ElasticPlant

Bykovsky, Valery

2005-04-05T06:14:00.000-07:00

On June 16, 1963, after Bykovsky had been in orbit two days, the Soviet

Antiaircraft Gun

2005-04-04T18:14:00.000-07:00

Artillery piece that is fired from the ground or shipboard in defense against aerial attack. Antiaircraft weapons development began as early as 1910, when the airplane first became an effective weapon. In World War I, field artillery pieces up to about 90 mm (3.5 inches) in calibre were converted to antiaircraft use by mountings that enabled them to fire nearly vertically. Aiming

Maui

2005-04-02T14:10:00.000-08:00

Volcanic island, Maui county, Hawaii, U.S., separated from Molokai (northwest) and Hawaii (southeast) islands by the Pailolo and Alenuihaha channels. With an area of 728 square miles (1,886 square km), the island is the second largest of the Hawaiian chain (after Hawaii Island). It takes its name from a Polynesian demigod and was created by two volcanoes, Puu Kukui and Haleakala, which

Graywacke

2005-04-02T07:22:00.000-08:00

Also called dirty sandstone a sedimentary rock composed of sand-sized grains (0.063–2 mm [0.0025–0.078 inch]) with a fine-grained clay matrix. The sand-sized grains are frequently composed of rock fragments of wide-ranging mineralogies (e.g., those consisting of pyroxenes, amphiboles, feldspars, and quartz). The grains are angular and poorly sorted with many minerals retaining growth forms that resulted from low abrasion.

Theatre

2005-03-31T09:08:00.000-08:00

Though the word theatre is derived from the Greek theaomai, “to see,” the performance itself may appeal either to the ear or to the eye, as is suggested by the interchangeability of the terms spectator

Almanac

2005-03-31T05:19:00.000-08:00

Book or table containing a calendar of the days, weeks, and months of the year; a record of various astronomical phenomena, often with weather predictions and seasonal suggestions for farmers; and miscellaneous other data. An almanac provides data on the rising and setting times of the Sun and Moon, the phases of the Moon, the positions of the planets, schedules of high

Tara

2005-03-30T11:06:00.000-08:00

(Irish: “Place of Assembly”), low hill (about 507 feet [154 m]) in County Meath, Ireland, occupying an important place in Irish legend and history. The earliest local remains consist of a small passage grave (c. 2100 BC) known as Dumha na nGiall (“Mound of the Hostages”). Numerous Bronze Age burials were found in the earth mound, which lies just inside the perimeter of a vast oval enclosure called R

Hui Shih

2005-03-29T20:33:00.000-08:00

As a result of their preoccupation with pure logic, the dialecticians have always been separated from the mainstream of Chinese philosophy, which was primarily concerned with the relationship between names and actuality.

Dzhezkazgan

2005-03-27T05:32:00.000-08:00

Kazak Zhezqazghan , also spelled Dzezkazgan city, central Kazakstan, on a reservoir of the Kara-Kengir River. The city was created in 1938 in connection with the exploitation of the rich local copper deposits. In 1973 a large mining and metallurgical complex was constructed to the southeast to smelt the copper that until then had been sent elsewhere for processing. The city has a rail link with Qaraghandy. Its urban area

Alcatraz Island

2005-03-26T02:14:00.000-08:00

The island had little vegetation and was a seabird habitat when it was explored in 1775 by Lieutenant Juan Manuel de Ayala, who named it Isla de los Alcatraces (“Isle of the Pelicans”). Sold in 1849 to the U.S. government, Alcatraz has the distinction of being the site of the first

Ploceidae

2005-03-25T11:24:00.000-08:00

Songbird family, order Passeriformes, including the bishop, weaver, and whydah groups and Old World sparrows. The 135 to 155 species are native chiefly to Africa—but several have been introduced elsewhere. Ploceids are small, compact birds with short, stout bills. In many species the males are brightly coloured; some acquire, in nonbreeding season, dull plumage resembling

Coleridge, (david) Hartley

2005-03-24T00:10:00.000-08:00

The eldest son of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, he spent his childhood alarming and delighting his family and the Southeys and Wordsworths by his mental agility and the “exquisite wildness” that caused

Aethelfrith

2005-03-23T21:07:00.000-08:00

Pitt, William, The Younger

2005-03-23T01:17:00.000-08:00

British prime minister (1783–1801, 1804–06) during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. He had considerable influence in strengthening the office of the prime minister.

