RightBucket

Location Theory

2005-03-19T06:30:00.000-08:00

In economics and geography, theory concerned with the geographic location of economic activity; it has become an integral part of economic geography, regional science, and spatial economics. Location theory addresses the questions of what economic activities are located where and why. The location of economic activities can be determined on a broad level such

Marseillaise, La

2005-03-16T02:07:00.000-08:00

After France declared war on Austria on April 20, 1792, P.F. Dietrich, the mayor of Strasbourg (where Rouget de Lisle was then quartered), expressed the need for a marching song for the French troops. “La

Anthropology And Archaeology, Eastern Hemisphere.

2005-03-14T16:15:00.000-08:00

The year 2002 yielded a number of stunning archaeological discoveries. A 50-cm (20-in)-long limestone ossuary, or box for storage of bones, bearing a text in Aramaic, was hailed as the first archaeological evidence for the historical Jesus. The ossuary, found near Jerusalem, was carved with a single line of text reading, “Ya'akov bar Yosef akhui diYeshua,” or “James, son of Joseph, brother

Gennadius Of Novgorod

2005-03-13T11:01:00.000-08:00

Named archbishop in 1485 by the grand prince of Moscow Ivan III (1462–1505), Gennadius initiated a persecution of Christian Judaizers, a movement of zealots stressing the monotheistic element

Black Legend

2005-03-10T10:01:00.000-08:00

Spanish Leyenda Negra term indicating an unfavourable image of Spain and Spaniards, accusing them of cruelty and intolerance, formerly prevalent in the works of many non-Spanish, and especially Protestant, historians. Primarily associated with criticism of 16th-century Spain and the anti-Protestant policies of King Philip II (reigned 1556–98), the term was popularized by the Spanish historian

Bryant, Bear

2005-03-09T01:19:00.000-08:00

Bryant played tackle and was all-state at Fordyce (Ark.) High School; he went on to the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa (1932–36; B.S., 1936), where he played blocking end. During his collegiate career the team won 23 games, lost 3, and tied 2. He played on

Myanmar (burma)

2005-03-07T07:33:00.000-08:00

Myanmar's ruling junta met with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Sept. 20, 1994; it was their

Prosper Of Aquitaine, Saint

2005-03-04T16:47:00.000-08:00

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

Tyrconnell, Rory O'donnell, 1st Earl Of, Baron Of Donegall

2005-03-02T01:37:00.000-08:00

The second son of Hugh MacManus O'Donnell, he allied with his younger brother Hugh Roe, who transferred his authority as chief to Rory upon leaving for Spain. In 1602 Rory gave his allegiance to the English lord deputy and, in the following summer, went with Hugh

Milky Way Galaxy, Emission nebulas

2005-02-26T10:57:00.000-08:00

A conspicuous component of the Galaxy is the collection of large, bright, diffuse gaseous objects generally called nebulas. The brightest of these cloudlike objects are the emission nebulas, large complexes of interstellar gas and stars in which the gas exists in an ionized and excited state (with the electrons of the atoms excited to a higher than normal energy

Margaret Of Parma

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

The illegitimate daughter of the Holy Roman emperor Charles V (Charles I of Spain) and Johanna van der Gheenst, Margaret was married in 1536 to Alessandro de' Medici,

China, Animal life

2005-02-23T04:18:00.000-08:00

Profusion of vegetation and a variety of relief have fostered the development of a great diversity of animal life and have permitted the survival of animals that elsewhere are extinct. Notable among such survivals are the great paddlefish of the Yangtze, the small species of alligator in eastern and central China, and the giant salamander (related to the Japanese

Esterhazy, Ferdinand Walsin

2005-02-21T22:32:00.000-08:00

Having fallen deeply into debt, Esterhazy apparently sold French military secrets

Fuzzy Logic

2005-02-16T23:05:00.000-08:00

Fuzzy logic and fuzzy sets were first described in the mid-1960s by Lotfi Zadeh. According to fuzzy-logic theorists, classical logic oversimplifies the concept of set membership by flatly

