LeftKnee

Estate Agent London

2006-10-26T15:35:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services, including estate agent london and estate agent central london. Their centrally located ground floor offices, minutes from Oxford Circus offer an ideal marketing base for your property.

Syzran

2005-04-04T07:16:00.000-07:00

City, Samara oblast (province), western Russia. It lies along the Volga River at the latter's confluence with the Syzran River. Founded in 1683 as a stronghold at the eastern end of the Syzran defensive line, the city is a significant river port and an important centre of the western Volga-Urals oil field. Oil refining, manufacture of chemicals, glassmaking, timber working, and

Qalyubiyah, Al-

2005-03-30T17:38:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kalyubia, small muhafazah (governorate), just north of Cairo at the apex of the Nile River delta, Lower Egypt. It is bounded on the northeast by Ash-Sharqiyah muhafazah and on the northwest by the Damietta Branch of the Nile. With a total area of 387 square miles (1,001 square km), it is densely populated. About three-fifths of its population relies on agriculture. The alluvial farmland is irrigated

Intelligence Test

2005-03-27T02:54:00.000-08:00

The most widely used intelligence tests include the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale and the Wechsler scales. The Stanford-Binet is the American adaptation of the original French Binet-Simon intelligence test; it was first introduced in 1916 by Lewis

Ares

2005-03-25T15:00:00.000-08:00

In Greek religion, god of war or, more properly, the spirit of battle. Unlike his Roman counterpart, Mars (q.v.), he was never very popular, and his worship was not extensive in Greece. He represented the distasteful aspects of brutal warfare and slaughter. From at least the time of Homer, who established him as the son of the chief god, Zeus, and Hera, his consort, Ares was one of the

Moll Cutpurse

2005-03-23T06:30:00.000-08:00

London-born, she began her career as a pickpocket, or cutpurse, but after being caught four times, she assumed male attire and turned to highway robbery, until she was apprehended and jailed briefly at Newgate. She then achieved a

New Glasgow

2005-03-22T13:31:00.000-08:00

Town, Pictou county, northern Nova Scotia, Canada. It lies along the East River, 104 miles (167 km) northeast of Halifax. Founded in 1809, following the discovery of local coal deposits in 1798, it was named by William Fraser, a Scot, who surveyed the site and envisaged another Glasgow on the Clyde (the East River). It developed as a shipbuilding port and as a service centre for a farming and coal-mining

Armory Show

2005-03-20T08:38:00.000-08:00

Formally International Exhibition of Modern Art an exhibition of painting and sculpture held from Feb. 17 to March 15, 1913, at the Sixty-ninth Regiment Armory in New York City. The show, a decisive event in the development of American art, was originally conceived by its organizers, the Association of American Painters and Sculptors, as a selection of representational works exclusively by American artists, members both of

Dehmel, Richard

2005-03-19T16:30:00.000-08:00

After completing his studies in 1887, Dehmel worked as an insurance official and then, in 1895, became a freelance writer. He chose naturalistic social themes for his early works and was one

Murat River

2005-03-17T04:56:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Murad River, Turkish Murat Nehri, river, the major headstream of the Euphrates. In antiquity it was called Arsanias. The river rises north of Lake Van near Mount Ararat, in eastern Turkey, and flows westward for 449 miles (722 km) through a mountainous region to unite with the Karasu Çayi and form the Upper Euphrates near Malatya. Turkey's largest dam, the Keban, west of Elâzig, completed in 1974, is designed to provide electric

United Arab Emirates

2005-03-16T00:13:00.000-08:00

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the dominant tribal faction was the Al-Qawasim (singular: Qasimi), whose ships controlled the maritime commerce (notably fishing and pearling) concentrated in

Durazno

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

In full San Pedro De Durazno, city, central Uruguay, on the Yi River. Long part of an unclaimed area between Spanish and Portuguese territories, Durazno was not formally founded until 1821, when José Fructuoso Rivera established a settlement called San Pedro de Durazno, a name concocted from Dom Pedro de Alcântara, prince regent of Brazil, and durazno (“peach tree”), for the local fruit trees. During the

