CompleteGrass

Bessières, Jean-baptiste, Duke D'istrie

2005-04-04T06:40:00.000-07:00

In 1792 Bessières joined Louis XVI's constitutional guard as a private. After serving in Catalonia as a captain, he was chosen to command Napoleon's escort

Wu Daoxuan

2005-04-03T05:43:00.000-07:00

He is recorded as having painted a wide variety of subjects, perhaps painting large wall compositions of an essentially Buddhist character more than anything else. He is especially noted for his imagination

Blood Disease

2005-04-03T00:15:00.000-08:00

Abnormal condition that involves the corpuscular elements of the blood—red cells, white cells, and platelets—and the tissues in which they are formed—the bone marrow, the lymph nodes, the spleen (i.e., the hematopoietic system). This definition, however, needs expansion and modification. In certain types of illness (e.g., pneumonia, appendicitis) the number of leukocytes

Rhynchotreta

2005-04-02T22:22:00.000-08:00

Extinct genus of brachiopods (lamp shells) commonly found as fossils in Silurian marine rocks (between 438 and 408 million years old). Its small, roughly triangular shell is prominently ornamented by distinct ridges that run lengthwise to the shell margin. Because of its limited time range, Rhynchotreta is a good guide, or index, fossil for Silurian rocks and time.

Biblical Literature, The need for consolidation and delimitation

2005-04-02T18:25:00.000-08:00

Viewed both phenomenologically and practically, the canon had to be consolidated and delimited. Seen historically, however, there were a number of reasons that forced the issue of limiting the canon. Oral tradition had begun to deteriorate in post-apostolic times, partly because many or most of the eyewitnesses to the earliest events of Jesus' life and death and

Adding Machine

2005-04-01T03:39:00.000-08:00

A type of calculator (q.v.) used for performing simple arithmetical operations.

Malay

2005-03-31T14:48:00.000-08:00

The Malay were once probably a people of coastal

Kaga

2005-03-31T04:10:00.000-08:00

The former city of Daishoji is now the central part of Kaga. An old temple town, it grew around a castle built by the Maeda family in the early Tokugawa

Ester

2005-03-30T21:01:00.000-08:00

Carboxylic acid esters, formula RCOOR¢ (R and R¢ are any organic combining groups), are commonly prepared by reaction of carboxylic acids and alcohols in the presence of hydrochloric acid or sulfuric

Annan, Kofi

2005-03-29T20:19:00.000-08:00

Annan, whose father was governor of Asante province and a hereditary paramount chief of the Fante people, studied at the University of Science

Indigirka River

2005-03-29T11:10:00.000-08:00

River, Sakha republic (Yakutia), far eastern Russia. It is one of the major rivers of northeastern Siberia. The Indigirka rises in the Verkhoyansk Mountains and flows 1,072 miles (1,726 km) north through the Chersky Range into the broad Indigirka lowland, most of which is in tundra vegetation, to enter the East Siberian Sea through an extensive delta. Its two main tributaries are

Biological Development, Length and timing of the reproductive phase

2005-03-28T02:37:00.000-08:00

Natural selection results in the production by one generation of offspring that are able to survive and reproduce themselves to form a further generation. The time unit appropriate to natural selection is therefore the generation interval. There will always be some natural selective pressure for the shortening of the generation interval, simply out of a natural

Biencourt, Charles De, Baron De Saint-just

2005-03-27T18:57:00.000-08:00

In 1606 Biencourt sailed with his father, Jean de Biencourt de Poutrincourt, Baron de Saint-Just, to New France (Canada). In 1607 they abandoned their establishment and fort at Port Royal, Acadia, because of insufficient funds. Failing to obtain a Canadian fur-trade

Hebrew Literature

2005-03-27T09:15:00.000-08:00

In the 18th century the conservative mystical movement of Hasidism spread rapidly over all eastern Europe except Lithuania. There, Elijah ben Solomon of Vilna, a writer of unusually wide scope, advocated a better graded course of Talmudic training. Shneur Zalman of Ladi created the highly systematized Habad Hasidism, which was widely accepted in Lithuania. The Musar

