ShortChest

Ecosystem

2005-04-05T23:26:00.000-07:00

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

Ear, Human, Analysis of sound by the auditory nervous system

2005-04-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

Evidence of orderly spatial representations of the organ of Corti at the lower levels of the auditory pathway has been reported by many investigators. These patterns seem to be in accord with the place theory of the cochlear analysis of sound. Physiological evidence of tuning of the auditory system also has been obtained by recording with the electrical potentials

Piciform

2005-04-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

Fossil species of the order Piciformes are almost unknown. Many avian fossils identified long ago are in need of verification, including the early fossil “woodpeckers,” some of which are now believed to belong in other orders. Fossil woodpeckers are now known only from the Pliocene Epoch (about 6,000,000 years ago). Except for a single specimen from the middle Miocene of Bavaria

Theatre, Western

2005-04-02T15:00:00.000-08:00

For a discussion of drama as a literary form, see dramatic literature, and the articles on individual national literatures. For detailed information on the arts of theatrical performance and stagecraft, see theatre, directing, acting, and theatrical production.

Saint Albans, Henry Jermyn, Earl Of, 1st Baron Jermyn Of Saint Edmundsbury

2005-04-01T13:52:00.000-08:00

He entered Parliament in 1625. In Henrietta Maria's household he was made vice chamberlain (1628), master of horse (1639), and lord chamberlain (1645), and he was raised to the peerage in 1643. He was implicated in the army plot of 1641, in

Auerbach, Erich

2005-03-31T09:50:00.000-08:00

After gaining a doctorate in philology at the University of Greifswald, Germany, in 1921, Auerbach served as librarian for the Prussian State Library. From 1927 to 1947 he was professor of Romance philology at the University of Marburg in Germany and at the Turkish State University

Cabrillo, Juan Rodríguez

2005-03-30T19:46:00.000-08:00

Virtually nothing is known of Cabrillo's early life, though he might have been born in Portugal. As a young man, he appears to have accompanied the Spanish soldier Pánfilo de Narváez (1520) in his unsuccessful punitive expedition against

Yamantaka

2005-03-29T23:11:00.000-08:00

In northern Buddhism, one of the eight fierce protective deities. See dharmapala.

Coincidence Counting

2005-03-27T16:20:00.000-08:00

In physics, the detection of two nuclear or cosmic ray events that occur almost simultaneously (e.g., within a time of 10-5 second). Coincidence counting involves two or more particle counters exposed to the same source of cosmic rays or nuclear radiation and connected to an electronic coincidence circuit. One principal use of the coincidence technique is to detect particles

Cottonwood

2005-03-27T05:23:00.000-08:00

Several fast-growing trees of North America, members of the genus Populus, in the family Salicaceae, with triangular, toothed leaves and cottony seeds. The dangling leaves clatter in the wind. Eastern cottonwood (P. deltoides), nearly 30 metres (100 feet) tall, has thick glossy leaves. Perhaps natural hybrids between this and Eurasian black poplar (P.

Jane Seymour

2005-03-26T03:28:00.000-08:00

Jane's father was Sir John Seymour of Wolf Hall, Savernake, Wiltshire. She became a lady in waiting to Henry's first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and then to Anne Boleyn,

Gerhardsen, Einar (henry)

2005-03-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

The son of a Labour Party member, Gerhardsen joined the party during World War I and sided with its radical wing, which joined the Comintern (Third International) in 1919. After the party split from the Comintern

Craigavon

2005-03-24T22:36:00.000-08:00

District and borough, Northern Ireland, established in 1973 from portions of Counties Antrim, Down, and Armagh. It is situated south of Lough (lake) Neagh and is bordered by the districts of Dungannon to the west, Armagh to the southwest, Banbridge to the southeast, and Lisburn to the east. Its administrative seat is Craigavon new town. In the northern part of Craigavon district,

Swat River

2005-03-24T02:53:00.000-08:00

River in northern Pakistan, formed by the junction of the Gabrial and Ushu rivers at Kalam in the Kohistan region. Fed by melting snow and glaciers and receiving the drainage of the entire Swat River valley, the river flows southward, then westward, until joined by the Panjkora River. The united stream then flows southwestward into the Peshawar Plain and joins the Kabul River

