SmoothPlane

Philip The Evangelist, Saint

2005-03-31T13:48:00.000-08:00

Also called Philip The Deacon in the early Christian church, one of the seven deacons appointed to tend the Christians of Jerusalem, thereby enabling the Apostles to freely conduct their missions. His energetic preaching, however, earned him the title of Philip the Evangelist and led him to minister successfully in Samaria, in Palestine, where he converted, among others,

Levon I

2005-03-29T00:29:00.000-08:00

Byname Levon The Great king of Armenia (reigned 1199–1219), who rallied the Armenians after their dispersion by the Seljuq Turks and consolidated the kingdom in Cilicia, southeastern Asia Minor. Through his friendly relations with the German emperors Frederick I Barbarossa and Henry VI, he was crowned by Pope Celestine III's legate, Cardinal Conrad von Wittelsbach, and allied Lesser

Production Function

2005-03-28T02:47:00.000-08:00

The production function can

Botany

2005-03-26T01:03:00.000-08:00

Branch of biology that deals with the study of plants, including their structure, properties, and biochemical processes. Also included are plant classification and the study of plant diseases and of interactions with the environment. The principles and findings of botany have provided the base for such applied sciences as agriculture, horticulture, and

écrins National Park

2005-03-23T15:28:00.000-08:00

Nature reserve located in the départements of Hautes-Alpes and Isère, southeastern France. The park, which was created in 1973, occupies 226,694 acres (91,740 hectares) and is the second largest national park in France. It encompasses the Alpine peaks of Barre des Écrins (13,457 feet [4,102 m]), La Meije (13,067 feet [3,983 m]), Ailefroide, and Pelvoux, as well as numerous lakes, cirques, and gorges. Forests of larch cover the

Eye, Human, The axes of the eye

2005-03-23T14:06:00.000-08:00

It is worthwhile at this point to define certain axes of the eyes employed during different types of study. The optic axis of the eye is a line drawn through the centre of the cornea and the nodal (central) point of the eye; it actually does not intersect with the retina at the centre of the fovea as might be expected, but toward the nose from this, so that there is an angle of

Greece, History Of

2005-03-22T10:33:00.000-08:00

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

Hui-kuan

2005-03-22T10:19:00.000-08:00

The hui-kuan were originated at Peking by the provincial guild of the southern Chinese province of Kwangtung.

Powell, Michael (latham)

2005-03-20T18:31:00.000-08:00

Powell attended Dulwich College, London (1918–21). He directed his first film, Two Crowded Hours, in 1931. During the 1930s he directed over 20 low-budget, quickly made films before producer Alexander Korda teamed him with Hungarian-born screenwriter Emeric

Gerhard, Johann

2005-03-19T13:44:00.000-08:00

Gerhard was deeply influenced as a youth by the Lutheran theologian Johann Arndt and obtained training

Carbuncle

2005-03-18T08:03:00.000-08:00

In mineralogy, a deep red, cabochon-cut almandine, which is an iron aluminum garnet. See almandine.

Vietnam, Transportation

2005-03-17T02:15:00.000-08:00

The topography of Vietnam renders land transportation between the north and the south difficult, with traffic limited to the narrow coastal corridor. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are connected by rail and highway through this corridor. The nation's road network is extensive but in generally poor condition. The two large deltas, where most of the population is concentrated,

Aeschylus, Recommended editions

2005-03-16T17:49:00.000-08:00

Aeschylus, 2 vol. (1953–56, reissued 1967), contains English translations of all the plays and is part of The Complete Greek Tragedies series, ed. by Richmond Lattimore and David Grene. Recent editions of the trilogy are Oresteia, trans. by Hugh Lloyd-Jones, 3 vol. (1979, reissued in 1 vol., 1982); and The Oresteia, trans. by Robert Fagles (1975, reissued 1984).

