MixedWhistle

Zaragoza

2005-03-19T01:11:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Saragossa, provincia, in the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Aragon, northeastern Spain. Together with the provinces of Huesca and Teruel, it formed the old kingdom of Aragon. It extends north and south of the middle course of the Ebro River; it reaches the foot of the Pyrenees (north) and is bounded west by the provinces of Navarra, Logroño, and Soria, south by Guadalajara

Ibn Taymiyah

2005-03-17T21:02:00.000-08:00

Ibn Taymiyah was born in

Oranges, War Of The

2005-03-15T20:36:00.000-08:00

In April 1801, French troops arrived in Portugal, and on May 20 they were bolstered by Spanish troops under the

Aymé, Marcel

2005-03-12T02:42:00.000-08:00

He grew up in the country among farmers, in a world of close-knit families bounded by the barnyard on one side, the schoolhouse on the other.

Aaron Ben Elijah

2005-03-11T10:42:00.000-08:00

Aaron ben Elijah's views

China, Livestock and fishing

2005-03-06T13:17:00.000-08:00

China has a long tradition of ocean and freshwater fishing and of aquaculture.

Strasser, Gregor; And Strasser, Otto

2005-03-04T07:02:00.000-08:00

The brothers were born into a Bavarian middle-class family.

Caxias Do Sul

2005-02-28T19:13:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil, lying at 2,490 ft (760 m) above sea level on the range of hills separating the Antas and Caí river valleys. It was founded in 1875 by Italian colonists and given city status in 1910. Metallurgic industries and viticulture are the city's economic mainstays; the vineyards of the surrounding area are considered Brazil's best. The Universidade

Oath

2005-02-27T11:49:00.000-08:00

Sacred or solemn voluntary promise usually involving the penalty of divine retribution for intentional falsity and often used in legal procedures. It is not certain that the oath was always considered a religious act; such ancient peoples as the Germanic tribes, Greeks, Romans, and Scythians swore by their swords or other weapons. These peoples, however, were actually

Ishida Mitsunari

2005-02-25T05:43:00.000-08:00

Distinguished in the service of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the warrior who reunified Japan after more than a century of civil war, Ishida was appointed head of a small fief and soon became one of the most prominent

Calcareous Sponge

2005-02-23T18:16:00.000-08:00

Any of a class (Calcispongiae, or Calcarea) of sponges characterized by skeletons composed of calcium carbonate spicules (needlelike structures). Calcareous sponges occur mainly on the rocky bottoms of the continental shelves in temperate, shallow waters; they are usually dull in colour. Most are small, seldom exceeding 15 cm (6 inches).

Bonnie And Clyde

2005-02-20T08:19:00.000-08:00

Barrow had been a criminal long before he met Parker in January 1930. After 20 months in prison

Triathlon

2005-02-19T15:11:00.000-08:00

The sport debuted in San Diego, California, on September 25, 1974, when a race organized by local athletes Jack Johnstone and Don Shanahan was dubbed a triathlon. The event

Flórez, Enrique

2005-02-16T21:45:00.000-08:00

In 1718 Flórez entered the Augustinian order and studied philosophy with the priests of Piedrahita, moving a year later

Insurance, Contract law

2005-02-14T19:19:00.000-08:00

To meet the requirement of legal purpose, the insurance contract must

Teasdale, Sara

2005-02-13T14:46:00.000-08:00

Teasdale was educated privately and made frequent trips to Chicago, where she eventually became part of Harriet Monroe's Poetry magazine circle. Her first published poem appeared in the St. Louis, Missouri, weekly Reedy's

Petén Itzá, Lake

2005-02-09T05:07:00.000-08:00

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

Nicholas Iv

2005-02-04T13:33:00.000-08:00

He joined the Franciscans when young and became their minister for Dalmatia. In 1272 Pope Gregory X sent him to Constantinople, where he took part in effecting a brief reunion with the Greeks. From 1274 to 1279 he was minister general of the Franciscans, and in 1281 Pope Martin IV made him cardinal