Haldi

2005-03-23T00:43:00.000-08:00

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

Canastra Mountains

2005-03-22T22:37:00.000-08:00

Portuguese Serra Da Canastra, mountain range on the Planalto Central (Brazilian Highlands) in western Minas Gerais estado (“state”), southeastern Brazil. Extending 150 miles (240 km) from the Goías state border in the north to the upper Grande River in the south, the Canastra Mountains rise to an average elevation of 6,000 feet (1,800 m) and form the eastern border of the Triângulo Mineiro, a grassland region between the

Zach, Franz Xaver, Freiherr Von

2005-03-22T16:10:00.000-08:00

Zach built an observatory on the Seeberg near Gotha and directed the observatory—one of the most important of the time—from 1791, when it was completed, until 1806. During this period Zach enlisted 24 astronomers throughout Europe in making a systematic

Houdon, Jean-antoine

2005-03-21T17:58:00.000-08:00

Houdon began sculpturing at the age of nine and underwent the

Aardwolf

2005-03-20T22:08:00.000-08:00

(species Proteles cristatus), African carnivore generally placed in the family Hyaenidae but separated by some authorities as the family Protelidae. The aardwolf, whose name in Afrikaans means “earth wolf,” resembles a small striped hyena. It is yellowish with vertical black stripes and a bushy, black-tipped tail, and it bears a long, coarse mane

Absorption

2005-03-20T17:43:00.000-08:00

In wave motion, the transfer of the energy of a wave to matter as the wave passes through it. The energy of an acoustic, electromagnetic, or other wave is proportional to the square of its amplitude—i.e., the maximum displacement or movement of a point on the wave; and, as the wave passes through a substance, its amplitude steadily decreases. If there is only a small fractional

Follen, Karl

2005-03-19T08:25:00.000-08:00

Graduated from the University of Giessen as a doctor of civil and canonical law (1818), Follen taught there and in the

Netherlands Antilles, Saba

2005-03-18T21:25:00.000-08:00

Saba was settled by the Dutch in 1632 but, because of its inaccessibility and ruggedness, never achieved any economic importance.

Orange

2005-03-18T16:41:00.000-08:00

City, Orange county, southern California, U.S. It lies along the Santa Ana River. Part of Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, it was founded as Richland in 1868, laid out in 1871, and renamed in 1875 for its orange groves. Orange was initially a citrus-packing centre. It subsequently developed with the Los Angeles metropolitan area and acquired some light manufacturing. The city is the site of

Gnomic Poetry

2005-03-15T22:48:00.000-08:00

Aphoristic verse containing short, memorable statements of traditional wisdom and morality. The Greek word gnome means “moral aphorism” or “proverb.” Its form may be either imperative, as in the famous command “know thyself,” or indicative, as in the English adage “Too many cooks spoil the broth.” Gnomes are found in the literature of many cultures; among the best known examples

Baptist General Conference

2005-03-15T11:53:00.000-08:00

Conservative Baptist denomination that was organized in 1879 as the Swedish Baptist General Conference of America; the present name was adopted in 1945. It developed from the work of Gustaf Palmquist, a Swedish immigrant schoolteacher and lay preacher who became a Baptist in 1852. He established the first Swedish Baptist Church in Rock Island, Ill., that same year. Palmquist and

Carnivore, Importance to humans

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

The domestic dog (Canis familiaris) is undoubtedly the canid of the greatest importance economically. Numerous humans are actually employed in raising, selling, doctoring, grooming, training, or providing and manufacturing food for “man's best friend.” Dogs probably were the first wild animals to be domesticated; they have been found associated with Neolithic sites

Port Colborne

2005-03-14T11:07:00.000-08:00

City, regional municipality of Niagara, southeastern Ontario, Canada. It lies a few miles south of Welland on the north shore of Lake Erie at the upper entrance of the Welland Ship Canal and opposite Humberstone Lock; at 1,381 feet (421 m) long it is one of the world's largest lift locks. The first settlement of 1832 was known as Gravelly Bay; it was later renamed in honour of Sir John Colborne,

