TrueSnow

Radioactive Fallout

2005-04-04T18:27:00.000-07:00

The deposition of radioactive materials on the Earth from the atmosphere. See fallout.

Burckhardt, Jacob (christopher)

2005-04-04T04:51:00.000-07:00

Jacob Christopher also spelled Jakob Christoph one of the first great historians of art and culture, whose Die Kultur der Renaissance in Italien (1860; The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy, 1878, reprinted 1945) became a model for the treatment of cultural history in general.

Mountain

2005-04-03T01:32:00.000-08:00

Detailed introductions to the European Alps are E.R. Oxburgh, The Geology of the Eastern Alps (1968), concentrating on Austria; and R. Trümpy, An Outline of the Geology of Switzerland, vol. 1 of Geology of Switzerland: A Guide-Book, ed. by the Schweizerische Geologische Kommission (1980). Introductory articles on other mountain belts of the world are found in Scientific American, including the following: Don L. Anderson, “The San Andreas Fault,” 225(5):52–68 (November 1971); Peter Molnar and Paul Tapponnier, “The Collision Between India and Eurasia,” 236(4):30–41 (April 1977), describing the evolution of mountain belts in eastern Asia; and David L. Jones et al., “The Growth of Western North America,” 247(5):70–84 (November 1982), describing the accretion of exotic terrains to that area. Two useful articles in Geological Society of America Bulletin are Tanya Atwater, “Implications of Plate Tectonics for the Cenozoic Tectonic Evolution of Western North America,” 81(12):3513–35 (December 1970), a classic article that changed the way geologists view that region; and John F. Deway et al., “Plate Tectonics and the Evolution of the Alpine System,” 84(10)3137–80 (October 1973), a summary of motions of lithospheric plates and mountain building in the Mediterranean area. See also Peter Molnar, “The Geologic History and Structure of the Himalaya,” American Scientist, 74(2):144–154 (March-April 1986), describing how the structure of the Himalayas allows the chain to achieve its great height.

Aphrodite

2005-04-03T00:52:00.000-08:00

Ancient Greek goddess of sexual love and beauty, identified by the Romans with Venus (q.v.). Because the Greek word aphros means “foam,” the legend arose that Aphrodite was born from the white foam produced by the severed genitals of Uranus (Heaven), after his son Cronus threw them into the sea. Aphrodite was, in fact, widely worshiped as a goddess of the sea and of seafaring; she

Jainism, Recent Jain history

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

By the middle of the 19th century, image-worshiping Shvetambara monks had virtually disappeared, and control of temples and ritual passed into the hands of quasi-monastic clerics known as yati. Monastic life, however, experienced a revival under the auspices of charismatic monks such as Atmaramji (1837–96), and the number of Shvetambara image-worshiping renunciants grew

Felltham, Owen

2005-04-01T09:35:00.000-08:00

Felltham wrote the first edition of Resolves (1623), which contained 100 essays, when he was 18. The second edition, Resolves, a Second Centurie, published in 1628, contained

Spanish Treasure Fleet

2005-03-31T19:36:00.000-08:00

Beginning in the 1560s, shipping between Spain and the Americas was organized on a regular basis. Two fleets of between 30 and 90 vessels sailed from Seville to

Auditorium

2005-03-30T18:35:00.000-08:00

The part of a public building where an audience sits, as distinct from the stage, the area on which the performance or other object of the audience's attention is presented. In a large theatre an auditorium includes a number of floor levels frequently designed as stalls, private boxes, dress circle, balcony or upper circle, and gallery. A sloping floor allows the seats

Avoirdupois Weight

2005-03-30T13:56:00.000-08:00

Traditional system of weight in the British Imperial System and the United States Customary System of weights and measures. The name derives ultimately from French avoir de pois (“goods of weight” or “property”). The avoirdupois pound contains 7,000 grains, or 256 drams of 27.344 grains each, or 16 ounces of 437 1/2 grains each. It is used for all products not subject to apothecaries' weight (for pharmaceutical

Janequin, Clément

2005-03-29T04:01:00.000-08:00

He worked in Bordeaux in the service of Lancelot du Fau, who became bishop of Luçon, and later for the bishop of Bordeaux. He entered the priesthood and in 1525 became canon of St. Emilion.

