SoftWood

Tafoya, Maria Margarita

2005-03-18T06:51:00.000-08:00

American potter (b. Aug. 13, 1904, Santa Clara Pueblo, N.M.—d. Feb. 25, 2001, Santa Clara Pueblo), was one of the most prominent Native American folk artists and was considered the matriarch of the renowned Santa Clara Pueblo potters. In particular, Tafoya was known for her large clay vessels, and her works were the subject of exhibits around the world. In 1984 she was named a National Heritage fellow

Gielgud, Sir John

2005-03-16T15:12:00.000-08:00

In full Sir Arthur John Gielgud English actor, producer, and director, who is considered one of the greatest performers of his generation on stage and screen, particularly as a Shakespearean actor. He was knighted in 1953 for services to the theatre. (Click here to hear Gielgud reading from “A Midsummer Night's Dream” and “The

Kazakhstan, Flag Of

2005-03-14T20:53:00.000-08:00

The Kazakhs are (in part) descended from the “Blue Horde”—Turkic-Mongol peoples who, centuries ago, flew the “Blue Banner” in Central Asia. The colour also stands for the great skies under which these traditionally nomadic peoples have lived. Light blue was chosen as the background for the national flag of Kazakhstan officially adopted in June 1992. The designer of the flag

Sankuru River

2005-03-13T07:01:00.000-08:00

Main tributary of the Kasai River (itself a tributary of the Congo River) in Congo (Kinshasa), central Africa. About 750 miles (1,200 km) long, it begins in the western highlands of Katanga (Shaba), where it is known as the Lubilash River, and flows 285 miles (460 km) north and northwest, where it becomes the Sankuru proper and where it flows northward and then almost directly westward to the Kasai.

Mujahadah

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

(Arabic: “striving”), in Sufism, struggle with the carnal self; the word is related to jihad (struggle), which is often understood as “holy war.” The Sufis refer to mujahadah as al-jihad al-akbar (the greater war) in contrast to al-jihad al-asghar (the minor war), which is waged against unbelievers. It is one of the major duties that a Sufi must perform throughout his mystical journey toward union

Clapham Sect

2005-03-09T00:29:00.000-08:00

Group of evangelical Christians, prominent in England from about 1790 to 1830, who campaigned for the abolition of slavery and promoted missionary work at home and abroad. The group centred on the church of John Venn, rector of Clapham in south London. Its members included William Wilberforce, Henry Thornton, James Stephen, Zachary Macaulay, and others. Many were members of

Cambrian Period, Boundaries and subdivisions

2005-03-06T15:31:00.000-08:00

The lower boundary of the Cambrian System is defined at a formal global stratotype section and point (GSSP), which was ratified by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) in 1992. The stratotype section is located at Fortune Head on the Burin Peninsula of southeastern Newfoundland in Canada. It contains a thick and continuous marine succession of mostly

Chi-lin

2005-03-04T22:21:00.000-08:00

Chi-lin is one of the most ancient cities in the Northeast.

Vair, Guillaume Du

2005-03-03T08:37:00.000-08:00

A lawyer by training, du Vair occupied high offices of state under Henry IV, having made his reputation with his eloquent and cogently argued orations. He first came to the fore with a brilliant oration on the death of Mary, Queen of Scots. The

Staff, Leopold

2005-03-01T08:23:00.000-08:00

After completing his education in Lwów, Staff moved to Kraków, which in the 1890s was the centre of Polish literary life. There he came into close contact with representatives of the Young

Interior Design, 20th century

2005-02-27T21:14:00.000-08:00

The principle behind a great deal of 20th century interior decoration was first expounded in Chicago in 1896 in a magazine entitled the House Beautiful. This journal opposed both the perpetuation of vulgar display and the excess of ornament that had characterized most of the 19th century. Other American magazines like The Ladies Home Journal soon followed House

Austin

2005-02-24T11:18:00.000-08:00

The state's

Póros

2005-02-23T02:08:00.000-08:00

Island of the Saronic group, lying close to the Argolis peninsula of the Peloponnese, part of the nomós (department) of Attikí, Greece. It actually comprises two islands totaling 9 square miles (23 square km), the larger of which is the wooded, limestone island of Kalávria, separated from the village of Galatás on the mainland by a narrow channel, or poros, whence the collective