Amphissa

2005-03-26T09:49:00.000-08:00

Modern Greek Ámfissa, agricultural centre, chief town of the eparkhía (“eparchy”) of Parnassus (Parnassós), capital of the nomós (department) of Fokís (Phocis), central Greece, at the northwestern limit of the fertile Crisaean plain between the Gióna Mountains and the Parnassus massif. The economy includes trade in wheat, livestock, and particularly olives grown on the Crisaean plain. Bauxite

Dayton

2005-03-25T11:36:00.000-08:00

Following the peace treaty with the Shawnee

'atbarah

2005-03-24T04:43:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Atbara town, northeastern Sudan. It lies on the right (east) bank of the Nile River at the mouth of the seasonal Atbara River. The junction of two major road and railway lines to Khartoum, it has become an important commercial and agricultural centre. The Sudan government railways' administrative headquarters and workshops are located there, and the town also has an airport.

Mountain, The Alpine-Himalayan, or Tethyan, System

2005-03-24T04:14:00.000-08:00

The interconnected system of mountain ranges and intermontane plateaus that lies between the stable areas of Africa, Arabia, and India on the south and Europe and Asia on the north owes its existence to the collisions of different continental fragments during the past 100,000,000 years. Some 150,000,000 years ago, India and much of what is now Iran and Afghanistan lay many thousands of

Ligament

2005-03-23T16:21:00.000-08:00

Tough fibrous band of connective tissue that serves to support the internal organs and hold bones together in proper articulation at the joints. A ligament is composed of dense fibrous bundles of collagenous fibres and spindle-shaped cells known as fibroblasts, with little ground substance (a gel-like component of the various connective tissues). Ligaments may

Jack The Ripper

2005-03-23T00:54:00.000-08:00

All but one of Jack the Ripper's victims were killed while soliciting customers on the street. In each instance the victim's throat was cut, and the body was usually

Physical Science, Principles Of, Application of Newton's laws

2005-03-22T16:44:00.000-08:00

In the same way that the timing of a pendulum provided a more rigorous test of Galileo's kinematical theory than could be achieved by direct testing with balls rolling down planes, so with Newton's laws the most searching tests are indirect and based on mathematically derived consequences. Kepler's laws of planetary motion are just such an example, and in the two centuries

Nagasaki

2005-03-21T18:28:00.000-08:00

Capital and largest city, Nagasaki ken (prefecture), western Kyushu, Japan, at the mouth of the Urakami-gawa (Urakami River) where it empties into Nagasaki-ko (Nagasaki Harbour). The harbour is composed of a narrow, deep-cut bay, formed at the meeting point of Nomo-saki (Cape Nomo; south) and Nishisonoki-hanto (Nishisonoki Peninsula; northwest). The city is shaped like an amphitheatre,

Akihito

2005-03-21T18:27:00.000-08:00

Akihito was the fifth child and eldest son of Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako. During his early years he was reared in the traditional imperial manner, beginning his education

Wayne, Anthony

2005-03-20T21:11:00.000-08:00

The owner of a tannery and extensive property in Pennsylvania, Wayne was commissioned a colonel in the Continental Army in January 1776. That spring his regiment was sent

Braccio Da Montone

2005-03-19T17:19:00.000-08:00

Born of a noble Perugian family, Braccio became the pupil of Alberico da Barbiano, the first great Italian condottiere, initiating a lifelong rivalry with another

Seurat, Georges

2005-03-19T07:06:00.000-08:00

Painter, founder of the 19th-century French school of Neo-Impressionism whose technique for portraying the play of light using tiny brushstrokes of contrasting colours became known as Pointillism. Using this techique, he created huge compositions with tiny, detached strokes of pure colour too small to be distinguished when looking at the

La Farge, John

2005-03-18T23:01:00.000-08:00

After graduating from St. Mary's College in Maryland, La Farge studied law, but in 1856 he went to Europe to study art. He worked independently, studying briefly in Paris with Thomas Couture and coming under the influence of the work of the Pre-Raphaelites in