Priene

2005-03-28T14:38:00.000-08:00

By the 8th century BC Priene was a member of the Ionian League, whose central shrine, the Panionion, lay within the city's territory. Priene

Sino-japanese War

2005-03-28T10:08:00.000-08:00

(1937–45), conflict that broke out when China began full-scale resistance to the expansion of Japanese influence in its territory (begun in 1931). In an effort to unseat the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek, the Japanese occupied large areas of eastern China in 1937–38. A stalemate then ensued, and Japanese forces were diverted to Southeast Asia and to the Pacific War against the

Kazakstan

2005-03-27T02:58:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kazakhstan , officially Republic of Kazakstan , Kazakh Qazaqstan Respublikasï country of Central Asia. It is bounded on the northwest and north by Russia, on the east by China, and on the south by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the Aral Sea; the Caspian Sea bounds Kazakstan to the southwest. Kazakstan's 1,052,100 square miles (2,724,900 square kilometres) make it by far the largest state in Central Asia and the ninth largest in the world. Between its most distant

Kahanamoku, Duke Paoa

2005-03-26T08:19:00.000-08:00

Kahanamoku set

Alexis

2005-03-25T13:58:00.000-08:00

Alexis was a hemophiliac, and at that time there was no medical treatment that could alleviate his condition or lessen his vulnerability

Dual Organization

2005-03-24T21:20:00.000-08:00

A social structure characterized by the division of society into two complementary parts called moieties. According to a strict definition, moieties are groups that are exogamous (i.e., marriage between members of the same moiety is forbidden), of unilineal descent, and in some sense opposed. Sometimes the term moiety is used more loosely to refer simply to one of two

Biblical Literature, The Apocalypse of Baruch

2005-03-24T20:01:00.000-08:00

The Apocalypse of Baruch was written about the same time as II (IV) Esdras, and the less profound Apocalypse probably depends much upon II Esdras. The Apocalypse of Baruch survives only in a Syriac version translated from Greek; originally the book was composed in Hebrew or Aramaic and is ascribed to Baruch, the disciple of Jeremiah and a contemporary of the destruction

Degenerate Art

2005-03-24T01:44:00.000-08:00

With Hitler's rise to power in 1933, the systematic suppression of contemporary art quickly spread throughout Germany. Sanctions were created to forbid the

Abraham Lincoln Battalion

2005-03-23T10:29:00.000-08:00

A force of volunteers from the United States who served on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War from January 1937 until November 1938. All seven International Brigades (q.v.)—each composed of three or more battalions—were formed by the Comintern (Communist International), beginning in late 1936, and all were disbanded by late 1938 as the war neared an end. Like the European battalions,

Alypius

2005-03-22T18:23:00.000-08:00

Writer on music whose Eisagoge mousike (Introduction to Music) contains a comprehensive summary of the complex system of Greek scales and their transpositions and includes tables of their method of notation. The treatise was published in 1616 by I. Meursius and in 1652, with the tables of notation, by M. Meibom. The authoritative edition is by K. von Jan

Rdx

2005-03-22T02:49:00.000-08:00

Abbreviation of Research Department Explosive , formally cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine , also called cyclonite, hexogen , or T4 powerful explosive, discovered by Hans Henning of Germany in 1899 but not used until World War II, when most of the warring powers introduced it. Relatively safe and inexpensive to manufacture, RDX was produced on a large scale in the United States by a secret process developed in the United States and Canada. The name RDX was coined by the British, and this name was accepted

Ashburton, John Dunning, 1st Baron

2005-03-22T01:11:00.000-08:00

English jurist and politician who defended the radical John Wilkes against charges of seditious and obscene libel (1763–64) and who is also important as the author of a resolution in Parliament (April 6, 1780) condemning George III for his support of Lord North's government despite the unpopularity of its policies during

