FemaleWalk

Eisenhower, Dwight D.

2005-03-29T20:20:00.000-08:00

In full Dwight David Eisenhower 34th president of the United States (1953–61), who had been supreme commander of the Allied forces in western Europe during World War II. (For a discussion of the history and nature of the presidency, see presidency of the United States of America. See also Cabinet of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.)

Ear, Human, Function of the muscles of the middle ear

2005-03-29T03:50:00.000-08:00

The muscles of the middle ear, the tensor tympani and the stapedius, can influence the transmission of sound by the ossicular chain. Contraction of the tensor tympani pulls the handle of the malleus inward and, as the name of the muscle suggests, tenses the tympanic membrane. Contraction of the stapedius pulls the stapes footplate outward from the oval window and

Pinchot, Gifford

2005-03-28T15:22:00.000-08:00

Pinchot graduated from Yale in 1889 and studied at the National Forestry School in Nancy, France, and in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. Upon his return home in 1892, he began the first systematic forestry work in the United States at Biltmore, the estate of George W. Vanderbilt,

Yürük Rug

2005-03-28T03:43:00.000-08:00

Rugs from eastern Anatolia, many

Ma Yuan

2005-03-28T01:07:00.000-08:00

Osvald Siren, Chinese Painting: Leading Masters and Principles, 7 vol. (1956–58, reissued 1974), is the standard history of Chinese painting. Ma Yuan's work is discussed in S. Shimada and Y. Yonezawa, Painting of Sung and Yuan Dynasties (1952); Kojiro Tomita, Portfolio of Chinese Paintings in the Museum: Han to Sung Periods, 2nd ed. (1938), from the collection of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts; Sherman E. Lee, Chinese Landscape Painting, 2nd rev. ed. (1962); Laurence Sickman (ed.), Chinese Calligraphy and Painting in the Collection of John M. Crawford, Jr. (1962); James Francis Cahill, Chinese Painting, XI–XIV Centuries (1960); and Michael Sullivan, A Short History of Chinese Art, rev. ed. (1967, reissued 1970). The little available evidence on his position at the Southern Sung court is discussed in Chiang Chao-shen, “The Identity of Yang Mei-tzu and the Paintings of Ma Yuan,” National Palace Museum Bulletin, 2(2):1–15 and 2(3):8–14 (1967).

Yacht

2005-03-26T13:40:00.000-08:00

After the decade 1840–50, when steam began to replace sail power in commercial vessels, the steam engine and, later, the internal-combustion engine were increasingly employed in pleasure vessels. Large power yachts were developed to a high degree, and long-distance cruising became a favourite pastime of the rich. The earliest power yachts were paddle-wheel boats; these then

Ford, Richard

2005-03-26T09:55:00.000-08:00

Ford attended Michigan State University (B.A., 1966), Washington University Law School, and the University of California, Irvine (M.A., 1970), and subsequently taught at several American colleges and universities. His first novel, A Piece of My Heart (1976), is set on an island in the southern Mississippi

Huynh Phu So

2005-03-25T00:46:00.000-08:00

Frail and sickly in his youth, he was educated by a Buddhist monk and at the age of 20 was apparently miraculously cured. He then set about

Howland Island

2005-03-24T02:36:00.000-08:00

Sighted in 1842 by American whalers and named for one of the first

Dzhizak

2005-03-23T22:59:00.000-08:00

City, eastern Uzbekistan. The city is located in a small oasis irrigated by the Sanzar River, northeast of Samarkand. One of the most ancient settlements of Uzbekistan, it was situated on the trade routes to the Mediterranean near Tamerlane's Gates, the only convenient passage through the Nuratau Mountains to the Zeravshan River valley. Today the city processes cotton

Cooper, Cynthia

2005-03-23T22:56:00.000-08:00

Cooper was raised

Essad Pasa (toptani)

2005-03-22T15:00:00.000-08:00

Essad was the scion of a rich Albanian family. He joined the Young Turk movement in 1908 and became deputy for Albania in the new Turkish parliament. The most powerful of the central native lords, he was given

Madison, James

2005-03-22T01:52:00.000-08:00

Fourth president of the United States (1809–17) and one of the founding fathers of his country. At the Constitutional Convention (1787) he influenced the planning and ratification of the U.S. Constitution and collaborated with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay in the publication of The Federalist Papers. As a member of the new House of Representatives, he sponsored the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, commonly called the Bill of Rights. He was secretary of state under President Thomas Jefferson when the Louisiana Territory was purchased from France. The War of 1812 was fought during his presidency. (For a discussion of the history and nature of the presidency, see presidency of the United States of America. See also Cabinet of President James Madison.)

