RightFeather

organic cotton goods

2006-10-30T13:45:00.000-08:00

Liv organic cotton goods are soft luxurious nad affordable and they have a huge range of organic clothing.

Madagascar, Relief

2005-03-18T02:38:00.000-08:00

Situated between 2,500 and 4,500 feet (800 and 1,400 metres) above sea level, the plateau has been uplifted and worn down several times and is tilted to the west. Three massifs are more than 8,500 feet high. The Tsaratanana region in the

Daventry

2005-03-16T19:58:00.000-08:00

Nothing is known of Daventry town before Domesday Book (1086), the record of the land survey ordered by William the Conqueror, although

Japan, The emergence of new forces.

2005-03-15T15:08:00.000-08:00

After the Onin War, the power of independent local leaders increased markedly, and in many instances deputies of great shugo houses usurped the domains of their superiors, retainers overthrew their overlords, and branch families seized power from main families. Because of this tendency for “inferiors to overcome superiors” (gekokujo), the previous shugo almost completely

Perspective Scenery

2005-03-12T14:42:00.000-08:00

In theatre, scenery and the scene design technique that represents three-dimensional space on a flat surface, creating an illusion of reality and an impression of distance. Developed during the Italian Renaissance, perspective scenery applied the newly mastered science of linear perspective and brought the craft of illusion to the Italian stage. An initial

La Grande River

2005-03-10T04:46:00.000-08:00

Formerly Fort George River, river in Nord-du-Québec region, north-central Quebec province, Canada. Rising from Nichicun Lake in the Otish Mountains of central Quebec, it descends 1,737 feet (529 m) in its westward journey to James Bay, which forms part of Hudson Bay. For most of the river's course of 555 miles (893 km), its valley is almost uninhabited.

Beilby, Sir George Thomas

2005-03-08T07:57:00.000-08:00

After graduating from the University of

Awe, Loch

2005-03-06T11:19:00.000-08:00

Longest lake in Scotland, measuring 24 miles (39 km) from northeast to southwest, situated in Argyll and Bute council area, historic county of Argyllshire, at 117 feet (36 metres) above sea level. At the lake's northern end the scenery is rugged and grand, dominated by Ben Cruachan, with an elevation of 3,695 feet (1,126 metres), but at the southern end it is much softer. The loch's shores have been the

Redgrave, Vanessa

2005-03-05T14:28:00.000-08:00

Called “the greatest actress of our time” by the playwright Tennessee Williams, Vanessa Redgrave came from a legendary theatrical family. Her father, Sir Michael Redgrave, was one of Britain's most popular and respected actors, and her mother, Rachel Kempson, was a noted stage

Acari

2005-03-02T05:30:00.000-08:00

Also called Acarida, or Acarina, subclass of the arthropod class Arachnida that includes the mites and ticks. The acarids may be separated into three orders, Opilioacariformes, Parasitiformes, and Acariformes, consisting of six suborders and about 428 families.

Culverwel, Nathanael

2005-02-28T07:01:00.000-08:00

Details of Culverwel's life are obscure. Though it is known that he was elected to a fellowship at the University of Cambridge in 1642, he is thought to have suffered a mental breakdown in his last years. His writings

Computers, The age of Big Iron

2005-02-27T06:05:00.000-08:00

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

Heschel, Abraham Joshua

2005-02-24T02:20:00.000-08:00

After a traditional Jewish education, Heschel went on to higher studies

Stahl, Franklin W.