Waitemata Harbour

2005-03-21T04:05:00.000-08:00

Harbour in northern North Island, New Zealand. The focal point of the Auckland region, it opens into Hauraki Gulf (east) through Stanley Bay. Its shore has many lesser embayments, containing Island, Soldiers, and Onetaunga bays in the northwest, Herne Bay in the southeast, and Stanley and Freemans bays in the east. Several tidal rivers, including Henderson and Whau creeks,

Kazin, Alfred

2005-03-20T23:40:00.000-08:00

The son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Kazin attended the City College of New York during the Great Depression and then worked as a freelance book reviewer for The New Republic and other periodicals. At age 27 he wrote a sweeping

Computers, Early computer enthusiasts

2005-03-20T13:21:00.000-08:00

Though the young engineering executives at Intel could sense the ground shifting upon the introduction of their new microprocessors, the leading computer manufacturers did not. It should not have taken a visionary to observe the trend of cheaper, faster, and more powerful devices. Nevertheless, even after the invention of the microprocessor, few could imagine

Breda, Treaty Of

2005-03-19T09:25:00.000-08:00

(July 31, 1667), treaty between England, the Dutch Republic, France, and Denmark, which brought to an inconclusive end the second Anglo-Dutch War (1665–67), in which France and Denmark had supported the Dutch. The Dutch had the military advantage during the war (fought mostly at sea) but were compelled to make peace quickly to deal with Louis XIV's invasion of the Spanish Netherlands in the

Computer Security

2005-03-19T08:41:00.000-08:00

The protection of computer systems and information from harm, theft, and unauthorized use. Computer hardware is typically protected by the same means used to protect other valuable or sensitive equipment, namely, serial numbers, doors and locks, and alarms. The protection of information and system access, on the other hand, is achieved through other tactics, some

Pretoria

2005-03-18T16:51:00.000-08:00

City in Gauteng province and administrative capital of the Republic of South Africa. Pretoria stretches along both sides of the Apies River and extends into the western foothills of the Magaliesberg on the east. Founded in 1855 by Marthinus, son of Andries Pretorius, the Boer statesman for whom the city was named, it became the capital of the Transvaal in 1860, administrative

Zambezi River, Animal life

2005-03-18T02:49:00.000-08:00

The tiger fish is one of the few species found both above and below the Victoria Falls. Pike is predominant in the upper course of the river, as are yellowfish and barbel. Bream are now common both above and below the falls. Crocodiles abound in the Zambezi, though they generally avoid stretches of fast-running water. Hippopotamuses are also found in the upper and lower

Mcphatter, Clyde

2005-03-17T11:55:00.000-08:00

One of the most dramatic vocalists of his generation, McPhatter grew up in a devout Christian family that moved from North Carolina to New Jersey in the mid-1940s. There, together with some high school friends (including two of author James

Salazar, António De Oliveira

2005-03-16T21:39:00.000-08:00

Salazar, the son of an estate manager at Santa Comba Dão, was educated at the seminary at Viseu and at the University of Coimbra. He graduated from there in law in 1914 and became a professor specializing in economics at Coimbra. He helped form the Catholic Centre Party in 1921 and was

Florence

2005-03-16T17:52:00.000-08:00

The

Fès

2005-03-16T16:29:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Fez , Arabic Fas city, northern Morocco, on the Wadi Fès just above its influx into the Sebou River. The oldest of Morocco's four imperial cities, it was founded on the banks of the Wadi Fès by Idris I (east bank, about 789) and Idris II (west bank, about 809). The two parts were united by the Almoravids in the 11th century to become a major Islamic city. Fès reached its zenith as a centre of learning and commerce

Beyer, Absalon Pederssøn

2005-03-16T11:56:00.000-08:00

Born on a farm, Beyer was adopted by a bishop after the death of his parents and educated at the universities of Copenhagen and Wittenberg, where he studied under the famous Protestant Reformation scholar Philipp Melanchthon. Beyer was a lecturer at the Bergen Cathedral

