HealthyGrass

Astrobleme

2005-03-19T03:14:00.000-08:00

(from Greek astron, blema, “star wound”), remains of an ancient meteorite-impact structure on the Earth's surface, generally in the form of a circular scar of crushed and deformed bedrock. Because such telltale features as crater walls, fused silica glass, and meteorite fragments are heavily modified over time by erosion and weathering, the identification of astroblemes

Iacocca, Lee

2005-03-16T03:37:00.000-08:00

The son of an Italian immigrant, Iacocca graduated from Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa., in 1945 and received a master's degree

Shenute

2005-03-15T21:41:00.000-08:00

Shenute entered monastic life as a youth and succeeded his uncle as abbot of the White Monastery in 383. He revived the rule of Pachomius, the 4th-century founder of cenobitic,

Valdivia

2005-03-13T17:55:00.000-08:00

Capital of Valdivia provincia, Los Lagos región, southern Chile. It lies at the confluence of the Callecalle and Cruces rivers, which there form the Valdivia River, 11 miles (18 km) from the Pacific Ocean. Although it was founded in 1552 and was a strategically significant outpost during the colonial era, Valdivia did not flourish until after the mid-19th century, when a large influx

Vermeer, Johannes

2005-03-10T11:16:00.000-08:00

Since Vermeer's name is not mentioned in Delft archival records during the late 1640s or early 1650s, it is possible

Yi Sun-shin

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

After passing the government examinations to become a military officer in 1576, Yi served at various army and navy posts. Although he was twice discharged after being falsely accused by jealous

Amboise

2005-03-07T15:42:00.000-08:00

The town was first mentioned in 504 as Ambatia, when on the isle of Saint-Jean (now Île d'Or), Clovis, king of the Franks, met

Karaikal

2005-03-04T06:14:00.000-08:00

The area was part of the Cola empire in the 10th century,

Integraph

2005-03-03T03:46:00.000-08:00

Mathematical instrument for plotting the integral of a graphically defined function. Two such instruments were invented independently about 1880 by the British physicist Sir Charles Vernon Boys and the Lithuanian mathematician Bruno Abdank Abakanowicz and were later modified and improved by others. The integraph draws the graph of the integral as the user traces

Lipid Storage Disease

2005-03-01T17:45:00.000-08:00

Any of a group of relatively rare hereditary disorders of fat metabolism, characterized by the accumulation of distinctive types of lipids, notably cerebrosides, gangliosides, or sphingomyelins, in various body structures. Each type of lipid accumulates as a result of a defect in one of the several organic catalysts or enzymes that normally metabolize it inside

Novel, Picaresque

2005-02-27T18:11:00.000-08:00

In Spain, the novel about the rogue or pícaro was a recognized form, and such English novels as Defoe's The Fortunate Mistress (1724) can be regarded as picaresque in the etymological sense. But the term has come to connote as much the episodic nature of the original species as the dynamic of roguery. Fielding's Tom Jones, whose hero is a bastard, amoral, and very nearly gallows-meat,

November Insurrection

2005-02-24T15:31:00.000-08:00

When a revolution broke out in Paris (July 1830) and the Russian emperor Nicholas I indicated his intention of using the Polish Army to suppress it, a Polish secret society of infantry cadets staged an uprising in

Pluvial Regime

2005-02-23T04:43:00.000-08:00

Averaged zonally, regions of excessive precipitation, in which annual precipitation exceeds annual evaporation, exist in the tropics and at latitudes poleward of 40° in both hemispheres. In the subtropics, dominated by high atmospheric pressure, annual

Ska

2005-02-21T18:16:00.000-08:00

Pioneered by the operators of powerful mobile discos called sound systems, ska evolved in the late 1950s from an early Jamaican form of rhythm and blues that emulated American rhythm and blues, especially that produced in New Orleans, Louisiana. A new beat emerged that mixed the shuffling rhythm of American pianist Rosco Gordon

Heuneburg

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

Celtic fortified site overlooking the Danube River in Baden-Württemberg Land (state), Germany. Recent excavations have shown that the Heuneburg fort community carried on a prosperous trade with the Greeks at Massilia (Marseille) during the 6th century BC. Imported Greek black-figure pottery and Massiliote wine amphorae have been uncovered. Mediterranean influence

