At the age of 17 Carter joined the British-sponsored archaeological survey of Egypt. He made (1893–99) drawings of the sculptures and inscriptions at the terraced

Moses, Grandma

2005-03-11T17:31:00.000-08:00

Anna Robertson had only sporadic periods of schooling during her childhood. At age 12 she left her parents' farm and worked as a hired girl until she married

Abauzit, Firmin

2005-03-11T15:09:00.000-08:00

Abauzit was born of Huguenot parents and was sent at age 10 to live in Geneva so that he would escape the strictures (enforced Roman Catholicism) brought about by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. In 1698 he undertook an extensive journey through Germany, the Netherlands,

Biblical Literature, Joel

2005-03-11T04:43:00.000-08:00

The Book of Joel, the second of the Twelve (Minor) Prophets, is a short work of only three chapters. The dates of Joel (whose name means “Yahweh is God”) are difficult to ascertain. Some scholars believe that the work comes from the Persian period (539–331 BCE); others hold that it was written soon after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. His references to a locust plague may refer to an actual calamity

West End

2005-03-10T07:16:00.000-08:00

In London, loosely defined area in the boroughs of Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea. Because many of its neighbourhoods and retail districts are among the more affluent of the metropolis, the West End is considered the fashionable end of London. For centuries it has been known for its royal palaces, parklands, government offices, mansions, and exclusive shopping

Guatemala, History Of

2005-03-09T21:40:00.000-08:00

Following independence from Spain (1821) and Mexico (1823), Guatemala was the political centre of the United Provinces of Central America. The principal factor in the collapse of the federation was the backcountry uprising in Guatemala led by Rafael Carrera, who established himself as the military arbiter of the state (1838) and, from the executive's chair or from behind it, controlled

Confessing Church

2005-03-09T20:51:00.000-08:00

German Bekennende Kirche, movement for revival within the German Protestant churches that developed during the 1930s from their resistance to Adolf Hitler's attempt to make the churches an instrument of National Socialist (Nazi) propaganda and politics. The German Protestant tradition of close cooperation between church and state, as well as dislike for the Weimar Republic that governed

Ogham Writing

2005-03-09T19:19:00.000-08:00

Ogham also spelled Ogam, or Ogum, alphabetic script dating from the 4th century AD, used for writing the Irish and Pictish languages on stone monuments; according to Irish tradition, it was also used for writing on pieces of wood, but there is no material evidence for this. In its simplest form, ogham consists of four sets of strokes, or notches, each set containing five letters composed of from one to five

Egypt, The Western Desert

2005-03-08T20:45:00.000-08:00

The Western Desert comprises two-thirds of the land surface of Egypt and covers an area of about 262,800 square miles. From its highest altitude—more than 3,300 feet—on the plateau of al-Jilf al-Kabir in the southeast, the rocky plateau slopes gradually northeastward to the first of the depressions that are a characteristic feature of the Western Desert—that containing the oases

Rose, Hugh Henry, Baron Strathnairn Of Strathnairn And Of Jhansi

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

Son of the diplomat Sir George Rose, he was educated and received his military training in Berlin and entered the British army in 1820. From 1841 to 1848 he was consul general in Syria. As British liaison officer at French headquarters during the Crimean War,

Aesthetics, Emotion, response, and enjoyment

2005-03-07T06:25:00.000-08:00

It is natural to suppose that a spectator's response to King Lear is at least in part emotional, and that emotion plays a crucial role both in the enjoyment of art and in establishing the value of art. Moreover, it is not only art that stirs our emotions in the act of aesthetic attention: the same is or may be true of natural beauty whether that of a face or of a landscape. These

Teófilo Otoni

2005-03-07T05:21:00.000-08:00

City, east central Minas Gerais state, Brazil, on the Rio Todos os Santos in the Rio Mucuri Valley, at 1,047 ft (319 m) above sea level. It was given city status in 1878. Teófilo Otoni is a trade centre for an agricultural hinterland in which coffee is the principal crop. Livestock raising is also of some importance, and the city has manufacturing and food-processing plants. Extensive mining

Scale Worm

2005-03-06T17:43:00.000-08:00

The somewhat arched back of the scale worm is covered with flattened pairs of overlapping scales. A

Narameikhla

2005-03-06T04:24:00.000-08:00

When Arakan became the scene of a struggle between rival centres of power in the 15th century, Narameikhla, the son of King Rajathu (reigned 1397–1401), was forced in the first year

Lur

2005-03-05T02:09:00.000-08:00

The Lurs and their neighbours, the Bakhtyari, are partly agricultural and partly pastoral tribes. Lush grazing pastures between the mountain ranges enabled the

