PinkCircle

Cradle

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

In furniture, infant's bed of wood, wicker, or iron, having enclosed sides and suspended from a bar, slung upon pivots, or mounted on rockers. The rocking motion of the cradle is intended to lull the infant to sleep. The cradle is an ancient type of furniture, and its origins are unknown. Early cradles developed from hollowed-out tree trunks to oblong, lidless wood boxes, originally

Carlow

2005-04-04T04:58:00.000-07:00

Irish Ceatharlach urban district and county seat, County Carlow, Ireland, on the left bank of the River Barrow. An Anglo-Norman stronghold, the town received charters of incorporation in the 13th and 17th centuries. The keep (innermost citadel) of a 13th-century stronghold remains at the confluence of the Barrow and Burren rivers. Local industries include sugar-beet and flour processing and

Köflach

2005-04-04T03:02:00.000-07:00

Town, Steiermark Bundesland (federal state), southern Austria, west of Graz. Köflach received market rights in 1170 but did not achieve town status until 1939. It is a rail terminus and has glass and porcelain works. Important lignite (brown coal) mines are nearby, and the Lipizzaner horses (originating from the former Austrian imperial stud at Lipizza, near Trieste; see photograph

Kyongsang-nam

2005-04-03T15:25:00.000-07:00

Do (province), southeastern South Korea. It is bordered east by the Sea of Japan, south by the Korea Strait, west by Cholla-nam and Cholla-puk do, and north by Kyongsang-puk do. Pusan, capital of the province, was separated administratively in 1963, when it was elevated to the status of a special city. The Naktong River and its tributaries irrigate most of the province. The Kimhae delta

Carnivore, Importance to humans

2005-04-03T10:41:00.000-07:00

The cat, like the dog, was originally taken into the home of man as a pet. Unlike the dog, the cat has not been trained to hunt or to serve as a guardian. Cats may perform the function of “mouse catcher” in those areas where mice become a problem, but most urban house cats do not have the opportunity to perform this unless garbage and trash are allowed to accumulate. On farms, where

Haldi

2005-04-03T00:55:00.000-08:00

The national god of the ancient kingdom of Urartu, which ruled the plateau around Lake Van, now eastern Turkey, from about 900 to about 600 BC. Haldi was represented as a man, with or without wings, standing on a lion; in the absence of religious texts his attributes are otherwise unknown. A Urartian temple at ancient Musasir dedicated to Haldi and to the goddess Bagbartu, or Bagmashtu,

Gull, Sir William Withey, 1st Baronet

2005-04-01T00:47:00.000-08:00

Gull received his M.D. from the University of London in 1846 and became lecturer on physiology and anatomy and then physician, at Guy's, where he taught or served as consulting physician for the rest of his life. He

Devitrification

2005-03-31T22:15:00.000-08:00

Process by which glassy substances change their structure into that of crystalline solids. Most glasses are silicates in which the atomic structure does not have the repetitive arrangement required for the formation of crystals. Glass is formed by the cooling of a rock magma too rapidly for this structural regularity to become established. Glasses typically

Ca Mau Peninsula

2005-03-31T08:48:00.000-08:00

Peninsula, the southernmost projection of Vietnam, lying between the South China Sea on the east and the Gulf of Thailand on the west, with drainage to each. The flat, triangular peninsula, with lengths ranging from 110 to 130 miles (180 to 210 km), averages about 7 feet (2 m) above sea level and owes its configuration largely to shore deposits of the Mekong River, which are also responsible

Biblical Literature, Concluding exhortation and traditions about the last days of Moses

2005-03-30T03:31:00.000-08:00

Chapters 29–31 comprise the third and last address of Moses to the people of Israel. They are preceded by an introductory verse referring to “these words” as a covenant made in Moab, in addition to the one made at Horeb (Sinai). After reminding them of all that God has done for them, Moses calls on the whole people to enter into the sworn Covenant made this day that they may be his

Loralai

2005-03-29T22:17:00.000-08:00

Loralai district (area 7,364 sq mi [19,073 sq km]), constituted in 1903, consists of a series of long, narrow valleys hemmed in by rugged mountains

