OldBaby

Abu 'l-fadl 'allami

2005-03-28T03:41:00.000-08:00

Abu 'l-Fadl 'Allami studied with his father, Sheikh Mubarak Nagawri, a distinguished scholar, and after teaching in his father's school was presented to Akbar in 1574 by the poet Fayzi, Abu 'l-Fadl's older brother. Through his criticism of the traditional Muslim religious leaders, he

Gray Birch

2005-03-25T08:47:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Grey Birch, also called Oldfield Birch, Wire Birch, or Poplar-leaved Birch (Betula populifolia), slender ornamental tree of the family Betulaceae, found in clusters on moist sites in northeastern North America. Rarely 12 m (40 feet) tall, it is covered almost to the ground with flexible branches that form a narrow, pyramidal crown. The thin, glossy, dark green, triangular leaves have long, thin stems and flutter in the wind. In one variety, the leaves are

Thomas, E. Donnall

2005-03-24T14:11:00.000-08:00

Thomas studied at the University of Texas (B.A., 1941; M.A., 1943) and the Harvard

Peter

2005-03-23T04:19:00.000-08:00

Until Peter's tenure as metropolitan, the centre of the Russian Orthodox Church had for many years been in Kiev, the ancient capital of Rus, and then for a while in Vladimir. When Peter became metropolitan, he, like his predecessors,

Pacific Ocean, Tropical storms

2005-03-22T03:39:00.000-08:00

Although, in general, the climatic conditions of the trade-wind belts are characteristically regular and uniform, storms of great violence do originate there. In such storms, winds of exceptionally great force spiral inward toward a centre of exceedingly low atmospheric pressure. These are the tropical storms known in the western Pacific as typhoons. While the

Aschersleben

2005-03-21T15:14:00.000-08:00

City, Saxony-Anhalt Land (state), Germany. It is situated on the northern edge of the Unter Harz (Lower Harz) Mountains, southwest of Magdeburg. Probably founded in the 11th century, it was chartered in 1266 and was the ancestral seat of the Ascanians, an influential German family who derived their name (Latinized) from the town. It passed to the bishops of Halberstadt in 1315 and Brandenburg

Ocean

2005-03-20T05:07:00.000-08:00

The first major undersea survey was undertaken during the 1870s, but it was not until the last half of the 20th century that scientists began to learn what lies beneath the ocean surface in any detail. It has been determined that the ocean basins, which hold the vast quantity of water that covers nearly three-quarters of the Earth's surface, have an average depth of almost four

Mercury

2005-03-19T16:47:00.000-08:00

Latin Mercurius, in Roman religion, god of merchandise and merchants, commonly identified with the Greek Hermes (q.v.), fleet-footed messenger of the gods. His worship was introduced early, and his temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome was dedicated in 495 BC. There he was associated with the goddess Maia, who became identified as his mother through her association with the Greek Maia, mother of

Thompson, Dorothy

2005-03-18T11:10:00.000-08:00

The daughter of a Methodist minister, Thompson attended the Lewis Institute in Chicago and Syracuse University in New York (A.B., 1914), where she became ardently committed to woman suffrage. After World War I she went to Europe as a freelance correspondent

Levalloisian Stone-flaking Technique

2005-03-18T05:43:00.000-08:00

Toolmaking technique of prehistoric Europe and Africa, characterized by the production of large flakes from a tortoise core (prepared core shaped much like an inverted tortoise shell). Such flakes, seldom further trimmed, were flat on one side, had sharp cutting edges, and are believed to have been used as skinning knives. Sometimes the butts of Levalloisian flakes

British Antarctic Territory

2005-03-16T00:54:00.000-08:00

A territory of the United Kingdom lying southeast of South America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west. Triangular in shape, it has an area (mostly ocean) of 2,095,000 square miles (5,425,000 square km), bounded by the South Pole (south), latitude 60° S (north), and by longitudes 20° W (east) and 80° W (west). It includes all land areas south of 60° S and between the aforementioned

Scandinavian Literature, Icelandic

2005-03-15T05:13:00.000-08:00

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

Kudurru

2005-03-14T22:39:00.000-08:00

The original kudurrus were kept in temples, while clay copies were given to the landowners. On the stone were engraved the clauses of the contract, the images or symbols of