Auseklis

2005-03-21T17:10:00.000-08:00

Related in name to the Vedic Usas and the Greek Eos, goddesses of dawn, Auseklis is associated in Latvian solar mythology with Meness (Moon) and Saule (Sun), being subordinate to the former and along with him a rival suitor of Saule's daughter, Saules

Abel, Niels Henrik

2005-03-20T18:58:00.000-08:00

Abel's father was a poor Lutheran minister who moved his family to the parish of Gjerstad, near the town of Risør in southeast Norway, soon after Niels Henrik was born. In 1815 Niels entered the cathedral school

Mcpherson Range

2005-03-19T08:58:00.000-08:00

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

Baldpate

2005-03-19T06:58:00.000-08:00

Popular North American game duck, also known as the American wigeon. See wigeon.

Stone, Jesse

2005-03-18T09:20:00.000-08:00

American musician, songwriter, and rhythm-and-blues pioneer who, with his songs “Shake, Rattle and Roll” and “Money Honey,” figured largely in the birth of rock and roll; he also wrote the jazz standard “Idaho” (b. Nov. 16, 1901, Atchison, Kan.—d. April 1, 1999, Altamonte Springs, Fla.).

Interior Design

2005-03-18T09:12:00.000-08:00

Since at least the middle of the 20th century, the term interior decorator has been so loosely applied as to be nearly meaningless,

European Plain

2005-03-17T18:05:00.000-08:00

One of the greatest uninterrupted expanses of plain on the Earth's surface. It sweeps from the Pyrenees Mountains on the French-Spanish border across northern Europe to the Ural Mountains in Russia. In western Europe the plain is comparatively narrow, rarely exceeding 200 miles (320 kilometres) in width, but as it stretches eastward it broadens steadily until it reaches

Bulgaria, Spread of education

2005-03-17T01:56:00.000-08:00

The spread of education was in fact the centrepiece of the Bulgarian national revival. In 1835 Vasil Aprilov founded a Lancasterian school, based on the monitorial system of instruction, in Gabrovo. With the monk Neofit Rilski (Neophyte of Rila) as its teacher, it was the first school to teach in Bulgarian. Its work was facilitated by the appearance of a Bulgarian publishing

Bobbin Furniture

2005-03-16T21:34:00.000-08:00

Also called Spool Furniture, heavy furniture made in the late 17th century, whose legs and other parts were lathe-turned to ornamental shapes; also lighter, less boldly turned pieces made in 19th-century cottage style (see cottage furniture). Bobbin turning was a type of ornament consisting of a series of small knobs resembling spools, or bobbins, used on the legs and stretchers of chairs and tables,

Poyet, Guillaume

2005-03-15T18:00:00.000-08:00

After practicing successfully as a barrister at Angers and Paris, he was instructed by Louise of Savoy, mother of King Francis I, to uphold her rights against the constable Charles, Duke de Bourbon, in 1521. This was the beginning of his fortunes.

Frauenfeld

2005-03-15T14:04:00.000-08:00

Capital (since 1803) of Thurgau kanton (“canton”), northern Switzerland, on the Murg River, close to its junction with the Thur River, northeast of Zürich. First mentioned in 1246, it was founded by the count of Kyburg and the abbot of Reichenau on land belonging to the abbot. Frauenfeld (“Field of Our Lady”) passed to the Habsburgs in 1264 and was seized by the Swiss Confederates (Eidgenossen)

Adams, John

2005-03-14T13:10:00.000-08:00

Early advocate of American independence from Great Britain, major figure in the Continental Congress (1774–77), author of the Massachusetts constitution (1780), signer of the Treaty of Paris (1783), first American ambassador to the Court of St. James (1785–88), first vice president (1789–97) and second president (1797–1801) of the United States. Although Adams was regarded by his contemporaries as one of the most significant statesmen of the revolutionary era, his reputation faded in the 19th century, only to ascend again during the last half of the 20th century. The modern edition of his correspondence prompted a rediscovery of his bracing honesty and pungent way with words, his importance as a political thinker, his realistic perspective on American foreign policy, and his patriarchal role as founder of one of the most prominent families in American history. (For a discussion of the history and nature of the presidency, see presidency of the United States of America. See also Cabinet of President John Adams.)