Allele

2005-03-28T20:40:00.000-08:00

Also called Allelomorph, any one of two or more genes that may occur alternatively at a given site (locus) on a chromosome. Alleles may occur in pairs, or there may be multiple alleles affecting the expression (phenotype) of a particular trait. If the paired alleles are the same, the organism is said to be homozygous for that trait; if they are different, the organism is heterozygous. A dominant allele

Albanian Language

2005-03-28T20:04:00.000-08:00

The two principal dialects, Gheg in the north and Tosk in the south, are separated roughly by the Shkumbin River. Gheg and Tosk have been diverging for at least a millennium, and their less extreme forms are mutually intelligible. Gheg has the more marked subvarieties, the most striking of which are the northernmost and eastern types, which include those of the city

Gregory, Horace

2005-03-27T09:39:00.000-08:00

Gregory began to write poetry while studying Latin in college, and he first contributed to periodicals in the early 1920s. Finding formal verse inadequate, he tried to combine the idiom of modern life with literary influences

Biblical Literature, The American Standard Version

2005-03-26T02:05:00.000-08:00

According to the original agreement, the preferred readings and renderings of the American revisers, which their British counterparts had declined to accept, were published in an appendix to the Revised Version. In 1900 the American edition of the New Testament, which incorporated the American scholars' preferences into the body of the text, was produced. A year later

Graça Aranha, José Pereira Da

2005-03-26T01:40:00.000-08:00

Brazilian novelist and diplomat, best remembered for his novel Canaã (1902; Canaan, 1920), in which he explored the conflicts of the Brazilian ethnic melting pot through the varied perspectives and problems of two German immigrants. With its philosophical digressions and lyrical descriptions, Canaã, a “novel of ideas,” was influential in

Theaceae

2005-03-25T03:10:00.000-08:00

The tea family of plants in the order Theales. The Theaceae comprises about 40 genera of trees or shrubs native to temperate and tropical regions of both hemispheres, including several ornamental plants, one that is the source of tea. Members of the family have evergreen leaves and flowers with five sepals (leaflike structures) and petals and numerous stamens inserted

Ziyarah

2005-03-24T16:59:00.000-08:00

(Arabic: “visit”), in Islam, a visit to the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad in the mosque at Medina, Saudi Arabia; also a visit to the tomb of a saint or a holy person. The legitimacy of these latter visits has been questioned by many Muslim religious authorities, particularly by the Wahhabiyah, who consider ziyarah a bid'ah (innovation) that should be condemned by all true believers. The

Amphibian, Larval stage

2005-03-23T13:19:00.000-08:00

The amphibian larva represents a morphologically distinct stage between the embryo and adult. Most aquatic larvae depend on the environment for their food supply. Salamander and caecilian larvae remain more like their respective adults in structure, function, and nutritional requirements than do anuran larvae. Not long after emerging from their shells, larval

Enceladus

2005-03-22T21:34:00.000-08:00

Second major satellite outward from Saturn. Little was known about this object other than its orbit until the flyby of the American planetary probe Voyager 2 in 1981. Approaching as close as 87,140 km (54,146 miles), the spacecraft revealed that Enceladus is complex geologically; observations of its surface indicate that the satellite has undergone five distinct evolutionary periods.

Tyrant Flycatcher

2005-03-22T08:22:00.000-08:00

Also called New World Flycatcher, any of about 367 species of aggressive, insect-eating New World birds of the family Tyrannidae (order Passeriformes). About one-third of the species are not flycatcher-like in habit and bear names derived from their habitats (e.g., bush tyrant, marsh tyrant) or from their similarity to the songbird groups (tit-tyrant, shrike-tyrant). A few are

Coster, Charles De

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

De Coster lived most of his life in poverty and obscurity and took 10 years to write his masterpiece, La Légende et les aventures héroïques, joyeuses, et glorieuses d'Ulenspiegel

Grundtvig, N.f.s.