Canada Goose

2005-03-13T15:17:00.000-08:00

(species Branta canadensis), a brown-backed, light-breasted goose with black head and neck and white cheeks that flash when the bird shakes its head before taking wing. It belongs to the family Anatidae (order Anseriformes). The subspecies vary greatly in size, from 1.3 kg (3 pounds) in the cackling goose (B. canadensis minima), to about 8 kg (20 pounds)

Xenon

2005-03-12T22:14:00.000-08:00

(Xe), chemical element, heavy and extremely rare gas of Group 0 (noble gases) of the periodic table. It was the first noble gas found to form true chemical compounds. More than 4 1/2 times heavier than air, xenon is colourless, odourless, and tasteless. Solid xenon belongs to the face-centred cubic crystal system, which implies that its molecules, which consist of single atoms, behave

Gauda

2005-03-12T18:26:00.000-08:00

The name Gauda, in Sanskrit literature, is commonly applied to a country in what is now eastern India. In this sense it occurs fairly

Deorai, Battle Of

2005-03-10T22:13:00.000-08:00

Dara challenged Aurangzeb, relying on the promised support of Jaswant Singh of Marwar, but Jaswant then deserted him, and Dara was left to face Aurangzeb's superior army alone.

Korfanty, Wojciech

2005-03-10T20:23:00.000-08:00

The son of a miner, Korfanty became a journalist and a member of the secret nationalist society “Z,” which resisted Germany's attempt to Germanize

Aksum

2005-03-08T14:35:00.000-08:00

Once the seat of the kingdom of Aksum, it is now a tourist town and religious centre best known for its antiquities. Tall granite obelisks, 126 in all, stand (or lie broken) in the central square. One measuring 110 feet (34 m), now fallen, is said to be the tallest obelisk ever erected. The obelisks

Polar Ecosystem

2005-03-07T17:27:00.000-08:00

Polar barrens and tundra are found at high latitudes on land surfaces not covered by perpetual ice and snow. These areas lying beyond the tree line comprise more than 10 percent of the Earth's land surface. Most are in the Arctic and subarctic, as little land area in the Antarctic is ever free

Dozy, Reinhart Pieter (anne)

2005-03-06T20:11:00.000-08:00

Dutch Arabist, best remembered for his monumental Histoire des musulmans d'Espagne, jusqu'à la conquête de l'Andalousie par les Almoravides, 711–1110 (1861; Spanish Islam, 1913). Dozy, of French Huguenot ancestry, spent 33 years (from 1850) as professor of history at the University of Leiden. His history, a graphically written account of Moorish dominion in Spain that

Chicago Critics

2005-03-04T21:01:00.000-08:00

The group's members, associated from the 1940s with the University of Chicago, often were called “Aristotelian,” or, more accurately, “Neo-Aristotelian,

Ibycus

2005-03-03T03:43:00.000-08:00

Ibycus left Sicily for the Aegean island of Samos, where the tyrant Polycrates became his patron. Ancient authorities found it hard to distinguish his early work from that of Stesichorus, but even in the few surviving

Quadratus, Saint

2005-03-02T22:11:00.000-08:00

With only a fragment of his Apology for Christianity still extant, preserved in the Ecclesiastical History of the 4th-century scholar Eusebius of Caesarea, Quadratus has not been clearly identified. Addressed from Asia Minor to the Roman emperor Hadrian during a persecution either in 124 or 129, the

Elijah

2005-03-01T10:27:00.000-08:00

The Israelite king Omri had allied himself with the Phoenician cities of the coast, and his son Ahab was married to Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre and Sidon. Jezebel, with her Tyrian courtiers and a large contingent of pagan priests and prophets, propagated her native religion in a sanctuary built for Baal in the royal city of Samaria. This meant that the Israelites

K'ang-hsi

2005-02-28T18:59:00.000-08:00

The third son of the Shun-chih emperor, Hsüan-yeh was born to Empress Hsiao-k'ang, daughter of Tulai, a famous Manchu general from the prestigious T'ung clan. (The Manchus were a people of Tungusic stock living in Manchuria who conquered China and established the Ch'ing dynasty in 1644.) Upon Shunchih's sudden death from smallpox at age 23, in February 1661, Hsüan-yeh was immediately raised

Harpy

2005-02-27T15:18:00.000-08:00

In Greco-Roman classical mythology, a fabulous creature, probably a wind spirit. The presence of harpies as tomb figures, however, makes it possible that they were also conceived of as ghosts. In Homer's Odyssey they were winds that carried people away. Elsewhere, they were sometimes connected with the powers of the underworld. Homer mentions one Harpy called Podarge

Frederick (iii)