Habsburg, House Of

2005-03-18T05:51:00.000-08:00

Even before Frederick III's time the House of Habsburg had won much of its standing in Germany and in central Europe through marriages to heiresses. Frederick's son Maximilian carried this matrimonial policy to heights of unequalled brilliance. First he himself in 1477 married the heiress of Burgundy, Charles the Bold's daughter Mary, with the result that the House of

Aerospace Industry, Spacecraft, launch vehicle, and missile development

2005-03-17T14:37:00.000-08:00

The research effort that goes into the development of missiles, launch vehicles, and spacecraft parallels that of the airplane in the design and ground-test stages but differs for the flight-test stage. For major launch vehicles and strategic missiles, the absence of a pilot on board, the great expense of a single launch, and the inability to recover and reuse the test

Refugee

2005-03-16T17:55:00.000-08:00

Any uprooted, homeless, involuntary migrant who has crossed a frontier and no longer possesses the protection of his former government. Prior to the 19th century the movement from one country to another did not require passports and visas; the right to asylum was commonly recognized and honoured. Although there have been numerous waves of refugees throughout history,

Ginsberg, (irwin) Allen

2005-03-16T05:15:00.000-08:00

American poet (b. June 3, 1926, Newark, N.J.--d. April 5, 1997, New York, N.Y.), was the poet laureate of the cultural movement in the 1950s whose members were known as the Beat Generation, disaffected antiestablishment writers whose lifestyle embraced alienation, nonconformity, and, often, drug use. His influence on art, music, and politics lasted throughout the following four decades, and such varied

Interior Design, Japan

2005-03-15T23:27:00.000-08:00

Interior decoration in Japan was much influenced by Chinese ideas, especially between the 8th and 12th centuries, but it developed along lighter, more austere and elegant lines. It has altered little since medieval days. The most important differences in modern design are that the matting has been extended to cover the whole of the wooden floor, and sliding doors have

Târgoviste

2005-03-15T18:29:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Tîrgoviste, city, capital of Dâmbovita judet (county), south-central Romania. It lies along the Ialomita River, in the southeastern Transylvanian Alps (Southern Carpathians), 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Bucharest. Târgoviste was the capital of feudal Walachia from the 14th to the 17th century. Its monuments include a 16th-century watchtower and a 17th-century church founded by Vasile Lupu. The city

Caria

2005-03-15T14:54:00.000-08:00

Ancient district of southwestern Anatolia. One of the most thoroughly Hellenized districts, its territory included Greek cities along its Aegean shore and a mountainous interior bounded by Lydia in the north and by Phrygia and Lycia in the east. The non-Greek Carians of the interior considered themselves an indigenous people and claimed kinship with the Lydians

Neogene Period

2005-03-15T14:24:00.000-08:00

Latest of the two divisions of the Cenozoic Era (66.4 million years ago to the present). The Neogene includes the Miocene and Pliocene epochs (23,700,000 to 1,600,000 years ago) and is considered by some to encompass the time up to the present. The Neogene, which means “new born,” was designated as such to emphasize that the marine and terrestrial fossils found in the strata of this time were more closely

East Germany

2005-03-12T10:55:00.000-08:00

Formally German Democratic Republic , German Ostdeutschland , or Deutsche Demokratische Republik European state (1945–90) that now constitutes the eastern portion of the Federal Republic of Germany. See Germany.

Gatun Lake

2005-03-12T09:10:00.000-08:00

Spanish Lago Gatún, long artificial lake in Panama, constituting part of the Panama Canal system; its area is 166 square miles (430 square km). It was formed by damming the Chagres River and its smaller affluents at Gatun at the north end of the lake. Its dam (completed 1912) and spillway, a key structure of the Panama Canal, operate at a range of 5 feet (1.5 m) between water levels of 87 and 82 feet (26.5 and 25 m) above sea level. The

Arundel, Thomas Fitzalan, 5th Earl Of, 11th Earl Of Surrey

2005-03-12T05:03:00.000-08:00

King Richard II made him a ward of John Holland, duke of Exeter, from whose keeping he escaped about 1398 and joined his uncle, Archbishop Thomas Arundel, at Utrecht, returning to England in 1399 with Henry of Lancaster, afterward King Henry IV. In October 1400 he was restored to

Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

2005-03-11T06:54:00.000-08:00

Black Methodist church in the United States, organized in 1870 as the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church; it officially adopted its present name in 1956. The church originated from a movement begun in 1866 within the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, to organize the black members into an independent church. At the founding convention in 1870, two bishops from the Methodist Episcopal

Argentina, Music and dance

2005-03-11T03:46:00.000-08:00

Another cultural hybrid is the tango, a music style and dance that emerged from the poor immigrant quarters of Buenos Aires toward the end of the 19th century and quickly became famous around the world as a symbol of Argentine culture. Influenced by the Spanish tango and, possibly, the Argentine milonga, it was originally a high-spirited local phenomenon, but, after it

Buxton, Sir Thomas Fowell, 1st Baronet

2005-03-11T01:02:00.000-08:00

A brother-in-law of the prison reformer Elizabeth Fry, Buxton, in

Córdoba

2005-03-10T01:18:00.000-08:00

Provincia, in the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Andalusia, south-central Spain. It has an area of 5,297 square miles (13,718 square km) that is divided by the Guadalquivir River into a mountainous north, crossed by the Sierra Morena, and a fertile, undulating southern plain, known as La Campiña. Mining (in the north) of lead, zinc, and coal is the province's chief industry.

Burdwan

2005-03-09T23:07:00.000-08:00

Also called Bardhaman, or Barddhaman, city, central West Bengal state, northeastern India. The city is a major communications centre lying astride the Banka River just north of the Damodar River. Rice and oilseed milling and hosiery, cutlery, and tool manufacturing are the chief industries. Of historic interest are the Rajbari (the maharaja's palace and gardens), several ancient Muslim tombs, and 108 Siva linga,

Boner, Ulrich

2005-03-09T19:19:00.000-08:00

Boner, known to have been of a Bernese family, is mentioned in records between 1324 and 1349. He compiled and translated his collection of fables for Johann von Ringgenberg, his Bernese patron. The form that Boner used was referred to as bîschaft

Grayling

2005-03-09T17:41:00.000-08:00

(Thymallus), any of several troutlike game fishes, family Salmonidae, found in cold, clear streams of Eurasia and northern North America. Graylings are handsome, silvery-purple fishes, which reach a length of about 40 cm (16 inches). They have rather large scales, large eyes, a small mouth with feeble teeth, and a saillike, brightly coloured dorsal fin, with 20 to 24 rays. They feed primarily

Tarn

2005-03-09T00:51:00.000-08:00

A small mountain lake, especially one set in a glaciated steep-walled amphitheatre known as a cirque (q.v.).

China, Japan and Ryukyu

2005-03-07T01:09:00.000-08:00

Three years after the Meiji Restoration of 1868—which inaugurated a period of modernization and political change in Japan—a commercial treaty was signed between China and Japan, and it was ratified in 1873. Understandably it was reciprocal, because both signatories had a similar unequal status vis-à-vis the Western nations. The establishment of the new Sino-Japanese relations

Deflation

2005-03-06T19:13:00.000-08:00

In geology, erosion of loose material from flat areas of dry, uncemented sediments such as those occurring in deserts, dry lake beds, floodplains, and glacial outwash plains. Clay and silt-sized particles are picked up by turbulent eddies in wind and may be carried for hundreds of kilometres; they later settle to form loess deposits. Local areas subjected to deflation

Botta, Paul-émile

2005-03-06T03:59:00.000-08:00

The son of a distinguished historian, Carlo Botta, he was educated as a physician. In 1842 he secured an appointment

Daily Telegraph, The

2005-03-05T09:14:00.000-08:00

Founded in 1855 as the Daily Telegraph and Courier, the paper has consistently combined a high standard of reporting with the selection of interesting feature subjects and editorial presentation. Its appeal is a conservative and middle-class

Chad, Flag Of

2005-03-05T05:47:00.000-08:00

When French West Africa was under colonial rule, little was done to develop a sense of nationality; emphasis was on the culture and political and economic systems of France. The independence movement in Africa in the mid-20th century therefore found Chad, like most other territories, with few precedents for establishing its own symbols. When the Republic of Chad was

