ParallelPluto

Menderes River

2005-03-19T05:25:00.000-08:00

Turkish Büyük Menderes Nehri , historically Maeander river, southwestern Turkey. It rises on the Anatolian plateau south and west of Afyon and flows westward through a narrow valley and canyon. At Sarayköy it expands into a broad, flat-bottomed valley with a typical Mediterranean landscape, dotted with fig trees, olive groves, and vineyards. Near the town of Aydin the river turns southwest, emptying into the Aegean Sea

Chronology

2005-03-17T18:16:00.000-08:00

Chinese legendary history can be traced back to 2697 BC, the first year of Huang Ti (Chinese: Yellow Emperor), who was followed by many successors and by the three dynasties, the Hsia, the Shang, and the Chou. Recent archaeological findings, however, have established an authentic chronology beginning with the Shang dynasty, though the exact date of its end remains a controversial

John (iv)

2005-03-14T01:21:00.000-08:00

At first, John of Montfort had recognized John III's designation of Charles of Blois (nephew of King Philip VI of France) as the successor; but then John of Montfort reneged, had himself crowned at a convocation of bishops and lords at Nantes,

Gylippus

2005-03-13T19:01:00.000-08:00

Spartan general who in 414–413, during the Peloponnesian War, broke the Athenian siege of Syracuse, Sicily. Urged by the Athenian exile Alcibiades to send a general to take charge of the defense of Syracuse, the Spartans appointed Gylippus, and his arrival in 414 kept Syracuse from surrendering. Gylippus broke the Athenian blockade by land, organized resistance from

World War I, The Serbian campaign, 1914

2005-03-10T07:07:00.000-08:00

The first Austrian invasion of Serbia was launched with numerical inferiority (part of one of the armies originally destined for the Balkan front having been diverted to the Eastern Front on August 18); and the able Serbian commander, Radomir Putnik, brought the invasion to an early end by his victories on the Cer Mountain (August 15–20) and at Šabac (August 21–24). In early September,

West Lancashire

2005-03-09T04:00:00.000-08:00

District, administrative and historic county of Lancashire, northwestern England, north of the city of Liverpool. West Lancashire is separated from the Irish Sea by the narrow coastal strip of Sefton except in the north at the mouth of the River Ribble. The district is essentially a low-lying coastal plain, much of it reclaimed marshland, although marshes in the extreme

London, Jack

2005-03-07T17:29:00.000-08:00

Deserted by his father, a roving astrologer, London was raised in Oakland, Calif., by his spiritualist mother and his stepfather,

Deighton, Len

2005-03-05T15:56:00.000-08:00

Deighton was educated at St. Martin's School of Art, London, and the Royal College of Art. He worked at a number of jobs after graduation, including pastry cook,

Hyde, Charles Cheney

2005-03-03T02:11:00.000-08:00

Hyde taught at the law school of Northwestern University, Chicago (1907–25), and then became professor of international law and diplomacy at Columbia University (1925–45). He served as solicitor for the U.S.

Madariaga Y Rojo, Salvador De

2005-02-28T20:34:00.000-08:00

The son of a Spanish army officer, Madariaga was trained at his father's insistence as an engineer in Paris but abandoned his career to become a journalist. In 1921 he joined

Moline

2005-02-27T03:58:00.000-08:00

City, Rock Island county, northwestern Illinois, U.S. It lies just above the upper rapids of the Mississippi River (there crossed by the Twin Bridges to Iowa). With East Moline, Rock Island, and Davenport (qq.v.), Iowa, it forms the Quad Cities. The site was laid out in 1843 by a milling firm. Its name is apparently from the French moulin (“mill”). John Deere, inventor of an improved steel plow,

Tabriz Carpet

2005-02-24T15:41:00.000-08:00

Floor covering handmade in or around Tabriz, the principal city of northwestern Iran and one of its best-known carpet-producing centres. The identification of the court carpets of the early 16th-century Safavid shahs who made Tabriz their capital is no longer as simple as it once seemed. Still, the magnificent Ardabil Carpet at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and

Cabrillo, Juan Rodríguez

2005-02-23T14:35:00.000-08:00

Virtually nothing is known of Cabrillo's early life, though he might have been born in Portugal. As a young man, he appears to have accompanied the Spanish soldier Pánfilo de Narváez (1520) in his unsuccessful punitive expedition against

Balaguer, Joaquín

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

Balaguer earned a law degree from the University of Santo Domingo and a Ph.D. from the University of Paris. Between 1932 and 1957, he held numerous executive