Photography, Technology Of, Gamma radiography

2005-02-20T03:52:00.000-08:00

The technique of gamma-ray radiography is similar to that of X-ray radiography except that it relies on rays emitted by radioactive substances. Gamma rays have wavelengths from 100 to 1,000 times shorter than X rays and correspondingly greater penetrating power. Small gamma-ray sources are placed in areas inaccessible to X-ray tubes, such as inside pipelines. In all radiographic

Texas Christian University

2005-02-19T15:03:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher education in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It grants about 14 undergraduate degrees in more than 80 areas and about 14 graduate degrees in more than 30 fields, including research-oriented doctoral programs and a professional degree in ministry. Texas Christian comprises

United States, Bank Of The

2005-02-14T07:45:00.000-08:00

Central bank chartered in 1791 by the U.S. Congress at the urging of Alexander Hamilton and over the objections of Thomas Jefferson. Extended debate over its constitutionality contributed significantly to the evolution of pro- and anti-bank factions into the first American political parties—respectively, the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. Antagonism

Reformed League

2005-02-12T21:56:00.000-08:00

The Reformed League founded religious journals and institutions for the education

George

2005-02-10T19:58:00.000-08:00

Byname George of Podebrady, Czech Jirí z Podebrad king of Bohemia from 1458. As head of the conservative Utraquist faction of Hussite Protestants, he established himself as a power when Bohemia was still under Habsburg rule, and he was thereafter unanimously elected king by the estates. A nationalist and Hussite king of a prosperous state, he incurred the enmity

China, Vietnam

2005-02-08T00:57:00.000-08:00

In 1802 a new dynasty was founded in Vietnam (Dai Viet) by Nguyen Phuc Anh, a member of the royal family of Nguyen at Hue, who had expelled the short-lived Tay Son regime and had unified the country. The Ch'ing, under the Chia-ch'ing emperor, recognized the new dynasty as a fait accompli, but a controversy arose as to a name for the new country. Nguyen Phuc Anh demanded the name Nam Viet,

Kagawa

2005-02-06T23:28:00.000-08:00

Smallest ken (prefecture) of Shikoku, Japan, facing the Inland Sea opposite Okayama prefecture, Honshu. Its area of 727 square miles (1,883 square km) includes Shodo and other offshore islands. The climate is warm with little rain; the prefecture is drained by numerous rivers (including the Koto and Doki) and is dotted with lakes. The Yashima promontory, overlooking the Inland Sea, was

Spotted Tail

2005-02-04T15:36:00.000-08:00

Spotted Tail was not a member of a ruling family, but he won the chieftainship over the hereditary claimant on the basis of his prowess as a warrior. In 1855 he, along with two other warriors,

Ascoli, Graziadio Isaia

2005-02-02T11:58:00.000-08:00

Ascoli did not receive any formal higher education, but he wrote his first major work, on Oriental languages, in 1854. While serving as a professor

Biblical Literature, Other types

2005-01-29T03:16:00.000-08:00

There is an unconscious tendency to conform hermeneutical principles to the climate of opinion in and around the community concerned, and to change the hermeneutic pattern as the climate of opinion changes. It is not surprising that in the circles where Pseudo-Dionysius (early-6th-century writings attributed to Dionysius, a convert of St. Paul) was revered as a teacher,

Chiang-tzu

2005-01-27T08:52:00.000-08:00

Also called Chi-yang-tse , Pinyin Jiangzu , or Jiyangze , Tibetan Gyangzê town in the southern part of the Tibetan autonomous ch'ü (region), China. It is situated on the Nien-ch'u River some 45 miles (70 km) southeast of Jih-k'a-tse and about halfway between Lhasa, capital of Tibet, and the border town of Ya-tung between the frontiers with India and the Himalayan state of Bhutan. Chiang-tzu is an important route centre for traffic from Lhasa to India, Bhutan,

