BrightBranch

serviced offices

2006-11-01T09:10:00.000-08:00

Office planet have a huge database of serviced offices throughout the UK. serviced offices provide an affordable and hassle free office solution

Wolffish

2005-04-04T16:03:00.000-07:00

Any of nine species of large, long-bodied blennies of the family Anarhichadidae (order Perciformes), found in northern Atlantic and Pacific waters. Wolffishes are much larger than most other blennies, the largest species growing to a length of about 2.3 m (7.5 feet). Wolffishes have a large head and a long, tapered body surmounted by a single, long dorsal

China, Population movements

2005-04-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

Censuses taken during the Sui and T'ang dynasties provide some evidence as to population changes. Surviving figures for 609 and for 742, representing two of the most complete of the earlier Chinese population registrations, give totals of some 9,000,000 households, or slightly more than 50,000,000 persons. Contemporary officials considered that only about 70 percent of the population was

Skelton Glacier

2005-04-01T06:30:00.000-08:00

Antarctic glacier situated on the Hillary Coast of Victoria Land, to the northeast of the Cook Mountains, near McMurdo Sound. It flows sluggishly southward into the Ross Ice Shelf. The greatest known thickness of ice along its 39-mi (62-km) length occurs at a point about 30 mi from the tip of its floating terminus. There the ice is about 4,760 ft (1,450 m) thick. The east side of the glacier is covered

Agnon, S.y.

2005-03-29T04:50:00.000-08:00

Born of a family of Polish Jewish merchants, rabbis, and scholars, Agnon wrote at first (1903–06) in Yiddish and Hebrew, under his own

Range

2005-03-28T14:51:00.000-08:00

In radioactivity, the distance that a particle travels from its source through matter. The range depends upon the type of particle, its original energy of motion (kinetic energy), the medium through which it travels, and the particular way in which range is further defined. Range applies especially to charged particles, such as electrons and alpha particles. Charged

Jussieu, Joseph De

2005-03-25T13:10:00.000-08:00

French botanist who accompanied the French physicist Charles-Marie de la Condamine's expedition to Peru to measure an arc of meridian. He remained in South America for 35 years, returning to Paris in 1771. He introduced the common garden heliotrope (Heliotropium peruvianum) into Europe. Joseph was a brother of Antoine and Bernard.

Switzerland, Wind systems

2005-03-23T10:51:00.000-08:00

Prevailing winds are mainly from the west, but in valleys air currents are channeled into particularly frequent or violent local winds such as the Bise, a cold northeast wind that sweeps across the Mittelland and funnels down Lake Geneva to the city of Geneva. Foehn (German: föhn) winds, which are associated with the leading edge of a low-pressure system moving across

Cade, Jack

2005-03-22T06:31:00.000-08:00

Cade was living in Sussex when, in 1449, he was accused of murdering a woman. He fled to France

Constanta

2005-03-19T00:15:00.000-08:00

The first record of a settlement is at the

Perrers, Alice

2005-03-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

She belonged probably to the Hertfordshire family of Perrers, although it is also stated that she was of more humble birth. Before 1366 she had entered the service of Edward's queen, Philippa, and she appears later as the wife of Sir William de Windsor, deputy

Maseru

2005-03-17T03:39:00.000-08:00

Capital and largest urban centre of Lesotho. It is on the left bank of the Caledon River near the border with Free State province, South Africa. In 1869 the chief of the Sotho (Basotho) nation, Moshoeshoe, founded the town near his mountain stronghold of Thaba Bosiu; few of the 19th-century buildings remain. Lesotho is linked with the South African railway system by a short line

Penzias, Arno

2005-03-17T01:40:00.000-08:00

In full Arno Allan Penzias German-American astrophysicist who shared one-half of the 1978 Nobel Prize for Physics with Robert Woodrow Wilson for their discovery of a faint electromagnetic radiation throughout the universe. Their detection of this radiation lent strong support to the big-bang model of cosmic evolution. (The other half of the Nobel Prize was awarded to the Soviet