Arabia, History Of, Ghassan

2005-03-14T04:32:00.000-08:00

The dynasty of the Ghassanids, though often called kings, were in fact Byzantine phylarchs (native rulers of subject frontier states). They had their headquarters well within the Byzantine Empire, a little east of the Sea of Galilee at Jabiyah in the Jawlan (Golan) area; but they controlled large areas of northwestern Arabia, as far south as Yathrib, serving as a counterpoise

Proetus

2005-03-12T03:33:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, a king of Argos, grandson of Danaus. He quarreled with his brother Acrisius and divided the kingdom with him, Proetus taking Tiryns, which he fortified. Proetus' daughters were driven mad either because they insulted the goddess Hera or because they would not accept the new rites of Dionysus. They imagined themselves cows, until the seer Melampus

Radek, Karl (bernhardovich)

2005-03-12T00:52:00.000-08:00

A member of a Galician Jewish family, Radek attended the universities of Kraków and Bern. Having joined the Social Democratic Party of Poland and

Bobbin Lace

2005-03-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

Also called pillow lace , or bone lace with needle lace, one of two main kinds of lace. Bobbin lace is made with a number of threads, each fastened to an elongated spool (bobbin). A pattern is drawn on parchment or paper, and holes are pricked to indicate where pins will be placed to keep the threads in position while the lace is being made. The parchment is placed on a pillow or cushion, and the threads, with the bobbins

Luther, Martin

2005-03-10T16:19:00.000-08:00

German priest and scholar whose questioning of certain church practices led to the Protestant Reformation. He is one of the pivotal figures of Western civilization, as well as of Christianity. By his actions and writings he precipitated a movement that was to yield not only one of the three major theological units of

Hull, Cordell

2005-03-10T05:48:00.000-08:00

As a young Tennessee attorney, Hull early identified with

Beretta Spa

2005-03-09T07:49:00.000-08:00

The founder of the business, Bartolomeo Beretta, was known as a maestro da canne, or master gun-barrel maker, for the republic of

Tyrosine

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

An amino acid comprising about 1 to 6 percent by weight of the mixture obtained by hydrolysis of most proteins. First isolated from casein (1849), tyrosine is particularly abundant in insulin (a hormone) and papain (an enzyme found in fruit of the papaya), which contain 13 percent by weight. Tyrosine is one of several so-called essential amino acids for certain animals; i.e., they cannot

Franc

2005-03-07T20:54:00.000-08:00

Originally a French coin but now the monetary unit of a number of countries, notably Switzerland, most French and former Belgian overseas territories, and some African states; at one time it was also the currency of France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The name was first applied to a gold coin minted by King John II of France in 1360, which bore on one face the Latin legend Johannes

Tapestry, Eastern Asia

2005-03-07T17:50:00.000-08:00

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

Bridge Whist

2005-03-06T02:57:00.000-08:00

Card game popular from the 1890s through 1910, and the second step in the historical progression from whist to bridge whist to auction bridge to contract bridge. See whist.

Meléndez Valdés, Juan

2005-03-05T20:56:00.000-08:00

After studying law and classics at Salamanca, Meléndez Valdés was appointed

Leafbird

2005-03-05T01:15:00.000-08:00

Leafbirds are about 17 to 20 cm (6.5 to 8 inches) long. They live high up in the jungle canopy, feeding mainly on nectar, plus some insects and berries.

Biblical Literature, The DouaiReims Bible

2005-03-04T21:51:00.000-08:00

The Roman Catholics addressed themselves affirmatively to the same problem faced by the Anglican Church: a Bible in the vernacular. The initiator of the first such attempt was Cardinal Allen of Reims (in France), although the burden of the work fell to Gregory Martin, professor of Hebrew at Douai. The New Testament appeared in 1582, but the Old Testament, delayed by lack of

Mauldin, Bill

2005-03-04T21:33:00.000-08:00

After studying cartooning at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts,