Gracchus, Tiberius Sempronius

2005-02-02T14:28:00.000-08:00

Born into an aristocratic Roman family, Tiberius Sempronius was heir to a nexus of political connections with other leading families—most

Scale

2005-01-31T07:50:00.000-08:00

The specific selection of different tones in any piece of music generally reveals a pattern of relationships among its pitches that can be expressed as a series of fixed distances (intervals) from one pitch to another within the span of an octave. The interval relationships

John

2005-01-30T11:57:00.000-08:00

John was the younger son of Joachim I, elector of Brandenburg,

Puertollano

2005-01-27T06:41:00.000-08:00

City, Ciudad Real provincia, in the autonomous community (region) of Castile-La Mancha, south central Spain, just south-southwest of Ciudad Real city. Located on the Madrid–Ciudad Real–Mérida railway with rich coal, iron, lead, manganese, and copper pyrite mines in the vicinity, Puertollano's population has tripled in the 20th century. The mines form the basis of important

Bharuch

2005-01-25T09:23:00.000-08:00

Bharuch was one of the most celebrated harbours in ancient India, being mentioned in the Periplus Maris Erythraei (c. AD 80) and by Ptolemy as Barygaza. It also occurs in the Hindu epic poem Mahabharata. Ruled in the 2nd century by the Ksatrapas and in the 7th

Alytus

2005-01-24T02:53:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Alitus, German and Polish Olita, city, southern Lithuania. It lies along the Neman (Lithuanian: Nemunas) River, 37 miles (60 km) south of Kaunas. The city dates from the 14th century. In the 20th century it developed as an industrial centre, with factories producing refrigerators, chemical products, linen, and clothing. Alytus is a rail terminus and road junction and has an agricultural college. Pop. (1994 est.) 77,400.

Alytus

2005-01-21T03:32:00.000-08:00

American symphony orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded by Adella Prentiss Hughes in 1918 and was one of the last major American orchestras to be created. Nikolai Sokoloff (1918–33), the first music director, was succeeded by Artur Rodzinski (1933–43), Erich Leinsdorf (1943–46, mostly in absentia; he was serving concurrently in the U.S. armed forces), George Szell (1946–70), Pierre Boulez (1970–72), Lorin Maazel

Haymarket Riot

2005-01-19T15:10:00.000-08:00

On May 3, one person was killed and several were injured as police intervened to protect strikebreakers from strikers during a union action at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company that was part

Greek Literature, Lyric poetry

2005-01-17T10:08:00.000-08:00

Hesiod, unlike Homer, told something of himself, and the same is true of the lyric poets. Except for Pindar and Bacchylides at the end of the classical period, only fragments of the works of these poets survive. There had always been lyric poetry in Greece. All the great events of life as well as many occupations had their proper songs, and here too the way was open to advance

Augrabies Falls

2005-01-15T15:17:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Aughrabies Falls, series of separately channeled cataracts and rapids on the Orange River in arid Northern Cape province, South Africa. The falls, which form the central feature of Augrabies Falls National Park (established in 1966), occur where the Orange River leaves a plateau formation of resistant granite. The main fall of water is 305 feet (93 m); and the total drop is about 625 feet (191 m). At the bottom

Antigonus I Monophthalmus

2005-01-11T18:59:00.000-08:00

Also called Antigonus I Cyclops Macedonian general under Alexander the Great who founded the Macedonian dynasty of the Antigonids (306–168 BC), becoming king in 306. An exceptional strategist and combat leader, he was also an astute ruler who cultivated the friendship of Athens and other Greek city-states.

Auschwitz

2005-01-09T15:44:00.000-08:00

Polish Oswiecim , also called Auschwitz-Birkenau

Keely, John E.w.

2005-01-07T20:02:00.000-08:00

Keely was orphaned in early childhood. He is said to have been an orchestra leader, a circus performer, and a carpenter. In 1873 he announced that he had discovered a new physical force, one that, if harnessed, would produce unheard-of power. He claimed, for example, to be able to produce from a quart of water enough fuel

New Brunswick

2005-01-05T02:13:00.000-08:00

Canadian province located on the eastern seaboard of the North American continent. It is Canada's only officially bilingual province, French and English having equal status. It was one of the four original provinces making up the national confederation in 1867. Together with Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, it forms the regional grouping known as the Maritime

Guatemala, Transportation

2005-01-03T15:09:00.000-08:00

Two primary highways extend east-west across Guatemala.