Parakeet

2005-03-14T04:49:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Parrakeet any of numerous seed-eating parrots of small size, slender build, and long, tapering tail. In this sense the name is given to some 115 species in 30 genera of the subfamily Psittacinae (family Psittacidae) and has influenced another parrot name, lorikeet (see parrot). To indicate size only, the name is sometimes extended to little parrots with short, blunt tails, as the hanging

Wellfleet

2005-03-13T08:39:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Barnstable county, Massachusetts, U.S. It lies on the northeastern arm of Cape Cod, 12 miles (19 km) south-southeast of Provincetown. First settled about 1724, it was incorporated in 1763 and gained prominence in the 19th century as a fishing port, having from 1830 to 1870 a virtual monopoly of New England oystering. The name of the town may derive from “whale fleet” or from the Wallfleet

Old Norse Language

2005-03-13T07:23:00.000-08:00

Classical North Germanic language used from roughly 1150 to 1350. It is the literary language of the Icelandic sagas, skaldic poems, and Eddas. The term Old Norse embraces Old Norwegian as well as Old Icelandic, but it is sometimes used interchangeably with the latter term because Icelandic records of this period are more plentiful and of greater literary value than those

Madhya Bharat Plateau

2005-03-12T16:22:00.000-08:00

Hindi Madhya Bharat Pathar plateau comprising the northern part of the Central Highlands, central India. Extending over approximately 22,000 square miles (57,000 square km) and including most of northwestern Madhya Pradesh state and central Rajasthan state, it is bounded by the East Rajasthan Uplands on the west, the Upper Ganges Plain on the north, the Bundelkhand Upland on the east, and the Malwa Plateau on

Allman Brothers Band, The

2005-03-12T10:02:00.000-08:00

American rock band whose bluesy, jam-oriented sound helped spark the Southern rock movement of the 1970s and set the stage for several generations of roots-oriented improvisational rock bands. The members were Duane Allman (in full Howard Duane Allman; b. Nov. 20, 1946, Nashville, Tenn., U.S.—d. Oct. 29, 1971, Macon, Ga.), Gregg Allman (in full Gregory Lenoir Allman; b. Dec. 8, 1947, Nashville), Berry Oakley (in full

Craig, Edward Gordon

2005-03-12T06:47:00.000-08:00

Craig was the second child of a liaison between the actress Ellen Terry and the architect Edward William Godwin. Like Edith (the other child of his parents), their son was given the name

Calabria

2005-03-11T06:10:00.000-08:00

Most of the region is mountainous

Biblical Literature, In Christianity

2005-03-11T05:53:00.000-08:00

The Hebrew Bible is as basic to Christianity as it is to Judaism. Without the Old Testament, the New Testament could not have been written and there could have been no man like Jesus; Christianity could not have been what it became. This has to do with cultural values, basic human values, as much as with religious beliefs. The Genesis stories of prehistoric events and people

Nebuchadrezzar Ii

2005-03-10T22:34:00.000-08:00

Nebuchadrezzar II was the oldest son and successor of Nabopolassar, founder of the Chaldean empire. He is known from cuneiform inscriptions, the Bible and later Jewish sources,

Popish Plot

2005-03-09T20:26:00.000-08:00

(1678), in English history, a totally fictitious but widely believed plot in which it was alleged that Jesuits were planning the assassination of King Charles II in order to bring his Roman Catholic brother, the Duke of York (afterward King James II), to the throne. The allegations were fabricated by Titus Oates (q.v.), a renegade Anglican clergyman who had feigned conversion

National Aquarium

2005-03-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

The facility houses more than 1,000 specimens of nearly 200 species of fishes in 54 individual display tanks ranging in capacity from 285 to

