FatNet

Tobin, James

2005-10-16T21:25:00.000-07:00

After taking degrees from Harvard University (B.A., 1939; Ph.D., 1947), Tobin spent 1941–42 as an economist with the Office of Price

Moses De León

2005-07-26T05:35:00.000-07:00

The details of Moses de León's life, like those of most Jewish mystics,

Amaryllidaceae

2005-07-23T18:10:00.000-07:00

Family of perennial herbs in the flowering plant order Liliales, containing about 65 genera and at least 835 species, distributed primarily in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Members of the family have bulbs or underground stems; several strap- or lance-shaped leaves grouped at the base of the stem or arranged alternately along the stem; flowers usually with

Teagarden, Jack

2005-07-08T15:40:00.000-07:00

Beginning on trombone at age seven, Teagarden was entirely self-taught. After drifting across the Southwest, he eventually arrived in New York City in 1927 and made his recording debut; from that moment he was the acknowledged

1945--a Watershed Year

2005-07-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

The Test.--The first atomic bomb in the history of mankind was exploded at 5:30 A.M. on July 16, 1945, at the Alamogordo air base in the desert 120 mi. southeast of Albuquerque, N.M. The bomb had been placed on a tall steel tower while scientists and military experts occupied

Sprint

2005-06-30T22:05:00.000-07:00

Racers compete in groups of two (sometimes called a match sprint) or three, and they frequently spend the early laps of the race moving relatively slowly and trying to manoeuvre their opponents into the lead, while at the same time following close

Alto

2005-06-23T04:10:00.000-07:00

Alto derives from the term contratenor altus, which in Renaissance music referred to the part immediately above the tenor

Madison, Helene

2005-06-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

Madison grew up in Seattle and began winning regional high school swimming championships at the age of 15. In 1930, in her first year of senior competition, she

Cuba, Flag Of

2005-06-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

In the 19th century in New York City, anti-Spanish Cuban exiles under the leadership of Narciso López adopted a flag suggested by the poet Miguel Teurbe Tolón. His design, which later became the national flag, incorporated three blue stripes representing the three military districts of Spanish-dominated Cuba and two white stripes symbolizing the purity of the patriot

Tectonic Basins And Rift Valleys

2005-06-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

Landforms characterized by relatively steep, mountainous sides and flat floors. The steep sides are created by displacement on faults such that the valley floor moves down relative to the surrounding margins, or, conversely, the margins move up relative to the floor. Differences in the elevations of valley floors and surrounding mountains or plateaus range from

Aerospace Industry

2005-06-01T17:50:00.000-07:00

The product line of the aerospace industry is, by necessity, broad because its primary products—flight vehicles—require up to millions of individual parts. In addition, many support systems are needed to operate and maintain the vehicles. In terms of sales, military aircraft have the largest market share, followed by space systems and civil aircraft, with missiles

Aragonite

2005-05-18T08:05:00.000-07:00

Widespread mineral, the stable form of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) at high pressures. It may be distinguished from calcite, the commoner form of calcium carbonate, by its greater hardness and specific gravity. Aragonite is always found in deposits formed at low temperatures near the surface of the Earth, as in caves as stalactites, in the oxidized zone of ore minerals

Blood Fluke

2005-05-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

Any of certain parasitic flatworms that live in the veins of the host organism. See fluke.

Macpherson, Sir David (lewis)

2005-05-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

Macpherson emigrated in 1835 from Scotland to Montreal, where he amassed a large fortune in shipping. He moved to Toronto in 1853 and obtained a contract to build a railway line in Canada West (now in Ontario)

All�gret, Yves

2005-03-15T23:34:00.000-08:00

All�gret began his film career working as an assistant to his older brother, the director Marc All�gret, and for Augusto Genina and Jean Renoir. Entering films during the 1930s and working with directors involved in the avant-garde

Muhammadiyah

2005-03-14T21:46:00.000-08:00

Socioreligious organization in Indonesia, established in 1912 at Jogjakarta, aimed at adapting Islam to modern Indonesian life. The organization was chiefly inspired by an Egyptian reform movement, led by Muhammad 'Abduh, that had tried to bring the Muslim faith into harmony with modern rational thought. The Muhammadiyah advocated the abolition of all superstitious