Sales Tax

2005-03-14T23:27:00.000-08:00

Levy imposed upon the sale of goods and services. A sales tax levied on the manufacture, purchase, sale, or consumption of a specific type of commodity is known as an excise tax. American terminology in this matter tends to differ from that used in the United Kingdom and former British colonies, however. In the United States, excises apply to imports as well as to domestic

Altai Mountains

2005-03-14T21:09:00.000-08:00

The system has three main subdivisions: the Altai proper (formerly

China, Internal migration

2005-03-14T15:15:00.000-08:00

Migrations have occurred often throughout the history of China. Sometimes they took place because a famine or political disturbance would cause the depopulation of an area already intensively cultivated, after which people in adjacent crowded regions would move in to occupy the deserted land. Sometime between 1640 and 1646 a peasant rebellion broke out in Szechwan,

Canaris, Wilhelm (franz)

2005-03-13T20:32:00.000-08:00

Having served in the navy during World War I, Canaris was a member of the military tribunal that sentenced the murderers of the German

Calendar Of 2003

2005-03-12T17:19:00.000-08:00

Djibouti's ambassador to Ethiopia announces that Djibouti plans to expel more than 100,000 illegal immigrants, which amounts to about 15% of the

Frank, Jacob

2005-03-11T22:59:00.000-08:00

Frank often traveled in the Balkans and there met followers of Shabbetai. An uneducated visionary,

Interferon

2005-03-11T20:57:00.000-08:00

Interferon was named for its ability to interfere with viral proliferation. The various forms of interferon are the body's most rapidly produced and important defense against viruses. Interferons can also

Carthage

2005-03-11T03:48:00.000-08:00

Vair, Guillaume Du

2005-03-10T23:06:00.000-08:00

A lawyer by training, du Vair occupied high offices of state under Henry IV, having made his reputation with his eloquent and cogently argued orations. He first came to the fore with a brilliant oration on the death of Mary, Queen of Scots. The

Saarinen, Eero

2005-03-10T11:29:00.000-08:00

Like many contemporary architects, Saarinen was challenged by furniture design, especially the chair, which presents aesthetical and structural problems that are particularly difficult to solve. In 1941 he and the designer-architect Charles Eames won a national furniture award for a chair design in molded plywood. In 1948 Saarinen created a womblike chair using a glass

Mammeri, Mouloud

2005-03-09T10:35:00.000-08:00

Mammeri was reared in the Kabylian mountains but was educated in Morocco, Paris, and Algiers, after which he was drafted into the French army to fight in World War II. He later became a professor at the University of

Skiing

2005-03-09T09:52:00.000-08:00

Recreation, sport, and mode of transportation that involves moving over snow by the use of a pair of long, flat runners, called skis, attached to shoes or boots.

Nephrite

2005-03-07T21:35:00.000-08:00

A gem-quality silicate mineral in the tremolite–actinolite–ferrotremolite series of amphiboles. It is the less prized but more common of the two types of jade, usually found as translucent to opaque, compact, dense aggregates of finely interfelted tufts of long, thin fibres. It may be distinguished from jadeite (q.v.), jade's other form, by its splintery fracture and oily

Cinerama

2005-03-07T17:14:00.000-08:00

In motion pictures, a process in which three synchronized movie projectors each project one-third of the picture on a wide, curving screen. Many viewers believe that the screen, which thus annexes their entire field of vision, gives a sense of reality unmatched by the flat screen. Invented by the New York City photographer Fred Waller, the first Cinerama movie, This

Medicine, Industrial health services

2005-03-07T06:50:00.000-08:00

During the epoch of the Soviet Union and the Soviet bloc, industrial health service generally developed more fully in those countries than in the capitalist countries. At the larger industrial establishments in the Soviet Union, polyclinics were created to provide both occupational and general care for workers and their families. Occupational physicians