Americus

2005-03-16T14:48:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1831) of Sumter county, southwest-central Georgia, U.S., on Muckalee Creek, 35 miles (55 km) north of Albany. Founded in 1830, it was named for the Italian explorer and navigator Amerigo Vespucci or, legend says, for the “merry cusses” who were its first settlers. To the northeast is Andersonville, site of a notorious Confederate camp during the American Civil War, where thousands

China, Plains of the Middle and Lower Yangtze

2005-03-14T20:19:00.000-08:00

East of I-ch'ang, in Hupeh Province, a series of plains of uneven width are found along the Yangtze River, or Ch'ang Chiang. The plains are particularly wide in the delta area and in places where the Yangtze receives its major tributaries—including large areas of lowlands around the lakes of Tung-t'ing, P'o-yang, T'ai, and Hung-tse, which are hydrologically linked with the Yangtze.

Argentia

2005-03-14T13:25:00.000-08:00

Formerly a herring- and salmon-fishing port known as Little Placentia, it was renamed Argentia (derived from argentum, Latin for “silver”) when silver was discovered in the vicinity. Most

Saffarid Dynasty

2005-03-12T22:27:00.000-08:00

Iranian dynasty of lower class origins that ruled a large area in eastern Iran. The dynasty's founder, Ya'qub ebn Leys as-Saffar (“the coppersmith”), took control of his native province, Seistan, around 866. By 869 he had extended his control into northeastern India, adding the Kabul Valley, Sind, Tocharistan, Makran (Baluchistan), Kerman, and Fars to his possessions; with the overthrow

Wilbur, Richard (purdy)

2005-03-12T09:15:00.000-08:00

Wilbur was educated at Amherst College, Amherst, Mass., and Harvard University, where he studied literature. He fought in Europe during World War II and earned a master's degree from Harvard in 1947. With The Beautiful Changes and Other Poems (1947) and Ceremony and Other Poems (1950), he established himself

Arnold Arboretum Of Harvard University

2005-03-10T00:17:00.000-08:00

Major botanical research centre famous for its collection of ornamental trees and shrubs from Asia. Founded in 1872, the arboretum consists of 265 acres (107 hectares) at Jamaica Plain in Boston, and it has another 106-acre (43-hectare) installation at Weston, Massachusetts, U.S. The Arnold Arboretum has acquired and cultivated more than 6,000 types of woody plants during its history; by the

Anole

2005-03-09T04:51:00.000-08:00

(genus Anolis) any of about 250 species of small, tree-dwelling lizard related to iguanas (family Iguanidae). Anoles occur throughout the warmer regions of North and South America and are abundant in the West Indies. Like the gecko, all anoles have enlarged finger and toe pads that are covered with microscopic hooks. These clinging pads, together with sharp claws, enable them to

Perceval

2005-03-09T04:14:00.000-08:00

Hero of Arthurian romance, distinguished by his quality of childlike (often uncouth) innocence, which protected him from worldly temptation and set him apart from other knights in Arthur's fellowship. This quality also links his story with the primitive folktale theme of a great fool or simple hero. In Chrétien de Troyes's poem Le Conte du Graal (12th century), Perceval's

Hookworm Disease

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

Also called ancylostomiasis , or uncinariasis a parasitic infestation of humans, dogs, or cats caused by bloodsucking worms (see photograph) living in the small intestine—sometimes associated with secondary anemia. Several species of hookworm can cause the disease. Necator americanus, which ranges in size from 5 to 11 millimetres (0.2 to 0.4 inch), is responsible for about 90 percent of human hookworm infections

Westerwald Stoneware

2005-03-07T05:39:00.000-08:00

Salt-glazed stoneware produced in German towns such as Höhr, Grenzau, and Grenzhausen in the area known as the Westerwald. Their products (jugs, tankards, and the like), made from the 15th century to the present day, are molded, stamped with dies, and sometimes incised. Westerwald pottery received impetus from the immigration in the late 16th century of Anno Knütgen and his