Qoboza, Percy (peter)

2005-03-09T05:43:00.000-08:00

After studying theology in Basutoland (now Lesotho) and at Pax Training College in Pietersburg (1959), Qoboza turned to journalism and joined the staff of the World (1963); he became editor in 1974. Under his leadership,

Switzerland

2005-03-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

Etruscans, Rhaetians, Celts, Romans, and Germanic peoples have left their imprint on Switzerland in the course of its historical evolution. The present population shows traces mainly of the Alpine, “Nordic,” and southern Slav or Dinaric peoples. To survive as a cohesive unit, the disparate elements of the Swiss people have had to learn a mutual cooperation to protect

Silao

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

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

Pollaiuolo, Antonio Del And Piero Del

2005-03-07T14:16:00.000-08:00

The brothers

Ulaanbaatar

2005-03-07T13:30:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ulan Bator, formerly Urga, or Niislel Khureheh, capital and largest city of Mongolia. It is situated on the Tuul River on a windswept plateau at an elevation of 4,430 feet (1,350 m). The city originated as a seasonal migratory abode of the Mongolian princes and in 1639 finally attained permanence on the present site with the construction of Da Khure Monastery. This building became the residence of the bodgo-gegen, high priest of the

Metallic Wood-boring Beetle

2005-03-06T21:22:00.000-08:00

Also called Jewel Beetle, any member of the family Buprestidae (order Coleoptera), among the most brilliantly coloured insects. Most of the approximately 15,000 species are widely distributed in tropical regions. These beetles are long, narrow, and flat, with a tapering abdomen. The wing covers (elytra) of some species are metallic blue, copper green, or black in colour and are sometimes used in jewelry.

Spontaneous Combustion

2005-03-05T20:16:00.000-08:00

The outbreak of fire without application of heat from an external source. Spontaneous combustion may occur when combustible matter, such as hay or coal, is stored in bulk. It begins with a slow oxidation process (as bacterial fermentation or atmospheric oxidation) under conditions not permitting ready dissipation of heat—e.g., in the centre of a haystack or a pile of

Golf, The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA)

2005-03-04T03:34:00.000-08:00

Several professional tournaments for women were staged during the 1920s and '30s; important players from this era include Glenna Collett from the United States and Joyce Wethered of Great Britain. It was not until the 1940s that efforts began in earnest to form a professional golf organization for women. The first, the Women's Professional Golf Association (WPGA), was chartered

Irkutsk

2005-03-04T01:04:00.000-08:00

City and administrative centre of Irkutsk oblast (province), east-central Russia. The city lies along the Angara River at its confluence with the Irkut River. It was founded as a wintering camp in 1652, during the first Russian colonization of the area; a fort was built in 1661, and Irkutsk rapidly became the main centre of Cisbaikalia and of the Russian trade route to China and

Military Affairs

2005-03-03T20:35:00.000-08:00

The security situation in the Serbian province of Kosovo deteriorated in January when Yugoslav army and special police troops escalated their offensive against the Kosovar Albanians. Under pressure from the six-nation Contact Group, the two sides met at Rambouillet, near Paris, France, in February and March to seek a peace agreement. The Kosovar Albanian delegation

Economic Development

2005-03-03T14:20:00.000-08:00

The process whereby simple, low-income national economies are transformed into modern industrial economies. Although the term is sometimes used as a synonym for economic growth, generally it is employed to describe a change in a country's economy involving qualitative as well as quantitative improvements. The theory of economic development—how primitive and

Annelid, Hormones

2005-03-03T07:05:00.000-08:00

Neurosecretory cells, which are nerve cells that produce hormones, are found in the brain; their structure, similar to that of nonsecretory nerve cells, consists of fine projections (an axon and neurofibrils)

Neutron Capture

2005-03-02T04:41:00.000-08:00

Type of nuclear reaction in which a target nucleus absorbs a neutron (uncharged particle), then emits a discrete quantity of electromagnetic energy (gamma-ray photon). The target nucleus and the product nucleus are isotopes, or forms of the same element. Thus phosphorus-31, on undergoing neutron capture, becomes phosphorus-32. The heavier isotope that results may be radioactive,

