ProbableGlove

Aisén

2005-04-05T04:15:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Aysén , in full Aisén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo región, southern Chile, bounded on the east by Argentina and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Aisén includes the Chonos Archipelago, the Taitao Peninsula, and the mainland between the Palena River in the north and O'Higgins Lake in the south. It is divided into the provinces of Aisén, General Carrera, Coihaique, and Capitán Pratt. In the south and east the Andes Mountains

Girl Scouts

2005-04-03T22:51:00.000-07:00

Also called (in Great Britain and some other countries) Girl Guides worldwide organization for girls, dedicated to training them in citizenship, good conduct, and outdoor activities. Robert (later Lord) Baden-Powell founded the Girl Guides in Great Britain in 1910 in response to the requests of girls who were interested in the Boy Scout movement established by him in 1908. The first Girl Scout troop in the United States was formed in 1912 by Juliette

Hugo, Victor (-marie)

2005-03-31T20:33:00.000-08:00

Poet, novelist, and dramatist who was the most important of the French Romantic writers. Though regarded in France as one of that country's greatest poets, he is better known abroad for such novels as Notre-Dame de Paris (1831) and Les Misérables (1862).

Computers, Lady Lovelace: The first programmer

2005-03-30T13:02:00.000-08:00

Augusta Ada King, the countess of Lovelace, was the daughter of the poet Lord George Gordon

Alanine

2005-03-28T04:31:00.000-08:00

Either of two amino acids, one of which (a-alanine) is a constituent of proteins. An especially rich source of a-alanine is silk fibroin, from which the amino acid was first isolated in 1879. Alanine is one of several so-called nonessential amino acids for birds and mammals; i.e., they can synthesize it from pyruvic acid (formed in the breakdown of carbohydrates) and do not require

Accordion

2005-03-26T05:45:00.000-08:00

The advent of the accordion is the subject of debate among researchers. Many credit C. Friedrich L. Buschmann, whose Handäoline was patented in Berlin in 1822, as the

World War I, The First Battle of the Marne

2005-03-23T21:56:00.000-08:00

Already on September 3, General J.-S. Gallieni, the military governor of Paris, had guessed the significance of the German 1st Army's swing inward to the Marne east of Paris. On September 4 Joffre, convinced by Gallieni's arguments, decisively ordered his whole left wing to turn about from their retreat and to begin a general offensive against the Germans' exposed right flank

Lahn River

2005-03-21T16:47:00.000-08:00

River, a right-bank tributary of the Rhine River, rising on the Jagd Berg (2,218 feet [676 m]), a summit of the Rothaar Hills in western Germany. The river, which is 152 miles (245 km) long, first flows eastward and then southward to Giessen, before turning southwestward and, with a winding course, reaching the Rhine at Lahnstein. Small barges are able to navigate to Giessen on the partly canalized

Offenburg

2005-03-19T17:31:00.000-08:00

City, Baden-Württemberg Land (state), southwestern Germany, in the Kinzig River Valley, at the western edge of the Black Forest (Schwarzwald). First mentioned in 1101, it was founded by the Zähringen margraves on the site of a Roman settlement and was an imperial free city from 1289 to 1802. In 1846–49 it was a centre of the revolutionary movement in Baden. Gothic and Baroque buildings and remains

Moses De León

2005-03-18T15:52:00.000-08:00

The details of Moses de León's life, like those of most Jewish mystics,

Fu-ping

2005-03-18T07:10:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Fubing, peasant “militia” system established in China around the 6th century AD. The fu-ping was first begun by the short-lived Western Wei (535–556/557) and Northern Chou (557–581) dynasties in North China in an effort to prevent incursions by the nomadic tribes of Central Asia. Groups of peasants were given military training and organized into armed companies in which they were required to participate

La Salle University

2005-03-16T16:21:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. It is operated by the Christian Brothers, a teaching order of the Roman Catholic church. It comprises schools of Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, and Nursing, offering a range of bachelor's and master's degree programs in nursing, education, business, computer sciences,

Suceava

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

Judet (county), northeastern Romania, and bounded on the north by Ukraine. The Eastern Carpathian Mountains and the sub-Carpathians occupy the western two-thirds of the county, and the Suceava Plateau lies in the east. The Siret River flows southeastward, marking the county's eastern border, and the Suceava and Bistrita rivers also drain southeastward. Suceava (q.v.) city

New England Glass Company

2005-03-14T19:44:00.000-08:00

American glass company that was situated in East Cambridge, Mass., from about 1818 until 1888. In the latter year the company's owner, Edward D. Libbey, met a strike of his workers by moving the factory to Toledo, Ohio, where it is still active as the Libbey-Owens-Ford Company. The New England Glass Company made a large variety of wares ranging from pocket bottles and tumblers to attractive

Steffens, (joseph) Lincoln

2005-03-13T21:46:00.000-08:00

After attending the University of California, Steffens studied psychology with Wilhelm Wundt in Leipzig and with Jean-Martin Charcot in Paris, which confirmed his basic positivist orientation.