Antarctic Peninsula

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

Also called Palmer Peninsula, Graham Land , or Tierra de O'Higgins peninsula claimed by Britain as part of the British Antarctic Territory and also claimed by Chile and Argentina. It forms an 800-mile (1,300-kilometre) northward extension of Antarctica toward the southern tip of South America. The peninsula is ice-covered and mountainous, the highest point being Mount Jackson (13,750 feet [4,191 m]). Marguerite Bay indents the west coast, and Bransfield

Manala

2005-03-02T20:48:00.000-08:00

The Finnish underworld and related concepts among other Finno-Ugric peoples, such as the yabme-aimo of the Sami, are the

Amorphous Solid

2005-03-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

Solids and liquids are both forms of condensed matter; both are composed of atoms in close proximity to each other. But their properties are, of course, enormously different. While a solid material has both a well-defined

Antsirabe

2005-03-02T13:11:00.000-08:00

Town, central Madagascar. It lies on the slopes of the nation's second highest peak, Tsiafajavona, in the Ankaratra Mountains. Thermal springs, associated with ancient volcanism, together with an elevation of 4,000 feet (1,200 m) encouraged the development of a health resort there in 1923. The terminus of a rail line from Antananarivo, the national capital (70 miles [110 km] northeast), Antsirabe

Salesbury, William

2005-02-27T19:46:00.000-08:00

Salesbury spent most of his life at Llanrwst following antiquarian, botanical, and literary pursuits. About 1546 he edited a collection

Protist, Section I. Chromobionts (heterokonts or Chromophyta sensu lato)

2005-02-27T02:14:00.000-08:00

Predominantly golden-brown, yellow-green, and brown algae plus some lower fungal groups and 3 nonpigmented zooflagellate taxa; tubular mitochondrial cristae; pigmented moiety with chlorophylls a, c, and d and chloroplasts located within rough endoplasmic reticulum, tubular mastigonemes on anterior flagellum, and food reserves stored outside plastids; ubiquitous;

Computers, Handheld computers

2005-02-26T19:47:00.000-08:00

The origins of handheld computers go back to the 1960s, when Alan Kay, a researcher at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center, promoted the vision of a small, powerful notebook-style computer that he called the Dynabook. Kay never actually built a Dynabook (the technology had yet to be invented), but his vision helped to catalyze the research that would eventually make his dream

Saigon River

2005-02-26T16:37:00.000-08:00

Vietnamese Song Sai Gon river in southern Vietnam that rises near Phum Daung, southeastern Cambodia, and flows south and south-southeast for about 140 miles (225 km). In its lower course it embraces Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) on the east and forms an estuary at the head of Ganh Rai Bay, an outlying part of the Mekong delta. The Saigon is joined 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Ho Chi Minh City by the Dong Nai River,

Auckland Islands

2005-02-25T00:21:00.000-08:00

Outlying island group of New Zealand, in the South Pacific Ocean, 290 miles (467 km) south of South Island. Volcanic in origin, they comprise six islands and several islets, with a total land area of 234 square miles (606 square km), and have a cool, humid, and windy climate. The islands' soils are generally poor, and shrub forests cover lower elevations. Animal life includes birds, wild cattle,

Procedural Law, Common law

2005-02-24T03:13:00.000-08:00

In Anglo-American legal systems, a convicted defendant may move in the trial court to arrest judgment, or he may file a motion for a new trial. The legality of the conviction may also be challenged by appeal to a higher court. Criminal appeals were unknown in the traditional common law, but today they are universally granted by statute. In the United Kingdom, the Criminal

Ch'i-lien Mountains

2005-02-23T23:38:00.000-08:00

Wade–Giles romanization Ch'i-lien Shan, Pinyin Qilian Shan, rugged mountain range on the border of Tsinghai and Kansu provinces, west central China. It forms part of the Nan Shan, the eastern outlier of the Kunlun Mountains. Heavily glaciated in many places, the mountains rise to 18,194 ft (5,547 m), and most peaks exceed 13,000 ft. Snow covers the mountain tops; herds graze in the well-watered valleys. Impassable throughout, the range forms the southern

John Climacus, Saint

2005-02-23T19:48:00.000-08:00

After entering the monastery of St. Catherine on Mt. Sinai c. 600, John withdrew to live as a hermit in a nearby

Togo, German occupation

2005-02-21T16:31:00.000-08:00

German missionaries arrived in Ewe territory in 1847, and German traders were soon established at Anécho. In 1884 Gustav Nachtigal, sent by the German government, induced a number of coastal chiefs to accept German protection. The protectorate was recognized in 1885, and its coastal frontiers with Dahomey and the Gold Coast were defined by treaties with France and Great Britain.