Cumont, Franz (-valéry-marie)

2005-03-04T16:47:00.000-08:00

After studying at Ghent, Bonn, Berlin, Vienna, and Paris, Cumont was from 1892 to 1910 professor at the University of Ghent and from 1899 to 1912 curator of the Brussels

Indian Philosophy, Origin of the concept of Brahman and atman

2005-03-03T14:41:00.000-08:00

The Upanisads answer the question “Who is that one Being?” by establishing the equation Brahman = atman. Brahman—meaning now that which is the greatest, than which there is nothing greater, and also that which bursts forth into the manifested world, the one Being of which the hymn of creation spoke—is viewed as nothing but atman, identifiable as the innermost self in man but

Irish Yew

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

Ornamental evergreen of the yew family. See English yew.

Turkey Work

2005-03-02T23:02:00.000-08:00

Form of knotted embroidery practiced in England from the 16th century to the mid-18th century, but especially in the 17th century. Used for upholstery and table covers, it was worked in imitation of Turkish carpets, which are known from paintings to have been imported to England from the 16th century. The designs were usually of geometrically stylized flowers. A document from

Chagall, Marc

2005-03-02T20:49:00.000-08:00

Belorussian-born French painter, printmaker, and designer. He composed his images based on emotional and poetic associations, rather than on rules of pictorial logic. Predating Surrealism, his early works, such as I and the Village (1911), were among the first expressions of

Water Lily

2005-03-01T14:14:00.000-08:00

Any of the freshwater plants of the family Nymphaeaceae, comprising eight genera native to the temperate and tropical parts of the world. All members of the family are perennial except for the genus Euryale, an annual or short-lived perennial found only in Asia. Most species of water lilies have rounded, floating, waxy-coated leaves on long stalks that contain

Gandhi, Rajiv

2005-02-28T23:52:00.000-08:00

Rajiv and his younger brother Sanjay (1946–80), the sons of Feroze and Indira Gandhi, were educated at the prestigious Doon School in Dehradun. Rajiv then

Abel Tasman National Park

2005-02-28T07:13:00.000-08:00

Wildlife preserve in northwestern South Island, New Zealand. Established in 1942, it was named for Abel Tasman, the Dutch navigator. With an area of 55,699 acres (22,541 hectares), it extends inland for about 6 miles (10 km) from the beaches of Tasman Bay on its western shores between Separation Point and Marahau Inlet, about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Nelson. The park includes the Tata Islands in Golden

Heikal, Muhammad Hassanein

2005-02-28T04:33:00.000-08:00

Educated at Cairo University, Heikal became a reporter for the Egyptian Gazette

Sun Ra

2005-02-27T20:14:00.000-08:00

Sun Ra, who claimed to have been born on the planet Saturn, grew up in Birmingham, studied piano under noted teacher Fess Wheatley, and attended Alabama Agricultural

Palestine, History Of, The rise of Islam

2005-02-27T04:09:00.000-08:00

The successful unification of the Arabian Peninsula by the first caliph, Abu Bakr (AD 632–Aug. 23, 634), made it possible to channel the expansion of the Arab Muslims into new directions. Abu Bakr, therefore, summoned the faithful to a holy war (jihad) and quickly amassed an impressive army. He dispatched three detachments of about 3,000 (later increased to about 7,500) men each to start operations

Lord's Prayer

2005-02-26T22:00:00.000-08:00

Latin Oratio Dominica, also called Pater Noster (Latin: “Our Father”), prayer taught by Jesus to his disciples, and the principal prayer used by all Christians in common worship. It appears in two forms in the New Testament, the shorter version in Luke 11:2–4 and the longer version, part of the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 6:9–13. In both contexts it is offered as a model of how to pray. Many scholars believe the version in Luke to be closer

Magdalena River

2005-02-26T20:33:00.000-08:00

Spanish Río Magdalena, river, north-central Colombia. It rises at the bifurcation of the Andean Cordilleras Central and Oriental, and flows northward for 930 miles (1,497 km) to the Caribbean Sea. It receives the San Jorge, César, and Cauca rivers in the swampy floodplain of the northern lowlands. The river's mouth must be dredged to give oceangoing vessels access to the port of Barranquilla, in Atlántico