Wagtail

2005-03-13T09:02:00.000-08:00

Any of the 7 to 10 species of the bird genus Motacilla, of the family Motacillidae, together with the forest wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus) of Asia. Wagtails are strongly patterned birds of beaches, meadows, and streamsides; they usually nest on the ground but roost in trees. The birds are so named because they incessantly wag their long tails up and down. The forest wagtail

Enchanter's Nightshade

2005-03-12T21:15:00.000-08:00

Any herbaceous perennial plant of the genus Circaea, in the evening primrose family (Onagraceae), that occurs in damp woodlands of the Northern Hemisphere. The plants have slender stems with opposite leaves. The small, white, two-petaled flowers grow in clusters, and the fruits have hooked bristles.

Yin Mountains

2005-03-11T11:28:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles and Pinyin romanization Yin Shan, range in the Inner Mongolian autonomous ch'ü (region), China, comprising the Ta-ch'ing, Wu-la, Hara-narin, Sheyten, and Lang mountains. The Yin Mountains mostly rise to heights of about 6,500 feet (2,000 m). The highest peaks in the southwestern Ta-ch'ing Mountains reach 7,175 feet (2,187 m). The subranges run roughly east to west along the northern bend of the Huang Ho (Yellow River) to the north of the Ordos

East Malaysia

2005-03-10T03:12:00.000-08:00

Wing of the 13-state federation of Malaysia; it consists of the states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern part of the island of Borneo and is separated from mainland Peninsular, or West, Malaysia on the Malay Peninsula by some 400 miles (640 km) of the South China Sea. Pop. (1991 prelim.) 3,385,119.

Ada

2005-03-09T15:46:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1907) of Pontotoc county, south-central Oklahoma, U.S. It lies along Clear Boggy Creek, south of the Canadian River, and was named for the daughter of the first postmaster, William J. Reed, who built a log store there in 1889. The railroad arrived in 1900, and the city developed as a marketing and trading centre for a large cattle and grain area. The discovery of oil in the vicinity

Cubism

2005-03-07T17:52:00.000-08:00

Highly influential visual arts style of the 20th century that was created principally by the artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in Paris between 1907 and 1914. The Cubist style emphasized the flat, two-dimensional surface of the picture plane, rejecting the traditional techniques of perspective, foreshortening, modeling, and chiaroscuro, and refuting time-honoured

Stanford University

2005-03-06T04:57:00.000-08:00

Official name Leland Stanford Junior University private coeducational institution of higher learning at Stanford, Calif., U.S. The university was founded in 1885 and opened in 1891 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane (née Lathrop), and was dedicated to their deceased only child, Leland, Jr. The doors were opened in 1891 to 559 students. The university campus consists largely of Stanford's former Palo Alto farm. The buildings,

Alignment

2005-03-05T03:19:00.000-08:00

Monument consisting of multiple rows of large upright stones, primarily located in Brittany and built during Neolithic and Early Bronze times. See megalith.

Gippius, Zinaida Nikolayevna

2005-03-03T16:41:00.000-08:00

During the

Kieta

2005-03-03T04:30:00.000-08:00

Town, southeast coast of Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea. It is situated on Arawa Bay (Rawa Harbour) and is a port of call with a long wharf for coastal and Australian shipping. The town trades chiefly in copra, cocoa, and small amounts of gold. Two new settlements, Toniva and Nairovi, located just outside of Kieta, are considered part of that town. They grew after an increase

Venice Majolica

2005-03-01T18:46:00.000-08:00

Majolica also spelled Maiolica, tin-glazed earthenware made at Venice that reached its stylistic zenith in the 16th century. The workshops of Maestro Ludovico (fl. 1540–45), Domenigo da Venezia (fl. 1550–60), and Jacomo da Pesaro (fl. 1543) produced outstanding ware of this type. Venetian potters excelled in painting arrangements of decorative trophies, globes, musical instruments, and other apparatus, executed in a brilliant

Blondel, Maurice (édouard)

2005-03-01T17:25:00.000-08:00

He studied at the École Normale Supérieure under Léon Ollé-Laprune and first formulated his philosophy in L'action (1893). Blondel was influenced

Kielland, Alexander Lange

2005-02-27T18:17:00.000-08:00

The scion of an aristocratic family, Kielland took a law degree in 1871 and purchased a brickyard, which he managed for nine years. Discontented, he went to Paris in 1878 and the next year published a collection

