StiffComb

Sibyl

2005-11-17T22:30:00.000-08:00

Also called Sibylla, prophetess in Greek legend and literature. Tradition represented her as a woman of prodigious old age uttering predictions in ecstatic frenzy, but she was always a figure of the mythical past, and her prophecies, in Greek hexameters, were handed down in writing. In the 5th and early 4th centuries BC, she was always referred to in the singular; Sibylla was treated as her proper

Paraffin Hydrocarbon

2005-10-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

Also called >alkane any of the saturated hydrocarbons having the general formula CnH2n+2, C being a carbon atom, H a hydrogen atom, and n an integer. The paraffins are major constituents of natural gas and petroleum. Paraffins containing fewer than 5 carbon atoms per molecule are usually gaseous at room temperature, those having 5 to 15 carbon atoms are usually liquids, and the straight-chain

East Falkland

2005-07-28T16:15:00.000-07:00

One of the two major islands of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is 90 miles (140 km) long and 55 miles (88 km) wide and rises to Mount Usborne (2,312 feet [705 m]). The total area is 2,550 square miles (6,605 square km), excluding adjacent small islands. The town of Stanley is on the northeast shore. Pop. (1986) 1,620.

Ambedkar, Bhimrao Ramji

2005-07-26T22:05:00.000-07:00

Born of an untouchable Mahar family of western India, he was as a boy humiliated by his high-caste schoolfellows. His father was an officer in the Indian Army. Awarded a scholarship by the Gaekwar (the ruler) of Baroda, he studied at universities

Tibet, Early history to the 9th century

2005-07-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

Credible history begins late in the 6th century, when three discontented vassals of one of the princes among whom Tibet was then divided conspired to support the neighbouring lord of Yar-lung, whose title was Spu-rgyal btsan-po. Btsan-po (“mighty”) became the designation of all kings of Tibet (rgyal means “king”; and spu, the meaning of which is uncertain, may refer to a sacral

Breisgau

2005-07-07T13:00:00.000-07:00

Historic region between the Rhine and the Black Forest in southwestern Germany, now in the South Baden district of the Land (state) Baden-Württemberg. It was part of the frontier region of the Roman Empire known as the Agri Decumates; from c. AD 260 it was occupied by the Germanic Alemanni. The Zähringen family was invested with the countship of Breisgau in the early Middle

Yale, Linus

2005-07-05T17:45:00.000-07:00

At first Yale tried portrait painting, but he became interested in locks after his father began to manufacture bank locks in Newport, N.Y., about 1840. His first achievement was the Yale Infallible Bank Lock in 1851. Later he opened his own shop in Shelburne

Ikhshidids Dynasty

2005-06-17T05:45:00.000-07:00

Muslim Turkish dynasty from Fergana in Central Asia that ruled Egypt and Syria from 935 to 969. The founder, Muhammad ibn Tughj, appointed governor of Egypt in 935, two years later obtained the title ikhshid (Persian: “prince, ruler”) from the 'Abbasid caliph ar-Radi; he then secured his position in Egypt and Syria against opposition from Muhammad ibn Ra'iq, 'Abbasid amir al-umara' (commander in chief),

Intention

2005-06-02T19:50:00.000-07:00

(Latin: intentio), in scholastic logic and psychology, a concept used to describe a mode of being or relation. In knowing, the mind is said to “intend” or “tend toward” its object, and a thing as known, or in the knowing mind, has “intentional being.” Intention may mean either the mind knowing or the knowledge itself, analogous to the use of perception for the act of perceiving or for

Cramer, Johann Baptist

2005-05-31T14:35:00.000-07:00

Cramer was taken to England in 1772 by his father. His piano teachers included the noted pianist and composer Muzio Clementi, under whom he developed the

Strachwitz, Moritz (karl Wilhelm Anton), Graf Von

2005-05-17T05:40:00.000-07:00

After studying in Breslau and Berlin, Strachwitz settled on his estate in Moravia, where he did his writing. He was involved with a Berlin literary club, Tunnel über