Cochin, Charles-nicolas, The Younger

2005-02-15T18:05:00.000-08:00

The son of Charles-Nicolas the Elder (1688–1754), from whom he learned engraving, Cochin rose to national prominence early in his career. As a member of the academy (admitted in 1751) and the keeper of the king's drawings (a post he was given in 1752), he was officially enabled to exert his influence on the artistic taste of

Arabia, Najd

2005-02-12T19:32:00.000-08:00

The western part of Najd (Nejd, meaning “Highland”), known as Upper Najd, lies within the Arabian shield with an average elevation of 4,000 feet; the eastern part falls within the sedimentary province with the city of Riyadh (Ar-Riyad), near the eastern edge, having an elevation of about 1,950 feet. The principal drainage of Najd consists of a number of eastward-flowing wadi systems that

Huxley, T.h.

2005-02-10T02:01:00.000-08:00

Huxley's controversial positions in the 1860s and '70s won the support of an increasing number of his contemporaries, while his research established him as one of the leading scientists of his era. As a scientific popularizer he was without peer, and he was an energetic organizer and political infighter. These qualities gave Huxley the levers necessary to elevate the position

Huxley, T.h.

2005-02-08T02:38:00.000-08:00

The economic policy of the government of the Soviet Union from 1921 to 1928, representing a temporary retreat from its previous policy of extreme centralization and doctrinaire socialism. The policy of War Communism, in effect since 1918, had by 1921 brought the national economy to the point of total breakdown. The Kronshtadt Rebellion of March 1921 convinced the Communist Party and

Kara-bogaz-gol Gulf

2005-02-06T19:58:00.000-08:00

Russian Zaliv Kara-Bogaz-Gol , Turkmen Garabogazköl Aylagy inlet of the eastern Caspian Sea in northwestern Turkmenistan. With an area of 4,600–5,000 square miles (12,000–13,000 square km), it averages only 33 feet (10 m) in depth and has a very high evaporation rate. The water is thus extremely saline, and 7,000–11,000 cubic feet (200–300 cubic m) of water a second are drawn in from the Caspian through the narrow strait between the two sandy spits separating the gulf from the sea. The

Osler, Sir William, Baronet

2005-02-05T15:08:00.000-08:00

Canadian physician and professor of medicine who practiced and taught in Canada, the United States, and Great Britain and whose book The Principles and Practice of Medicine (1892) was a leading textbook. Osler played a key role in transforming the organization and curriculum of medical education, emphasizing

Ocean

2005-02-02T14:42:00.000-08:00

The first major undersea survey was undertaken during the 1870s, but it was not until the last half of the 20th century that scientists began to learn what lies beneath the ocean surface in any detail. It has been determined that the ocean basins, which hold the vast quantity of water that covers nearly three-quarters of the Earth's surface, have an average depth of almost four

Frederick I

2005-01-31T04:46:00.000-08:00

He was the second son of Frederick V, burgrave of Nürnberg. After his father's death, in 1398, he obtained Ansbach and, in 1420, on the death of his elder brother John, the principality of Bayreuth. In 1410 Sigismund, younger son of

Computers, ALGOL

2005-01-29T07:57:00.000-08:00

During the late 1950s a multitude of programming languages appeared. This proliferation

Ghetto

2005-01-27T11:19:00.000-08:00

Formerly a street, or quarter, of a city set apart as a legally enforced residence area for Jews. One of the earliest forced segregations of Jews was in Muslim Morocco when, in 1280, they were transferred to segregated quarters called millahs. In some Muslim countries, rigid ghetto systems were enforced with restrictions on the sizes of houses and doors. Forced segregation

Mer

2005-01-26T14:28:00.000-08:00

Among the Cheremis and Udmurts (also called Votyaks), a district where people would gather periodically to hold religious festivals and perform sacrifices to nature gods. The word mer is derived from the Russian mir, “village community.” The people within the mer usually were of common origin; their customs were similar, and they may even have possessed names and ownership