Thompson River

2005-02-16T20:46:00.000-08:00

Major tributary of the Fraser River, in southern British Columbia, Canada. The North Thompson (210 miles [340 km]) rises in the Cariboo Mountains east of Wells Gray Provincial Park and follows an easterly then southwesterly course to Kamloops; the South Thompson (206 miles) emerges from Shuswap Lake and flows northwesterly to Kamloops (see photograph), where the two streams unite

Bonard, Louis-adolphe

2005-02-14T13:09:00.000-08:00

Entering service in the French Navy in 1825, Bonard was promoted to lieutenant in 1835, captain in 1842, and was commissioned vice admiral in 1862. He was captured by Algerians after a shipwreck in 1830 and later helped quell

Bonard, Louis-adolphe

2005-02-13T15:46:00.000-08:00

Founded in New York City in 1976 as little more than a social club, the charter organization of the AWU grew into a major clearinghouse and support agency for Asian and Pacific American women in the United States. Having absorbed several scattered

Pacific Islands, Trade

2005-02-11T23:33:00.000-08:00

Pacific islanders, as producers of agricultural, marine, and mineral commodities, face problems of market demand, labour supply, management skills, and transport that restrict them to an insignificant role in world export trade. Neither do the small, scattered populations present an attractive consumer market to overseas entrepreneurs. The combination of limited

Soissons, Louis De Bourbon, Count (comte) De

2005-02-09T22:00:00.000-08:00

The only son of Charles de Bourbon, he inherited his father's Soissons title in 1612. After taking the side of Marie de Médicis, the queen mother, in 1620, he served Louis XIII against the Huguenots in 1622. Later involved in intrigues against Cardinal

Eyre Peninsula

2005-02-07T06:04:00.000-08:00

Large promontory of South Australia, projecting into the Indian Ocean. A broad-based triangular formation about 200 miles (320 km) on each side, it extends from a base along the Gawler Ranges and lies between the Great Australian Bight to the west and Spencer Gulf to the east. Generally sandy and rocky, it rises from an irregular coastline to a maximum elevation of 1,550 feet (472 m) at Nukey

Impact Crater

2005-02-04T09:13:00.000-08:00

Any feature on the continents that has been created by the impact of cosmic bodies (meteorites, asteroids, or comets) on the Earth's surface. In fact, the collision of a Mars-sized body with the Earth early in the history of the solar system may have caused the formation of the Moon and the continents themselves, or rather the ocean/continent dichotomy of the Earth's outer

Babcock, Horace Welcome

2005-02-03T03:26:00.000-08:00

American astronomer (b. Sept. 13, 1912, Pasadena, Calif.—d. Aug. 29, 2003, Santa Barbara, Calif.), led the effort to create, in 1969, Chile's Las Campanas Observatory, the first observatory to be built far from sources of light pollution. In the 1950s Babcock devised the system of adaptive optics that enabled telescopes to compensate for the distorting effect of Earth's atmosphere on light from distant

Iberian Peninsula

2005-01-31T19:11:00.000-08:00

Peninsula in southwestern Europe, occupied by Spain and Portugal. Its name derives from its ancient inhabitants whom the Greeks called Iberians, probably after the Ebro (Iberus), the peninsula's second longest river (after the Tagus). The Pyrenees form an effective land barrier in the northeast from the rest of Europe, and in the south at Gibraltar the peninsula is separated

Gmunden

2005-01-29T07:26:00.000-08:00

Town, Oberösterreich Bundesland (“federal state”), north-central Austria, where the Traun River flows out of the Traunsee, a mountain lake. The site of Celtic and Roman settlements, Gmunden was fortified in the 12th century and chartered in the 13th. Its Baroque parish church on 13th-century foundations was consecrated in 1723, and the town hall dates from 1659. Once an important centre

Egypt, Education

2005-01-28T23:39:00.000-08:00

At the end of the 19th century there were only three secondary and nine “higher” schools in Egypt; the educational structure continued to be based on the kuttabs, or Qur'an schools. In 1916 the latter were turned into elementary schools, and in 1923 a law was passed providing free compulsory education between the ages of seven and 12. A sharp increase in the annual budgetary allocation

Mitscher, Marc A.