Adams, William Taylor

2005-05-15T03:15:00.000-07:00

Although he never graduated from college, Adams was a teacher and principal in Boston elementary schools for more than 20 years. Under the pen name Oliver Optic, he wrote

Wright Flyer Of 1905

2005-03-15T08:35:00.000-08:00

The flyer took to the air for the first time on June 23, 1905, at Huffman Prairie, a pasture located on the streetcar line some 8 miles

Heterospecific Mating

2005-03-14T16:09:00.000-08:00

Also called �incompatible mating� mating in which the man and woman have incompatible blood types, such that the woman may develop antibodies to her partner's blood type. This mating causes difficulties in childbirth, since there is a chance that the child conceived in a heterospecific mating will have its father's blood type. When a heterospecific pregnancy occurs, the mother produces antibodies

Margate

2005-03-12T19:18:00.001-08:00

Town, Thanet district, administrative and historic county of Kent, England. It lies east of the Thames River estuary. A Roman villa existed just outside the town, which has a Norman church. During the 18th century the town, which is endowed with sandy beaches, became a bathing resort. The large influx of summer visitors is presently Margate's mainstay. An industrial estate

Margate

2005-03-12T19:18:00.000-08:00

Sorin, Edward Frederick

2005-03-10T03:01:00.000-08:00

Sorin was ordained a priest in 1838, and two years later he joined the Congregation of Holy Cross, a group of priests and brothers organized at Le Mans, Fr. Sorin and six brothers went to Vincennes, Ind., in 1841 at the invitation of Bishop C�lestine

Spongilla

2005-03-09T17:54:00.000-08:00

Sponge genus that includes the freshwater sponge (q.v.) species.

Lancashire

2005-03-08T05:06:00.000-08:00

The administrative, geographic, and historic counties occupy somewhat different areas. The administrative

Estate Tax

2005-03-07T19:12:00.000-08:00

Levy on the value of property changing hands at the death of the owner, fixed mainly by reference to its total value. Estate tax is generally applied only to estates evaluated above a statutory amount and is applied at graduated rates. Estate tax is usually easier to administer than inheritance tax (q.v.) levied on beneficiaries because only the value of the entire estate

Carter, Benny

2005-03-06T02:22:00.000-08:00

Carter grew up in New York City and attended Wilberforce College briefly before joining, as alto saxophonist and arranger, a series of

Steffen, Albert

2005-03-05T01:29:00.000-08:00

Steffen's early works were compassionate messages of alarm at the disastrous effects of modern technological civilization and secularized thought in human relations. Moved by these problems, he joined the

Military Affairs

2005-03-04T06:21:00.000-08:00

The movement against live-fire military training gained momentum during the year. President Bush announced that the U.S. Navy would cease using the island of Vieques, off the coast of Puerto Rico, for bombing exercises by 2003. A group of islanders had filed a $100 million lawsuit claiming that the bombing caused significant damage to the environment and public health. The

Bathurst Island

2005-03-03T01:49:00.000-08:00

Island in the Timor Sea, Northern Territory, Australia, separated from Melville Island to the east by Apsley Strait. Densely wooded, it is triangular and has an area of about 1,000 square miles (2,600 square km). The island was explored in 1818 by Phillip Parker King, who recommended it for European settlement, and was named after the 3rd Earl Bathurst, secretary for war and the colonies

Sicani

2005-03-02T10:23:00.000-08:00

English �Sicans� according to ancient Greek writers, the aboriginal inhabitants of western Sicily, as opposed to the Siculi of eastern Sicily. Archaeologically there is no substantial difference between Sicani and Siculi (Sicels) in historical times; but ancient authorities believed the Sicani to be Iberians from Spain who were driven by the invading Siculi into the western