'attar, Farid Od-din

2005-03-15T08:45:00.000-08:00

As a young man Farid od-Din traveled widely, visiting Egypt, Syria, Arabia, India, and Central Asia. He finally settled in his native town, Nishapur, in northeastern Iran, where he spent

Dwarka

2005-03-13T13:59:00.000-08:00

Town, southwestern Gujarat state, west-central India. It lies on the western shore of the Okhamandal Peninsula, a small western extension of the Kathiawar Peninsula. Dwarka, or the “City of Many Gates” (Sanskrit: Dvaraka, or Dvaravati), is also known as Jagat, or Jigat. Dwarka was the legendary capital of the god Krishna, who founded it after his flight from Mathura. Its consequent sanctity

Smith, Dame Maggie

2005-03-13T11:38:00.000-08:00

Smith studied acting at the Oxford Playhouse School and began appearing in revues in Oxford in 1952 and London in 1955. She first achieved recognition in the Broadway revue New Faces of 1956 and held the lead comedienne role in the London revue Share My Lettuce (1957–58). She then

Wyandotte

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

City, Wayne County, southeastern Michigan, U.S., on the Detroit River, just southwest of Detroit. Settled in about 1820, it was laid out in 1854 on the site of the Indian village where Chief Pontiac had planned his attack on Detroit in 1763. Its name recalls the Wyandot (Wendat) Indians, a confederation of the Huron nation. The first commercial Bessemer steel in the United States was produced

Grosz, Karoly

2005-03-11T03:35:00.000-08:00

Hungarian communist politician (b. Aug. 1, 1930, Miskolc, Hung.--d. Jan. 7, 1996, Godollo, Hung.), as prime minister (1987-88), initiated economic reforms that led to his party's collapse. Despite his loyalty to the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (HSWP), his program of austerity steered the government away from communism, prompting more radical politicians to replace him in order to accelerate the

Sea Whip

2005-03-09T20:53:00.000-08:00

Any of several genera of corals of the order Gorgonacea (phylum Cnidaria), characterized by a long, whiplike growth and a variety of bright colours. The “whip” consists of a colony of tiny polyps (cylindrical, stalklike forms with a mouth and eight tentacles at the upper, or free, end) that grow upon one another in a continuous single stem. Spicules, or needlelike

Diffraction Grating

2005-03-09T04:27:00.000-08:00

Component of optical devices consisting of a surface ruled with close, equidistant, and parallel lines for the purpose of resolving light into spectra. A grating is said to be a transmission or reflection grating according to whether it is transparent or mirrored—that is, whether it is ruled on glass or on a thin metal film deposited on a glass blank. Reflection gratings

'brog-mi

2005-03-08T21:23:00.000-08:00

'Brog-mi studied for one year in Nepal and for eight years at Vikramashila (Bihar, India). Coming under the influence of Atisa, an Indian Buddhist who arrived in Tibet about 1042, 'Brog-mi was a leader in the revival of Tibetan Buddhism. He founded a new and powerful order known as Sa-skya-pa. In 1073 his disciple Dkon-mchog rgyal-po established the

Frederick William

2005-03-07T20:45:00.000-08:00

Byname The Great Elector, German Der Grosse Kurfürst elector of Brandenburg (1640–88), who restored the Hohenzollern dominions after the devastations of the Thirty Years' War—centralizing the political administration, reorganizing the state finances, rebuilding towns and cities, developing a strong army, and acquiring clear sovereignty over ducal Prussia. All these measures

La Condamine, Charles-marie De

2005-03-05T21:30:00.000-08:00

In 1735 La Condamine joined an expedition sent to Peru to determine the length near the Equator of a degree of the meridian. In 1743 he left the party, traveled from Quito (now in Ecuador), and began a four-month raft journey down to the mouth of

Auction

2005-03-05T02:27:00.000-08:00

The buying and selling of real and personal property through open public bidding. The traditional auction process involves a succession of increasing bids or offers by potential purchasers until the highest (and final) bid is accepted by the auctioneer (who is usually an agent of the seller). At a so-called Dutch auction, however, the seller offers property at successively

Self-incrimination

2005-03-03T09:23:00.000-08:00

In law, the giving of evidence that might tend to expose the witness to punishment for crime. The term is generally used in relation to the privilege of refusing to give such evidence. In some continental European countries (Germany, for example, but not France), a person fearing self-incrimination may make his own decision as to whether or not he will testify. In Anglo-American

Faranah

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

Town, central Guinea, western Africa. The town is located on the Niger River and was founded in the 1890s as a French outpost in the campaign against Samory Touré, the Malinke warrior-leader. It is connected by road with Dabola and Kissidougou and is a trading centre for rice, cattle, and palm oil and kernels. It has a hospital and a Roman Catholic mission (1948). The surrounding region