Zaramo

2005-03-11T10:11:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Dzalamo�, or �Saramo� a people who reside in the area surrounding Dar es-Salaam, Tanzania, and comprise the major ethnic component in the city. The Zaramo are considered to be part of the cluster of Swahili peoples on the coast of East Africa who have incorporated elements from many diverse ethnic backgrounds but who are unified in the Islamic faith and in the use of the Swahili

Monaghan

2005-03-04T21:30:00.000-08:00

Irish �Muineach�n (Place of Thickets)� one of the three counties of Ireland forming part of the historic province of Ulster. It projects northward into Northern Ireland, and has an area of 498 sq mi (1,291 sq km). Most of the northern boundary winds through cultivated lowlands except on Slieve (mountain) Beagh, a desolate upland rising to 1,221 ft (372 m). For many miles the boundary with Northern Ireland runs along the River

Grijalva River

2005-03-02T03:05:00.000-08:00

Spanish �R�o Grijalva, � river in southeastern Mexico. Its headstreams, the largest of which is the Cuilco, rise in the Sierra Madre of Guatemala and the Sierra de Soconusco of Mexico. The Grijalva flows generally northwestward through Chiapas state, where it is known locally as the R�o Grande de Chiapa, or the R�o Chiapa. After leaving a lake created by the Malpaso Dam, it turns northward and

Aldehyde

2005-03-01T13:57:00.000-08:00

The carbonyl group is highly polar. That is to say, it exhibits an uneven distribution of electrons, which renders the oxygen

Bulb Rot

2005-02-28T11:25:00.000-08:00

Widespread disease that can infect all flower and crop bulbs and is caused by a variety of fungi and a few bacteria. Shoots fail to emerge or leaves are stunted, yellow to reddish or purplish, and they later wilt and die; roots, usually few, are discoloured and decayed. The rot often starts at the bulb base (root plate), progressing upward and outward. Fungal rots are usually

North Germanic Languages, Phonology

2005-02-27T07:56:00.000-08:00

Pitch is usually high on the stressed syllable, falling at the end of a statement,

Tapestry, Early Middle Ages in western Europe

2005-02-26T23:27:00.000-08:00

Numerous documents dating from as early as the end of the 8th century describe tapestries with figurative ornamentation decorating churches and monasteries in western Europe, but no examples remain, and the ambiguity of the terms used to refer to these hangings makes it impossible to be certain of the technique employed. The 11th-century so-called Bayeux

Medicine, United States

2005-02-25T05:53:00.000-08:00

Federal, state, county, and city governments all have public health functions. Under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is the Public Health Service, headed by an assistant secretary for health and the surgeon general. State health departments are headed by a commissioner of health, usually a physician, who is often in the governor's cabinet. He usually

Talhouni, Bahjat At-

2005-02-24T03:35:00.000-08:00

Jordanian politician (b. 1913, Ma'an, vilayet of Syria, Ottoman Empire [now Ma'an, Jordan]--d. Jan. 30, 1994), was a loyal monarchist and close personal adviser to King Hussein of Jordan throughout a long career in public service; he was called upon to serve as prime minister four separate times between 1960 and 1970. Talhouni trained as a lawyer at the University of Damascus (LL.B.; 1936). He was appointed a judge

Mitchell, Maggie

2005-02-23T07:03:00.000-08:00

Mitchell left school at age 12 to follow her older half-sisters onto the stage, where she filled a variety of child's walk-on and silent roles. She made her debut in a speaking role in June 1851 in a benefit performance

General Security, Committee Of

2005-02-22T22:58:00.000-08:00

French �Comit� De S�ret� G�n�rale, � organ of the French Revolutionary government. It directed the political police and Revolutionary justice. Founded by the National Convention in 1792, the committee administered the Reign of Terror of 1793 - 94, along with the Committee of Public Safety. See also Revolutionary Tribunal.

