BrownOven

Chia-ch'ing

2005-03-29T19:52:00.000-08:00

He was proclaimed emperor and assumed the reign title of Chia-ch'ing in 1796, after the abdication of his father, the Ch'ien-lung emperor (reigned 1735–96). Power, however, remained in the hands of

Coneflower

2005-03-29T03:32:00.000-08:00

Plants

Melilite

2005-03-28T18:41:00.000-08:00

Any member of a series of silicate minerals that consist of calcium silicates of aluminum and magnesium; gehlenite is the aluminous end-member and åkermanite the magnesian end-member. These minerals crystallize from calcium-rich, alkaline magmas and from many artificial melts and blast-furnace slags. They occur in thermally metamorphosed limestones at contact

Cyclosilicate

2005-03-27T19:21:00.000-08:00

Compound with a structure in which silicate tetrahedrons (a central silicon atom surrounded by four oxygen atoms at the corners of a tetrahedron) are arranged in rings. Each tetrahedron shares two of its oxygen atoms with other tetrahedrons; the rings formed may have three (e.g., benitoite), four (e.g., axinite), or six members (e.g., beryl). The cyclosilicates have chemical formulas

Puerto Carreño

2005-03-26T04:33:00.000-08:00

Capital of Vichada departamento, eastern Colombia, situated at the junction of the Meta and Orinoco rivers, across from Puerto Páez, Venezuela. The easternmost of Colombia's urban centres and a potentially important port on the Orinoco River, the city is a collection centre for the cattle and livestock products, corn (maize), gums, and resins that are produced in the

Goatfish

2005-03-25T19:22:00.000-08:00

Goatfishes are characterized by two well-separated dorsal fins and by a pair of long, sensory chin barbels. The barbels are used to find the small, bottom-living invertebrates on which the fishes feed; when not in use, the barbels are flattened into a groove on the throat. Inhabitants

China, Temperature

2005-03-24T01:07:00.000-08:00

Temperatures generally decrease from south to north. The mean annual temperature is above 68 °F (20 °C) in the Pearl River Valley. It decreases to between 59 and 68 °F (15 and 20 °C) in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze, to about 50 °F (10 °C) in North China and the southern part of Sinkiang, and to 41 °F (5 °C) in the southern area of the Northeast, the northern part of Sinkiang, and places near the Great Wall.

Cataclastite

2005-03-23T23:52:00.000-08:00

Any rock produced by dynamic metamorphism during which faulting, granulation, and flowage may occur in previously crystalline parent rocks. When stress exceeds breaking strength, a rock yields by rupture. The rock may break as a unit, or individual minerals may be selectively granulated. The stress is generally not the same in all directions, so that movement in

Demosthenes

2005-03-22T02:39:00.000-08:00

From this point on (354), Demosthenes' career is virtually the history of Athenian foreign policy. It was not very long before his oratorical skill made him, in effect, the leader of what today might be called the democratic party. Some interests, especially the wealthy, would have preferred an oligarchy instead of a democracy; many merchants would have preferred peace at

Asela

2005-03-21T03:31:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Asella, or Assela, town, south-central Ethiopia. It lies west of Mount Chilalo on a high plateau overlooking Lake Ziway in the Great Rift Valley. The town is an important trading centre for the surrounding livestock and lumbering region. An all-weather road connects it with Nazret to the north. Pop. (1989 est.) 40,175.

Pierced Work

2005-03-19T13:10:00.000-08:00

In metalwork, perforations created for decorative or functional effect or both; the French term for such work is ajouré. Both hand-operated and mechanical tools such as saws, drills, chisels, and punches are used. The principal present-day exponents of this ancient technique are perhaps Asiatic Indian craftsmen. In European metalwork—apart from its functional and

Pachuca

2005-03-19T09:12:00.000-08:00

In full Pachuca De Soto, capital city, Hidalgo estado (“state”), east-central Mexico. It was one of the first settlements in New Spain and lies in a rich mining district in the Sierra Madre Oriental, 7,959 feet (2,426 m) above sea level. Its first silver mine was discovered in 1534, though it is said that some of the mines were known to pre-Columbian Indians. The nearby Real del Monte mine, begun in 1739 and still in operation,

Anthony, Susan B.