2005-01-26T14:47:00.000-08:00

Early

Music

2005-01-24T13:21:00.000-08:00

Major pop artists Pink Floyd, the Eagles, the Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand, and Billy Joel and Elton John (together) undertook tours in 1994, restoring the summer concert business to prosperity after several slow years. Pink Floyd toured in support of The Division Bell, the group's first studio album in seven years. Dramatic, sweeping, and laced with the sonorous guitar

Aesthetics, The aesthetic recipient

2005-01-21T17:16:00.000-08:00

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

Tallahassee

2005-01-20T09:02:00.000-08:00

Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto camped in the area during the winter of 1539–40; it was originally occupied by Apalachee and later by Creek peoples. Seven Franciscan missions were established,

Saramacca

2005-01-18T10:37:00.000-08:00

Creole language, based on English, spoken by Bush Negroes in the Guianas. See Sranantonga.

Yerby, Frank

2005-01-15T04:28:00.000-08:00

Yerby's story “Health Card” won the O. Henry Memorial Award for best first published short story in 1944. In 1946 his first novel, The Foxes of Harrow, was an immediate success. His novels are action-packed, usually featuring a strong hero in an earlier period. The stories unfold in colourful language

Gatchina

2005-01-13T11:35:00.000-08:00

Formerly (until 1929) Khotchino , or (1929–44) Krasnogvardeysk city, Leningrad oblast (province), northwestern Russia, lying 15 miles (24 km) southwest of St. Petersburg. The first mention of Khotchino dates from 1499, when it was a possession of Novgorod. Later it belonged to Livonia and Sweden. After 1721 it was returned to Russia and in the 1720s belonged to the sister of Peter I the Great, Natalia. The town grew only after the building, between 1766 and 1772, of a summer

France, History Of, Economic distress

2005-01-12T15:24:00.000-08:00

The Black Death, carried on shipboard from the Levant, reached Provence in

Lippstadt

2005-01-09T14:54:00.000-08:00

City, North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state), northwestern Germany. It lies along the Lippe River, on the slopes of the Teutoburger Wald. Lippstadt was probably founded by the lords of Lippe in 1168, and it joined the Hanseatic League in 1280. Half of the town passed to the county of Mark, which in 1614 was acquired by Brandenburg. In 1850 the prince of Lippe-Detmold sold his share to Prussia when

Religion, Study Of, Other sociological studies

2005-01-07T14:34:00.000-08:00

An extensive literature on religious sects and similar groups has also developed. To some extent this has been influenced by the German theologian Ernst Troeltsch in his distinction between church and sect (see below Theological studies). Notable among modern investigators of sectarianism is the British scholar Bryan Wilson. Church organizations also have

Great Malvern

2005-01-06T13:21:00.000-08:00

Also known as Malvern town, Malvern Hills district, administrative and historic county of Worcestershire, England. Great Malvern was formerly the largest of several villages and hamlets on the eastern slopes of the Malvern Hills but has since grown to incorporate them. Malvern Chase, a medieval administrative entity, was granted to the earl of Gloucester by Edward I (reigned 1272–1307). Little

Sogn Og Fjordane

2005-01-03T18:44:00.000-08:00

Fylke (county), western Norway, bordering the North Sea. Its inland extension includes the Jostedals Glacier and part of the Jotunheim Mountains. In the northern part of the fylke is Nord Fjord, which penetrates 55 miles (90 km) inland, and in the south is Norway's longest fjord, Sogn Fjord (q.v.). Centrally located on the northern bank of Sogn Fjord is the village of Leikanger, administrative

Yangtze Plain

2005-01-02T02:40:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Ch'ang Chiang P'ing-yüan, Pinyin Chang Jiang Pingyuan, series of alluvial plains of uneven width along the Yangtze River and its major tributaries, beginning east of I-ch'ang (Hupeh province), China. The Middle Yangtze Plain comprises parts of northeastern Hunan, southeastern Hupeh, and north-central Kiangsi provinces, including Tung-t'ing, P'o-yang, and Hung lakes. The Lower Yangtze Plain includes the Yangtze River delta