Quad

2005-02-21T02:46:00.000-08:00

Unit of energy equal to 1 quadrillion (1015) British thermal units (BTU). The quad is a convenient unit for describing national and world energy resources. One quad is also equal to 293 billion kilowatt hours, or, for fuels of average heating values, 183 million barrels of petroleum, 38.5 million tons of coal, or 980 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

Boieldieu, Fran�ois-adrien

2005-02-20T05:41:00.000-08:00

In Rouen he studied under the organist Charles Broche and composed two operas and numerous piano sonatas, remarkable for their form, which constitute the first important body of piano works by a French composer. In 1796 he settled in Paris,

Quich�

2005-02-19T21:41:00.000-08:00

Also called �Quich� Maya, � Mayan Indians living in the midwestern highlands of Guatemala. The Quich� Maya had an advanced civilization in pre-Columbian times, with a high level of political and social organization. Archaeological remains show large population centres and a complex class structure. Written records of Quich� history and mythology are preserved in the Popol Vuh, written

China, The end of Mongol rule

2005-02-17T20:06:00.000-08:00

The basic dilemma of Mongol rule in China - the Mongols' inability to achieve a durable identification with Chinese civilian institutions and to modify the military and colonialist character of their rule - became more apparent under Kublai's successors and reached a maximum under Togon-tem�r, the last Y�an ruler. Togon-tem�r was not unfriendly toward Chinese civilization,

Antarctica, Post-IGY research

2005-02-16T00:51:00.000-08:00

In order to continue and coordinate the international Antarctic scientific effort in the post-IGY period, ICSU in September 1957 organized the Special Committee on Antarctic Research, or SCAR. (In 1961 the word Scientific was substituted for Special.) The foundations for the committee were laid at its first meeting in The Hague in 1958. SCAR, a nonpolitical body, coordinates not

Epiclesis

2005-02-15T10:06:00.000-08:00

(Greek: �invocation�), in the Christian eucharistic prayer (anaphora), the special invocation of the Holy Spirit; in most Eastern Christian liturgies it follows the words of institution - the words used, according to the New Testament, by Jesus himself at the Last Supper - �This is my body . . . this is my blood� and has a clearly consecratory character. The epiclesis specifically

Nagai Kafu

2005-02-14T17:36:00.000-08:00

Edward Seidensticker, Kafu the Scribbler (1965, reprinted 1990), a biographical and critical study, also includes a number of translations of Kafu's works.

Schumann, Clara

2005-02-13T14:55:00.000-08:00

Encouraged by her father, she studied piano from the age of five and by 1835 had established a reputation throughout Europe as a child prodigy. In 1838 she was honoured by the Austrian court and also was elected to the prestigious Society

Great Auk

2005-02-12T07:46:00.000-08:00

The

Biblical Literature, Uncials

2005-02-11T22:05:00.000-08:00

A, Codex Alexandrinus, is an early-5th-century manuscript containing most of the New Testament but with lacunae (gaps) in Matthew, John, and II Corinthians, plus the inclusion of the extracanonical I and II Clement. In the Gospels, the text is of the Byzantine type, but, in the rest of the New Testament, it is Alexandrian.

Texas Christian University

2005-02-10T02:01:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher education in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It grants about 14 undergraduate degrees in more than 80 areas and about 14 graduate degrees in more than 30 fields, including research-oriented doctoral programs and a professional degree in ministry. Texas Christian comprises

Oryx

2005-02-08T07:33:00.000-08:00

The beisa and gemsbok, subspecies of O. gazella, inhabit eastern and southern Africa, respectively. The scimitar oryx (O. dammah), once found throughout northern Africa, was restricted to the southern rim of the Sahara

Vendsyssel-thy

2005-02-07T17:56:00.000-08:00

Danish �N�rrejyske ؠ (North Jutland Island), island at the north end of Jutland, Denmark, known as Vendsyssel in the east and Thy in the west. The Limfjorden separates it from the mainland, to which it was attached until 1825, when water erosion cut a channel through the narrow isthmus at Thybor�n. Several bridges, ferries, and a tunnel connect the island with the rest of Jutland. It is the second largest

Military Technology, The ax

2005-02-06T17:14:00.000-08:00

Limitations on the strength of bronze and difficulties in casting and hafting restricted the ax at first to a relatively broad blade mortised into a handle at three points and secured with bindings or rivets. The hafting problem became acute as improvements in armour dictated longer, narrower blades designed primarily for piercing rather than cutting. This

Shiga Naoya

2005-02-05T06:40:00.000-08:00

Born into an aristocratic samurai family, Shiga was taken by his parents to live with his paternal grandparents in Tokyo in 1885. In his youth he was influenced by the Christian educator Uchimura Kanzo, but Christianity

Wainwright, Jonathan M.