Laima

2005-03-05T21:11:00.000-08:00

Also called Laima-dalia (from Lithuanian laime, “happiness,” “luck”), in Baltic religion, the goddess of fate, generally associated with the linden tree. Together with Dievs, the sky, and Saule, the sun, Laima determines the length and fortune of human life. In the course of each life she helps arrange marriages, oversees weddings, protects pregnant women, and appears at childbirth to pronounce each

Gabriel

2005-03-05T11:37:00.000-08:00

The son of an African-born mother, Gabriel grew up as the slave of Thomas H. Prosser. Gabriel became a deeply religious man, strongly influenced

Thompson, J(ohn) Lee

2005-03-03T08:15:00.000-08:00

British-born film director (b. Aug. 1, 1914, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Eng.—d. Aug. 30, 2002, Sooke, B.C.), achieved international fame with The Guns of Navarone (1961), which exemplified his acute visual style and use of suspenseful narrative. Thompson, who was sometimes billed as J. Lee-Thompson, began his film career as an actor and screenwriter, and the first movie he directed, Murder Without

Ardabil

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

Turkish Erdebil, town, northwestern Iran, 38 miles (61 km) from the Caspian Sea. It stands on an open plain 4,500 feet (1,400 m) above sea level, just east of Mount Sabalan (15,784 feet [4,811 m]), where cold spells occur until late spring. Persian historians have ascribed a founding date to the town in the Sasanian period, but its known history does not begin until the Islamic period. The town was taken by treaty by 'Ali (c. 600–661), the fourth caliph.

Perak War

2005-03-01T17:55:00.000-08:00

Birch arrived in Perak

Port Adelaide

2005-03-01T15:30:00.000-08:00

Chief port of South Australia, on an estuarine-tidal inlet of Gulf St. Vincent, just northwest of Adelaide. Visited in 1831 by Capt. Collet Barker, the harbour, sheltered by a long sand spit to the west, was made the port for Adelaide in 1837. Port Adelaide was incorporated as a town in 1855 and became a city in 1901. The Inner Harbour, with extensive wharves, has a minimum depth of 33 ft (10 m) and is reached

Agricultural Sciences, The

2005-02-28T18:29:00.000-08:00

Food is the most basic human need. The domestication and cultivation of plants and animals beginning almost 10,000 years

F-86

2005-02-26T16:51:00.000-08:00

Also called Sabre U.S. single-seat, single-engine jet fighter built by North American Aviation, Inc., the first jet fighter in the West to exploit aerodynamic principles learned from German engineering at the close of World War II. The F-86 was built with the wings swept back in order to reduce transonic drag rise as flight speed approached the sound barrier, and it was capable of exceeding

Itard, Jean-marc-gaspard

2005-02-25T09:10:00.000-08:00

Itard was originally marked for the banking profession, but, when the French Revolution intervened, he became a military surgeon, initially attached to Napoleon's famous surgeon Baron Larrey. After meeting the Abbé Sicard, the director of a school for

Armstrong, Louis

2005-02-24T09:16:00.000-08:00

Armstrong grew up in dire poverty in New Orleans, Louisiana, when jazz was very young. As a child he worked at odd jobs and sang in a boys quartet. In 1913 he was sent to the Colored

Kubrick, Stanley

2005-02-24T01:02:00.000-08:00

Having become interested in photography in high school, Kubrick became a staff photographer

Earth Sciences, Geologic sciences

2005-02-22T17:41:00.000-08:00

The development of the geologic sciences in the 20th century has been influenced by two major “revolutions.” The first involves dramatic technological advances that have resulted in vastly improved instrumentation, the prime examples being the many types of highly sophisticated computerized devices. The second is centred on the development of the plate tectonics

Baikonur

2005-02-20T10:38:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Baykonur, Baykonyr, or Bajkonur, also called Tyuratam, or Turatam, former Soviet and current Russian space centre in south-central Kazakstan. Baikonur was a Soviet code name for the centre, but American analysts often called it Tyuratam, after the railroad station at Tyuratam (Leninsk), the nearest large city. Baikonur lies on the north bank of the Syr Darya, about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Qyzylorda. The Soviet Union's secretiveness about

