StraightShip

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2007-01-25T10:25:00.000-08:00

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Earp, Wyatt (berry Stapp)

2005-04-04T18:28:00.000-07:00

Earp and his four

Paraguay, Relief

2005-04-04T09:47:00.000-07:00

The Región Oriental, with an area of about 61,700 square miles, is an extension of the Brazilian Plateau and

African Games

2005-04-03T16:57:00.000-07:00

Also called Pan-African Games or All-Africa Games international athletics (track-and-field) competition sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and contested by athletes representing the nations of Africa. The African Games were first held in 1965, in Brazzaville, Congo, and consisted of contests in athletic sports exclusively. Attempts to hold such African games date back to the

Yüeh-fu

2005-04-02T18:22:00.000-08:00

Pinyin yuefu form of Chinese poetry derived from the folk-ballad tradition. The yüeh-fu takes its name from the Yüeh Fu (“Music Bureau”), created in 120 BC by Emperor Wu-ti for the purpose of collecting songs and their musical scores for ceremonial occasions at court. The music for these songs was later lost, but the words remained, forming a collection of Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220) folk poetry that served

Albuquerque, Afonso De, The Great

2005-04-02T17:58:00.000-08:00

Albuquerque was the second son of the senhor

Cinq-mars, Henri Coiffier De Ruzé, Marquis De

2005-04-01T23:01:00.000-08:00

Cinq-Mars was the son of the marshal Antoine Coiffier-Ruzé, marquis d'Effiat, a close friend of Richelieu, who took the boy under his protection on his father's death in 1632. Richelieu

Clapperton, Hugh

2005-03-31T23:13:00.000-08:00

The first European explorer in West Africa to return with a firsthand account of the region now known as northern Nigeria. Following service in the Royal Navy, he joined explorers Dixon Denham and Walter Oudney in a British government expedition that journeyed southward from Tripoli across the Sahara. Early

Adcock, Fleur

2005-03-31T14:37:00.000-08:00

Adcock received her early education in England and later earned degrees at Wellington Girls' College and Victoria University of Wellington. She served as lecturer and librarian at a number of New Zealand

Mars Pathfinder

2005-03-31T13:51:00.000-08:00

Robotic U.S. spacecraft launched to Mars to demonstrate a new way to land a spacecraft on the planet's surface and the operation of an independent robotic rover. Developed by NASA as part of a low-cost approach to planetary exploration, Pathfinder successfully completed both demonstrations, gathered scientific data, and returned striking images from Mars. Its observations

Aesthetics, The aesthetic recipient

2005-03-29T19:47:00.000-08:00

Whichever approach we take, however, there is an all-important question upon the answer to which the course of aesthetics depends: the question of the recipient. Only beings of a certain kind have aesthetic interests and aesthetic experience, produce and appreciate art, employ such concepts as those of beauty, expression, and form. What is it that gives these beings

Scythian

2005-03-29T14:54:00.000-08:00

Much of what is known of the history of the Scythians comes from the account of them by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who visited their territory. In modern times this

Niue

2005-03-28T20:47:00.000-08:00

Internally self-governing island state in free association with New Zealand. It is the westernmost of the Cook Islands but is administratively separate from them. Niue lies 1,340 miles (2,156 km) northeast of Auckland and 240 miles (385 km) east of Vava'u, Tonga, in the south-central Pacific. The capital is Alofi. Area 100 square miles (260 square km). Pop. (1994 est.) 2,200.

Sorites

2005-03-27T08:15:00.000-08:00

In syllogistic, or traditional, logic, a chain of successive syllogisms—or units of argument that pass from two premises (a major and then a minor) to a conclusion—in the first figure (i.e., with the middle, or repeated, term as the subject of the major and the predicate of the minor premise)—so related that either the conclusion of each (except the last) is the minor premise of

Olympic Games, Antwerp, Belgium, 1920

2005-03-26T22:18:00.000-08:00

The city, plagued by bad weather and economic woes, had a very short time to clean up the rubble left

Theobald Iv

2005-03-26T10:55:00.000-08:00

Also called Theobald The Great, French Thibaud Le Grand count of Blois and of Chartres (from 1102) and count of Champagne (from 1125) as Theobald II. He was the grandson of Theobald III of Blois. Theobald IV reunited Champagne with Blois and thus again made his house a threat to the royal domains of France from both east and west. He became in effect the second person of France, alternatively the ally and the enemy