Cookie

2005-03-07T01:48:00.000-08:00

Probably the most popular cookies in the United States are those that are

Palaeologus Family

2005-03-06T13:30:00.000-08:00

Palaeologus also spelled Palaiologos Byzantine family that became prominent in the 11th century, the members of which married into the imperial houses of Comnenus, Ducas, and Angelus. Michael VIII Palaeologus, emperor at Nicaea in 1259, founded the dynasty of the Palaeologi in Constantinople in 1261. His son Andronicus II (reigned 1282–1328) and his grandson Michael IX (died 1320) succeeded him as coemperors. Michael IX's son Andronicus

Schach, Rabbi Eliezer Menachem

2005-03-05T08:14:00.000-08:00

Lithuanian-born Israeli Orthodox Jewish scholar and political leader (b. 1896?, Wabolnick [now Vabalninkas], Lithuania, Russian Empire—d. Nov. 2, 2001, Tel Aviv, Israel), as the spiritual leader of Israel's non-Zionist ultra-Orthodox political parties—Agudat Yisrael, Shas, and Degel Hatorah—wielded great influence on Israeli government policies. In 1940 Schach emigrated from Lithuania

Abu Nidal

2005-03-05T04:35:00.000-08:00

Palestinian militant (b. 1937, Jaffa, Palestine—d. Aug. 16?, 2002, Baghdad, Iraq), was believed to have masterminded countless deadly attacks for nearly two decades, from the early 1970s to the 1990s. Abu Nidal (he took the nom de guerre in the early 1960s) was originally a member of Yasir Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization, but he broke with the PLO in 1974 to form the more radical Fatah Revolutionary

Coihaique

2005-03-05T03:06:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Aisén Region in southern archipelagic Chile, 50 mi (80 km) inland of Puerto Aisén and 25 mi (40 km) west of the Argentine border. Founded in 1912 by a small group of German colonists, it is situated among grassy steppes between the Coihaique and Simpson rivers, in a densely forested and extremely wet coastal region of Patagonian Chile (rainfall reaches 58 in. [1,485 mm] annually). Although

Gammexane

2005-03-04T13:27:00.000-08:00

Trade name for an insecticide composed of the most toxic of the isomeric forms of benzene hexachloride (q.v.).

Arcadelt, Jacob

2005-03-03T20:46:00.000-08:00

Arcadelt's reputation rests on about

Rushdie, Salman

2005-03-03T16:51:00.000-08:00

Rushdie was the son of a prosperous Muslim businessman in India. He was educated at Rugby School and the University of Cambridge,

Brahmana

2005-03-03T13:04:00.000-08:00

Any of a number of prose commentaries attached to the Vedas, the most ancient Hindu sacred literature, explaining the significance of the Vedas as used in the ritual sacrifices and the symbolic import of the priests' actions. The word brahmana may mean either the utterance of a Brahman (priest) or an exposition on the meaning of the sacred word; the latter is more commonly

Mecca, Plant and animal life

2005-03-02T19:55:00.000-08:00

Plant and animal life are scarce and consist of species that can withstand the high degree of aridity and heat. Natural vegetation is sparse, and includes tamarisks and various types of acacia. Wild animals include wild cats, wolves, hyenas, foxes, mongooses, and kangaroo rats (jerboas).

Osawatomie

2005-03-02T19:47:00.000-08:00

City, Miami county, eastern Kansas, U.S. It lies along the Marais des Cygnes River at the mouth of Pottawatomie Creek; its name combines elements of the words Osage and Pottawatomie. Settled in 1854 with support of the New England Emigrant Aid Company, Osawatomie was the headquarters for John Brown's militant Free State operations in Kansas Territory and was a station on

Bribie Island

2005-03-02T17:12:00.000-08:00

Island off the southeastern coast of Queensland, Australia, at the northern extremity of Moreton Bay. The island is 20 miles (32 km) long and from 1 to 5 miles wide and has an area of 59 square miles (153 square km). Its surface, generally low with some higher sand ridges, is wooded with cypress pine. Matthew Flinders, the English navigator, landed in 1799 at its southern tip, which he named Skirmish