Economic Affairs

2005-03-12T02:27:00.000-08:00

Industrywide consolidation, including significant cross-border transactions involving European banks and American securities firms, continued to reshape the global banking and financial services landscape in 2000. At the same time, however, enactment of sweeping financial modernization legislation in the United States did not trigger significant merger

Alaska, Relief

2005-03-10T19:32:00.000-08:00

Alaska comprises nine distinct physiographic and environmental regions. Much of the mainland panhandle region, a narrow strip of land 25 to 50 miles (40 to 80 km) wide lying east and south of the St. Elias Mountains, is composed of the Boundary Ranges. There are several large icefields, and the peaks include Mount St. Elias (18,009 feet [5,490 metres]), from whose summit the Alaska-Yukon border swings

Biblical Literature, Other types

2005-03-10T17:28:00.000-08:00

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

Pyrargyrite

2005-03-09T07:55:00.000-08:00

A sulfosalt mineral, a silver antimony sulfide (Ag3SbS3), that is an important source of silver, sometimes called ruby silver because of its deep red colour (see also proustite). The best crystallized specimens, of hexagonal symmetry, are from St. Andreasberg in the Harz Mountains and from Freiberg, both in Germany; and Colquechaca, Bol. It is mined at Guanajuato, Mex., and near

Spookfish

2005-03-08T06:38:00.000-08:00

Any of about 11 species of small marine fishes constituting the family Opisthoproctidae (order Salmoniformes), with representatives in each of the major oceans. The name spookfish, or barreleye, as they are sometimes called, originates from their unusual eyes, which are pointed upward and are borne at the end of short tubular stalks. Specimens have been collected at

Dan

2005-03-06T19:40:00.000-08:00

Also called Gio, or Yakuba, an ethnolinguistic grouping of people inhabiting the mountainous west-central Côte d'Ivoire and adjacent areas of Liberia. The Dan belong to the Southern branch of the Mande linguistic subgroup of the Niger-Congo language family. They originated somewhere to the west or northwest of their present lands, perhaps among the Malinke (Mandingo). The Dan are closely

Shamanism, American Indians

2005-03-06T02:04:00.000-08:00

Among many North American tribes shamanism constitutes the most important aspect of the religious life. The shaman is characterized by the supernatural power he acquires as the result of a direct personal experience. This power is obtained either spontaneously or after a voluntary quest, but in either case the future shaman has to undergo certain initiatory

Macdowell, Edward (alexander)

2005-03-04T04:42:00.000-08:00

MacDowell first studied in New York with Teresa Carreño and then at the Conservatoire (1876–78) in Paris. In 1878 he went to Germany to study composition

Nigeria

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

A republic and suspended member of the Commonwealth, Nigeria is located in West Africa, on the Gulf of Guinea. Area: 923,768 sq km (356,669 sq mi). Pop. (1996 est.): 103,912,000. Cap.: Abuja. Monetary unit: naira, with (Oct. 11, 1996) an official par value of 22 naira to U.S. $1 (free rate of 34.66 naira = £1 sterling); a truer value of the naira was on the free market, where 79.70 naira = U.S. $1 (125.55 naira = £ 1 sterling). Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council in 1996, Gen. Sani

Alkylation

2005-03-02T18:32:00.000-08:00

In petroleum refining, chemical process in which light, gaseous hydrocarbons are combined to produce high-octane components of gasoline. The light hydrocarbons consist of olefins such as propylene and butylene and isoparaffins such as isobutane. These compounds are fed into a reactor, where, under the influence of a sulfuric-acid or hydrofluoric-acid catalyst,

Bhaktivedanta, A(bhay) C(haranaravinda)

2005-03-01T10:06:00.000-08:00

In 1920 Bhaktivedanta completed his B.A. in chemistry at the Scottish Churches' College in Calcutta; by that time, his family had arranged a marriage for him, and he later established

Nordic Skiing

2005-03-01T05:35:00.000-08:00

Also called classic skiing techniques and events that evolved in the hilly terrain of Norway and the other Scandinavian countries. The modern Nordic events are the cross-country races (including a relay race) and ski-jumping events. The Nordic combined is a separate test consisting of a 15-km cross-country race and special ski-jumping contest, with the winner determined on the basis of points