Spacecraft

2005-01-23T05:30:00.000-08:00

Although early conceptions of spaceflight usually depicted streamlined spacecraft, streamlining has no particular advantage in the vacuum of space. Actual vehicles are designed with a variety of shapes depending on the mission. The first spacecraft,

Vihuela

2005-01-21T07:01:00.000-08:00

The vihuela was played by the aristocracy, the guitar by commoners. By the 18th century both instruments

Giordano, Umberto

2005-01-20T06:05:00.000-08:00

Giordano, the son of an artisan, studied music at Foggia and Naples. His early operas, among them Mala vita (1892; Evil Life), were written in the forceful, melodramatic style introduced by Pietro Mascagni in his verismo opera Cavalleria rusticana (1890). In Andrea

Cambon, Jules

2005-01-17T02:20:00.000-08:00

Educated in law, Cambon entered the prefectorial administration after service in the Franco-German War (1870–71). In June 1878 he was

Perciform, Use as food

2005-01-16T06:50:00.000-08:00

Since early times, the rivers and oceans have provided man with food; fishing was one of man's earliest means for securing food. Archaeological findings among shell mounds of Scotland indicate that the sea bream (family Sparidae) formed part of the diet of early man. The Nile perches (family Latidae) have been found as mummies in ancient tombs in Egypt. The goatfishes

Indonesia, Justice

2005-01-14T17:10:00.000-08:00

There are four judicial spheres (for general, religious, military, and administrative

Aluminum Processing

2005-01-07T05:45:00.000-08:00

Aluminum, or aluminium (Al), is a silvery white metal with a melting point of 660° C (1,220° F) and a density of 2.7 grams per cubic centimetre. The most abundant metallic element, it constitutes 8.1 percent of the Earth's crust. In nature it occurs chemically combined with oxygen and other elements. In the pure state it is soft and ductile, but

Binche

2005-01-05T15:26:00.000-08:00

Town, Hainaut province, Belgium. It lies 9 miles (15 km) southeast of Mons. Situated on a hill, Binche remains encircled by fortifications built in the 12th century and flanked by 27 towers. Its town hall was constructed in the second half of the 14th century and restored in the 16th century by Jacques de Broeucq. A portion of the town's fortifications were pulled down in 1545 to build a palace

China, Sui and T'ang periods

2005-01-04T17:26:00.000-08:00

The best general account of Chinese relations with its northern neighbours in the steppes is Rene Grousset, The Empire of the Steppes (1970; originally published in French, 1939; 4th French ed., 1960). On Chinese overseas trade and relations with Southeast Asia, see Gungwu Wang, The Nanhai Trade: A Study of the Early History of Chinese Trade in the South China Sea (1958).

Astilbe

2005-01-01T10:21:00.000-08:00

A. chinensis, up to 60 cm (2 feet) in height, has produced several

Olsen, Tillie

2004-12-31T04:16:00.000-08:00

Olsen's early adult life was devoted to political activism and to rearing a family. Her first novel, begun at the age of 19, was set aside for 35 years. Though she never finished it, Olsen eventually published the reconstructed manuscript as Yonnondio:

Turin, Shroud Of

2004-12-29T01:47:00.000-08:00

Also called Holy Shroud , Italian Santa Sindone a length of linen that for centuries was purported to be the burial garment of Jesus Christ; it has been preserved since 1578 in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista in Turin, Italy. Measuring 14 feet 3 inches long and 3 feet 7 inches wide, it seems to portray two faint brownish images, those of the back and front of a gaunt, sunken-eyed, 5-foot 7-inch man—as if a body had

Czechowicz, Józef

2004-12-26T10:59:00.000-08:00

The son of a poor family, Czechowicz was educated at a teachers' college. His poetry is characterized by sensitivity to both urban and rural landscapes and by his love of folk culture. His style is ostentatiously modern and remarkable for its verbal economy, but his poems remain expressive because

Bcg Vaccine

2004-12-24T06:29:00.000-08:00

Vaccine against tuberculosis, prepared from a weakened strain of tuberculosis bacteria named BCG—bacille Calmette-Guérin, for the French scientists who developed the product. The vaccine is of particular importance for those whose occupations carry a high risk of infection by tuberculosis, such as nurses and physicians, and for persons in countries with high