Aquarium

2005-03-01T14:43:00.000-08:00

The design of a large aquarium must take into account the requirements of the specimens, especially since exhibits at modern aquariums include all types of aquatic organisms: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates as well as fishes. Among the many factors that must be considered are traffic flow patterns of visitors, reflections off glass, acoustics,

Ampthill (of Ampthill), Odo William Leopold Russell, 1st Baron

2005-02-28T20:05:00.000-08:00

A member of a prominent family, Russell as a youth became fluent in French, German, and Italian through tutoring and wide travel and also acquired the social gifts for a diplomatic career. He served in a variety of posts in Vienna, Paris, Constantinople,

Clackmannanshire

2005-02-28T04:22:00.000-08:00

Also known as Clackmannan council area and historic county, east-central Scotland, bounded on the southwest by the River Forth. The River Devon, flowing east-west before turning to join the Forth, separates the carse (estuarine plain) from the moors of the Ochil Hills in the north. The present council area of Clackmannanshire is nearly coterminous with the historic county of the same name, but

Mason Ware

2005-02-27T21:51:00.000-08:00

A sturdy English pottery known as Mason's Patent Ironstone China. It was first produced by C.J. Mason & Company in 1813 to provide a cheap substitute for Chinese porcelain, especially the larger vases. The decoration was a kind of chinoiserie, or hybrid Oriental. Mason specialties were vases, some more than 3 feet (1 m) high, with flowers in high relief and handles and knobs shaped

Finnish Literature

2005-02-27T20:46:00.000-08:00

Although a number of talented poets wrote in Finnish in the 17th and 18th centuries, it was only with Aleksis Kivi that a genuine

Lee, Sammy

2005-02-26T22:51:00.000-08:00

In 1942, while a student at Occidental College (Los Angeles), Lee won his first national championship with victories in both the 3-metre springboard and 10-metre platform events. Standing only 5 feet 1 inch, Lee utilized his short stature in his dives, tucking tighter and

Wyckoff, Ralph Walter Graystone

2005-02-26T22:06:00.000-08:00

Wyckoff was educated at Cornell University and was an instructor in analytical chemistry from 1917 to 1919. He subsequently worked in the Geophysical Laboratory

Tiwanaku

2005-02-26T06:21:00.000-08:00

Some scholars date the earliest remains found at the site to the early part of the Early Intermediate Period (c. 200 BC–AD 200); others suggest that the culture is evident in artifacts

Frederick Viii

2005-02-25T13:16:00.000-08:00

Frederick served in the disastrous Danish–German War of 1864, which lost the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg for Denmark. He then assisted his father, Christian IX, in affairs of state. In 1907, as king, he formed a commission to draft a partial home rule bill for Iceland, but nothing came of it. Frederick VIII's popularity

Osun

2005-02-24T20:54:00.000-08:00

State, western Nigeria. Osun state was created in 1991 from the eastern third of Oyo state. It is bounded by the states of Kwara on the northeast, Ondo on the east, Ogun on the south, and Oyo on the west and northwest. The Yoruba Hills run through the northern part of Osun state. The state has a covering of tropical rain forest, and the Oshun is the most important river. Osun state is

Xenocrates

2005-02-24T13:19:00.000-08:00

Xenocrates' writings are lost except for fragments, but his doctrines appear to resemble

Aerobatics

2005-02-24T11:20:00.000-08:00

Pilots perform their sequences in the “aerobatic

World War Ii, Iwo Jima and the bombing of Tokyo

2005-02-23T09:46:00.000-08:00

With U.S. forces firmly established in the Mariana Islands, the steady long-range bombing of Japan by B-29s under the command of General Curtis E. LeMay continued throughout the closing months of 1944 and into 1945. But it was still 1,500 miles from Saipan to Tokyo, a long flight even for the B-29s. Strategic planners therefore fixed their attention on the little volcanic island of Iwo

Cumberland

2005-02-22T16:04:00.000-08:00

County, southwestern Maine, U.S. It largely consists of a coastal region, facing Casco Bay to the southeast, that includes many islands, although the terrain rises to the northwest. The centre of the county is dominated by Sebago Lake. The principal waterways are the Fore, Presumpscot, and Royal rivers. The Songo Lock, constructed in 1830 and rebuilt in 1911, connects Sebago Lake