Kabba

2005-02-21T16:01:00.000-08:00

Town, Kogi state, south-central Nigeria, in the Yoruba Hills (elevation 1,300 feet [400 m]). It lies near the Osse River, at the intersection of roads from Lokoja, Okene, Ikare, Ado-Ekiti, and Egbe. Kabba is a trade centre for the yams, cassava, corn (maize), sorghum, shea nuts, peanuts (groundnuts), beans, cotton, and woven cloth produced by the Yoruba, Igbira, and Bunu (Kabba) peoples of the surrounding

Ovary

2005-02-21T06:08:00.000-08:00

In zoology, female reproductive organ in which sex cells (eggs or ova) are produced. The usually paired ovaries of female vertebrates produce both the sex cells and the hormones necessary for reproduction. In some invertebrate groups such as coelenterates, formation of ovaries is associated with the seasons. Many invertebrates

Presidency Of The United States Of America, King Caucus

2005-02-20T17:39:00.000-08:00

While popular voting was transforming the electoral college system, there were also dramatic shifts in the method for nominating presidential candidates. There being no consensus on a successor to Washington upon his retirement after two terms as president, the newly formed political parties quickly asserted control over the process. Beginning in 1796, caucuses of the parties' congressional delegations met informally to nominate their presidential and vice presidential candidates, leaving the general public with no direct input. The subsequent demise in the 1810s of the Federalist Party, which failed even to nominate a presidential candidate in 1820, made nomination by the Democratic-Republican caucus tantamount to election as president. This early nomination system—dubbed “King Caucus” by its critics—evoked widespread resentment, even from some members of the Democratic-Republican caucus. By 1824 it had fallen into such disrepute that only one-fourth of the Democratic-Republican congressional delegation took part in the caucus that nominated Secretary of the Treasury William Crawford instead of more popular figures such as John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson. Jackson, Adams, and Henry Clay eventually joined Crawford in contesting the subsequent presidential election, in which Jackson received the most popular and electoral votes but was denied the presidency by the House of Representatives (which selected Adams) after he failed to win the required majority in the electoral college. Jackson, who was particularly enraged following Adams's appointment of Clay as secretary of state, called unsuccessfully for the abolition of the electoral college, but he would get his revenge by defeating Adams in the presidential election of 1828.

Einstein, Hannah Bachman

2005-02-20T06:27:00.000-08:00

Hannah Bachman married William Einstein in 1881. She developed an interest in charitable work, and from its founding in about 1890 she was active in the Temple Emanu-El Sisterhood, which undertook

Indian National Congress

2005-02-20T00:57:00.000-08:00

Byname Congress Party broadly based political party of India. Formed in 1885, the Indian National Congress dominated the Indian movement for independence from Great Britain and formed most of India's governments from the time of independence through the mid-1990s.

Ha Giang

2005-02-18T19:25:00.000-08:00

Town, northern Vietnam. The town lies along the Lo River about 215 miles (350 km) northwest of Hanoi. It is a market centre in a forested mountainous region about 13 miles (20 km) southeast of the China–Vietnam border. The area in which Ha Giang is situated produces much of the tea grown in northern Vietnam and also produces some paddy rice, together with corn (maize). The dense forests in

Rome, March On

2005-02-18T10:07:00.000-08:00

Widespread social discontent, aggravated by middle-class fear of a socialist revolution and by disappointment over Italy's meagre gains from the

Sea Snake

2005-02-18T03:06:00.000-08:00

Any of more than 50 species of venomous marine snakes of the family Hydrophiidae. In adaptation to marine life, sea snakes have oarlike tails and flattened bodies. Their nostrils have valvelike closings and are usually on top of the snout. Several sea snakes have bodies much thicker than their heads and necks affording them greater stability