Jhabvala, Ruth Prawer

2004-12-23T03:22:00.000-08:00

A Polish Jew, Jhabvala immigrated to England with her family in 1939. After receiving an M.A. in English (1951) from Queen Mary College, London, she married an Indian architect and moved to India, where she lived for the next 24 years. After 1975 she lived

Fairchild, Mary Salome Cutler

2004-12-21T21:13:00.000-08:00

Salome Cutler graduated from Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (now Mount Holyoke College) in South Hadley, Massachusetts, in 1875 and taught there from 1876 to 1878. After a period of ill health, she became interested in the

Inselberg

2004-12-18T01:09:00.000-08:00

(from German Insel, “island,” and Berg, “mountain”), isolated hill that stands above well-developed plains and appears not unlike an island rising from the sea. The early German explorers of southern Africa were impressed by such features, and they dubbed the domed or castlelike highlands inselbergs. Spectacular examples include Ayers Rock and the Olga Rocks in central

Biblical Literature, Haggai

2004-12-16T15:44:00.000-08:00

The Book of Haggai, the 10th book of the Twelve (Minor) Prophets, is a brief work of only two chapters. Written about 520 BCE by the prophet Haggai, the book contains four oracles. The first oracle calls for Zerubbabel, the governor of Judaea, and Joshua, the high priest, to rebuild the Temple (chapter 1, verses 1–11). A drought and poor harvests, according to Haggai, had been caused because the

Cinnamon

2004-12-12T05:46:00.000-08:00

(species Cinnamomum zeylanicum), bushy evergreen tree of the laurel family (Lauraceae) native to Sri Lanka (Ceylon), the neighbouring Malabar Coast of India, and Myanmar (Burma) and also cultivated in South America and the West Indies for the spice consisting of its dried inner bark. The spice is light brown in colour and has a delicately fragrant aroma and warm, sweet flavour.

Belaúnde Terry, Fernando

2004-12-10T16:54:00.000-08:00

Belaúnde, a member of a distinguished aristocratic Peruvian family, studied architecture in the United States and France in 1924–35 and practiced briefly in Mexico before returning in 1936 to Peru, where he became a noted architect

Hetman

2004-12-09T10:04:00.000-08:00

Military title used in the Polish–Lithuanian state (16th–18th century); the hetman wielki (“great hetman”) was the chief of the armed forces and the commander in the field when the king was not present. In Ukraine a variation of the term, ataman, was used to designate the military leader of the Zaporozhian Cossacks (16th century) and the prince of the area east of the Dnieper River

Visscher, Anna (roemersdochter)

2004-12-07T21:22:00.000-08:00

Anna Visscher's poetry is rather stiff and impersonal; she wrote for the most part sonnets and lofliederen, cleverly devised odes to important personages.

Plomer, William (charles Franklyn)

2004-12-02T07:14:00.000-08:00

Plomer was educated in England but returned with his family to South Africa after World War I. His experience as an apprentice on a remote farm in the eastern Cape when he was 17 alerted

Spain, Primo de Rivera

2004-11-30T17:29:00.000-08:00

Primo de Rivera was a political improviser who believed his mission was to save Spain from the old politicians and to hand over government (after an interval of personal rule) to “clean” patriots. He failed to complete the process because his rule became increasingly unpopular, especially among the intellectuals and Catalans. The September 1923 coup by which he had gained

Nabatiyah At-tahta, An-

2004-11-29T17:15:00.000-08:00

Town, southern Lebanon. It is the major centre of tobacco growing in Lebanon. Other agricultural products are grapes, olives, figs, and grains. Most of the inhabitants of the town are Shi'ite Muslims. A main road crosses the region connecting an-Nabatiyah at-Tahta to Sidon via the road along the Mediterranean Coast, to Marj 'Uyun, and southeastward to the Israeli border and the