Technetium

2005-02-19T06:47:00.000-08:00

(Tc), chemical element, synthetic radioactive metal of Group VIIb of the periodic table, the first element to be artificially produced. The isotope technetium-97 (2,600,000-year half-life) was discovered (1937) by the Italian mineralogist Carlo Perrier and the Italian-born American physicist Emilio Segrè in a sample of molybdenum that had been bombarded by deuterons in the Berkeley (California)

Izu Peninsula

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

Japanese Izu-hanto, peninsula in Shizuoka ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. The peninsula extends 37 miles (60 km) into the Pacific Ocean between Suruga Bay on the west and Sagami Gulf on the east. The entire peninsula is included within the Fuji Volcanic Zone. Its southern part consists primarily of volcanic breccia, and its northern section is an assembly of numerous volcanoes, among which are

Fabliau

2005-02-14T20:19:00.000-08:00

About 150 fabliaux are extant. Many of them are based on elementary jokes or puns—such as one called Estula,

Habitual Offender

2005-02-12T20:16:00.000-08:00

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

Szombathely

2005-02-10T02:57:00.000-08:00

German Steinamanger, town and seat of Vas megye (county), northwestern Hungary. Szombathely is situated on the Gyöngyös River, near the frontier with Austria, south-southeast of Vienna and west of Budapest. The town is the successor to the Roman settlement of Savaria (Sabaria), the capital of Pannonia, founded in AD 43 by Claudius I at the intersection of two Roman roads still extant. There is in the

Theosophy

2005-02-09T08:43:00.000-08:00

Religious philosophy with mystical concerns that can be traced to the ancient world but that has been of catalytic significance in religious thought in the 19th and 20th centuries. The term theosophy is derived from the Greek theos, “god,” and sophia, “wisdom,” and is generally translated as “divine wisdom.” All theosophical speculation has as its foundation the mystical

Aliquippa

2005-02-06T19:25:00.000-08:00

City, Beaver county, western Pennsylvania, U.S. It lies along the Ohio River, just northwest of Pittsburgh. Settled about 1750 as a post for trade with Delaware, Iroquois, and Shawnee Indians, it was first known as Logstown and later renamed for “Queen” Aliquippa, probably an Iroquois. After the French and Indian War (1754–63), the Indian peoples lost their title to the land, and Logstown

Aedon

2005-02-05T04:23:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, a daughter of Pandareus of Ephesus. According to Homer, she was the wife of Zethus, the king of Thebes. She had only two children and envied her sister-in-law, Niobe, who had many. She planned to murder Niobe's eldest son in his sleep, but by mistake killed her own son, Itylus, who was sharing his room. Zeus took pity on Aedon in her grief and changed her into a nightingale;

Sans Serif

2005-02-02T16:27:00.000-08:00

In printing, a style of roman letter stripped of its serif—i.e., such embellishments as the vertical line at the end of the top right and lower left curved segments of the letter “s,” the base line on which the lowercase “n,” “m,” and “l” rest, etc. Though the concept of such a type has challenged recent designers, the face itself is used largely for display purposes, in which continuous

Maundy Thursday

2005-01-29T11:50:00.000-08:00

Also called Holy Thursday the Thursday before Easter, observed in commemoration of Jesus Christ's institution of the Eucharist. The name is taken from an anthem sung in Roman Catholic churches on that day: “Mandatum novum do vobis” (“a new commandment I give to you”; John 13:34). In the early Christian church the day was celebrated with a general communion of clergy and people. At a special mass the bishop

Arts, Central Asian

2005-01-28T16:20:00.000-08:00

Of the relatively few Central Asian languages that have developed written literatures, the most important are Turkic, Tibetan, and Mongol. (For a treatment of these languages, see Altaic languages and Sino-Tibetan languages.) This article will deal with Tibetan and Mongolian literatures from their inception to the 20th century and with Turkic literature from its

Cabimas

2005-01-26T22:19:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern Zulia estado (“state”), northwestern Venezuela. It lies on the northeastern shore of Lake Maracaibo and is an important centre for the Ambrosio oil fields. Just to the south of the city is La Salina refinery. Cabimas is linked by highway to other oil centres on the lakeshore and, via the General Urdaneta Bridge, to Maracaibo, 20 miles (30 km) to the northwest across

Gaylani, Rashid 'ali Al-

2005-01-24T22:07:00.000-08:00

The son of an aristocratic Sunnite family, Gaylani studied law at Baghdad Law School. After several years of practice, he entered public life, holding several cabinet

Italy, The rise of Mussolini

2005-01-22T20:37:00.000-08:00

The political crisis of the postwar years provided an opportunity for militant, patriotic movements, including those of ex-servicemen and former assault troops, radical students, ex-syndicalists, and former pro-war agitators. D'Annunzio in Fiume led one such movement, but the ex-Socialist journalist Benito Mussolini soon became even more prominent, founding his