Alton

2005-03-02T21:23:00.000-08:00

Named for a son of Colonel Rufus Easton, a St. Louis lawyer who laid out the townsite in 1817, it became a busy river port by the 1830s and still has considerable river traffic. Its industrial growth was stimulated

Mahakavya

2005-03-01T13:35:00.000-08:00

In its classical form, a mahakavya consists of a variable number of comparatively short cantos, each composed in a metre appropriate to its particular subject matter. The subject matter of the mahakavya is

Mobutu Sese Seko

2005-02-27T04:10:00.000-08:00

Mobutu was educated in missionary schools and began his career in 1949 in the Belgian Congolese army, the Force Publique, rising from a clerk

Bingen

2005-02-27T01:05:00.000-08:00

In full Bingen am Rhein city, Rhineland-Palatinate Land (state), southwestern Germany. Bingen is a port at the confluence of the Rhine and Nahe rivers, near the whirlpool known as Binger Loch. It originated as the Roman fortress of Bingium and later became an imperial free city, joining the Hanseatic League in 1254. The archbishop-electors of Mainz held the town from 1281 until it fell to Hessen in 1803, after

Astronomy

2005-02-26T07:59:00.000-08:00

Without doubt the most exciting event in astronomy was the impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter, but studies of other small bodies in the solar system provided their own delights and surprises. Although the solar system is traditionally viewed as comprising the Sun, nine planets, their moons, and the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, the discovery in

Italic Languages, Oscan

2005-02-25T11:52:00.000-08:00

Before Latin spread out, Oscan was the most widely spoken group of dialects of the Apennine Peninsula. It was used by the Samnites in Samnium and Campania; by the inhabitants of Lucania and Bruttium; and, with slight variations, by smaller tribes between Latium and the Adriatic coast: the Volsci, Marsi, Paeligni, Vestini, and Marrucini. (These distinct “minor dialects” within

Wach, Joachim

2005-02-24T01:45:00.000-08:00

As a professor of the history of religion at the University of Leipzig (1929–35) and the University of Chicago (1945–55), Wach contributed significantly to the field of study that became known as the sociology of religion. He is credited with introducing into

Alabama, Government

2005-02-23T23:31:00.000-08:00

Alabama is governed by a bicameral legislature and a governor and cabinet. The legislature consists of 35 senators and 105 representatives who meet annually in regular sessions and are elected for four-year terms. The constitution, a complex and, some have claimed, outdated and often inadequate document, dates from 1901. After various poll tax and other tax provisions aimed

Alegría, Claribel

2005-02-22T11:07:00.000-08:00

Poet, essayist, and journalist who was a major voice in the literature of contemporary Central America. Noted for her testimonio (testament) concerning the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua, she was best known in the United States for the bilingual edition of her volume of poetry, Flores del volcán/Flowers from the Volcano (1982), translated by the

Belgium

2005-02-22T04:01:00.000-08:00

The Belgian Parliament approved a further decentralization of power to the country's three regions during 2001. After six months of intense negotiations between the major political parties, it was agreed in July that responsibility for agricultural policy, foreign trade, development cooperation, and control over communal and provincial councils would pass from

Mansart, François

2005-02-20T23:46:00.000-08:00

In 1642 René de Longeuil, an immensely wealthy financier and officer of the royal treasury, commissioned Mansart to build a château on his estate. The château of Maisons (now called Maisons-Laffitte, in the chief town of the département of Yvelines) is unique in that it is the only building by Mansart in which the interior decoration (graced particularly by a magnificent

Maher, Bill

2005-02-20T00:11:00.000-08:00

The title of Politically Incorrect, the often controversial television talk show that nightly featured four outspoken guests from the world of entertainment, arts and letters, and politics, was never more appropriate than when its host, comedian Bill Maher, implied that the terrorists who had attacked the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, were braver than U.S. forces fighting

Regent's Park

2005-02-18T03:14:00.000-08:00

Park in the Greater London boroughs of Westminster and Camden. It occupies an area of 487 acres (197 hectares) north and east of the St. Marylebone district. Originally a part of Henry VIII's hunting forest, Regent's Park was developed and landscaped (in the 1810s and '20s) by the city planner and architect John Nash as an area of leisure for the royal family and other aristocrats. It was