Anne

2004-11-27T06:07:00.000-08:00

Queen of Great Britain from 1702 to 1714. The last Stuart monarch, she wished to rule independently, but her intellectual limitations and chronic ill health caused her to rely heavily on her ministers, who directed England's efforts against France and Spain in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14). The bitter rivalries between Whigs and Tories

Yonezawa

2004-11-25T20:10:00.000-08:00

City, Yamagata Prefecture (ken), Honshu, Japan, on the Ou Line (railway). From the Muromachi period (1338–1573) to the Meiji Restoration (1868) it was a castle town of the Uesugi daimyo family (see Uesugi family). The ruling family initiated agrarian reforms by constructing irrigation systems and allowing samurai (warriors) to cultivate the fields and manufacture silk. Industrialization

Wollstonecraft, Mary

2004-11-23T11:01:00.000-08:00

The daughter of a farmer, Wollstonecraft taught school and worked as a governess, experiences that inspired her views in Thoughts on the Education of Daughters (1787). In 1788 she began working as a translator for the London publisher James Johnson, who published

Osage River

2004-11-20T00:44:00.000-08:00

River rising as the Marais des Cygnes (French: “Swan Marshes”) in the Flint Hills near Eskridge, Kan., U.S. It becomes the Osage (named for the Osage Indians) after its junction with the Little Osage near Rich Hill, Mo., and then flows east through the Ozark highlands to enter the Missouri River near Jefferson City. The river is 500 miles (800 km) long and drains 15,300 square miles (39,600 square km). Along

Szabolcs-szatmár-bereg

2004-11-16T09:42:00.000-08:00

Megye (county), extreme northeastern Hungary, occupying an area of mainly lowland country traversed by many small river courses. Lying within the megye is the Nyírség, a district of sandy soils and the site of Nyíregyháza (q.v.), the megye seat. Crossed by the Tisza River system, the sandy terrain has been stabilized by planting fruit and other trees. Elsewhere in the megye

Spurgeon, C.h.

2004-11-14T16:38:00.000-08:00

Reared a Congregationalist, Spurgeon became a Baptist in 1850 and, the same year, at 16, preached his first sermon. In 1852 he became minister at Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire,

Owain Gwynedd

2004-11-13T06:49:00.000-08:00

Together with his brother Cadwaladr, Owain led three expeditions (1136–37) against the English stronghold of Ceredigion to the south. The brothers ravaged the region and established themselves there. Upon his father's death in 1137, Owain took the throne of North

Janet, Pierre(-marie-félix)

2004-11-11T04:51:00.000-08:00

Psychologist and neurologist influential in bringing about in France and the United States a connection between academic psychology and the clinical treatment of mental illnesses. He stressed psychological factors in hypnosis and contributed to the modern concept of mental and emotional disorders involving anxiety, phobias, and other

Ayr

2004-11-09T21:49:00.000-08:00

Ayr was created a royal burgh in 1202 (the original charter is preserved in the Town Hall) and became the garrison and court town of the administrative

Kaiserslautern

2004-11-06T08:20:00.000-08:00

City, Rhineland-Palatinate Land (state), southwestern Germany. It lies between the Haardt Mountains (Pfälzer Wald) and the Saar-Nahe-Bergland (Nordpfälzer Bergland) and is surrounded by the Pfälzer Wald nature preserve. A royal residence existed there in the Carolingian period (after 751). The place-name is derived from Lauter (a local stream) and from the emperor (kaiser) Frederick

Cache Memory

2004-11-02T20:51:00.000-08:00

Also called Cache, a supplementary memory system that temporarily stores frequently used instructions and data for quicker processing by the central processor of a computer. The cache augments, and is an extension of, a computer's main memory. Both main memory and cache are internal, random-access memories (RAMs) that use semiconductor-based transistor circuits. Cache holds a copy

Craigavon, James Craig, 1st Viscount

2004-11-01T09:32:00.000-08:00

Craig became a stockbroker, served with an Irish unit in the South African (Boer) War, and in 1906 entered