Armoured Vehicle

2005-01-27T02:35:00.000-08:00

Armoured also spelled Armored, motor vehicle that is fitted with partial or complete armour plating for protection against bullets, shells, or other projectiles. Armoured vehicles for military use can move either on wheels or on two endless metal chains called tracks. The tank (q.v.) is the principal fighting armoured vehicle. Other military types include armoured personnel carriers, armoured

Hinduism, Vaishnavism

2005-01-25T15:04:00.000-08:00

Vaishnavism is the worship of Vishnu and his various incarnations. During a long and complex development from Vedic times, there arose many Vaishnava groups with differing beliefs and aims. Some of the major Vaishnava groups include the Srivaisnavas and Dvaitins (“philosophical or religious dualists”) of South India, the followers of the teachings of Vallabha in western

Theatre, Western, Shamanism

2005-01-25T06:18:00.000-08:00

A second theory proposes that theatre evolved from shamanistic rituals that manifested to the audience a supernatural presence, as opposed to giving a symbolic representation of it. In this case the shaman, as actor/priest, was able to put himself into a trance and become a medium with the other world. He was believed to travel in the spirit world or be actually possessed

Argentina, Immigration and ethnicity

2005-01-23T10:58:00.000-08:00

Heavy immigration, particularly from Spain and Italy, has produced in Argentina a people who are almost all of European ancestry. In the colonial period, though, the Spanish explorers and settlers encountered a number of native peoples. Among these were the Diaguita tribes of the Andean Northwest, a town-dwelling, agricultural people who were forced into labour

épinay, Louise-florence-pétronille Tardieu D'esclavelles, Dame De La Live D'

2005-01-22T09:57:00.000-08:00

Mme d'Épinay interested herself in literature

Monongahela River

2005-01-21T20:00:00.000-08:00

River formed by the confluence of the Tygart and West Fork rivers in Marion county, W.Va., U.S. It flows 128 miles (206 km) in a northerly direction past Morgantown into Pennsylvania, past Brownsville and Charleroi, joining the Allegheny River at Pittsburgh to become a major headwater of the Ohio River. In its upper reaches the river has a swift current and furnishes hydroelectric

Harrison, Anna

2005-01-21T18:09:00.000-08:00

In 1858 Anna's house was destroyed in a fire, and she spent the remaining six years of her life with her son John Scott Harrison, the only one of her children to outlive her. She was buried beside her husband in North Bend, Ohio.

Amphibole

2005-01-19T00:25:00.000-08:00

The complex chemical composition of members of the amphibole group can be expressed by the general formula A0–1B2C5T8O22(OH, F, Cl)2, where A = Na, K; B = Na, Li, Ca, Mn, Fe2+, Mg; C = Mg, Fe2+, Mn, Al, Fe3+, Ti; and T = Si, Al. Nearly complete substitution may take place between sodium and calcium and among magnesium, ferrous iron, and manganese (Mn). There is limited substitution between ferric iron and aluminum

Muhammad V

2005-01-17T16:42:00.000-08:00

Muhammad was the third son of Sultan Moulay Yusuf; when his father died in 1927, French authorities chose him to be successor, expecting him to be more compliant than his two older brothers. The

Jacob Ben Asher

2005-01-17T05:16:00.000-08:00

Little of certainty is known about Jacob's life. In 1303 he immigrated to Spain with his brothers and father, the great codifier Asher ben Jehiel, who became chief rabbi of Toledo.

Fence

2005-01-16T20:52:00.000-08:00

Barrier erected to confine or exclude people or animals, to define boundaries, or to decorate. Timber, earth, stone, and metal are widely used for fencing. Fences of living plants have been made in many places, such as the hedges of Great Britain and continental Europe and the cactus fences of Latin America. In well-timbered country, such as colonial and 19th-century North

Stone, Fred (andrew)

2005-01-14T20:09:00.000-08:00

Stone was raised in Topeka, Kan., making his stage debut there at age 11, and soon joined his brother on tour with a number of small circuses. In the 1890s he teamed up with Dave Montgomery and together they toured in vaudeville and minstrel shows before appearing in their first Broadway