Subarnarekha River

2005-02-28T22:21:00.000-08:00

River in northeastern India, rising in southern Bihar state. The Subarnarekha (meaning “streak of gold”) flows east through a copper-mining region and leaves the Chota Nagpur plateau by the Hundrugbagh waterfall. Continuing eastward, it flows across West Bengal state to enter the Bay of Bengal after a 290-mile (470-kilometre) course. The Kanchi and Karkari rivers are its chief

Montpensier, Anne-marie-louise D'orléans, Duchess (duchesse) De

2005-02-26T20:45:00.000-08:00

Byname La Grande Mademoiselle princess of the royal house of France, prominent during the Fronde and the minority of Louis XIV. She was known as Mademoiselle because her father, Gaston de France, Duke d'Orléans and uncle of Louis XIV, had the designation of Monsieur. From her mother, Marie de Bourbon-Montpensier, she inherited a huge fortune, including Eu and Dombes as well

Amphibole, Regional metamorphic rocks

2005-02-26T11:54:00.000-08:00

Many different amphiboles may be contained in regional metamorphic rocks. Commonly several amphiboles may coexist with one another in the same sample, depending on the bulk chemistry of the rock and on the pressure and temperature of metamorphism. The amphiboles typically occur with plagioclase feldspar, quartz, and biotite, as well as with chlorite and oxide

Saxifragaceae

2005-02-25T17:52:00.000-08:00

The saxifrage family of flowering plants, in the order Rosales, comprising 36 genera of mostly perennial dicotyledonous herbs. The members are cosmopolitan in distribution but native primarily to northern cold and temperate regions. Members of the family have leaves that characteristically alternate along the stem and sometimes are deeply lobed or form rosettes.

Condominium

2005-02-23T22:22:00.000-08:00

In modern property law, the individual ownership of one dwelling unit within a multidwelling building, with an undivided ownership interest in the land and other components of the building shared in common with other owners of dwelling units in the building. The condominium as a type of ownership has been present in various forms in Europe since the end of the Middle

Lowestoft

2005-02-22T14:30:00.000-08:00

Town, Waveney district, administrative and historic county of Suffolk, England, that originated as a Danish settlement on Lowestoft Ness, the most easterly point in the United Kingdom. From 1757 until 1802 Lowestoft china, a soft-paste porcelain, was manufactured in the town. The present harbour was built in 1831 by linking Lake Lothing with the sea. After the railway came in 1847, the town

Brandt, Bill

2005-02-21T16:18:00.000-08:00

Following early schooling in Germany and a stay in Switzerland, during which he took up photography, Brandt briefly worked in the Paris studio of the American artist and photographer Man Ray in 1929. In 1931 he returned

I-lan

2005-02-20T21:45:00.000-08:00

Shih (municipality) and seat of I-lan hsien (county), northeastern Taiwan, the centre of the only sizable alluvial basin on the island's mountainous eastern coast. The basin itself was largely formed as the delta of the Cho-Shui River and is about 30 miles (50 km) from north to south. I-lan city lies in the centre of this plain on the Lan River. The plain is a fertile rice-producing region,

New Granada, Viceroyalty Of

2005-02-20T02:09:00.000-08:00

The separation of these territories from the viceroyalty of Peru, one of the principal colonial administrative changes effected by the

'amili, Baha' Ad-din Muhammad Ibn Husayn, Al-

2005-02-19T22:06:00.000-08:00

Al-'Amili was educated by his father, Shaykh Husayn, a Shi'ite theologian, and by excellent teachers of mathematics and medicine. After his family left Syria in 1559 to escape persecution by the Ottoman Turks, al-'Amili lived in Herat (now in Afghanistan)

Chambers, John Graham

2005-02-17T13:00:00.000-08:00

After a distinguished college career rowing for Cambridge, Chambers coached the Cambridge team from 1871 to 1874. In 1866 he founded the Amateur Athletic Club and was instrumental in organizing the