Anzali, Bandar-e

2005-03-05T01:03:00.000-08:00

Founded in the early 19th century, the town lies on both sides of the entrance to Mordab Lagoon. It was occupied by the Russians in 1920; they declared a Soviet Republic of Gilan, but that entity

Auchincloss, Louis

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

Auchincloss studied at Yale University from 1935 to 1939 and graduated from the University of Virginia Law School in 1941. He was admitted to the New York state bar that same year and began a legal career that would last

Difference Equation

2005-03-04T15:56:00.000-08:00

Mathematical equality involving the differences between successive values of a function of a discrete variable. A discrete variable is one that is defined or of interest only for values that differ by some finite amount, usually a constant and often 1; for example, the discrete variable x may have the values x0 = a, x1 = a + 1, x2 = a + 2, . . . , xn = a + n. The function y has the corresponding values y0, y1, y2, . . . , yn, from which the

Appian Of Alexandria

2005-03-03T21:56:00.000-08:00

In addition to a lost autobiography, Appian wrote in Greek a Romaica,

Price, Thomas

2005-03-03T09:09:00.000-08:00

A stonecutter in England, Price emigrated to South Australia in 1883, continued his trade, and served as secretary of the masons and bricklayers union (1891–93). At one time he worked in

Rocky Mountains, Physiography

2005-03-02T20:23:00.000-08:00

The Canadian Rockies include the Mackenzie and Selwyn mountains of the Yukon and Northwest Territories (sometimes called the Arctic Rockies) and the ranges of western Alberta and eastern British Columbia. The Northern Rockies include the Lewis and Bitterroot ranges of western Montana and northeastern Idaho. These ranges formed along the eastern edge of a region

Moscow Canal

2005-03-02T08:11:00.000-08:00

Russian Kanal Moskva, ship waterway linking Moscow to the Volga River at Ivankovo, north of Moscow. Built between 1932 and 1937, the canal replaced the canalized Moskva River, which can take only small craft, as the main water access to Moscow. The water journey to the important industrial centre of Nizhny Novgorod (formerly Gorky) was shortened by 75 miles (120 km). Along the Moscow Canal's length of 80 miles (128 km)

Dietrich, Marlene

2005-03-01T17:14:00.000-08:00

Marie Magdalene was the daughter of Ludwig Dietrich, a Royal Prussian police officer. Her father died when she was very young, and her mother remarried a cavalry officer, Edouard von Losch.

Ghaziabad

2005-03-01T13:36:00.000-08:00

Formerly Ghaziuddinnagar, town, administrative headquarters of Ghaziabad district, Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. Founded in 1740, it is located on the Grand Trunk Road 12 mi (19 km) east of New Delhi. Modern Ghaziabad is a rapidly developing industrial town. Many workers commute daily to New Delhi, where goods produced in Ghaziabad are also marketed. Manufacturing and processing industries include vegetable

Antarctica, The development of IGY

2005-02-28T02:17:00.000-08:00

The idea for more frequent programs was born in 1950, when it was proposed that scientists take advantage of increasing technological developments, interest in polar regions, and, not the least, the maximum sunspot activity expected in 1957–58. (The earlier, second polar year was a year of sunspot minimum.) The idea quickly germinated and grew: a formalized version was adopted by

France, History Of, The Civil Code

2005-02-27T05:38:00.000-08:00

The Napoleonic Civil Code, however, had a far greater impact on postrevolutionary society than did the social innovations. This ambitious work of legal codification, perhaps the crowning glory of the Council of State, consolidated certain basic principles established in 1789: civil equality and equality before the law; the abolition of feudalism in favour of modern

Aeschylus

2005-02-25T15:29:00.000-08:00

One of a trilogy of unconnected tragedies presented in 472 BC, Persians (Greek Persai) is unique among surviving tragedies in that it dramatizes recent history rather than events from the distant age of mythical heroes. The play treats the decisive repulse of the Persians from Greece in 480, in particular their defeat at the Battle of Salamis. The play is set in the Persian capital,

Athanaric

2005-02-25T08:32:00.000-08:00

Visigothic chieftain from 364 to 376 who fiercely persecuted the Christians in Dacia (approximately modern Romania). The persecutions occurred between 369 and 372; his most important victim was St. Sabas the Goth. In 376 Athanaric was defeated by the Huns. He fled with a few followers to Transylvania (region in present-day Romania), but the bulk of his people, led by Fritigern, fled to the

World War Ii, The Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the North Sea, 194245

2005-02-25T02:42:00.000-08:00

The year 1942 was, on the whole, a favourable one for the German U-boats. First, the U.S. entry into the war entitled them to infest the U.S. coast of the North Atlantic; and it was not until the middle of the year that the Allies' introduction of the convoy system from the Caribbean northward constrained the raiders to go so far afield as the waters between Brazil and West Africa. Second,