Spanish Lace

2004-12-31T21:38:00.000-08:00

Lace made in Spain; the name is also erroneously given to much lace that was in fact imported into Spain from the 17th century onward. The Spaniards imported a great deal of Venetian needle lace for church use in the 17th century. When the Spanish monasteries were dissolved in 1830, much ecclesiastical lace came to light that was described as “Spanish point,” but little, if any, of

Ghica, Ion

2004-12-28T23:36:00.000-08:00

Descended from the Walachian prince Grigore III Ghica, Ion Ghica joined the opposition to the rule of his cousin Alexandru II Ghica, prince of Walachia from 1834, that resulted in Alexandru's deposition in October 1842. Ghica figured prominently

Manama

2004-12-27T17:02:00.000-08:00

Arabic Al-manamah, capital and largest city of the state and emirate of Bahrain. It lies at the northeast tip of Bahrain island, in the Persian Gulf. About one-third of the emirate's population lives in the city. First mentioned in Islamic chronicles about AD 1345, it was taken by the Portuguese (1521) and by the Persians (1602). It has been held, with brief interruptions, by the ruling Al Khalifah dynasty since 1783. Because

Eugenius Iii, Blessed

2004-12-25T23:54:00.000-08:00

Possibly a member of the family Paganelli di Montemagno, he was a disciple of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and a Cistercian abbot of the monastery of SS. Vincent and Anastasius when he was elected on February 15. Eugenius, like others of western Europe, was shocked by the fall of Edessa, the capital of the first

Bacchelli, Riccardo

2004-12-21T18:19:00.000-08:00

Bacchelli attended the University of Bologna but left without a degree in 1912. He became a contributor to literary journals. Bacchelli published a

Reflection

2004-12-19T00:18:00.000-08:00

Abrupt change in the direction of propagation of a wave that strikes the boundary between different mediums. At least part of the oncoming wave disturbance remains in the same medium. Regular reflection, which follows a simple law, occurs at plane boundaries. The angle between the direction of motion of the oncoming wave and a perpendicular to the reflecting surface

Esquipulas

2004-12-16T03:36:00.000-08:00

Town, southeastern Guatemala, in the central highlands near the borders of Honduras and El Salvador at an elevation of 3,018 feet (920 m). The town itself is not large; it derives its great importance from its magnificent colonial church, now Central America's greatest pilgrimage centre, built in 1737 by the archbishop of Guatemala to house the spectacular Black Christ. The figure,

Settat

2004-12-14T23:40:00.000-08:00

City, central Morocco. Situated on the coastal plain immediately south of Casablanca, the city is the largest market centre in the fertile Chaouia coastal plain. Settat city's most notable features are a late 17th-century casbah built by the 'Alawi ruler Moulay Isma'il and a millah (traditional Jewish quarter) established in the 19th century. The city is connected by road and

Tyrannosaur

2004-12-13T21:30:00.000-08:00

Tyrannosaurus rex is the best-known

Anderson, Richard Heron

2004-12-10T04:32:00.000-08:00

Anderson graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1842 and won the brevet of first lieutenant in the Mexican War, becoming first lieutenant in 1848 and captain in 1855; he took part in the following year in the Kansas troubles. At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, he resigned from the

Ptolemy Xii Auletes

2004-12-08T16:46:00.000-08:00

Following the sudden, violent deaths of the last two fully legitimate members of the Ptolemaic family in Egypt, the people of Alexandria in 80 invited Ptolemy

Atlantic Monthly, The

2004-12-06T19:39:00.000-08:00

Monthly journal of literature and opinion, published in Boston, one of the oldest and most respected of American reviews. The Atlantic Monthly was founded in 1857 by Moses Dresser Phillips and Francis H. Underwood. It has long been noted for the quality of its fiction and general articles, contributed by a long line of distinguished editors and authors that includes James

Iphigeneia

2004-12-04T08:09:00.000-08:00

Iphigeneia served as a key figure

Jackstraws

2004-12-03T15:45:00.000-08:00

To begin the game, the jackstraws (20 to 50) are bunched in one hand and set vertically on a table or other smooth, flat surface, then released suddenly so that the straws fall in a jumble. Each player

Asanga

2004-12-01T13:24:00.000-08:00

Asanga was the eldest of three brothers who were the sons of a Brahman, a court priest at Purusapura, and who all became monks in the Sarvastivada order (which held the doctrine that “all is real”). Dissatisfied with the Hinayana concepts of sunyata (“emptiness