Economic Forecasting

2005-01-14T05:46:00.000-08:00

Formal economic forecasting is usually based on a specific theory as to how the economy works. Some theories are complicated,

Poynting, John Henry

2005-01-13T10:08:00.000-08:00

He was a professor of physics at Mason Science College (later the University of Birmingham) from 1880 until his death. In papers published in 1884–85, he showed that the flow of energy

Program Music

2005-01-11T16:10:00.000-08:00

Instrumental music that carries some extramusical meaning, some “program” of literary idea, legend, scenic description, or personal drama. It is contrasted with so-called absolute, or abstract, music, in which artistic interest is supposedly confined to abstract constructions in sound. It has been stated that the concept of program music does not represent a genre

Mujur Rug

2005-01-11T06:44:00.000-08:00

The characteristic design in older examples, from the 19th century, is a prayer niche with a stepped arch crowned by a

Hancock, Herbie

2005-01-09T22:03:00.000-08:00

At age 11 Hancock played the first movement of a Mozart concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He formed

Melancholia

2005-01-09T07:33:00.000-08:00

A mental condition characterized by extreme depression (q.v.) and feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness. It is especially a part of manic-depressive psychosis (q.v.).

David Ii

2005-01-08T05:22:00.000-08:00

On July 17, 1328, in accordance with the Anglo-Scottish peace treaty of Northampton,

Free Jazz

2005-01-07T09:04:00.000-08:00

The main characteristic of free jazz is that there are no rules. Musicians do not adhere to a fixed harmonic structure (predetermined chord progressions) as they improvise; instead, they modulate (i.e., change keys) at will. Free

Cadogan, William Cadogan, 1st Earl

2005-01-05T21:13:00.000-08:00

The son of a Dublin barrister, Cadogan began his military career in 1690. In 1702 he was made quartermaster general to Marlborough, who had just been appointed commander of the allied armies

Moravia

2005-01-05T09:14:00.000-08:00

Traditional region in central Europe that served as the centre of a major medieval kingdom, known as Great Moravia, before it was incorporated into the kingdom of Bohemia in the 11th century. In the 20th century Moravia became part of the modern state of Czechoslovakia and subsequently of the Czech Republic. The region is bounded by Bohemia on the west and northwest, by

Todos Os Santos Bay

2005-01-04T06:13:00.000-08:00

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

Shaft Seal

2005-01-02T08:31:00.000-08:00

A common type of shaft seal consists of an elastomer (elastic rubberlike) ring bonded to a metallic ring that is a press (tight) fit in the hole in the housing through which the shaft

O'shea, William Henry; And O'shea, Katharine

2005-01-01T20:56:00.000-08:00

William

Bogart, Humphrey

2004-12-31T01:23:00.000-08:00

In full Humphrey DeForest Bogart American actor who became a preeminent motion picture “tough guy” and was a top box office attraction during the 1940s and '50s. In his performances he projected the image of a worldly wise, individualistic adventurer with a touch of idealism hidden beneath a hardened exterior. Offscreen he gave the carefully crafted

Indian Philosophy, The Purva-mimamsa-sutras and Sabara's commentary

2004-12-30T13:28:00.000-08:00

The Purva-mimamsa (“First Reflection”), or Karmamimamsa (“Study of [Ritual] Action”), is the system that investigates the nature of Vedic injunctions. Though this is the primary purpose of the system, this task also led to the development of principles of scriptural interpretation and, therefore, to theories of meaning and hermeneutics (critical interpretations). Jaimini, who composed

Kirchwey, Freda

2004-12-29T21:49:00.000-08:00

Kirchwey was the daughter of a Columbia University Law School professor and dean and later (1915–16) warden of Sing Sing State Prison (now Ossining Correctional Facility). She graduated from Barnard College, New York City, in

Crockett, Davy

2004-12-29T10:24:00.000-08:00

His father, having little means, hired him out to more prosperous backwoods farmers, and Davy's schooling amounted to 100 days of tutoring with a neighbour. Successive moves west to middle Tennessee brought him close to the area of the Creek War, in which