Faerie Queene, The

2004-10-29T00:08:00.000-07:00

One of the great long poems in the English language, written in the 16th century by Edmund Spenser. As originally conceived, the poem was to have been a religious-moral-political allegory in 12 books, each consisting of the adventures of a knight representing a particular moral virtue; Book I, for example, recounts the legend of the Red Cross Knight, or Holiness. The knights

Barataria Bay

2004-10-27T17:45:00.000-07:00

Inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, about 15 miles (24 km) long and 12 miles (19 km) wide, in southeastern Louisiana, U.S. Its entrance, largely blocked by Grand Isle and the Grand Terre Islands, is via a narrow Gulf channel navigable through connecting waterways into the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway system. The bay is indented and marshy with many islands. The surrounding low-lying Barataria

Sackville

2004-10-23T19:51:00.000-07:00

Town, Westmorland county, southeastern New Brunswick, Canada. It lies near the Nova Scotia border, 27 miles (43 km) southeast of Moncton. Three French villages occupied the site about 1720, but these were destroyed with the capture of nearby Fort Beauséjour (Fort Cumberland) and the expulsion of the Acadians in 1755. Resettled in 1761 by New England immigrants, the community was named after

Eakins, Thomas

2004-10-21T03:02:00.000-07:00

Although always respected for his ability, Eakins remained throughout his years something of an outcast. His contemporaries, rather than allowing themselves to be shaken by his frank statements of the human condition and his joyous appreciation of the human body, ignored him. He sold few pictures, but fortunately a small private income matched his modest needs.

Crailsheim

2004-10-19T09:36:00.000-07:00

City, Baden-Württemberg Land (state), southwestern Germany. It lies along the Jagst River, about 45 miles (70 km) northeast of Stuttgart. A Frankish settlement in the 6th and 7th centuries, it was chartered in 1320 and passed to the Hohenzollerns in 1399 and to Württemberg in 1810. Most of the old city with its historic buildings was destroyed in World War II, but the Romanesque church of St. John

Percussion

2004-10-17T14:08:00.000-07:00

In medicine, diagnostic procedure that entails striking the body directly or indirectly with short, sharp taps of a finger or, rarely, a hammer. The procedure was first described in 1761 by the Austrian physician Leopold Auenbrugger von Auenbrugg. Although generally ignored by his contemporaries, it is now routinely employed. The sounds produced by the procedure are

Tarija

2004-10-16T05:45:00.000-07:00

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

Japan, Flag Of

2004-10-14T05:01:00.000-07:00

According to tradition, the sun goddess Amaterasu founded Japan in the 7th century BC and was an ancestor of the first of its emperors, Jimmu. Even today the emperor is known as the “Son of the Sun,” and a popular name for the country is “Land of the Rising Sun.” The first concrete evidence that testifies to use of a sun flag for Japan dates from 1184, but there are oral traditions going

Indian Summer

2004-10-11T01:03:00.000-07:00

Period of dry, unseasonably warm weather in late October or November in the central and eastern United States. The term originated in New England and probably arose from the Indians' practice of gathering winter stores at this time. This autumn warm period also occurs in Europe, where in Britain it is called All-hallown summer or Old Wives' summer. Indian summer may

Mardaïte

2004-10-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

Arabic Jurjumani, plural Jarajima, member of a Christian people of northern Syria, employed as soldiers by Byzantine emperors. The Mardaïtes inhabited the Amanus (Gavur) Mountains, in the modern Turkish province of Hatay, the 7th-century borderland between Byzantine and Muslim territory. In the period 660–680, allied with the Byzantine emperor Constantine IV, the Mardaïtes pushed southward into Arab-occupied

Frederick Iii

2004-10-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

Frederick, the son of Duke Ernest of Austria, inherited the Habsburg possessions of Inner Austria (Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, and Gorizia) on his father's death in 1424. By 1439 he had become the senior member of

Ojin

2004-10-05T18:06:00.000-07:00

In full Ojin Tenno, personal name Hondawake No Mikoto semilegendary 15th emperor of Japan, who according to tradition flourished in the 3rd–4th century. Ojin is believed to have consolidated imperial power, spearheaded land reform, and actively promoted cultural exchanges with Korea and China. It is said that highly skilled weaving techniques were brought from Korea during his reign. Chinese scholars introduced

Consanguinity

2004-10-04T15:06:00.000-07:00

Kin are of two basic kinds: consanguineous (sharing common ancestors) and affinal (the kinsmen of one's spouse). In some societies other

Qatar, Health and welfare

2004-10-02T05:48:00.000-07:00

Health care and medical services are provided free to all residents through government programs. The government also funds recreational and cultural clubs and facilities for young people as part of its extensive “youth welfare” campaign.