Cuba, Revolution

2005-02-21T22:40:00.000-08:00

Batista's fall resulted as much from internal decay as from the challenges of Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement (commemorating Castro's failed attack on the Moncada military base in Santiago on July 26, 1953) or from the Federation of University Students and other groups opposed to Batista's rule. Castro had been a legislative candidate for elections in 1952 that were aborted

Pug

2005-02-21T11:01:00.000-08:00

Breed of toy dog that probably originated in China and was introduced to England near the end of the 17th century by Dutch traders. The pug has a short muzzle and a tightly curled tail. It is a squarely built, muscular dog, with a large head, prominent dark eyes, and small, drooping ears. At maturity, it stands 10 to 11 inches (25.5 to 28 centimetres) and weighs about 13 to 18 pounds (6 to 8 kilograms). Its

Bhagirathi River

2005-02-21T04:34:00.000-08:00

River in West Bengal state, northeastern India, forming the western boundary of the Ganges (Ganga) Delta. A distributary of the Ganges, it leaves that river just northeast of Jangipur, flows south, and joins the Jalangi at Nabadwip to form the Hooghly River after a total course of 120 miles (190 km). Until the 16th century, when the Ganges shifted eastward to the Padma, the Bhagirathi formed

Ashland

2005-02-20T21:21:00.000-08:00

Settled in 1815 as Poage's Settlement, it was renamed (1854) in honour of Henry Clay's home in Lexington, Kentucky. Ashland's proximity to coal and timber regions

Luther, Martin, Brother Martin Luther

2005-02-20T18:12:00.000-08:00

Evidence on the reason for his decision to enter the religious life is scanty. In his later, not always reliable, Tischreden (“Table Talk”), it is related that on July 2, 1505, he was returning from a visit to his parents when he was overtaken by a thunderstorm near the village of Stotternheim and cried out in terror, “Help, St. Anne, and I'll become a monk.” In his De votis monasticis (“Concerning

Yobe

2005-02-20T08:17:00.000-08:00

Yobe's terrain consists of plains that are drained by the seasonal Komadugu Yobe River and its tributaries in the north and by the Gongola

John Of Beverley, Saint

2005-02-20T04:59:00.000-08:00

After studies at St. Augustine's Monastery, Canterbury, Kent, under the celebrated abbot St. Adrian, John entered Whitby Abbey, Yorkshire. In 687 he succeeded St. Eata as bishop of Hexham, Northumberland, and in 705 was consecrated bishop of York. He founded a

Dominant

2005-02-18T08:12:00.000-08:00

Chords based on the dominant had a strong tendency to move to the tonic chord, and the key built

Mosander, Carl Gustaf

2005-02-17T18:18:00.000-08:00

In 1826 Mosander was placed in charge of the chemical laboratory of the Caroline Medical Institute, Stockholm, and in 1832 became professor of chemistry and mineralogy. While studying a compound of cerium, he discovered

North American Review

2005-02-17T11:39:00.000-08:00

American magazine (1815–1940), one of the country's leading literary journals of the 19th and 20th centuries. It was founded in Boston, Mass., under the auspices of the Monthly Anthology (1803–11) and began publication as a regional magazine, reflecting the intellectual ideas and tastes of Boston and New England. The poet William Cullen Bryant's first contribution to the review, “Thanatopsis

Aëtius

2005-02-17T03:43:00.000-08:00

Originating probably near Antioch, Aëtius studied there under Arian masters while supporting himself as a goldsmith and a physician, rendering gratuitous service

Alizarin

2005-02-16T15:50:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Alizarine, a red dye originally obtained from the root of the common madder plant, Rubia tinctorum, in which it occurs combined with the sugars xylose and glucose. The cultivation of madder and the use of its ground root for dyeing by the complicated Turkey red process were known in ancient India, Persia, and Egypt; the use spread to Asia Minor about the 10th century and was introduced