Vail, Theodore Newton

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

After a highly successful career in the railway postal service, Vail was persuaded in 1878 to join Bell Telephone as general manager. During his active tenure in this

Nova Herculis

2005-01-17T22:30:00.000-08:00

Also called DQ Herculis one of the brightest novas of the 20th century, discovered Dec. 13, 1934, by the British amateur astronomer J.P.M. Prentice, in the northern constellation Hercules. It reached an apparent visual magnitude of 1.4 and remained visible to the unaided eye for months. At its centre was found an eclipsing binary pair of small stars, revolving around each other with a period of 4 hours and 39

Guajará-mirim

2005-01-16T01:06:00.000-08:00

City, western Rondônia estado (“state”), western Brazil. It lies along the Mamoré River. Primarily a transportation centre, Guajará-Mirim handles traffic in rubber, lumber, babassu palm oil, and other forest products taken in the surrounding area. It has a small port for shallow-draft vessels and is the southern terminus of a railroad built in 1913 to carry products out of Bolivia

Calamy, Edmund

2005-01-14T23:44:00.000-08:00

English Presbyterian theologian who contributed significantly to the writings of Smectymnuus (1641), the pen name under which was published the Calvinists' famous reply to the Anglican apology for bishops and liturgical worship in the church. The leader of the Presbyterian ascendancy in Parliament during the Commonwealth (1643–53), he

Chandra Shekhar

2005-01-12T10:46:00.000-08:00

Shekhar was a leading member of the Socialist Party before he joined the ruling Congress Party in 1964. He was a member of India's upper legislative chamber, the Rajya Sabha, from 1962 to 1967, and he held a seat in the lower chamber, the Lok Sabha, in 1977–79, 1980–84, and from 1989 until he became prime

Eyre, Lake

2005-01-10T16:03:00.000-08:00

Great salt lake in central South Australia, with a total area of 3,700 square miles (9,300 square km). It lies in the southwestern corner of the Great Artesian Basin, a closed inland basin about 440,150 square miles (1,140,000 square km) in area that is drained only by intermittent streams. Normally dry but susceptible to occasional flooding, the lake occupies the lowest part of the Australian continent.

Yaddo

2005-01-08T09:54:00.000-08:00

Formally The Corporation Of Yaddo a working community of writers, composers, and visual artists, located on the outskirts of Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S. Yaddo is a nonprofit organization founded in 1900 by New York financier Spencer Trask (1844–1909), his wife, the writer Kate, or Katrina, Nichols Trask (1853–1922), and philanthropist George Foster Peabody (1852–1938) for the purpose of providing a place for artists to reside and work in

Lebed, Aleksandr Ivanovich

2005-01-05T19:12:00.000-08:00

On June, 18, 1996, after Aleksandr Lebed had run a strong third in the first round of the Russian presidential elections, Pres. Boris Yeltsin appointed him to be secretary of the Security Council and national security adviser. Lebed appeared to strengthen his position in the government when he later negotiated a cease-fire in Chechnya. By year's end the ambitious retired general,

Henderson

2005-01-03T15:15:00.000-08:00

City, Clark county, southeastern Nevada, U.S., midway between Las Vegas and Boulder City. It was established in 1942 in the desert below Clark Mountain to provide housing for the employees of a government-constructed magnesium plant and was named for U.S. Senator Charles Belknap Henderson (1873–1954). Inactivated at the close of World War II when the plant was closed, the project was later

Shadrafa

2005-01-01T02:56:00.000-08:00

Ancient West Semitic benevolent deity. His name may possibly be translated as “Spirit of Healing.” He was often represented as a youthful, beardless male, standing on a lion above mountains, wearing a long, trailing garment and a pointed headdress, and holding a small lion in one hand and, perhaps, a whip in the other. In representations from Palmyra, Shadrafa is shown with

Silao

2004-12-31T22:34:00.000-08:00

City, west-central Guanajuato estado (“state”), north-central Mexico. Founded in 1537, Silao lies along the Silao River at 5,830 feet (1,777 m) above sea level. By virtue of its location in the Bajío region, known as the granary of Mexico, Silao is an important agricultural centre. A wide variety of crops, including corn (maize), beans, wheat, chick-peas, avocados, peaches, and strawberries, thrive

Talat Pasa

2004-12-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

The son of a minor Ottoman official, Talat joined the staff of the telegraph company in Edirne, but he was soon arrested (1893) for subversive political activity. Released two years later, he was appointed chief