Refractory

2004-09-29T22:20:00.000-07:00

Any material that has an unusually high melting point and that maintains its structural properties at very high temperatures. Composed principally of ceramics, refractories are employed in great quantities in the metallurgical, glassmaking, and ceramics industries, where they are formed into a variety of shapes to line the interiors of furnaces, kilns, and other

Uterine Cervix

2004-09-28T19:17:00.000-07:00

Lowest region of the uterus; it attaches the uterus to the vagina and provides a passage between the vaginal cavity and the uterine cavity. The cervix, only about 4 centimetres (1.6 inches) long, projects about 2 centimetres into the upper vaginal cavity. The cervical opening into the vagina is called the external os; the cavity running the length of the cervix is the endocervical

Roberts, Kenneth (lewis)

2004-09-25T05:44:00.000-07:00

Roberts worked as a journalist until 1917, when he began service as a captain in the Intelligence Section of the U.S. Army's Siberian Expeditionary Force. He was staff correspondent of the Saturday Evening Post from 1919 until

Hadassah

2004-09-23T05:17:00.000-07:00

The organization is one of the largest volunteer women's organizations in the United States. It was founded in 1912 by Jewish scholar and activist Henrietta Szold and

Deere, John

2004-09-22T06:01:00.000-07:00

Apprenticed to a blacksmith at age 17, Deere set up his own smithy trade four years later and, for 12 years, did work in various towns of his native Vermont. In 1837, when 33 years old, he headed west and eventually settled in Grand Detour, Ill., where he set up a blacksmith's shop, and

Chemical Association

2004-09-20T07:33:00.000-07:00

The aggregation of atoms or molecules into larger units held together by forces weaker than chemical bonds that bind atoms in molecules. The term is usually restricted to the formation of aggregates of like molecules or atoms. Polymerization also denotes the formation of larger units by the union of like small units but usually with chemical bonds between the

Gage, Matilda Joslyn

2004-09-17T19:58:00.000-07:00

Matilda Joslyn received an advanced education from her father and completed her formal schooling at the Clinton Liberal Institute in Clinton, New York. In 1845 she married Henry H. Gage, with whom she settled in Fayetteville,

China, Posts and telecommunications

2004-09-16T17:51:00.000-07:00

Posts and telecommunications were established rapidly in the 1950s and '60s. By 1952 the principal posts and telecommunications network centred on Peking, and links to all large cities had been established. Great progress was made in improving the postal service under the First Five-Year Plan. Postal service was also developed in the rural areas. Besides extending rural postal

Sesostris I

2004-09-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

Sesostris became coregent in 1918 BC with his aging father, Amenemhet I, who had founded the 12th dynasty. While his father completed his domestic reforms, Sesostris undertook the conquest of Nubia, to the south of Egypt, and in the year 30 of his father's reign

Arts, Central Asian, Samanids

2004-09-12T06:55:00.000-07:00

The Samanids centred their kingdom in Khorasan. In the 9th century, under the leadership of Esma'il, they ruled over Transoxania and eastern Persia from their capital of Bukhara. Esma'il's türbe, or mausoleum, the oldest Islamic monument surviving in Bukhara, reproduces the form of the Zoroastrian chanar taq, or fire temple. In Samanid and Seljuqid hands, the türbe generally took the