Gyor-moson-sopron

2005-02-16T10:55:00.000-08:00

Megye (county), northwestern Hungary, bordering Austria and Slovakia to the north. It contains some of the nation's richest farmland, supporting sugar beets, apricots, and livestock. In the west-central part of the megye is the Hanság, a region of swamps and moorland, partly drained and recovered through canalization. Between the Danube main channel and the Moson arm

Shah Jahan Period Architecture

2005-02-16T05:28:00.000-08:00

Indian building style that flourished under the patronage of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–58); its crowning achievement is the magnificent mausoleum at Agra, the Taj Mahal (q.v.). Among the other landmarks of the style are several mosques at the emperor's first capital, Agra, and another great mosque and a huge fortress-palace complex at his second capital, Delhi. The use

Allegheny Plateau

2005-02-15T06:24:00.000-08:00

Western section of the Appalachian Mountains, U.S., extending southwestward from the Mohawk River valley in central New York to the Cumberland Plateau in southern West Virginia. Generally sloping toward the northwest, the plateau has been dissected by streams to form the Catskill, Allegheny, and other mountain ranges. The Allegheny, Delaware, and Susquehanna rivers

Taoka Kazuo

2005-02-14T23:59:00.000-08:00

Taoka was born to a poor farm family in a village on the island of Shikoku;

Accent

2005-02-14T16:56:00.000-08:00

Accent has various

Tabasco Plain

2005-02-14T00:58:00.000-08:00

Tropical lowland on the Gulf of Mexico, Tabasco state, southeastern Mexico. Occupying the coastal lowlands south of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and north of the Yucatán Peninsula, the Tabasco Plain is a hot and humid land made up of alluvial materials deposited by the Grijalva and Usumacinta rivers and is covered with dense, tropical forest. Rainfall is heavy, and

Obuchi Keizo

2005-02-12T22:12:00.000-08:00

Obuchi received a degree in English literature from Waseda University, Tokyo, in 1962. The following year, he won the seat his father had held in the House of Representatives, becoming the youngest person

Olympia

2005-02-12T19:11:00.000-08:00

Athabasca River

2005-02-11T21:25:00.000-08:00

River in northern Alberta, Canada, forming the southernmost part of the Mackenzie River system. From its source in the Columbia Icefield (Canadian Rocky Mountains) near the Continental Divide, the river flows through Jasper National Park, site of the spectacular Athabasca Falls, northeastward across Alberta to its mouth and delta on Lake Athabasca. Its 765-mi (1,231-km) course

Checks And Balances

2005-02-11T15:54:00.000-08:00

Principle of government under which separate branches are empowered to prevent actions by other branches and are induced to share power. Checks and balances are applied primarily in constitutional governments. They are of fundamental importance in tripartite governments, such as that of the United States, which separate powers among legislative, executive,

Ushpizin

2005-02-10T03:23:00.000-08:00

(Aramaic: “visitors”), according to the Jewish Kabbalistic book the Sefer ha-zohar (“Book of Splendour”), seven ancient worthies who take turns visiting the homes of all pious Jews to share their dinner on the festival of Sukkoth. A custom developed of reciting a fixed formula of invitation to the seven: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David. Poor scholars are sometimes

Sarcocystis

2005-02-09T19:26:00.000-08:00

Genus of sporozoan parasites (phylum Protozoa) that are found in the heart and skeletal muscles of mammals (cattle, pigs, sheep, and man), birds, and reptiles. Infected muscle tissue contains white, cystlike masses (sarcocysts) that range from 25 micrometres (0.001 inch) to several millimetres in length. Each sarcocyst is divided into walled compartments, and each compartment

Space Shuttle

2005-02-09T10:38:00.000-08:00

Partially reusable rocket-launched vehicle designed to go into orbit around Earth, to transport people and cargo to and from orbiting spacecraft, and to glide to a runway landing on its return to Earth's surface. The first vehicle of this type was developed by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Formally called the Space Transportation System