2005-03-18T18:09:00.000-08:00

Anthony was reared in the Quaker tradition in a home pervaded by a tone of independence

Biblical Literature, The Torah

2005-03-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

The Book of the Chronicles, composed c. 400 BCE, frequently refers to the “Torah of Moses” and exhibits a familiarity with all the five books of the Pentateuch. The earliest record

Pride, Sir Thomas

2005-03-17T20:24:00.000-08:00

Pride's early life is obscure. Entering the Parliamentary army as a captain, he became a lieutenant

çatalhüyük

2005-03-16T08:45:00.000-08:00

Major Neolithic site in the Middle East, located near Konya in south-central Turkey. Excavations (1961–65) by the British archaeologist James Mellaart have shown that Anatolia in Neolithic times was the centre of an advanced culture. The earliest building period at Çatalhüyük is tentatively dated to about 6700 BC and the latest to about 5650 BC. The inhabitants lived in rectangular mud-brick

Ahmad Ibn Hanbal

2005-03-15T20:05:00.000-08:00

For bibliography and information pertaining to Ibn Hanbal's works, see Fuat Sezgin, Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums, vol. 1 (1967); for his life and works generally, see W.M. Patton, Ahmed ibn Hanbal and the Mihna (1897); and H. Laoust, “Le Hanbalisme sous le califat de Bagdad,” in Revue des Études Islamiques (1959); and the Encyclopaedia of Islam, vol. 1 (1960). On Sufism in the Hanbali school of thought, see G. Makdisi, “L'Isnad initiatique soufi de Muwaffaq ad-Din Ibn Qudama,” in L'Herne: Louis Massignon (1970).

Taiwan, Imperial Chinese rule

2005-03-14T17:13:00.000-08:00

In 1683, 20 years after Cheng Ch'eng-kung's death, the island fell to the Ch'ing and became part of Fukien Province. Meanwhile, sizable migrations of refugees, Ming supporters, had increased the population to about 200,000. As migrants streamed in from southeastern China, large areas in the north were settled. T'ai-nan (then called T'ai-wan) was the capital. By 1842 the population was estimated

Xu Wei

2005-03-14T11:36:00.000-08:00

As a young man, Xu repeatedly failed to pass civil service examinations. During the 1550s and '60s he did succeed in gaining a reputation as a poet and painter, but as his reputation as an artist

'abbas Ii

2005-03-13T10:40:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of his reign, 'Abbas attempted to rule independently of Lord Cromer, the British agent and consul general in Egypt. Encouraged by popular

Davenport, Charles Benedict

2005-03-12T17:36:00.000-08:00

After receiving a doctorate in zoology at Harvard University in 1892, Davenport taught there until 1899, when

Switzerland, Environment

2005-03-11T19:28:00.000-08:00

A number of environmental problems must be addressed if Switzerland is to maintain the integrity of its unique landscape. Air pollution in the cities and the mountain valleys, depending on atmospheric conditions, has steadily worsened despite federal legislation. All Swiss vehicles must pass an annual emissions test; however, weak links are the millions of foreign

Caria

2005-03-11T01:16:00.000-08:00

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

Amino Acid

2005-03-10T05:45:00.000-08:00

The only exceptions to this basic structure are proline and hydroxyproline, in which the primary amino group is replaced by a secondary amino group present

Anne Boleyn

2005-03-10T01:52:00.000-08:00

Anne's father was Sir Thomas Boleyn, later Earl of Wiltshire and Ormonde.