Seven Holy Founders

2005-03-22T19:09:00.000-08:00

Also called Seven Servite Founders saints Bonfilius, Alexis Falconieri, John Bonagiunta, Benedict dell'Antella, Bartholomew Amidei, Gerard Sostegni, and Ricoverus Uguccione, who founded the Ordo Fratrum Servorum Sanctae Mariae (“Order of Friar Servants of St. Mary”). Popularly called Servites, the order is a Roman Catholic congregation

Pole Of Inaccessibility

2005-03-21T06:49:00.000-08:00

The term is also used occasionally

Abdominal Muscle

2005-03-21T03:26:00.000-08:00

The first three muscle layers

Byron Bay

2005-03-20T14:19:00.000-08:00

Town, northeastern New South Wales, Australia. The town is situated on Cape Byron, easternmost point of the Australian mainland, which shelters Byron Bay and was discovered in 1770 by Captain James Cook, who named it after Commodore (later Admiral) John Byron, grandfather of the poet Lord Byron. Founded in 1860 as a timber port, Byron Bay was declared a town in 1896 and a shire in 1906. Before

Duran, Simeon Ben Zemah

2005-03-19T11:30:00.000-08:00

Also called (by acronym) Rashbaz first Spanish Jewish rabbi to be paid a regular salary by the community and author of an important commentary on Avot (“Fathers”), a popular ethical tractate in the Talmud, the rabbinical compendium of law, lore, and commentary. Before the 14th century, the rabbinical post had been almost invariably honorary; Duran

Talking Drum

2005-03-18T16:04:00.000-08:00

Five varieties of dùndún pressure drums of the Yoruba and the atumpani and fontomfron of the Ashanti are especially notable. They send messages up to 20 miles (32 kilometres),

Smith Sound

2005-03-18T15:06:00.000-08:00

The sound was discovered in 1616 by William Baffin and named for Sir Thomas Smythe (Smith), promoter of voyages to find a Northwest Passage. It was not until the mid-19th century that any explorer reached

Hen-and-chickens

2005-03-17T17:50:00.000-08:00

Also called Hen-and-chicks, any of a number of succulent plants of the genera Echeveria (q.v.) and Sempervivum, the latter commonly known as houseleek (q.v.).

Australia Day

2005-03-16T21:23:00.000-08:00

Holiday (January 26) honouring the establishment of the first permanent European settlement on the continent of Australia. On January 26, 1788, Arthur Phillip, who had sailed into what is now Sydney Cove with a shipload of convicts, hoisted the British flag at the site. In the early 1800s the date, called Foundation Day, was celebrated by politicians and businessmen of New South Wales

Ternary Form

2005-03-16T11:10:00.000-08:00

Musical form consisting of three sections, the last of which is a repeat of the first. The symmetrical construction of this scheme (aba) provides one of the basic shapes in music and may be found as a guiding principle in music from the Middle Ages (in Gregorian chant, for instance, the arrangement antiphon-verse-antiphon is common) to the 20th century (a well-known example

Maccabeus, Jonathan

2005-03-15T02:18:00.000-08:00

Also called Apphus, Maccabeus also spelled Maccabaeus Jewish general, a son of the priest Mattathias, who took over the leadership of the Maccabean revolt after the death of his elder brother Judas. A brilliant diplomat, if not quite so good a soldier as his elder brother, Jonathan refused all compromise with the superior Seleucid forces, taking advantage of their internal troubles to free Judaea again from external

Xenophon

2005-03-14T13:43:00.000-08:00

Born of a well-to-do Athenian family, Xenophon grew up during the great war between Athens and Sparta (431–404 BC) and served in the elite force of Athenian cavalry. He and his well-to-do contemporaries sat at the feet of Socrates, were critical of the extreme form of democracy under which they lived, and sympathized with the right-wing revolutionaries who seized power for short