Star Cluster, Globular clusters

2005-02-19T19:13:00.000-08:00

Although globular clusters are widely scattered in galactic latitude, about a third of them are concentrated around the galactic centre, as satellite systems in the rich Sagittarius–Scorpius star fields. Individual cluster masses include up to 1,000,000 suns, and their linear diameters can be several hundred light-years; their apparent diameters range from one degree

China, Changes in outlying areas

2005-02-18T09:14:00.000-08:00

With the decline of the Ch'ing power and prestige, beginning in the early 19th century, China's peripheral areas began to free themselves from the Ch'ing influence.

Maddalena Island

2005-02-17T14:22:00.000-08:00

Italian Isola Maddalena, island, Sassari provincia, Italy. It lies in the Tyrrhenian Sea (of the Mediterranean) off the northeast coast of Sardinia. It has an area of 8 square miles (20 square km) and is the principal island of the Maddalena Archipelago, which includes the islands of Maddalena, Caprera, Santo Stefano, Spargi, Budelli, Santa Maria, and Razzoli. Its port, La Maddalena, is the administrative

Ejectment

2005-02-15T20:49:00.000-08:00

The action, traceable to the Roman law, had its early development in feudal England. By the second half of the 16th century, ejectment was in common use to adjudicate title to any real property. In its technical

Nacaome

2005-02-15T00:06:00.000-08:00

City, southern Honduras, on the seasonally dry Nacaome River. It was founded in 1535 and given city status in 1845. Its colonial church, rebuilt in 1867, still stands. Nacaome is a manufacturing and commercial centre. Cement products are made in the city, which also contains tanneries. The surrounding agricultural lands yield principally sesame and cotton. Gold and silver are mined

Metal Carbonyl

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

Any coordination or complex compound consisting of a heavy metal such as nickel, cobalt, or iron surrounded by carbonyl (CO) groups. Some common metal carbonyls include: tetracarbonylnickel Ni(CO)4, pentacarbonyliron Fe(CO)5, and octacarbonyldicobalt Co2(CO)8. In general, the metal carbonyls are produced by direct action of carbon monoxide on the finely divided metal. They

La Mettrie, Julien Offroy De

2005-02-13T04:33:00.000-08:00

La Mettrie obtained a medical degree at Reims, studied medicine in Leiden under Hermann Boerhaave (some of whose

Saracen

2005-02-11T20:33:00.000-08:00

In the Middle Ages, any person—Arab, Turk, or other—who professed the religion of Islam. Earlier in the Roman world, there had been references to Saracens (Greek: Sarakenoi) by late classical authors in the first three centuries AD, the term being then applied to an Arab tribe living in the Sinai Peninsula. In the following centuries the use of the term

Sunda Shelf

2005-02-10T20:24:00.000-08:00

Stable continental shelf, or platform, a southward extension of mainland Southeast Asia. Most of the platform is covered by shallow seas, including the southern South China Sea, the Gulf of Thailand, and the Java Sea, averaging less than 330 feet (100 m) in depth. Borneo and parts of Java, Sumatra, and associated islands are eroded metamorphic sections of the shelf left above sea

Cluster, Structure

2005-02-10T04:10:00.000-08:00

The abundance distributions for several kinds of clusters show that there are certain sizes of clusters with exceptional stability, analogous to the exceptional stability of the atoms of the inert gases helium, neon, argon, krypton, and xenon and of the so-called magic number nuclei—i.e., the sequence of unusually stable atomic nuclei beginning with the a-particle,

Trigère, Pauline

2005-02-09T04:56:00.000-08:00

Trigère was the daughter of a tailor. She early learned to sew and helped her mother custom-tailor women's clothes. After graduating from the Collège Victor Hugo in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near

Arnauld, Antoine

2005-02-07T20:59:00.000-08:00

Arnauld was the youngest of the 10 surviving children of Antoine Arnauld, a Parisian lawyer, and Catherine Marion de Druy (see Arnauld family). He studied theology at

