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Haber-bosch Process

2005-04-05T13:38:00.000-07:00

Also called Haber ammonia process, or synthetic ammonia process, method of directly synthesizing ammonia from hydrogen and nitrogen, developed by the German physical chemist Fritz Haber. He received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1918 for this method, which made the manufacture of ammonia economically feasible. The method was translated into a large-scale process using a catalyst and high-pressure methods by Carl Bosch, an industrial

Melville, Jean-pierre

2005-04-04T08:27:00.000-07:00

Grumbach's enthusiasm for American culture prompted him to change his name to that of his favourite writer, Herman Melville. He served in the Free French forces during World War II, founded his own

La Victoria

2005-04-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

Quarter and district of the Lima-Callao metropolitan area of Peru, south of downtown Lima. It is mainly residential, with slums in the north, pueblos jóvenes (“young towns”), or squatter settlements, in the east, and middle-income housing in the south. The district is the site of Peru's largest wholesale and retail market area, near which are many light industries. La Victoria

Bradford, Roark (whitney Wickliffe)

2005-04-03T05:45:00.000-07:00

Bradford had little formal education; instead, he found the substance for his career in the people around him. When he began work as a reporter in 1920, he met the colourful characters of various Southern

Chromosomal Disorder

2005-04-01T22:39:00.000-08:00

Normally, humans have 46 chromosomes arranged in 23 pairs; the pairs vary in size and shape and are numbered by convention. Twenty-two of the pairs are autosomes, and one pair, number 23, is the sex chromosomes. Any variation from

Astipálaia

2005-03-31T06:45:00.000-08:00

Island, westernmost of the Greek Dodecanese Islands, Aegean Sea, between Amorgós and Cos (Kos). With an area of 37 square miles (97 square km), it comprises two mountain masses linked by a narrow isthmus that provided shelter for the ancient Roman fleet. The western hills rise to about 1,500 feet (450 m) and the eastern hills to about 1,200 feet (365 m). The coast is much indented, with high cliffs rising

Field, David Dudley

2005-03-30T14:23:00.000-08:00

U.S. lawyer whose advocacy of law codification had international influence. The “Field Code” of civil procedure, enacted by New York state in 1848, was subsequently adopted in whole or in part in many other U.S. states, in the federal court system, and in England, Ireland (both 1873), and several British overseas possessions, notably India. He was

Biblical Literature, The Reformation period

2005-03-30T06:53:00.000-08:00

The English theologian John Colet (c. 1466–1519) broke with medieval scholasticism when he returned from the Continent to Oxford in 1496 and lectured on the Pauline letters, expounding the text in terms of its plain meaning as seen in its historical context. The humanist Erasmus (c. 1466–1536) owed to him much of his insight into biblical exegesis. By the successive printed editions of his Greek

Ryan, Nolan

2005-03-28T19:40:00.000-08:00

Ryan was taught to play baseball by an elder brother and was a wild but fast pitcher in high school before he was signed by the National League New York Mets in 1965. He pitched for their minor league

Beyer-garratt

2005-03-28T15:32:00.000-08:00

Type of steam locomotive characterized by tremendous hauling capacity and light axle loads. This British-built locomotive had two articulated pivoting chassis, each with its own wheels, cylinders, and water tanks. These chassis supported a girder frame that carried a boiler, cab, and the fuel supply. The Beyer-Garratt was particularly well-suited for rail lines

Prosody

2005-03-25T15:43:00.000-08:00

Ancient critics like Aristotle and Horace insisted that certain metres were natural to the specific poetic genres; thus, Aristotle (in the Poetics) noted that “Nature herself, as we have said, teaches the choice of the proper measure.” In epic verse the poet should use the heroic measure (dactylic hexameter) because this metre most effectively represents or imitates

Round

2005-03-24T10:45:00.000-08:00

In music, a polyphonic vocal composition in which three or four voices follow each other around in a canon at the unison or octave. See canon; catch.