Haldimand, Sir Frederick

2005-03-01T22:55:00.000-08:00

Haldimand entered British service in 1756 as a lieutenant colonel in the Royal American Regiment. He served in Sir Jeffrey Amherst's expedition (1760) against Montreal during the Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France, then stayed there as second in command

Mahdist

2005-02-28T17:57:00.000-08:00

The Mahdists rose

Bach, Johann Sebastian, Early years

2005-02-27T16:32:00.000-08:00

J.S. Bach was born at Eisenach, Thuringia, on March 21, 1685, the youngest child of Johann Ambrosius Bach and Elisabeth L�mmerhirt. Ambrosius was a string player, employed by the town council and the ducal court of Eisenach. Johann Sebastian started school in 1692 or 1693 and did well in spite of frequent absences. Of his musical education at this time, nothing definite is known; however,

Poland, History Of, Augustus III

2005-02-26T01:51:00.000-08:00

Upon Augustus' death in 1733, Stanislaw I, seen this time as a symbol of Poland's independence and supported by France (his daughter married Louis XV), was elected once again. The counter-election of Augustus III followed, and Russian troops drove Stanislaw out of the country. He abdicated, receiving as compensation (after the so-called War of Polish Succession) the duchy of

Rabin, Leah

2005-02-25T09:36:00.000-08:00

German-born Israeli consort and peace activist (b. April 8, 1928, K�nigsberg, Ger. [now Kaliningrad, Russia] - d. Nov. 12, 2000, Tel Aviv, Israel), was the wife of former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated in 1995. She grew up in Tel Aviv and met her husband while both were serving in the Palmach, a Jewish militia unit. The two were married during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948 - 49. Leah Rabin

Abbeville

2005-02-24T05:28:00.000-08:00

Town, Somme d�partement, Picardy r�gion, northern France, near the mouth of the canalized Somme, northwest of Amiens. Stone Age artifacts unearthed by Boucher de Cr�vecoeur de Perthes in 1844 attesting to early occupation of the site are displayed at the Mus�e Boucher-de-Perthes. The town originated as Abbatis Villa, a 9th-century dependency of the abbots of Saint-Riquier,

Zambezi River, Plant life

2005-02-23T10:31:00.000-08:00

The vegetation along the upper and middle course of the Zambezi is predominantly savanna, with deciduous trees, grass, and open woodland. Mopane woodland (Colophospermum mopane) is predominant on the alluvial flats of the low-lying river valleys and is highly susceptible to fire. Grass, when present, is typically short and sparse. Forestland with species of the genus

Nagercoil

2005-02-22T08:02:00.000-08:00

City, southernmost Tamil Nadu state, southern India. Nagercoil lies west of the Aramboli Gap in the Western Ghats. It controls the major routes between Madras and Trivandrum and is a commercial centre for a rich agricultural area. Its name, meaning �snake temple,� indicates the early significance of the town's Saiva temple. Although historically a part of the Hindu kingdom

Loran

2005-02-21T21:26:00.000-08:00

Abbreviation of �long-range navigation� system of navigation developed for marine and air navigation. Lines of position are determined by noting differences in time of reception of synchronized pulses from widely spaced transmitting stations, master and slave. A master station broadcasts an uninterrupted series of pulses of fixed duration and at a fixed rate (e.g., of 50 microseconds' duration at a rate

Sweat Gland

2005-02-20T22:54:00.000-08:00

Either of two types of secretory skin glands occurring only in mammals. The eccrine sweat gland, which is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system, regulates body temperature. When internal temperature rises, the eccrine glands secrete water to the skin surface, where heat is removed by evaporation. If eccrine glands are active over most of the body (as in horses,

Capricornus

2005-02-19T14:26:00.000-08:00

In astrology, Capricornus (also Capricorn) is the 10th sign of the zodiac, considered as