Mitanni

2005-02-16T15:31:00.000-08:00

Mitanni was one of several kingdoms

Thompson, David

2005-02-15T06:27:00.000-08:00

Thompson was apprenticed to the Hudson's Bay Company

Carter, Maybelle

2005-02-15T02:28:00.000-08:00

By the time she was 12, Maybelle Addington was well versed in the traditional hill-country songs of the region and had become a skilled and original guitarist and autoharpist. When she was 17 she

Davidson, John

2005-02-14T03:37:00.000-08:00

After studying at the University of Edinburgh, Davidson became a teacher, meanwhile writing a number of blank-verse dramas that failed to win recognition. In 1890 he went to London, practiced journalism, and wrote

Ammonoid

2005-02-12T16:53:00.000-08:00

Any of a group of extinct cephalopods (of the phylum Mollusca), forms related to the modern pearly nautilus, that are frequently found as fossils in marine rocks of the Devonian to the Cretaceous periods (408 to 66.4 million years ago). The ammonoids were shelled forms, many predacious in habit. Ammonoid shells, which are either straight or coiled, served as protective and supportive

Kirk, Norman Eric

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

A cabinetmaker's son, Kirk ended his formal education in primary school and held such jobs as apprentice fitter and turner and as foreman with the Railways Department. He joined the New Zealand Labour Party in 1943, was mayor of Kaiapoi (1953–57), and entered parliament in 1957. He became leader

France, History Of, The Army of the Republic

2005-02-11T06:17:00.000-08:00

The Jacobin dictatorship had been an unstable blend of exalted patriotism, resolute political leadership, ideological fanaticism, and populist initiatives. The rhetoric and symbolism of democracy constituted a new civic pedagogy, matched by bold egalitarian policies. The army was a primary focal point of this democratic impetus. Back in 1790 the National Assembly

Midas

2005-02-10T05:52:00.000-08:00

According to the myth, Midas captured Silenus, the

Alcaeus

2005-02-08T20:37:00.000-08:00

Only fragments and quotations from Alcaeus' work survive, but they are enough to show the extent

Loyola, Saint Ignatius Of

2005-02-06T18:21:00.000-08:00

Spanish San Ignacio de Loyola, baptized Iñigo Spanish theologian and one of the most influential figures in the Catholic Reformation of the 16th century, founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in Paris in 1534.

Anion

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

Atom or group of atoms carrying a negative electric charge. See ion.

Aechmea

2005-02-03T10:25:00.000-08:00

Genus of epiphytes (plants that are supported by other plants and have aerial roots exposed to the humid atmosphere) of the pineapple family (Bromeliaceae), with more than 140 species distributed in South America. Spiny-edged leaves, usually about 30 to 60 cm (about 12 to 24 inches) long, grow in a rosette from the root. A spike of red and yellow flowers, often with blue

Empiricism, Broader senses

2005-01-31T10:11:00.000-08:00

In both everyday attitudes and philosophical theories, the experiences referred to are principally those arising from stimulation of the sense organs, in particular those of sight and touch. Most philosophical Empiricists, however, have maintained that sensation is not the only provider of experience, admitting as empirical the awareness of mental states

Zanuck, Darryl F.

2005-01-29T02:14:00.000-08:00

Abandoned by his parents at age 13, Zanuck joined the U.S. Army and fought in Belgium during World War I. He worked as a steelworker, garment factory foreman, and a professional boxer while pursuing his career as a

Blood Typing

2005-01-28T08:32:00.000-08:00

Classification of an individual's blood in terms of specific, distinctive antigenic characteristics that are inherited and are associated with the red blood cells. The ABO and the Rh blood groups (qq.v.) are among those most commonly considered. Identification of these determinants has become indispensable in connection with blood transfusion, because recipient

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

2005-01-25T11:32:00.000-08:00

Mme d'Épinay interested herself in literature

Argentina, The land and the people

2005-01-23T08:14:00.000-08:00

Patterns of settlement are the subject of Carl-Christoph Liss, Die Besiedlung und Landnutzung Ostpatagoniens unter besonderer Berücksichtgung der Schafestancien (1979); Robert C. Eidt, Pioneer Settlement in Northeast Argentina (1971); Mark Jefferson, Peopling the Argentine Pampa (1926, reprinted 1971); and Richard W. Slatta, Gauchos and the Vanishing Frontier (1983, reissued 1992).