Angus, William Douglas, 10th Earl Of

2004-11-29T11:35:00.000-08:00

He joined the household of the Earl of Morton and then, while visiting the French court, became a Roman Catholic; in consequence, on his return, he was disinherited and placed under restraint. Nevertheless, he succeeded to his father's titles and estates in 1591, and,

Iberia

2004-11-27T03:16:00.000-08:00

In full Compañía Mercantil Anónima Iberia (Spanish: “Iberia Commercial Limited-Liability Company”) Spanish airline created by law on June 7, 1940, and given rights to the air transport of persons and cargo within Spain. It took control of a privately owned company established in 1937, which in turn had revived the name of a company called Iberia, Compañía Aérea de Transportes, founded June 28, 1927; the current name was adopted in 1941. Iberia was nationalized in 1944, but in the late 1990s the Spanish

Wolin

2004-11-25T23:55:00.000-08:00

Island off the northwestern coast of Poland, in Szczecin województwo (province). It is surrounded by the Baltic Sea on the north, the Dziwna River on the east, the Szczecinski Lagoon on the south, and the Swina River on the west. Its area is 95 square miles (245 square km). The main towns are Wolin in the south and Miedzyzdroje in the north. The central area contains the Wolin National

Chu Yü-chien

2004-11-23T19:30:00.000-08:00

A Ming prince, Chu was a direct descendant of the first Ming dynasty emperor, Hung-wu (reigned 1368–98). Upon the fall of the Ming capital, Peking,

Firminy

2004-11-21T23:30:00.000-08:00

Town, Loire département, Rhône-Alpes région, southeast-central France. It lies on the Ondaine River immediately southwest of Saint-Étienne. The name, originally Firminiaco signifying “place of Firmin,” was first recorded (971) in a charter given by the king of Burgundy. It is the site of two historic churches, one built in the 12th century, the other in the 16th. Firminy-Vert is a complex

Anna

2004-11-18T07:52:00.000-08:00

Daughter of Ivan V (reigned 1682–96) and niece of Peter I the Great (reigned 1682–1725), Anna was married to Frederick William, ruler of the Baltic seacoast duchy of Courland, on Oct. 31 (Nov. 11), 1710. Although her husband died on the journey to Courland after their wedding in St. Petersburg, Anna remained at Mitau (now Jelgava,

U2

2004-11-17T03:04:00.000-08:00

Irish postpunk band that by the end of the 1980s had established itself not only as one of the world's most popular bands but also as one of the most innovative. The members are Bono (byname of Paul Hewson; b. May 10, 1960, Dublin, Ireland), the Edge (byname of David Evans; b. August 8, 1961, Barking, Essex [now in Greater London], England), Adam Clayton (b. March 13, 1960, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England), and Larry Mullen,

Andrea Da Barberino

2004-11-15T09:05:00.000-08:00

The material for Andrea's prose compilation of Charlemagne legends, I reali di Francia (1491; “The Royalty of France,” modern edition by G. Vandelli, 1892–1900), was drawn for the most part from earlier Italian versions, though the author added much pseudohistorical material

Allman Brothers Band, The

2004-11-13T07:22:00.000-08:00

American rock band whose bluesy, jam-oriented sound helped spark the Southern rock movement of the 1970s and set the stage for several generations of roots-oriented improvisational rock bands. The members were Duane Allman (in full Howard Duane Allman; b. Nov. 20, 1946, Nashville, Tenn., U.S.—d. Oct. 29, 1971, Macon, Ga.), Gregg Allman (in full Gregory Lenoir Allman; b. Dec. 8, 1947, Nashville), Berry Oakley (in full

'arish, Al-

2004-11-11T19:55:00.000-08:00

Known

China, Internal migration

2004-11-08T04:11:00.000-08:00

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

Rio Arriba

2004-11-07T07:07:00.000-08:00

County, northern New Mexico, U.S., bordered on the north by Colorado. The Continental Divide separates the county's two geographic provinces. Eastern Rio Arriba county is high in the Southern Rocky Mountains, with pine-covered mountains of more than 10,000 feet (3,000 m) in elevation, topped by Trampas Peak (12,175 feet [3,710 m]). Rushing mountain streams feed into the Rio Chama, which empties into