Spodosol

2005-03-25T23:59:00.000-08:00

One of the 12 soil orders in the U.S. Soil Taxonomy. Spodosols are ashy gray, acidic soils with a strongly leached surface layer. Their suitability for cultivation is limited to acid-tolerant crops and orchards, provided that sufficient lime and fertilizer are applied. Covering about 3.5 percent of the nonpolar continental land area on Earth, they are mainly found bordering

Syros

2005-03-25T22:44:00.000-08:00

Modern Greek Síros, island near the centre of the Cyclades group, in the Aegean Sea, Greece. Its chief town and port, Hermoúpolis, on a bay of the east coast, is the capital of the nomós (department) of Cyclades. The island, with an area of 32 square miles (84 square km), is hilly, denuded, and irregular in shape, and it reaches an elevation of 1,450 feet (442 m). The old quarter, Áno Síros, of Hermoúpolis was founded in the

Sanidinite Facies

2005-03-24T01:18:00.000-08:00

One of the major divisions of the mineral facies classification of metamorphic rocks, the rocks of which form under the most intense conditions of contact metamorphism—either at the contacts of igneous intrusions with the surrounding rocks or in inclusions of other rocks in intrusions. Temperatures approaching the melting point of the rock may be reached; the

Sanidinite Facies

2005-03-23T23:07:00.000-08:00

French Agence Spatiale Européenne (ASE) western European space and space-technology research organization founded in 1975 from the merger of the European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO) and the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO), both established in 1964. Members include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,

Furniture, Fabrics

2005-03-22T14:49:00.000-08:00

The use of fabrics in furnishing rooms is closely bound up with the need for heating. In the primitively heated rooms of the Middle Ages, textiles were used to keep out cold and drafts. In 12th- and 13th-century churches, painted textile drapery can still be discerned beneath the picture friezes. In rather cold churches, just as in poorly heated homes, loosely hung textile

Bulganin, Nikolay Aleksandrovich

2005-03-22T07:55:00.000-08:00

Bulganin began his career as a Cheka (Bolshevik secret police) officer in 1918. Later, as manager of Moscow's leading electrical-equipment factory, he earned a reputation as an outstanding administrator. In 1931 he was made chairman

Judo

2005-03-20T18:35:00.000-08:00

During the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga., in July 1996, David Douillet (France) won the over-95-kg championship and Djamel Bouras (France) the 78-kg title (1 kg = 2.2 lb). Kenzo Nakamura (Japan) captured gold in the 71-kg competition, and Tadahiro Nomura (Japan) finished first in the 60-kg class. Other gold medals were awarded to Pawel Nastula of Poland (95-kg), Jeon Ki Young of South Korea (86-kg), and Udo Quellmalz

Endocrine System, Human

2005-03-20T03:59:00.000-08:00

It is important to

Alaca Hüyük

2005-03-19T11:39:00.000-08:00

Ancient Anatolian site northeast of the old Hittite capital of Hattusa at Bogazköy, north-central Turkey. Its excavation was begun by Makridi Bey in 1907 and resumed in 1935 by the Turkish Historical Society. Inside a sphinx gate, traces of a large Hittite building were discovered. Below the Hittite remains was a royal necropolis of 13 tombs dating from about 2500 BC. Although material

Saab Ab

2005-03-19T10:26:00.000-08:00

Saab was incorporated in 1937 as Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget. The company was engaged primarily in the production of aircraft until the mid-1940s, when it began manufacturing

Syria, From the 9th to the 12th century

2005-03-19T01:54:00.000-08:00

As the 'Abbasid caliphate disintegrated in its turn, Syria drifted out of the sphere of influence of Baghdad. In 877 it was annexed by the Tulunid dynasty of Egypt, and this began a political connection that was to last with intervals for more than six centuries. In northern Syria the Tulunids were succeeded by a local Arab dynasty, the Hamdanids of Aleppo, founded by Sayf ad-Dawlah

Gandhi, Rajiv

2005-03-17T14:41:00.000-08:00

Rajiv and his younger brother Sanjay (1946–80), the sons of Feroze and Indira Gandhi, were educated at the prestigious Doon School in Dehradun. Rajiv then