Mahmoud

2005-02-17T06:04:00.000-08:00

Mahmoud was foaled in France by Mah Mahal and sired by Blenheim. He was owned by the Aga Khan who sent him to England to be trained by Frank Butters at Newmarket. He won all three of his races as a two-year-old, and as a three-year-old he lost the Two Thousand Guineas by a short head,

Guzmán Fernández, (silvestre) Antonio

2005-02-16T15:53:00.000-08:00

At the age of 15, Guzmán was working in his family's textile store. By age 17 he was already managing stores for the Curaçao Trading Company. He invested in land and started growing rice, soon expanding into other agricultural exports. Guzmán was

Murcia

2005-02-15T14:52:00.000-08:00

Castile annexed the kingdom of Murcia in 1243, thereby securing access to the Mediterranean and challenging the southern expansion of the crown of Aragon.

Integrator

2005-02-13T15:29:00.000-08:00

The earliest integrator was a mechanical instrument called the planimeter (q.v.). The illustration (top) shows a simple mechanical integrator of the disk-and-wheel variety,

Gauge

2005-02-13T01:23:00.000-08:00

Also called Railway Gauge, in railroad transportation, the width between the inside faces of running rails. Because the cost of construction and operation of a rail line is greater or less depending on the gauge, much controversy has surrounded decisions in respect to it, and a proliferation of gauges has developed throughout the world. A narrow gauge has, in addition to cost advantages, a capability

Afghanistan, Amanollah (191929)

2005-02-11T23:24:00.000-08:00

Amanollah launched the inconclusive Third Anglo-Afghan War in May 1919. The month-long war gained the Afghans the conduct of their own foreign affairs. The Treaty of Rawalpindi was signed on August 8, 1919, and amended in 1921. Before signing the final document with the British, the Afghans concluded a treaty of friendship with the new Bolshevik regime in the Soviet Union; Afghanistan

Ryegrass

2005-02-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

Any of about 10 species constituting the genus Lolium (family Poaceae), which includes forage and lawn grasses of temperate Eurasia and the noxious weed known as darnel (L. temulentum). Ryegrasses are about 0.3 to 1 m (1 to 3 feet) tall and have tough, dark green leaves. The flower spikelets grow in the angles of a zigzag rachis (flower stem). Both perennial ryegrass (L. perenne) and Italian

Epistemology, Logical versus factual propositions

2005-02-09T13:12:00.000-08:00

The term “logical” in this connection is used in a wide sense to include a proposition such as “All husbands are married.” By analyzing the meaning of its constituent terms one can reduce the proposition to a logical truth, e.g., to “A and B implies A.” In contrast, factual propositions, such as “All Model-T Fords are black,” have syntactical and semantic structures that differentiate

Cheltenham

2005-02-09T06:07:00.000-08:00

A church is known to have existed at Cheltenham as early as 803. The town is first mentioned in documents in 1223, when the benefit of markets, fairs, and the hundred (feudal

Tsévié

2005-02-08T09:29:00.000-08:00

Town, southern Togo, West Africa. It is located about 20 miles (32 km) north of Lomé, the national capital. The town constitutes an important centre for palm oil processing and a major market for commercial trade among Togo's régions. Tsévié has road and railway links with Notsé, Atakpamé, and Blitta to the north and with Lomé to the south. The Ewe people inhabit Tsévié and the surrounding

Chadwick, Sir James

2005-02-07T20:18:00.000-08:00

Educated at the universities of Manchester and Cambridge, Chadwick also studied under Hans Geiger at the Technische Hochschule, Berlin. From 1923 he worked with Ernest Rutherford in the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge,

Saransk

2005-02-05T23:42:00.000-08:00

City and capital of Mordvinia, in western Russia. It lies along the upper Insar River and on the western flank of the Volga River uplands. The city was founded in 1641 as a stronghold on the Saransk defensive line. It is an important route centre, with railways to Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Samara, and Penza. Industrial development was greatly stimulated in World War II,

øvre Divi Valley National Park

2005-02-05T00:27:00.000-08:00

Norwegian Øvre Dividal Nasjonalpark, national park in the eastern part of the Divi valley, Troms county, northern Norway. With an area of 286 square miles (741 square km), it was established in 1971. The landscape varies from lowland forests of pine and birch to low hills and mountain plateaus with lakes and bogs interspersed throughout. A sparse pine forest supports bear, lynx, wolverine, and wolf. Large numbers of tame