1812, War Of

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

(June 18, 1812–Dec. 24, 1814), inconclusive British–U.S. conflict arising chiefly out of U.S. grievances over oppressive maritime practices during the Napoleonic Wars. The long struggle between Great Britain and France, fought intermittently between 1793 and 1815, led both belligerents to infringe on the rights and impair the interests of neutrals. Napoleon averted hostilities

Habakkuk, The Book Of

2004-12-30T19:07:00.000-08:00

It is difficult to fix the date of the book, but the mention of the Chaldeans as Yahweh's agent (1:6) suggests the period

Taejon

2004-12-29T10:20:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Daejeon, city and provincial capital, Ch'ungch'ong-nam do (province), southeastern South Korea. Taejon has the status of a special city, with administrative status equal to that of a province. Until the end of the Yi dynasty (1392–1910) it was a poor village located on the Taejon River. Development began after the juncture of rail lines in 1905 and 1914. It is connected with Seoul (104 miles [167 km] to the north-northeast),

Berenguer, Dámaso, Conde De Xauen

2004-12-27T04:40:00.000-08:00

Berenguer entered the army in 1889, served in Cuba and Morocco, and was promoted to general in 1909. He was minister of war in 1918 when, after a long interval, the army began to express its political views. He then served as high commissioner

Melba, Dame Nellie

2004-12-25T19:27:00.000-08:00

She sang at Richmond (Australia) Public Hall at the age of six and was a skilled pianist and organist, but she did not study singing until after her marriage to Charles Nesbitt Armstrong in 1882. She appeared in Sydney in 1885 and in London in 1886 and then studied in Paris. She made her

Skalkottas, Nikos

2004-12-22T11:33:00.000-08:00

Skalkottas began violin studies at the age of five, continuing them later at the Athens conservatory and in Berlin, where he also studied composition. Influenced by Schoenberg, with whom he studied (1927–31), he began using the 12-tone method in his compositions but adhered to traditional forms.

Kuharic, Franjo Cardinal

2004-12-22T09:33:00.000-08:00

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.

Huidobro, Vicente

2004-12-21T23:17:00.000-08:00

In full Vicente García Huidobro Fernández Chilean poet, self-proclaimed father of the short-lived avant-garde movement known as Creacionismo (“Creationism”). Huidobro was a prominent figure in the post-World War I literary vanguard in Paris and Madrid as well as at home in Chile, and he did much to introduce his countrymen to contemporary European, especially French,

Cheng Ch'eng-kung

2004-12-20T01:28:00.000-08:00

Earl Swisher, “Chêng Ch'êng-kung,” in A.W. Hummel (ed.), Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period, 1644–1912, vol. 1, pp. 108–110 (1943, reprinted 1970), is a very brief but reliable biography. See also the articles on Cheng Ching and Cheng Chih-lung. W. Campbell, Formosa Under the Dutch (1903), is still the most detailed English-language account of the Cheng regime on Taiwan.

Widener University

2004-12-19T11:31:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S. It comprises the College of Arts and Sciences and schools of Law, Hospitality Management, Human Service Professions, Engineering, Nursing, and Business Administration. More than 50 undergraduate majors are offered. The university also offers more than 20 master's degree programs, doctoral

Genetic Disease, Human, Techniques

2004-12-18T23:34:00.000-08:00

One of the major applications of somatic cell genetics to clinical medicine is in the area of prenatal diagnosis by genetic amniocentesis. This procedure permits the accurate prediction of some fetal diseases. The procedure is usually performed under a local anesthetic during the 15th to 17th week of pregnancy. By means of a needle introduced into the uterus, some

Overland Park

2004-12-17T16:35:00.000-08:00

City, Johnson county, northeastern Kansas, U.S. Located on a low ridge that affords a broad view of the Missouri River valley, it is a southern suburb of Kansas City, near the Missouri border. Settled in 1906, it lies on the old Santa Fe Trail and was laid out as a stop on an interurban railway from Kansas City to Olathe; later it was the home of the first aviation school in the western