Tjurunga

2004-12-27T01:35:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Churinga, in Australian Aboriginal religion, a mythical being and a ritual object, usually made of wood or stone, that is a representation or manifestation of such a being. An Aranda word, tjurunga traditionally referred to sacred or secret–sacred things set apart, or taboo; for example, certain rites, stone, and wooden slab objects, bull-roarers, ground paintings and earth mounds,

Confederate States Of America

2004-12-25T06:10:00.000-08:00

Convinced that their way of life, based on slavery, was irretrievably threatened by the election of President Abraham Lincoln (November 1860), the seven states of the Deep

Flood, Curt

2004-12-22T17:04:00.000-08:00

Flood began playing baseball as a youth and was signed in 1956 by the National League Cincinnati Reds. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1958 and played

Beaker Folk

2004-12-21T14:09:00.000-08:00

Late Neolithic–Early Bronze Age people living about 6,000 years ago in the temperate zones of Europe; they received their name from their distinctive bell-shaped beakers, decorated in horizontal zones by finely toothed stamps. (Their culture is often called the Bell-Beaker culture.) The graves of the Beaker folk were usually modest single units, though in much of western

Dace

2004-12-19T16:46:00.000-08:00

Any of a number of small, slim, active freshwater fishes of the carp family, Cyprinidae. In England and Europe, the dace is Leuciscus leuciscus, a relative of the chub. Usually found in moderately swift streams and rivers, the European dace is a rather small-headed, silvery fish attaining a usual length and weight of 25–30 cm (10–12 inches) and 0.5–0.7 kg (1–1 1/2 pounds). It lives

Châteauguay, Battle Of

2004-12-17T03:44:00.000-08:00

In the autumn of 1813, a U.S. invading force of about 4,000 troops under General Wade Hampton marched toward Montreal through the Châteauguay River valley. A U.S. advance party of 1,500 under Colonel

Murat, Joachim

2004-12-14T16:25:00.000-08:00

The son of an innkeeper, he studied briefly for a career in the church but enlisted in a cavalry regiment in 1787 and, when war broke out in 1792, won rapid promotion. In October 1795 he was

Byblos

2004-12-13T14:39:00.000-08:00

Modern Jubayl , also spelled Jebeil , biblical Gebal ancient seaport, the site of which is located on the Mediterranean coast about 20 miles (32 km) north of the modern city of Beirut, Lebanon; it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited towns in the world. The name Byblos is Greek; papyrus received its early Greek name (byblos, byblinos) from its being exported to the Aegean through Byblos. Hence the English word Bible is derived

Pachomius, Saint

2004-12-10T00:47:00.000-08:00

Of Egyptian origin, Pachomius encountered Coptic, or Egyptian, Christianity among his cohorts in the Roman emperor Constantine's North African army and, on leaving the military about 314, withdrew alone into

Davidson, John

2004-12-08T17:39:00.000-08:00

After studying at the University of Edinburgh, Davidson became a teacher, meanwhile writing a number of blank-verse dramas that failed to win recognition. In 1890 he went to London, practiced journalism, and wrote

Olmütz, Punctation Of

2004-12-07T21:36:00.000-08:00

German Olmützer Punktation (Nov. 29, 1850), agreement signed at Olmütz (Olomouc, Moravia, in modern Czech Republic) between Prussia and Austria that regulated those two powers' relations. The development leading up to the punctation was triggered when the elector of Hesse in the autumn of 1850 appealed for help against his rebellious subjects; both Austria and Prussia sent troops in response, and these threatened

Francien Dialect

2004-12-04T22:07:00.000-08:00

The medieval dialect of Old French that furnishes the basis for the literary and official form of the modern French language. Francien was spoken in the region of Île-de-France, which included the city of Paris, and its preeminence is an indication of the political and intellectual prominence of Paris in the 13th and 14th centuries. Despite its importance, the dialect

Backpacking

2004-12-04T07:29:00.000-08:00

Sport of hiking while carrying clothing, food, and camping equipment in a pack on the back. Originally, in the early 20th century, backpacking was practiced in the wilderness as a means of getting to areas inaccessible by car or by day hike. It demands physical conditioning and practice, knowledge of camping and survival techniques, and selection of equipment of a minimum

San Fernando De Apure

2004-12-02T14:38:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Apure estado (“state”), west-central Venezuela, on the Apure River. A Llanos (plains) port, it is vulnerable to flooding during the rainy season, despite its great distance from the sea, because it has an elevation of only 200 feet (60 m). Live cattle, beef, and cattle hides are the city's leading products. It is a port of call for small boats on both the Orinoco and the Apure