Switzerland, Visual arts

2005-02-04T13:51:00.000-08:00

The Protestantism of 16th-century Switzerland had a strongly inhibiting effect on Swiss painting and sculpture in general. The peculiar lack of either French or Italian Renaissance influence left Swiss artists in a limbo from which they began to emerge only in modern times. Artists of international renown have included Alberto Giacometti, who derived much of

Paul Vi

2005-02-03T23:10:00.000-08:00

Original name Giovanni Battista Montini Italian pope of the Roman Catholic church (reigned 1963–78) during a period including most of the second Vatican Council (1962–65) and the immediate postconciliar era, in which he issued directives and guidance to a changing Roman Catholic church. His pontificate was confronted with the problems and uncertainties

Orzeszkowa, Eliza

2005-02-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

Née Eliza Pawlowska Polish novelist and a leading writer of the Positivist period (the Polish Positivists took their name from Auguste Comte's philosophy but were themselves mainly utilitarians). Questions of education, independence, and marriage in Orzeszkowa's works were eventually overshadowed by issues such

Henlein, Konrad

2005-02-01T14:53:00.000-08:00

Henlein, educated at a commercial academy, became a bank clerk and later a

Taliban

2005-01-31T19:06:00.000-08:00

Persian Taleban (“Students”) , also spelled Taleban ultraconservative political and religious faction that emerged in Afghanistan in the mid 1990s following the withdrawal of Soviet troops, the collapse of Afghanistan's communist regime, and the subsequent breakdown in civil order. The faction took its name from its membership, which consisted largely of students trained in madrasahs (Islamic religious schools)

Shah Jahan

2005-01-30T05:17:00.000-08:00

He was the third son of the Mughal emperor Jahangir and the Rajput princess Manmati. Marrying in 1612 Arjumand Banu Baygam, niece of Jahangir's wife Nur Jahan, he became, as Prince Khurram, one of the influential Nur Jahan clique of the middle period of Jahangir's reign. In 1622 Shah Jahan, ambitious to win the succession, rebelled,

Protestantism, Germany

2005-01-29T13:15:00.000-08:00

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a reaction against the Enlightenment occurred in Germany. In philosophy, literature, and music it found expression in German Idealism and Romanticism. Indeed, a number of religious thinkers sought to point out the banality of the Enlightenment and to preserve and awaken genuine Christianity. Among these was Johann Georg

Anicca

2005-01-28T13:46:00.000-08:00

Sanskrit Anitya, in Buddhism, the doctrine of impermanence, one of the basic characteristics of all existence. Anicca, anatta (the absence of a self), and dukkha (“suffering”) together make up the ti-lakkhana, or three characteristics of all phenomenal existence. That the human body is subject to change is empirically observable in the universal states of childhood, youth, maturity, and old

Amalasuntha

2005-01-27T04:31:00.000-08:00

When her husband died, Amalasuntha was left with a son, Athalaric, and a daughter. At Theodoric's death, in 526, Athalaric was 10 years old, and Amalasuntha assumed the regency. Her pro-Byzantine policy, her patronage of literature and the arts, and her desire to educate

Ahom

2005-01-26T01:52:00.000-08:00

Tribe that ruled much of Assam from the 13th century until the establishment of British rule in 1838. Their power in Assam reached its peak during the reign of King Rudra Singh (1696–1714). They originated in the Chinese province of Yunnan and began migrating into Indochina and northern Myanmar (Burma) in the first centuries AD. Their original language is now extinct, and they speak Assamese.

Black Bear

2005-01-25T22:45:00.000-08:00

Also called American Bear (Ursus americanus), forest-dwelling bear (family Ursidae) that has been reduced in population and range but is still the most common North American bear. The cinnamon bear and the blue-gray or blue-black glacier bear represent colour phases of this species. The American black bear probably constitutes only one species, rather than the more than 80 described

Fairfax, Edward

2005-01-24T04:18:00.000-08:00

English poet whose Godfrey of Bulloigne or the Recoverie of Jerusalem (1600), a translation of Gerusalemme liberata, an epic poem by his Italian contemporary Torquato Tasso, won fame and was praised by John Dryden. Although translating stanza by stanza, Fairfax freely altered poetic detail. The poem influenced the development of the couplet.