North Little Rock

2005-03-13T09:00:00.000-08:00

City, Pulaski county, central Arkansas, U.S., on the Arkansas River opposite Little Rock. It was settled in 1812 as De Cantillon, became Huntersville in 1853, and was later renamed Argenta for the Hotel Argenta, built there in the late 1850s. The community developed after the arrival of the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad in 1853 and later became the site of the freight classification yards

Ahmad Ibn Hanbal

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

Of pure Arab stock, Ibn Hanbal belonged to the tribe of Shayban through both parents. He was still an infant when his father died at 30. When Ibn Hanbal was 15 he began to study the Traditions (Hadith) of the Prophet Muhammad. Seeking to learn from the great masters of his day, he travelled to the cities of Kufah and Basra in Iraq; Mecca, Hejaz, and Medina in Arabia; and to the lands of Yemen and

Cracking

2005-03-12T16:02:00.000-08:00

Cracking of petroleum yields light oils (corresponding to gasoline), heavier oils, and such gases as methane, ethane,

Calculator

2005-03-12T15:26:00.000-08:00

Machine for automatically performing arithmetical operations and certain mathematical functions. Modern calculators are descendants of a digital arithmetic machine devised by Blaise Pascal in 1642. Later in the 17th century, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz created a more advanced machine, and, especially in the late 19th century, inventors produced calculating machines

Mysticism, Union of opposites

2005-03-12T13:04:00.000-08:00

Mystical experience is flanked with a communication hazard, a “polar identity.” The linguistic liberties and extravagances are part of the logical impossibility of having to describe one order of experience in terms of another. Hence, the rhetoric of mysticism is largely one of symbols and paradoxes. The most striking of the strategies, as the medieval Christian

Blood River, Battle Of

2005-03-10T18:17:00.000-08:00

(Dec. 16, 1838), South African battle between the Zulu and the Voortrekkers (the Boers who made the Great Trek from Cape Colony to Transvaal). It was fought on the banks of a tributary of the Buffalo River, which became known as Blood River after its water reddened with the slaughter of about 3,000 Zulu. Four Boers were wounded. This battle turned Voortrekker fortunes in Natal, at a low ebb

Finland, Ethnic and linguistic composition

2005-03-10T04:16:00.000-08:00

It appears that the ancestors of the Sami were present in Finland by about 7000 BC. As other groups began to enter the area some 3,000 years later, the proto-Sami probably retreated northward. Archaeological remains suggest that this second wave of settlers came from or had contact with what was to become Russia and also Scandinavia and central Europe. Peoples of Uralic (specifically

Egypt, Ancient, Ramses IV

2005-03-09T03:52:00.000-08:00

Ramses III was succeeded by his son Ramses IV (ruled 1156–50 BC). In an act of piety that also reinforced his legitimacy, Ramses IV saw to the compilation of a long papyrus in which the deceased Ramses III confirmed the temple holdings throughout Egypt; Ramses III had provided the largest benefactions to the Theban temples, in terms of donations of both land and personnel. Most

Qashqa'i Rug

2005-03-08T21:39:00.000-08:00

Qashqa'i also spelled Kashgai, floor covering handwoven by the Qashqa'i tribe, known as the best rug from the Shiraz district of Iran. They are the brightest in colouring, with rich blues and reds and some use of golden yellow. Usually their designs are geometric, perhaps with a row of three diamond medallions against a background replete with tiny forms of all kinds, including stylized animals and

Sunday Times, The

2005-03-08T07:09:00.000-08:00

Founded in 1822 as a nationally circulated paper with an independent editorial policy, The Sunday Times reflects the dignified,

Biblical Literature, Greek additions to Esther

2005-03-07T06:07:00.000-08:00

The Hebrew Book of Esther had a religious and social value to the Jews during the time of Greek and Roman anti-Semitism, though the Hebrew short story did not directly mention God's intervention in history—and even God himself is not named. To bring the canonical book up-to-date in connection with contemporary anti-Semitism and to stress the religious meaning of the

Hawthorn

2005-03-06T20:39:00.000-08:00

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

Biblical Literature, Isaiah

2005-03-06T17:50:00.000-08:00

The Book of Isaiah, comprising 66 chapters, is one of the most profound theological and literarily expressive works in the Bible. Compiled over a period of about two centuries (the latter half of the 8th to the latter half of the 6th century BCE), the Book of Isaiah is generally divided by scholars into two (sometimes three) major sections, which are called First Isaiah (chapters