Hadi, Sayyid Shaykh Bin Ahmad, Al-

2005-02-27T00:25:00.000-08:00

Taken when young to Pulau Penyengat, Riau (now in Indonesia), Sayyid Shaykh was adopted there by a half brother of the sultan and brought up in the intellectual

Azov Upland

2005-02-26T14:22:00.000-08:00

Ukrainian Pryazovska Vysochyna hilly region, Zaporizhzhya and Donetsk oblasti (provinces), southeastern Ukraine. Part of the Ukrainian Crystalline Shield, the Azov Upland is an area of denuded mountains, extending from the Dnieper River for 100 miles (160 km) to the Donets Ridge and sloping gently down southeastward to the Sea of Azov. The highest point is Mount Mohyla-Belmak (1,063 feet [324 m]), 65 miles (105 km) southwest of

Puerto Padre

2005-02-22T00:15:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern Las Tunas provincia, eastern Cuba. Lying on sheltered Puerto Padre Bay, off the Atlantic Ocean, the city is a commercial and manufacturing centre for a fertile irrigated hinterland. Sugarcane, tobacco, fruit, and livestock produced in the area are processed in the city, which also contains brickyards and sawmills. Saltworks, asphalt deposits, and

Ski Patrol

2005-02-21T10:32:00.000-08:00

Group of paid or volunteer workers at ski resorts whose primary function is to promote skiing safety and provide first aid for injured skiers. Ski patrolmen are proficient skiers trained in first aid and cold weather rescue and survival techniques. One of the largest such organizations in the world is the National Ski Patrol System of the United States, founded

Piero Della Francesca

2005-02-20T22:41:00.000-08:00

Painter whose serene, disciplined exploration of perspective had little influence on his contemporaries but came to be recognized in the 20th century as a major contribution to the Italian Renaissance. The fresco cycle “The Legend of the True Cross” (1452–66) and the diptych portrait of Federico

World War I, The Battle of Jutland

2005-02-20T20:17:00.000-08:00

Admiral Reinhard Scheer, who became commander in chief of the High Seas Fleet in January 1916, planned to contrive an encounter on the open sea between his fleet and some

Melbourne

2005-02-18T03:09:00.000-08:00

City, capital of the state of Victoria, Australia. It is located at the head of Port Phillip Bay, on the southeastern coast. Although the central city is the home of fewer than 100,000 people, it is the core of an extensive metropolitan area—the world's most southerly with a population of more than 1,000,000. In Australia it is second only to Sydney in population, and there is a good-natured

Salaberry-de-valleyfield

2005-02-18T02:00:00.000-08:00

English Valleyfield city and port, Montérégie region, southern Quebec province, Canada. It lies on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, at the east end of Lake Saint-François (St. Francis), which is a widening of the river. The settlement was built on a group of small islands in the river 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Montreal after a paper mill was established there in 1870. The abundant water and hydroelectric

Yun Po Sun

2005-02-17T23:33:00.000-08:00

Yun received an M.A. (1930) from the University of Edinburgh and managed his family's business affairs. When Japanese rule of Korea ended in 1945, Yun entered politics; his mentor, Korean president Syngman Rhee, appointed him mayor

Apple Moss

2005-02-16T23:43:00.000-08:00

(Bartramia pomiformis), moss of the order Bryales that has apple-shaped capsules (spore cases) and forms wide, deep cushions in moist, rocky woods throughout the Northern Hemisphere. It is one of more than 100 species in the genus Bartramia; more than 10 are found in North America. An apple moss is usually erect, with a two-forked caulid (stem) about 6 cm (about 2.25 inches) tall, with rust-coloured,

Interdict

2005-02-14T10:43:00.000-08:00

An exhibitory interdict, which usually involves rights over things, is an order requiring that a person or thing be produced. A restorative

Fuel Injection

2005-02-13T05:32:00.000-08:00

In an internal-combustion engine, introduction of fuel into the cylinders by means of a pump rather than by the suction created by the movement of the pistons. On diesel engines, which have no spark plugs, the heat created by compressing air in the cylinders ignites the fuel, which has been pumped as a spray into the heated air. In engines with spark ignition, fuel-injection

Polar Motion

2005-02-12T22:40:00.000-08:00

Polar motion is primarily made up of two discrete periodic

Zangid Dynasty

2005-02-12T03:22:00.000-08:00

Muslim Turkish dynasty that was founded by Zangi (q.v.) and which ruled northern Iraq (al-Jazirah) and Syria in the period 1127–1222. After Zangi's death in 1146, his sons divided the state between them, Syria falling to Nureddin (Nur ad-Din Mahmud; reigned 1146–74) and al-Jazirah to Sayf ad-Din Ghazi I (reigned 1146–49). Nureddin's expansionist policy led him to annex Damascus (1154), subjugate Egypt (1168), and present a broad and competent