Xenotime

2004-12-01T02:23:00.000-08:00

Widely distributed phosphate mineral, yttrium phosphate (YPO4, though large proportions of erbium commonly replace yttrium), that occurs as brown, glassy crystals, crystal aggregates, or rosettes in igneous rocks and associated pegmatites, in quartzose and micaceous gneiss, and commonly in detrital material. Occurrences include Norway, Sweden, Madagascar, Brazil,

Monde, Le

2004-11-30T01:54:00.000-08:00

The newspaper was established in 1944—as soon as the German army had quit Paris but while World War II continued—on orders of the new government of General Charles de Gaulle as a means of providing a respected voice for France. It was printed on the

Adams, John, Special topics

2004-11-29T15:27:00.000-08:00

Finally, seminal essays on Adams's personality and ideology can be found in several books that focus on larger themes during the Revolutionary era. These include Bernard Bailyn, Faces of Revolution: Personalities and Themes in the Struggle for American Independence (1990, reissued 1992); Edmund S. Morgan, The Meaning of Independence: John Adams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson (1976, reissued 1978); and Gordon S. Wood, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776–1787 (1969, reissued 1998).

Black Humour

2004-11-29T08:38:00.000-08:00

Also called Black Comedy, writing that juxtaposes morbid or ghastly elements with comical ones. Though in 1940 the French Surrealist André Breton published Anthologie de l'humour noir (“Anthology of Black Humour,” frequently enlarged and reprinted), the term did not come into common use until the 1960s. Then it was applied to the works of the novelists Nathanael West, Vladimir Nabokov, and Joseph Heller.

Balassi, Bálint

2004-11-27T21:49:00.000-08:00

Balassi was born into one of the richest Protestant families of the country and lived an adventurous life, fighting against the Turks and against his own relatives, who sought to despoil him of his heritage.

Islam

2004-11-27T17:40:00.000-08:00

The third pillar is the obligatory tax called zakat (“purification,” indicating that such a payment makes the rest of one's wealth religiously and legally pure). This is the only permanent tax levied by the Qur'an and is payable annually on food grains, cattle, and cash after one year's possession. The amount varies for different categories. Thus, on grains and fruits it is 10 percent

Porsche, Ferdinand

2004-11-26T16:25:00.000-08:00

Porsche became general director of the Austro-Daimler Company in 1916 and in 1923 moved to the Daimler Company in Stuttgart. He left in 1931 and formed his own firm to design sports and racing cars. Porsche became deeply involved in Hitler's project for a “people's

Vacuum Technology

2004-11-24T21:21:00.000-08:00

This pump is mainly used on equipment for the study of clean surfaces and in radio-frequency sputtering. Capacities are available up to 190,000 cu ft per minute with an operating pressure range of 10-2 to less than 10-9 torr when water-cooled baffles are used and less than 10-11 torr when refrigerated baffles are employed. The pumping speed for a vapour pump remains constant from about

Gauge

2004-11-24T09:45:00.000-08:00

Also called Railway Gauge, in railroad transportation, the width between the inside faces of running rails. Because the cost of construction and operation of a rail line is greater or less depending on the gauge, much controversy has surrounded decisions in respect to it, and a proliferation of gauges has developed throughout the world. A narrow gauge has, in addition to cost advantages, a capability

Rusk, Dean

2004-11-23T01:31:00.000-08:00

After graduating from Davidson College in 1931, Rusk earned his master's degree at St. John's College, Oxford, as a Rhodes scholar.

Almaty

2004-11-22T19:45:00.000-08:00

Russian Alma-Ata, formerly (1855–1921) Verny, city, southeastern Kazakstan. It was formerly the capital of the Kazakh S.S.R. (1929–91) and of independent Kazakstan (1991–97). Almaty lies in the northern foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau at an elevation of 2,300–3,000 feet (700–900 m), where the Bolshaya and Malaya Almaatinka rivers emerge into the plain. The modern city was founded in 1854 when the Russians established the military fortification of Zailiyskoye

Todos Os Santos Bay

2004-11-21T23:31:00.000-08:00

Also called All Saints Bay, Portuguese Baía De Todos Os Santos, sheltered bay of the Atlantic Ocean, eastern coast of Brazil. A natural harbour, it is 25 miles (40 km) long and 20 miles (32 km) wide. Salvador, the principal seaport and capital of Bahia state, is on the peninsula that separates the bay from the Atlantic. Todos os Santos Bay receives the Paraguaçu River and is surrounded by the Recôncavo, a fertile coastal lowland. Its main channel is

Anderson, Leroy

2004-11-19T20:11:00.000-08:00

The son of Swedish immigrants, Anderson studied composition under Walter Piston and Georges Enesco at Harvard University (B.A., 1929; M.A., 1930), where