Croatia, Industry

2005-02-07T14:11:00.000-08:00

Already more industrialized than most of its neighbours when the communists assumed power over Yugoslavia in 1945, Croatia continued its rapid industrialization under socialist policies of economic and social development. One unfortunate result was the squandering of a great deal of money through inefficiency and the misallocation of resources through the

Quilting

2005-02-06T02:31:00.000-08:00

Making a bed quilt is a multistep

Biblical Literature, The Hebrew canon

2005-02-05T02:17:00.000-08:00

The Torah contains five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The Nevi'im comprise eight books subdivided into the Former Prophets, containing

Sachsenspiegel

2005-02-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

The most important of the medieval compilations of Saxon customary law. Collected in the early 13th century by Eike von Repgow (also spelled Repkow, Repchow, or Repgau), a knight and a judge, it was written originally in Latin and later in German and showed little Roman influence, largely because Roman law was still virtually unknown at that time and had not penetrated

Cram, Donald J.

2005-02-03T05:17:00.000-08:00

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

Binche

2005-02-01T18:39:00.000-08:00

Town, Hainaut province, Belgium. It lies 9 miles (15 km) southeast of Mons. Situated on a hill, Binche remains encircled by fortifications built in the 12th century and flanked by 27 towers. Its town hall was constructed in the second half of the 14th century and restored in the 16th century by Jacques de Broeucq. A portion of the town's fortifications were pulled down in 1545 to build a palace

Canute (i)

2005-01-31T02:59:00.000-08:00

Neither the place nor date of Canute's birth is known. As a youth he accompanied his father, Sweyn I Forkbeard, king of Denmark, on his invasion of England in 1013. Canute was left in charge of the fleet at Gainsborough, Lincolnshire,

Lightbody, Jim

2005-01-30T07:09:00.000-08:00

Lightbody attended the University of Chicago and competed for the Chicago Athletic Association.

Kodály, Zoltán

2005-01-29T01:50:00.000-08:00

Prominent composer and authority on Hungarian folk music. He was also important as an educator not only of composers but also of teachers and, through his students, contributed heavily to the spread of musical education in Hungary. He was a chorister in his youth at Nagyszombat (now Trnava), Czech., where he wrote his first compositions.

Goddard Family

2005-01-29T00:34:00.000-08:00

Quakers of English ancestry, the Goddards intermarried with the Townsend family, who were equally famous as cabinetmakers. In four generations, 20 Goddard and Townsend craftsmen are known, the peak of their excellent productivity coming in

Tz'u

2005-01-28T22:48:00.000-08:00

In Chinese poetry, song form characterized by lines of unequal length, with prescribed rhyme schemes and tonal patterns, each bearing the name of a musical air. The varying line lengths are comparable to the natural rhythm of speech and therefore easily understood when sung. First sung by ordinary folk, they were popularized by professional women singers and poets

Ibn Tibbon, Jacob Ben Machir

2005-01-26T19:59:00.000-08:00

Jacob translated into Hebrew a large number

Asylum

2005-01-25T03:00:00.000-08:00

In international law, the protection granted by a state to a foreign citizen against his own state. The person for whom asylum is established has no legal right to demand it, while the sheltering state, which has the legal right to grant asylum, is under no obligation to give it. Asylum is thus a right of the state, not of the individual. The right of asylum falls into three

Amadeus Quartet

2005-01-25T01:22:00.000-08:00

English string quartet (1948–87), one of the most durable and highly regarded quartets of Europe. The quartet was formed in 1947, the result of an internment-camp meeting during World War II between three young Austrian refugees—Peter Schidlof, the group's violist; Norbert Brainin, a violinist; and Siegmund Nissel, also a violinist. They were released from the camp with help from Dame

Udi-nsukka Plateau

2005-01-24T08:30:00.000-08:00

Pair of plateaus in south-central Nigeria that form a nearly continuous elevated area. The Nsukka Plateau, which forms the main eastward-facing escarpment, extends about 80 miles (130 km) from Nsukka in the north to Enugu in the south. The Udi Plateau continues southward for about 100 miles (160 km) to a point near Okigwi. The average elevation is slightly more than 1,000 feet (300 m), and the highest