Uccello, Paolo

2005-02-18T05:44:00.000-08:00

By the time Paolo was 10 years old he was already an apprentice in the workshop of the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti, who was then at work on what became one of the masterpieces of Renaissance art - the bronze doors for the Baptistery of the Florence cathedral, which consist of 28 panels illustrating New Testament scenes of the life of Christ. In 1414 Uccello joined the confraternity

Earth Tide

2005-02-17T00:50:00.000-08:00

Deformation of the solid Earth as it rotates within the gravitational fields of the Sun and Moon. Earth tides are similar to ocean tides. The Earth deforms because it has a certain degree of elasticity; were it perfectly rigid, there would be no Earth tides. Several tidal components mathematically can be shown to exist, but only four are large enough to be generally

Elk

2005-02-16T11:48:00.000-08:00

Elk county was created in 1843. The principal communities are St. Marys, Johnsonburg, and Ridgway, which is the county seat.

Metabolism, The nature of the respiratory chain

2005-02-15T22:25:00.000-08:00

The carriers are NAD and, less frequently, NADP ; the flavoproteins FAD and FMN (flavin mononucleotide);

Hawaii

2005-02-14T02:13:00.000-08:00

Volcanic island, Hawaii, U.S. It lies south of Maui Island and constitutes Hawaii county. Known as the Big Island, it is the largest (area 4,028 square miles [10,433 square km]) and southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Island group. It is the youngest geologically and was formed by five volcanoes connected by lava saddles (ridges). Kilauea is the world's most active volcano. The island is roughly

Subotica

2005-02-13T19:41:00.000-08:00

Hungarian �Szabadka, � town in the autonomous pokrajina (province) of Vojvodina in Serbia, Yugoslavia. It lies along the Belgrade - Budapest railway line near the Hungarian border. It is the market centre of the Backa, a fertile agricultural district in which paprika is a specialty. The town is also an industrial centre, with a large thermal-power station. Metal consumer goods, fertilizers, and

Standard Oil Company And Trust

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

The company's origins date to 1863, when Rockefeller joined Maurice B. Clark and Samuel Andrews in a Cleveland refining business; in 1865 Rockefeller bought

Malay Language

2005-02-10T21:16:00.000-08:00

Member of the Western, or Indonesian, branch of the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) language family, spoken as a native language by more than 33,000,000 persons distributed over the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, and the numerous smaller islands of the area, and widely used in Malaysia and Indonesia as a second language. Malay shows the closest relationship to most of the

Trading Stamp

2005-02-09T17:26:00.000-08:00

Trading stamps existed in the United States

Habsburg, House Of

2005-02-08T06:35:00.000-08:00

Even before Frederick III's time the House of Habsburg had won much of its standing in Germany and in central Europe through marriages to heiresses. Frederick's son Maximilian carried this matrimonial policy to heights of unequalled brilliance. First he himself in 1477 married the heiress of Burgundy, Charles the Bold's daughter Mary, with the result that the House of

Fischer, Edmond H.

2005-02-07T20:44:00.000-08:00

The son of Swiss parents, Fischer earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Geneva in 1947 and

Masolino

2005-02-06T23:09:00.000-08:00

Masolino came from the same district of Tuscany

Hunt, William Morris

2005-02-05T21:56:00.000-08:00

After attending Harvard University, Hunt studied with Thomas Couture in Paris and then in Barbizon with Jean-Fran�ois Millet, one of the leaders of the Barbizon

Pacific Islands, Micronesia

2005-02-04T08:03:00.000-08:00

Eight or 10 cultural-linguistic areas in Micronesia attest to its greater heterogeneity. Palau, Yap, and the Mariana Islands, in western Micronesia, suggest affinities with Melanesia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The customary siting of island farmsteads and hamlets near the shore reflects the prevailing interest in fishing, canoeing, and interisland trade. Except

Main River

2005-02-03T11:53:00.000-08:00

Latin �Moenus, � river, an important right- (east-) bank tributary of the Rhine in Germany. It is formed, near Kulmbach, by the confluence of the Weisser (White) Main, which rises in the Fichtel Mountains, and the Roter (Red) Main, which rises on the eastern slope of the Fr�nkische Mountains (Franconian Jura). The Main River flows southwesterly around the northern end of the Fr�nkische Mountains