Jiang Qing

2005-03-06T04:15:00.000-08:00

Third wife of Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong and the most influential woman in the People's Republic of China until her downfall in 1976, after Mao's death. As a member of the Gang of Four (q.v.) she was convicted in 1981 of “counter-revolutionary crimes” and

Bohemond Iv

2005-03-04T19:16:00.000-08:00

The younger son of Bohemond III and Orguilleuse, he became count of Tripoli in 1187 and succeeded his father in the principality of Antioch to the exclusion of his nephew Raymond Ruben in 1201. In 1216 Raymond seized control while Bohemond was off in Tripoli, but he was deposed in 1219 and died the following year. Bohemond reigned in Antioch and

Cheltenham

2005-03-04T13:42:00.000-08:00

A church is known to have existed at Cheltenham as early as 803. The town is first mentioned in documents in 1223, when the benefit of markets, fairs, and the hundred (feudal

Irish Needle Lace

2005-03-03T03:15:00.000-08:00

Lace made with a needle in Ireland from the late 1840s, when the craft was introduced as a famine-relief measure. Technically and stylistically influenced by 17th-century Venetian needle lace, it arose in several centres through the enterprise of individuals, especially the mother superiors of convents, who unraveled old examples to learn the technique and then taught

Belaúnde Terry, Fernando

2005-03-02T10:38:00.000-08:00

Belaúnde, a member of a distinguished aristocratic Peruvian family, studied architecture in the United States and France in 1924–35 and practiced briefly in Mexico before returning in 1936 to Peru, where he became a noted architect

Mercantilism

2005-03-01T01:54:00.000-08:00

Economic theory and practice common in Europe from the 16th to the 18th century that promoted governmental regulation of a nation's economy for the purpose of augmenting state power at the expense of rival national powers. It was the economic counterpart of political absolutism. Its 17th-century publicists—most notably Thomas Mun in England, Jean-Baptiste Colbert in

Iacchus

2005-02-28T23:18:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Iakchos, minor deity associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries, the best known of the ancient Greek mystery religions. On the day preceding the commencement of the mysteries, Iacchus' name was invoked with the names of the earth goddess Demeter and her daughter Kore (Persephone) during the procession from Athens to Eleusis, a city in Attica. Probably originally a personification

Kerosine Lamp

2005-02-28T09:21:00.000-08:00

Vessel containing kerosine with a wick for burning to provide light. Such lamps were widely used from the 1860s, when kerosine first became plentiful, until the development of electric lighting. Compared with other oil lamps they were safe, efficient, and simple to operate. The kerosine fed the wick by capillary action alone. An adjustment knob, the only mechanism needed,

Jordan, The Latin kingdom and Muslim domination

2005-02-27T23:05:00.000-08:00

The area was devastated in the 6th and 7th centuries by the intermittent warfare between Byzantium and Sasanian Persia. In 627 the emperor Heraclius finally defeated the Persians and reestablished order, but Byzantium, gravely weakened by the long struggle, was unable to face the unexpected menace of a new power that had arisen in Arabia. In 636 the Muslims, led by the famous

Narai

2005-02-26T08:18:00.000-08:00

Narai was a son of King Prasat Thong by a queen who was a daughter of King Song Tham, and he came to the throne after violent palace upheavals had cut short the reigns of his elder brother and his uncle.

Earth, Representation of the field

2005-02-25T16:46:00.000-08:00

Electric and magnetic fields are produced by a fundamental property of matter, electric charge. Electric fields are created by charges at rest relative to an observer, whereas magnetic fields are produced by moving charges. The two fields are different aspects of the electromagnetic field, which is the force that causes electric charges to interact. The electric

Dance, African

2005-02-25T15:46:00.000-08:00

Performing art deeply woven into the social fabric of Africa and generally involving aspects of music and theatre as well as rhythmic bodily movement. See also music, African, and mask.