Oakland

2005-01-22T07:05:00.000-08:00

Town, seat (1872) of Garrett county, extreme western Maryland, U.S., in the Allegheny Mountains near the West Virginia border. Laid out in 1849, after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad decided to build a rail line through the area, it became a popular tourist destination. Oakland remains at the centre of a resort and agricultural area. Trout fishing, hiking, boating, snow skiing, biking,

Bhartrhari

2005-01-19T04:03:00.000-08:00

Of noble birth, Bhartrhari was attached for a time to the court of the Maitraka king of

Shansi, The people

2005-01-17T07:37:00.000-08:00

Most of the province's people are of Han (Chinese) origin and speak the Northern Mandarin dialect of Chinese. The small minority populations include the Hui (Chinese Muslims), in the T'ai-yüan–Yü-tz'u region, and some Mongols and Manchu around Ta-t'ung. Most of the populace lives in agricultural villages. The highest rural densities occur in the T'ai-yüan Basin, in the southeast

Kiribati

2005-01-16T14:45:00.000-08:00

Officially Republic of Kiribati island country in the central Pacific Ocean. Of its 33 islands, only 20 are inhabited. The population is concentrated in the 16 Gilbert Islands, which straddle the Equator. From the Gilbert Islands, Kiribati extends 250 miles (400 km) to the west to Banaba (formerly Ocean Island) and 1,800 miles to the east, to the Line Islands, three of which are inhabited. In between lie the islands of the Phoenix

Dafydd Nanmor

2005-01-13T07:54:00.000-08:00

Welsh poet, master of the cywydd form (characterized by rhyming couplets), whose poems express his belief in tradition and aristocracy. Many of his poems reflect his support of the political aspirations of the Tudors; others are simple and sincere love poems. “Llio's Hair” and “Maiden's Elegy” are considered to

Table Tennis

2005-01-11T08:03:00.000-08:00

Invented in England in the early days of the 20th century, the game was originally called Ping-Pong, a trade name. The name table tennis was adopted in 1921–22 when the old Ping-Pong Association formed in 1902 was revived. The original association had broken up about 1905, though apparently the game continued to be played in parts of England outside London and by the 1920s was being played in

Burgas

2005-01-07T04:43:00.000-08:00

Port and town, southeastern Bulgaria, on the Gulf of Burgas, an inlet of the Black Sea. Founded in the 17th century as a fishing village on the site of medieval Pyrgos, it developed after Bulgaria's liberation (1878), mainly with the arrival of the railway from Sofia (1890) and harbour improvements (1904). It now rivals Varna to the north as the nation's chief port, claiming much of Bulgaria's Black

Ikeda

2005-01-05T04:41:00.000-08:00

City, Osaka fu (urban prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It lies on the Fukuchiyama Line (railway), northwest of Osaka. Settled in prehistoric times, Ikeda was a flourishing trade centre during the Tokugawa era (1603–1867). After the development of railway transport in the late 19th century, it served as a residential suburb of Osaka. The city's industries include brewing, woodworking, and the manufacture

Sill, Anna Peck

2005-01-04T21:31:00.000-08:00

Sill began teaching school at the age of 20, and in 1843 she opened a seminary in Warsaw, New York. From 1846 to 1849 she headed the female department of the Cary Collegiate Institute in Oakfield, New York. For some years she had wavered between teaching

Moro, Aldo

2005-01-01T14:41:00.000-08:00

A professor of law at the University of Bari, Moro published several books on legal subjects and served also as president of the Federazione

Evolution, Selection against one of the homozygotes

2004-12-30T03:10:00.000-08:00

Suppose that one homozygous genotype, say A2A2, has lower fitness than the other two genotypes, A1A1 and A1A2. (This is the situation in many human diseases, such as phenylketonuria [PKU] and sickle-cell anemia. The heterozygotes and the homozygotes for the normal allele have equal fitness, higher than that of the homozygotes for the deleterious allele.) Call the fitness of these