Yingqing Ware

2005-02-24T16:04:00.000-08:00

Yingqing (“shadowy blue”) ware is distinctive

Nicaea, Empire Of

2005-02-23T10:40:00.000-08:00

Theodore fled to Anatolia with other Byzantine leaders after the Latin crusaders' conquest of Constantinople in 1204, establishing

Regino Von Prüm,

2005-02-23T10:33:00.000-08:00

Born to a noble family, Regino joined the Benedictine monastic order at the flourishing Abbey of Prüm and studied theology and canon law. He was elected

Lamian War

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

Also called Greek War (323–322 BC) conflict in which Athenian independence was lost despite efforts by Athens and its Aetolian allies to free themselves from Macedonian domination after the death of Alexander the Great. Athenian democratic leaders, in conjunction with the Aetolian League, fielded an army of 30,000 men in October 323. They seized Thermopylae and kept a Macedonian army under Antipater blockaded

Jaca

2005-02-22T23:09:00.000-08:00

City, Huesca provincia, in the communidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Aragon, northeastern Spain, on the plateau on the southern bank of the Aragón River, just south of the French border. Of ancient origin, the city was captured by the Romans in 194 BC and surrounded by walls, which, with medieval additions, still partly stand. In 716 it was taken by the Moors and, under the name

Mercedes

2005-02-22T21:56:00.000-08:00

City, southwestern Uruguay, on the Negro River. The city, which was founded in 1781, is noted for its colonial architecture, beaches, a river promenade, and summertime regattas and tennis tournaments. Although much of the city's income derives from tourism, it functions as an administrative, commercial, ranching, and agricultural centre and has several industries. Mercedes

Japan Trench

2005-02-21T17:55:00.000-08:00

Deep submarine trench lying east of the Japanese islands, in the floor of the western North Pacific Ocean. It is one of a series of depressions stretching south from the Kuril Trench and the Bonin Trench to the Mariana Trench. The 27,929-foot (8,513-metre) Tuscarora Deep (north) was once considered the deepest point in the world (subsequently found to be in the Mariana Trench).

Gartok

2005-02-21T10:07:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Ka-erh-tu, Ka-ta-k'o, or (Pinyin) Garyarsa, town in the Tibetan autonomous ch'ü (region), western China. It is located at an elevation of 14,630 feet (4,460 m) at the foot of the Kailas Range on the Gar (Ka-erh) River, which is one of the headwaters of the Yin-tu (Indus) River. Gartok is an important route centre on the main road through the southern Tibetan region from Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, to Jammu and Kashmir. Historically Gartok

Novi Pazar

2005-02-20T21:49:00.000-08:00

Town, southern Serbia, Yugoslavia. It lies in the Raška River valley, in rough and hilly country near the site of Ras, which was the capital city of the medieval Serbian state in the 12th–14th century. In the vicinity are Roman baths, and the Church of St. Peter, one of the oldest in Yugoslavia (7th or 8th century), is an interesting example of early Slav architecture. A few miles west is

Alcoa

2005-02-20T19:38:00.000-08:00

City, Blount county, eastern Tennessee, U.S., about 15 miles (25 km) south of Knoxville and adjacent to Maryville. The city is a gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which lies to the southeast. It was founded in 1913 by the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) on a tract of land known as North Maryville. In 1910 the first of a series of power dams was begun on the nearby Little Tennessee

Uzhhorod

2005-02-20T18:30:00.000-08:00

Russian Uzhgorod, also spelled Uzgorod, Hungarian Ungvár, city and administrative centre of Zakarpattya oblast (province), western Ukraine. It is situated along the Uzh River just east of the Slovakian border. It was first mentioned in 903, and its position has long given it trading and military significance. Formerly in Austria-Hungary, it passed to Czechoslovakia in 1919, to Hungary in 1938, back to Czechoslovakia in 1945, and to the Soviet

Philemon

2005-02-19T10:02:00.000-08:00

As a playwright Philemon was noted for his neatly contrived plots, vivid description, dramatic surprises, and platitudinous moralizing. By 328 he was producing plays in Athens, where he eventually became a citizen; he also worked in Alexandria for a time.