Kra, Isthmus Of

2005-02-16T09:53:00.000-08:00

Thai Khokhok Kra narrow neck of southern Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand, connecting the Malay Peninsula to the Asian mainland. The isthmus lies between the Gulf of Thailand to the east and the Andaman Sea to the west. It is 25–30 miles (40–48 km) wide at its narrowest point, between Chumphon and Kra Buri (both in Thailand). Kra Buri, for which it was named, is at the head of the Pakchan River estuary, an inlet

Meteor Crater

2005-02-16T06:50:00.000-08:00

Also called Barringer Meteorite Crater, Coon Butte, Arizona Meteor Crater, or Canyon Diablo, rimmed, bowl-shaped pit produced by a large meteorite in the rolling plain of the Canyon Diablo region, 19 miles (30 km) west of Winslow, Arizona, U.S. The crater is 4,000 feet (1,200 metres) in diameter and about 600 feet (180 metres) deep inside its rim, which rises nearly 200 feet (60 metres) above the plain. Drillings reveal undisturbed rock beneath 700–800 feet (213–244 metres) of fill. The strata forming the rim of the crater

Nigeria

2005-02-16T02:57:00.000-08:00

During 2000 Pres. Olusegun Obasanjo took a variety of steps to secure Nigeria's transition to democracy. Chief among these were reform of the military and the curbing of government corruption. President Obasanjo, himself a former general, continued to force the retirement of officers who had held political positions under previous military governments. In June he

Luxembourg, François-henri De Montmorency-bouteville, Duc De

2005-02-14T22:49:00.000-08:00

The posthumous son of François de Montmorency-Bouteville, he was reared by a distant relative, Charlotte de Montmorency, princesse de Condé. Although Bouteville was hunchbacked and physically weak, the princesse's son Louis II de Bourbon,

T'ien Ming

2005-02-14T15:49:00.000-08:00

The continuation of the mandate was believed to be conditioned by the personal behaviour of the ruler, who was expected to possess i (“righteousness”) and jen (“benevolence

Porphyry Copper Deposit

2005-02-13T22:18:00.000-08:00

Blanketlike replacement deposit of copper minerals that are disseminated throughout a large mass of fractured rock. Porphyry copper deposits commonly contain tens of millions of metric tons of ore that averages a fraction of 1 percent copper by weight; although they are low-grade, the deposits constitute important sources because they may be worked on a large

Chaga

2005-02-12T02:02:00.000-08:00

Their methods of cultivation support a very dense population. They practice an intensive irrigated agriculture on terraced fields, keeping them under permanent cultivation through

Chancellorsville, Battle Of

2005-02-11T11:31:00.000-08:00

(May 1–5, 1863), in the American Civil War, bloody assault by the Union army in Virginia that failed to encircle and destroy the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Following the “horror of Fredericksburg” (December 13, 1862), the Confederate army of General Robert E. Lee and the Union force under General Joseph Hooker had spent the winter facing each other across the Rappahannock River

Safaqis

2005-02-11T08:11:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Sfax, major port town, east-central Tunisia on the northern shore of the Gulf of Gabes. Built on the site of two small settlements of antiquity, Taparura and Thaenae, the town grew as an early Islamic trading centre for nomads. Temporarily occupied in the 12th century by Sicilian Normans and in the 16th century by the Spanish, it later served as a stronghold of the Barbary pirates.

China, Armed forces

2005-02-10T10:28:00.000-08:00

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the unified organization of all Chinese land, sea, and air forces. The history of the PLA is officially traced to the Nan-ch'ang Uprising of Aug. 1, 1927, which is celebrated annually as PLA Day. The PLA is one of the world's largest military forces, with approximately 3,000,000 members. Military service is compulsory for all men who attain the age of 18; women

Bunner, Henry Cuyler

2005-02-09T22:27:00.000-08:00

Educated in New York City, Bunner served on the staff of the Arcadian, at 22 becoming assistant editor and later editor of Puck until his death. He developed Puck from a new, struggling comic weekly into a powerful social and political