2005-02-04T21:53:00.000-08:00

After he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. (1906), Wainwright joined the cavalry and saw action in Europe during World War I. In September 1940 he was promoted

Habituation

2005-02-03T17:24:00.000-08:00

The waning of an animal's behavioral response to a stimulus, as a result of a lack of reinforcement during continual exposure to the stimulus. It is usually considered to be a form of learning involving the elimination of behaviours that are not needed by the animal. Habituation may be separated from most other forms of decreased response (not including changes caused

Coral Snake

2005-02-02T13:37:00.000-08:00

Any of about 65 species of strongly patterned burrowing snakes of the cobra family, Elapidae. True coral snakes are confined to the New World, chiefly in the tropics, but similar forms occur in Asia and Africa. Secretive and docile, they rarely bite when handled; however, the venom of some can kill a man. Most coral snakes prey on other snakes. The largest genus, Micrurus, ranges

English Literature, Drama

2005-01-31T18:56:00.000-08:00

Apart from the short-lived attempt by T.S. Eliot and Christopher Fry to bring about a renaissance of verse drama, theatre in the late 1940s and early 1950s was most notable for the continuing supremacy of the �well-made� play, which focused upon, and mainly attracted as its audience, the comfortable middle class. The most interesting playwright working within this mode was Terence

Valdemar Ii

2005-01-30T08:46:00.000-08:00

The son and brother, respectively, of the Danish kings Valdemar I and Canute IV, Valdemar acted as the duke of Schleswig from 1188 and conquered

Talaud Islands

2005-01-29T03:06:00.000-08:00

Indonesian �Kepulauan Talaud�, also spelled �Talaur�, or �Talaut� islands administered from Manado as part of Sulawesi Utara provinsi (�province�), Indonesia. The group includes Karakelong (the largest), Salebabu, Kaburuang, and numerous islets, with a total area of 495 square miles (1,281 square km). The coast of Karakelong Island is steep except on the southern shore, which is fringed by a wide reef. The seven tiny Nanusa Islands lie northeast of

Puerto Rico

2005-01-28T09:14:00.000-08:00

Officially �Commonwealth of Puerto Rico�, Spanish �Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico � self-governing island commonwealth of the West Indies, associated with the United States. The easternmost island of the Greater Antilles chain, it lies approximately 50 miles (80 km) east of the Dominican Republic, 40 miles (65 km) west of the Virgin Islands, and 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is situated in the northeastern Caribbean Sea, its northern shore facing

Ithaca

2005-01-27T05:19:00.000-08:00

With an area of 37 square miles (96 square km), Ithaca consists of two limestone masses connected by a narrow, peninsula that curves to form the head of a gulf facing the Greek mainland. The island is separated from the island of Cephallenia to the west by

Perceptual Constancy

2005-01-26T11:51:00.000-08:00

Also called �Object Constancy, or Constancy Phenomenon, � the tendency of animals and humans to see familiar objects as having standard shape, size, colour, or location regardless of changes in the angle of perspective, distance, or lighting. The impression tends to conform to the object as it is or is assumed to be, rather than to the actual stimulus. Perceptual constancy is responsible for the ability to identify objects

Asbestos

2005-01-25T13:04:00.000-08:00

Town, Estrie region, southern Quebec province, Canada. Asbestos lies near the Southwest Nicolet River, 95 miles (153 km) southwest of Quebec city. Its economy traditionally depended almost entirely on asbestos mining and the manufacture of asbestos products. One of the mines - the Jeffrey open-pit mine - is the largest asbestos mine in the world. Electrical equipment and wood