Agnosticism

2005-03-09T21:28:00.000-08:00

(from Greek agnostos, “unknowable”), strictly speaking, the doctrine that humans cannot know of the existence of anything beyond the phenomena of their experience. The term has come to be equated in popular parlance with skepticism about religious questions in general and in particular with the rejection of traditional Christian beliefs under the impact of modern

Solar Cycle

2005-03-09T06:53:00.000-08:00

Period in which several important kinds of solar activity repeat themselves. The cycle, lasting about 22 years on the average, includes two 11-year cycles of sunspots, which display opposite magnetic polarities in alternate cycles, and two peaks and two declines in each of the various phenomena that vary in the same period as sunspots. These phenomena include fluctuations

Quaker Foods And Beverages

2005-03-07T19:31:00.000-08:00

The Quaker Oats trademark was registered in 1877 by Henry Parsons Crowell (1855–1944), an Ohio milling company owner who in 1891 joined with two other millers, Robert Stuart and

Anazarbus

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

In full Caesarea ad Anazarbus , modern Agaçli , formerly Çeçenanavarza former city of the ancient province of Cilicia in Anatolia that was important in the Roman and Byzantine periods. It was located in what is now south-central Turkey. The original native settlement was refounded by the Romans in 19 BC, following a visit by Augustus. It rivaled Tarsus, the Cilician capital, in the 3rd century AD, and under Diocletian became the seat of the separate

Kireyevsky, Ivan Vasilyevich

2005-03-07T00:21:00.000-08:00

Born into an aristocratic family, Kireyevsky studied metaphysics in Germany in 1830. Upon his return to Russia he founded in 1832 a literary journal called Yevropeyets (“European”), which was banned

Middletown

2005-03-06T22:38:00.000-08:00

Borough (town), Dauphin county, central Pennsylvania, U.S., just southeast of Harrisburg, at the confluence of Swatara Creek and the Susquehanna River. George Fisher settled the site in 1752 and in 1755 laid out the town, which he named Middletown for its location midway between Lancaster and Carlisle. In 1809 Fisher's son, George, laid out another town (Harborton) at the juncture of the

Medicine, History Of, Hellenistic and Roman medicine

2005-03-06T21:53:00.000-08:00

In the following century the work of Aristotle, regarded as the first great biologist, was of inestimable value to medicine. A pupil of Plato at Athens and tutor to Alexander the Great, Aristotle studied the entire world of living things. He laid what can be identified as the foundations of comparative anatomy and embryology, and his views influenced scientific thinking

Aerosol

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

True

Robertsport

2005-03-04T05:26:00.000-08:00

Robertsport

Widnes

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

Town in the unitary authority of Halton, historic county of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the north bank of the River Mersey at its lowest bridging point and on the southern periphery of the Liverpool metropolitan region. The modern town is a result of 19th-century industrial expansion and is a principal centre of the British chemical industry, largely because

Alder, Kurt

2005-03-03T02:10:00.000-08:00

Alder studied chemistry at the universities of Berlin and Kiel, where he received his doctorate

Ahern, Bertie

2005-03-01T19:28:00.000-08:00

Ahern was educated at St. Aidan's Christian Brothers secondary school, Rathmines College of Commerce, University College in Dublin, and the London School of Economics, obtaining degrees in taxation, business administration, and computer science. He was elected to the Dáil (lower house of Parliament)

Maharashtra

2005-03-01T14:29:00.000-08:00

State of India that occupies a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau in the western peninsular part of the subcontinent. Its shape roughly resembles a triangle, with the 450-mile (725-kilometre) western coastline forming the base and the interior narrowing to a blunt apex some 500 miles to the east. It has an area of 118,809 square miles (307,713 square kilometres). It is bounded by the states

American Literature, Drama

2005-03-01T09:42:00.000-08:00

Two post-World War II playwrights established reputations comparable to O'Neill's. Arthur Miller wrote eloquent essays defending his modern, democratic concept of tragedy; despite its abstract, allegorical quality and portentous language, Death of a Salesman (1949) came close to vindicating his views. Miller's intense family dramas were rooted in the works of the socially