2005-03-20T14:24:00.000-08:00

After taking a degree in theology (1803) from the University of Copenhagen, Grundtvig studied the Edda

Ringworm

2005-03-19T17:33:00.000-08:00

Superficial skin lesions caused by certain fungi that live and multiply on the surface of the skin and feed on keratin, the horny protein constituting the major part of the outermost layer of the skin and of the hair and nails. The fungi produce responses in the skin that vary from slight scaling to blistering and marked disruption of the keratin layer. The lesions

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Allegory

2005-03-19T05:37:00.000-08:00

In terms of allegory, the Greco-Roman and Hebraic-Christian cultures both have a common

Ecosystem

2005-03-19T03:00:00.000-08:00

The principles underlying the study of ecosystems are based on the view that all the elements of a life-supporting environment of any size, whether natural or man-made, are parts of an integral network in which each element interacts directly

Hengelo

2005-03-18T22:51:00.000-08:00

Hengelo is a rail junction and has a state agricultural school and cattle

Shiels, Robert

2005-03-18T02:29:00.000-08:00

Moving to London, where he was a printer, Shiels was employed by Samuel Johnson as an amanuensis on the Dictionary of the English Language. When this work was completed, Shiels, with others, began the compilation of a five-volume The Lives of the Poets of Great Britain and Ireland, to the Time of Dean

Van Buren, Martin

2005-03-17T16:37:00.000-08:00

Unanimously renominated by the Democrats in 1840, Van Buren was overwhelmingly defeated by the Whig candidate William Henry Harrison. Four years later the Democrats were bitterly divided over the question of the annexation of Texas, and Van Buren, who opposed annexation, was passed over in favour of James K. Polk, who won the election on a platform calling for the annexation of both Texas and Oregon. In 1848 Van Buren ran as a candidate of the Free Soil Party, which included members of the antislavery factions of the Democratic Party (the “Barnburners”) and the Whig Party, but he received only 10 percent of the vote. He spent several years in Europe and then retired to his estate, Lindenwald, in Kinderhook.

Early Netherlandish Art

2005-03-17T14:36:00.000-08:00

In 1363 John II of France

Cloud Rat

2005-03-16T07:57:00.000-08:00

Also called cloudrunner any of six species of slow-moving, nocturnal, tree-dwelling rodents found only in Philippine forests. Giant cloud rats belong to the genus Phloeomys (two species), whereas bushy-tailed cloud rats are classified in the genus Crateromys (four species).

Ammunition

2005-03-15T16:05:00.000-08:00

The projectiles and propelling charges used in small arms, artillery, and other guns. Ammunition size is usually expressed in terms of calibre, which is the diameter of the projectile as measured in millimetres or inches. In general, projectiles less than 20 mm or .60 inch in diameter are classified as small-arm, and larger calibres are considered artillery. A complete round

Tasmania, Demographic trends

2005-03-14T18:11:00.000-08:00

Tasmania continues to have a higher birth rate than most other states, but, as in Australia generally, crude birth rates have tended to fall, average birth rates declining in the middle and late 20th century. Birth rates are lower in the cities than in the smaller towns and rural areas. Death rates remain fairly constant. Infant mortality rates are among the lowest in

Sha-shih

2005-03-14T06:25:00.000-08:00

Sha-shih was a large city in the state of Ch'u from the 6th century BC onward. The Ch'in dynasty (221–206 BC) and their successors,

Cancer

2005-03-14T00:50:00.000-08:00

In astrology, Cancer is the

Akranes

2005-03-13T11:34:00.000-08:00

Town, western Iceland. It is situated along Faxa Bay, at the tip of a peninsula between Borgar and Hval fjords. A fishing port and local market centre, it is connected by road to Reykjavík, 20 miles (32 km) southeast. Akranes is the site of one of Iceland's largest cement plants. Pop. (1992 est.) 5,272.