Arts, Central Asian, Sogdiana

2005-03-02T02:39:00.000-08:00

Sogdiana, with its capital of Afrasiab, was already noted for the sophistication and number of its towns when Alexander the Great conquered it in 328 BC and opened it up to Greek soldiers and administrators, and eventually to Roman traders. The Sogdians resented being governed by Alexander's successors, the Greek kings of the Seleucid dynasty. It is difficult to establish

Chahar

2005-03-01T22:03:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Chakhar, eastern tribe of Mongols, prominent in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Chahar were part of the empire of Dayan Khan (1470–1543), the last great khan of a united Mongolia. After his death the khanate remained formally among the Chahar, although it was substantially weakened. The last noteworthy Chahar khan, Ligdan (1604–34), attempted strenuously to reassert his authority, but he was defeated

Argentina, The Northwest

2005-02-28T01:25:00.000-08:00

Numerous archaeological sites in the region indicate the presence—before the Spanish invasion—of permanently settled Indians who practiced irrigation and terraced farming in the oasis-like valleys. The Spanish, arriving overland from what are now Peru and Bolivia, initially occupied areas on the lowland plains of the Chaco, distant from hostile indigenous

Bashan

2005-02-27T22:39:00.000-08:00

Country frequently cited in the Old Testament and later important in the Roman Empire; it is located in what is now Syria. Bashan was the northernmost of the three ancient divisions of eastern Palestine, and in the Old Testament it was proverbial for its rich pastures and thick forests. In New Testament times, Bashan numbered as one of the great granaries of the Roman

Tonga, Human settlement

2005-02-27T05:05:00.000-08:00

Chemically induced change in electric potential of the motor end plate, the portion of the muscle-cell membrane that lies opposite the terminal of a nerve fibre at the neuromuscular junction. The end-plate membrane is electrically polarized, the inside being negative with respect to the outside because of an uneven distribution of ions. When a nerve impulse releases

Afghanistan, Urban settlement

2005-02-26T20:49:00.000-08:00

Most urban settlements have grown along the road that runs from Kabul southwestward to Kandahar, then northwest to Herat, northeast to Mazar-e Sharif, and southeast back to Kabul. The rural population of farmers and nomads is distributed unevenly over the rest of the country, mainly concentrated along the rivers. The most heavily populated part of the country is between

Usa

2005-02-26T03:32:00.000-08:00

City, Oita ken (prefecture), northern Kyushu, Japan; it lies 24 miles (39 km) northwest of the prefectural capital Oita. The city developed around the site of the first and most famous of shrines dedicated to the Shinto god Hachiman, Usa Hachiman Shrine, which dates to about 717–724. An annual festival is held on March 18, and the Shinkosai festival, with a procession of portable shrines (mikoshi

Molecular Sieve

2005-02-25T05:51:00.000-08:00

A porous solid, usually a synthetic or a natural zeolite, that separates particles of molecular dimension. Zeolites are hydrated metal aluminosilicate compounds with well-defined crystalline structures. The silicate and aluminate groupings form three-dimensional crystal lattices surrounding cavities in which the metal ions and the water molecules are

Noriega, Manuel

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

Noriega was born into a poor family of Colombian extraction. Educated at one of the top high schools in Panama, he was awarded a scholarship to the Chorrillos Military School in Lima,

Usnisavijaya

2005-02-24T21:19:00.000-08:00

Tibetan Gtsug-tor-rnam-par rgyal-ma popular Buddhist goddess in Nepal, Tibet, and Mongolia. Her name in Sanskrit means “victorious goddess of the usnisa,” the last-named object being the protuberance on the top of the Buddha's skull. She wears an image of the Buddha Vairocana in her headdress and is described as residing in the cellar of the caitya (“shrine”). She may be identified by the small figure of Buddha seated

Rodeo

2005-02-23T18:29:00.000-08:00

The five standard rodeo events are calf roping, bull riding, steer wrestling (bulldogging), saddle bronc-riding, and bareback bronc-riding. (A bronc [bronco,

Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints

2005-02-23T14:36:00.000-08:00

The largest denomination of the Mormon religion. See Mormon.