2005-02-23T06:50:00.000-08:00

Educated at Harvard (A.B., 1951) and the University of Rochester (Ph.D., 1956), Stahl pursued his research

Korea, South, Flag Of

2005-02-21T17:10:00.000-08:00

The need for a national flag arose in Korea in the late 19th century when, under pressure from its powerful neighbours, China and Japan, Korea gradually began to open its borders to outside influences. Traditional symbols were incorporated in the design of the new flag, adopted in August 1882, which has continued as the basic pattern ever since. The white background is for

Fabales

2005-02-14T05:45:00.000-08:00

Legumes occur in all terrestrial habitats occupied by plants, although the greatest number of species is in the tropics, where the group probably originated. But there are many legumes in the temperate plains, woodlands, and deserts. A few not only survive but succeed as weeds, in the human-made farming, industrial, and urban environment. They are less common in the northern

Dahlmann, Friedrich (christoph)

2005-02-12T15:26:00.000-08:00

Dahlmann was appointed professor

Schrieck, Sister Louise Van Der

2005-02-11T17:26:00.000-08:00

Van der Schrieck was educated at the school of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in Belgium. In 1837 she became a novice of the order, and in 1839 she became Sister

Süssmayr, Franz Xaver

2005-02-08T10:21:00.000-08:00

Süssmayr was educated at Kremsmünster, a monastery school. In 1788 he settled in Vienna and became a music teacher. He became acquainted with Mozart in 1790/91 and sometimes collaborated with him. From 1792 to 1794 Süssmayr

Brunet, Jacques-charles

2005-02-07T04:16:00.000-08:00

The son of a bookseller, Brunet acquired a taste for bibliography at an early age and published a supplement to the Dictionnaire bibliographique de livres rares (1810; “Dictionary of Rare Books”), brought out a few years earlier. The first edition of Brunet's Manuel du libraire et de l'amateur de livres

Interest Group

2005-02-05T01:47:00.000-08:00

Also called special-interest group, any aggregate of individuals that, on the basis of one or more shared concerns, makes claims upon groups or society in general in order to promote its objectives.

Stalingrad, Battle Of

2005-02-02T10:59:00.000-08:00

(summer 1942–February 2, 1943), unsuccessful German assault on the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in the Russian S.F.S.R. during World War II that marked the farthest extent of the German advance into the Soviet Union. As a major industrial centre, Stalingrad was an important prize in itself, and control of the city would have cut Soviet transport links with southern Russia via

Huysum, Jan Van

2005-01-31T06:29:00.000-08:00

He was the eldest son of Justus van Huysum, a versatile painter whose subjects included landscapes, seascapes, battle scenes, portraits, and flowers. Jan van Huysum studied under his father but soon surpassed him in skill. He specialized in exquisitely detailed, dramatically

Anchovy Pear

2005-01-30T03:22:00.000-08:00

(Grias cauliflora), evergreen tree of the family Lecythidaceae, native to the West Indies. The name is also applied to its edible fruit, for which the tree is cultivated. The plant grows to about 15 m (50 feet) tall and bears spear-shaped, glossy leaves about 90 cm long that are produced in palmlike tufts. The fragrant yellow flowers are about 5 cm across. The fruit, which contains one

Lenormand, Henri-rené

2005-01-28T21:13:00.000-08:00

The son of a composer, Lenormand was educated at the University of Paris and spent much of his adult life writing for the Parisian stage. He was the author of a number of somewhat gloomy plays that explore

Talca

2005-01-25T01:09:00.000-08:00

Formerly San Agustín De Talca, capital of Talca provincia and Maule región, central Chile, in the Central Valley near the Maule River. Founded in 1692, it was destroyed by earthquakes in 1742 and 1928; completely rebuilt, it is now a major urban centre midway between Santiago, 160 miles (260 km) to the north-northeast, and Concepción. It lies in the nation's greatest wine-making zone and contains Chile's largest match industry,

North Africa, History Of, Carthaginian supremacy

2005-01-23T15:44:00.000-08:00

By the 5th century BC, active military participation by Tyre in the west had doubtlessly ceased; from the latter half of the 6th century Tyre was under Persian rule. Carthage thus became the leader of the western Phoenicians and in the 5th century formed an empire of its own, centred on North Africa, which included existing Phoenician settlements, new ones founded by Carthage

Shabbetai Tzevi

2005-01-19T05:46:00.000-08:00

As a young man, Shabbetai steeped himself in the influential body of Jewish mystical writings known as the Kabbala. His extended periods of ecstasy and his strong personality combined to attract