Costumbrismo

2005-03-17T02:05:00.000-08:00

(from Spanish costumbre, “custom”), a trend in Spanish literature that emphasized the depiction of the everyday manners and customs of a particular social or provincial milieu. Although the origins of costumbrismo go back to the Golden Age of Spanish literature in the 16th and 17th centuries, it grew into a major force in the first half of the 19th century, first in verse and

Paleocene Epoch

2005-03-16T21:37:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Palaeocene Epoch, major worldwide division of Early Tertiary rocks and time that began 66.4 million years ago and ended 57.8 million years ago. The earliest division of the Tertiary Period, it precedes the Eocene Epoch and follows the Cretaceous Period. Because marine rocks of the Paleocene Epoch are limited in occurrence, much of the information about the Paleocene comes from terrestrial

Indium

2005-03-16T15:42:00.000-08:00

(In), chemical element, rare metal of main Group IIIa, or boron group, of the periodic table. Of a brilliant, silvery-white lustre, indium was discovered (1863) by Ferdinand Reich and Theodor Richter while they were examining zinc ore samples. The presence of a predominant indigo spectral line suggested the name. Softer than lead and quite plastic, indium can be scratched with

Costumbrismo

2005-03-15T16:30:00.000-08:00

Formed at the urging of Britain and the United States, the Central Treaty Organization was intended to counter the threat of Soviet

Caledonian Orogenic Belt

2005-03-14T19:57:00.000-08:00

Range of mountains situated in northwestern Europe, developed as a result of the opening, closure, and destruction of the Iapetus Ocean in the period from the start of the Cambrian (540 million years ago) to the end of the Silurian (about 408 million years ago). The final collision was between a northwestern European and a North American–Greenland continent, and it gave rise

Alienation Effect

2005-03-14T07:13:00.000-08:00

Examples of such techniques include explanatory captions or illustrations projected

Marie-thérèse Of Austria

2005-03-14T01:35:00.000-08:00

As the daughter of King Philip IV of Spain and Elizabeth of France, Marie-Thérèse was betrothed to Louis by the Peace of the Pyrenees (1659), which ended a 24-year war between France and Spain. Under the terms of the pact, she agreed to renounce her claim to succession to the Spanish throne

Abbott, Edith

2005-03-13T04:09:00.000-08:00

Edith Abbott was the older sister of Grace Abbott, who would serve as chief of the United States Children's Bureau from 1921 to 1934. Both sisters were influenced by

Hancock

2005-03-12T16:42:00.000-08:00

County, southeastern Maine, U.S. It is located in a mountain-and-valley region bounded to the west by the Penobscot River and to the south by several bays of the Atlantic Ocean and includes many islands. The rugged coastline was formed by a flooded mountain range; Mount Desert Island features Cadillac Mountain (1,532 feet [467 metres]), the highest Atlantic coast summit in Maine,

Argentina, Porteños and gauchos

2005-03-12T16:00:00.000-08:00

The people of the port of Buenos Aires, the porteños, often call their cultured and glamorous city the Paris of South America. But there is another Argentina away from the capital: that of the Pampas and the interior. The interior gave to all Argentines their symbol of national identity, the gaucho, who occupies a position in South American lore similar to that of the

Yunnan

2005-03-12T05:59:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Yün-nan, (Pinyin) Yunnan, sheng (province) of China. The fourth largest province of China, it is a mountain and plateau region on the country's southwestern frontier. It is bounded by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the northwest, Szechwan on the north, and the Chuang Autonomous Region of Kwangsi and Kweichow Province on the east. To the south and southeast it adjoins Laos and Vietnam, and to the

Hull

2005-03-11T22:09:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Outaouais region, southwestern Quebec province, Canada. It lies on the north bank of the Ottawa River, opposite Ottawa, Ont. Originating in the early 19th century as a lumbering settlement named for Hull, Yorkshire, Eng., the city grew to become the chief business and administrative centre for southwestern Quebec and the industrial centre for metropolitan