Närke

2004-12-28T04:17:00.000-08:00

Landskap (province) lying mostly in the administrative län (county) of Örebro, south-central Sweden. Its land area of 1,592 square miles (4,122 square km) lies between the traditional landskap (provinces) of Västmanland on the north, Södermanland on the east, Östergötland on the southeast, Västergötland on the southwest, and Värmland on the west. Dominating its landscape is the great

Kamacite

2004-12-26T20:51:00.000-08:00

Meteoritic mineral consisting of iron alloyed with 5 to 7 percent nickel. It is found in iron meteorites and comprises all the metal in hexahedrites; it also is a principal constituent of the octahedrites, where it is intergrown with taenite (meteoritic nickel–iron). Its name is derived from the Greek word for shaft or lath and alludes to the shape of its crystals, which

Celestial Sphere

2004-12-26T18:45:00.000-08:00

The apparent surface of the heavens, on which the stars seem to be fixed. For the purpose of establishing coordinate systems to mark the positions of heavenly bodies, it can be considered a real sphere at an infinite distance from the Earth. The Earth's axis, extended to infinity, touches this sphere at the north and south celestial poles, around which the heavens seem

Reform Judaism

2004-12-25T20:24:00.000-08:00

A religious movement that has modified or abandoned many traditional Jewish beliefs, laws, and practices in an effort to adapt Judaism to the changed social, political, and cultural conditions of the modern world. Reform Judaism sets itself at variance with Orthodox Judaism by challenging the binding force of ritual, laws, and customs set down in the Bible and in

Ussuriysk

2004-12-23T21:09:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ussurijsk city, Primorsky kray (region), far eastern Russia. It lies about 50 miles (80 km) north of Vladivostok along the Trans-Siberian Railroad at the junction with a line to Harbin in Heilungkiang province, China. Founded as the village of Nikolskoye in 1866, it became a city in 1897 and was renamed Nikolsk-Ussuriysk in 1926, Voroshilov in 1935, and Ussuriysk in 1957. It has food-processing, footwear, clothing,

Daddy Longlegs

2004-12-21T22:41:00.000-08:00

Also called Harvestman, any of the 3,400 species of the arachnid order Opiliones (sometimes named Phalangida). A daddy longlegs differs from all true spiders (order Araneae) by the extreme length and thinness of its legs and by the small size and spherical or oval shape of its body, which is not divided into two regions by a constriction. The body is 1 to 22 mm (0.04 to 0.9 inch) long; the slender legs, which easily break

Ae

2004-12-21T17:03:00.000-08:00

After attending the Metropolitan School of Art, Dublin, where he met the poet William Butler Yeats, Russell

Hellenistic Religion

2004-12-20T07:20:00.000-08:00

The conquests of Alexander opened the way for religious interchange between East and West; the political structures left behind by Alexander and continued by his successors provided strong incentives for the hellenization of native religions. Characteristic of this first period of Hellenistic religious history were the following developments: (1) the introduction

Yalta

2004-12-19T10:05:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Jalta, city, Crimea, southern Ukraine. It faces the Black Sea on the southern shore of the Crimean Peninsula. Settlement on the site dates from prehistoric times, but modern Yalta developed only in the early 19th century, becoming a town in 1838. Its favourable climate with mild winters and its scenic location between sea and mountains make Yalta one of the most popular holiday and

Native American, Population and languages

2004-12-17T13:28:00.000-08:00

Estimates of the aboriginal population are based on information supplied by explorers, traders, missionaries, and other early reporters and are only as good as the reporters' observations were trustworthy. A more serious impediment to an accurate count is that some tribes, by the time they were encountered by the reporting traveler, had already been depopulated

Carter, Angela

2004-12-17T08:58:00.000-08:00

Carter rejected an Oxford education to work as a journalist with the Croydon Advertiser, but she later studied medieval literature at the University of Bristol (B.A., 1965). She had moderate success with

Conductus

2004-12-16T19:57:00.000-08:00

In the 13th century the conductus was one of three genres that dominated French polyphonic music. Unlike the organum and the motet, however, which were based on preexisting chants,