'amir, 'abd Al-hakim

2005-03-23T17:14:00.000-08:00

'Amir attended War College, where he met Gamal Abdel Nasser. The two men served during the first Arab-Israeli

Ethelred Ii

2005-03-23T15:38:00.000-08:00

The son of King Edgar (ruled 959–975), Ethelred ascended the throne upon the assassination of his

Porphyria

2005-03-22T02:28:00.000-08:00

Any of a group of diseases characterized by the marked overproduction and excretion of porphyrins or of one or another of their precursors. The porphyrins are reddish constituents of heme, the deep red iron-containing pigment of hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein of the red blood cells. The deposition of porphyrin compounds in body tissues, notably the skin,

Vacuum Technology

2005-03-21T00:16:00.000-08:00

Capacities >are available from 1/2 to 1,000 cubic feet per minute, operating from atmospheric pressure down to as low as 2 ´ 10-2 torr for single-stage pumps and less than 5 ´ 10-3 torr for two-stage pumps. The pumps develop their full speed from atmosphere to about one torr, the speed then decreasing to zero at their ultimate pressures. One device of this type, useful for pumping both liquids

Bingen

2005-03-19T08:10:00.000-08:00

In full Bingen am Rhein city, Rhineland-Palatinate Land (state), southwestern Germany. Bingen is a port at the confluence of the Rhine and Nahe rivers, near the whirlpool known as Binger Loch. It originated as the Roman fortress of Bingium and later became an imperial free city, joining the Hanseatic League in 1254. The archbishop-electors of Mainz held the town from 1281 until it fell to Hessen in 1803, after

Toadstool

2005-03-19T08:07:00.000-08:00

Any of various inedible or poisonous species of mushrooms (division Mycota). See mushroom.

Biblical Literature, Apocalypses

2005-03-18T23:31:00.000-08:00

In addition, it should be noted that there were

Spooner Amendment

2005-03-17T16:24:00.000-08:00

Filipinos fought the imposition of American rule, and it was believed in the United States that their

Acre River

2005-03-17T13:10:00.000-08:00

Portuguese Rio Acre, river, chiefly in western Brazil, rising on the Peruvian border, along which it continues eastward to form part of the Brazil–Bolivia border. Turning north at Brasiléia, the remainder of its 400-mi (645-km) course flows in a north-northeasterly direction, through the Brazilian states of Acre and Amazonas, to join the Rio Purus, a tributary of the Amazon, at Bôca do Acre. It was formerly

Deering, William

2005-03-15T17:00:00.000-08:00

Deering helped manage his family's woolen mill in South Paris in western Maine. About 1850 he went to Illinois and Iowa to invest in farmland, but he returned to South Paris in 1856 and set up a

Dieppe

2005-03-15T13:03:00.000-08:00

In the old town many houses date back to the early 18th century. The castle, built in 1435, was damaged in 1944 but has been restored and now

Cylinder Recording

2005-03-15T04:29:00.000-08:00

Earliest form of phonograph record, invented by Thomas A. Edison in 1877. The sound to be recorded was focused by a horn onto a diaphragm, causing it to vibrate; the vibrations were transmitted to a stylus and modulated its motion as it followed a helical path along the surface of a yielding material (such as wax) that coated a cylinder rotating under the stylus. See also phonograph

Albuquerque

2005-03-14T14:28:00.000-08:00

Largest city of New Mexico, U.S., seat (1852) of Bernalillo county, on the Rio Grande opposite a pass between the Sandia and Manzano mountains to the east. It is encircled by Indian pueblos and sections of the Cibola National Forest (of which it is headquarters). Founded in 1706 by Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdés, governor and captain general of New Mexico, it was named for the Duque de Alburquerque,

Medicine, Public health practice

2005-03-13T20:52:00.000-08:00

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

Sunspot

2005-03-13T03:16:00.000-08:00

Vortex of gas on the surface of the Sun associated with strong local magnetic activity. Spots look dark only by contrast with the surrounding photosphere, which is several thousand degrees hotter. The dark centre of a spot is called the umbra; the outer, lighter ring, the penumbra. Spots may be several times larger than the Earth or so small that telescopic observation

Andrew Of Lonjumel

2005-03-12T15:30:00.000-08:00

On his first diplomatic mission, to Constantinople (1238), he brought back the relic revered as

East Dorset

2005-03-12T00:52:00.000-08:00

District, administrative county of Dorset, southern England, in the northeastern corner of the county directly north of the English Channel resorts of Bournemouth and Poole. Most of the district is part of the historic county of Dorset, but its easternmost section, including St. Leonards, is in the historic county of Hampshire. East Dorset district is a low-lying plain

Literature, Swedish.