Arts, Central Asian, Dance and theatre

2005-02-02T07:41:00.000-08:00

Mircea Eliade, Le Chamanisme et les techniques archa�ques de l'extase (1951; 2nd ed., 1968; Eng. trans., Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, rev. ed., 1964), a classic study of the rituals, costumes, and symbolisms of shamanic performances; Luther G. Jerstad (op. cit.), an analytical and descriptive study of 'cham as performed in the Tengpoche monastery of northern Nepal. Materials and translations of some morality plays have been published by Marion H. Duncan in his Harvest Festival Dramas of Tibet (1955) and More Harvest Festival Dramas of Tibet (1967); and a study of the �Moon-cuckoo� play of the Mongols has been published in Japanese by Hidehiro Okada. Information on the performing arts may be found scattered in various other publications, but it is usually descriptive in nature and deals with only one genre. As yet no scholar has carried out a comprehensive analytical study of the origins and interrelations of dance and theatre in Central Asian regions.

Oamaru

2005-02-01T07:38:00.000-08:00

Town and port, Otago local government region, southeastern South Island, New Zealand. Its name comes from a Maori term meaning �place of sheltered fire.� It was established as a grazing run in 1853. Situated on a small bay, the town began to improve its harbour in 1872. It is a commercial fishing centre and the chief port for the neighbouring coastal plain and the Waitaki River

Bridge

2005-01-31T21:06:00.000-08:00

In electrical measurement, instrument for measuring electrical quantities. The first such instrument, invented by British mathematician Samuel Christie and popularized in 1843 by Sir Charles Wheatstone, measures resistance by comparing the current flowing through one part of the bridge with a known current flowing through another part. The Wheatstone

Aldrich, Nelson W.

2005-01-30T10:44:00.000-08:00

Aldrich rose from the Providence Common Council through the Rhode Island legislature to the U.S. Congress (representative 1879 - 81; senator 1881 - 1911). Meanwhile,

Bahamas, Flag Of The

2005-01-29T05:08:00.000-08:00

The flag of The Bahamas was officially hoisted on July 10, 1973, the date of the nation's independence from the United Kingdom. It was the result of a local competition for a new national flag, although no single entry was selected. Instead, several entries were combined to create the new flag. The two aquamarine stripes represent the water surrounding the islands. The yellow

Biblical Literature, The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness

2005-01-28T11:26:00.000-08:00

One of the most interesting Dead Sea Scrolls is The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness, a description of the eschatological war between the Sons of Light - i.e., the sect - and the rest of mankind, first with the other Jews and then with the Gentiles. At the end the Sons of Light will conquer the whole world, and in this war they will be helped by heavenly hosts;

Fore-and-aft Sail

2005-01-27T01:45:00.000-08:00

One of the two basic types of sailing rig, the other being the square sail. The fore-and-aft sail, now usually triangular, is set completely aft of a mast or stay, parallel to the ship's keel, and takes the wind on either side. The mainsail always has a boom, pivoted on the mast. Historically, it represented an important advance over the ancient square sail; it first appeared in

Biblical Literature, Amos

2005-01-26T23:57:00.000-08:00

The Book of Amos, the third of the Twelve (Minor) Prophets, has been one of the most significant and influential books of the Bible from the time it was written (8th century BCE) down to the 20th century. Comprising only nine chapters of oracles, it was composed during the age of Jeroboam II, king of Israel from 786 to 746 BCE. His reign was marked by great economic prosperity, but the rich were