Density

2005-02-28T21:09:00.000-08:00

Mass of a unit volume of a material substance, expressed as kilograms per cubic metre in MKS or SI units; the densities of common solids, liquids, and gases are listed in textbooks and handbooks. Density offers a convenient means of obtaining the mass of a body from its volume or vice versa; the mass is equal to the volume multiplied by the density, while the volume is equal

Arabia, History Of, Dedan and Al-Hijr

2005-02-27T16:11:00.000-08:00

It is possible that the Minaean settlement at Dedan (see above) coexisted with a native Dedanite town. But only one “king of Dedan” is recorded. This kingdom seems to have been replaced quite soon by a kingdom of Lihyan (Greek: Lechienoi). The entire area, however, was not long in coming under the rule of the Nabataean kings of a dynasty (centred at Petra) covering the 1st century BC and

Lahore

2005-02-26T18:57:00.000-08:00

Little is known of the history of the settlement prior to the Muslim period. Hindu legend attributes the founding of Lahore to Lava, or Loh, son of Rama, for whom it is said to have been named Lohawar. The city

Dien Bien Phu, Battle Of

2005-02-25T17:46:00.000-08:00

The battle was joined in late 1953 when French forces, who had

Pietà

2005-02-25T11:45:00.000-08:00

As a theme in Christian art, depiction of the Virgin Mary supporting the body of the dead Christ. Some representations of the Pietà include John the Apostle, Mary Magdalene, and sometimes other figures on either side of the Virgin; but the great majority show only Mary and her Son. The theme, which has no literary source but grew out of the theme of the lamentation

John Carroll University

2005-02-25T11:20:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in University Heights, Ohio, U.S. It is affiliated with the Jesuit order of the Roman Catholic church. The university comprises the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business, and the Graduate School. The university offers both bachelor's and master's degree programs. Research facilities include the

Biblical Literature, Form criticism

2005-02-25T07:44:00.000-08:00

Form criticism has become one of the most valuable tools for the reconstruction of the preliterary tradition. This discipline classifies the literary material according to the principal “forms”—such as legal, poetic, and other forms—represented in its contents, and examines these in order to discover how they were handed down and what their successive life settings

Arabian Desert, Animal life

2005-02-24T06:07:00.000-08:00

The animal life is varied and unique. Desert insects include the fly, the malaria-carrying Anopheles mosquito, fleas, lice, roaches, ants, termites, beetles, and mantids (predatory insects that camouflage themselves as leaves, twigs, or pebbles). Also found are the scavenging dung beetle, myriads of butterflies, moths, and caterpillars, and the pestiferous locust that

Babalola, S(olomon) Adeboye

2005-02-23T16:04:00.000-08:00

Babalola received his education in Nigeria, Ghana, and Cambridge, Eng., and earned a Ph.D. at the University of London. On his return

China, Philosophy and religion

2005-02-23T02:14:00.000-08:00

Taoism and Buddhism by Ming times had declined into ill-organized popular religions, and what organization they had was regulated by the state. State espousal of Chu Hsi thought, and state repression of noted early Ming litterateurs, such as the poet Kao Ch'i and the thinker Fang Hsiao-ju, made for widespread philosophical conformity during the 15th century. This was

Agri

2005-02-22T22:14:00.000-08:00

Agri is named after Mount Ararat (Turkish: Agri Dagi), situated to the east near the frontier with Iran.

Kyonggi

2005-02-22T05:26:00.000-08:00

Do (province), northwestern South Korea. It is bounded by the truce line with North Korea (north), by the do of Kangwon (east) and Kyongsang-puk and Ch'ungch'ong-nam (south), and by the Yellow Sea (west). The nation's capital, Seoul, is in the middle of the province but was separated from it administratively in 1946 as a special city. Formerly Kyonggi do was the granary of Seoul; the Kyonggi plain,

Cranko, John

2005-02-21T15:16:00.000-08:00

His basic dance training was at the Cape Town University Ballet School, where he performed as well as choreographed his first ballet, The Soldier's Tale (1942). In 1946 he joined the Sadler's Wells Ballet (later called the Royal Ballet) and continued to choreograph.