2005-02-26T07:55:00.000-08:00

After his father's murder (1308) Frederick became the head of the House of Habsburg and duke of Austria but did not succeed him as king, the count of Luxembourg being elected instead, as Henry VII. Frederick and his brothers made a treaty with Henry

Israel, Israel under Likud

2005-02-25T11:05:00.000-08:00

To general surprise, the Likud Party, led by Menachem Begin, won the May 1977 election, inaugurating the first non-Labour-led government in Israel's history. Begin's campaign benefited immensely from Sephardic resentment over the patronizing attitude of the Labour establishment and its treatment of non-European Jewish immigrants as second-class citizens. The Sephardim

Saint Andrews, University Of

2005-02-24T08:58:00.000-08:00

Oldest university in Scotland, founded in 1411, located in Fife region. The university buildings, many of which date from the Middle Ages, include St. Salvator's College (1450), St. Leonard's College (1512), and the University Library, refounded by James VI in 1612. A third college, St. Mary's (1537), has been limited (since 1579) to the teaching of theology. In 1747 St. Salvator's and St. Leonard's were merged. Among the famous

Table Tennis

2005-02-23T14:09:00.000-08:00

The Chinese continued their domination of table tennis in 1996, collecting all the gold medals at the 1996 Olympic Games. Liu Guoliang, the men's singles runner-up in 1995, won men's singles by besting Wang Tao of China. Deng Yaping, the women's world singles champion in 1991 and 1995, successfully defended her 1992 Olympic singles title by beating Chen Jing of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan). Liu joined the

Arts, Central Asian, Instrumental and vocal styles

2005-02-22T07:37:00.000-08:00

Across the region the principal instrument types are lutes, with two or three strings, the necks either fretted or fretless; fiddles, largely horsehair fiddles; flutes, mostly open at both ends and either end-blown or side-blown; and jews' harps, either metal or, often in Siberia, wooden. Few percussion instruments are found, except for the shaman's magic drum. Considerable

Facula

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

In astronomy, bright granular structure on the Sun's surface that is slightly hotter or cooler than the surrounding photosphere. A sunspot always has an associated facula, though faculae may exist apart from such spots. Faculae are visible in ordinary white light near the Sun's limb (apparent edge), where the photospheric background is dimmer than near the centre

Habsburg, House Of

2005-02-20T16:28:00.000-08:00

The name Habsburg is derived from the castle of Habsburg, or Habichtsburg (“Hawk's Castle”), built in 1020 by Werner, bishop of Strasbourg, and his brother-in-law, Count Radbot, in the Aargau overlooking the Aar River, in what is now Switzerland. Radbot's grandfather, Guntram the Rich, the earliest traceable ancestor of the house, may perhaps be identified with a Count Guntram who

Gunn, Thom

2005-02-20T11:21:00.000-08:00

The son of a successful London journalist, Gunn attended University College School in London and Trinity College in Cambridge, where he received a B.A. (1953) and M.A. (1958). In 1954 he moved to San Francisco, California, to study

Shadows, The

2005-02-18T06:30:00.000-08:00

London-based instrumental rock group whose distinctive sound exerted a strong influence on young British musicians in the 1960s. The original members were Hank B. Marvin (original name Brian Robson Rankin; b. Oct. 28, 1941, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, Eng.), Bruce Welch (original name Bruce Cripps; b. Nov. 2, 1941, Bognor Regis, Sussex), Jet Harris (byname of Terence Harris; b.

Frame, Janet

2005-02-17T23:30:00.000-08:00

Frame's early years were traumatic. Her childhood was marked by poverty and the drowning deaths of two sisters, and in 1945, while studying to be a teacher, she suffered a breakdown. Misdiagnosed

Ramla

2005-02-16T10:12:00.000-08:00

City in Israel, on the coastal plain southeast of Tel Aviv–Yafo. Ramla is the only city founded by the Arabs in Palestine. It was established in 716 by the caliph Sulayman ibn 'Abd al-Malik (reigned 715–717), who made it the administrative capital of Palestine, replacing nearby Lod (Lydda). He built marketplaces, fortifications, and, above all, the White Mosque (Al-Jami' al-Abyad). Only ruins of

Furniture, France

2005-02-14T06:06:00.000-08:00

In France the Italian influence of the 16th century was gradually assimilated, and a national style of furniture was evolved that soon spread its influence into neighbouring countries. The reign of Louis XIII, covering most of the first half of the 17th century, was a time of transition. The Gobelins factory was founded by Louis XIV for the production of deluxe furniture

Radha

2005-02-12T23:45:00.000-08:00

The allegorical

Devils Island

2005-02-11T09:55:00.000-08:00

Part of a penal settlement, the island housed the convicts' leper colony until the Îles du Salut were made a maximum-security area.