Neuropteran

2004-12-28T22:26:00.000-08:00

Any member of the insect order Neuroptera. At one time the term neuropteran referred to many groups of insects that are now placed in other orders, so that, in a strict sense, the order Neuroptera now includes only the lacewings. Frequently, however, two other closely related insect groups are included as neuropterans. These are the snakeflies (Raphidiodea), so-called

Madagascar

2004-12-27T18:27:00.000-08:00

In spite of Madagascar's proximity to the

Ada Group

2004-12-25T23:40:00.000-08:00

Ivory carvings and a group of about 10 illuminated manuscripts, dating from the last quarter of the 8th century, the earliest examples of the art of the Court School of Charlemagne. The group is named after a Gospel book (c. 750; Trier, Cathedral Treasury) commissioned by Ada, supposed half sister of Charlemagne. These earliest manuscripts of the Carolingian period, which initiated

Mason, George

2004-12-22T10:05:00.000-08:00

As a landowner and near neighbour of George Washington,

Ancillon, Johann Peter Friedrich

2004-12-21T11:09:00.000-08:00

Educated in Geneva, Ancillon acquired a chair in history at the Berlin Military Academy in 1792. After the publication of Tableau des révolutions

Hope

2004-12-19T23:51:00.000-08:00

In Christian thought, one of the three theological virtues, the others being faith and charity (love). It is distinct from the latter two because it is directed exclusively toward the future, as fervent desire and confident expectation. When hope has attained its object, it ceases to be hope and becomes possession. Consequently, whereas “love never ends,” hope is confined

Tung-t'ing Lake

2004-12-17T05:38:00.000-08:00

Wade–Giles romanization Tung-t'ing Hu, Pinyin Dongting Hu, large lake in northern Hunan Province, China. It lies in a basin to the south of the Yangtze River. The lake is connected to the Yangtze by four channels; some 40 percent of the river's waters (more in flood periods) flow into the lake. The lake is also fed from the south by almost the entire drainage of Hunan Province, with the Hsiang River flowing in from the south and the Tzu,

Sedimentary Rock, Origin of ironstones

2004-12-15T01:28:00.000-08:00

The origin of ironstones also is not well understood, but most appear to be derived from the erosion and redeposition of lateritic (iron-rich, red) soils. Ironstones occur as thin (a few tens of metres at most) units interbedded with shallow marine and transitional carbonates, mudrocks, and sandstones. They generally have an oölitic texture. Cross-bedding, ripple marks,

France, History Of, Loss of political freedom

2004-12-12T21:51:00.000-08:00

Politics during the Directory had been marked by an unwholesome combination of ferocious partisanship and massive apathy. Weary of political turmoil and disillusioned by politicians of all kinds, most Frenchmen now accepted the disappearance of political freedom and participation with equanimity. The few who still cared passionately enough to resist collided

Nef'i

2004-12-11T00:43:00.000-08:00

Little is known of Nef'i's early life; he served as a minor government official in the reign of the sultan Ahmed I (1603–17). Not until the time of Sultan Murad IV (1623–40), himself a poet, did Nef'i gain court favour. He

Nagappattinam

2004-12-09T07:33:00.000-08:00

Formerly Negapattam, port city, east-central Tamil Nadu state, southeastern India, on the Bay of Bengal. An ancient port known to have traded with Europe in Greek and Roman times, it became a Portuguese and later a Dutch colony. Its influence declined with the growth of Madras, 250 miles (400 km) north. Its industry includes ship repair, fishing, steel rolling, and the manufacture of metal goods. Pop. (1991 prelim.)

Wolfe, Charles

2004-12-06T01:20:00.000-08:00

Irish poet and clergyman, whose “Burial of Sir John Moore” (1817), commemorating the commander of the British forces at the Battle of Corunna (La Coruña, Spain) during the Peninsular War, is one of the best-known funeral elegies in English. Wolfe attended Trinity College, Dublin, was ordained in 1817, and held curacies in County Tyrone.