Abu Dhabi

2005-01-22T01:39:00.000-08:00

Arabic Abu Zaby, town, capital of Abu Dhabi emirate, one of the United Arab Emirates (formerly Trucial States, or Trucial Oman), and the national capital of that federation. The town occupies most of a small triangular island of the same name, just off the Persian Gulf coast and connected to the mainland by a short bridge. Abu Dhabi was formerly an undeveloped town of only local importance,

Catch-as-catch-can Wrestling

2005-01-20T09:42:00.000-08:00

Basic wrestling style in which nearly all holds and tactics are permitted in both upright and ground wrestling. Rules usually forbid only actions that may injure an opponent, such as strangling, kicking, gouging, and hitting with a closed fist. The object is to force the opponent into a position in which both shoulders touch the ground at the same time. Formerly known

Aerospace Engineering, Aerospace engineering

2005-01-19T02:48:00.000-08:00

The use of rocket engines for aircraft propulsion opened a new realm of flight to the aeronautical engineer. Robert H. Goddard, an American, developed, built, and flew the first successful liquid-propellant rocket on March 16, 1926. Goddard proved that flight was possible at speeds greater than the speed of sound and that rockets can work in a vacuum. The major impetus in rocket

Emotion, Experiential relation to increased creativity

2005-01-18T17:05:00.000-08:00

Several studies have demonstrated that positive emotion facilitates creative problem solving. One of these studies showed that positive emotion enabled subjects to name more uses for common objects. Another showed that positive emotion enhanced creative problem solving by enabling subjects to see relations among objects that would otherwise go unnoticed.

Nicholas

2005-01-17T23:26:00.000-08:00

The son of the emperor Alexander II's brother, the

Anta

2005-01-17T18:25:00.000-08:00

The bases

Ca' Da Mosto, Alvise

2005-01-15T22:28:00.000-08:00

Retained by Prince Henry the Navigator, he set sail on March 22, 1455, visited Madeira and the Canary Islands, and coasted along Africa past the mouth of the Senegal River. He ascended some distance up the Gambia River, but, finding the people hostile, he returned to

Nicol, Davidson

2005-01-15T16:52:00.000-08:00

Nicol was educated in medicine and natural sciences in Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and England, and he subsequently served in various medical posts in those countries. He became

Crompton, Rookes Evelyn Bell

2005-01-13T22:26:00.000-08:00

After military service in India, where he had introduced steam-driven road transport, Crompton in 1875 became a partner in an engineering firm at Chelmsford, Essex, and soon broadened its activity to the construction of dynamos and arc

Chemical Bonding

2005-01-13T17:57:00.000-08:00

Any of the interactions that account for the association of atoms into molecules, ions, crystals, and other stable species that make up the familiar substances of the everyday world. When atoms approach one another, their nuclei and electrons interact and tend to distribute themselves in space in such a way that the total energy is lower than it would be in any alternative

Matteucci, Pellegrino

2005-01-12T15:16:00.000-08:00

Italian explorer who was the first European to traverse the whole of the African continent north of the equator from Egypt to the Gulf of Guinea. The journey took him through many parts of Africa that had been only marginally explored by Europeans. While his crossing is well remembered as an exploit, Matteucci failed to compile any

Teplice

2005-01-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

Formerly Teplice-šanov, German Teplitz-schönau, city, Severoceský kraj (region), northwestern Czech Republic, on a rocky spur below the Ore Mountains (Krušné hory). Local radioactive springs (82°–115° F [28°–46° C]) were, according to archaeological evidence, known to the Romans and are mentioned in an 8th-century Bohemian legend. In 1156 a convent was founded there by Judith, queen of Bohemia; two ancient towers in the grounds of the 18th-century Clary-Aldringen

Economic Affairs

2005-01-09T08:26:00.000-08:00

Following a pair of grim years packed with all manner of economic catastrophe, 2003 was a respite for many American companies—for some it was a time of recovery, while for others it was at least a time when things did not get worse. The U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research declared during the year that the recession had ended officially in November 2001, so that the economic