Neogene Period

2005-03-12T21:26:00.000-08:00

Latest of the two divisions of the Cenozoic Era (66.4 million years ago to the present). The Neogene includes the Miocene and Pliocene epochs (23,700,000 to 1,600,000 years ago) and is considered by some to encompass the time up to the present. The Neogene, which means “new born,” was designated as such to emphasize that the marine and terrestrial fossils found in the strata of this time were more closely

Natchez

2005-03-12T07:47:00.000-08:00

Relations between the French

Mountain

2005-03-11T21:25:00.000-08:00

Mountain belts differ from one another in various respects, but they also have a number of similarities that enable Earth scientists to group them into certain distinct categories. Each of these categories is characterized by the principal process that created a representative belt. Moreover, within individual belts different tectonic processes can prevail

Grayback

2005-03-11T03:40:00.000-08:00

Any of several North American fishes including the alewife (q.v.), cisco (see whitefish), and Menominee whitefish.

Painting, Western, The 17th century

2005-03-10T20:46:00.000-08:00

English painting during the 17th century had been dominated by a series of foreign-born practitioners, mostly portraitists (e.g., Rubens and Van Dyck), even before the Civil War. Sir Peter Lely and Sir Godfrey Kneller continued this trend after the Restoration. The vast majority of the painting executed by native artists remained thoroughly provincial. Lely began his

Insurance, Costs

2005-03-10T17:35:00.000-08:00

Following the publication in the early 1970s of about 40 studies revealing inadequacies in workers' compensation in the United States, most states passed laws increasing the number of workers covered, raising weekly benefits to equal or exceed 66 2/3 percent of the average weekly wage, and making other improvements. Compensable claims now include those involving back pain,

Thomas, William

2005-03-10T09:48:00.000-08:00

Originally a land surveyor, Thomas was ordained in the Calvinistic Methodist ministry in 1859. From

Heidegger, Martin

2005-03-08T22:37:00.000-08:00

German philosopher, counted among the main exponents of 20th-century Existentialism. He was an original thinker, a critic of technological society, a leading ontologist of his time, and an influence on a younger generation of continental European cultural personalities.

La Guaira

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

City, northern distrito federal (“federal district”), northern Venezuela. One of the nation's leading seaports, La Guaira lies in the narrow, arid coastal zone along the Caribbean at the foot of the central highlands. Although the city dates to 1577, extremely high temperatures and the lack of room for expansion long hindered its growth. With the modernization of port facilities,

Lever Art Gallery

2005-03-08T03:37:00.000-08:00

In full Lady Lever Art Gallery, in Port Sunlight, a model village founded for workers in Bebington, Cheshire (now in Merseyside), Eng. The museum was a gift to the public of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme, as a memorial to his wife, who died in 1913. The building was begun in 1914 and opened in December 1922. The collection of works exhibited at the gallery was formed by Lord Leverhulme and records his personal taste, which

Metaphysical Poet

2005-03-08T00:12:00.000-08:00

Their work is a blend of emotion and intellectual ingenuity,

Tsun-i

2005-03-06T15:17:00.000-08:00

The city was brought under regular Chinese administration only in the early 7th century AD. A county was set up there in 640, and its present name, Tsun-i, was given in 642. It remained the seat of Tsun-i hsien (county), but the area did not begin to be developed

Scandinavian Literature, Icelandic

2005-03-06T10:41:00.000-08:00

Modern Icelandic prose writing did not really develop until the late 1870s, when a group of young men, influenced by the theories of the Danish critic Georg Brandes, began their literary careers. Unfortunately, they had absorbed Brandes' ideas uncritically, which resulted in introspective, self-pitying works believed by their authors to be realistically written. The

Schaffner, Franklin (james)

2005-03-06T02:07:00.000-08:00

The son of Protestant American missionaries, Schaffner lived in the United States after the age of five and attended Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania (A.B., 1942). During World War II he served as a U.S. Navy lieutenant. In 1948 he became a director for CBS television;

La Habana

2005-03-05T07:13:00.000-08:00

Provincia, west-central Cuba, bounded on the north by the Straits of Florida and by Ciudad de la Habana provincia; on the south by the Gulf of Batabanó, an inlet of the Caribbean Sea; and on the east and west, respectively, by Matanzas and Pinar del Río provincias. It has an area of 2,213 square miles (5,731 square km) and is densely populated, being near the national and provincial capital