Belém

2005-01-23T11:14:00.000-08:00

Also called Santa Maria de Belém freguesia (parish) within the western limits of the city of Lisbon, Portugal. A former royal residence, Belém (Bethlehem) is known for its Manueline (early 16th-century) architecture, notably the Jerónimos monastery, founded by Manuel I in 1499 in honour of the explorer Vasco da Gama's discovery of a sea route to India, and the white Tower of Belém, built in 1515–21 to protect the entrance

Cabaret

2005-01-22T04:18:00.000-08:00

Restaurant that serves liquor and offers a variety of musical entertainment. The cabaret probably originated in France in the 1880s as a small club in which the audience was grouped around a platform. The entertainment at first consisted of a series of amateur acts linked together by a master of ceremonies; its coarse humour was usually directed against the conventions

Wage And Salary

2005-01-21T09:41:00.000-08:00

The purchasing-power theory of wages involves the relation between wages and employment and the business cycle and is not, therefore, a theory of wage determination. It stresses the importance of spending through consumption and investment as an influence upon the activity of the economy. The theory gained prominence during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when

Myriocephalon, Battle Of

2005-01-20T05:46:00.000-08:00

Manuel determined to reassert his suzerainty over former Byzantine territory

Visconti, Luchino

2005-01-19T20:56:00.000-08:00

In full Don Luchino Visconti, Conte (count) Di Modrone Italian motion-picture director whose realistic treatment of individuals caught in the conflicts of modern society contributed significantly to the post-World War II revolution in Italian filmmaking and earned him the title of father of Neorealism. He also established himself as an innovative theatrical and opera director in the years

Catanduanes

2005-01-18T22:24:00.000-08:00

Island, east-central Philippines, in the Philippine Sea, separated from southeastern Luzon (Rungus Point) by the shallow Maqueda Channel. The island has an area of 550 square miles (1,425 square km). Farming is diversified (rice, corn [maize], copra, abaca) on the hilly, rolling land. Virac, the chief port, is on the southern coast in a lowland area. The island is known for its stone churches.

Peregrinus Of Maricourt, Peter

2005-01-16T14:19:00.000-08:00

Almost nothing is known about Peregrinus' life, except that he wrote his famous treatise while serving as an engineer in the army of Charles I of Anjou that was besieging Lucera (in Italy) in August 1269 in a “crusade” sanctioned by the pope. Peregrinus' abilities

San Francesco

2005-01-16T09:25:00.000-08:00

Franciscan monastery and church in Assisi, Italy, begun after the canonization in 1228 of St. Francis of Assisi and completed in 1253. The crypt was added in 1818, when the tomb of St. Francis was opened. The lower church is where the saint is buried, and it has frescoes by Giunta Pisano, Cimabue, Giotto, Pietro Lorenzetti, Simone Martini, and Andrea da Bologna. The upper church has frescoes

Raymond Of Peñafort, Saint

2005-01-15T21:43:00.000-08:00

He studied canon law at Bologna and taught there from 1218 to 1221. Among his works of this period were unpublished annotations

Computers, Apple Computer

2005-01-14T05:33:00.000-08:00

Like the founding of the early chip companies and the invention of the microprocessor, the story of Apple Computer is a key part of Silicon Valley folklore. Two whiz kids, Stephen G. Wozniak and Steven P. Jobs, shared an interest in electronics. Wozniak was an early and regular participant at Homebrew Computer Club meetings (see the earlier section The Altair), which Jobs

Ahvaz

2005-01-13T11:00:00.000-08:00

Arabic Ahwaz, town, southwestern Iran. Ahvaz is situated on both banks of the Karun River where it crosses a low range of sandstone hills. The town has been identified with Achaemenid Tareiana, a river crossing on the royal road connecting Susa, Persepolis, and Pasargadae. Ardashir I, the Sasanian king (224–241) who rebuilt the town, named it Hormuzd Ardashir. He dammed the river, providing irrigation

Indiana

2005-01-12T09:26:00.000-08:00

Borough (town), seat of Indiana county, west-central Pennsylvania, U.S., in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, 46 miles (74 km) northeast of Pittsburgh. Settled about 1764, it was laid out in 1805 on land donated for a county seat by George Clymer of Philadelphia, a signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. It was incorporated in 1816. Prior to the American Civil War, Indiana was a station

Murnau, F.w.