China, Philosophy and religion

2005-02-21T07:40:00.000-08:00

Byname European Liberal Democrats , formerly (1976–86) Federation of Liberal and Democratic Parties in the European Community , (1986–93) Federation of Liberal Democrat and Reform Parties transnational parliamentary group representing the interests of allied liberal and centrist parties in the European Parliament of the European Union (EU). The ELDR was formed in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1976 and coordinates the interests of its member parties. It is now composed of some 40 parties from EU countries, countries that have applied for EU membership, and other

Theatre-in-the-round

2005-02-21T05:52:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Theater-in-the-round, also called Arena Stage, Central Stage, or Island Stage, form of theatrical staging in which the acting area, which may be raised or at floor level, is completely surrounded by the audience. It has been theorized that the informality thus established leads to increased rapport between the audience and the actors. Theatre-in-the-round has its roots in rituals such as those performed by the ancient Greeks, which evolved into

Dagobert I

2005-02-20T17:59:00.000-08:00

The son of Chlotar II, Dagobert became king of Austrasia in 623 and of the entire Frankish realm in 629. Dagobert secured his realm by making a friendship treaty with the Byzantine emperor Heraclius, defeating the Gascons and Bretons, and campaigning against

La Junta

2005-02-20T01:01:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1889) of Otero county, southeastern Colorado, U.S. It lies along the Arkansas River at the northern edge of the Comanche National Grassland, at an elevation of 4,052 feet (1,235 metres). Founded in 1875, it was first called Otero, after a Spanish settler; its present name is Spanish for “the junction,” referring to its location at the convergence of the old Santa Fe and Navajo trails. La Junta

Körner, Wilhelm

2005-02-18T19:39:00.000-08:00

German organic chemist who in 1874 showed how to determine the relative positions of two substituents, such as methyl, on the benzene ring. For example, o-xylene forms two different mononitro derivatives; m-xylene forms three; and p-xylene forms only one. This method permitted further advances in the study and development

Russell, Morgan

2005-02-18T05:23:00.000-08:00

After studying under Robert Henri in New York City, Russell moved to Paris in 1906 and lived there for 40 years. In 1913–14 he and Stanton Macdonald-Wright established Synchromism (q.v.) as an avant-garde movement, issuing manifestos and exhibiting together in Munich, Paris, and New York

Nsukka

2005-02-18T02:00:00.000-08:00

University town, Enugu state, southern Nigeria. It lies in the Udi Hills at an elevation of 1,300 feet (396 m). Nsukka is an agricultural-trade centre for the yams, cassava, corn (maize), taro, pigeon peas, and palm oil and kernels produced by the local Igbo (Ibo) people. Weaving is a traditional local craft. Coal deposits have been discovered east of Nsukka around Obolo, a town on the main

Kerr, Roy P(atrick)

2005-02-17T09:50:00.000-08:00

Kerr received an M.S. (1954) from New Zealand University (now dissolved) and his Ph.D. (1960) from Cambridge University. He served on the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin

Israel

2005-02-17T01:38:00.000-08:00

After nearly three years of relentless bloodletting, Israel and the Palestinians responded in mid-2003 to international efforts to promote peace. The early promise of a breakthrough proved illusory, however, and the cycle of violence continued. Intense Israeli military pressure, following reoccupation of Palestinian cities in the West Bank and a determined hands-on

Spa

2005-02-16T20:32:00.000-08:00

Known in Roman times and mentioned by Pliny the Elder, the springs were rediscovered in 1326 and have been frequented since the

La Salle, René-robert Cavelier, Sieur (lord) De

2005-02-16T19:09:00.000-08:00

French explorer in North America, who led an expedition down the Illinois and Mississippi rivers and claimed all the region watered by the Mississippi and its tributaries for Louis XIV of France, naming the region “Louisiana.” A few years later, in a luckless expedition seeking the mouth of the Mississippi, he