Lagoon

2004-12-04T03:30:00.000-08:00

Area of relatively shallow, quiet water with access to the sea but separated from it by sandbars, barrier islands, or coral reefs. The term lagoon is used to describe two classes of phenomena that share the physical characteristics described but are otherwise quite distinct. These are coastal lagoons, found on most land margins, and coral-reef lagoons (see photograph

Zamora

2004-12-02T10:03:00.000-08:00

In full Zamora De Hidalgo, city, northwestern Michoacán state, west-central Mexico. It lies at an elevation of 5,141 feet (1,567 m) above sea level in the Zamora valley, formed by the Duero River. It was founded in 1540 as an outpost to guard against Indians. Commerce, agriculture, and livestock raising are the principal sources of income. Corn (maize), wheat, beans, and numerous fruits and vegetables are grown in the

Lustre

2004-11-30T05:27:00.000-08:00

In mineralogy, the appearance of a mineral surface in terms of its light-reflective qualities. Lustre depends upon a mineral's refractive power, diaphaneity (degree of transparency), and structure. Variations in these properties produce different kinds of lustre, whereas variations in the quantity of reflected light produce different intensities of the same

Fukasaku, Kinji

2004-11-29T09:39:00.000-08:00

Japanese filmmaker (b. July 3, 1930, Mito, Japan—d. Jan. 12, 2003, Tokyo, Japan), created a series of increasingly violent and well-received yakuza (gangster) movies. His first movie was Hakuchu no buraikan (1961; Greed in Broad Daylight). Standouts among the more than 60 films that he directed were Kurotokage (1968; Black Lizard), Gunki hatameku motoni (1972; Under the Flag of the Rising Sun), and Jingi naki

Cheese

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

Nutritious food consisting primarily of the curd, the semisolid substance formed when milk curdles, or coagulates. Curdling occurs naturally if milk is not used promptly: it sours, forming an acid curd, which releases whey, a watery fluid containing the soluble constituents; and it leaves semisolid curd, or fresh cheese. In some areas, cheese is still made simply by

Taffeta

2004-11-25T15:52:00.000-08:00

Fine, crisp plain-woven fabric with a faint weft, or filling-way, rib due to the greater number of warp threads than filling threads. It frequently has a lustrous surface. There are two distinct types of silk taffeta: yarn-dyed and piece-dyed. Yarn-dyed taffeta has a stiff handle and a rustle known as scroop, or froufrou. It is used for evening dresses and for underskirts for

Holocaust Remembrance Days

2004-11-23T23:19:00.000-08:00

Although Jews were the first group to seek a fitting commemoration

Applebee, Constance M.k.

2004-11-21T01:27:00.000-08:00

Applebee was a frail child and received her education at home from local clergymen. She studied physical education, in part, to improve her health, ultimately graduating from London's British College of Physical

Surabaya

2004-11-18T04:44:00.000-08:00

Surabaya has been the chief trading centre of eastern Java since the 14th century.

Schenker, Heinrich

2004-11-16T06:09:00.000-08:00

Austrian music theorist whose insights into the structural hierarchies underlying much of 18th- and 19th-century music led to a new understanding of the laws of melodic and harmonic construction and form. Schenker was not well known in his time; he worked as a private teacher in Austria. He studied composition with Anton Bruckner

André Le Chapelain,

2004-11-15T14:09:00.000-08:00

Latin Andreas Capellanus French writer on the art of courtly love, best known for his three-volume treatise Liber de arte honeste amandi et reprobatione inhonesti amoris (c. 1185; “Book of the Art of Loving Nobly and the Reprobation of Dishonourable Love”). He is thought to have been a chaplain at the court of Marie, Countess of Champagne, daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine. At Marie's request

La Matanza

2004-11-12T01:42:00.000-08:00

Partido (political subdivision) of Gran (Greater) Buenos Aires, Arg., directly southwest of the city of Buenos Aires, in Buenos Aires province. The present-day partido was part of the Pago (country district) de las Conchas during the 17th and early 18th centuries. In 1730 the Pago de las Conchas was divided into four rural settlement areas, one of which was the Pago de la Matanza. The

Military Affairs

2004-11-10T23:18:00.000-08:00

The devastating aerial attacks by terrorists in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, caused untold chaos and horror and initiated a flood of events that affected all aspects of life in all corners of the world. The United States declared a “war on terrorism” and promptly focused on the international al-Qaeda group and its Taliban protectors in Afghanistan. (Al-Qaeda [“the