'adud Ad-dawlah

2005-01-17T16:54:00.000-08:00

Becoming ruler of Fars province in southern Iran in 944, 'Adud ad-Dawlah did not actually reign on his own until almost a decade later. But by 979 his authority extended, through inheritance and conquest, over all southern Iran and most of what is now Iraq. He became famous for his public works, which included a dam still standing near

Uist

2005-01-16T10:04:00.000-08:00

Either of two islands of the Outer Hebrides, both lying off the northwestern coast of Scotland. See North Uist; South Uist.

Yale, Frankie

2005-01-14T21:22:00.000-08:00

Yale graduated from youth gangs to bootlegging and rum-running

Toch, Ernst

2005-01-09T07:14:00.000-08:00

Composer whose works, noted for their perfection of form, fused elements from the classical tradition with modern musical ideas. Although he rarely carried innovation to great lengths, he was considered a leader of the avant-garde composers in pre-Nazi Germany and, like many of them, went into exile when Adolf Hitler came

Tucholsky, Kurt

2005-01-07T17:29:00.000-08:00

After studying law and serving in World War I, Tucholsky left Germany in 1924 and lived first in Paris and after 1929 in Sweden. He contributed to Rote Signale (1931; “Red Signals”), a collection of

Ogoja

2005-01-06T17:15:00.000-08:00

Town, Cross River state, southeastern Nigeria, on the road from Abakaliki. A major trade centre (yams, cassava, corn [maize], rice, palm oil and kernels, kola nuts), it is mainly inhabited by the Ekoi peoples. Ogoja is the headquarters of a local government council and the site of a teacher-training college, a secondary school, and several hospitals and clinics. Pop. (1982 est.) 22,020.

Haakon Vii

2005-01-04T06:07:00.000-08:00

The second son of the future king Frederick VIII of Denmark, he was originally called Prince Charles (Carl) of Denmark. He was trained for a naval career. In 1896 he married Princess Maud, daughter of England's Edward VII. He was offered the Norwegian crown in

Mitnagged

2005-01-02T20:10:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Misnagid (Hebrew: Opponent), plural Mitnaggedim, or Misnagidim, member of a group of tradition-minded Jews who vigorously opposed the mid-18th-century Hasidic movement of eastern Europe when it threatened to encompass large numbers of Jews. Under the leadership of Elijah ben Solomon, called the Vilna Gaon, the Mitnaggedim excommunicated all Hasidic groups from Orthodox Jewish communities. The Hasidim were accused of espousing

Hannum, Alex

2004-12-31T11:01:00.000-08:00

American basketball coach (b. July 19, 1923, Los Angeles, Calif.—d. Jan. 18, 2002, San Diego, Calif.), was the first coach to win championships in both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the American Basketball Association (ABA); he was also one of only two coaches ever to win NBA titles with two different teams. Hannum played professional basketball from 1948 to 1957. He then became the head coach

Aerospace Industry, Fabrication processes and materials

2004-12-28T02:50:00.000-08:00

Fabrication involves the manufacture of individual components that make up larger assemblies or end products. This activity encompasses the working of metals and the incorporation of electrical and electronic devices into processors, circuit boards, and subassemblies for the components of navigation, communication, and control systems. Most of the basic

Azerbaijan, Industry

2004-12-28T00:44:00.000-08:00

Azerbaijan has a diversified industrial base, with the leading branches of heavy industry—power, manufacturing, and chemical production—predominating. Branches of the processing industry, producing mineral fertilizers, gasoline, kerosene, herbicides, industrial oils, synthetic rubber, and plastics, have developed, and Sumqayit has emerged as the major centre

Gene

2004-12-26T22:56:00.000-08:00

Genes are composed of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), except in some viruses, which have genes consisting of a closely related compound called ribonucleic acid (RNA). A DNA molecule is composed of two chains of nucleotides