Wildenvey, Herman

2005-02-11T03:44:00.000-08:00

When in 1904 the steamer Norge wrecked on a trip to the United States, with 600 or more passengers aboard, Wildenvey was among the few who survived. After returning to Norway from three years in America, where he had studied

Eclecticism

2005-02-09T16:51:00.000-08:00

(from Greek eklektikos, “selective”), in philosophy and theology, the practice of selecting doctrines from different systems of thought without adopting the whole parent system for each doctrine. It is distinct from syncretism—the attempt to reconcile or combine systems—inasmuch as it leaves the contradictions between them unresolved. In the sphere of abstract

Sabin, Florence Rena

2005-02-07T00:18:00.000-08:00

Sabin was educated in Denver, Colorado, and in Vermont and graduated from Smith College in Massachusetts, in 1893. After teaching in Denver and at Smith to earn tuition money, she entered

Xenakis, Iannis

2005-02-06T22:55:00.000-08:00

Mario Boris, Iannis Xenakis (1967); Iannis Xenakis, Formalized Music (1971, revised 1992); Nouritza Matossian, Iannis Xenakis (1986); Bálint András Varga, Conversations with Iannis Xenakis (1996).

Indiana

2005-02-05T11:41:00.000-08:00

Borough (town), seat of Indiana county, west-central Pennsylvania, U.S., in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, 46 miles (74 km) northeast of Pittsburgh. Settled about 1764, it was laid out in 1805 on land donated for a county seat by George Clymer of Philadelphia, a signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. It was incorporated in 1816. Prior to the American Civil War, Indiana was a station

Aiguillon, Emmanuel-armand De Richelieu, Duc (duke) D'

2005-02-05T02:44:00.000-08:00

In 1750 he succeeded to

Andijon

2005-02-03T16:01:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Andizhan, or Andizan, city, extreme eastern Uzbekistan. Andijon lies in the southeastern part of the Fergana Valley. The city, which stands on ancient deposits of the Andijon River, dates back at least to the 9th century. In the 15th century it became the capital of the Fergana Valley and, being on the Silk Road caravan route to China, its chief centre of trade and handicrafts. In the 18th century it

Ribaut, Jean

2005-02-03T00:22:00.000-08:00

Jean Ribaut began his naval career as a youth, rising through the ranks to become one of the most dependable officers serving under Admiral Gaspard de Coligny. In 1558 Ribaut was commander of a French supply vessel at the successful capture of Calais from the English, and the following year

Music, African, Aerophones

2005-02-01T08:55:00.000-08:00

The archaic bull-roarer (a board attached by rope to a stick and whirled about in the air) survives in various localities, notably in southern Africa among the San and neighbouring peoples. Of the wind instruments proper, the three main divisions—flutes, reed pipes, and trumpets—are all well represented, though the second of these is more restricted in distribution

Lockport

2005-02-01T04:40:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1822) of Niagara county, western New York, U.S. It lies 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Buffalo. It was founded in 1821 and grew around the series of five double locks (1847) of the Erie Canal built to overcome a difference of about 60 feet (18 metres) between the levels of Lake Erie and the Genesee River. Two modern locks (1918) of the New York State Canal System replaced one of the sets of five locks; the

Mcpherson Range

2005-01-31T16:37:00.000-08:00

Mountain range, eastern spur of the Great Dividing Range, eastern Australia; its crest constitutes the Queensland–New South Wales border from Point Danger to Wallangara (140 miles [225 km]). Occupying a well-dissected and rainforest-covered region, the range rises to its highest point at West Barney Peak, 4,459 feet (1,359 m). In 1770 the British navigator Captain James Cook sighted the range

Beardworm

2005-01-29T02:10:00.000-08:00

Also called Pogonophoran, any of a group of marine invertebrates constituting the phylum Pogonophora. Pogonophorans live a sedentary life in long, protective tubes on seafloors throughout the world. The common name beardworm refers to the beardlike mass of pinnate (feather-like) tentacles borne at the anterior end of many species. An intestine, which forms in embryos, disappears as development

Ring

2005-01-29T01:49:00.000-08:00

Basically, a ring consists of three parts: the circle, or hoop;

Liri River

2005-01-28T22:12:00.000-08:00

Latin Liris, river in central Italy, made up of two streams, the Rapido (or Gari) and the Liri, and having a total length of 98 mi (158 km) and a drainage basin of 1,911 sq mi (4,950 sq km). It has its sources near Cappadocia, in the Monti Simbruini east of Rome, and flows south and southeast through a long, narrow, scenic valley in its upper course as far as Arce, where it enters its wide lower valley and receives the

Nagaland

2005-01-26T17:47:00.000-08:00

Verrier Elwin, Nagaland (1961); Prakash Singh, Nagaland, 3rd ed., rev. (1981); and Murkot Ramunny, The World of Nagas (1988), are overviews. Majid Husain, Nagaland: Habitat, Society, and Shifting Cultivation (1988), discusses the human geography of the area. On the people, see Julian Jacobs, The Nagas: Hill Peoples of Northeast India (1990). Swabera Islam Saleh, Nagaland's Economy in Transition Since 1964 (1989), examines economic developments. Hokishe Sema, Emergence of Nagaland (1986), is authored by a former chief minister of the state. B.B. Ghosh, History of Nagaland (1982), provides a brief historical survey of the region. M. Horam, Naga Insurgency: The Last Thirty Years (1988), is a personal account of the Naga Underground Movement.