Karakol

2005-03-10T14:36:00.000-08:00

Formerly (1889–1921, 1939–91) Przhevalsk, city, eastern Ysyk-köl oblast (province), Kyrgyzstan, at the northern foot of the Terskey-Alatau Mountains at an elevation of 5,807 feet (1,770 m) on the Karakol River. The city was founded in 1869 as a Russian military and administrative outpost; it was renamed for the Russian explorer Nikolay Mikhaylovich Przhevalsky, who died there in 1888. It has many food and other light industries, a teacher-training

Suckling

2005-03-10T04:17:00.000-08:00

In mammals, the drawing of milk into the mouth from the nipple or teat of a mammary gland (i.e., breast or udder). In human beings suckling is also referred to as nursing, or breast-feeding. Suckling is the method by which newborn mammals are nourished; it may last only 10–12 days, as in some rodents, or up to two years, as in the walrus. Milk composition may alter during the growth period,

Wyong

2005-03-10T01:08:00.000-08:00

Town, eastern New South Wales, Australia, on the Wyong River, immediately west of the Tuggerah Lakes (coastal lagoons). The district was settled in 1823 for the purpose of exploiting its cedar trees. As the forests were removed, agricultural activities increased, with citrus groves being planted after 1887. The town, proclaimed in 1888, derived its name from an Aboriginal word meaning

Porpora, Nicola (antonio Giacinto)

2005-03-08T19:30:00.000-08:00

Porpora was maestro

Sayan Mountains

2005-03-08T14:09:00.000-08:00

The Sayans form a rough arc, convex to the north, and stretch from the Altai Mountains in the west to Lake Baikal in the

Aral Sea

2005-03-08T06:02:00.000-08:00

Uzbek Orol

Wollstein, Martha

2005-03-08T01:59:00.000-08:00

Wollstein graduated from the Woman's Medical College of the New York Infirmary in 1889. In 1890 she joined the staff of the Babies Hospital in New York City, where she was appointed pathologist in 1892. Her first experimental work involved infant diarrhea and confirmed earlier studies

Yad

2005-03-07T21:39:00.000-08:00

Plural Yadayim, in Judaism, a ritual object, usually made of silver but sometimes of wood or other materials, that consists of a shaft affixed to a miniature representation of a hand with its index finger pointing. The yad is used optionally in liturgical services to indicate the place that is being read on a Torah (biblical) scroll, thus eliminating the necessity of touching the sacred

Pluriarc

2005-03-07T18:51:00.000-08:00

Also called Bow Lute, west African stringed musical instrument having a deep boxlike body from which project between two and eight slender, curved arms; one string runs from the end of each arm to a string holder on the belly. The strings are plucked, usually by the fingers, occasionally by plectra attached to the fingers. They are generally played open, as on a harp; in some regions they are

Hailar

2005-03-07T15:54:00.000-08:00

The area was occupied by the Chinese in the 7th century AD under the early T'ang dynasty, when it was part of the Hei-shui protectorate general. Chinese occupation, however, was short-lived and never very

1812, War Of

2005-03-06T06:18:00.000-08:00

(June 18, 1812–Dec. 24, 1814), inconclusive British–U.S. conflict arising chiefly out of U.S. grievances over oppressive maritime practices during the Napoleonic Wars. The long struggle between Great Britain and France, fought intermittently between 1793 and 1815, led both belligerents to infringe on the rights and impair the interests of neutrals. Napoleon averted hostilities

English Oak

2005-03-05T19:48:00.000-08:00

Also called Brown Oak (Quercus robur), ornamental and timber tree of the beech family (Fagaceae) that is native to Eurasia but also cultivated in North America and Australia. The tree has a short, stout trunk with wide-spreading branches and may grow to a height of 25 m (82.5 feet). The short-stalked leaves, 13 cm (5 inches) or more long, have three to seven pairs of rounded lobes; they are dark green

Exterminator

2005-03-05T16:26:00.000-08:00

Byname Old Bones (foaled 1915), American racehorse (Thoroughbred), a dependable and durable horse who won 50 of 100 races in eight seasons. Because of the length of his career and his extraordinary ability to win sprints and long-distance races under heavy weights, some horsemen considered him superior to Man o' War, his greatest contemporary and doubtless the fastest American horse of the time.