Tapestry, Eastern Asia

2005-02-10T09:23:00.000-08:00

Called k'o-ssu (cut silk), tapestry has long been produced in China, traditionally being made entirely of silk; Chinese tapestries are extremely fine in texture and light in weight. The weave is finished perfectly on both sides so that the tapestries are reversible. The warps are vertical in relation to the pattern, rather than horizontal as in European weaving. Sometimes

Melchizedek

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

Also spelled Melchisedech, in the Old Testament, a figure of importance in biblical tradition because he was both king and priest, was connected with Jerusalem, and was revered by Abraham, who paid a tithe to him. He appears as a person only in an interpolated vignette (Gen. 14:18–20) of the story of Abraham rescuing his kidnapped nephew, Lot, by defeating a coalition of Mesopotamian kings under

Zirid Dynasty,

2005-02-08T08:23:00.000-08:00

Also called Banu Ziri Muslim dynasty of Sanhajah Berbers whose various branches ruled in Ifriqiyah (Tunisia and eastern Algeria) and Granada (972–1152). Rising to prominence in the mountains of Kabylie, Algeria, where they established their first capital, Ashir, the Zirids became allies of the Fatimids of al-Qayrawan. Their loyal support prompted the Fatimid caliph al-Mu'izz, when moving to his new capital of

Hover Fly

2005-02-07T03:27:00.000-08:00

Also called Flower Fly, or Syrphid Fly, any member of the insect family Syrphidae (order Diptera), which numbers about 4,000 species. Their various common names refer to the behaviour of hovering around flowers. Hover flies, with their yellow markings, resemble wasps or bees but do not bite or sting. They are distinguished from other flies by a false (spurious) vein that closely parallels the fourth longitudinal

Racism

2005-02-06T02:53:00.000-08:00

Also called racialism any action, practice, or belief that reflects the racial worldview—the ideology that humans are divided into separate and exclusive biological entities called "races," that there is a causal link between inherited physical traits and traits of personality, intellect, morality, and other cultural behavioral features, and that some races are innately superior to

Auction

2005-02-06T00:42:00.000-08:00

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

Abajo Mountains

2005-02-04T23:21:00.000-08:00

Volcanic segment of the Colorado Plateau, in San Juan county, southeastern Utah, U.S. Abajo Peak (11,362 feet [3,463 metres]) is the highest point in the mountains, which comprise eight summits and are embraced by the Manti-LaSal National Forest. The heavily forested range is locally called the Blue Mountains for its appearance. Mining and lumbering are the main economic activities

Asaka

2005-02-04T05:30:00.000-08:00

City, Saitama ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It lies along the Kurume River northwest of Tokyo. It was a post town known as Hizaori during the Tokugawa era (1603–1867); its name was changed to Asaka in 1932. The city has been a centre of the copper-rolling industry since the late 19th century. Connected by rail with Tokyo, it is now a residential suburb of the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area.

Auerbach, Red

2005-02-02T21:45:00.000-08:00

Auerbach began coaching at St. Alban's Preparatory School (1940) and Roosevelt High School (1940–43), both in Washington, D.C. He served during World War II in the U.S. Navy (1943–46) and after the war coached the Basketball

Cereal Farming, Weeds

2005-02-01T23:11:00.000-08:00

Weeds present difficulties, as they compete with cereal crops for water, light, and mineral nutrients. The infestation of annual seeds planted in a field may cause many weeds in that field for successive years. Charlock or wild mustard, wild oats, crouch grass, and other common weeds are disseminated by wind, water, and birds.

Extratropical Cyclone

2005-01-31T23:37:00.000-08:00

According to the polar-front theory, extratropical cyclones develop when

Indian Philosophy, Religious consequences

2005-01-30T02:33:00.000-08:00

The one religious consequence of the Samkhya-Yoga is an emphasis on austere asceticism and a turning away from the ritualistic elements of Hinduism deriving from the Brahmanical sources. Though they continue to remain as an integral part of the Hindu faith, no major religious order thrived on the basis of these philosophies.