Loch (of Drylaw), Henry Brougham Loch, 1st Baron

2005-01-24T01:29:00.000-08:00

A career soldier, Loch began his service in India (1844 - 53) and fought in the Crimean War (1853 - 56) and in the second and third China wars (1857 - 58 and 1860). After 1860 he held civil appointments. From

Str�lsund Faience

2005-01-23T02:14:00.000-08:00

Tin-glazed earthenware made at Str�lsund, Swed. (now Stralsund, Ger.), from around 1755 to 1792. The factory was founded by Johann Ulrich Giese, who leased it to Johann Eberhard Ludwig Ehrenreich. The latter had founded a faience factory at Marieberg in Sweden, and the products of Str�lsund differ little from Marieberg ware. All-white vases, decorated with naturalistic flowers

Denbigh

2005-01-22T14:54:00.000-08:00

Welsh �Dinbych� market town, historic and present county of Denbighshire (Sir Ddinbych), Wales. After the English king Edward I conquered Wales, Henry de Lacy, 3rd earl of Lincoln, founded a borough there in 1283 and built a castle, which withstood attack in 1402 by the rebel Owen Glendower, though the town itself was razed. In the 15th and 16th centuries Denbigh was one of the most important towns in Wales.

Vietnam, Nam Viet

2005-01-21T07:27:00.000-08:00

This kingdom covered much of southern China and was ruled by Trieu Da from his capital near the present site of Canton. Its population consisted chiefly of the Viet who had earlier been driven by the Chinese from their kingdoms south of the Yangtze River. Trieu Da, after throwing off Chinese sovereignty and killing all officials loyal to the Chinese emperor, adopted

Annalist

2005-01-20T03:54:00.000-08:00

Any of the Roman historians prior to Livy (1st century BC - 1st century AD) who drew up the conventional history of Rome from the foundation of the city. For their sources early Roman historians relied for the most part on the annual tabulae pontificum, or annales, which after 300 BC contained regular records of magistrates' names and public events of religious significance. The early

Dorsey, Thomas Andrew

2005-01-19T14:19:00.000-08:00

U.S. songwriter, singer, and pianist (b. July 1, 1899, Villa Rica, Ga.--d. Jan. 23, 1993, Chicago, Ill.), as the "father of gospel music," blended elements of soulful blues with the traditional sacred music of his religious upbringing to create a new genre called gospel, which infused an uplifting, foot-stomping sound into black congregations, primarily of Baptist and Holiness churches. Dorsey, the

Ahmed Ii

2005-01-18T00:42:00.000-08:00

Soon after his accession to the throne, Ahmed's forces were defeated by the Austrians at Slankamen, Hung. The able grand vizier (chief minister) K�pr�l� Fazil Mustafa Pasa died in the battle, and the Ottomans suffered substantial territorial

Argentina, The Pampas

2005-01-17T10:39:00.000-08:00

The Pampas region was originally inhabited by Indians such as the Querand�, who reportedly did not practice agriculture but were fishers and hunters who used bolas for entangling fleet-footed guanacos and rheas. Fierce attacks by the Querand� forced Spanish settlers in Buenos Aires to flee upriver to Asunci�n in 1541. After Buenos Aires reemerged in 1580, the Spanish showed

West Australian Current

2005-01-16T09:02:00.000-08:00

Relatively cold surface current of the southeast Indian Ocean, part of the general counterclockwise movement in the southern section of that ocean. As the South Indian Current (part of the West Wind Drift) approaches the west coast of Australia, it turns north to parallel that coast as the West Australian Current. The current, which is much affected by winds, is weak

Nitrogen Group Element, Commercial production and uses

2005-01-15T13:43:00.000-08:00

High-grade or enriched stibnite reacts directly with scrap iron in the molten state, liberating antimony metal. The metal can also be obtained by conversion of stibnite to the oxide, followed by reduction with carbon. Sodium sulfide solutions are effective leaching agents for the concentration of stibnite from ores. Electrolysis of these solutions produces

Heterocyclic Compound

2005-01-14T16:32:00.000-08:00

Any of a class of organic chemical substances that consist of molecules containing one or more rings of atoms with at least one atom being an element other than carbon. The class includes many compounds of biological importance, such as nucleic acids and certain vitamins, hormones, and pigments. Also included are industrially significant pharmaceuticals, pesticides,