Dysmenorrhea

2004-12-15T10:19:00.000-08:00

Primary

Graham, Otto

2004-12-14T21:19:00.000-08:00

Graham was an all-around athlete in high school. At Northwestern

Pacific Ocean, Eastern region

2004-12-13T08:42:00.000-08:00

The eastern region, which extends southward from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, is relatively narrow and is associated with the American cordilleran system of almost unbroken mountain chains, the coastal ranges of which rise steeply from the western shores of North and South America. The continental shelf, which runs parallel to it, is steep and comparatively narrow.

Vendôme, Louis-joseph, Duc De

2004-12-12T17:05:00.000-08:00

Vendôme was the son of Louis de Vendôme, Duke de Mercoeur, by his marriage to Cardinal Jules Mazarin's niece, Laure Mancini. Vendôme entered the French Army in 1672 and had risen to the rank of lieutenant general by the outbreak of the War of the Grand Alliance (1689–97) between

Jackson

2004-12-12T01:10:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1832) of Jackson county, south-central Michigan, U.S. It lies along the Grand River, 73 miles (117 km) west of Detroit. Settled in 1829 at the meeting point of several Indian trails, it was named for President Andrew Jackson and was known successively as Jacksonburgh, Jacksonopolis, and finally Jackson in 1833. The Republican Party held its first convention on July 6, 1854, in Jackson. The city

Awolowo, Obafemi

2004-12-10T11:43:00.000-08:00

The son of a peasant, Awolowo first studied to be a teacher and later worked as a clerk, trader, and newspaper reporter while organizing trade unions in his

Atacama

2004-12-10T08:42:00.000-08:00

In their widely scattered settlements the Atacama cultivated crops such as corn (maize), beans, quinoa, and squash with the aid of irrigation. They herded llama

Mahadeo Hills

2004-12-08T19:33:00.000-08:00

Sandstone hills located in the northern part of the Satpura Range, in southern Madhya Pradesh state, central India. The hills have small plateaus and steep scarps that were formed during the Carboniferous Period (360 to 286 million years ago). The hills have a gentle northern slope but are steep to the south, where they drop abruptly from 3,600 feet (1,100 m) to less than 900 feet (275 m). The general

Adz

2004-12-07T23:26:00.000-08:00

Also spelled adze hand tool for shaping wood. One of the earliest tools, it was widely distributed in Stone Age cultures in the form of a handheld stone chipped to form a blade. By Egyptian times it had acquired a wooden haft, or handle, with a copper or bronze blade set flat at the top of the haft to form a T. In this form the adz continued to be the prime hand tool for shaping and trimming wood.

France, History Of, The Wars of Religion

2004-12-07T14:46:00.000-08:00

Guise forces occupied Paris and took control of the royal family, while the Huguenots rose in the provinces, and their two commanders, Louis I de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, and Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, established headquarters at Orléans. The deaths of the opposing leaders—the Protestant Antoine de Bourbon, King Consort of Navarre, and the Catholic marshal Jacques

Davenport Ware

2004-12-05T16:43:00.000-08:00

Cream-coloured earthenware made by John Davenport of Longport, Staffordshire, Eng., beginning in 1793. Davenport had great success with pierced openwork-rimmed plates, either painted or transfer printed. He produced domestic bone china from 1800 and by 1810 was operating on a large scale; the business continued until 1887. Gilding, an extensive use of coloured grounds, flower-encrusted

Kabalevsky, Dmitry

2004-12-05T16:19:00.000-08:00

In 1918 Kabalevsky moved with his family to Moscow, where he studied at the Scriabin Music School from 1919 to 1925, and in 1925 he entered the Moscow Conservatory. Appointed to the conservatory's faculty in 1932, he began to develop

Epistemology, Commonsense philosophy, logical positivism, and naturalized epistemology