Cephallenia

2004-11-05T00:13:00.000-08:00

Also called Cephalonia , Modern Greek Kefallinía island, largest of the Ionian Islands, west of the Gulf of Patraïkós. With the island of Ithaca (Itháki) and smaller nearby islands, it forms the nomós (department) of Kefallinía in modern Greece. The island, 302 square miles (781 square km) in area, is mountainous, with Mount Aínos (ancient Mount Aenos; 5,341 feet [1,628 m]) often snowcapped for months. Except for the Raki, there are few permanent streams,

Affections, Doctrine Of The

2004-11-02T15:27:00.000-08:00

Also called Doctrine Of Affects, German Affektenlehre, theory of musical aesthetics, widely accepted by late Baroque theorists and composers, that embraced the proposition that music is capable of arousing a variety of specific emotions within the listener. At the centre of the doctrine was the belief that, by making use of the proper standard musical procedure or device, the composer could create a piece of music capable

Coquecigrue

2004-10-29T13:38:00.000-07:00

An imaginary creature regarded as an embodiment of absolute absurdity. François Rabelais in Gargantua uses the phrase à la venue des cocquecigrues to mean “never.” Charles Kingsley in The Water Babies has the fairy Bedonebyasyoudid report that there are seven things he is forbidden to tell until “the coming of the Cocqcigrues.” The word is of French origin.

Arabian Sea

2004-10-28T00:02:00.000-07:00

Most of the Arabian Sea has depths that exceed 9,800 feet, and there are no islands in the middle. Deep water reaches close to the bordering lands except in the northeast, off Pakistan and India. To the southeast the Lakshadweep atolls form part of the submarine Maldive Ridge, which extends farther south into the Indian Ocean where it rises above the surface to form the atolls

Levittown

2004-10-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

Extensive, unincorporated suburban housing development in Bucks county, eastern Pennsylvania, U.S., near the big bend of the Delaware River, approximately midway between Philadelphia and Trenton, New Jersey. It was built between 1951 and 1958 by Levitt & Sons, Inc., who repeated there the planned construction formula that resulted in the development of Levittown, New York, in

Orange Free State

2004-10-24T17:18:00.000-07:00

Afrikaans Oranje Vry Staat, Boer state in southern Africa that became a province of the Republic of South Africa in 1910. One of the four traditional provinces of South Africa, it was bordered by the Transvaal to the north, Natal and the independent state of Lesotho to the east, and Cape Province to the south and west. The first postapartheid South African government renamed the province Free

Diémer, Louis-joseph

2004-10-22T03:37:00.000-07:00

He was a student at the Paris Conservatoire from 1855 to 1861, and from 1863 he performed regularly, playing at the Alard, Pasdeloup, Colonne, Lamoureux, and Conservatoire concerts with great success; his repertoire included pieces written for him by Charles-Marie

Bread

2004-10-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

Baked food product made of flour or meal that is moistened, kneaded, and sometimes fermented. A major food since prehistoric times, it has been made in various forms using a variety of ingredients and methods throughout the world. The first bread was made in Neolithic times, nearly 12,000 years ago, probably of coarsely crushed grain mixed with water, with the resulting dough

Kodály, Zoltán

2004-10-18T08:54:00.000-07:00

Prominent composer and authority on Hungarian folk music. He was also important as an educator not only of composers but also of teachers and, through his students, contributed heavily to the spread of musical education in Hungary. He was a chorister in his youth at Nagyszombat (now Trnava), Czech., where he wrote his first compositions.

Owendo

2004-10-16T06:20:00.000-07:00

Deepwater port, northwestern Gabon, on the north shore of the Gabon Estuary; it serves the national capital, Libreville (9 miles [15 km] north-northwest), and was designed to handle ore vessels. It has a seaplane base and road connections with Libreville, Cocobeach, Médouneu, and Kango. In 1978 the first 115-mile (185-kilometre) segment of the Trans-Gabon Railway was opened, linking Owendo

Lancaster, Sir James

2004-10-14T02:04:00.000-07:00

In 1588 Lancaster served under Sir Francis Drake as commander of the Edward Bonaventure against the Spanish Armada. On April 10, 1591, commanding the same ship, he sailed from Plymouth for the