Annulment

2005-02-23T11:25:00.000-08:00

Legal invalidation of a marriage. Annulment announces the invalidity of a marriage that was void from its inception. It is to be distinguished from dissolution, which ends a valid marriage for special reasons—e.g., insanity of one partner after marrying. The annulment decree attempts to leave the parties in statu quo ante (as they were before the marriage), unless doing

Han Gan

2005-02-23T10:57:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Han Kan Chinese painter of the Tang dynasty, who, though recorded as having done wall paintings on Buddhist and Daoist themes, is best remembered for his paintings of horses. Han emphasized the strength and nobility of the horses of the Tang empire by using a tautly controlled line and compositions of great clarity. The horse as a subject of painting was continued

Kryvyy Rih

2005-02-23T03:19:00.000-08:00

Russian Krivoy Rog, also spelled Krivoi Rog, or Krivoj Rog, city, Dnipropetrovsk oblast (province), Ukraine, situated at the confluence of the Inhulets and Saksahan rivers. Founded as a village by Zaporozhian Cossacks in the 17th century, it had only 2,184 inhabitants in 1781. In 1881 a French company began to work the local iron-ore deposits, and a railway was constructed to the Donets Basin coalfield in 1884. After that date Kryvyy Rih became a significant

Cellophane

2005-02-21T14:22:00.000-08:00

In the manufacturing process, an alkaline

Tasmanian Languages

2005-02-21T11:44:00.000-08:00

Extinct languages spoken before 1877 by the indigenous people of Tasmania, who are also now extinct. No relationship between the Tasmanian languages and any other languages of the world has been discovered. Scholars originally divided the Tasmanian languages, all of which were related to each other, into two groups, a western group, spoken in western Tasmania and northern

Arts, Central Asian, Sogdiana

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

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

Ali Pasa Tepelenë

2005-02-20T14:23:00.000-08:00

His father, Veli, bey of Tepelenë, died a poor man

Canada Act

2005-02-19T11:00:00.000-08:00

Also called Constitution Act 1982, Canada's constitution approved by the British Parliament on March 25, 1982, and proclaimed by Queen Elizabeth II on April 17, 1982, making Canada wholly independent. The document contains the original statute that established the Canadian Confederation in 1867 (the British North America Act), the amendments made to it by the British Parliament over the years, and new material resulting

France, History Of, The religious wars and the monarchy

2005-02-18T23:14:00.000-08:00

This succession of civil disturbances brought the French state close to disintegration and posed a threat to the crown that would not be matched again until 1789. The key factor in producing this situation lay in the nature of Calvinism, which provided both a rallying point for a wide cross section of opposition and the organization necessary to make that opposition

Cabrini, Saint Frances Xavier

2005-02-18T19:22:00.000-08:00

Maria Cabrini was determined from her childhood to make religious work her life's vocation. After teaching in Italy in Vidardo (1872–74), she was appointed supervisor

Duanehunt Law

2005-02-17T04:37:00.000-08:00

In atomic physics, the relationship between the voltage (V ) applied to an X-ray tube and the maximum frequency n of the X rays emitted from the target. It is named after the American physicists William Duane and Franklin Hunt. The relationship is expressed as n = Ve/h, in which e is the charge of the electron and h is Planck's constant. This law is sometimes called the inverse photoelectric

Dowden, Edward

2005-02-16T09:07:00.000-08:00

Educated at Queen's College, Cork, and Trinity College, Dublin, Dowden became professor of English literature at Trinity in 1867 and lectured at Oxford (1890–93) and Cambridge (1893–96). His Shakspere: A Critical Study of His Mind and Art (1875) was the first book in English to attempt

Cadenza

2005-02-15T15:34:00.000-08:00

(Italian: “cadence”), unaccompanied bravura passage introduced at or near the close of a movement of a composition and serving as a brilliant climax, particularly in solo concerti of a virtuoso character. Until well into the 19th century such interpolated passages were often improvised by the performer at suitable openings left for that purpose by the composer. They

Fyodor I

2005-02-15T11:17:00.000-08:00

The son of Ivan IV the Terrible and his first wife, Anastasiya Romanovna Zakharina-Yureva, Fyodor succeeded his father on March 19, 1584. Being both physically weak and feebleminded, however, he took no part in government affairs, which were dominated by his wife's

Computers, The age of Big Iron

2005-02-14T04:43:00.000-08:00

Gerrit A. Blaauw and Frederick P. Brooks, Jr., Computer Architecture: Concepts and Evolution (1997), is a highly technical history of the development of the concepts in computer architecture.