2004-12-04T21:51:00.000-08:00

Three of the most notable achievements of analytic philosophy are commonsense philosophy, logical positivism, and naturalized epistemology. G.E. Moore (1873–1958) made a defense of what he called the commonsense view of the world. According to Moore, virtually everybody knows certain propositions to be true, such as that the Earth exists, that it is very old, and that other persons

Alain-fournier

2004-12-03T04:15:00.000-08:00

Pseudonym of Henri-Alban Fournier French writer whose only completed novel, Le Grand Meaulnes (1913; The Wanderer, 1928, or The Lost Domain, 1959), is a modern classic. Based on his happy childhood in a remote village in central France, it reflects his longing for a lost world of delight. The hero, an idealistic but forceful

Hansen, Jens Andersen

2004-12-01T01:19:00.000-08:00

A self-educated shoemaker, Hansen became coeditor, with Rasmus Sørensen, of the peasant newspaper Almuevennen (“Friend of the Common People”) in 1842; he was sole editor from 1843 to 1856. A consistent advocate of universal suffrage and agrarian reform, he served in the Constituent

Furtwängler, (gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin) Wilhelm

2004-11-30T03:22:00.000-08:00

The son of archaeologist Adolf Furtwängler, he studied in Munich, where he was assistant to the conductor Felix Mottl (1907–09). He became director of the Mannheim Opera in 1915 and in 1920 succeeded

Alcinous

2004-11-29T19:54:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, king of the Phaeacians (on the legendary island of Scheria), son of Nausithoüs, and grandson of the god Poseidon. In the Odyssey he entertained Odysseus, who had been cast by a storm on the shore of the island. Scheria was identified in very early times with Corcyra, where Alcinous was revered as a hero. In the Argonautic legend, Alcinous lived on the island

Biblical Literature, Intertestamental literature

2004-11-29T14:10:00.000-08:00

Standard translations of the Jewish intertestamental literature are Robert H. Charles (ed.), The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament in English (1913); and Emil Kautzsch (ed.), Die Apocryphen und Pseudepigraphen des Alten Testaments (1900). Paul Riessler, Altjüdisches Schrifttum ausserhalb der Bibel (1928), is indispensable because it contains translations of the fullest number of writings. The best translations of the Dead Sea Scrolls are Geza Vermes, The Dead Sea Scrolls in English (1962); Johann Maier, Die Texte vom Toten Meer (1960); and Andre Dupont-Sommer, Les Écrits esséniens découverts près de la Mer Morte, 3rd ed. (1964). Albert-Marie Denis, Introduction aux Pseudépigraphes grecs d'Ancien Testament (1970), does not treat the Apocrypha and is important mainly for its bibliography. Basic books dealing with intertestamental literature are R.H. Pfeiffer, History of New Testament Times, with an Introduction to the Apocrypha (1949); Emil Schurer, Geschichte des jüdischen Volkes im Zeitalter Jesu Christi, 3rd–4th ed., 3 vol. (1898–1901; Eng. trans., A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, 2nd and rev. ed., 5 vol., 1885–91); and Robert H. Charles, Religious Development Between the Old and the New Testaments (1914). Still interesting is Robert Travers Herford, Talmud and Apocrypha (1933, reprinted 1971). Information about the library of the Dead Sea Scrolls is in two books: Jozef T. Milik, Dix Ans de découvertes dans le désert de Juda (1957; Eng. trans., Ten Years of Discovery in the Wilderness of Judaea, 1959); and Frank Moore Cross, The Ancient Library of Qumrân and Modern Biblical Studies, 2nd ed. (1961). A fragment of Ben Sira from antiquity was published by Yigael Yadin, The Ben Sira Scroll from Masada, with Introduction, Emendations and Commentary (1965). The best book about Jewish eschatology is Paul Volz, Die Eschatologie der jüdischen Gemeinde im neutestamentlichen Zeitalter (1934). On Apocalyptic and Messianism, see Harold H. Rowley, The Relevance of Apocalyptic, 3rd ed. (1963); David S. Russell, The Method and Message of Jewish Apocalyptic, 200 BC–AD 100 (1964); Sigmund Mowinckel, Han som kommer (1951; Eng. trans., He That Cometh, 1954); Erik Sjoberg, Der Menschensohn im äthiopischen Henochbuch (1946); and A.S. Van Der Woude, Die messianischen Vorstellungen der Gemeinde von Qumrân (1957).