Biblical Literature, Old Testament literature

2005-01-25T20:02:00.000-08:00

For various modern critical methods of studying the formation of the Old Testament, see the “Old Testament Series” of Guides to Biblical Scholarship: Norman C. Habel, Literary Criticism of the Old Testament, Gene M. Tucker, Form Criticism of the Old Testament, and Walter E. Rast, Tradition History and the Old Testament (1971–72). Among general introductions, the most exhaustive is Otto Eissfeldt (op. cit.), based mainly on literary criticism. The other methods are reflected to a somewhat greater extent in Aage Bentzen, Introduction to the Old Testament, 3rd ed. (1957); and in the briefer, less original but very readable work of Artur Weiser, Einleitung in das Alte Testament, 4th ed. (1957; Eng. trans., The Old Testament: Its Formation and Development, 1961). For pioneering research in tradition analysis of the Pentateuch and the Former Prophets, see Martin Noth, Überlieferungsgeschichte des Pentateuch, 3rd ed. (1966; Eng. trans., A History of Pentateuchal Traditions, 1972), and Überlieferungsgeschichtliche Studien (1957); the latter deals with what its author calls “The Deuteronomic History,” an envisioned work containing the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. The contribution of form criticism to the understanding of the history of the Book of Psalms may best be approached through Hermann Gunkel, The Psalms: A Form-Critical Introduction (1967), a translation of his article in Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart (2nd ed.) summarizing his seminal work in Die Psalmen (1926) and Einleitung in die Psalmen (1928). Elmer A. Leslie, The Psalms, Translated and Interpreted in the Light of Hebrew Life and Worship (1949), is heavily dependent on Gunkel and illustrates his use of form criticism. The celebrated work of Sigmund Mowinckel on the Psalter, culminating in his masterful Offersang ob Sangoffer (1951; Eng. trans., The Psalms in Israel's Worship, 2 vol., 1962), combines the methods of Gunkel with those of the comparative historian of religion and locates the setting for the production of most of the psalms in the cult of the Solomonic temple. The application of the newer methods to the study of the Latter Prophets is evident in the essays in Harold H. Rowley (ed.), Studies in Old Testament Prophecy (1950). The new approaches were deeply under the impact of Henrik S. Nyberg, Studien zum Hoseabuche (1935). Other books that amplify the implications of his assumptions include: Johannes Lindblom, Prophecy in Ancient Israel (1962); Curt Kuhl, Israels Propheten (1956; Eng. trans., The Prophets of Israel, 1960); and Sigmund Mowinckel, Prophecy and Tradition: The Prophetic Books in the Light of the Study of the Growth and History of the Tradition (1946). Abraham J. Heschel, The Prophets (1962), though of independent origin, nevertheless belongs with those new interpretations of the prophetic materials. An old classic in a new edition, Oliver S. Rankin, Israel's Wisdom Literature: Its Bearing on Theology and the History of Religion (1936, reprinted 1969), presents Israel's wisdom literature in relation both to its extra-Israelite cultural connections and to the rest of Israel's heritage in the Old Testament. Two new approaches to the legacy of wisdom literature, one through literary form and the other through theology, are presented, respectively, in R.B.Y. Scott, The Way of Wisdom in the Old Testament (1971); and Gerhard von Rad, Weisheit in Israel (1970). See also Northrop Frye, The Great Code: The Bible and Literature (1982), and Elsa Tamez, Bible of the Oppressed (1982), an interpretation from a Latin, female theologian's perspective.