Wierzynski, Kazimierz

2005-02-22T17:15:00.000-08:00

Wierzynski moved to Warsaw after the restoration of Poland's independence at the close of World War I and became one of the foremost members of Skamander. His poetical debut was Wiosna i wino (1919; “Spring and Wine”), followed by Wróble na

China

2005-02-21T22:35:00.000-08:00

Despite China's size, the wealth of its resources, and the fact that more than 20 percent of the world's population lives within its borders, its role in the world economy traditionally has been relatively small. Since the late 1970s, however, when China decided to increase its interaction with the international economy, its role in world trade has steadily grown and its importance

Târgu-neamt

2005-02-21T11:22:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Tîrgu-neamt, town, Neamt judet (county), northeastern Romania, on the Neamt River. It has long been a local market centre and a major focus of culture in Moldavia. West of the town is Neamt Monastery, founded by Stephen (Stefan) the Great in 1497. On the north bank of the Neamt River stands the ruins of the Fortress of Neamt, founded in the late 14th century. To the west is Agapia Monastery, founded in 1585. Textiles

Dabrowska, Maria

2005-02-21T07:48:00.000-08:00

Born into a relatively impecunious family of landowners, Dabrowska was educated in Poland, at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, and then in Belgium. Afterward, she lived in France and Great Britain until World War II. In 1909 she had begun to write articles

Murano

2005-02-20T14:09:00.000-08:00

Island, north of Venice, in Veneto region, northeastern Italy, with an area of 1,134 acres (459 hectares) in the Laguna Veneta (Venice Lagoon). It was founded between the 5th and the 7th century, and it experienced its major development after 1291, when glass furnaces were moved there from Venice. Murano became the manufacturing centre for Venetian glass, exported in large quantities to

China, Clashes with foreigners

2005-02-20T10:18:00.000-08:00

On May 30, 1925, patriotic students, engaged in an anti-imperialist demonstration in Shanghai, clashed with foreign police. The British captain in charge ordered the police to fire upon a crowd that he believed was about to rush his station. Some 12 Chinese were killed in the May Thirtieth Incident, including students. This aroused a nationwide protest and set off a protracted

Agramonte Y Simoni, Aristides

2005-02-20T10:04:00.000-08:00

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

World Affairs, Dues.

2005-02-18T15:35:00.000-08:00

On December 22, the UN tentatively agreed to the U.S. figures on dues after Ted Turner, founder of the Cable News Network and a Time Warner vice-chairman, offered to pay the $34 million shortfall for the year 2001 created by reducing the U.S. share of the UN administrative budget from 25% to 22% and its share of the peacekeeping budget from 31% to about 27%. The U.S. indebtedness to the UN stood at $1.3 billion

Hoffmann, Josef

2005-02-18T10:36:00.000-08:00

Hoffman studied under Otto Wagner in Vienna and in 1899 joined in the founding of the Vienna Sezession, which, although influenced by the Art Nouveau movement, was more modernist than Wagner's approach. Beginning

Wyeth, Andrew

2005-02-18T10:24:00.000-08:00

Wyeth's father, N.C. Wyeth, was a well-known illustrator who had studied under Howard Pyle and who, starting in 1932, served as his son's only teacher. Andrew Wyeth's first exhibition was

Polar Wandering

2005-02-18T03:44:00.000-08:00

The migration over the surface of the Earth of the magnetic poles of the Earth through geological time. It was long recognized that the directions of magnetization of many rocks do not correspond to the present direction of the geomagnetic field at their sites; but not until the 1950s was there sufficient paleomagnetic data to suggest that the poles had moved in a systematic

Yang Hsiung

2005-02-17T02:09:00.000-08:00

As a quiet and studious young man he came to admire and practice the fu form. When he was over 40 years of age he went to live in the Imperial capital, Ch'ang-an (Sian), where his reputation as a poet won him a position

Holderness

2005-02-16T18:36:00.000-08:00

Low-lying peninsula and geographic region, geographic county of East Riding of Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, England, between the River Humber estuary and the North Sea. The plain of Holderness terminates in a line of unstable clay cliffs along the coast of the North Sea to the east, where erosion is a serious problem north of Spurn Head, which is the peninsula's