2005-01-11T18:30:00.000-08:00

Murnau studied philosophy, art history, and literature at the Universities of Heidelberg and Berlin. In 1908 he joined the company of renowned

Biblical Literature, Form criticism

2005-01-10T08:20:00.000-08:00

In the Pauline writings, as noted above, gospel, kerygma, and creed come close together from oral to written formulas that were transmitted about the Christ event: Jesus' death and Resurrection. In the apostolic Fathers (early 2nd century), the transition was made from oral to written tradition; the translation of the presumed Aramaic traditions had taken place before

Osborne, Dorothy, Lady Temple

2005-01-08T11:45:00.000-08:00

English gentlewoman best known for the letters she wrote to her future husband, William Temple, before their marriage. The letters are simply written in an easy, conversational style and present an interesting picture of the life of a young English gentlewoman in the Commonwealth period

Bone, Sir Muirhead

2005-01-08T04:16:00.000-08:00

Bone first studied architecture and then art at the Glasgow School of Art. Attracted to the picturesque aspect of buildings, he began to depict views of his native town of Glasgow, among them Portfolio (1899), a series

Sankin Kotai

2005-01-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

System inaugurated in 1635 in Japan by the Tokugawa shogun (hereditary military dictator) Iemitsu by which the great feudal lords (daimyo) had to reside several months each year in the Tokugawa capital at Edo (modern Tokyo). When the lords returned to their fiefs, they were required to leave their wives and families in Edo. The system, which was imitated by the various daimyo

Târgu-neamt

2005-01-04T15:02:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Tîrgu-neamt, town, Neamt judet (county), northeastern Romania, on the Neamt River. It has long been a local market centre and a major focus of culture in Moldavia. West of the town is Neamt Monastery, founded by Stephen (Stefan) the Great in 1497. On the north bank of the Neamt River stands the ruins of the Fortress of Neamt, founded in the late 14th century. To the west is Agapia Monastery, founded in 1585. Textiles

Ta-pieh Mountains

2005-01-04T07:57:00.000-08:00

Wade–Giles romanization Ta-pieh Shan, Pinyin Dabie Shan, mountain range in central China. It has a roughly northwest-to-southeast axis, which forms the watershed between the upper Huai River and the Yangtze River and also marks the boundary between Hupeh province and its eastern and northern neighbours, the provinces of Honan and Anhwei. The name Ta-pieh Mountains properly belongs to the southeastern, higher section

Aesthetics, Representation and expression in art

2005-01-02T16:49:00.000-08:00

Various theories have been proposed in answer to these questions, the most popular being that the forms of art are similar to language and are to be understood as language is understood, in terms of conventions and semantic rules. A few examples of contemporary theories that have described art in this way include Ernst Cassirer's philosophy of symbolic forms, Susanne

Annelid, External features

2005-01-02T14:04:00.000-08:00

The body of an annelid is often described as a tube within a tube. The inner tube, or digestive tract, is separated from the outer tube, or body wall, by the coelom. The head region (prostomium) is followed by a series of segments similar to each other in appearance. The body in many species, especially in the sedentary polychaetes, is separated into two or three regions. The

Devonshire, William Cavendish, 1st Earl Of, Baron Cavendish Of Hardwick

2004-12-31T14:01:00.000-08:00

The son of Sir William Cavendish and his third wife, Elizabeth Hardwick (afterward the Countess of Shrewsbury), the young Cavendish was educated at Eton College and Gray's Inn and was knighted in 1580 and created a baron in 1605. In 1608 he inherited a rich estate from his mother and later became

Sucker

2004-12-31T13:49:00.000-08:00

Any of the freshwater fishes constituting the family Catostomidae, similar to and closely related to the carp and minnows (Cyprinidae). There are about 80 to 100 species of suckers; except for a few species in Asia, all are North American. Many suckers are almost indistinguishable from minnows, but catostomids may often be recognized by the sucking, usually ventral