Hardy, Alexandre

2004-11-27T07:25:00.000-08:00

Hardy was a hired poet for troupes of actors both in the provinces and in Paris. His works were widely admired in court circles, where he wrote for royal companies. The actors who bought his plays rarely allowed him to publish them, and fewer

Brackley, Thomas Egerton, Viscount, Baron Ellesmere

2004-11-26T21:13:00.000-08:00

Educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, and called to the bar by Lincoln's Inn in 1572, Egerton was promoted rapidly under Queen Elizabeth I, becoming lord keeper of the great seal in

Performing Arts, Jazz.

2004-11-26T13:30:00.000-08:00

Though no new trends or fads appeared and only one new star emerged, jazz and related musics at last crossed a final frontier in 2002. The jazz idiom, originally created by African Americans, had been played on six continents, but in 2001–02 guitarist Henry Kaiser spent two months in Antarctica, the last continent. Kaiser, with extensive experience playing free improvisations

Irish Sweepstakes

2004-11-24T15:08:00.000-08:00

In full Irish Hospitals' Sweepstakes one of the largest lotteries promoted internationally; it was authorized by the Irish government in 1930 to benefit Irish hospitals. A private trust was formed to run the lottery and market tickets throughout the world. During the 57 years of its existence, the contest derived more revenue from the United States than from any other country, although all the tickets were

Civil Constitution Of The Clergy

2004-11-24T03:23:00.000-08:00

There was a need to create a new administrative and financial framework for the French Church after the Revolutionary governing body, the National

Kinship

2004-11-22T16:01:00.000-08:00

Freud's concern was with the origin of the incest taboo, which is practically universal in human society. He believed that children have a secret desire to commit incest

Earth, The global significance of gravity anomalies

2004-11-22T11:33:00.000-08:00

The investigations of isostasy described above are statistical in approach in that they are directed toward determining depth of compensation and lithospheric thickness from large data sets without reference to individual geologic structures. On the other hand, the study of gravity is capable of extending the understanding of such major features of global

Huang-shih

2004-11-20T08:42:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Huangshi, city in southeastern Hupeh sheng (province), China. It is situated on the south bank of the Yangtze River about 60 miles (96 km) southeast of Wu-han. The nucleus of the present city was a small market town called Shih-tan-yao, or Shih-hui-yao; Huang-shih was the name of the landing on the Yangtze serving the town. When the nearby Ta-yeh iron mines began to be exploited at the end of the

Steichen, Edward

2004-11-20T07:58:00.000-08:00

Pioneer of American photography who, with Alfred Stieglitz, was a leader of the Photo-Secession Group. His style evolved from painterly impressionism to a sharp realism after World War I. His portraits of artists and celebrities from the 1920s and '30s are remarkable evocations of character. In 1955 he organized the “Family of Man” exhibition

Arguin Island

2004-11-19T07:32:00.000-08:00

Island off the coast of Mauritania; it lies about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Cape Blanc, in a sheltered Atlantic inlet (Arguin Bay). The island (4 by 2.5 miles [6 by 4 km]) was incorporated into the newly independent Mauritania in 1960. Aridity and poor anchorage have prevented the establishment of permanent settlements on it, but the coastal reefs, known as the Arguin Banks, are major fishing

Mordvinia

2004-11-17T01:06:00.000-08:00

Mordvinia occupies a gently rolling plain crossed by the broad, shallow, often swampy valley of the Moksha River in the west and the Sura, a direct tributary of the Volga, in the east. The climate is markedly continental. The average January temperature is 10° F (-12° C), but cold air from the north

Wieland, Heinrich Otto

2004-11-16T18:22:00.000-08:00

Wieland obtained his doctorate at the University of Munich in 1901 and remained in that city to teach and conduct research. He became professor of chemistry at the University of Munich in 1925 and held that post until his

Submarine Fan

2004-11-15T13:56:00.000-08:00

Accumulation of land-derived sediment on the deep seafloor; in configuration, a fan is like the section of a very low cone, with its apex at the lower mouth of a submarine canyon incised into a continental slope. Submarine canyons have steep courses with high walls and funnel occasional dense slurries of water and terrigenous sediment (turbidity currents) to the abyssal

Anheuser-busch Companies, Inc.