Noble Gas, Xenon

2005-02-25T20:24:00.000-08:00

The name xenon is derived from the Greek word xenos, “strange” or “foreign.” Like several other noble gases, xenon is present in meteorites and certain minerals, but its only useful source has been the atmosphere, of which it composes 86 parts per 109 by volume. Nuclear reactors may become an important source of xenon, because the fission of uranium produces several isotopes

Hand

2005-02-25T10:51:00.000-08:00

Grasping organ at the end of the forelimb of certain vertebrates, exhibiting great mobility and flexibility in the digits and in the whole organ. It is made up of the wrist joint, the carpal bones, metacarpal bones, and phalanges. The digits include a medial thumb (when viewed with the palm down), containing two phalanges, and four fingers, each containing three

Samothrace

2005-02-24T14:36:00.000-08:00

Modern Greek Samothráki, Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea off the Thracian coast, included in the nomós (department) of Évros. The 69-sq-mi (178-sq-km) island is geologically complex, consisting chiefly of ancient granites, clayey deposits, and softer volcanic materials. Hot springs are located near the north coast. Near its centre the island rises to 5,250 ft (1,600 m) in Korifí Fengári (Fenári Peak), the highest

Malherbe, François De

2005-02-24T08:22:00.000-08:00

Malherbe received a Protestant education at Caen and Paris and later at the universities of Basel (1571) and Heidelberg (1573) but was shortly converted

Yerkes, Robert M.

2005-02-22T14:11:00.000-08:00

After graduating from Ursinus College, Yerkes took his Ph.D. degree at Harvard University in 1902 and then served first as instructor and then as professor of psychology at Harvard until 1917. His early studies of the behaviour

Scandinavian Literature, Swedish poetry and prose

2005-02-22T14:09:00.000-08:00

In the first half of the 17th century, Swedish literature remained limited in scope and quantity. A unique contribution, however, was made by Lars Wivallius, whose lyrics revealed a feeling for nature new to Swedish poetry. With its intervention in the Thirty Years' War, Sweden established itself as a European power, and this led to a development of national pride and culture,

Faguet, émile

2005-02-22T10:58:00.000-08:00

Faguet was educated at Poitiers and at the École Normale in Paris. He served as drama critic (1888–1907) for the Journal des Débats, was appointed to a chair at the Sorbonne in 1890, and was elected to the French Academy in 1900. He contributed

Kabbala

2005-02-22T09:30:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kabala, Kabbalah, Cabala, Cabbala , or Cabbalah esoteric Jewish mysticism as it appeared in the 12th and following centuries. Kabbala has always been essentially an oral tradition in that initiation into its doctrines and practices is conducted by a personal guide to avoid the dangers inherent in mystical experiences. Esoteric Kabbala is also “tradition” inasmuch as it lays claim to secret knowledge of the unwritten

Vaigai River

2005-02-21T15:59:00.000-08:00

River in Tamil Nadu state, southern India, flowing 150 miles (240 km) generally southeast. Rising in the Varushanad Hills of western Tamil Nadu, it initially flows northeast through the Kambam and Varushanad valleys. In its central reaches the Vaigai flows eastward into the Vaigai reservoir at Narasingapuram. Near Sholavandan it bends to the southeast, passing Madurai town on

Quincy Plan

2005-02-21T15:54:00.000-08:00

Also called Quincy Method, experimental, progressive, child-centred approach to education introduced in 1875 in Quincy, Mass., U.S., by superintendent of schools Francis W. Parker. Parker eliminated the rigid formalities of traditional school routine, arranged interrelated subjects around a central core, and emphasized socialized activities and creative self-expression. The curriculum included

Anne And Joachim, Saints

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

Kathleen Ashley and Pamela Sheingorn (eds.), Interpreting Cultural Symbols: Saint Anne in Late Medieval Society (1990), covers the fields of art history, literature, religion, and social history.