Perec, Georges

2004-12-15T04:26:00.000-08:00

Perec was orphaned at an early age: his father was killed in action in World War II, and his mother died in a concentration camp. He was reared by an aunt and uncle and eventually attended the Sorbonne for several years. His best-selling first novel, Les Choses: une

Raymond Iii

2004-12-13T22:45:00.000-08:00

Raymond succeeded to the countship after the assassination of his father, Raymond II, in 1152. In his campaigns against the Muslims he was taken prisoner by their leader Nureddin in 1164 but was released in 1172. When the new king of Jerusalem, Baldwin IV, took the throne

Atlanta Campaign

2004-12-12T21:03:00.000-08:00

In the American Civil War, an important series of battles in Georgia (May–September 1864) that eventually cut off a main Confederate supply centre and influenced the Federal presidential election of 1864. By the end of 1863, with Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Vicksburg, Mississippi, firmly under the control of the North, Atlanta, an important Confederate

Arunachal Pradesh, Climate

2004-12-11T22:55:00.000-08:00

The climate of Arunachal Pradesh varies with topography and altitude. The foothill zone is subtropical and has a hot and humid climate; in the lower valleys, maximum summer temperatures reach 95° F (35° C), while winter minimums drop below 57° F (14° C). Annual rainfall in the state averages about 80 inches (2,000 millimetres), falling mostly between April and September; in East and West Siang districts

Water Rail

2004-12-11T06:20:00.000-08:00

(Rallus aquaticus), slender marsh bird of the family Rallidae (order Gruiformes), native to most of Europe and Asia. Its length is about 28 cm (11 inches), and it has a moderately long beak. The sides of the bird have black and white bands. The name water rail also is used as a general term for the larger group, or tribe, to which R. aquaticus belongs. Rallus aquaticus can be distinguished

Lermontov, Mikhail

2004-12-09T15:39:00.000-08:00

Only 26 years old when he died, Lermontov had proved his worth as a brilliant and gifted poet-thinker, prose writer, and playwright, the successor of Pushkin, and an exponent of the best traditions of Russian literature. His youthful lyric poetry is filled with a passionate craving for freedom and contains calls to battle, agonizing reflections on how to apply his strengths

Boughton, Rutland

2004-12-08T07:38:00.000-08:00

Boughton studied at the Royal College of Music in 1900 but was otherwise self-taught. He had the idea of writing a series of music dramas based on Arthurian legends and of creating a festival theatre for their performance

Byng Of Vimy (of Thorpe-le-soken), Julian Hedworth George Byng, Viscount

2004-12-07T10:12:00.000-08:00

A career soldier from 1883, Byng was promoted to major general in 1909. As commander of the Canadian Corps in France (from May 1916), he was responsible for one of the most famous Canadian victories in either world war, the capture of Vimy Ridge, north of Arras (April 9, 1917). As commander of

Rabab

2004-12-06T11:55:00.000-08:00

The rabab has a membrane belly and, commonly, two or three strings. There is normally no fingerboard,

Dachau

2004-12-06T10:18:00.000-08:00

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

Telegraph, Printing telegraphs

2004-12-05T07:30:00.000-08:00

In 1903 the British inventor Donald Murray, following the ideas of Baudot, devised a time-division multiplex system for the British Post Office. The transmitter used a typewriter keyboard that punched tape, and the receiver printed text. He modified the Baudot Code by assigning code combinations with the fewest punched holes to the most frequently encountered letters

Czech Republic, History Of

2004-12-04T02:18:00.000-08:00

The Czech Republic came into being on Jan. 1, 1993, upon the dissolution of the Czechoslovak federation. At the time of separation, the federation's assets were divided at a ratio of two to one

Ear, Human, Structure of the cochlea

2004-12-03T10:20:00.000-08:00

The cochlea contains the sensory organ of hearing. It bears a striking resemblance to the shell of a snail and in fact takes its name from the Greek word for this object. The cochlea is a spiral tube that is coiled two and one-half turns around a hollow central pillar, the modiolus. It forms a cone approximately 9 millimetres (0.35 inch) in diameter at its base and 5 millimetres