Carloman

2005-02-13T21:35:00.000-08:00

The younger brother of Charlemagne, with whom, at the instance of their father, Pippin III the Short, he was anointed king of the Franks in 754 by Pope Stephen II (or III) in the abbey of Saint-Denis. Carloman inherited the eastern part of Pippin's lands (768). He favoured alliance with the Lombards and married Gerberga, a daughter of their king, Desiderius. When

Hungary, The Kádár regime

2005-02-13T14:05:00.000-08:00

In the first uncertain weeks of his regime Kádár made many promises. Workers' councils were to be given a large amount of control in the factories and mines. Compulsory deliveries of farm produce were to be abolished, and no compulsion, direct or indirect, was to be put on the peasants to enter the collectives. The five-year plan was to be revised to permit more production

Hypothec

2005-02-12T09:07:00.000-08:00

In Roman law, a type of security for a debt in which the creditor had neither ownership nor possession. It arose in cases in which a renter needed the use of the things that he pledged as security for his continued payment of rent, usually tools or equipment necessary for working the land he was renting. Possession could be taken by the creditor only when the debt, or, in

Constans I

2005-02-12T00:46:00.000-08:00

The youngest son of Constantine the Great (reigned 306–337), Constans was proclaimed caesar by his father on December 25, 333. When Constantine died on September 9, 337, Constans and his two brothers, Constantius II and Constantine II, each adopted the title of Augustus and divided the empire among themselves. Constans took control of Italy, Africa, and Illyricum

Loyalty Islands

2005-02-11T19:52:00.000-08:00

French Îles Loyauté, limestone coral group in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia, southwestern Pacific Ocean. Comprising the islands of Ouvéa, Lifou, and Maré (qq.v.), the group has a total area of 761 square miles (1,970 square km) and nowhere rises higher than 300 feet (90 m). The islands were sighted by Europeans early in the 19th century and were long a focus of Anglo-French conflict. Annexed by France

Polar Motion

2005-02-10T05:47:00.000-08:00

Polar motion is primarily made up of two discrete periodic

Sarasate, Pablo De

2005-02-10T03:40:00.000-08:00

Beginning his violin studies at the age of five, Sarasate gave his first performance at age eight and later studied at the Paris Conservatory. In 1859 he began the concert tours that made him famous throughout the world. His playing was particularly admired for sweetness and

Wagner Act

2005-02-09T07:25:00.000-08:00

Sponsored by Senator Robert F. Wagner, a Democrat from New York, the Wagner Act established the federal government as the regulator and ultimate arbiter

Aerospace Industry, The space age

2005-02-08T16:44:00.000-08:00

Both the Soviet and the American space industries had much the same origins and impetus. The development of intermediate-range and intercontinental missiles provided not only the critical electronic technologies but also the rockets necessary to boost small payloads into orbit. Thus, the launch of Sputnik in 1957 signaled not only Soviet technical leadership

Antigonid Dynasty

2005-02-08T16:41:00.000-08:00

Ruling house of ancient Macedonia from 306 to 168 BC. The Antigonid dynasty was established when Demetrius I Poliorcetes, the son of Antigonus I Monophthalmus, ousted Cassander's governor of Athens, Demetrius of Phaleron, and conquered the island of Cyprus, thereby giving his father control of the Aegean, the eastern Mediterranean, and all of the Middle East except Babylonia.