Xia Gui

2005-01-29T23:08:00.000-08:00

One of the best English-language sources of information on Hsia Kuei is the article on him by Sherman E. Lee in the Encyclopedia of World Art, vol. 7 (1963), col. 650–654. See also Osvald Sirén, Chinese Painting: Leading Masters and Principles, vol. 2 (1956, reissued 1974), pp. 119–124; and James Cahill, Chinese Painting (1960, reissued 1985), pp. 79–87, which discuss Hsia Kuei in the context of the Ma-Hsia school.

Agostino Di Giovanni

2005-01-29T11:43:00.000-08:00

Agostino is first heard of in Siena in 1310 and again lived there in 1340–43. After 1320 he was active with Agnolo at Volterra, where they executed a number of scenes from the lives of SS. Regulus and Octavian. The work of the two sculptors cannot be clearly differentiated. Between

Transportation, History Of, Formation of airlines

2005-01-27T09:44:00.000-08:00

With practical planes in hand in 1918 the organization of an airline to operate these craft on a scheduled basis over a consistent route was attempted. The first airline was formed in Germany; the Deutsche Luftreederie began service from Berlin to Leipzig and Weimar on Feb. 5, 1919, followed only three days later by the French Farman Company on the trans-channel crossing from

Ramathibodi I

2005-01-26T03:35:00.000-08:00

Little is known of Ramathibodi's early career, but he is thought to have been related to the ruling family of the principality of Lop Buri and to have married the daughter of the ruler of U Thong (now Suphan Buri) in central Siam. He succeeded to the throne of U Thong in about 1347 and moved

Madhva

2005-01-25T16:34:00.000-08:00

Born into a Brahman family, his life in many respects parallels the life of Jesus Christ. Miracles attributed to Christ in the New Testament were also attributed

Switzerland, Settlement patterns

2005-01-25T06:18:00.000-08:00

The diversity of geomorphology, climate, and plant distribution in Switzerland provides a wide variety of sites for the formation of settlements, a variety further enhanced by the country's central European location. Because of its distinct cultural differences, Switzerland provides varied examples for the study of the geography of settlements. For example,

Spanish Literature, Revival of the Spanish novel

2005-01-23T00:08:00.000-08:00

For more than two centuries the novel, with which Spain had made its greatest contribution to literature, had been almost extinct. The first novels of the revival were more interesting for powers of observation and description (a continuation of costumbrismo) than for imaginative or narrative quality. A woman novelist, Fernán Caballero, determined the technique

Arundel, Thomas Fitzalan, 5th Earl Of, 11th Earl Of Surrey

2005-01-22T16:40:00.000-08:00

King Richard II made him a ward of John Holland, duke of Exeter, from whose keeping he escaped about 1398 and joined his uncle, Archbishop Thomas Arundel, at Utrecht, returning to England in 1399 with Henry of Lancaster, afterward King Henry IV. In October 1400 he was restored to

All-or-none Law

2005-01-21T05:02:00.000-08:00

A physiological principle that relates response to stimulus in excitable tissues. It was first established for the contraction of heart muscle by the American physiologist Henry P. Bowditch in 1871. Describing the relation of response to stimulus, he stated, “An induction shock produces a contraction or fails to do so according to its strength; if it does so at all, it produces

Chemical Association

2005-01-20T15:25:00.000-08:00

The aggregation of atoms or molecules into larger units held together by forces weaker than chemical bonds that bind atoms in molecules. The term is usually restricted to the formation of aggregates of like molecules or atoms. Polymerization also denotes the formation of larger units by the union of like small units but usually with chemical bonds between the

Deforcement

2005-01-19T16:06:00.000-08:00

In English property law, wrongful taking and possession of land belonging to another. Deforcement had its primary legal significance in feudal England. Deforcement arose particularly in cases in which land possessed by a tenant escheated (was forfeited) to his lord (either for reason of the tenant's wrongful act against the manor or for nonpayment of rent due the

France, History Of, The grandsons of Clovis

2005-01-18T20:01:00.000-08:00

At the death of Chlotar I (561) the Frankish kingdom, which had become the most powerful state in the west, was once again divided, this time between his four sons. The partition agreement, based on that of 511, dealt with more extensive territories. Guntram received the eastern part of the former kingdom of Orléans, enlarged by the addition of Burgundy. Charibert I's share was fashioned