2004-11-15T11:31:00.000-08:00

The company had its origins in a small brewery opened in St. Louis by George Schneider in 1852. This faltering enterprise was bought by the soap manufacturer Eberhard Anheuser in 1860, and the following year Anheuser's daughter married Adolphus Busch (q.v.), a brewery

Gobi, Plant life

2004-11-14T03:54:00.000-08:00

Vegetation, as mentioned above, is sparse and rare. On the plateau and on the plains beneath the mountains, small bushlike vegetation occurs: echinochloa (a type of succulent grass found in warm regions), yellowwood bean caper, winter fat (a shrub covered with densely matted hairs), Dzungarian reaumur, nitre bush, and bushlike halophytic vegetation. In the salt marshes,

Ciudad Ojeda

2004-11-13T15:51:00.000-08:00

City, Zulia state, northwestern Venezuela. Lying on the northeastern shore of Lake Maracaibo, Ciudad Ojeda is an important oil centre. Just to the south lies the Lagunillas oil field, the largest in Latin America. From derricks on land and in the water, oil is piped to refineries at Cabimas, approximately 20 miles (32 km) to the north, and on the Península de Paraguaná. Ciudad Ojeda

Flanders

2004-11-11T22:43:00.000-08:00

The origins of Flanders lay in the pagus Flandrensis, an area composed

Biblical Literature, The Ketuvim

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

That the formation of the Ketuvim as a corpus was not completed until a very late date is evidenced by the absence of a fixed name, or indeed any real name, for the third division of Scripture. Ben Sira refers to “the other books of our fathers,” “the rest of the books”; Philo speaks simply of “other writings” and Josephus of “the remaining books.” A widespread practice of entitling

Alexander Iv

2004-11-10T10:41:00.000-08:00

Alexander was appointed cardinal deacon (1227) and cardinal bishop of Ostia (1231) by his uncle Pope Gregory IX. After becoming pope, Alexander followed the policies of his predecessor Innocent IV: he continued war on Manfred, Emperor Frederick II's bastard son (who was crowned king of Sicily in 1258), by excommunicating him and

Eichmann, Adolf

2004-11-09T15:56:00.000-08:00

During World War I, Eichmann's family moved from Germany to Linz, Austria. His pre-Nazi life was rather ordinary. He worked as a traveling salesman in Oberösterreich (Upper Austria) for an

Amol

2004-11-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Amul town, northern Iran, on the Harhaz River. The exact date of the founding of the town is unknown and enshrouded in legend, but it is certain that there has been a town on the site since Sasanian times. During the Sasanian period, the district of Amol, together with the neighbouring district of Gilan, formed a Nestorian Christian episcopate. After the Arab conquest in the 8th century,

Low, Sir Hugh

2004-11-07T07:56:00.000-08:00

Before going to the Malay Peninsula, Low had spent an uneventful 30 years as a colonial civil servant on the small island of Labuan, a crown colony off the northwest coast of Borneo.

61 Cygni

2004-11-06T16:13:00.000-08:00

First star whose distance from Earth (about 11 light-years) was measured (by Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel in 1838). The star is a visual binary the components of which revolve around each other in a period of about 650 years. They are of fifth and sixth magnitudes. Regular variations in the motion of the brighter component may indicate the presence of an invisible companion with about

Degenerate Art

2004-11-04T14:21:00.000-08:00

With Hitler's rise to power in 1933, the systematic suppression of contemporary art quickly spread throughout Germany. Sanctions were created to forbid the

Scandinavian Literature, Faeroese

2004-11-03T08:30:00.000-08:00

Faeroese literature came into its own after the turn of the century. Jens H.O. Djurhuus, who created rhetorical poetry of splendid resonance, was the first to emerge as a writer of international stature. His brother, Hans Andrias Djurhuus, wrote in a more naive manner, producing poems, fairy tales, and plays, which were based on native historical traditions and