Hesburgh, Theodore M(artin)

2004-12-01T03:18:00.000-08:00

Hesburgh, who said he knew he wanted to be a priest from early childhood, joined the Order of

Housebook, Master Of The

2004-11-30T22:24:00.000-08:00

Also called Master Of The Hausbuch , or Master Of The Amsterdam Cabinet , German Hausbuchmeister , or Meister Des Hausbuchs anonymous late Gothic painter and engraver who was one of the outstanding early printmakers. He was formerly referred to as the Master of the Amsterdam Cabinet because the Rijksprentenkabinet, the print room of the Rijksmuseum, in Amsterdam has the largest collection of his line engravings (q.v.) and etchings done with a technique close to drypoint (q.v.). Today he is

Pinski, David

2004-11-30T17:23:00.000-08:00

Reared in Moscow, Vitebsk, and Vienna, Pinski moved as a young man to Warsaw, where he became a friend of the leading Yiddish writer Isaac Peretz. It was also in Warsaw that Pinski began his lifelong associations with the Jewish workers' movement. His first short story, “Der Groyser

Lancaster

2004-11-28T15:46:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1800) of Fairfield county, south-central Ohio, U.S., on the Hocking River, 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Columbus. It was founded (1800) by Ebenezer Zane on land granted to him in payment for blazing Zane's Trace, a 266-mile (428-kilometre) wilderness road from Wheeling, W.Va. (then a part of Virginia) to Limestone (now Maysville), Ky. The first settlers came over this road in 1798; many of them were from Lancaster,

Alveolar Proteinosis

2004-11-27T08:33:00.000-08:00

Respiratory disorder caused by the filling of large groups of alveoli with protein and lipid (fat) particles. The alveoli are air sacs, minute structures in the lungs in which the exchange of respiratory gases occurs. The gas molecules must pass through a cellular wall, the surface of which is generally covered by a thin film of fatty material secreted from the alveolar

Porphyrin

2004-11-27T05:03:00.000-08:00

Any of a class of water-soluble, nitrogenous biological pigments (biochromes), derivatives of which include the hemoproteins (porphyrins combined with metals and protein). Examples of hemoproteins are the green, photosynthetic chlorophylls of higher plants; the hemoglobins in the blood of many animals; the cytochromes, enzymes that occur in minute quantities

Poynings, Sir Edward

2004-11-25T21:21:00.000-08:00

A grandson of William Paston, he was a rebel (1483) against Richard III and attached himself to Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond, who employed

Metapontum

2004-11-25T17:15:00.000-08:00

Greek Metapontion, ancient Greek city in Italy on the Gulf of Tarentum, near the mouth of the Bradanus (Bradano) River. It was founded by an Achaean colony from Sybaris and Croton about 700 BC. Pythagoras died at Metapontum c. 500. The city declined after 207 when its inhabitants, who had supported Hannibal in the years following his victory at the Battle of Cannae (216), followed the defeated Carthaginian

Stealth

2004-11-24T22:26:00.000-08:00

Research in antidetection technology began soon after radar was invented. During World War II, the Germans coated their U-boat snorkels with radar-absorbent material. In the postwar era, researchers sought to discover the nature of “radar

Pyryatyn

2004-11-22T14:14:00.000-08:00

Russian Piryatin , also spelled Piriatin city and centre of a rayon (sector), Poltava oblast (province), Ukraine, on the Uday River. Pyryatyn dates at least from 1155, when it is first documented, and was incorporated in 1781. Before the Revolution of 1917 it was an administrative centre and later became a railway junction. Today it has varied industries, including furniture, building materials, and foodstuffs. Pop. (1991 est.) 18,300.