Pharmaceutical Industry, Amination

2005-03-04T22:37:00.000-08:00

Two important methods of amination (the process of adding an amino (-NH2) group to a compound) are reduction and ammonolysis. There are many reduction methods, but the most common is the reduction of the corresponding nitro compound by means of iron and acid. An example of ammonolysis is the preparation of aniline by heating chlorobenzene with excess aqueous ammonia,

Raín, Alois

2005-03-04T19:12:00.000-08:00

A leader of the Czech revolutionary organization Omladina, Rašín was arrested and imprisoned for conspiring against the Austrian authorities after nationalistic rioting

Scandinavian Literature, The Age of Wergeland

2005-03-03T21:41:00.000-08:00

After 1814 a new, exciting, and difficult age began for Norway: an opportunity seemed to be offered to develop an independent Norwegian culture and way of life, but there were deep differences of opinion as to how this could best be achieved. A poet and critic, Johan Sebastien Welhaven was chief representative of those who insisted that the existing Danish element in the

Aydin

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

City, southwestern Turkey, near the Menderes River (the ancient Maeander). It is an important trading centre on the Afyon-Izmir highway and rail line. Nearby is the site of ancient Tralles, said to have been founded by the Argives. Aydin was called Güzelhisar (“Beautiful Castle”) under the Turkmen Mentese emirs in the 13th century. Renamed for the 14th-century ruling dynasty of

'ayn, Al-

2005-03-03T00:51:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Al-ain principal town in al-Buraymi oasis, southeastern Abu Dhabi emirate, United Arab Emirates. The oasis town consists of houses of dried earth in a large palm grove; it also has a modern mosque and many gardens. Al-'Ayn is situated in a large expanse of fertile land at the foot of Jabal (mount) Hafit. Grave mounds at al-'Ayn have tombs with figures of animals and people carved from stone

Beryl

2005-03-01T22:25:00.000-08:00

Mineral composed of beryllium aluminum silicate, Be3Al2(SiO3)6, a commercial source of beryllium. It has long been of interest because several varieties are valued as gemstones. These are aquamarine (pale blue-green); emerald (deep green); heliodor (golden yellow); and morganite (pink). Beryl is a minor constituent of many granitic rocks and associated pegmatite dikes, in gneisses,

Moselle River

2005-03-01T19:54:00.000-08:00

German Mosel, river, a west-bank tributary of the Rhine River, flowing for 339 miles (545 km) across northeastern France and western Germany. Rising on the forested slopes of the Vosges massif, the river meanders past Épinal, Pont-Saint-Vincent, Toul, Frouard, Metz, and Thionville before leaving France to form the frontier between Germany and Luxembourg for a short distance. The river enters

Furniture, Japan

2005-03-01T07:46:00.000-08:00

Thin

Papal States

2005-03-01T05:12:00.000-08:00

As early as the 4th century, the popes had acquired considerable property around Rome (called

Iris

2005-02-28T14:59:00.000-08:00

Genus of about 300 species of plants in the family Iridaceae including some of the world's most popular and varied garden flowers, centred in the North Temperate Zones. Some of its most handsome species, however, are native to the Mediterranean and central Asian areas. The iris is the fleur-de-lis of the French royalist standard. It is a popular subject of

Essy, Amara

2005-02-28T04:15:00.000-08:00

On July 9, 2002, Amara Essy of Côte d' Ivoire became secretary-general of the newly established 53-country African Union (AU), which replaced the 39-year-old Organization of African Unity (OAU). Essy, a career diplomat, was charged with leading the new body, a difficult task given the continent's ethnic, religious, economic, and political differences and the fact that the AU was granted

Caroline

2005-02-27T11:30:00.000-08:00

County, eastern Maryland, U.S., lying between the Choptank River and Tuckahoe Creek to the west and Delaware to the east. In addition to the Choptank, it is drained by Marshyhope Creek. Caroline shares Tuckahoe State Park with neighbouring Queen Anne's county. The county was created in 1773 and named for Caroline Eden, a member of the Calvert family and wife of the last colonial