Anthemion

2005-02-15T17:04:00.000-08:00

Design consisting of a number of radiating petals, developed by the ancient Greeks from the Egyptian and Asiatic form known as the honeysuckle or lotus palmette. The anthemion was used widely by the Greeks and Romans to embellish various parts of ancient buildings. The Greeks originally decorated only pottery with the motif, but they soon adapted it to ornament

Mordenite

2005-02-15T10:03:00.000-08:00

Hydrated sodium, potassium, and calcium aluminosilicate mineral (Na2,K2,Ca) Al2Si10O24×7H2O, in the zeolite family. It is one of the most abundant zeolites in altered volcanic deposits, and it commonly occurs as white, glassy needles filling veins and cavities in igneous rocks. It is also found in marine sediments, as in the Ural Mountains and in dikes where water has attacked and

Berezovsky, Boris

2005-02-14T20:39:00.000-08:00

When Russian Pres. Boris Yeltsin resigned, Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky lost his status as a Kremlin insider and one of Russia's most powerful men. Yeltsin's successor, Vladimir Putin, came to power in 2000 promising to “liquidate the oligarchs as a class.” By year's end Berezovsky had been ousted from Kremlin circles and was facing a criminal investigation into his business

Irish Wolfhound

2005-02-14T15:18:00.000-08:00

Tallest of all dog breeds, a keen-sighted hound used in Ireland for many years to hunt wolves and other game. An ancient breed, first mentioned about the 2nd century AD, it is similar in build to the greyhound but far more powerful. The female, which is smaller than the male, stands a minimum of 76 cm (30 inches) and weighs a minimum of 48 kg (105 pounds); male wolfhounds may greatly exceed this

Cáceres

2005-02-14T07:39:00.000-08:00

Provincia of the Extremadura comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”), western Spain, bordering Portugal on the west. The Tagus River runs through the province. Conquered by Alfonso IX from the Moors in 1229, it became part of the kingdom of Leon and was made a province of Spain in 1833. Mountainous areas in the extreme north and south are formed by the Central and Toledo mountains,

Estaing, Charles-hector, Comte (count) D'

2005-02-13T04:59:00.000-08:00

D'Estaing served in India during the Seven Years' War and was governor of the Antilles (1763–66). He was appointed vice admiral in 1767 and in 1778 attempted to surprise the English squadrons in North America and enable the colonists

Resonance, Theory Of

2005-02-12T16:01:00.000-08:00

In chemistry, theory by which the actual normal state of a molecule is represented not by a single valence-bond structure but by a combination of several alternative distinct structures. The molecule is then said to resonate among the several valence-bond structures or to have a structure that is a resonance hybrid of these structures. The energy calculated for

Ardea

2005-02-12T15:48:00.000-08:00

Ancient town of the Rutuli people, and now a modern village in Roma provincia, Lazio regione, west-central Italy. It lies 23 miles (37 km) south of Rome. In ancient times it was an important centre of the cult of Juno. Ardea developed into one of the most important Latin cities and was a member of the Latin leagues of the 6th and 5th centuries BC. In 444 the town signed a treaty with the Romans,

China, The barbarians: Tangut, Khitan, and Juchen

2005-02-11T15:07:00.000-08:00

On the frontier the far-reaching influence of T'ang culture affected various nomadic, seminomadic, and pastoral peoples.

Stracittà

2005-02-11T14:09:00.000-08:00

An Italian literary movement that developed after World War I. Massimo Bontempelli was the leader of the movement, which was connected with his idea of novecentismo. Bontempelli called for a break from traditional styles of writing, and his own writings reflected his interest in such modern forms as Surrealism and magic realism. The name stracittà, a type of back-formation

Reston

2005-02-10T18:07:00.000-08:00

Urban community, in Fairfax county, northeastern Virginia, U.S. It lies adjacent to Herndon, 22 miles (35 km) west-northwest of Washington, D.C. The community was developed after 1962 by Robert E. Simon, whose initials form the first syllable of its name; it opened in 1965. Reston, an original concept in urban planning, consists of a number of villages (separated by woodland tracts), each with