Japanese Literature, The novel between 1905 and 1941

2004-11-19T07:55:00.000-08:00

The dominant stream in Japanese fiction since the publication of Hakai (1906; The Broken Commandment), by Shimazaki Toson, and Futon (1907; The Quilt), by Tayama Katai, has been naturalism. Although the movement was originally inspired by the works of the 19th-century French novelist Émile Zola and other European naturalists, it quickly took on a distinctively Japanese colouring,

Shijo School

2004-11-17T18:12:00.000-08:00

Also called Maruyama School, Japanese school of naturalistic painting that was founded in the late 18th century by Maruyama Masataka (Okyo) and was made popular by his pupils, among them Matsumura Gekkei, called Goshun, from whose residence on Fourth Street (Shijo), in Kyoto, the movement took its name. Among the most important artists associated with the school were Matsumura Keibun and Okamoto

Wieniawski, Henryk

2004-11-16T09:53:00.000-08:00

Wieniawski was a child prodigy who entered the Paris Conservatory at age 8 and graduated from there with the first prize in violin at the unprecedented age of 11. He became a concert violinist at age 13 and began touring

Wildman, Sir John

2004-11-15T19:27:00.000-08:00

Wildman was of obscure ancestry. Educated at Cambridge, he first came into prominence in October 1647, when he helped to write The Case of the Army and the first Agreement of the People. These expressed the political program of the democratic republican,

Iran, The Qajar dynasty (17961925)

2004-11-15T11:04:00.000-08:00

Between 1779 and 1789 the Zands fought among themselves over their legacy. In the end it fell to the gallant Lotf 'Ali, the Zands' last hope. Agha Muhammad Khan relentlessly hunted him down until he overcame and killed him at the southeastern city of Kerman in 1794. In 1796 Agha Muhammad Khan assumed the imperial diadem, and later in the same year he took Mashhad. Shah Rokh died of the tortures inflicted

Ashfield

2004-11-14T07:31:00.000-08:00

District, administrative and historic county of Nottinghamshire, England. The name is ancient and appeared in the names of the two major towns within the district even before its formation. The two towns are the coal-mining centres of Kirkby-in-Ashfield and Sutton-in-Ashfield, forming, as does the whole district, part of the heavily industrialized western rim of the

Wildman, Sir John

2004-11-13T20:14:00.000-08:00

Major European aerospace company that builds commercial and military aircraft, space systems, propulsion systems, missiles, and other defense products. It was formed in 2000 from the merger of three leading European aerospace firms: Aerospatiale Matra of France, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) of Germany, and Construcciones Aeronáuticas S.A. (CASA) of Spain. Headquarters

Low Countries, History Of

2004-11-12T14:59:00.000-08:00

For historical purposes, the name Low Countries is generally understood to include the territory of what is today The Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, as well as parts of northern France. However, Belgium, although it was not constituted as an independent kingdom until 1831, became a distinct entity after 1585, when

Ecosystem

2004-11-11T17:03:00.000-08:00

The principles underlying the study of ecosystems are based on the view that all the elements of a life-supporting environment of any size, whether natural or man-made, are parts of an integral network in which each element interacts directly

Ilbert Bill

2004-11-10T04:27:00.000-08:00

In the history of India, a controversial measure proposed in 1883 that sought to allow senior Indian magistrates to preside over cases involving British subjects in India. The bill, severely weakened by compromise, was enacted by the Indian Legislative Council on Jan. 25, 1884. The bitter controversy surrounding the measure deepened antagonism between British and Indians

Biblical Literature, Eastern Orthodoxy

2004-11-08T10:22:00.000-08:00

The first Christians were Jews, and they worshipped along with other Jews in the synagogue. The earliest Gentile converts also attended the synagogue. When Christians met outside the synagogue, they still used its liturgy, read its Bible, and preserved the main characteristics of synagogue worship. Every historic liturgy is divided into (1) a Christian revision of

Gyroscope

2004-11-08T03:17:00.000-08:00

Any device consisting of a rapidly spinning wheel set in a framework that permits it to tilt freely in any direction—i.e., to rotate about any axis. The momentum of such a wheel causes it to retain its attitude when the framework is tilted; from this characteristic derive a number of valuable applications. Gyroscopes are used in such instruments as compasses and automatic

Penal Colony

2004-11-07T07:45:00.000-08:00

Distant or overseas settlement established for punishing criminals by forced labour and isolation from society. Although a score of nations in Europe and Latin America transported their criminals to widely scattered penal colonies, such colonies were developed mostly by the English, French, and Russians. England shipped criminals to America until the American