Mecca, Public utilities

2005-01-08T07:59:00.000-08:00

Mecca depends upon the surrounding wadis for drinking water. The waters of 'Ayn Zubaydah (Zubaydah Spring), built in the 8th century, flow through tunnels from Wadi Nu'man, about 20 miles to the southwest. 'Ayn al-'Aziziyah sends its waters through pipelines from Wadi ash-Shamiyah, about 60 miles to the northeast. Water and electricity have reached almost all houses. Electricity is generated

Beja

2005-01-07T21:55:00.000-08:00

Distrito (“district”), southern Portugal. It is the largest district in Portugal and produces olives, olive oil, wheat, rye, cork, dairy products, and leather goods. There is mining for copper, silver, lead, and zinc near Beja city at the Castro Verde project. In 1974 the Portuguese government initiated an agrarian reform program by which most of the estate holdings of the district

Auster, Paul

2005-01-07T07:37:00.000-08:00

After graduating from Columbia University (M.A., 1970), Auster moved to France, where he began translating the works of French writers and publishing his own work in American journals. He gained renown for

Furtwängler, (gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin) Wilhelm

2005-01-06T16:11:00.000-08:00

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

Salam, Abdus

2005-01-03T00:12:00.000-08:00

Salam attended the Government College at

Mesopotamia, History Of, Mesopotamia under the Persians

2005-01-02T11:05:00.000-08:00

Cyrus II, the founder of the Achaemenian Empire, united Babylonia with his country in a personal union, assuming the title of “King of Babylonia, King of the Lands.” His son Cambyses was appointed vice-king and resided in Sippar. The Persians relied on the support of the priests and the business class in the cities. In a Babylonian inscription, Cyrus relates with pride his

Simon, Paul

2005-01-01T17:25:00.000-08:00

One of the most paradoxical figures in rock-and-roll history, Simon exemplified many of the principles against which the music initially reacted. From his first big hit, “The Sounds of Silence,” in 1965, Simon aspired to a self-consciously elevated poetic tone in his

Burckhardt, Johann Ludwig

2005-01-01T02:36:00.000-08:00

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

Bashan

2004-12-30T21:57:00.000-08:00

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

Egypt, Political life

2004-12-30T04:50:00.000-08:00

The political history of the Mamluk state is complex; during their 264-year reign, no fewer than 45 Mamluks gained the sultanate, and once, in desperate circumstances, a caliph (in 1412) was briefly installed as sultan. At times individual Mamluks succeeded in establishing dynasties, most notably Sultan Qala'un (ruled 1279–90), whose progeny ruled Egypt, with two short interruptions, until 1382. Often

Genetic Disease, Human, Techniques

2004-12-28T05:54:00.000-08:00

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

Buzuluk

2004-12-27T19:42:00.000-08:00

City, Orenburg oblast (province), in the southern Ural Mountains of west-central Russia. The oblast is situated along the Samara River (a tributary of the Volga), near its confluence with the Buzuluk. Founded in 1736 as a Russian fortress, it was chartered in 1781. Industries include the manufacture of heavy metallurgical and agricultural machinery. The city has four technical

Arctic, Animals of the land and fresh water

2004-12-26T17:36:00.000-08:00

The typical and best-known Arctic land mammals and birds are those highly successful forms, most of them circumpolar in distribution, that survived the Pleistocene glaciations probably both south and north of the ice sheets: south along the ice perimeter and north in ice-free refuges such as northern Alaska, the Bering Strait (then dry land) and northeastern Siberia,

Thompson, Daley

2004-12-25T23:23:00.000-08:00

The son of a Nigerian father and a Scottish mother, Thompson made his debut in the decathlon at age 16, winning a competition in Cwmbrân, Wales. Thompson's score of 6,685 points was a British junior record, and in that