Poynting, John Henry

2005-02-15T15:47:00.000-08:00

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

Fishing

2005-02-15T00:33:00.000-08:00

Also called Angling, the sport of catching fish, freshwater or saltwater, typically with rod, line, and hook. Like hunting, fishing originated as a means of providing food for survival. Fishing as a sport, however, is of considerable antiquity. An Egyptian angling scene of about 2000 BC shows figures fishing with rod and line and with nets. A Chinese account of about the 4th century BC refers to fishing

Epidemic

2005-02-14T14:17:00.000-08:00

An occurrence of disease that is temporarily of high prevalence. An epidemic occurring over a wide geographical area is called a pandemic. The rise and decline in epidemic prevalence of an infectious disease is a probability phenomenon dependent upon transfer of an effective dose of the infectious agent from an infected individual to a susceptible one. After

Plain

2005-02-14T13:27:00.000-08:00

Any relatively level area of the Earth's surface exhibiting gentle slopes and small local relief. Plains vary widely in size. The smallest occupy only a few hectares, whereas the largest cover hundreds of thousands of square kilometres—as, for example, the Great Plains of North America and the expanse of gently undulating land that sweeps from the Pyrenees Range

Platinum Group, Assaying

2005-02-13T20:42:00.000-08:00

Assaying ores and concentrates for platinum-group metals is extremely difficult, since the concentration of any particular metal may be less than one part per million. Initial concentration is achieved by fire assay. The assay bead is dissolved in aqua regia and the metals separated and concentrated, often by solvent extraction. Dissolution of the bead is complicated

Yezhov, Nikolay Ivanovich

2005-02-12T18:23:00.000-08:00

Nothing is known of his early life (he was nicknamed the “Dwarf” because he was but five feet tall and lame). Joining the Communist Party in March

Zaharias, Babe Didrikson

2005-02-12T05:46:00.000-08:00

William Oscar Johnson and Nancy P. Williamson, "Whatta-Gal": The Babe Didrikson Story (1977); and Susan E. Cayleff, Babe: The Life and Legend of Babe Didrikson Zaharias (1995), examine her life and career.

Biblical Literature, Life of Adam and Eve

2005-02-11T21:40:00.000-08:00

The many Christian legends in many languages about the lives of Adam and Eve probably have their origin in a Jewish writing (or writings) about the biblical first man and woman. The most important of these works are the Latin Vita Adae et Evae (Life of Adam and Eve) and a Greek work closely parallel to it, named erroneously by its first editor the Apocalypse of Moses. The

Avery, Tex

2005-02-11T09:30:00.000-08:00

Avery's only formal art training consisted of a three-month course at the Art Institute of Chicago during the late 1920s. He began his animation career in 1929 for cartoon producer Walter Lantz at Universal

Norris, George W.

2005-02-11T07:07:00.000-08:00

Largely self-educated, Norris taught school and studied law at Northern Indiana Normal School (now Valparaiso University). He was admitted to the bar in 1883 and two years later moved to Nebraska to begin practice. In 1902 he was

Chad, Saint

2005-02-10T08:48:00.000-08:00

With his brother St. Cedd, he was educated at the great abbey of Lindisfarne on Holy Island (off the coast of Northumbria) under its founder, Abbot St. Aidan, and later apparently studied

Police Technology

2005-02-10T01:13:00.000-08:00

Throughout the 20th century, improvements and innovations have been made in police transportation, communications, weaponry, laboratory facilities, and other areas, but these have scarcely more than kept pace with the pressures generated by denser urban populations, greater sophistication

Raymond Vi

2005-02-09T20:53:00.000-08:00

The son of Count Raymond V, Raymond VI was a nephew of King Louis VII of France and brother-in-law of King Richard I of England. Tolerant toward the many

Paraldehyde

2005-02-09T02:16:00.000-08:00

Also called paracetaldehyde colourless liquid of disagreeable taste and pungent odour used in medicine as a sedative–hypnotic drug and in chemistry in the manufacture of organic chemicals. When administered as a medicine, it is largely excreted by the lungs and gives an unpleasant odour to the breath. It is most useful for recalcitrant cases and is an older drug for treatment of acute alcoholic