2005-03-10T06:48:00.000-08:00

A feeling of lost control and an urge to use language to beseech a present and a past that had gone out of hand served as a rough summary of preferred themes in Swedish literature in 2001. Per Olov Enquist's Lewis resa portrayed revivalist Lewi Pethrus, the founding father of the Swedish branch of the Pentecostal

Saxony

2005-03-10T04:07:00.000-08:00

German Sachsen, Land (state), eastern Germany. Saxony Land was re-created in the process of the reunification of East with West Germany in 1990 from the former East German Bezirke (districts) of Dresden, Chemnitz (formerly Karl-Marx-Stadt), and most of Leipzig, along with a small part of Cottbus Bezirk. The East German Bezirke had themselves been created in 1952 from historic Saxony. The current territory

Steffens, (joseph) Lincoln

2005-03-09T17:40:00.000-08:00

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.

Reformation Day

2005-03-08T02:51:00.000-08:00

Anniversary of the day Martin Luther is said to have posted his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Ger. (Oct. 31, 1517), later identified by Protestants as the beginning of the Reformation. (See Researcher's Note.) The European Lutheran territorial churches at first commemorated the Reformation on various days, among them the anniversary of Luther's

Andrea Del Sarto

2005-03-08T00:57:00.000-08:00

Original name Andrea d'Agnolo Italian painter and draftsman whose works of exquisite composition and craftsmanship were instrumental in the development of the Florentine-Roman school in the first half of the 16th century. His most striking among other well-known works is the series of frescoes on the life of St. John the Baptist about 1511 and

Abbott, George

2005-03-08T00:04:00.000-08:00

After graduating from the University of Rochester, N.Y., in 1911, Abbott began acting on Broadway in 1913. He soon began writing and directing plays as well, and he achieved

Ashrawi, Hanan

2005-03-06T19:47:00.000-08:00

The youngest daughter of a prominent physician, who was a founder of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), she grew up in an Anglican family. In the late 1960s Ashrawi joined the General Union of Palestinian

Chiang K'ang-hu

2005-03-05T06:41:00.000-08:00

Born into a scholar-official family, Chiang studied at home and briefly in Japan before returning to China in 1901 to take charge of the compilation of elementary-school textbooks for the schools of five northern

Gray Birch

2005-03-03T18:40:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Grey Birch, also called Oldfield Birch, Wire Birch, or Poplar-leaved Birch (Betula populifolia), slender ornamental tree of the family Betulaceae, found in clusters on moist sites in northeastern North America. Rarely 12 m (40 feet) tall, it is covered almost to the ground with flexible branches that form a narrow, pyramidal crown. The thin, glossy, dark green, triangular leaves have long, thin stems and flutter in the wind. In one variety, the leaves are

Rebec

2005-03-03T07:42:00.000-08:00

Bowed, stringed musical instrument of European medieval and early Renaissance music. It was originally called a rubebe, developed about the 11th century from the similar Arab rabab, and was carried to Spain with Muslim culture. Like the rabab, the rebec had a shallow, pear-shaped body, but on the rebec the rabab's skin belly was replaced by wood and a fingerboard was added. The

Wolf

2005-03-03T00:34:00.000-08:00

The gray wolf has a larger natural

Valachi, Joseph

2005-03-02T07:48:00.000-08:00

Valachi held a rank in the Mafia equivalent to that of a sergeant, with interests chiefly in the numbers rackets and other gambling from the 1930s to the '50s. In 1959 he was convicted of narcotics violations and sentenced to 15 to

Armistice

2005-03-01T21:18:00.000-08:00

An agreement for the cessation of active hostilities between two or more belligerents. Generally, the terms, scope, and duration of an armistice are determined by the contracting belligerents. An armistice agreement may involve a partial or temporary cessation of hostilities—called a local armistice or truce—established for a variety of specific purposes, such

Discount Store

2005-03-01T11:56:00.000-08:00

In merchandising, retail store that sells products at prices lower than those asked by traditional retail outlets. Some, like department stores, offer wide assortments of goods; others specialize in such merchandise as jewelry, electronic equipment, or electrical appliances. Food stores also have been operated on the discount principle. Stores that are open only

Arts, Central Asian, Tibetan music

2005-02-28T00:19:00.000-08:00

Tibetan religious music is the only Central Asian repertoire that has a long history of written notation. This notation, for liturgical chant, consists of neumes—i.e., symbols representing melodic contour rather than precise pitch, similar to the earliest music writing of medieval Europe. Also distinctive is the metaphysical aspect of Tibetan Buddhist music, related