Celadon

2004-09-10T07:47:00.000-07:00

Chinese, Korean, Siamese, and Japanese stoneware decorated with green glazes. To create this ware, artisans apply a wash of slip (liquefied clay), which contains a high proportion of iron, to the body of the stoneware before glazing. The iron interacts with the glaze during the firing and colours it one of various shades of green. First made in China, a wide demand led to the

Kirklees

2004-09-07T16:31:00.000-07:00

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

Skamander

2004-09-05T19:11:00.000-07:00

Group of young Polish poets who were united in their desire to forge a new poetic language that would accurately reflect the experience of modern life. Founded in Warsaw about 1918, the Skamander group took its name, and the name of its monthly publication, from a river of ancient Troy. The group was founded by Julian Tuwim and other poets. Tuwim, a lyrical poet of emotional

Amphibian, Reproduction

2004-09-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

The three living groups of amphibians have distinct evolutionary lineages and exhibit a diverse range of life strategies. The breeding behaviour of each order will be discussed in its individual section below. One similar tendency among amphibians has been the evolution in some species of direct development of young in terrestrial eggs, thus eliminating the

Annelid, Locomotion

2004-09-02T19:13:00.000-07:00

The basic features of locomotion in annelids are most easily observed in the earthworm because it lacks appendages and parapodia. Movement involves extending the body, anchoring it to a surface with setae, and contracting body muscles. When the worm begins a forward movement, circular muscles at the anterior end contract, extending the head forward. At the same

Amboise, Conspiracy Of

2004-08-30T02:16:00.000-07:00

On the accession of the 14-year-old Francis II to the French throne in 1559, the Guise family gained ascendancy in the government, creating enmity among the smaller nobility. A conspiracy to overturn their government was formed at Nantes, with a needy Périgord nobleman named La Renaudie

Binchy, Maeve

2004-08-27T14:56:00.000-07:00

Educated at University College, Dublin (B.A., 1960), Binchy taught school in Dublin from 1961 to 1968, when she began her career as a reporter for the daily

Binchy, Maeve

2004-08-25T06:13:00.000-07:00

Formed at the urging of Britain and the United States, the Central Treaty Organization was intended to counter the threat of Soviet

V.c.

2004-08-23T23:07:00.000-07:00

Recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest military award bestowed in Great Britain. See Victoria Cross.

Aethelbald

2004-08-21T05:42:00.000-07:00

King of the Mercians from 716, who became the chief king of a confederation including all the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms between the River Humber and the English Channel. His predominance was made possible by the death of the strong king Wihtred of Kent (725) and the abdication of Ine of Wessex (726). During Aethelbald's reign, London passed from East Saxon to Mercian control.

Tyr

2004-08-18T23:34:00.000-07:00

Old Norse Týr , Old English Tiw , or Tiu one of the oldest gods of the Germanic peoples and a somewhat enigmatic figure. He was apparently the god concerned with the formalities of war—especially treaties—and also, appropriately, of justice. It is in his character as guarantor of contracts, guardian of oaths, that the most famous myth about him may be understood: as a guarantee of good faith, he placed his hand

Ear, Human, Descending pathways

2004-08-16T16:50:00.000-07:00

Parallel with the pathway ascending from the cochlear nuclei to the cortex is a pathway descending from the cortex to the cochlear nuclei. In both pathways some of the fibres remain on the same side, while others cross the midline to the opposite side of the brain. There is also evidence of a “spur” line ascending from the dorsal cochlear nucleus to the cerebellum and

Tsinghai

2004-08-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Ch'ing-hai, (Pinyin) Qinghai, sheng (province) of northwestern China. Located in the Tibetan Highlands, it has an average elevation of 13,000 feet (4,000 metres). It is bounded on the north and east by Kansu, on the southeast by Szechwan, on the south and west by the Tibet Autonomous Region, and on the west and north by the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang. Tsinghai has an area of about 284,600 square miles (737,000 square kilometres).

Guzmán, Martín Luis

2004-08-12T09:21:00.000-07:00

After studying law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City, Guzmán joined the Mexican Revolution and served as a colonel in the revolutionary forces of Pancho Villa. From 1914 to 1934, he lived in exile in Madrid and New York