Alcock, John

2004-11-05T22:48:00.000-08:00

Educated at Cambridge, Alcock was made dean of Westminster (1461), and thereafter his promotion was rapid in religious and secular posts. In 1470 he was sent

Ampère, André-marie

2004-11-05T04:44:00.000-08:00

Ampère was a prodigy who mastered all mathematics then extant by the time he was 12 years old. He became a professor of physics and chemistry at Bourg-en-Bresse in 1801 and a professor of mathematics at the École Polytechnique in Paris in

Biblical Literature, II Esdras (or IV Esdras)

2004-11-03T17:01:00.000-08:00

Two important apocalyptic pseudepigrapha (II Esdras and the Apocalypse of Baruch), in which the political and eschatological aspects are central to the aim of the books, were written in Palestine at the end of the 1st century CE as a consequence of the catastrophic destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (70). Both were written as if they reflected the doom that befell

álava

2004-11-03T07:16:00.000-08:00

Provincia, northern Spain. Álava is the southernmost of the three Basque Country provincias of northern Spain and is located mainly on the southern slope of the Pyrenees Range. It is bounded by the Ebro River (southwest) and surrounds the enclaves of Treviño and Orduña belonging to Burgos and Vizcaya provincias, respectively. Álava has an area of 1,176 square miles (3,047 square

Chancellor, Richard

2004-11-02T23:09:00.000-08:00

In 1553 Chancellor was appointed pilot general of Sir Hugh Willoughby's expedition in search of a northeast passage from England to China. The three-vessel fleet was to rendezvous at Vardø, Nor., but because of stormy weather Chancellor's was the only

China, The Han dynasty

2004-11-01T01:31:00.000-08:00

Translations of historical source material can be found in Édouard Chavannes (ed. and trans.), Les Mémoires historiques de Se-ma Ts'ien, new ed. 6 vol. (1967–69); Homer H. Dubs (ed. and trans.), The History of the Former Han Dynasty, 3 vol. (1938–55); Esson M. Gale (ed. and trans.), Discourses on Salt and Iron (1931, reprinted 1973); Burton Watson (ed. and trans.), Records of the Grand Historian of China, 2 vol. (1961); Hsien-yi Yang and Gladys Yang (trans.), Selections from Records of the Historian (1979); and A.F.P. Hulsewé, Remnants of Ch'in Law (1985). Works on specific topics of Han history include Hans Bielenstein, The Restoration of the Han Dynasty, 4 vol. (1953–79); Michael Loewe, Records of Han Administration, 2 vol. (1967), Everyday Life in Early Imperial China During the Han Period 202 B.C.–A.D. 220 (1968, reissued 1973), and Crisis and Conflict in Han China 104 B.C. to A.D. 9 (1974); T'ung-tsu Ch'u, Han Social Structure (1972); A.F.P. Hulsewé, Remnants of Han Law (1955); Cho-yun Hsu, Han Agriculture: The Formation of Early Chinese Agrarian Economy, 206 B.C.–A.D. 220 (1980); and Ying-shih Yu, Trade and Expansion in Han China (1967). Zhongsbu Wang, Han Civilization (1982), is a survey of archaeological investigations of the Han dynasty.

Farandole

2004-10-31T05:39:00.000-08:00

Lively and popular chain dance of Provence and Catalonia. It was mentioned as early as the 14th century and, according to tradition, was taken to Marseille from Greece by Phoenician sailors. Performed on feast days, the farandole is danced by men and women holding hands in a chain. The dancers, following the steps introduced by the chain leader, wind through the streets

Cariboo Mountains

2004-10-29T11:23:00.000-07:00

Range in eastern British Columbia, Canada, forming the northern subdivision of the Columbia Mountains. The Cariboo Mountains lie within an area enclosed by the great bend of the Fraser River and its tributary, the North Thompson. The mountains extend for about 190 miles (305 km) and parallel the Rocky Mountain Trench, which separates them from the Canadian Rockies. From Mount

Wyndham

2004-10-29T08:26:00.000-07:00

Most northerly seaport of Western Australia. It lies at the mouth of the King River, on the West Arm of Cambridge Gulf (an inlet of Joseph Bonaparte Gulf of the Timor Sea). Founded in 1885 as a port for the Kimberley goldfield, it was named after the son of Sir Napier Broome, governor at the time. In 1919 the state government selected Wyndham as the site of a meatworks, which now serves

France, History Of, The historical debate

2004-10-27T05:12:00.000-07:00

In broad terms, 18th-century French politics could be defined as the response of the monarchic state to the emergence of the new cultural and economic configurations that had transformed the lives and especially the imaginations of French men and women. The question was whether the Bourbon monarch could rationalize its administration and find a way to adapt itself