Arabian Desert

2004-12-30T20:42:00.000-08:00

Before the 18th century many Arabs but few Europeans had succeeded in penetrating the Arabian Desert, and few authors had written about it. Travel literature written in Arabic concentrated on the routes taken by pilgrimage caravans going to Mecca. Scientific exploration began in 1762 with a Danish expedition led by the German surveyor Carsten Niebuhr. In the 19th century

Atbara River

2004-12-29T13:41:00.000-08:00

Arabic Nahr 'atbarah, river joining the Nile as its last tributary at the town of 'Atbarah in The Sudan. The Atbara River rises in the Ethiopian highlands north of Lake Tana and flows westward into The Sudan, turning north to receive the Angareb and Satit (Takaze) rivers before heading northwestward to the Nile. It flows for a total of 500 miles (805 km). A dam at the rapids of Khashm al-Qirbah was built for

Ahmed Hasim

2004-12-28T17:37:00.000-08:00

Born into a prominent family, Hasim developed his knowledge of French literature and his fondness for poetry at Galatasaray Lycée in Constantinople (now Istanbul). After briefly studying law, he worked for the government tobacco offices.

Ari Thorgilsson The Learned

2004-12-27T02:28:00.000-08:00

Icelandic chieftain, priest, and historian whose Íslendingabók (Libellus Islandorum; The Book of the Icelanders) is the first history of Iceland written in the vernacular. Composed before 1133 and covering the period from the settlement of Iceland up to 1120, it includes information on the founding of the Althing (parliament) and on the settlement of Greenland and

Hyde Park

2004-12-25T17:21:00.000-08:00

Town (township) and unincorporated village, Dutchess county, eastern New York, U.S. It lies on the east side of the Hudson River, 8 miles (13 km) north of Poughkeepsie and about 75 miles (121 km) north of New York City. Both the village (settled as Stoutenburgh in 1741) and town (formed in 1821) bear the name of a local estate honouring Edward Hyde, Viscount Cornbury, who was governor of New York (1702–08). Primarily

France, History Of, Louis IX

2004-12-25T13:10:00.000-08:00

Louis IX, who was canonized in 1297, is the best-known Capetian ruler. He impressed all who came in touch with him, and the records of his reign—anecdotal and historical as well as official—leave no doubt that he

Mandalay

2004-12-24T22:08:00.000-08:00

Mandalay was built mainly in 1857–59 by King Mindon to replace Amarapura as his capital. It was the last capital of the Myanmar kingdom and

1054, Schism Of

2004-12-23T13:06:00.000-08:00

The relation of the Byzantine Church to the Roman may be described as

Stone, Jesse

2004-12-22T21:35:00.000-08:00

American musician, songwriter, and rhythm-and-blues pioneer who, with his songs “Shake, Rattle and Roll” and “Money Honey,” figured largely in the birth of rock and roll; he also wrote the jazz standard “Idaho” (b. Nov. 16, 1901, Atchison, Kan.—d. April 1, 1999, Altamonte Springs, Fla.).

Christensen, Willam

2004-12-21T10:12:00.000-08:00

Christensen studied with the great ballet master and reformer Michel Fokine. He performed in vaudeville with his brothers before joining the San Francisco Opera Ballet as

Kerensky, Aleksandr Fyodorovich

2004-12-20T18:45:00.000-08:00

While studying law at the University of St. Petersburg, Kerensky was attracted to the Narodniki (or populist) revolutionary movement. After graduating (1904), he joined the Socialist

Girl Scouts

2004-12-19T18:01:00.000-08:00

Also called (in Great Britain and some other countries) Girl Guides worldwide organization for girls, dedicated to training them in citizenship, good conduct, and outdoor activities. Robert (later Lord) Baden-Powell founded the Girl Guides in Great Britain in 1910 in response to the requests of girls who were interested in the Boy Scout movement established by him in 1908. The first Girl Scout troop in the United States was formed in 1912 by Juliette

Tapestry, Ancient Western world

2004-12-18T19:07:00.000-08:00

Examples of tapestry weaving from the ancient world are so isolated and fragmentary as to make it uncertain either when or where the art originated. The earliest known tapestry weaving was done in linen by the ancient Egyptians between 1483 and 1411 BC. Preserved by the dry desert climate of Egypt, three tapestry fragments were found in the tomb of Thutmose IV. Two of the fragments