Gambaga Scarp

2005-02-27T20:09:00.000-08:00

Line of cliffs along the Volta River basin, northeastern Ghana, western Africa. The scarp forms the elevated northern boundary of the Volta River basin and the eastern section of the granite plateaus of Wa and Mamprusi. To the south is another narrow plateau, followed by a gradual descent to the surrounding land. The Gambaga's steep erosional scarps reveal a composition

Rabbit

2005-02-27T10:07:00.000-08:00

There is no single taxonomic group that constitutes the rabbit. Rather the name refers to an accumulation of 10 genera in the family Leporidae whose characteristics are intermediate between hares and pikas, the other members of order Lagomorpha. The best-known and most recognizable of the 28 rabbit species are the European rabbit and the 16 or so species of North and South

Siberian Chronicles

2005-02-26T19:43:00.000-08:00

The origin, reliability, and interrelationships of the

'brog-mi

2005-02-26T07:14:00.000-08:00

'Brog-mi studied for one year in Nepal and for eight years at Vikramashila (Bihar, India). Coming under the influence of Atisa, an Indian Buddhist who arrived in Tibet about 1042, 'Brog-mi was a leader in the revival of Tibetan Buddhism. He founded a new and powerful order known as Sa-skya-pa. In 1073 his disciple Dkon-mchog rgyal-po established the

Gradus

2005-02-25T01:01:00.000-08:00

A dictionary of Greek or Latin prosody and poetic phrases used as an aid in the writing of verse in Greek or Latin. The term is derived from the Gradus ad Parnassum (“A Step to Parnassus”), a 17th-century prosody dictionary long used in British schools.

Kuharic, Franjo Cardinal

2005-02-24T14:46:00.000-08:00

Croatian Roman Catholic cleric (b. April 15, 1919, Pribic, Yugos.—d. March 11, 2002, Zagreb, Croatia), served as a strong nationalist symbol for his countrymen during Croatia's 1991 secession from Yugoslavia and the war that ensued (1991–95). In his role as archbishop of Zagreb (1970–97) and, thus, Roman Catholic primate of Croatia, Kuharic condemned religious intolerance and violence against Serbs and Muslims.

Marprelate Controversy

2005-02-24T11:59:00.000-08:00

Brief but well-known pamphlet war (1588–89) carried on by English Puritans using secret presses; they attacked the episcopacy as “profane, proud, paltry, popish, pestilent, pernicious, presumptious prelates.” The tracts, of which seven survive, never had the support of Puritan leaders and ceased when the presses were discovered by government agents. The identity of the author,

Baikie, William Balfour

2005-02-22T17:42:00.000-08:00

Educated in medicine at the University of Edinburgh, Baikie entered the Royal Navy as an assistant surgeon in 1848 and served on several ships as well as on land (1851–54). In 1854 he joined an expedition up the Niger River and, on the death

Avalon, Frankie

2005-02-22T06:47:00.000-08:00

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

Adams, Henry

2005-02-21T18:54:00.000-08:00

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.

Rama

2005-02-20T23:00:00.000-08:00

One of the most widely worshipped Hindu deities, the embodiment of chivalry and virtue. Although there are three Ramas mentioned in Indian tradition (Parasurama, Balarama, and Ramacandra), the name is specifically associated with Ramacandra, the seventh incarnation (avatara) of Lord Vishnu (Visnu). It is possible that Rama was an actual historical figure, a tribal hero of ancient

Bürger, Gottfried August

2005-02-20T16:46:00.000-08:00

Bürger was educated in theology at the University of Halle and in law at the University of Göttingen. It was in Göttingen that he first

Río Gallegos

2005-02-19T22:56:00.000-08:00

Founded in 1885, it was named for Blasco Gallegos, one of Ferdinand Magellan's pilots, who is credited with discovering the river. Prehistoric cave paintings

Macdonough, Thomas

2005-02-18T09:59:00.000-08:00

Entering the navy as a midshipman in 1800, Macdonough saw service during the U.S. war with Tripoli (1801–05). When war broke out with England, his major assignment

Thecodontian

2005-02-17T21:58:00.000-08:00

Archaic term formerly applied to any member of a group of primitive archosaurs (“ruling reptiles”) thought to include the ancestral stock of all other archosaurs, including birds, dinosaurs, pterosaurs (extinct flying reptiles), and crocodiles. The name thecodont means “socket-toothed.”