Salem

2004-10-12T03:34:00.000-07:00

City, Essex county, northeastern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies on Salem Bay Harbor (an inlet of Massachusetts Bay), 16 miles (26 km) northeast of Boston. Salem was incorporated as a town in 1626 by Roger Conant, who emigrated from Cape Ann, 14 miles (22 km) northeast. The first Congregational Church in America was organized there in 1629, and Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island colony, served as

Subic Bay

2004-10-10T04:50:00.000-07:00

Bay of the South China Sea, southwestern Luzon, Philippines. The bay is located 35 miles (55 km) northwest of the mouth of Manila Bay and extends northward into the Luzon coastline. From 1901 to 1992, on the southeast coast of the bay, the United States operated a naval base, Subic Bay Naval Station, the largest naval installation in the Philippines. Olongapo is the largest settlement

Arriaga, Juan Crisóstomo

2004-10-08T16:19:00.000-07:00

In full Juan Crisóstomo Jacobo Antonio Arriaga y Balzola Spanish violinist and composer of extraordinary precocity whose potential was cut short by his early death. Stylistically, his music stands between the Classical tradition of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the Romanticism of Gioacchino Rossini and Franz Schubert; it shows abundant invention, freshness,

Earth, Age of oceanic islands

2004-10-06T09:59:00.000-07:00

One of the earliest indications that some blocks of seafloor are moving relative to other such blocks was that while the age of young volcanic islands or seamounts shows no relationship to distance from spreading mid-oceanic ridges, old features of this sort are never found near the ridges. This relationship can be readily explained if new seafloor is created

Mah-jongg

2004-10-04T16:18:00.000-07:00

A game of Chinese origin, played with tiles, or p'ais, similar in physical description to those used in dominoes but engraved with Chinese symbols and characters and divided into suits and honours. A fad in England, the United States, and Australia in the mid-1920s, the game was revived in the United States after 1935 but never regained its initial popularity. In the United States,

San Andrés Tuxtla

2004-10-02T10:14:00.000-07:00

Formerly Los Tuxtlas, city, southeastern Veracruz estado (“state”), south-central Mexico. It lies on the slopes of San Martín volcano, along the Tuxtla River, at an elevation of 1,181 feet (360 m) above sea level. The town was founded by Ixtlecos Indians in 1664, after the eruption of the volcano, and was made a city in 1893. Corn (maize), high-quality tobacco, sugarcane, and fruits all flourish in the hot, rainy climate, but

Great Alfold

2004-09-29T22:16:00.000-07:00

Hungarian Nagy-Alföld, Nagy Magyar Alföld , or Alföld , English Great Hungarian Plain a flat, fertile lowland, southeastern Hungary, also extending into eastern Croatia, northern Yugoslavia, and western Romania. Its area is 40,000 square miles (100,000 square km), about half in Hungary. In its natural state the Great Alfold is a steppeland broken up with floodplain groves and swamps—a southwestern projection of the Russian steppes. In Hungary flood control, irrigation,

Hindustani Music

2004-09-26T02:59:00.000-07:00

The music of northern India and Pakistan that developed as a distinct type from the late 12th or early 13th century, when the Islamic conquest of the northern parts of the subcontinent brought special emphasis to Arabic and Iranian musical practices, which merged with ancient Hindu traditions. The latter traditions, less affected by foreign influences, remain in the

Saint David, Fort

2004-09-24T23:07:00.000-07:00

British stronghold near the town of Cuddalore, about 100 miles (160 km) south of Madras on the southeastern coast of India. The fort was sold by the Marathas to the English East India Company in 1690. It was named for the patron saint of Wales because the governor of Madras at the time, Elihu Yale, was Welsh. It was purchased because of increasing political instability in southern India,

Prestea

2004-09-21T23:12:00.000-07:00

Town, Western Region, southwestern Ghana, West Africa, on the west bank of the Ankobra River, about 60 mi (100 km) northwest of Cape coast. It is linked by railroad with Tarkwa and with Sekondi-Takoradi, both to the southeast. Prestea is a centre of trade for the surrounding agricultural region, which produces rice, cassava, corn (maize), taro, and timber. Industries produce beverages,