Signoret, Simone

2005-02-25T21:29:00.000-08:00

Born in Germany to French nationals, Signoret was reared from the age

Aaron

2005-02-25T17:10:00.000-08:00

F.S. North, “Aaron's Rise in Prestige,” in Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 66:191–199 (1954), is a short study of Aaron's position. Roland De Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions (1961, reissued 1973; originally published in French, 2 vol., 1958–60); and Aelred Cody, A History of Old Testament Priesthood (1969), include discussions of Aaron and his place in ancient Israelite life and cult. Walter Beyerlin, Origins and History of the Oldest Sinaitic Traditions (1965; originally published in German, 1961), focuses on the traditions behind the story of Moses and Aaron. H.H. Rowley, Worship in Ancient Israel: Its Form and Meaning (1967, reissued 1976), surveys the religious life in Israel, including Aaron and his role. Bertil E. Gärtner, The Temple and the Community in Qumran and the New Testament (1965), treats the religious cult in the Qumran society, in which “Aaron” was synonymous with the chief priest. Heinrich Valentin, Aaron: eine Studie zur vorpriesterlichen Aaron-Überlieferung (1978), analyzes the various interpretations of the biblical references about Aaron.

Resin

2005-02-25T09:44:00.000-08:00

Any natural or synthetic organic compound consisting of a noncrystalline or viscous liquid substance. Natural resins are typically fusible and flammable organic substances that are transparent or translucent and are yellowish to brown in colour. They are formed in plant secretions and are soluble in various organic liquids but not in water. Synthetic

Fabian, Saint

2005-02-25T09:25:00.000-08:00

Latin Fabianus pope from 236 to 250. The successor to St. Anterus, Fabian is said to have divided Rome into seven districts assigned to the seven deacons and to have founded several churches in France. His appointment of notaries to register the deeds of the martyrs reflected the increasing precision with which the Roman Catholic church began to keep records

Lea, River

2005-02-24T14:21:00.000-08:00

River rising north of Luton in the county of Bedfordshire, England. It flows for 46 miles (74 km) east and then south to enter the River Thames near Bromley-by-Bow, in the London borough of Tower Hamlets. In the 17th century an important aqueduct known as the New River was constructed in the valley of the Lea. Much of the valley has seen considerable industrial development, and many

Bradford

2005-02-23T07:41:00.000-08:00

Spanish Hill, near Sayre and Athens at the confluence of the Chemung and Susquehanna

Antidepressant

2005-02-23T05:33:00.000-08:00

Introduced in the late 1950s, antidepressant drugs have been used most widely

Kabane

2005-02-22T21:15:00.000-08:00

The imperial Japanese Yamato line arose as the most powerful members of this kabane system,

Chachapoyas

2005-02-22T18:58:00.000-08:00

Capital of Amazonas departamento, located in northern Peru. It lies at 7,657 feet (2,334 m) above sea level in the cool Utcubamba River valley. A site of ancient settlement, it is the oldest Spanish city east of the Andes. Founded in 1538 as San Juan de la Frontera de los Chachapoyas (“Saint John of the Frontier of the Chachapoyas”) at a site slightly to the southeast, the town was later moved

Alytus

2005-02-22T05:24:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Alitus, German and Polish Olita, city, southern Lithuania. It lies along the Neman (Lithuanian: Nemunas) River, 37 miles (60 km) south of Kaunas. The city dates from the 14th century. In the 20th century it developed as an industrial centre, with factories producing refrigerators, chemical products, linen, and clothing. Alytus is a rail terminus and road junction and has an agricultural college. Pop. (1994 est.) 77,400.

Daily Express

2005-02-22T03:49:00.000-08:00

Since its founding in 1900, the Express aggressively appealed to a mass readership; it is a perennial competitor with other popular dailies for circulation leadership, which it not infrequently claims. Its determination

San Carlos

2005-02-21T22:18:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern Negros island, Philippines. Set in an area of concentrated sugarcane production, it is the site of a large sugar mill established in 1912. Frequent ferry service across Tanon Strait from Toledo on the island of Cebu brings large numbers of migrant workers to the surrounding sugar plantations. The city has deepwater port facilities and also has an airport.