Aetolian League

2005-03-05T13:59:00.000-08:00

Federal state or “sympolity” of Aetolia, in ancient Greece. Probably based on a looser tribal community, it was well-enough organized to conduct negotiations with Athens in 367 BC. It became by c. 340 one of the leading military powers in Greece. Having successfully resisted invasions by Macedonia in 322 and 314–311, the league rapidly grew in strength during the ensuing period of Macedonian

Colbert, Jean-baptiste, Marquis De Seignelay

2005-03-04T03:23:00.000-08:00

As the eldest son of the famous secretary of state of that name, Colbert was given the best possible tutors, who found him bright but lazy. In 1683 Colbert became head of the navy and performed brilliantly at the post. He showed an excellent knowledge of naval affairs and personally supervised innovations

General Mills, Inc.

2005-03-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

General Mills was incorporated in 1928 to acquire Washburn Crosby Company, a flour-milling company formed in 1866, and four other milling companies. Specializing in cereals and flour products, the

Cambridge Agreement

2005-03-02T08:27:00.000-08:00

(Aug. 26, 1629), pledge made in Cambridge, Eng., by English Puritan stockholders of the Massachusetts Bay Company to emigrate to New England if the government of the colony could be transferred there. The company agreed to their terms, including transferral of the company charter. Control of the corporation was shifted to the signers of the agreement, and John Winthrop was appointed

Caribou

2005-03-02T04:50:00.000-08:00

In North America, a native species of reindeer (q.v.).

Mahabaleshwar

2005-03-02T02:43:00.000-08:00

Resort town, southwestern Maharashtra state, western India. It lies about 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Bombay and northwest of the town of Satara at an elevation of 4,718 feet (1,438 m), in the Sahyadri Hills of the Western Ghats. The town commands an excellent view over the coastal Konkan Plain from the steep scarp slope of the hills. Recognized in ancient times as the site of the source of the Krishna

Oscar I

2005-03-01T10:23:00.000-08:00

Oscar's early liberal outlook and progressive ideas on such issues as fiscal policy, freedom of the press, and penal reform fortuitously coincided with a period of social, political, and industrial change. After his accession

Peter Ii

2005-03-01T05:56:00.000-08:00

Duke of Brittany (from 1450), son of John V (or VI) and brother of his predecessor Francis I. He made an important innovation in limiting the right of asylum in churches and monasteries, enabling him to pursue his enemies at will. To preserve the family line, he adhered to the testament of Francis I and made his uncle Arthur, constable de Richemont, his successor, as

Leahy, William D.

2005-03-01T02:43:00.000-08:00

A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md. (1897), Leahy saw service in the Spanish-American War (1898), the Philippine insurrection (1899–1901), and the Boxer Rebellion in China (1900). In command of a navy transport during World War I, he formed

Bead Lightning

2005-02-28T08:35:00.000-08:00

Also called chain lightning form of lightning of longer duration than more typical lightning that appears as a string of luminous segments instead of a continuous channel. It occurs infrequently but has been observed many times. Its causes are unknown, but among the theories proposed are the following: portions of the lightning channel are slanted toward or away from the observer and thus

Kahnweiler, Daniel-henry

2005-02-27T22:11:00.000-08:00

Trained for a career in finance, Kahnweiler instead chose art and settled in Paris, where he opened a small gallery in 1907. He became interested in the work of several young artists

Skepticism

2005-02-27T10:42:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Scepticism the philosophical attitude of doubting knowledge claims set forth in various areas. Skeptics have challenged the adequacy or reliability of these claims by asking what they are based upon or what they actually establish. They have raised the question whether such claims about the world are either indubitable or necessarily true, and they have challenged the

Jean Le Bel

2005-02-26T11:26:00.000-08:00

A soldier and the constant companion of Jean, Count de Beaumont, with whom he went to England and Scotland in 1327, Le Bel wrote his Vrayes Chroniques (“True Chronicles”), recounting the events of the reign of Edward III,

Lee, Sammy

2005-02-26T07:10:00.000-08:00

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

Saxony

2005-02-25T15:48:00.000-08:00

German Sachsen , French Saxe any of several major territories in German history. It has been applied: (1) before AD 1180, to an extensive far-north German region including Holstein but lying mainly west and southwest of the estuary and lower course of the Elbe River; (2) between 1180 and 1423, to two much smaller and widely separated areas, one on the right (east) bank of the lower Elbe southeast of Holstein, the other on the