Fu

2004-11-02T19:44:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization fu type of Chinese bronze vessel used as a food container, it was produced largely from the middle Zhou period (c. 900–c. 600 BC) through the Warring States period (475–221 BC). Rectangular in shape and divided into two parts, the vessel was supported by angular feet at each corner; the lid was almost a duplicate of the bottom (in principle much like the dui). In ancient documents the vessel was also

China, Fine arts

2004-11-01T15:14:00.000-08:00

In the realm of the arts, the Ming period has long been esteemed for the variety and high quality of its state-sponsored craft goods—cloisonné and, particularly, porcelain wares. The sober, delicate monochrome porcelains of the Sung dynasty were now superseded by rich, decorative polychrome wares. The best known of these are of blue-on-white decor, which gradually changed

Fu

2004-11-01T05:51:00.000-08:00

Byname European Liberal Democrats , formerly (1976–86) Federation of Liberal and Democratic Parties in the European Community , (1986–93) Federation of Liberal Democrat and Reform Parties transnational parliamentary group representing the interests of allied liberal and centrist parties in the European Parliament of the European Union (EU). The ELDR was formed in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1976 and coordinates the interests of its member parties. It is now composed of some 40 parties from EU countries, countries that have applied for EU membership, and other

Rub' Al-khali

2004-10-30T10:25:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Ar-Rab' al-Khali (Arabic: “Empty Quarter”) vast desert in the southern Arabian Peninsula, covering about 250,000 square miles (650,000 square km) in a structural basin lying mainly in southeastern Saudi Arabia, with lesser portions in Yemen, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. It is the largest area of continuous sand in the world. It occupies more than one-quarter of Saudi Arabia. The topography is varied. In the west the elevation

Scandinavian Literature, The Icelanders', or family, sagas

2004-10-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

These sagas were about heroes who had supposedly lived in the 10th and 11th centuries. Their origins are unclear, and it is debatable whether they were faithful records of history. One theory is that they were composed in the 11th century and transmitted orally until written down in the 13th century; though researchers now reject this view, it is true that the sagas owed much

Cram, Donald J.

2004-10-28T01:30:00.000-07:00

Cram was educated at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, and at the University of Nebraska,

Guétary, Georges (lambros Worloou)

2004-10-27T07:11:00.000-07:00

Egyptian-born French singer whose career of over 50 years on the musical theatre stage, in cabarets, on recordings, on television, and in films included a notable role as the man who lost Leslie Caron to Gene Kelly in An American in Paris (b. Feb. 8, 1915--d. Sept. 13, 1997).

Frederick Iii

2004-10-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

King of Prussia and German emperor for 99 days in 1888, during which time he was a voiceless invalid, dying of throat cancer. Although influenced by liberal, constitutional, and middle-class ideas, he retained a

Abu Nuwas

2004-10-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

Abu Nuwas, of mixed Arab and Persian heritage, studied in Basra and al-Kufah, first under the poet Walibah ibn al-Hubab, later under Khalaf al-Ahmar. He also studied the Qur'an (Islamic sacred scripture), Hadith (traditions relating to the life and utterances of the Prophet), and grammar and is said to have spent a year with the

Frederick Iii

2004-10-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

Also called Dinitrogen Monoxide , or Laughing Gas, one of several oxides of nitrogen, a colourless gas with pleasant, sweetish odour and taste, which when inhaled produces insensibility to pain preceded by mild hysteria, sometimes laughter. Nitrous oxide was discovered by the English chemist Joseph Priestley in 1772; another English chemist, Humphry Davy, later named it nitrous oxide and showed its physiological effect.

Abu Nuwas

2004-10-24T13:07:00.000-07:00

PABA is not an essential nutrient for vertebrates,

Yancey, William Lowndes

2004-10-23T21:22:00.000-07:00

Though born in Georgia, Yancey in 1822 moved with his mother and stepfather, an antislavery Presbyterian minister, to Troy, N.Y. Yancey attended Williams College from