Consort

2005-01-13T10:33:00.000-08:00

Though the authenticity of such terms is doubtful, some researchers have suggested that there were �whole� consorts, in which all the instruments were of one family (typically, stringed or wind instruments),

Saiki

2005-01-12T20:54:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Saeki, � city, Oita ken (prefecture), Kyushu, Japan, facing Saiki Bay. It developed as a castle town on the small delta of the Banjo River during the Muromachi era (1338 - 1573) and came into the possession of the Mori daimyo family in 1601. Because of its good harbour, Saiki was selected for a base of the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1933. After World War II most of the military facilities were converted to industrial

Hawea Lake

2005-01-11T06:07:00.000-08:00

Lake in west-central South Island, New Zealand. The lake lies at the heart of a resort area 182 miles (293 km) northwest of Dunedin by road. It occupies 54 square miles (141 square km) of a valley dammed by a terminal moraine (glacial debris). The lake, 1,142 feet (348 m) above sea level, is 19 miles (31 km) long, 5 miles (8 km) wide, and 1,286 feet (392 m) deep. It drains an area of 536 square miles (1,388 square km). Its main affluent, the Hunter River,

Enchondroma

2005-01-09T09:35:00.000-08:00

A solitary cartilaginous lesion that occurs mostly in the shafts of bones of the hands and feet, usually between adolescence and about age 50. Enchondromas are benign, slow-growing tumours. As they grow they expand and thin the cortex of the parent bone, producing considerable deformity. They may also erupt through their bony covering and project outward into the surrounding

Animal Worship

2005-01-08T06:03:00.000-08:00

Veneration of an animal, usually because of its connection with a particular deity. The term was used by Western religionists in a pejorative manner and by ancient Greek and Roman polemicists against theriomorphic religions - those religions whose gods are represented in animal form. Most examples given for animal worship in primitive religions, however, are

Reformed Church Of France

2005-01-07T10:38:00.000-08:00

French ��glise Reform�e De France, � church organized in 1938 by merging several Reformed groups that had developed in France during and after the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. During the early part of the Reformation, Protestant movements made slow progress in France. Yet reforming movements within the Roman Catholic Church had appeared early. Before Martin Luther had emerged as a Reformer in

Earwax Impaction

2005-01-06T22:57:00.000-08:00

Filling of the external auditory canal with earwax, or cerumen. Normally the wax produced by skin glands in the outer ear migrates outward. If the earwax is produced too rapidly, it may become hardened and accumulate, thus plugging the outer ear canal and preventing sound passage to the tympanic (eardrum) membrane. This hearing impairment is painless. Impacted earwax

Termini Imerese

2005-01-05T18:39:00.000-08:00

Latin �Thermae Himerenses, � town, Palermo province, northern Sicily, Italy, on the Golfo (gulf) di Termini Imerese (an inlet of the Tyrrhenian Sea), southeast of Palermo city. It was possibly a Phoenician seaport or trading station, and its well-known thermal saline springs were praised by the 6th - 5th-century BC Greek poet Pindar. The Carthaginians called it Thermae Himerenses after their destruction

Stein, Charlotte Von

2005-01-04T18:29:00.000-08:00

German writer and an intimate friend of and important influence on Goethe; she was the inspiration for the female figures Iphigenie in Iphigenie auf Tauris and Natalie in Wilhelm Meister. She remained for Goethe an unattainable feminine ideal and should not be confused with the warm and simple Lotte, heroine

Biblical Literature, Samuel: the rise and significance of David

2005-01-03T10:57:00.000-08:00

The next section contains the account of Saul's fall from power and David's rise to the position of king over all Israel. Samuel, still a charismatic and political power of great consequence, received from Yahweh the message that he was to go to Bethlehem to anoint a new ruler. Because he feared reprisal from Saul, Samuel went to Bethlehem (whose elders had the same fears)