Fisher, Dorothy Canfield

2004-11-09T04:53:00.000-08:00

Canfield received a Ph.D. in Romance languages from Columbia University in 1904, a rare accomplishment for a woman of her generation. In 1907 she married John Redwood Fisher and, under the pen name Dorothy Canfield, published her first novel,

Aldfrith

2004-11-07T01:57:00.000-08:00

King of Northumbria (685–704) and patron of literature. An illegitimate son of Oswiu, he succeeded to the throne when his brother Ecgfrith was killed at the Battle of Nechtansmere. Educated for the priesthood, he stimulated the growth of scholarship in Northumbria during his reign, producing conditions under which the historian Bede flourished.

France, History Of, The partitioning of the Carolingian empire

2004-11-04T09:26:00.000-08:00

After the death of Louis I the Pious (840), his sons continued their plotting to alter the succession. Louis II the German and Charles II the Bald affirmed their alliance against Lothair I (Oath of Strasbourg, 842).

Electronics, Conduction in semiconductors

2004-11-02T14:50:00.000-08:00

In semiconductors such as silicon (which is used as the example here), each constituent atom has four outer electrons, each of which pairs with an electron from one of four neighbouring atoms to form the interatomic bonds. Completely pure silicon thus has essentially no electrons available at room temperature for electronic conduction, making it a very poor conductor.

Muri

2004-11-01T11:06:00.000-08:00

Town and traditional emirate, northwestern Taraba state, eastern Nigeria. Originally part of the 17th-century Jukun kingdom called Kororofa, the region now known as Muri emirate was conquered in the 1804 jihad (holy war) conducted by the Fulani people. By 1817 Hamman Ruwa, a brother of the emir of Gombe, an emirate to the north, had consolidated Fulani control over the non-Muslim

Pyrrhon Of Elis

2004-10-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

Pyrrhon was a pupil of Anaxarchus of Abdera and in about 330 established himself as a teacher at Elis. Believing that equal arguments can be offered on both sides of any proposition, he dismissed the search for truth as a vain endeavour. While traveling with

Tinkisso River

2004-10-27T02:38:00.000-07:00

River, rising in the southern outliers of the Fouta Djallon mountains of Guinea, northeast of Mamou. It flows 250 miles (400 km) north-northeast and east, past Dabola and Bissikrima, across grassy plains and savannas of stunted trees, to enter the Niger River just south of Siguiri. Alluvial gold deposits have long been worked along the Tinkisso River.

Amagasaki

2004-10-26T01:20:00.000-07:00

City and industrial suburb of the Osaka-Kobe (Hanshin) metropolitan area, Hyogo ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. In the feudal period it was a castle town. During the 20th century it attracted large, modern factories, formerly geared to wartime production, to produce iron and steel goods, electrical machinery, transport vehicles, and chemicals. The main industrial belt lies

Caragiale, Costache

2004-10-23T01:47:00.000-07:00

Caragiale made his stage debut in 1835 in Bucharest, and in 1838 he organized a theatre of contemporary drama in Iasi (now Jassy). During the next 15 years he worked with regional theatres, notably those in Iasi, Botosani, and Craiova,

Ancient Rome, The Illyrian emperors

2004-10-21T11:27:00.000-07:00

After Claudius II's unexpected death, the empire was ruled from 270 to 284 by several “Illyrian” emperors, who were good generals and who tried in an energetic way to restore equilibrium. The most remarkable was Aurelian. He first gained hard-won victories over the Alemanni and the Juthungi, who had invaded the Alpine provinces and northern Italy. To cheer the inhabitants of

Sundman, Per Olof

2004-10-20T03:18:00.000-07:00

Per Olof Sundman spent much of his life in the northern province of Jämtland and used that isolated area as a locale for his first book, Jägarna (1957; “The Hunters”), a collection of short stories. It is not incidents or human relationships

Dana, Richard Henry

2004-10-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

Dana withdrew from Harvard College when measles weakened his eyesight, and he shipped to California as a sailor in August 1834 to regain his health. After voyaging among California's ports and gathering hides ashore, he rounded Cape Horn, returned