Procida, Island Of

2004-12-24T09:42:00.000-08:00

Italian Isola Di Procida, Latin Prochyta, island near the northwest entrance to the Bay of Naples, Napoli provincia, Campania regione, southern Italy. It lies between Ischia Island and Cape Miseno on the mainland. It has an area of 1.45 square miles (3.75 square km), and the highest point is 250 feet (76 m) above sea level. Of volcanic origin, it is made up, with the adjacent Vivara Island, of four extinct craters. Parts of the margins

Mickiewicz, Adam

2004-12-23T18:15:00.000-08:00

Born into an impoverished noble family, Mickiewicz studied at the University of Wilno (now the V. Kapsukas State University of Vilnius, Lithuania) between

Lan-chou

2004-12-22T16:38:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Lanzhou, conventional Lanchow city, capital of Kansu province (sheng), China. It is situated on the upper course of the Huang Ho (Yellow River), where the river emerges from the mountains. Lan-chou has been a centre since early times, being at the southern end of the route leading via the Kansu Corridor across Central Asia; it also commands the approaches to the ancient capital area of Ch'ang-an (modern Sian

Buxtehude, Dietrich

2004-12-21T14:20:00.000-08:00

His exact place of birth is uncertain, and nothing is known of his early youth. It is usually assumed that he began his musical education with his father, who was organist at Helsingbor (c. 1638–41) and at Helsingor (Elsinor; c. 1642–71). He

Françaix, Jean

2004-12-21T06:49:00.000-08:00

The son of the director of the Le Mans Conservatory, Françaix began to compose very early, publishing a piano composition at age nine. He later studied at the Paris Conservatory and became a pupil

China, The Tien Shan

2004-12-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

The Chinese part of the Tien Shan consists of a complex system of ranges and depressions in which two major groups of ranges—the northern and southern—may be distinguished. They are separated by a strip of intermontane depressions that is broken up by the interior ranges. Ancient metamorphic rock (formed under heat and pressure) constitutes the larger portion of

Field, David Dudley

2004-12-19T04:51:00.000-08:00

U.S. lawyer whose advocacy of law codification had international influence. The “Field Code” of civil procedure, enacted by New York state in 1848, was subsequently adopted in whole or in part in many other U.S. states, in the federal court system, and in England, Ireland (both 1873), and several British overseas possessions, notably India. He was

Zamia

2004-12-17T21:49:00.000-08:00

A genus of 30 or more species of cycads (family Cycadaceae), small, stocky, fern-like plants native to tropical and subtropical America. They have a turniplike, mostly underground stem that in some species reaches 3 m (10 feet) or more in height. A starchy food is obtained from the crushed roots and stems of certain species, among them coontie, or comfortroot (Z. floridana), found in

Asana

2004-12-17T15:46:00.000-08:00

Sanskrit Asana (“sitting posture,” “seat”), in the Yoga system of Indian philosophy, immobile bodily posture that a person assumes in an attempt to isolate the mind by freeing it from attention to bodily functions. It is the third of the eight prescribed stages intended to lead the aspirant to samadhi, the trancelike state of perfect concentration. Once the practitioner is able with ease

Turgay

2004-12-15T07:47:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Turgai, or Turgaj, oblast (province), central Kazakhstan. It was created in 1970, though a larger oblast of the same name existed in tsarist times, and it embraces the western fringes of the Kazakh Upland and part of the Turgay Steppe. The main rivers are the Ishim, flowing north, and the Turgay, south. The climate is continental, and annual precipitation varies from 8 to 12 inches (200 to 300 mm). There are important

Nicholson, Ben

2004-12-14T19:57:00.000-08:00

The son of the painter Sir William Nicholson, he was largely self-taught and only briefly attended the Slade School of Fine Art (1910–11), London. He traveled extensively in Europe between 1911 and 1914 and in 1917 visited