Dahriyah

2005-01-17T19:15:00.000-08:00

The Dahriyah are portrayed in Islamic theological literature

France, History Of, Henry IV

2005-01-16T20:52:00.000-08:00

The restoration of royal authority was not, of course, simply a matter of adjusting theories of kingship; there was a clear practical reason for Henry's success. The country had tottered on the brink of disintegration for three decades. By the time of Henry's succession, it was generally recognized that only a strong personality, independent of faction, could guarantee

Monclova

2005-01-14T19:59:00.000-08:00

During the colonial period, Monclova served as the capital of Nueva Extremadura

Acacia

2005-01-14T03:46:00.000-08:00

Any of about 800 species of trees and shrubs comprising a genus (Acacia) in the mimosa family (Mimosaceae) and native to tropical and subtropical regions of the world, particularly Australia (there called wattles) and Africa. Acacias' distinctive leaves take the form of small, finely divided leaflets that give the leafstalk a feathery or fernlike (i.e., pinnate) appearance.

Ancón

2005-01-12T13:33:00.000-08:00

City, central Panama, just northeast of Balboa city. It is a residential and medical centre. As Balboa and Panama City have grown, Ancón has become virtually a suburb of the latter. It is noted for the Gorgas Hospital for tropical diseases, named after Colonel William Crawford Gorgas, a U.S. Army surgeon who eradicated yellow fever from the Canal Zone. Ancón is also the site

Moréas, Jean

2005-01-12T07:48:00.000-08:00

Early inspired by a French governess who instilled in him a passion for French poetry, Moréas moved to Paris in 1879, becoming a familiar figure in the literary circles frequenting the cafés and in the literary pages of newspapers and reviews. He published

Rusalka

2005-01-11T05:47:00.000-08:00

Plural Rusalki, in Slavic mythology, lake-dwelling soul of a child who died unbaptized or of a virgin who was drowned (whether accidentally or purposely). Slavs of different areas have assigned different personalities to the rusalki. Around the Danube River, where they are called vile (singular vila), rusalki are beautiful, charming girls, dressed always in light robes of mist, singing

Mercoeur, Philippe-emmanuel De Lorraine, Duke (duc) De

2005-01-10T18:26:00.000-08:00

Philippe was the son of Nicolas de Lorraine, who became Duke de Mercoeur in 1569, and was a half brother to Louise de Vaudémont, wife of Henry III of France. He succeeded to his father's duchy in 1577. Mercoeur

Haakon Vi Magnusson

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

Byname Haakon Magnusson The Younger, Norwegian Håkon Magnusson Den Yngre king of Norway (1355–80) whose marriage to Margaret, daughter of the Danish king Valdemar IV, in 1363 paved the way for the eventual union (1397) of the three major Scandinavian nations—Denmark, Norway, and Sweden—the Kalmar Union. Haakon was deeply embroiled throughout his reign in political conflicts with Sweden, Denmark, and the cities of the north German trading confederation,

Cosgrave, William Thomas

2005-01-08T08:37:00.000-08:00

At an early age, Cosgrave was attracted to the Irish nationalist movement Sinn Féin. He became a member of the Dublin Corporation in 1909 and was subsequently reelected in the Sinn Féin interest. When Britain entered World War I, he joined the Irish Volunteers; but when this group split

China, Economic development

2005-01-07T19:11:00.000-08:00

In the 1640s and '50s the Manchu abolished all late Ming surtaxes and granted tax exemptions to areas ravaged by war. Tax remissions were limited, however, by the urgent need for revenues to carry on the conquest of China. It was not until the 1680s, after the consolidation of military victory, that the Ch'ing began to permit tax remissions on a large scale. The permanent freezing of

Honey Ant

2005-01-06T09:50:00.000-08:00

Any member of several different species of ant (family Formicidae; order Hymenoptera) that have developed a unique way of storing the honeydew, a by-product of digestion that is gathered mainly from the secretions of aphids and scale insects. A worker ant, fed by the others, is called a replete. The honeydew is stored in the replete's abdomen, which can become distended

Paradoxides

2005-01-05T18:03:00.000-08:00

Genus of trilobites (an extinct group of arthropods) found as fossils in Middle Cambrian rocks of North America and western Europe (the Cambrian Period lasted from 540 to 505 million years ago). Paradoxides has a well-developed head region terminating laterally in pointed spines that vary in development from species to species; the tail region is poorly developed. The body

Shah Jahan Period Architecture

2005-01-05T15:31:00.000-08:00

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

Kuharic, Franjo Cardinal

2005-01-03T08:54:00.000-08:00

Croatian Roman Catholic cleric (b. April 15, 1919, Pribic, Yugos.—d. March 11, 2002, Zagreb, Croatia), served as a strong nationalist symbol for his countrymen during Croatia's 1991 secession from Yugoslavia and the war that ensued (1991–95). In his role as archbishop of Zagreb (1970–97) and, thus, Roman Catholic primate of Croatia, Kuharic condemned religious intolerance and violence against Serbs and Muslims.