Maranville, Rabbit

2005-02-08T01:48:00.000-08:00

Maranville, who batted and threw right-handed, played minor league baseball during the years 1911–12 for a team in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He joined the National League Boston Braves in 1912, playing with them through

Plymouth

2005-02-08T01:39:00.000-08:00

County, southeastern Massachusetts, U.S., bordered by Massachusetts Bay (northeast), Cape Cod Bay (east), and Buzzards Bay (south). It consists mainly of an upland region with pockets of bogs, especially in the coastal lowlands of the southeast. The primary watercourses are the Taunton, Weweantic, North, and South rivers and Assawompset, Long, Great Quittacas, and Snipatuit

Ulama

2005-02-07T17:44:00.000-08:00

Also spelled ulema , Arabic 'ulama' the learned of Islam, those who possess the quality of 'ilm, “learning,” in its widest sense. From the 'ulama', who are versed theoretically and practically in the Muslim sciences, come the religious teachers of the Islamic community—theologians (mutakallimun), canon lawyers (muftis), judges (qadis), professors—and high state religious officials like the shaikh al-Islam. In a narrower

Epidemic

2005-02-07T01:30:00.000-08:00

Cypress Vine

2005-02-06T15:32:00.000-08:00

(Ipomoea quamoclit), tropical American twining climber naturalized in southern North America. It has star-shaped scarlet, pink, or white blooms amid deep green, deeply lobed leaves. It is a member of the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae) and is an annual. The closely related star ipomoea (I. coccinea), with crimson flowers and heart-shaped leaves,

Acarnania

2005-02-06T09:54:00.000-08:00

District of ancient Greece bounded by the Ionian Sea, the Ambracian Gulf, Mount Thyamus, and the Achelous River. Corinth founded several colonies on the coast of Acarnania in the 7th and 6th centuries BC. Originally a tribal unit, Acarnania developed into a federal state with generals and other magistrates, a council, and an assembly by the late 5th century; its capital was

Thailand, Gulf Of

2005-02-05T22:28:00.000-08:00

Formerly Gulf Of Siam, inlet of the South China Sea bordering Thailand (southwest through north), Cambodia, and southern Vietnam (northeast). The Gulf of Thailand is 300 to 350 miles (500 to 560 km) wide and 450 miles (725 km) long. The Chao Phraya and Nakhon Chai Si rivers enter the gulf near its head. The main harbours in Thailand are located along the Gulf of Thailand at Bangkok, Pattani, Songkhla (Singgora), Pak Phanang

Arabian Desert, Soils

2005-02-04T15:44:00.000-08:00

Mechanical weathering, which physically breaks down coarse particles into finer grains, is the most significant process in the formation of desert soils. Quartz sand abounds, covering more than a third of the desert surface. Granular debris from the Precambrian crystalline basement forms pebbly fans about the bases of hills. Sands and silts are washed down to

Stedman, Edmund Clarence

2005-02-04T15:25:00.000-08:00

Stedman attended Yale, from which he was expelled, and became successively a newspaper proprietor and a stockbroker, writing all the while. As a critic Stedman wrote of contemporary authors in Victorian Poets (1875) and Poets of America (1885); he

Sgi

2005-02-04T01:14:00.000-08:00

Silicon Graphics, Inc., was founded in 1982 by James Clark, an electrical-engineering professor at Stanford University who had identified a need for desktop computers to be able to display graphic images quickly and in three-dimensional detail—something previously possible only on multimillion-dollar supercomputers. The primary users of these computers were expected

X-trisomy

2005-02-04T01:01:00.000-08:00

Sex chromosome disorder of human females, in which three X chromosomes are present, rather than the normal pair. More common than Turner's syndrome, where only one X chromosome is present, X-trisomy usually remains undetected because affected individuals appear normal, experience puberty, and are usually fertile. Statistical studies suggest a slightly increased

Nagai Kafu

2005-02-03T19:48:00.000-08:00

Edward Seidensticker, Kafu the Scribbler (1965, reprinted 1990), a biographical and critical study, also includes a number of translations of Kafu's works.