Breitinger, Johann Jakob

2005-02-21T02:31:00.000-08:00

He studied theology and became professor at the Collegium Carolinum in Zurich. He lectured on Hebrew, Greek, Latin, logic, and rhetoric; showed excellence as a philologist in many editions; and advocated education on humanist lines

Mckim, Ruby

2005-02-19T20:28:00.000-08:00

Née Ruby Short one of the 20th century's most innovative American quilt designers. Educated at the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts (now Parsons School of Design) in New York City, she later taught art classes for the Kansas City school system. Her first published quilt pattern, for the Kansas City Star in 1916, was an outgrowth

Zahedi, Fazlollah

2005-02-19T16:26:00.000-08:00

Zahedi early embarked on a military career, graduating from the Iranian military academy in 1916. He joined the Persian Cossack Brigade and at age 25—as a brigadier general—distinguished himself by quelling a Kurdish revolt in western Iran. Three years later

Kebbi

2005-02-19T08:38:00.000-08:00

State, northwestern Nigeria. It was created in 1991 from the southwestern half of Sokoto (q.v.) state. Kebbi borders the nations of Niger to the west and Benin to the southwest, and it borders the Nigerian states of Sokoto to the north and east and Niger to the south. Kebbi's area consists of short-grass savanna that is drained southwestward by the Niger River and its tributary,

Earthworm

2005-02-18T06:57:00.000-08:00

Also called angleworm any one of more than 1,800 species of terrestrial worms of the class Oligochaeta (phylum Annelida)—in particular, members of the genus Lumbricus. Seventeen native species and 13 introduced species (from Europe) occur in the eastern United States, L. terrestris being the most common. Earthworms occur in virtually all soils of the world in which the moisture

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Allegory

2005-02-16T18:39:00.000-08:00

In terms of allegory, the Greco-Roman and Hebraic-Christian cultures both have a common

Kheda

2005-02-16T14:30:00.000-08:00

Also called Kaira, city, east-central Gujarat state, west-central India. It is situated in the lowlands between the Sabarmati and Mahi rivers. The city existed as early as the 5th century AD. Early in the 18th century it passed to the Babi family but was taken by the Marathas in 1763 and handed over to the British in 1803. Kheda is now a trading centre for agricultural produce and has some light manufacturing industries.

Amphibian, Neoteny

2005-02-16T05:48:00.000-08:00

Neoteny entails the maturation of a larva's reproductive capabilities without the concomitant development of its external morphological features; this phenomenon occurs in some aquatic salamanders and is due to delayed somatic development. Different patterns of partial metamorphosis, ranging from a lack of development in jaw and cranial elements to a retention

Greece, History Of

2005-02-16T04:50:00.000-08:00

Geographically, Greece forms the southernmost extension of the Balkan Peninsula. It is a region dominated by mountain systems, and, although not particularly high, these cover some 80 percent

Aerospace Industry, Verification

2005-02-15T06:42:00.000-08:00

Critical for all aerospace vehicles, once they are assembled, are the methods for ensuring the quality of the manufacturing and assembly processes. In the case of aircraft this involves extensive inspections of structural and mechanical items, including functional verification of equipment such as control surfaces and systems, landing-gear operation, avionics

Interior Design, Lighting

2005-02-15T02:43:00.000-08:00

Light is one of the key elements of interior design. Most interior spaces constructed in the 20th century are used as much with artificial light as with daylight; because of this lighting has become a very significant tool for the interior designer. There are three major aspects to lighting: function, aesthetics, and health. The latter factor is often ignored, but insufficient

Biblical Literature, The Ascension of Isaiah

2005-02-14T07:09:00.000-08:00

According to the Lives of the Prophets, Jeremiah was stoned to death and Isaiah was sawn asunder. These two legends are reflected in two originally Jewish works. The Ascension of Isaiah, in which the martyrdom of Isaiah is narrated, is as a whole extant only in Ethiopic, translated from a Greek original, which itself is also known from fragments. The book contains important

Gable, Christopher Michael

2005-02-14T00:20:00.000-08:00

British ballet dancer and actor (b. March 13, 1940, Hackney, London, Eng.--d. Oct. 23, 1998, near Halifax, Yorkshire, Eng.), was a popular star of the Royal Ballet, and his strong dramatic ability paved the way for him to make a smooth transition to theatre and motion pictures. When he was a young boy, Gable, having seen dance numbers in films, asked for lessons. His mother consented, if he also studied