England, Theatre

2005-02-18T17:17:00.000-08:00

Theatre is probably the performing art for which England is best known. Theatrical performance as such emerged during the Middle Ages in the form of mumming plays, which borrowed elements from wandering entertainers, traditional and ancient folk agricultural rituals, and dances such as the Morris dance (with its set character parts). Under the influence of Christianity,

Irish Language

2005-02-18T10:44:00.000-08:00

Grammatically, Irish still has a case system, like Latin or German, with four cases to show differing functions of nouns and pronouns in a sentence. In phonology

Berezovsky, Boris

2005-02-18T06:34:00.000-08:00

When Russian Pres. Boris Yeltsin resigned, Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky lost his status as a Kremlin insider and one of Russia's most powerful men. Yeltsin's successor, Vladimir Putin, came to power in 2000 promising to “liquidate the oligarchs as a class.” By year's end Berezovsky had been ousted from Kremlin circles and was facing a criminal investigation into his business

Gillars, Mildred

2005-02-17T16:08:00.000-08:00

Gillars was an aspiring actress who played minor parts in some American theatrical touring companies. She attended Ohio Wesleyan University but left in 1922. In 1929 she traveled to North Africa, with the intention of going on to Europe. In 1934 she

Samuel Of Nehardea

2005-02-16T20:03:00.000-08:00

What is known about Samuel's life is a combination of speculation and legend. According to one tradition he may have been a disciple of the Palestinian

Tarantella

2005-02-15T17:01:00.000-08:00

Couple folk dance of Italy characterized by light, quick steps and teasing, flirtatious behaviour between partners; women dancers frequently carry tambourines. The music is in lively 6/8 time. Tarantellas for two couples are also danced. The tarantella's origin is connected with tarantism, a disease or form of hysteria that appeared in Italy in the 15th to the 17th

Tabla

2005-02-15T01:56:00.000-08:00

Pair of small drums fundamental (since the 18th century) to Hindustani music of northern India. The higher-pitched of the two drums, which is played with the right hand, is also referred to individually as the tabla or as the daya (dahina or dayan, meaning “right”). It is a single-headed drum usually of wood and having the profile of two truncated cones bulging at the centre,

Fibroma

2005-02-15T01:39:00.000-08:00

Any benign tumour of fibrous tissue. Specific fibromas include nonossifying fibroma, found in the large long bones; it is relatively common in older children and young adults. Fibromas can occur in many areas of the body and may remain symptomless throughout life.

Léger, Fernand

2005-02-14T08:19:00.000-08:00

Léger was born into a peasant family in a small town in Normandy. He served a two-year apprenticeship in an architect's

Salamis, Battle Of

2005-02-13T09:50:00.000-08:00

(480 BC), battle in the Greco-Persian Wars in which a Greek fleet defeated much larger Persian naval forces in the straits at Salamis, between the island of Salamis and the Athenian port-city of Piraeus. By 480 the Persian king Xerxes and his army had overrun much of Greece, and his navy of about 800 galleys bottled up the smaller Greek fleet of about 370 triremes in the Saronic Gulf. The Greek

Nephrology

2005-02-13T04:07:00.000-08:00

Branch of medicine concerned with the study of kidney functions and the treatment of kidney diseases. The first scientific observations of the kidney were made by Lorenzo Bellini and Marcello Malpighi in the middle of the 17th century, but true physiological understanding of the kidney began with Carl Ludwig's 1844 hypothesis that blood pressure forces waste fluids

Moscicki, Ignacy

2005-02-13T00:53:00.000-08:00

Moscicki was educated as a chemist. He joined the nationalistic Polish Socialist Party in the early 1890s and was involved in an attempt on the life of the governor-general

Skaz

2005-02-12T19:50:00.000-08:00

The word is of Russian origin and literally means “tale”; it is derived from skazat,

Arrupe, Pedro

2005-02-11T23:21:00.000-08:00

Arrupe studied medicine at the University of Madrid, but, after witnessing the poverty in that city, he left school to join the Jesuits in 1927. When the Spanish government dissolved the Jesuit order in Spain in 1932, Arrupe continued his religious studies elsewhere in Europe and in the United States,

Pueblo

2005-02-11T08:30:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1861) of Pueblo county, south-central Colorado, U.S., situated on the Arkansas River, near its confluence with Fountain Creek, at an elevation of 4,690 feet (1,430 metres). Jim Beckwourth, a trader and onetime war chief of the Crow Indians, established a trading post, Fort Pueblo, on the site in 1842; the post was abandoned in 1854 following a period of hostilities between whites and Indians.

David, Gerard

2005-02-11T02:58:00.000-08:00

In his early work, such as the “Christ Nailed to the Cross” (c. 1480; National Gallery, London)

Anne Arundel

2005-02-10T22:04:00.000-08:00

County, central Maryland, U.S. It is bounded by the Patapsco River to the north, Chesapeake Bay to the east, and the Patuxent River to the west and is linked across the bay to Kent Island in Queen Anne's county by the William Preston Lane, Jr., Memorial Bridge (completed 1952). The low-lying coast is lined with tidal estuaries such as those of the Magothy, Severn, South, and West