Belarusian Ridge

2005-02-25T09:35:00.000-08:00

Belarusian also spelled Belorussian, or Byelorussian, Russian Belorusskaya Gryada, or Belorusskaja Gr'ada, upland region in Belarus. From northeastern Poland the ridge runs southeast into western Belarus and then swings northeast. Its total length is 320 miles (520 km). The ridge, covered by marine sands and clays, is in reality a series of separate uplands, of which the highest point is Dzerzhinskaya Mountain, at 1,132 feet (345 m), in the Minsk Upland. To the south of the ridge lie the extensive

Peter, Gospel Of

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

Pseudepigraphal (noncanonical and unauthentic) Christian writing of the mid-2nd century AD, the extant portion of which covers the condemnation, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Jesus. Because the work reflects the view that Christ's body had only the appearance of reality, Serapion, bishop of Antioch c. AD 190, believed it was written by a member of the heretical Docetist sect.

Wilkes-barre

2005-02-23T18:22:00.000-08:00

Its permanent settlement began in 1769 when Major John Durkee, a veteran of the French and Indian War, settled a band

Armco Inc.

2005-02-23T16:40:00.000-08:00

Originally a manufacturer of sheet iron and steel, the company diversified, and its activities now

Kwa Languages

2005-02-23T15:24:00.000-08:00

The Kwa languages are divided into two groups. The larger Nyo group comprises 35 languages situated in southern Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. It includes

Bylina

2005-02-22T19:22:00.000-08:00

Plural Byliny, traditional form of Old Russian and Russian heroic narrative poetry transmitted orally, still a creative tradition in the 20th century. The oldest byliny belong to a cycle dealing with the golden age of Kievan Rus in the 10th–12th century. They centre on the deeds of Prince Vladimir I and his court. One of the favourite heroes is the independent Cossack Ilya of Murom, who defended

Time Warner Inc.

2005-02-21T07:29:00.000-08:00

The largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world. Time Warner's products encompass magazines, hardcover books, comic books, recorded music, motion pictures, online services, and broadcast and cable television programming and distribution. Its headquarters are in New York City.

Tall Tale

2005-02-21T01:23:00.000-08:00

Narrative that depicts the wild adventures of extravagantly exaggerated folk heroes. The tall tale is essentially an oral form of entertainment; the audience appreciates the imaginative invention rather than the literal meaning of the tales. Associated with the lore of the American frontier, tall tales often explain the origins of lakes, mountains, and canyons;

Yalow, Rosalyn S.

2005-02-21T00:23:00.000-08:00

Yalow graduated with honours from Hunter College

Bioengineering

2005-02-20T10:43:00.000-08:00

The application of engineering knowledge to the fields of medicine and biology. The bioengineer must be well grounded in biology and have engineering knowledge that is broad, drawing upon electrical, chemical, mechanical, and other engineering disciplines. The bioengineer may work in any of a large range of areas. One of these is the provision of artificial means

Vacuole

2005-02-19T02:10:00.000-08:00

In biology, a space within a cell that is empty of cytoplasm, lined with a membrane, and filled with fluid. Especially in protozoa, vacuoles are cytoplasmic organs (organelles), performing functions such as storage, ingestion, digestion, excretion, and expulsion of excess water. The large central vacuoles often found in plant cells enable them to attain a large size without

Moray Firth

2005-02-18T19:09:00.000-08:00

Triangular-shaped inlet of the North Sea in northeastern Scotland. It reaches a maximum width of 16 miles (29 km), from Tarbat Ness on its northern shore to Burghead on its southern shore. Two smaller inlets, the Cromarty Firth and the Beauly Firth, extend inland from the inner reaches of the Moray Firth. The city of Inverness lies at the head of the Moray Firth, and the town of

Cinématographe

2005-02-18T04:03:00.000-08:00

First motion-picture apparatus, used as both camera and projector. The invention of Louis and Auguste Lumière, manufacturers of photographic materials of Lyon, Fr., it was based in part on the Kinetoscope of Thomas A. Edison in the United States and in part on the Théâtre Optique of Émile Reynaud in Paris. From Edison's invention the Lumières took the idea of a sprocket-wound