Steely Dan

2005-01-02T17:44:00.000-08:00

Named after a prosthetic phallus in William S. Burroughs's novel Naked

Benin, Bight Of

2005-01-01T05:51:00.000-08:00

Also called Bight Of Bonny, bay of the Atlantic Ocean on the western African coast that extends eastward for about 400 miles (640 km) from Cape St. Paul (Ghana) to the Nun outlet of the Niger River (Nigeria). It lies within the Gulf of Guinea and is bordered by southeastern Ghana, Togo, Benin, and southwestern Nigeria. The bay receives a portion of the Niger River delta and also the Sio, Haho, Mono, Couffo, Ouémé, Benin,

Swansea

2004-12-31T13:42:00.000-08:00

Welsh Abertawe county, southwestern Wales, comprising the city of Swansea as well as the entire peninsula of Gower in the south and west, the lower valley of the River Loughor in the northwest, and the foothills of Black Mountain in the north. Gower is a rolling plateau noted for its sandy beaches and scenic rocky cliffs. The valleys of the Rivers Loughor and Tawe broaden in their lower

Manchester

2004-12-29T00:52:00.000-08:00

Town (township), which includes Manchester Village, Manchester Center, and Manchester Depot in southwestern Vermont, U.S. It lies near the Batten Kill River between the Taconic Range and the Green Mountains. Manchester Village is one of the seats (the other is Bennington) of Bennington county. The site was settled about 1764 and laid out in 1784. The Vermont Council of Safety (where

Gippsland

2004-12-29T00:43:00.000-08:00

Region of southeastern Victoria, Australia, extending northeast from Western Port (near Melbourne) to the New South Wales border and south from the Eastern Highlands to the coast, with an area of 13,600 square miles (35,200 square km). Fertile and well watered (34 inches [860 mm] annually), Gippsland is the focus of the state's dairy industry, supplying most of Melbourne's liquid milk. Lignite

Adams, Henry

2004-12-27T23:20:00.000-08:00

Henry Adams, The Degradation of the Democratic Dogma (1919, reprinted 1969), a collection of Adams' theoretical essays with a lengthy introduction by his brother Brooks; “The Great Secession Winter 1860–1861,” Proceedings, Massachusetts Historical Society, 43:656–687 (1909–10), an essay, written during the secession crisis of 1860–61 but not published for 50 years, which analyzed the political developments that led to the Civil War; Essays in Anglo-Saxon Law (1876), a collection of studies in early British history written by Adams and his seminar students; Historical Essays (1891), a reprint of articles Adams had previously published in various journals; and introductions to Documents Relating to New England Federalism (1877), which shed light on the politics of the early national period; Ernest Samuels (ed.), The Education of Henry Adams (1973), is the definitive edition in which collation is made between the privately printed text and the revised text of the published edition. Worthington Chauncey Ford (ed.), A Cycle of Adams Letters, 1861–1865, 2 vol. (1920, reprinted in 1 vol. 1969), Letters of Henry Adams, 1858–1891 (1930, reprinted 1969), and Letters of Henry Adams, 1892–1918 (1938, reprinted 1969), all contain a rich selection of Adams' letters; Ernest Samuels, The Young Henry Adams (1948), Henry Adams: The Middle Years (1958), and Henry Adams: The Major Phase (1964), the most comprehensive and distinguished biography of Adams; J.C. Levenson, The Mind and Art of Henry Adams (1957), an unexcelled interpretative work centring upon both the man and his writings; Melvin Lyon, Symbol and Idea in Henry Adams (1970), an examination of the problem of illusion and reality, which Adams often expressed through symbols, as seen in his six major works; Vern Wagner, The Suspension of Henry Adams: A Study of Manner and Matter (1969), a discussion of Adams' writing style as an example of unique literary artistry; Frederic Cople Jaher, Doubters and Dissenters: Cataclysmic Thought in America, 1885–1918 (1964), a critical study of Adams, seeing him as a displaced Brahmin afloat in an industrialized world he was helpless to understand; William Dusinberre, Henry Adams: The Myth of Failure (1980), is a reconsideration.