Anisometric Verse

2005-02-13T22:11:00.000-08:00

Poetic verse that does not have equal or corresponding poetic metres. An anisometric stanza is composed of lines of unequal metrical length, as in William Wordsworth's “Ode: Intimations of Immortality,” which beginsThere was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,The earth, and every common sight,To me did seemAppareled in celestial light,The glory and the freshness

Rama I

2005-02-13T21:34:00.000-08:00

Rama I was the son of a high court official and his part-Chinese wife. At the time of the Burmese invasion of Siam in 1766–67, he was serving as chief judge in Rat Buri province. After the fall of Ayutthaya (1767), the Thai capital, he joined

Gaffney

2005-02-13T00:34:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Cherokee county, northern South Carolina, U.S., near the Broad River. Named for Michael Gaffney, an Irish settler who arrived in 1803, it early developed as a resort where plantation owners sought therapeutic treatment at local limestone springs. Its growth as a market centre for cotton (now peaches) and farm produce was sustained by the coming of the Southern

Sänger, Eugen

2005-02-12T18:40:00.000-08:00

German rocket propulsion engineer whose projected “antipodal bomber,” with a range far greater than that made possible by its fuel capacity alone, greatly interested the major Western governments and the Soviet Union at the end of World War II. The development of long-range missiles and the difficulties of

Florida

2005-02-11T15:48:00.000-08:00

The surrounding region is characterized by rolling hills. In addition to its

Andamanese

2005-02-11T02:59:00.000-08:00

Aboriginal inhabitants of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. They belong to Negrito stock, which is represented also by the Semang of Malaysia and the Pygmies of the Philippines. Most have been detribalized and absorbed into modern Indian life, but traditional culture survives among such tribes as the Jarawa and Onge of the lesser islands. Speakers

Zahran, Az-

2005-02-10T19:59:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Dhahran, town, northeastern Saudi Arabia, in the Dammam oil field, just south of the Persian Gulf port of ad-Dammam. Near the scene of the original discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia in 1938, it is now a modern community that serves as the administrative headquarters of the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco). A major United States Air Force Base was built in 1945 and continues in use. The town

Bejaïa

2005-02-10T14:22:00.000-08:00

Formerly Bougie, town, Mediterranean port, northeastern Algeria. The town lies at the mouth of the Wadi Soummam. Sheltered by Mount Gouraya (2,165 feet [660 m]) and Cape Carbon, it receives an annual average rainfall of 40 inches (1,000 mm) and is surrounded by a fertile plain. The older town, built on the mountain slope, descends to the French-built sector spread along the road to Algiers and containing the business

Schenectady

2005-02-09T17:45:00.000-08:00

Local Mohawk Indians were involved in the

Literature

2005-02-09T16:40:00.000-08:00

During 1999 the list assembled by Yazhou Zhoukan (Asia Weekly) of the 100 best Chinese fictional works of the 20th century was released in Hong Kong. The first-place winner was Lu Xun for his Nahan (“Call to Arms”); it was followed in order by Shen Congwen for Bian cheng (“Remote Town”), Lao She for Luotuo xiangzi (“The Camel”), Zhang Ailing for Chuanqi (“Legend”), Qian Zhongshu for Wei cheng (“Enclosed

Cambridgeshire

2005-02-09T03:00:00.000-08:00

Administrative, geographic, and historic county of eastern England. The administrative county covers a much larger area than the ancient shire, or historic county. Formed in 1974, the administrative county incorporates almost all of the historic county of Cambridgeshire and most of the historic county of Huntingdonshire (which is nearly coterminous with the district

Vancouver Aquarium

2005-02-08T08:04:00.000-08:00

Aquarium located in Stanley Park, Vancouver, B.C., Can., that has the largest collection of fishes and marine invertebrates in Canada. The collection includes nearly 3,000 specimens of about 300 fish species and more than 3,500 representatives of approximately 150 different kinds of invertebrates. The aquarium's specialty is marine fish species native to the eastern part of the North