Raymond Iii

2004-12-14T08:20:00.000-08:00

Raymond succeeded to the countship after the assassination of his father, Raymond II, in 1152. In his campaigns against the Muslims he was taken prisoner by their leader Nureddin in 1164 but was released in 1172. When the new king of Jerusalem, Baldwin IV, took the throne

Levertin, Oscar Ivar

2004-12-12T16:23:00.000-08:00

Levertin was educated at Uppsala University and became in 1899 professor of literature at the University of Stockholm. After the death of his first wife and an attack of tuberculosis, which sent him to Davos, Switz., he abandoned his early Naturalism for

Scroggs, Sir William

2004-12-10T20:51:00.000-08:00

Allegedly the son of a butcher, but probably the child of a grazier, Scroggs was educated at Oxford University and at Gray's Inn

Hadramawt

2004-12-10T20:40:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Hadhramaut ancient South Arabian kingdom that occupied what are now southern and southeastern Yemen and the present-day Sultanate of Oman (Muscat and Oman). Hadramawt maintained its political independence until late in the 3rd century AD, when it was conquered by the kingdom of Saba'.

Babar Island

2004-12-09T09:32:00.000-08:00

Bahasa Indonesia Pulau Babar island and island group in the Banda Sea, Maluku propinsi (province), Indonesia. Located between Timor to the west and the Tanimbar Islands to the east, the group consists of Babar, the largest island, surrounded by the five islets of Wetan, Dai, Dawera, Daweloor, and Masela, and the six cover an area of about 314 sq mi (822 sq km). Babar is roughly circular, about 20 mi (32 km) in diameter and mostly

Muktafi, Al-

2004-12-07T19:54:00.000-08:00

The son of al-Mu'tadid, al-Muktafi ascended to the throne in 902 with somewhat more popular support than his predecessors, thanks to his liberal rule and abolition of dungeons in Baghdad. He immediately faced battle with the Qarmatians, a schismatic

Manchuria

2004-12-06T11:40:00.000-08:00

Prior to the 17th century, the history of Manchuria was shaped by three converging ethnic groups: the Chinese, the people collectively known as the Tungus, and the Mongols and Proto-Mongols. The Tungus (from which several groups emerged) were forest and plain dwellers who had a mixed economy of primitive agriculture, fishing, hunting, and livestock breeding. Those in Manchuria

Biblical Literature, Zephaniah

2004-12-06T00:08:00.000-08:00

The Book of Zephaniah, the ninth book of the Twelve (Minor) Prophets, is written in three chapters. Composed by the prophet Zephaniah in the latter part of the 7th century BCE, the book is an attack against corruption of worship in Judah, probably before the great Deuteronomic reform took place. Zephaniah attacked the religious syncretism that had become established, especially

China, International affairs

2004-12-04T17:45:00.000-08:00

China's foreign policy since 1978 generally has reflected the country's preoccupation with domestic economic development and its desire to promote a peaceful and stable environment in which to achieve these domestic goals. Except for its disagreement with Vietnam over that country's invasion of Cambodia in 1978, China has by and large avoided disputes and encouraged

Tegal

2004-12-04T09:03:00.000-08:00

Kotamadya (municipality) and port Jawa Tengah provinsi (“province”), central Java, Indonesia, located on the Java Sea about 160 miles (257 km) east-southeast of Jakarta. Roads and railway link it with Cirebon on the west, Semarang on the east, and Kroya and Yogyakarta on the south and southeast. Its population is mostly Javanese, and Islam is the dominant religion. Tegal is a centre for

Duroc, Géraud-christophe-michel, Duc (duke) De Frioul

2004-12-01T00:41:00.000-08:00

The son of Claude de Michel, chevalier du Roc, who was a cavalry officer, Duroc went to the Châlons artillery school, emigrated in 1792, but changed his mind, returned to France, entered the Metz school (1793), and was drafted to the artillery of the army of Italy.