Animals, The

2005-02-17T09:34:00.000-08:00

Five-piece rock group from northeastern England whose driving sound influenced Bob Dylan's decision, in 1965, to begin working with musicians playing electric instruments. The principal members were Eric Burdon (b. May 11, 1941, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, Eng.), Alan Price (b. April 19, 1942, Fatfield, Durham), Hilton Valentine (b. May 21, 1943, North Shields, Tyne and Wear), Chas Chandler (byname of Bryan

Gandhinagar

2005-02-16T00:05:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Gujarat state, west-central India. It lies on the banks of the Sabarmati River, north of the former capital of Ahmadabad. Built to supplant the former capital, the city was begun in 1966. The first state government offices were transferred there in 1970. An expressway connects Gandhinagar with Ahmadabad. Pop. (1991 prelim.) 121,746.

Aeolus

2005-02-15T23:45:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, mythical king of Magnesia in Thessaly, the son of Hellen (the eponymous ancestor of the true Greeks, or Hellenes) and father of Sisyphus (the “most crafty of men”). Aeolus' daughter Canace and son Macareus committed incest and then took their own lives. Their story provided the subject of Euripides' lost Aeolus. Aeolus gave his name to Aeolis, a territory

Gipsite

2005-02-15T02:51:00.000-08:00

A variety of the mineral gypsum (q.v.).

Muktafi, Al-

2005-02-13T15:20:00.000-08:00

The son of al-Mu'tadid, al-Muktafi ascended to the throne in 902 with somewhat more popular support than his predecessors, thanks to his liberal rule and abolition of dungeons in Baghdad. He immediately faced battle with the Qarmatians, a schismatic

Amiens

2005-02-13T15:19:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Somme département, Picardie région, principal city and ancient capital of Picardy, northern France, in the Somme River valley, north of Paris. Famed since the European Middle Ages are its textile industry and its great Gothic Cathedral of Notre-Dame, one of the finest in France. Known as Samarobriva in pre-Roman times and capital of the Ambiani (whence

Jian

2005-02-12T21:27:00.000-08:00

The jian, which has a simple silhouette, is supported upon a narrow ring base. It has two or four ring handles that freely hang from slightly modeled monster masks (taotie). The decoration of the jian characteristic of the late Zhou dynasty (c. 600–256/255 BC), from which the

Pérez De Ayala, Ramón

2005-02-12T14:42:00.000-08:00

Pérez de Ayala studied law at Oviedo University and philosophy and literature at the University of Madrid. During World War I he covered France, Italy, England, South America, and the United States as a correspondent for the Buenos Aires periodical

Dachau

2005-02-12T09:11:00.000-08:00

Dachau is situated on a hill, on the summit of which are the castle of the Wittelsbachs and a parish church (1625). The city's picturesque natural setting has long attracted landscape painters.

Ma Yuan

2005-02-11T02:37:00.000-08:00

It was in landscape painting that Ma's genius lay. He executed a number of large landscape screens, all of which are now lost. He also painted tall, hanging scrolls in which, according to an early Chinese writer, “there are steep mountains rising imposingly, with streams winding around them and waterfalls partly hidden among the trees.” The author also wrote that Ma made

Literature

2005-02-10T08:52:00.000-08:00

The predominant theme of 2001 was literature that chronicled the ordeals of political prisoners in a number of Arab countries. Works defined as “prison literature” were authored by freed political prisoners motivated to speak out by the relative freedom in the past two years in their countries. Writing in French,

Switzerland

2005-02-09T07:38:00.000-08:00

With its economy in good shape and a substantial budget surplus expected, Switzerland sailed through the year 2000. The nation's exports, particularly pharmaceuticals and watches, benefited from the strong dollar. While strains were experienced in some industrial sectors, average unemployment remained under 3%. Despite a sharp rise in fuel prices, long lines at filling

Petralona Skull

2005-02-09T02:27:00.000-08:00

The skull has a large brow and a slanting forehead, and, from the structure of the face, the jaw is estimated to have been larger

Gondomar, Diego Sarmiento De Acuña, Count (conde) De

2005-02-09T00:28:00.000-08:00

Gondomar's diplomatic fame rests largely on two missions to England (1613–18 and 1620–22). The chief objective of his first mission was to persuade James I to abandon his alliance with France and the Protestant countries on the Continent and to form an alliance

Conté Crayon

2005-02-08T18:04:00.000-08:00

French Crayon Conté, drawing pencil named after Nicolas-Jacques Conté, the French scientist who invented it late in the 18th century. The conté crayon is an especially hard pencil, made of an admixture of graphite and clay that can be varied for different degrees of hardness. It is usually made in black, red, or brown and is used as a drawing medium in any combination of these colours.