Ayre

2005-02-08T00:35:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Air, genre of solo song with lute accompaniment that flourished in England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The outstanding composers in the genre were the lutanist John Dowland, whose “Flow, my teares” (“Lachrimae”) became so popular that a large number of continental and English instrumental pieces were based on its melody, and the poet and composer Thomas

Mcpherson

2005-02-06T09:45:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1873) of McPherson county, central Kansas, U.S. Laid out in 1872 on the Santa Fe Trail, it was named for James B. McPherson, a Union general killed in the American Civil War. The city is now a processing and shipping point for nearby oil fields and the surrounding diversified agricultural area. Industries include oil refining, flour milling, and the manufacture of aluminum

Ufa Plateau

2005-02-06T02:33:00.000-08:00

Russian Ufimskoye Plato, plateau lying immediately to the west of the central Ural Mountains in Bashkortostan and in Sverdlovsk oblast (province), west-central Russia. The plateau embraces parts of the basins of the Ufa, Yuryuzan, and Ay rivers. It has a total north-south length of 95 miles (150 km). The plateau varies in elevation from 1,300 to 1,650 feet (400 to 500 m), reaching its highest point at 2,270 feet. It is a gentle anticline

Tientsin Massacre

2005-02-05T19:37:00.000-08:00

(June 21, 1870), in Tientsin, China, violent outbreak of Chinese xenophobic sentiment that nearly precipitated international warfare and signaled the end of the “cooperative policy” between China and the Western treaty powers. Before the incident, rumours circulated in Tientsin that the French Sisters of Charity were kidnapping and mutilating Chinese children. Hostility

Mercantile Agency

2005-02-04T02:43:00.000-08:00

Specialized organization engaged in supplying information on the creditworthiness and financial strength of business firms in highly developed economies. The first such agency, the Mercantile Agency, was founded in New York City in 1841 to reduce credit losses. As businesses expanded from their local area to a national scale, many of them found it impossible to judge

Kamaishi

2005-02-03T04:30:00.000-08:00

City, Iwate Prefecture (ken), Honshu, Japan, facing Kamaishi Bay on the Pacific Ocean. Kamaishi was a small fishing village until magnetite was discovered in the area in 1727, and Japan's first European-style blast furnace was constructed in the city in 1857. In 1885 a government-controlled iron foundry was built using coal from Hokkaido and later using ore from China after the Sino-Japanese

Far Eastern Economic Review

2005-02-02T03:57:00.000-08:00

Former weekly news magazine covering general, political, and business and financial news of East and Southeast Asia. It was published in Hong Kong, where it was established in 1946. The magazine carried feature articles on the major developments in the region and on outside developments that affected it. The Far Eastern Economic Review was noted for its objectivity

Bothriolepis

2005-02-02T00:47:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Bothryolepis, genus of extinct fishes of the order Antiarcha, class Placodermi, characteristic of the Middle and Late Devonian (from about 387 million to 360 million years ago). The front end of Bothriolepis was very heavily encased in bony armour. The eyes were located on top of the head shield and situated very close to the light-receptive pineal eye. The shield was separated into two parts,

Dominus

2005-02-01T03:05:00.000-08:00

Plural Domini, in ancient Rome, “master,” or “owner,” particularly of slaves. The name became the official title for the emperor, beginning with Diocletian, who reigned from AD 284 to 305; and thus he and his successors are often referred to as the dominate (dominatus), as contrasted with the earlier principate (principatus) of Augustus and his successors. Some earlier emperors, such as Caligula (reigned

Conductors Play Musical Chairs

2005-01-31T07:14:00.000-08:00

In recent years conductors have increasingly become the musical equivalents of professional athletes, parlaying their high-profile public personas and singular skills in a market that is driven by professional excellence and name value. Given that, 2003 was a particularly busy year for conductors, many of whom played their own version of musical chairs at orchestras

Tura, Cosimo

2005-01-30T08:49:00.000-08:00

Tura was court artist at the celebrated Renaissance court of the Este dukes at Ferrara and served successively dukes Borso and Ercole I. He was probably trained in Francesco Squarcione's workshop in Padua and was influenced

Tachos

2005-01-30T00:45:00.000-08:00

Also called Takhor, Teos , or Zedhor second king (reigned 365–360 BC) of the 30th dynasty of Egypt; he led an unsuccessful attack on the Persians in Phoenicia. Tachos was aided in the undertaking by the aged Spartan king Agesilaus II, who led a body of Greek mercenaries, and by the Athenian fleet commander Chabrias. Tachos, however, insisted on leading the Egyptian army himself, and Agesilaus, after quarreling with his