Tigris-euphrates River System, Physiography of the Euphrates

2004-11-30T19:51:00.000-08:00

The headwaters of the Euphrates are the Murat and the Karasu rivers in the Armenian Highland of northeastern Turkey. Considerably altered in the 20th century by water-control projects, they join to form the Euphrates at Keban, near Elazig, where the Keban Dam, completed in 1974, spans a deep gorge. The river breaks through the Taurus Mountains and descends to the high plain of

Atlantic Languages

2004-11-29T06:37:00.000-08:00

Formerly West Atlantic languages branch of the Niger-Congo language family spoken primarily in Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. The approximately 45 Atlantic languages are spoken by about 30 million people. One language cluster, Fula (also called Fulani, Peul, Fulfulde, and Toucouleur), accounts for more than half of this number and is the most widely scattered language

Cambisol

2004-11-28T15:28:00.000-08:00

One of the 30 soil groups in the classification system of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Cambisols are characterized by the absence of a layer of accumulated clay, humus, soluble salts, or iron and aluminum oxides. They differ from unweathered parent material in their aggregate structure, colour, clay content, carbonate content, or other properties that

Creativity

2004-11-28T03:02:00.000-08:00

A creative person is usually very intelligent in the ordinary sense of the term and can meet the problems of life as rationally as anyone can, but often he refuses to let intellect rule; he relies strongly on intuition, and he respects the irrational in himself and others. Above a certain level, intelligence seems to have little correlation with creativity—i.e., a highly

Judaism, Historiated Bibles and legendary histories

2004-11-26T09:36:00.000-08:00

When, in 330 BCE, Alexander the Great completed his conquest of the Middle East, Judaism entered a new phase. The dominant features of the ensuing Hellenistic age were an increasing cosmopolitanism and a fusion of Oriental and Greek cultures. These found expression in Jewish myth and legend in the composition (in Greek) of stories designed to link the Bible with general history,

Earth

2004-11-25T02:19:00.000-08:00

The basic structure and composition of the Earth's interior have been known since the mid-20th century. In a landmark paper published in 1952, the American geophysicist Francis Birch described the constitution of the planetary interior based on a broad array of seismological, experimental, and geochemical observations. Although there have been numerous advances in

Tyndall, John

2004-11-24T14:08:00.000-08:00

Tyndall was born into a poor Protestant Irish family. After a thorough basic education he worked as a surveyor in Ireland and England (1839–47). When his ambitions turned from engineering to science, Tyndall

Leonardo Pisano

2004-11-23T15:47:00.000-08:00

English Leonardo of Pisa , original name Leonardo Fibonacci medieval Italian mathematician who wrote Liber abaci (1202; “Book of the Abacus”), the first European work on Indian and Arabian mathematics.

Requests, Court Of

2004-11-23T05:45:00.000-08:00

Called the Court of Poor Men's Causes until 1529, it was a popular court because of the limited expense of bringing suit before it. Modeled after the French Chambre

Dennis

2004-11-21T17:55:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Barnstable county, southeastern Massachusetts, U.S. It extends across Cape Cod and includes the villages of Dennis, Dennis Port (Dennisport), East Dennis, South Dennis, and West Dennis. Settled in 1639, it was a part of Yarmouth until 1793, when it was incorporated and named for Josiah Dennis, pastor of the first meetinghouse. Clipper ships were once built in Shiverick

Tragedy

2004-11-21T05:01:00.000-08:00

The origins of the tragic form are Greek, as are those of the term itself, meaning “goat-song” and possibly referring originally to the sacrifice of a

Chong Yak-jong

2004-11-20T06:22:00.000-08:00

Born to a family noted for its scholarly background, Chong was converted to Roman Catholicism by the Chinese priest Chou Wen-mu (James

Pentameter

2004-11-18T19:11:00.000-08:00

Geoffrey Chaucer employed iambic pentameter in The Canterbury Tales as early as the 14th century, although