Augustine, Saint

2005-02-20T14:07:00.000-08:00

Although autobiographical narrative makes up much of the first 9 of the 13 books of Augustine's Confessiones (397; Confessions), autobiography is incidental to the main purpose of the work. For Augustine confessions is a catchall term for acts of religiously authorized speech: praise of God, blame of self, confession of faith. The book is a richly textured meditation by a middle-aged

Alzon, Emmanuel D'

2005-02-20T13:40:00.000-08:00

D'Alzon studied in Paris, in Montpellier, and in Rome, where he was ordained (1834). He was named canon and vicar-general of Nîmes and retained this position until his death. In 1843 he acquired Assumption College in Nîmes, where he founded (1845) the congregation

Tulunid Dynasty

2005-02-19T15:05:00.000-08:00

First local dynasty of Egypt and Syria to exist independently of the 'Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad, ruling 868–905. Its founder, Ahmad ibn Tulun, a Turk, arrived in Egypt in 868 as vice governor and promptly (868–872) established a military and financial foothold in the province by organizing an independent Egyptian army and securing the management of the Egyptian and Syrian treasuries. Insufficient

Shabazz, Betty

2005-02-18T14:57:00.000-08:00

Sanders was raised in Detroit, Michigan, by adoptive parents in a comfortable middle-class home and was active in a Methodist church. Upon high school graduation, she left Detroit to study elementary

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Beast epic

2005-02-18T07:04:00.000-08:00

In the Middle Ages, along with every other type of allegory, fable flourished. Toward the end of the 12th century, Marie de France made a collection of over 100 tales, mingling beast fables with stories of Greek and Roman worthies. In another compilation, Christine de Pisan's Othéa manuscript illuminations provide keys to the interpretation of the stories and support the

Syrian And Palestinian Religion, The Baal cycle

2005-02-18T02:53:00.000-08:00

Baal (Hadad) is regularly denominated “the son of Dagan,” although Dagan (biblical Dagon) does not appear as an actor in the mythological texts. Baal also bears the titles “Rider of the Clouds,” “Almighty,” and “Lord of the Earth.” He is the god of the thunderstorm, the most vigorous and aggressive of the gods, the one on whom mortals most immediately depend. Baal resides on Mount Zaphon

Sialkot

2005-02-17T18:53:00.000-08:00

City and district, Lahore division, Punjab Province, Pakistan. The city, the district headquarters, lies just north of the Aik Nala (Aik Stream) and south of the Jammu Hills and is connected by rail with Wazirabad and Jammu and by road with Lahore and Gujranwala. It was once famous as a centre for the manufacture of damascened ware and paper; its modern industries include flour

Communist Party Of Cuba

2005-02-16T16:11:00.000-08:00

The Cuban Communist Party (Partido Comunista Cubano) was

Bcg Vaccine

2005-02-15T22:36:00.000-08:00

Vaccine against tuberculosis, prepared from a weakened strain of tuberculosis bacteria named BCG—bacille Calmette-Guérin, for the French scientists who developed the product. The vaccine is of particular importance for those whose occupations carry a high risk of infection by tuberculosis, such as nurses and physicians, and for persons in countries with high

Botev, Khristo

2005-02-15T22:20:00.000-08:00

In 1863 Botev was sent to complete his education in Russia, where he was much influenced by nihilist ideas. He returned to Bulgaria in 1867 but then fled to Romania. There he lived in poverty,

Argyllshire

2005-02-15T09:54:00.000-08:00

In the 2nd century AD Gaelic-speaking Scots invaded Argyllshire from Ireland, then known as Scotia. The earliest Scots settlement dates to the 3rd century, when a

Christian Science

2005-02-15T06:34:00.000-08:00

A religious denomination founded in the United States in 1879 by Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910), author of the book that contains the definitive statement of its teaching, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (1875). It is widely known for its highly controversial practice of spiritual healing.