Epistemology, St. Thomas Aquinas

2005-01-29T05:13:00.000-08:00

While a Platonic and Augustinian epistemology dominated the early Middle Ages, the translation of Aristotle's On the Soul in the early 13th century had a dramatic effect. Following Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas (1225–74) recognized that there are different kinds of knowledge. Sense knowledge is what results from sensing individual things: thus, one sees a tree, hears the song of

Lead Processing

2005-01-29T01:08:00.000-08:00

Once the ore is removed from veins (narrow channels) or lodes (roughly spherical deposits) in the Earth, usually at depths of about 60 metres, the ore is treated at concentrating mills. Here the ore is finely crushed, sometimes to particle diameters of less than 0.1 millimetre (0.004 inch), and then treated by one of several mineral concentration processes. Such processes are designed

Alcamenes

2005-01-28T02:24:00.000-08:00

Sculptor and younger contemporary of Phidias, noted for the delicacy and finish of his works, among which a Hephaestus and an “Aphrodite of the Gardens” are noteworthy. A copy of the head of his “Hermes Propylaeus” at Pergamum has been identified by an inscription, and he is said by the Greek traveler Pausanias (2nd century

Katz, Sir Bernard

2005-01-26T13:34:00.000-08:00

After

Earth, Temperature distribution

2005-01-26T04:47:00.000-08:00

The temperature distribution through the Earth is mainly constrained by the seismological observations of which regions are solid and which are liquid—i.e., which regions transmit shear waves and which do not (Figures 15 and 17 ). Thus, the average temperature in the solid crust and mantle must be lower than the melting point of rocks that make up these regions. Similarly,

école Polytechnique

2005-01-25T23:28:00.000-08:00

(French: “Polytechnic School”), engineering school located originally in Paris but, since 1976, in Palaiseau, Fr., and directed by the Ministry of Defense. It was established in 1794 by the National Convention as the École Centrale des Travaux Publics (“Central School of Public Works”) under the leadership of Lazare Carnot and Gaspard Monge. It took its present name in 1795 and absorbed

Port Davey

2005-01-25T07:56:00.000-08:00

Inlet of the Indian Ocean, indenting southwestern Tasmania, Australia. It is a glacial fjord, its entrance flanked by Point St. Vincent (north) and Hillyard Island. The inlet comprises two main arms, the shorter extending north to form Payne Bay and the other stretching 20 miles (32 km) east along Bathurst Channel to Bathurst Harbour. Passed in 1798 by the British explorer Matthew

Sanhedrin

2005-01-22T18:14:00.000-08:00

Also spelled sanhedrim any of several official Jewish councils in Palestine under Roman rule, to which various political, religious, and judicial functions have been attributed. Taken from the Greek word for council (synedrion), the term was apparently applied to various bodies but became especially the designation for the supreme Jewish legislative and judicial court—the Great

K-capture

2005-01-22T08:23:00.000-08:00

Also called Electron Capture, one of three beta decay processes that affect atomic nuclei. See beta decay.

Malevich, Kazimir (severinovich)

2005-01-22T05:48:00.000-08:00

Malevich was trained at the Kiev School of Art and the Moscow Academy of Fine Arts. In his early work he followed Impressionism as well as Fauvism, and, after a trip to Paris in 1912, he was influenced by Picasso and Cubism. As a member of the Jack of

China, Internal solidarity during the decline of the Nan Sung

2005-01-20T15:07:00.000-08:00

Honouring the Chu Hsi school did not reinvigorate the Nan Sung administration, but the military, despite some weaknesses, maintained an effective defense against the Mongols for four decades—the longest stand against Mongol invasions anywhere. The final Sung defeat came in part because the Mongol forces, frustrated for many years in their attempts to break the

Najahid Dynasty

2005-01-20T14:44:00.000-08:00

Muslim dynasty of Ethiopian Mamluks (slaves) that ruled Yemen in the period 1022–1158 from its capital at Zabid. The Ziyadid kingdom at Zabid (819–1018) had in its final years been controlled by Mamluk viziers, the last of whom divided Yemen between two slaves, Nafis and Najah. Nafis murdered the last Ziyadid ruler in 1018, and, after several years of bitter fighting and the death of Nafis, Najah emerged victorious