China, The Self-Strengthening Movement

2004-12-27T00:46:00.000-08:00

Upon the Hsien-feng emperor's death at Cheng-te in 1861, his antiforeign entourage entered Peking and seized power; but Tz'u-hsi, the mother of the newly enthroned boy emperor Tsai-ch'un (reigned as the T'ung-chih emperor, 1861–75), and Prince Kung succeeded in crushing their opponents by a coup d'état in October. There emerged a new system in which the leadership in Peking was shared by

Wellingborough

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

Town and borough (district), administrative and historic county of Northamptonshire, England, situated east of Northampton along the River Nene. Wellingborough grew as a market town in the Middle Ages. After a fire in 1738, it was rebuilt on its present hill site. Wellingborough School, founded in 1595, was endowed with revenues from a suppressed medieval guild. Wellingborough's

Wallace, Lewis

2004-12-25T03:22:00.000-08:00

The son of an Indiana governor, Wallace left school at 16 and became a copyist in the county clerk's office, reading in his leisure time. He began his study of law in his father's office but left to recruit volunteers

Maccabees

2004-12-23T17:11:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Machabees priestly family of Jews who organized a successful rebellion against the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV and reconsecrated the defiled Temple of Jerusalem.

Oranges, War Of The

2004-12-23T10:33:00.000-08:00

In April 1801, French troops arrived in Portugal, and on May 20 they were bolstered by Spanish troops under the

Chang Chih-tung

2004-12-22T23:36:00.000-08:00

Chang was born to a family of scholar–officials in Kweichow Province, but, in accordance with Chinese custom, he was considered native to Nan-p'i, Chihli (modern Hopeh) Province, where his ancestors had settled in the 15th century. He was unusually

Prosody

2004-12-22T00:53:00.000-08:00

Ancient critics like Aristotle and Horace insisted that certain metres were natural to the specific poetic genres; thus, Aristotle (in the Poetics) noted that “Nature herself, as we have said, teaches the choice of the proper measure.” In epic verse the poet should use the heroic measure (dactylic hexameter) because this metre most effectively represents or imitates

Wright, Frances

2004-12-20T13:59:00.000-08:00

Wright was the daughter of a well-to-do Scottish merchant and political radical who had circulated the works of Thomas

Sankt Michael

2004-12-19T15:57:00.000-08:00

Also called Michaeliskirche, basilican church in Hildesheim, Ger., that was built between 1010 and 1033 under Bishop Bernward, famous teacher and confidant of the Holy Roman emperor Otto III. The church is one of the most important examples of Ottonian architecture. The church was damaged in World War II but has since been restored to its original appearance.

Kochi

2004-12-18T16:10:00.000-08:00

Ken (prefecture), southern Shikoku, Japan, stretching in an arc around Tosa Bay of the Pacific Ocean. It is the largest prefecture on the island, with an area of 2,744 square miles (7,107 square km). The population is concentrated on the Tosa plain, which, except on the south, is surrounded by mountains. Although it is isolated by poor communications, there is a railway from Kochi, the prefectural

Agni

2004-12-17T04:14:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit: “Fire”), fire-god of the Hindus, second only to Indra in the Vedic mythology of ancient India. He is equally the fire of the sun, of lightning, and of the hearth that men light for purposes of worship. As the divine personification of the fire of sacrifice, he is the mouth of the gods, the carrier of the oblation, and the messenger between the human and the divine orders.

Bhadracarya-pranidhana

2004-12-15T23:43:00.000-08:00

Also called Samantabhadra-carya-pranidhana (“Practical Vows of Samantabhadra”), a Mahayana (“Greater Vehicle”) Buddhist text that has also made an important contribution to the Tantric Buddhism of Tibet. Closely related to the Avatamsaka-sutra (“Discourse on the Adornments of the Buddha”) and sometimes considered its final section, the Bhadracarya-pranidhana presents a universe of totally interdependent phenomena

France, History Of, Philip VI

2004-12-15T03:30:00.000-08:00

Philip VI of Valois (ruled 1328–50), grandson of Philip III, was of mature age when he became regent of France in 1328. Upon the birth of a daughter to the widow of his cousin Charles IV, the familiar issue of the succession was posed anew. It was the regent's experience, together with the circumstance that Edward III of England, grandson of Philip the Fair, was under the influence of his

Cole, Fay-cooper

2004-12-13T07:51:00.000-08:00

After graduating from Northwestern University in 1903, Cole did postgraduate work at the University of