Athens

2004-09-18T08:39:00.000-07:00

City, seat (1805) of Athens county, southeastern Ohio, U.S. It lies along the Hocking River, 73 miles (117 km) southeast of Columbus. It was founded in 1800 by the territorial legislature as the seat of the American Western University, which was renamed Ohio University in 1804. Athens and the university campus were laid out by General Rufus Putnam and the Reverend Manasseh Cutler. The village

Religious Symbolism And Iconography, Relation to the literary and visual arts

2004-09-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

Religious symbols and pictures may be identical with, related to, or similar to those of language (metaphors) and to pictorial expressions in prose and poetry. They are related in allegory, parable, fairy tales, fables, and legends in which they can appear in a form that is closely related to that of religious symbolism. Religious symbols are used in the plastic arts, in

Viscount

2004-09-14T22:05:00.000-07:00

In the Carolingian period of European history, the vicecomites, or missi comitis, were deputies, vicars, or lieutenants of the counts, whose official powers they exercised by delegation. As the countships eventually became hereditary, the lieutenancies did as well: for instance, in France the

Aedesius

2004-09-11T07:33:00.000-07:00

Aedesius founded the so-called Pergamum school of philosophy, whose major concerns were theurgy (the magic practiced by some Neoplatonists who believed miracles could be worked by the intervention of divine and beneficent spirits) and

Palatine

2004-09-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

During the

Talambo Affair

2004-09-08T02:15:00.000-07:00

Following the attack at Talambo, the Spanish government sent an investigator, whom it called a viceroy (the title of the

Atheriniform

2004-09-05T16:57:00.000-07:00

Beryciforms and zeiforms are mostly deep-bodied fishes of small to moderate size, a foot or less in length. The lampridiforms include a few rare, deep-bodied forms, notably the disk-shaped opah, which may reach more than 136 kilograms (300 pounds) in weight, but the majority are much elongated, ribbonlike fishes, including the giant oarfish, Regalecus, which reaches eight metres

Japanese Red Army

2004-09-03T23:20:00.000-07:00

In full United Red Army Japanese Rengo Sekigun militant Japanese organization that was formed in 1969 in the merger of two far-left factions. Beginning in 1970, the Red Army undertook several major terrorist operations, including the hijacking of several Japan Air Lines airplanes, a massacre at Tel Aviv's Lod Airport (1972), and the seizure and occupation of embassies in various countries. In 1971–72 the organization underwent severe

Lancaster

2004-09-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

City, seat of Lancaster county, northern South Carolina, U.S., near the Catawba River. It was founded in the 1750s by settlers from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The architect Robert Mills designed the jail (1823) and the courthouse (1828). In the early 19th century the community was identified with the Waxhaw Revival, part of the Great Revival (a nationwide movement of religious vagaries), and

Aquarium

2004-08-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

The earliest known aquarists were the Sumerians, who kept fishes in artificial ponds at least 4,500 years ago; records of fish keeping also date from ancient Egypt and Assyria. The Chinese, who raised carp for food as early as 1000 BC, were probably the first to breed fish with any degree of success. Their selective breeding of ornamental goldfish was later introduced to Japan, where

Uterine Cancer

2004-08-28T07:47:00.000-07:00

A disease characterized by the abnormal growth of cells in the uterus. Cancers affecting the lining of the uterus (endometrium) are the most common cancers of the female reproductive tract. Other uterine cancers, called uterine sarcomas, develop from underlying muscle or connective tissue; they are much rarer. This article focuses on the development, diagnosis,

Interlingua

2004-08-24T04:26:00.000-07:00

Also called Latino Sine Flexione, simplified form of Latin intended for use as an international second language. Interlingua was originally developed in 1903 by the Italian mathematician Giuseppe Peano, but lack of clarity as to what parts of Latin were to be retained and what were to be discarded led to numerous “dialects” of Interlingua, confusion, and its dying out among enthusiasts. In the late 1940s and

Ecotone

2004-08-23T15:17:00.000-07:00

A transition area of vegetation between two different plant communities, such as forest and grassland. It has some of the characteristics of each bordering community and often contains species not found in the overlapping communities. An ecotone may exist along a broad belt or in a small pocket, such as a forest clearing, where two local communities blend together.