Hetman

2005-02-10T11:07:00.000-08:00

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

Cabot, John

2005-02-10T06:51:00.000-08:00

Cabot moved to Venice in 1461, or possibly earlier, and became a citizen of that city in 1476. While employed by a Venetian mercantile

Cosby, Bill

2005-02-09T11:55:00.000-08:00

Cosby left high school without earning his diploma and joined the U.S. Navy in 1956. While enlisted he passed a high school equivalency exam, and after his discharge he received an athletic scholarship to Temple

Welch, William Henry

2005-02-08T20:44:00.000-08:00

Undertaking graduate medical study in Germany (1876–78), Welch was working in the

Tacitus

2005-02-08T18:31:00.000-08:00

In full Publius Cornelius Tacitus , or Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Roman orator and public official, probably the greatest historian and one of the greatest prose stylists who wrote in the Latin language. Among his works are the Germania, describing the Germanic tribes, the Historiae (Histories), concerning the Roman Empire from AD 69 to 96, and the later Annals, dealing with the empire in the period from AD 14 to 68.

Ukiyo-e

2005-02-08T03:01:00.000-08:00

(Japanese: “pictures of the floating world”), one of the most important genres of art of the Tokugawa period (1603–1867) in Japan. The style is a mixture of the realistic narrative of the emaki (“picture scrolls”) produced in the Kamakura period and the mature decorative style of the Momoyama and Tokugawa periods. The ukiyo-e style also has about it something of both native and foreign

Devrient, Emil

2005-02-07T15:41:00.000-08:00

Nephew of the great Romantic actor Ludwig Devrient, he made his debut in Brunswick in 1821. By way of Bremen, Leipzig, and Hamburg, he reached Dresden in 1831, where he remained associated with the court theatre there until his retirement in 1868. Devrient's greatest successes

David, Gerard

2005-02-07T04:00:00.000-08:00

In his early work, such as the “Christ Nailed to the Cross” (c. 1480; National Gallery, London)

Ursa Minor

2005-02-05T21:48:00.000-08:00

Also called The Little Bear, in astronomy, a constellation of the northern sky, seven of whose stars outline the Little Dipper. Polaris (Alpha Ursae Minoris), at the end of the Little Dipper's handle, marks (roughly) the position of the north celestial pole. The constellation lies at about 15 hours right ascension and 80° north declination.

Bioethics

2005-02-05T17:52:00.000-08:00

The discipline dealing with the ethical implications of both biological research and the applications of that research, especially in medicine. The first bioethics study institute, the Hastings Center, was established in June 1969 and is now located in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., U.S. In 1971 Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., established The Joseph and Rose Kennedy Institute

Sea Cave

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

Cave formed in a cliff by wave action of an ocean or lake. Sea caves occur on almost every cliffed headland or coast where the waves break directly on a rock cliff and are formed by mechanical erosion rather than the chemical solution process that is responsible for the majority of inland caves. Zones of weakness in the cliff give way under the force of the waves and

Libya, Drainage

2005-02-05T01:55:00.000-08:00

There are no perennial rivers in Libya. The numerous wadis that drain the uplands are filled by flash floods during the rains and quickly dry up or are reduced to a trickle. The largest wadi systems are the Wadi Zamzam and Wadi Bayy al-Kabir, both of which reach the western coast of the Gulf of Sidra. Other large wadis drain the interior basins of Surt, Zaltan, and the Fezzan.

Globe Amaranth

2005-02-04T17:57:00.000-08:00

(Gomphrena globosa), ornamental garden plant of the family Amaranthaceae, native to the Old World tropics. Globe amaranth is a short annual with dense, cloverlike flower clusters that often are dried and preserved. The flowers lack petals but exhibit red, pink, orange, or white bracts on long stalks.

Burckhardt, Johann Ludwig

2005-02-04T15:58:00.000-08:00

Burckhardt went to England in 1806 and studied in London and at Cambridge University. In 1809, under the auspices of the Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa, he visited Syria

Ernest Augustus

2005-02-03T16:49:00.000-08:00

Ernest Augustus studied at Göttingen, entered the Hanoverian army, and served as a leader of cavalry when war broke out between Great Britain and France in 1793. When Hanover withdrew from the war in 1795 he returned to England, being made lieutenant general in