New Hampshire, Flag Of

2005-02-18T00:19:00.000-08:00

The seal of New Hampshire was adopted in 1784 following the Revolutionary War. On December 28, 1792, a regulation was adopted by the legislature that required regiments in the state militia to carry the national flag and regimental colours displaying the state seal. More than a century passed, however, before the adoption of a state flag for general purposes. The 1909 flag law provided

France, History Of, The Age of Louis XIV

2005-02-17T20:58:00.000-08:00

Albert N. Hamscher, The Parlement of Paris After the Fronde, 1653–1673 (1976), and The Conseil Privé and the Parlements in the Age of Louis XIV: A Study in French Absolutism (1987), provide good introductions to the period. Roger Mettam, Power and Faction in Louis XIV's France (1988); and Roger Mettam (ed.), Government and Society in Louis XIV's France (1977), analyze the political structure. Eugene L. Asher, The Resistance to the Maritime Classes: The Survival of Feudalism in the France of Colbert (1960, reprinted 1980); Charles Woosley Cole, Colbert and a Century of French Mercantilism, 2 vol. (1939, reissued 1964); Thomas J. Schaeper, The French Council of Commerce, 1700–1715: A Study of Mercantilism After Colbert (1983); and Herbert Lüthy, La Banque protestante en France: de la révocation de l'Edit de Nantes à la Révolution, 2 vol. (1959–61, reprinted 1970), discuss the developing economic system. See also Warren C. Scoville, The Persecution of Huguenots and French Economic Development, 1680–1720 (1960), important in assessing the effects of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Pierre Goubert, Louis XIV and Twenty Million Frenchmen (1970, originally published in French, 1966), provides a synthesis of Louis's reign; it is supplemented in such special accounts as Lionel Rothkrug, Opposition to Louis XIV: The Political and Social Origins of the French Enlightenment (1965); John C. Rule (ed.), Louis XIV and the Craft of Kingship (1969); Louis André, Louis XIV et l'Europe (1950), on foreign policy; and John B. Wolf, Louis XIV (1968).

Bioclimatology

2005-02-17T05:46:00.000-08:00

Branch of climatology that deals with the effects of the physical environment on living organisms over an extended period of time. Although Hippocrates touched on these matters 2,000 years ago in his treatise on Air, Waters, and Places, the science of bioclimatology is relatively new. It developed into a significant field of study during the 1960s owing largely to a growing

Glissant, édouard

2005-02-17T01:15:00.000-08:00

Glissant was a disciple and fellow countryman of the poet Aimé Césaire, who founded the Negritude movement to promote an African culture free of all colonial influences. Glissant recorded the awakening of colonized peoples

Valence

2005-02-16T11:17:00.000-08:00

Town, capital of Drôme département, Rhône-Alpes région, southeastern France. Valence lies on the left bank of the Rhône River. Built on a succession of terraces bordering the Rhône, the town is dominated by the ancient Cathedral of Saint-Apollinaire, which was consecrated by Pope Urban II in 1095 and completed early in the 12th century. Damage done to the cathedral during the

Mongolia

2005-02-15T15:10:00.000-08:00

Contemporary cultural life in Mongolia is a unique amalgam of traditional elements—the heritage of centuries—and a growing modern element.

Fuchsia

2005-02-15T04:05:00.000-08:00

Genus of about 100 species of flowering shrubs and trees, in the evening primrose family (Onagraceae), native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Central and South America and to New Zealand and Tahiti. Several species are grown in gardens as bedding plants, small shrubs, or miniature treelike specimens; others are grown as pot plants or in hanging baskets

Cracow, Republic Of

2005-02-15T03:51:00.000-08:00

Also called Free City of Cracow , Cracow also spelled Kraków , Polish Krakowska Rzeczpospolita , or Wolne Miasto Kraków tiny state that, for the 31 years of its existence (1815–46), was the only remaining independent portion of Poland. Established by the Congress of Vienna at the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars (1815), the free Republic of Cracow consisted of the ancient city of Cracow and the territory surrounding it. Containing a population of 95,000, it was placed under the joint protection of Austria, Prussia,