Mountain, Crustal shortening

2005-01-02T07:35:00.000-08:00

In most mountain belts, terrains have been elevated as a result of crustal shortening by the thrusting of one block or slice of crust over another and/or by the folding of layers of rock. The topography of mountain ranges and mountain belts depends in part on the amount of displacement on such faults, on the angles at which faults dip, on the degree to which crustal shortening

Colophon

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

Ancient Ionian Greek city, located about 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Ephesus, in modern Turkey. It was a flourishing commercial city from the 8th to the 5th century BC with its harbour at Notium. Colophon was ruled by a timocracy (government based on wealth) and was famous for its cavalry, its luxury, and its production of rosin (colophonium). It was the birthplace of the philosopher

Valence Electron

2004-12-31T23:46:00.000-08:00

Any of the fundamental negatively charged particles in the outermost region of atoms that enters into the formation of chemical bonds. Whatever the type of chemical bond (ionic, covalent, metallic) between atoms, changes in the atomic structure are restricted to the outermost, or valence, electrons. They are more weakly attracted to the positive atomic nucleus than

Kabwe Man

2004-12-30T23:14:00.000-08:00

Originally �called Rhodesian Man, �also called �Broken Hill Man, � extinct human being known from fossil remains (almost complete skull, maxillary fragment, sacrum, portions of pelvis and limb bones), found at Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia (now Kabwe, Zambia), in the 1920s. Despite past disagreement about the classification of these specimens, they are now usually attributed to the early archaic Homo sapiens subspecies H. sapiens

Augier, �mile

2004-12-29T00:24:00.000-08:00

Augier was an unbending moralist, and all of his plays are to some extent didactic in purpose. His verse play Gabrielle (1849) attacks the

Vandegrift, Alexander A.

2004-12-28T13:59:00.000-08:00

Commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps in 1909, Vandegrift had advanced to major general by 1942. Having served in Nicaragua, Haiti, and China, he was prepared for the jungle-warfare

Olynthus

2004-12-27T02:55:00.000-08:00

Ancient Greek city situated on the Chalcidice Peninsula of northwestern Greece. It lay about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) inland from the Gulf of Torone of the Adriatic Sea. A Thracian people called the Bottiaeans inhabited Olynthus until 479 BC, when Persian forces killed them and handed the town over to local Greeks from Chalcidice. Though dominated for a time thereafter by Athens, Olynthus

Cleveland Bay

2004-12-26T09:07:00.000-08:00

The Cleveland Bay is descended

Wali Allah, Shah

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

Wali Allah received a traditional Islamic education from his father and is said to have memorized the Qur'an at the age of seven. In 1732 he made a pilgrimage to Mecca, and he then remained in the Hejaz (now in Saudi Arabia) to

Muharraq, Al-

2004-12-24T00:34:00.000-08:00

Taken

Athena

2004-12-23T17:27:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Athene� in Greek religion, the city protectress, goddess of war, handicraft, and practical reason, identified by the Romans with Minerva (q.v.). She was essentially urban and civilized, the antithesis in many respects of Artemis, goddess of the outdoors. Athena was probably a pre-Hellenic goddess and was later taken over by the Greeks. Yet the Greek economy, unlike that

Athena

2004-12-22T09:45:00.000-08:00

Arequipa

2004-12-21T17:06:00.000-08:00

Capital of Arequipa departamento and regi�n, southern Peru, in the Chili River valley of the Andes Mountains. Arequipa lies at more than 7,550 feet (2,300 metres) above sea level, at the foot of the dormant cone of Misti Volcano, which reaches an elevation of 19,098 feet (5,821 metres). Flanking Misti are Mounts Chachani and Pichupichu. Earthquakes have damaged the city several times, notably

Kaduna

2004-12-20T01:48:00.000-08:00

State, north-central Nigeria. Its area includes the traditional emirate of Zaria and Jemaa town. Kaduna was substantially reduced in size when its northern half became Katsina state in 1987. Kaduna is bordered by the states of Sokoto, Katsina, and Kano to the north; Bauchi to the east; Plateau to the east and south; and Niger to the west. Abuja Federal Capital Territory also

Sophocles

2004-12-19T02:25:00.000-08:00

With Aeschylus and Euripides, one of classical Athens' three great tragic playwrights. The best known of his 123 dramas is Oedipus the King.