Malaysia, Malaya

2005-01-24T02:13:00.000-08:00

Except for Malacca, there was little Western influence in Malaya and northern Borneo until the late 18th century, when Britain became interested in the area. The British sought a source for goods to be sold in China, and in 1786 the English East India Company acquired Penang (or Pinang) Island, off Malaya's northwest coast, from the sultan of Kedah. The island soon became a major

Savannakhét

2005-01-23T10:03:00.000-08:00

Town in the central southern panhandle of Laos, on the left bank of the Mekong River. It had a teacher-training school (1911), a public high school (1946), a Buddhist secondary school, a trade school, and the Savannakhét Technical College before the 1975 communist takeover. Industries in the town included manufacturing of soft drinks, ice making, and a sawmill. There is an airport, and a road

Gamaliel Ii

2005-01-22T18:26:00.000-08:00

In the ancient biblical city of Jabneh, many Jews had taken refuge from the Roman siege of Jerusalem in AD 70. Gamaliel

Tyuyamunite

2005-01-22T09:39:00.000-08:00

Radioactive, yellow, soft, and waxy uranium and vanadium oxide mineral, Ca(UO2)2(VO4)2×nH2O. It is considered to be the calcium analogue of carnotite, from which it can be made artificially and reversibly by cation exchange (calcium exchanges places with potassium in carnotite's molecular structure). Tyuyamunite occurs widely with carnotite in the southwestern United States

Alameda

2005-01-21T03:49:00.000-08:00

City, Alameda county, California, U.S. It lies on an island (6.5 miles [11 km] long by 1 mile [1.6 km] wide) in San Francisco Bay, across the Oakland Harbor Channel from Oakland, with which it is connected by bridges and underground tunnels. The site was originally a peninsula that was part of Rancho San Antonio and was also the site of Indian shell mounds. The locality was settled in the 1850s. Its

Arabesque

2005-01-19T11:56:00.000-08:00

Style of decoration characterized by intertwining plants and abstract curvilinear motifs. Derived from the work of Hellenistic craftsmen working in Asia Minor, the arabesque originally included birds in a highly naturalistic setting. As adapted by Muslim artisans about AD 1000, it became highly formalized; for religious reasons, no birds, beasts, or human

Tooth Squeeze

2005-01-19T10:57:00.000-08:00

Also called Aerodontalgia, pain caused by the expansion or contraction of air beneath the filling of a tooth when pressure within the mouth cavity is increased or decreased. Aircraft pilots and underwater divers are common victims of tooth squeeze, as the pressures that they experience vary widely from the normal atmospheric pressures. As one goes deeper under water, pressure increases.

'arab, Shatt Al-

2005-01-18T14:46:00.000-08:00

(Arabic: “Stream of the Arabs”), river in southeastern Iraq, formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers at the town of Al-Qurnah. It flows southeastward for 120 miles (193 km) and passes the Iraqi port of Basra and the Iranian port of Abadan before emptying into the Persian Gulf. For about the last half of its course the river forms the border between Iraq and Iran; it

Religion

2005-01-16T23:43:00.000-08:00

The year 2002 saw an explosion of scandals involving accusations of sexual abuse and cover-ups in the Roman Catholic Church in countries including Australia, Ireland, Poland, and the U.S. (See Sidebar.) The developments spurred resignations and expulsions of some prominent church leaders and led the pope to say in April that there was “no place in the priesthood and religious

Alexander I

2005-01-15T18:39:00.000-08:00

Alexander probably acknowledged King Henry

Eclipse

2005-01-15T17:24:00.000-08:00

The Sun is eclipsed when the Moon comes between it and the Earth; the Moon is eclipsed when it moves into the shadow of the Earth cast by the Sun. Eclipses of natural or artificial satellites of a planet occur as the satellites move

Tectogene

2005-01-13T01:47:00.000-08:00

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

Adams, Henry

2005-01-12T07:41:00.000-08:00

Henry Adams, The Degradation of the Democratic Dogma (1919, reprinted 1969), a collection of Adams' theoretical essays with a lengthy introduction by his brother Brooks; “The Great Secession Winter 1860–1861,” Proceedings, Massachusetts Historical Society, 43:656–687 (1909–10), an essay, written during the secession crisis of 1860–61 but not published for 50 years, which analyzed the political developments that led to the Civil War; Essays in Anglo-Saxon Law (1876), a collection of studies in early British history written by Adams and his seminar students; Historical Essays (1891), a reprint of articles Adams had previously published in various journals; and introductions to Documents Relating to New England Federalism (1877), which shed light on the politics of the early national period; Ernest Samuels (ed.), The Education of Henry Adams (1973), is the definitive edition in which collation is made between the privately printed text and the revised text of the published edition. Worthington Chauncey Ford (ed.), A Cycle of Adams Letters, 1861–1865, 2 vol. (1920, reprinted in 1 vol. 1969), Letters of Henry Adams, 1858–1891 (1930, reprinted 1969), and Letters of Henry Adams, 1892–1918 (1938, reprinted 1969), all contain a rich selection of Adams' letters; Ernest Samuels, The Young Henry Adams (1948), Henry Adams: The Middle Years (1958), and Henry Adams: The Major Phase (1964), the most comprehensive and distinguished biography of Adams; J.C. Levenson, The Mind and Art of Henry Adams (1957), an unexcelled interpretative work centring upon both the man and his writings; Melvin Lyon, Symbol and Idea in Henry Adams (1970), an examination of the problem of illusion and reality, which Adams often expressed through symbols, as seen in his six major works; Vern Wagner, The Suspension of Henry Adams: A Study of Manner and Matter (1969), a discussion of Adams' writing style as an example of unique literary artistry; Frederic Cople Jaher, Doubters and Dissenters: Cataclysmic Thought in America, 1885–1918 (1964), a critical study of Adams, seeing him as a displaced Brahmin afloat in an industrialized world he was helpless to understand; William Dusinberre, Henry Adams: The Myth of Failure (1980), is a reconsideration.