Arzner, Dorothy

2005-02-09T19:54:00.000-08:00

Arzner was reared in Los Angeles, where her family owned a Hollywood

Korhogo

2005-02-07T04:36:00.000-08:00

Town, north central Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). The town's traditional founder was Nangui (Nengué), a 14th-century Senufo (Senoufo) patriarch from Kong. Modern Korhogo (Heritage) is the chief trade centre (corn [maize], manioc, millet, and yams) for the Senufo farmers of the savanna. Muslim Fulani herdsmen from the north also helped make it a major centre for livestock (cattle, sheep,

Karadjordjevic Dynasty

2005-02-07T04:26:00.000-08:00

The first prince, Alexander (son of Karadjordje), reigned from 1842 to 1858. Thereafter, for

Puerto Rico

2005-02-07T01:27:00.000-08:00

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

Arsenide

2005-02-06T18:19:00.000-08:00

Any member of a rare mineral group consisting of compounds of one or more metals with arsenic (As). The coordination of the metal is almost always octahedral or tetrahedral. In the former case, each metal ion occupies a position within an octahedron composed of six oppositely charged arsenic ions, whereas in the latter each of the metal ions is surrounded by six oppositely

Bukhari, Al-

2005-02-06T10:05:00.000-08:00

In full Abu 'abd Allah Muhammad Ibn Isma'il Al-bukhari one of the greatest Muslim compilers and scholars of Hadith (the recorded corpus of the sayings and acts of the Prophet Muhammad). His chief work is accepted by Sunnite Muslims—i.e., those following the majority tradition—as second only to the Qur'an as both a source of religious law and a sacred

Xhosa Language

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

Xhosa also spelled Xosa a Bantu language spoken by seven million people in South Africa, especially in Eastern province. Xhosa is a member of the Southeastern, or Nguni, subgroup of the Bantu group of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Other Southeastern Bantu languages are Zulu, Swati (Swazi), Sotho, Tswana, Venda, and Ndebele. Although Xhosa and Zulu are similar enough

Naser Od-din Shah

2005-02-04T17:57:00.000-08:00

Although a younger son of Mohammad Shah, Naser od-Din was named heir apparent through the influence of his mother. Serious

Kirkus, Virginia

2005-02-04T13:53:00.000-08:00

Kirkus attended private schools and in 1916 graduated from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York. After taking courses at Columbia University Teachers College, New York City, she taught in a private school in Delaware

Norfolk

2005-02-03T02:21:00.000-08:00

Administrative and historic county of eastern England, bounded by Suffolk (south), Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire (west), and the North Sea (north and east). The administrative county comprises seven districts: Breckland, Broadland, North Norfolk, and South Norfolk; the boroughs of Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn and West Norfolk; and the city of Norwich. The historic

Italy, The end of the Roman world

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

The Eastern emperors in Constantinople regarded themselves as the legitimate rulers of the West, including Italy, after 476; both Odoacer and, for a time, Theoderic had recognized them, and they had strong links with the Roman Senate. In 533–534 Belisarius, general for the Eastern emperor, Justinian (527–565), conquered Vandal Africa; Amalasuntha's death was the necessary excuse to invade

Shafer, Helen Almira

2005-02-02T15:39:00.000-08:00

Shafer graduated in 1863 from Oberlin (Ohio) College. After two years of teaching in New Jersey she joined the faculty of St. Louis (Missouri) High School, where her work as a teacher of mathematics

Great Alfold

2005-02-01T21:27:00.000-08:00

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,

Niederbayern

2005-01-31T18:17:00.000-08:00

English Lower Bavaria Regierungsbezirk (administrative district), east-central Bavaria Land (state), southeastern Germany. Niederbayern is bordered by the Czech Republic to the northeast, Austria to the southeast, and the Regierungsbezirke of Oberbayern (Upper Bavaria) to the southwest and west and Oberpfalz (Upper Palatinate) to the north. Together with Oberbayern and Oberpfalz, the

Giraud, Henri (-honoré)