Ear, Human, Transmission of sound by bone conduction

2004-12-18T08:49:00.000-08:00

There is another route by which sound can reach the inner ear: by conduction through the bones of the skull. When the handle of a vibrating tuning fork is placed on a bony prominence such as the forehead or mastoid process behind the ear, its note is clearly audible. Similarly, the ticking of a watch held between the teeth can be distinctly heard. When the external canals

India, Nationalism in the Muslim community

2004-12-16T05:07:00.000-08:00

Also called �South American dog �or �South American jackal� any of several South American carnivores of the genus Dusicyon, family Canidae. One member of the genus, the small-toothed dog, is sometimes considered to comprise a distinct genus called Lycalopex. Although these canids are not actually foxes, they resemble true foxes. There are about 6 to 11 species, depending on the authority consulted. In general, South American foxes

Burger, Die

2004-12-15T19:21:00.000-08:00

(Afrikaans: �The Citizen�), daily newspaper published in Cape Town, S.Af., the largest of the country's newspapers written in Afrikaans. Die Burger is known both for its generally balanced presentation of the news and for its support of policies of the South African government. It firmly supported the ruling Nationalist Party. It is published mornings except Sundays.

Isomerase

2004-12-14T23:28:00.000-08:00

Any one of a class of enzymes that catalyze reactions involving a structural rearrangement of a molecule. Alanine racemase, for example, catalyzes the conversion of L-alanine into its isomeric (mirror-image) form, D-alanine. An isomerase called mutarotase catalyzes the conversion of a-d-glucose into b-d-glucose. cf. ligase, lyase.

Isomerase

2004-12-13T19:20:00.000-08:00

Third largest trade-union federation in India after the All-India Trade Union Congress and the Indian National Trade Union Congress. The HMS was formed by the Socialists in 1948 but has little real connection with the Socialist Party. It is one of the least political and most pragmatic trade-union federations in India. The HMS is affiliated with the International Confederation

Lighter

2004-12-12T00:23:00.000-08:00

Shallow-draft boat or barge, usually flat-bottomed, used in unloading (lightening) or loading ships offshore. Use of lighters requires extra handling and thus extra time and expense and is largely confined to ports without enough traffic to justify construction of piers or wharves. Lighters are also used in transporting freight for short distances, as around harbours.

Richter, Burton

2004-12-10T14:20:00.000-08:00

Richter studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, where he received his doctorate in 1956. That same year he became a research associate at Stanford University, Stanford,

Insurance, Major types of surety bonds

2004-12-07T09:42:00.000-08:00

There are various classes of surety bonds. Contract construction bonds are written to guarantee the performance of contractors on building projects. Bonds are particularly important in this field because of the general practice of awarding commercial building contracts to the lowest bidder, who may promise more than can actually be performed. The surety who

Nordenskj�ld, Otto

2004-12-06T23:36:00.000-08:00

A nephew of the scientist-explorer Adolf Erik Nordenski�ld, he became a lecturer in mineralogy and geology at the University of Uppsala, Sweden, in 1894 and led a geologic expedition to southern South America

Inter-american Regional Organization Of Workers

2004-12-04T05:56:00.000-08:00

Spanish �Organizaci�n Regional Interamericana de Trabajadores �(ORIT)� ,Latin-American labour union federation that was established in 1951 as a regional organization for the Latin-American members of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, which had been founded in 1949 primarily by the American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL - CIO) of the United States and the Trades Union Congress of Great Britain.

Kubu

2004-12-03T03:42:00.000-08:00

Contact of the Kubu with their neighbours had traditionally been primarily through �silent trade�; i.e., goods for barter were put where traders could look them over. They, in turn,

Oberon

2004-12-02T08:54:00.000-08:00

French �Alberon, �German �Alberich, � king of the elves, or of the �faerie,� in the French medieval poem Huon de Bordeaux. In this poem Oberon is a dwarf-king, living in the woodland, who by magic powers helps the hero to accomplish a seemingly impossible task. In the legendary history of the Merovingian dynasty Oberon is a magician, the brother of Merowech (M�rov�e). In the medieval German epic the Nibelungenlied