Theodahad

2005-02-07T21:32:00.000-08:00

The son of Theodoric's sister, Theodahad was invited to share the throne with Amalasuntha in 534, after the death of her son. Theodahad

Toots And The Maytals

2005-02-07T20:59:00.000-08:00

Formed in 1962 as a ska group fronted by the charismatic Hibbert, the Maytals (originally known as the Vikings, then as

Duwaym, Ad-

2005-02-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ed-dueim, city, central Sudan, on the western bank of the White Nile, about 87 miles (140 km) southwest of Wad Madani and located at an elevation of 1,253 feet (382 m). It is an agricultural centre for the surrounding area, which produces cotton, cereals, oilseeds, peanuts (groundnuts), wheat, fruits, and vegetables. Industries include mechanized mills producing oils from sesame seeds and peanuts, soap

Music, Opera.

2005-02-06T15:37:00.000-08:00

The Finnish National Opera opened a new house in Helsinki, and the Opéra de Lyon (France) inaugurated a bold new home set within and above the walls of an 1831 theatre. With Glyndebourne's theatre under construction, the British company's productions were transferred to the Royal Festival Hall in London and the new Symphony Hall in Birmingham. The Metropolitan Opera in

Christianity, Eschatological expectations and secularization

2005-02-06T15:09:00.000-08:00

In the eyes of some theologians, the very process of secularization, which progressively rules out transcendent explanations of natural and historical conditions, has been a working out of a form of eschatological expectation. Of course, the substance is quite different in the cases where people work in expectation of the Kingdom of God and in the other cases where

Vairocana

2005-02-06T08:40:00.000-08:00

Some Buddhists regard Vairocana, or Mahavairocana, as a being separate from the five “self-born” Dhyani-Buddhas, one of whom is known as Vairocana (see Dhyani-Buddha). Among the Shingon sect of Japan, he is the chief object of reverence and is regarded as the source

Sarapeum

2005-02-06T03:00:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Serapeum, or Sarapieion, either of two temples of ancient Egypt, dedicated to the worship of the Greco-Egyptian god Sarapis (Serapis). The original elaborate temple of that name was located on the west bank of the Nile near Saqqarah and originated as a monument to the deceased Apis bulls, sacred animals of the god Ptah. Though the area was used as a cemetery for the bulls as early as 1400 BC, it was Ramses

Atchison

2005-02-04T05:21:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1855) of Atchison county, northeastern Kansas, U.S., on the Missouri River. A French trading post at the site of the present city was the embarkation point, in 1804, for the Lewis and Clark expedition. Founded in 1854 by a group of proslavery settlers, it was named for their leader, David Rice Atchison, a U.S. senator from Missouri. It developed as a focus for rail and river traffic, and

Eritrea

2005-02-04T03:53:00.000-08:00

Eritrea consists of a northward extension of the Ethiopian Plateau, bordered by lower plains to the east and west. The plateau, 6,500 feet (2,000 m) in elevation, is dissected by the valleys of westward-flowing rivers whose eroding action has formed steep-sided, flat-topped formations known as ambas. To the east, the arid, treeless coastal plain (10–50 miles [16–80 km] wide) is sharply delimited

Accordion

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

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

Agramonte Y Simoni, Aristides

2005-02-03T19:57:00.000-08:00

Agramonte was the son of a prominent physician who had been killed while serving in the Cuban Army of Liberation. Brought up in New York City, Agramonte

Discount Rate

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

The discount rate serves as an important indicator

Indian Paint Brush

2005-02-02T03:25:00.000-08:00

Also called Painted Cup, Painted Lady, or Paint Brush, any plant of the genus Castilleja (family Scrophulariaceae), which contains about 200 species of partially or wholly parasitic plants that derive nourishment from the roots of other plants. For this reason the plants are seldom cultivated successfully in the flower garden. The small, tubular flowers are irregular (two-lipped). They are surrounded by upper

Chasing

2005-02-01T22:09:00.000-08:00

Metalwork technique used to define or refine the forms of a surface design and to bring them to the height of relief required. The metal is worked from the front by hammering with various tools that raise, depress, or push aside the metal without removing any from the surface (except when the term chasing, instead of the more appropriate term chiselling, is used to describe