Sarangpur

2004-11-18T01:03:00.000-08:00

City, northwestern Madhya Pradesh state, central India, just east of the Kali Sindh River. Sarangpur is located on an ancient site. It has a number of Jaina and Hindu ruins, including a 12th-century Jaina statue. It rose to importance in the 13th century under Sarang Singh Khichi, after whom it is named, and was a chief Mughal trade centre. It passed to Dewas princely state by treaty

Cinemascope

2004-11-16T16:26:00.000-08:00

Film-making process in which a motion picture is projected on a screen, with the width of the image two and a half times its height. The French physicist Henri Chrétien (1879–1956) invented the technique in the late 1920s by which a camera, with the addition of a special lens, can “squeeze” a wide picture onto standard 35-millimetre film. Then, by the use of a special projection lens, the image

Performing Arts

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

Black Duck

2004-11-15T06:58:00.000-08:00

(Anas rubripes), highly prized game bird (family Anatidae) of eastern North America, inhabiting salt, brackish, and freshwater marshes, as well as lakes, rivers, and beaver ponds. These ducks winter from Nebraska to Texas and along the Atlantic coast from Nova Scotia to Florida; their preference for seafoods such as periwinkles and mussels enables them to winter so far

Alabama

2004-11-13T02:50:00.000-08:00

Constituent state of the United States of America. Admitted as the 22nd state in 1819, Alabama comprises 51,705 square miles (133,915 square kilometres) forming a roughly rectangular shape, elongated in a north–south direction. Tennessee is the bordering state to the north, Georgia to the east, and Mississippi to the west. The Florida panhandle blocks Alabama's access to the Gulf of Mexico

France, History Of, Economic distress

2004-11-12T18:06:00.000-08:00

The Black Death, carried on shipboard from the Levant, reached Provence in

Argentina, Overviews

2004-11-11T15:06:00.000-08:00

The colonial and early national periods are variously covered in Eduardo Crawley, A House Divided: Argentina, 1880–1980 (1984); John Lynch, Argentine Dictator: Juan Manuel De Rosas, 1829–1852 (1981); David Rock, Argentina, 1516–1987: From Spanish Colonization to Alfonsín (1987); James R. Scobie, Argentina: A City and a Nation, 2nd ed. (1971); and Ione S. Wright and Lisa M. Nekhom, Historical Dictionary of Argentina (1978).

Mujica Láinez, Manuel

2004-11-11T08:21:00.000-08:00

Mujica Láinez was descended from an Argentine family that included the writers Juan Cruz Varela and Miguel Cané. He was educated in

Cyprian, Saint

2004-11-10T10:38:00.000-08:00

Latin in full Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus early Christian theologian and bishop of Carthage who led the Christians of North Africa during a period of persecution from Rome. Upon his execution he became the first bishop-martyr of Africa.

Libya, Drainage

2004-11-09T05:48:00.000-08:00

There are no perennial rivers in Libya. The numerous wadis that drain the uplands are filled by flash floods during the rains and quickly dry up or are reduced to a trickle. The largest wadi systems are the Wadi Zamzam and Wadi Bayy al-Kabir, both of which reach the western coast of the Gulf of Sidra. Other large wadis drain the interior basins of Surt, Zaltan, and the Fezzan.

Yamoussoukro

2004-11-07T07:15:00.000-08:00

Town and capital (de jure; administrative), south-central Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), located about 170 miles (274 km) northwest of the national capital, Abidjan. For more than three decades after Côte d'Ivoire achieved independence in 1960, Yamoussoukro served as the country's “second capital” because it was the birthplace, home, and unofficial headquarters of President Félix

Arabian Religion, South Arabia

2004-11-06T22:20:00.000-08:00

From the middle of the 2nd millennium BC a sedentary agrarian civilization developed in Yemen in the oases along the edge of the desert. The people of this civilization had gradually mastered techniques enabling them to accumulate water from seasonal mountain rivers and distribute it into extensive irrigation systems. At the end of the 8th century appeared the oldest