Uesugi Kenshin

2004-10-26T17:01:00.000-07:00

Nagao Torachiyo was the third son of the head of Echigo province in northeastern Japan. With the death of his father in 1543, the family's control of the area began to disintegrate. Torachiyo not only restored order to the area but also gained control of neighbouring

Hawthorn

2004-10-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

Also called Haw, or Thornapple, any of a number of thorny shrubs or small trees of the genus Crataegus, in the rose family (Rosaceae), native to the North Temperate Zone. Many species are native to North America. The hawthorn's leaves are simple, and usually toothed or lobed. The white or pink flowers, usually in clusters, are followed by small applelike, red fruits, or more rarely by blue or black

Penguin

2004-10-24T05:36:00.000-07:00

(order Sphenisciformes), any of the flightless marine birds of the family Spheniscidae. They are limited in distribution to the Southern Hemisphere. Although a few penguins inhabit temperate regions and one, the Gálapagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus), lives at the Equator, the majority of the 18 species breed on islands in subantarctic

Spain, The French wars

2004-10-24T02:20:00.000-07:00

In these circumstances it is not surprising that Spain now became the victim rather than the initiator of aggression. In three successive wars with France (1667–68, 1672–78, 1689–97), Spain lost Franche-Comté (Treaty of Nijmegen, 1678) and some Belgian frontier towns to France but still managed to hold on to the greater part of the southern Netherlands and the Italian dominions. The reason was less

William Of Tyre

2004-10-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

Probably born to a French family that had settled in Frankish Syria during the 12th century, William was educated in France and Italy and knew Latin, Greek, and Arabic. He returned to

Gravel

2004-10-22T09:22:00.000-07:00

Fragments in gravel range in size from pebbles

Yaksha

2004-10-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

Yakshas were often given homage as tutelary deities of a city, district, lake, or well. Their worship, together

Poland, History Of

2004-10-20T18:27:00.000-07:00

History of the area from the 10th century to the present.

Scandinavian Literature, Romances

2004-10-18T00:59:00.000-07:00

Romances were also translated or adapted from continental romances. Interest in romance began in Norway and soon took root in Iceland. The earliest romance was probably the Tristrams saga (1226), derived from the Anglo-Norman poet Thomas. This was followed by the Karlamagnús saga (“Saga of Charlemagne”), a collection of prose renderings of French chansons de geste, including

Poland, History Of

2004-10-17T14:44:00.000-07:00

Interracial American organization created to work for the abolition of segregation and discrimination in housing, education, employment, voting, and transportation; to oppose racism; and to ensure African Americans their constitutional rights. The NAACP was created in 1909 by an interracial group consisting of W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida Bell Wells-Barnett, Mary White

ParallelPluto

Menderes River

Chronology

John (iv)

Gylippus

World War I, The Serbian campaign, 1914

West Lancashire

London, Jack

Deighton, Len

Hyde, Charles Cheney

Madariaga Y Rojo, Salvador De

Moline

Tabriz Carpet

Cabrillo, Juan Rodríguez

Balaguer, Joaquín

Technetium

Izu Peninsula

Fabliau

Habitual Offender

Szombathely

Theosophy

Aliquippa

Aedon

Sans Serif

Maundy Thursday

Arts, Central Asian

Cabimas

Gaylani, Rashid 'ali Al-

Italy, The rise of Mussolini

Vail, Theodore Newton

Nova Herculis

Guajará-mirim

Calamy, Edmund

Chandra Shekhar

Eyre, Lake

Yaddo

Lebed, Aleksandr Ivanovich

Henderson

Shadrafa

Silao

Talat Pasa

Tjurunga

Confederate States Of America

Flood, Curt

Beaker Folk

Dace

Châteauguay, Battle Of

Murat, Joachim

Byblos

Pachomius, Saint

Davidson, John

Olmütz, Punctation Of

Francien Dialect

Backpacking

San Fernando De Apure

Xenotime

Monde, Le

Adams, John, Special topics

Black Humour

Balassi, Bálint

Islam

Porsche, Ferdinand

Vacuum Technology

Gauge

Rusk, Dean

Almaty

Todos Os Santos Bay

Anderson, Leroy

Japanese Literature, The novel between 1905 and 1941

Shijo School

Wieniawski, Henryk

Wildman, Sir John

Iran, The Qajar dynasty (17961925)

Ashfield

Wildman, Sir John

Low Countries, History Of

Ecosystem

Ilbert Bill

Biblical Literature, Eastern Orthodoxy

Gyroscope

Iran, The Qajar dynasty (17961925)