Venezuela, Climate

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

Venezuela lies well within the tropics, and the country's temperatures are relatively uniform with little seasonal variation. Elevation, however, produces significant local differences in temperature, precipitation, and vegetation. More than nine-tenths of Venezuela has a mean annual temperature above 75 °F (24 °C). The average mean temperature for Caracas, lying in a

Gum

2005-01-31T15:23:00.000-08:00

Also called Gingiva, plural Gingivae, in anatomy, mucous membrane attached to and surrounding the necks of the teeth and adjacent alveolar bone. Before the erupting teeth enter the mouth cavity, gum pads develop; these are slight elevations of the overlying oral mucous membrane. When tooth eruption is complete, the gum embraces the neck region of each tooth. As well as being attached to adjacent alveolar

Fibrocystic Disease

2005-01-31T06:59:00.000-08:00

Fibrocystic disease of the breast, also called chronic cystic mastitis, or cystic disease of the breast, most often occurs in women between the ages of 30 and 50. It is characterized by benign, noncancerous

Colfax, Schuyler

2005-01-30T01:40:00.000-08:00

At the end of his term, Colfax returned to private life under a cloud but managed to make a living by delivering popular lectures.

Agapetus I, Saint

2005-01-29T18:29:00.000-08:00

Pope from 535 to 536. Of noble birth, he was an archdeacon at the time of his election (May 13, 535). At the urging of the Ostrogothic king Theodahad, he headed an unsuccessful mission to Constantinople to deter the emperor Justinian I from his plans to reconquer Italy. While there he secured the election of, and consecrated,

Aesthetics, Japan

2005-01-29T03:00:00.000-08:00

The practice of literary commentary and aesthetic discussion was extensively developed in Japan and is exemplified at its most engaging in the great novel Genji monogatari (c. 1000; Tale of Genji), written by Murasaki Shikibu, lady-in-waiting to the Empress. Centuries of commentary on this novel, as well as on the court literature that it inspired, on the no and puppet plays,

Ba

2005-01-28T17:12:00.000-08:00

In ancient Egyptian religion, with ka and akh, a principal aspect of the soul; the ba appears in bird form, thus expressing the mobility of the soul after death. Originally written with the sign of the jabiru bird, and thought to be an attribute of only the god-king, the ba was later represented by a man-headed hawk, often depicted hovering over the mummies of king and populace

Kaneohe

2005-01-28T05:37:00.000-08:00

Town, Honolulu County, northeastern Oahu Island, Hawaii, U.S. Spreading from the foothills of the Koolau Range to Kaneohe Bay, it is primarily residential and is the seat of Windward Community College (1972). Like neighbouring Kailua to the east, the Kaneohe (meaning “bamboo husband”) area was once the residence of the island's early kings. Local attractions include Waikalua,

India, From Banda Singh Bahadur to Ranjit Singh

2005-01-27T18:07:00.000-08:00

The quelling by Mughal forces of the Sikhs under Banda did not mean an end to Sikh resistance to Mughal claims. In the 1720s and '30s, Amritsar emerged as a centre of Sikh activity, partly because of its preeminence as a pilgrimage centre. Kapur Singh, the most important of the Sikh leaders of the time, operated from its vicinity and gradually set about consolidating a revenue-cum-military

Puerto Aisén

2005-01-27T14:28:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Puerto Aysén capital of Aisén province and commune in Aisén region, southern Chile, located on the Aisén River at the head of a deep fjord facing the Chonos Archipelago. Colonization of the surrounding area of rugged topography and rigorous climate began only in the 19th century. Puerto Aisén is a port and commercial centre for the developing agricultural, mining, and lumbering

Arung Singkang

2005-01-27T06:04:00.000-08:00

As a young man Arung Singkang was exiled to Borneo, where he gathered a following and in 1737 returned and won control of his native state, Wadjo. He also defeated Bone, another Buginese state, and created a Buginese

Computers, The Jacquard loom

2005-01-26T03:59:00.000-08:00

Calculators such as the Arithmometer remained a fascination after 1820, and their potential for commercial use was well understood. Many other mechanical devices built during the 19th century also performed repetitive functions more or less automatically, but few had any application to computing. There was one major exception: the Jacquard loom, invented in 1804–05 by a French