Chemical Banking Corporation

2005-02-02T16:59:00.000-08:00

The holding company's principal subsidiary was Chemical Bank, which was chartered in 1824 in New York City as a division of the New York Chemical Manufacturing Company. Manufacturing activities were dropped in 1832. In 1844 the company was reconstituted as a state bank, and the chemical

Tumba, Lake

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

Lake, part of the Congo River basin, northwestern Congo (Kinshasa). Lake Tumba lies 75 miles (120 km) northwest of Lake Mai-Ndombe (formerly Lake Léopold II). It covers 190 square miles (500 square km) and is 6–20 feet (2–6 m) deep. The lake empties into the Congo River by Irebu channel, just opposite its confluence with the Ubangi River. Lake Tumba is shallow, with low shores, and is navigable by river

Ucayali River

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

Spanish Río Ucayali, headwater of the Amazon, formed by the junction of the Apurímac and Urubamba rivers in east-central Peru. The Ucayali meanders northward from this junction for about 910 miles (1,465 km) through a densely forested floodplain east of the Andes to its junction with the Marañón River, 55 miles (90 km) south-southwest of Iquitos. This confluence is considered to mark the head of the Amazon.

Yun Shouping

2005-01-30T22:09:00.000-08:00

Yun had an adventure-filled early life. Following the collapse

China, The Nationalist Party

2005-01-30T20:54:00.000-08:00

The Nationalist Party had its origins in the earlier United League (T'ung-meng hui) against the Manchu. The name Nationalist Party was adopted in 1912. After the suppression of this expanded party by Yüan Shih-k'ai, elements from it were organized by Sun Yat-sen in 1914 into the Chinese Revolutionary Party, which failed to generate widespread support. Sun and a small group of veterans

Cor Caroli

2005-01-30T20:30:00.000-08:00

Also called Alpha Canum Venaticorum, binary star in the constellation Canes Venatici consisting of a brighter component (A) of visual magnitude 2.9 and a companion (B) of magnitude 5.5. It is the prototype for a group of unusual spectrum-variable stars that show strong and fluctuating absorption lines of silicon, chromium, strontium, or certain rare earths. Europium apparently is concentrated around one magnetic

Fiscus

2005-01-29T19:18:00.000-08:00

Vespasian created the fiscus Alexandrinus and fiscus Asiaticus to receive Egyptian and Asian revenues, formerly directed to the aer

Established Church

2005-01-29T18:59:00.000-08:00

A church recognized by law as the official church of a state or nation and supported by civil authority. Though not strictly created by a legal contract, the legal establishment is more like a contractual entity than like anything else and, therefore, ordinarily cannot be varied or repudiated by only one party to it. The church is not free to make changes in such things

Heilungkiang, Relief

2005-01-29T11:48:00.000-08:00

The province of Heilungkiang occupies about half of the huge Manchurian Plain, surrounded on three sides by old mountain ranges of medium elevation. Its central part is the Sungari–Nen river plain, delimited by the Greater Khingan (Ta-hsing-an) Range of Inner Mongolia on the west, the Lesser Khingan (Hsiao-hsing-an) Range on the north, and the Chang-kuang-ts'ai and Lao-yeh

Cheng Ch'eng-kung

2005-01-29T09:41:00.000-08:00

Cheng Ch'eng-kung was born in a small Japanese coastal town to a Japanese mother and a Chinese father, Cheng Chih-lung, a maritime adventurer who made a fortune through trade and piracy in the Taiwan Straits. Cheng

Schadow, Gottfried

2005-01-28T01:26:00.000-08:00

Schadow was trained under the court sculptor Jean-Pierre-Antoine Tassaert and in Rome (1785–87), where he studied under Antonio Canova. In 1788 he succeeded Tassaert as director of the Prussian royal school of sculpture in Berlin. His first monumental work