Philip

2005-02-14T08:02:00.000-08:00

Antipope in July 768. Temporal rulers coveted the papal throne following the death (767) of Pope St. Paul I, and Toto, duke of Nepi, had his brother Constantine II, a layman, elected pope. The Lombard king Desiderius then sent troops to Rome, killing Toto and deposing Constantine. Backed by some Romans, the Lombards, in 768, secretly set Philip up as pope. Philip had been

Arts, Central Asian, Tibetan music

2005-02-13T11:08:00.000-08:00

Tibetan religious music is the only Central Asian repertoire that has a long history of written notation. This notation, for liturgical chant, consists of neumes—i.e., symbols representing melodic contour rather than precise pitch, similar to the earliest music writing of medieval Europe. Also distinctive is the metaphysical aspect of Tibetan Buddhist music, related

Geneva

2005-02-12T09:37:00.000-08:00

Town, Adams county, eastern Indiana, U.S., on the Wabash River, 35 miles (56 km) northeast of Muncie. Platted in 1853, it was called Buffalo until presumably renamed for the Swiss city. A rural community with many Old Order Amish families, it lies in the “Limberlost Country,” a timber-swampland made famous by the novelist Gene Stratton Porter in such novels as Freckles (1904) and A Girl of the

Fielding, William Stevens

2005-02-12T01:28:00.000-08:00

In 1864 Fielding joined the staff of the Halifax Morning Chronicle, the leading Liberal newspaper in Nova Scotia, where for 20 years he worked in various departments. From 1884 to 1896 Fielding was premier of Nova Scotia. An opponent

Adder

2005-02-12T00:27:00.000-08:00

Any of several venomous snakes of the viper family, Viperidae, and the death adder, a viperlike member of the cobra snake family, Elapidae. The name adder may also be applied to certain other snakes, such as the hognose snake (q.v.), a harmless North American species. Among the adders of the viper family are included the common adder (Vipera berus), the puff adders (several species

Salcedo

2005-02-11T09:31:00.000-08:00

City, northern Dominican Republic. It lies in the fertile Cibao Valley between the mountain chains of the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera Septentrional. Salcedo serves as a commercial centre for the agricultural hinterland, which yields principally cacao, coffee, and corn (maize). It is accessible by secondary highway from San Francisco de Macorís and Moca.

Yuki

2005-02-10T19:13:00.000-08:00

Four groups of North American Indians who lived in the Coast Ranges and along the coast of northwestern California, U.S. They spoke distinctive languages unaffiliated with any other known language. The four Yuki groups were the Yuki proper, who lived along the upper reaches of the Eel River and its tributaries; the Huchnom, who dwelt in the Redwood Valley to the west;

Theileriasis

2005-02-10T16:12:00.000-08:00

Any of a group of livestock diseases caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Theileria (Gonderia), transmitted by tick bites. The most serious is East Coast fever of cattle, caused by T. parva; it has 90–100 percent mortality in Africa. Tropical theileriasis, from T. annulata (T. dispar), is a milder disease of cattle along the Mediterranean and in the Middle East. Theileriases

Lakabi Ware

2005-02-09T16:09:00.000-08:00

Lakabi also spelled Laqabi, also called Kashan Ware, in Islamic ceramics, a style of pottery associated with Kashan, Persia (Iran), from about the middle of the 11th century until the end of the 14th century. The name (lakabi, “painted”) is a misnomer, actually referring to an incised design decorated with different coloured glazes separated by clay threads. Colours used were blue, yellow, purple, and green. Some lakabi wares were also

Los Angeles Zoo, The

2005-02-08T23:48:00.000-08:00

Byname Griffith Park Zoo, zoological park founded in 1912 in Los Angeles as the Griffith Park Menagerie. It is a completely outdoor zoo that has holdings of the emperor tamarin, mountain tapir, and California condor. The Los Angeles Zoo was also the first to breed the tarictic hornbill. Comprising a main zoo and a children's zoo, it occupies 46 hectares (113 acres) of Griffith Park, a large city-owned park. The

Misrule, Lord Of

2005-02-07T15:06:00.000-08:00

Also called Abbot Of Misrule, or King Of Misrule, official of the late medieval and early Tudor period in England, who was specially appointed to manage the Christmas festivities held at court, in the houses of great noblemen, in the law schools of the Inns of Court, and in many of the colleges at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford. During his reign, which lasted anywhere from 12 days to 3 months, the Lord of Misrule