2005-01-30T23:00:00.000-08:00

After graduating from Saint-Cyr in 1900, Giraud first served in Morocco and was captured by the Germans during World War I. Returning to North Africa in 1922, he participated in the Rif War. Early in World War II, he commanded an army but was again captured in

Mugwump

2005-01-30T06:47:00.000-08:00

In U.S. politics, member of a reform-oriented faction of the Republican Party that refused to support the candidacy of James G. Blaine for the presidency in 1884. Instead, the Mugwumps supported the Democratic nominee, Grover Cleveland. Their leaders included Theodore Roosevelt, George Curtis, and Henry Cabot Lodge; all returned to Republican ranks after the defeat of Blaine.

Fishing

2005-01-29T20:11:00.000-08:00

Also called Angling, the sport of catching fish, freshwater or saltwater, typically with rod, line, and hook. Like hunting, fishing originated as a means of providing food for survival. Fishing as a sport, however, is of considerable antiquity. An Egyptian angling scene of about 2000 BC shows figures fishing with rod and line and with nets. A Chinese account of about the 4th century BC refers to fishing

Paddle Wheel

2005-01-29T10:50:00.000-08:00

The device is highly efficient and is competitive even

Antarctica, Antarctica and continental drift

2005-01-28T01:19:00.000-08:00

The geologic evolution of Antarctica has followed a course similar to that of the other southern continents. The earliest chapters in Antarctica's rather fragmentary record extend far back, perhaps as much as 3 billion years, into early Precambrian time. Similarity in patterns of crustal and biological evolution in the southern continents can be traced back some

Cermak, Anton J.

2005-01-27T13:09:00.000-08:00

Cermak was born about 50 miles (80 km) from Prague but celebrated his first birthday on Ellis Island in New York harbour. His parents settled in Braidwood, Ill., where,

Agrarian League

2005-01-27T02:03:00.000-08:00

German Bund Der Landwirte extraparliamentary organization active under the German empire from 1893. Formed to combat the free-trade policies (initiated in 1892) of Chancellor Leo, Graf (count) von Caprivi, the league worked for farmers' subsidies, import tariffs, and minimum prices. Caprivi's successor promised to increase wheat tariffs, but by 1900 the Agrarian League had increased to 250,000 members—50,000 more than

Activity

2005-01-25T01:41:00.000-08:00

In radioactive-decay processes, the number of disintegrations per second, or the number of unstable atomic nuclei that decay per second in a given sample. Activity is determined by counting, with the aid of radiation detectors and electronic circuits, the number of particles and photons (pulses of electromagnetic energy) ejected from a radioactive material during

Architecture, History Of Western, Iberia

2005-01-24T17:26:00.000-08:00

Highly interesting artistic flowerings occurred in Spain at the end of the protohistoric era. First, in the southwest of the peninsula, near the town of Cadiz, there developed at the extreme end of the 2nd millennium BC a civilization, still poorly understood, that tradition attributes to the semi-historic, semilegendary state of Tartessus. Archaeology has not yet revealed

Mesopotamia, History Of, The last kings of Babylonia

2005-01-24T04:53:00.000-08:00

Awil-Marduk (called Evil-Merodach in the Old Testament; 561–560), the son of Nebuchadrezzar, was unable to win the support of the priests of Marduk. His reign did not last long, and he was soon eliminated. His brother-in-law and successor, Nergal-shar-usur (called Neriglissar in classical sources; 559–556), was a general who undertook a campaign in 557 into the “rough” Cilician land, which may have

La Trémoille, Georges De

2005-01-23T18:26:00.000-08:00

At first allied with the duke of Burgundy in the power struggle that continued for many years during Charles VI's madness, La Trémoille switched his loyalty when the rival faction, the Armagnacs, came into power in 1413. He was a member of the pleasure-loving group that surrounded the dauphin,

Animal Behaviour

2005-01-23T04:28:00.000-08:00

A living animal behaves constantly in order to survive, and all animals must solve the same basic problems. They must, for instance, periodically replace their energy source (consume food), avoid dehydration (drink), avoid becoming another animal's energy source (avoid being eaten), maintain their body surfaces (clean and groom), and reproduce.