China, A race for territory

2004-12-25T07:58:00.000-08:00

As soon as Japan's impending surrender was known, the commander of the Communist armies, Gen. Zhu De, ordered his men, on August 11, to move into Japanese-held territory and take over Japanese arms, despite Chiang's order that they stand where they were. The United States aided the Chinese government by flying many divisions from the southwest to occupy the main eastern cities,

Ancient Italic People

2004-12-24T08:20:00.000-08:00

Any of the peoples diverse in origin, language, traditions, stage of development, and territorial extension who inhabited pre-Roman Italy, a region heavily influenced by neighbouring Greece, with its well-defined national characteristics, expansive vigour, and aesthetic and intellectual maturity. Italy attained a unified ethnolinguistic, political, and cultural

Lorena

2004-12-22T19:13:00.000-08:00

City, southeastern São Paulo estado (“state”), Brazil. It lies along the Paraíba do Sul River, at 1,719 feet (524 m) above sea level. Formerly known as Pôrto de Guaipacaré and Freguesia de Nossa Senhora da Aparecida, it was given town status in 1782 and was made the seat of a municipality in 1788. The city is a trade centre for an agricultural hinterland in which rice, corn (maize), feijão (beans), potatoes,

Kaema Highlands

2004-12-21T15:36:00.000-08:00

Korean Kaema-kowon tableland, northern North Korea. Called the roof of the Korean Peninsula, the Kaema Highlands are bounded on the north by Paektu Mountain (9,003 feet [2,744 m]), on the west by the Nangnim Mountain Range, on the east by the coast of the Sea of Japan (East Sea), and on the south by the northern tip of the T'aebaek Mountains. The heights rise 3,300–6,600 feet (1,000–2,000 m) and are approximately 15,500 square miles (40,000 square km)

Crakow

2004-12-21T11:53:00.000-08:00

Also spelled crackowe long, pointed, spiked shoe worn by both men and women first in the mid-14th century and then condemned by law. Crakows were named after the city of Kraków (Cracow), Pol., and they were also known as poulaines (Polish). Crakows were admired on the feet of the courtiers of Anne of Bohemia, who married Richard II of England. The exaggerated toes were imitated even in

San Felipe

2004-12-20T13:14:00.000-08:00

Capital of San Felipe de Aconcagua provincia, Valparaíso región, central Chile. It lies along the Aconcagua River, in the Vale of Chile, at 2,087 feet (636 metres) above sea level. Founded in 1740 as San Felipe el Real, it is the centre of an agricultural (alfalfa, grapes, fruits, vegetables, and cereals) and mining (copper and gold) area. It is connected by railway with Valparaíso, 80 miles (130 km) southwest,

Earth, Stratigraphic findings

2004-12-18T06:28:00.000-08:00

The sequence of layered rocks on the landmasses that constituted Gondwanaland is strikingly similar for those time periods when the landmasses are believed to have been together. In these areas glacial deposits, for example, are overlain by coal-bearing shales and sandstones containing fossils of Glossopteris and Mesosaurus, which are in turn overlain by thick

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Diversity of media

2004-12-18T02:27:00.000-08:00

In the broadest sense, allegorical procedures are linguistic. Allegory is a manipulation of the language of symbols. Verbally, this mode underwent a major shift in medium along with the shift from oral to written literature: allegories that had initially been delivered in oral form (Christ's parables, for example) were written down by scribes and then transcribed

Hinayana

2004-12-17T01:18:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit: “Lesser Vehicle”), the more orthodox, conservative schools of Buddhism; the name Hinayana was applied to these schools by the followers of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition in ancient India. The name reflected the Mahayanists' evaluation of their own tradition as a superior method, surpassing the others in universality and compassion; but the name was not accepted

Mölln

2004-12-15T19:05:00.000-08:00

City, Schleswig-Holstein Land (state), northern Germany, situated south of Lübeck, on the Elbe-Lübeck Canal, and built around two small lakes. First mentioned in 1188, it was chartered about 1220. According to legend, the prankster Till Eulenspiegel, the representative of Low German humour and the subject of both literary and musical works, died there in 1350, and his tombstone (16th century)