Radial Keratotomy

2005-01-12T02:54:00.000-08:00

Surgical procedure to correct myopia (nearsightedness) by reducing the radius of curvature of the cornea and astigmatism (asymmetrical curvature of the cornea). A series of 4 to 8 equally spaced deep cuts are made in the peripheral cornea, leaving the central cornea above the pupil clear. Intraocular pressure then pushes the weakened central cornea outward, flattening

Jackson, William Henry

2005-01-11T20:47:00.000-08:00

As a child in Troy, New York, Jackson painted landscapes on screens and did retouching for a photographic studio. After serving in the Civil War he went west in 1867 and opened a studio in Omaha, Nebraska. During this period

Peregrinus Of Maricourt, Peter

2005-01-09T22:13:00.000-08:00

Almost nothing is known about Peregrinus' life, except that he wrote his famous treatise while serving as an engineer in the army of Charles I of Anjou that was besieging Lucera (in Italy) in August 1269 in a “crusade” sanctioned by the pope. Peregrinus' abilities

Elmira

2005-01-08T22:27:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1836) of Chemung county, southern New York, U.S. It lies on the Chemung River, near the Pennsylvania border, 60 miles (97 km) west of Binghamton. The first European settlement (1787) was incorporated as the village of Newtown in 1815. Renamed Elmira in 1828 for the daughter of an early settler, Nathan Teall, it grew after the completion in 1832 of the Chemung Canal to Seneca Lake (20 miles [32 km] north) and

Biblical Literature, Types of writing materials and methods

2005-01-07T15:52:00.000-08:00

In Hellenistic times (c. 300 BC–c. AD 300), official records were often inscribed on stone or metal tablets. Literary works and detailed letters were written on parchment or papyrus, though short or temporary records were written or scratched on potsherds (ostraca) or wax tablets. Scrolls were made by gluing together papyrus sheets (made from the pith of the papyrus reed) or by sewing

Adams, Charles Francis

2005-01-07T04:28:00.000-08:00

Adams was the son of the lawyer and historian Charles Francis Adams (1835–1915), as well as great-grandson of the sixth U.S. president and great-great-grandson of the second.

Aubusson, Pierre D'

2005-01-06T22:51:00.000-08:00

The son of French nobility, Aubusson joined the Knights of St. John c. 1453. The Knights, with their headquarters at Rhodes, held the island as a bar to Ottoman expansion in the Aegean. Aubusson became grand master of the order

Incremental Repetition

2005-01-04T13:46:00.000-08:00

A device used in poetry of the oral tradition, especially English and Scottish ballads, in which a line is repeated in a changed context or with minor changes in the repeated part. The device is illustrated in the following stanzas from the ballad “Lord Randal”: “O where ha' you been, Lord Randal, my son? And where ha' you been, my handsome young man?”“I ha' been at the greenwood; mother,

China, Survival and consolidation

2005-01-03T19:05:00.000-08:00

Despite the fall of the Pei Sung, the majority of scholar-officials refused to identify themselves with the alien conquerors. The same was generally true at the grass-roots level, among numerous roving bands of former volunteer militias, army units that had disintegrated, and bandits who had arisen during the disorder. As time went on, both civilians and military

Termier, Henri-françois-émile

2005-01-02T20:24:00.000-08:00

Termier was a geologist for the Morocco Mine Service from 1925 until 1940, when he became head of the Morocco Geological Service; in 1945 he became a professor at the University of Algiers and in 1955 joined the Sorbonne, where he became the chairman

Porphyry

2005-01-02T19:22:00.000-08:00

Original name Malchus Neoplatonist Greek philosopher, important both as an editor and as a biographer of the philosopher Plotinus and for his commentary on Aristotle's Categories, which set the stage for medieval developments of logic and the problem of universals. Boethius' Latin translation of the introduction (Isagoge) became

Amaryllidaceae

2004-12-31T23:23:00.000-08:00

Family of perennial herbs in the flowering plant order Liliales, containing about 65 genera and at least 835 species, distributed primarily in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Members of the family have bulbs or underground stems; several strap- or lance-shaped leaves grouped at the base of the stem or arranged alternately along the stem; flowers usually with

Primate, Diet

2004-12-31T16:30:00.000-08:00

The principal food substances taken by primates may be divided into

Pachmann, Vladimir Von

2004-12-29T03:03:00.000-08:00

Also called Vladimir de Pachman Russian pianist known for his performances of the music of Frédéric Chopin. Pachmann studied in Vienna and made his debut in 1869 in Odessa. Though his early concerts were successful, he was extremely self-critical and withdrew for long periods of study. He later toured widely in Europe and the United States. Pachmann's

Land Mine

2004-12-28T22:04:00.000-08:00

Stationary explosive charge used against military troops or vehicles. See mine.