Tunnels And Underground Excavations, Rock bolts

2004-11-05T19:17:00.000-08:00

Rock bolts are used to reinforce jointed rock much as reinforcing bars supply tensile resistance in reinforced concrete. After early trials about 1920, they were developed in the 1940s for strengthening laminated roof strata in mines. For public works their use has increased rapidly since 1955, as confidence has developed from two independent pioneering applications, both

Pacific Islands, The island ecosystem

2004-11-05T11:20:00.000-08:00

To know what it is like to live on a Pacific island, the intermixture of physical and biological characteristics of the particular island must be considered. Each of the myriad ecological systems in the Pacific is a unique complex of living organisms and their nonliving environment. Each is a functional system of interacting components that tends toward an equilibrium

Jackling, Daniel Cowan

2004-11-04T22:26:00.000-08:00

A graduate of the Missouri School of Mines, Rolla, in 1892, Jackling taught chemistry and metallurgy there (1891–93) and then worked (1894–95) as a chemist and metallurgist

Tag

2004-11-02T05:44:00.000-08:00

Also called touch , or tig children's game in which, in its simplest form, one player (“it,” or “he”) chases the others and tries to touch one of them, making the person touched “it.” The game is known by many other names. In some games, it is pretended that the touch carries some form of contagion—e.g., plague (Italy), leprosy (Madagascar), fleas (Spain), or “lurgy fever” (Great Britain). In others, a method of achieving immunity

End Stop

2004-11-01T01:40:00.000-08:00

Compare enjambment.

Belcher, Sir Edward

2004-10-31T20:38:00.000-08:00

The grandson of a governor of Nova Scotia, Belcher entered the navy in 1812. After serving as a surveyor with an expedition to the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Strait in 1825, he commanded a surveying ship along the north and west coasts of Africa (1830–33). He

Qarmatian

2004-10-31T05:17:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Qarmathian, Karmatian , or Karmathian , Arabic Qarmati , plural Qaramitah a member of the Shi'ite Muslim sect known as the Isma'ilites. The Qarmatians flourished in Iraq, Yemen, and especially Bahrain during the 9th to 11th centuries, taking their name from Hamdan Qarmat, who led the sect in southern Iraq in the second half of the 9th century. The Qarmatians became notorious for an insurrection in Syria and Iraq in 903–906 and for the exploits of two Bahraini leaders,

Abbess

2004-10-30T06:01:00.000-07:00

To be elected, an abbess must be at least 40 years old and a professed nun for at least 10 years. She is solemnly blessed

Carinus

2004-10-28T20:25:00.000-07:00

With the title of Caesar, he was sent by his father, the emperor Carus, to the army of the Rhine in 282. On his father's death in the summer of 283, Carinus became emperor in the West, his brother Numerian becoming emperor in the East. After a campaign on the Rhine, Carinus returned to Rome where,

Argelander, Friedrich Wilhelm August

2004-10-28T07:33:00.000-07:00

German astronomer who established the study of variable stars as an independent branch of astronomy and is renowned for his great catalog listing the positions and magnitudes of 324,188 stars. He studied at the University of Königsberg, Prussia, where he was a pupil and later the successor of Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel. Argelander was appointed

Scarlatti, Alessandro

2004-10-26T22:37:00.000-07:00

Scarlatti was sent to Rome at about the age of 12; there he met Bernardo Pasquini, by whom he was greatly influenced. The first of his 115 operas, Gli equivoci nel sembiante (1679), written

Argelander, Friedrich Wilhelm August

2004-10-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

Specifically, any of six species of toothed whales distinguishable from dolphins by their more compact build, generally smaller size (maximum length about 2 metres, or 6.6 feet), and curved, blunt snouts with spatulate rather than conical teeth. In North America the name is sometimes applied to dolphins. The porpoise family consists of three genera:

'abbadid Dynasty

2004-10-24T17:51:00.000-07:00

In 1023 the qadi (religious judge) Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn 'Abbad declared Sevilla independent of Córdoba. His son Abu 'Amr 'Abbad, known as al-Mu'tadid (1042–69), greatly enlarged his territory by forcibly