Domestic System

2005-02-13T04:14:00.000-08:00

Also called Putting-out System production system widespread in 17th-century western Europe in which merchant-employers “put out” materials to rural producers who usually worked in their homes but sometimes laboured in workshops or in turn put out work to others. Finished products were returned to the employers for payment on a piecework or wage basis. The domestic system differed from the handicraft

Szabolcs-szatmár-bereg

2005-02-13T03:39:00.000-08:00

Megye (county), extreme northeastern Hungary, occupying an area of mainly lowland country traversed by many small river courses. Lying within the megye is the Nyírség, a district of sandy soils and the site of Nyíregyháza (q.v.), the megye seat. Crossed by the Tisza River system, the sandy terrain has been stabilized by planting fruit and other trees. Elsewhere in the megye

Ahsa'i, Al-

2005-02-13T02:49:00.000-08:00

After spending his early years studying the Islamic religion and traveling widely in Persia and the Middle East, al-Ahsa'i in 1808 settled in Yazd, Persia, where he taught religion. His interpretation of the Shi'ite faith (one of the two major branches of Islam) soon attracted

Anomaly

2005-02-12T09:48:00.000-08:00

In astronomy, originally the nonuniform (anomalous) apparent motions of the planets. In present usage, three kinds of anomaly are distinguished to describe the position in the orbit of a planet, a satellite, or a star (in a binary system) around the centre of mass. The following text relates to the orbit of a planet. True anomaly is the angle, V, between lines drawn

Mckim, Charles Follen

2005-02-12T07:27:00.000-08:00

McKim was educated at Harvard and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He was trained as a draftsman by the architect H.H. Richardson while the latter was completing Trinity Church, Boston. In 1879 he joined William Rutherford Mead

Jewel, John

2005-02-11T22:45:00.000-08:00

During the reign of the Protestant king Edward VI (1547–53), Jewel was influenced by the work of the Italian scholar and Reformer Peter Martyr Vermigli to become a leader of the Reformists

Atatürk, Kemal

2005-02-11T06:53:00.000-08:00

Mustafa Kemal then embarked upon the reform of his country, his goal being to bring it into the 20th century. His instrument was the Republican People's Party, formed on Aug. 9, 1923, to replace the defense-of-rights associations. His program was embodied in the party's “Six Arrows”: republicanism, nationalism, populism, statism (state-owned and state-operated industrialization

France, History Of, Wartime France

2005-02-11T01:18:00.000-08:00

The German victory left the French groping for a new policy and new leadership. Some 30 prominent politicians—among them Édouard Daladier and Pierre Mendès-France—left for North Africa to set up a government-in-exile there; but Pétain blocked that enterprise by ordering their arrest on arrival in Morocco. The undersecretary of war in the fallen Reynaud Cabinet, General

Biblical Literature, Origen's Hexapla

2005-02-10T17:45:00.000-08:00

The multiplication of versions doubtless proved to be a source of increasing confusion in the 3rd century. This situation the Alexandrian theologian Origen, working at Caesarea between 230 and 240 CE, sought to remedy. In his Hexapla (“six-fold”) he presented, in parallel vertical columns, the Hebrew text, the same in Greek letters, and the versions of Aquila, Symmachus, the Septuagint,

Israel, Transportation

2005-02-10T10:39:00.000-08:00

Israel has developed a modern, well-marked highway system, and road transport is more significant to the country's commercial and passenger services than transport by rail. Bus companies provide efficient service within and between all cities and towns, supplemented by private taxis and sheruts—privately owned and operated shuttles—which run on urban and interurban

Haanja

2005-02-09T20:55:00.000-08:00

Morainal region of southeastern Estonia. The moraine is steep on the north but slopes more gently toward the south, extending slightly into Latvia. Deeply incised valleys separate the hills, and there are many lakes. Haanja is the highest and most irregular part of Estonia. It reaches an elevation of 1,042 feet (318 m) at Mount Muna, the highest point in the republic; other high

Celastraceae

2005-02-09T14:49:00.000-08:00

The staff-tree family, in the order Celastrales, comprising about 55 genera of woody vines, shrubs, and trees, native in tropical and temperate zones but best known for ornamental forms of the genera Euonymus and Celastrus (bittersweet). Fruit of the family is often colourful. Leaves are frequently leathery and flowers are small, with four to five sepals and petals; alternating

Melilite

2005-02-08T17:19:00.000-08:00

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