National Association Of Congregational Christian Churches

2004-12-28T10:38:00.000-08:00

Association of churches organized in Detroit, Mich., in 1955 by ministers and laymen of Congregational Christian Churches who did not wish to take part in the merger of the Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church that formed the United Church of Christ. The National Association wished to continue the independent tradition of congregationalism.

Sibolga

2004-12-27T15:29:00.000-08:00

Kotamadya (municipality), Sumatera Utara provinsi (“province”), Sumatra, Indonesia, located 130 miles (209 km) south of Medan, the provincial capital. A port on Sibolga Bay (an inlet of the Indian Ocean), it is linked by road with Tarutung and Pematangsiantar to the north and with Padangsidimpuan to the southeast. The city is protected by Mursala Island nearby to the southwest. The

Maastricht Treaty

2004-12-24T09:17:00.000-08:00

Formally Treaty on European Union international agreement approved by the heads of government of the states of the European Community (EC) in Maastricht, Netherlands, in December 1991. Ratified by all EC member states (voters in Denmark rejected the original treaty but later approved a slightly modified version), the treaty was signed on February 7, 1992, and entered into force on November 1, 1993. The treaty established

Olm

2004-12-23T07:46:00.000-08:00

(Proteus anguinus), blind salamander belonging to the family Proteidae (order Caudata) and found in caves of the Carpathian Mountains in southeastern Europe. It grows to about 30 cm (12 inches) long and has a normally white (unpigmented) body, tiny limbs, red gill plumes, narrow head, and a blunt snout. The olm's vestigial but light-sensitive eyes are covered with skin. It usually

Japanese Literature, Late Tokugawa period (c. 17701867)

2004-12-21T00:08:00.000-08:00

The literature of the late Tokugawa period is generally inferior to earlier achievements, especially those of the Genroku masters. Authentic new voices, however, were heard in traditional poetic forms. Later neo-Man'yoshu poets such as Ryokan, Okuma Kotomichi, and Tachibana Akemi proved that the tanka was not limited to descriptions of the sights of nature or disappointed

Kahului

2004-12-18T00:06:00.000-08:00

City, Maui county, on the northern coast of Maui Island, Hawaii, U.S., on Kahului Bay. Until the 1950s Kahului had a small, transitory population. The Hawaiian and Commercial Sugar Company then sponsored a large planning project, and modern business and residential sectors were developed. Kahului has Maui's principal airport and its only deepwater port. With nearby Wailuku

Cordgrass

2004-12-17T00:54:00.000-08:00

Most species grow in clumps, with short flower spikes alternating along and often adherent to the upper portion of the stems,

Antarctica, The land

2004-12-12T04:21:00.000-08:00

Aleksin

2004-12-11T13:56:00.000-08:00

City, Tula oblast (province), western Russia, on the Oka River, 40 miles (65 km) northwest of Tula city. Aleksin, first documented in 1236, was at first a fortress, then a river port. The decline of river trade adversely affected the city, but since the October Revolution (1917) it has become a significant industrial centre, with engineering and building-materials industries. Pop. (1991 est.) 74,200.

Hennig, Willi

2004-12-09T05:13:00.000-08:00

According to this school of thought, taxonomic classifications should reflect exclusively, so far as possible, genealogical relationships. In effect, organisms would be grouped strictly on the

Joachim, Joseph

2004-12-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

Joachim first studied at Budapest, and at age seven he appeared with his teacher S. Serwaczynski. In 1844 he visited London, where he was sponsored by Mendelssohn and achieved an outstanding success.

Wilhelmina

2004-12-04T10:17:00.000-08:00

She shared the unhappy childhood of her brother, whose friend and confidante she remained most of her life. She married Frederick, hereditary prince of Bayreuth, in 1731; when he became margrave in 1735, the pair set about making Bayreuth a miniature Versailles.

Godard, Jean-luc

2004-12-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

Godard spent his formative years on the Swiss side of Lake Geneva, where his father directed a clinic. His higher education consisted of study for a degree in ethnology at the University of Paris, interminable student café conversations,

Porbeagle

2004-12-01T13:16:00.000-08:00

Species of mackerel shark (q.v.).