Schleicher, August

2004-11-22T06:35:00.000-08:00

German linguist whose work in comparative linguistics was a summation of the achievements up to his time and whose methodology provided the direction for much subsequent research. He was influenced by the philosophy of G.W.F. Hegel, which he espoused during his student days at the University of Tübingen, and, later, by

Olympic Games, Los Angeles, California, U.S., 1932

2004-11-20T20:50:00.000-08:00

Only about 1,300 athletes, representing 37 countries, competed in the 1932 Games. The poor participation was the result of the worldwide economic depression and the expense of traveling to California. The Los Angeles Games featured the first Olympic Village. The village was located in Baldwin Hills, a suburb of Los Angeles, and covered 321 acres (130 hectares). The male athletes were housed

Sistan

2004-11-19T14:40:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Seistan, extensive border region, eastern Iran and southwestern Afghanistan. Forty percent of its area is in Iran, as well as the majority of its sparse population. The region comprises a large depression some 1,500–1,700 feet (450–520 m) in elevation. Numerous rivers fill a series of lagoons (hamun) and in high flood form a shallow lake that spills into another depression to the south. Three large deltas

China, East Turkistan

2004-11-18T14:42:00.000-08:00

To the west of Kashgaria in East Turkistan, a khanate of Khokand emerged in Ferghana after 1760 as a powerful caravan trade centre. When Muslim rebellion spread rapidly from Shensi and Kansu to East Turkistan, a Khokandian adventurer, Yakub Beg, seized the opportunity to invade Kashgaria and established power there in 1865; he soon showed signs of advancing to the Ili region

Henry I

2004-11-18T05:09:00.000-08:00

Byname Henry The Fat, Spanish Enrique El Gordo, French Henri Le Gros king of Navarre (1270–74) and count (as Henry III) of Champagne. Henry was the youngest son of Theobald I of Navarre by Margaret of Foix. He succeeded his eldest brother, Theobald II (Thibaut V), in both kingdom and countship in December 1270. By his marriage (1269) to Blanche, daughter of Robert I of Artois and niece of Louis IX of France, he had one daughter, Joan, whom, by the

Biblical Literature, Genesis

2004-11-16T07:57:00.000-08:00

This book is called Bereshit in the Hebrew original, after its first word (and the first word of the Bible), meaning “In the beginning.” It tells of the beginnings of the world and man and of those acclaimed as ancestors of the Hebrew people—all under the shaping action and purpose of God. The book falls into two main parts: chapters 1–11, dealing with the primeval history, and chapters

Lagoon Nebula

2004-11-16T01:01:00.000-08:00

(catalog numbers NGC 6523 and M8), ionized-hydrogen region located in the constellation Sagittarius at 1,200 parsecs (3,900 light-years) from the solar system. The nebula is a cloud of interstellar gas and dust approximately 10 parsecs (33 light-years) in diameter. A group of young, hot stars in the cloud ionize the nearby gas. As the atoms in the gas recombine, they produce the light emitted by

La Plata River

2004-11-15T22:11:00.000-08:00

Spanish Río De La Plata, river in east-central Puerto Rico, rising on the western slope of Mount Santa (2,963 feet [903 m]), a peak of the Sierra de Cayey. Part of the stream is impounded by Lake Carite; the reservoir's outlet diverts waters for a series of hydroelectric stations on the Guamaní River in the coastal Guayama area to the south. The La Plata itself flows about 45 miles (70 km) northwest and north, dropping

Thecodontian

2004-11-14T10:43:00.000-08:00

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

La Unión

2004-11-11T10:26:00.000-08:00

City, eastern El Salvador. It is located at the northern foot of Conchagua Volcano (about 4,100 feet [1,250 m]), on La Unión Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Fonseca. The city's economic activity centres on a tortoiseshell industry, beach-resort facilities, and the nearby port of Cutuco, one of the country's largest ports. Situated along a spur of the Inter-American Highway, a section of the Pan-American

Burdigalian Stage

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

In France the Burdigalian Stage is represented by rocks, especially shell beds, produced by a continuing transgression

Ilhéus

2004-11-10T14:02:00.000-08:00

City, southeastern Bahia estado (“state”), northeastern Brazil. It is situated just east of Itabuna near the mouth of the Cachoeira River on Ilhéus Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic. An old Portuguese colonial settlement that was originally named São Jorge dos Ilhéos (1532), it was given city status in 1881. Most of Brazil's cacao is grown in the locality, and Ilhéus is consequently one of