Celebes Black Ape

2005-01-25T17:16:00.000-08:00

Also called �Celebes Crested Macaque� (species Cynopithecus niger), arboreal monkey of the family Cercopithecidae, found on Celebes, Bacan, and nearby islands. The Celebes black ape is a stump-tailed monkey with overhanging brows, a hairless black face, and a long, flat muzzle. It is about the size of a baboon (55 - 65 cm [22 - 26 inches] long without the tail [1 to 2 cm]) and is covered with dark brown or black fur. The male, especially,

Paper Folding

2005-01-24T11:43:00.000-08:00

In Japan, origami has reached its greatest development, with hundreds of traditional folds and an extensive literature dealing with the art. Japanese folds divide roughly into two categories:

Masefield, John

2005-01-23T13:33:00.000-08:00

Educated at King's School,

Ouadda�

2005-01-22T21:40:00.000-08:00

Crossed by caravans linking the Sahara with equatorial Africa and by Muslim pilgrim routes from West Africa toward Mecca,

Tibet, Superstitions

2005-01-21T02:22:00.000-08:00

Superstition is prominent in Tibet. A traveler who encounters either a funeral procession, the source of running water, or a passerby carrying a pitcher of water is considered to have good fortune awaiting him. If a vulture or an owl perches on a rooftop, it is believed that death or misfortune will soon befall the household. If snow falls during a marriage procession,

Hejaz Railway

2005-01-20T18:25:00.000-08:00

Its main line was constructed in 1900 - 08, ostensibly to facilitate pilgrimages to the Muslims' holy places in Arabia but in fact also to strengthen Ottoman control over the most distant provinces of the empire. The main line, built by a multiracial

Arabia Felix

2005-01-19T11:33:00.000-08:00

In ancient geography, the comparatively fertile region in southwestern and southern Arabia (in present-day Asir and Yemen), a region that contrasted with Arabia Deserta in barren central and northern Arabia and with Arabia Petraea (�Stony Arabia�) in northwestern Arabia, which came under the suzerainty of imperial Rome. The Greeks and Romans chose the name because

Orange

2005-01-18T11:34:00.000-08:00

County, southeastern New York state, U.S., located mostly in the Hudson River valley. It is bordered by Pennsylvania to the northwest (the Delaware River constituting the boundary), New Jersey to the southwest, and the Hudson River to the east. Among the other waterways are the Wallkill and Neversink rivers and Shawangunk Kill. Storm King Mountain is a massive granite

R�mnicu V�lcea

2005-01-17T08:14:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �R�mnicu V�lcea, � city, capital of V�lcea judet (county), south-central Romania, on the Olt River. Documented as a town in the late 14th century, it was a local market town during the Middle Ages. Historic buildings in the city include the house of Anton Pann, folklorist and writer; a fortified church, Cetatuia; and the local museum, with art and history sections. Since World War II R�mnicu V�lcea has

Votkinsk

2005-01-16T10:55:00.000-08:00

City, Udmurtiya, western Russia. It lies along the Votka River just above the latter's confluence with the Kama. Votkinsk was founded in 1759 and became a city in 1935. It is famous chiefly as the birthplace of the composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, whose home is preserved as a museum. Principal economic activities include machine building, peat brick production, and lumber processing.

Hitogami

2005-01-15T00:14:00.000-08:00

(Japanese: �man-god�), a way of distinguishing certain characteristics of Japanese religion by focusing on the close relationship between a deity and his transmitter, such as a seer or a shaman. The Japanese scholar Hori Ichiro contrasts hitogami as a religious system with the ujigami (�guardian deity�) type of belief. Membership in the circle of believers is not dependent

Baikonur

2005-01-14T11:47:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Baykonur, Baykonyr, or Bajkonur, �also called �Tyuratam, or Turatam, � former Soviet and current Russian space centre in south-central Kazakstan. Baikonur was a Soviet code name for the centre, but American analysts often called it Tyuratam, after the railroad station at Tyuratam (Leninsk), the nearest large city. Baikonur lies on the north bank of the Syr Darya, about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Qyzylorda. The Soviet Union's secretiveness about

Bishop's Cap Cactus

2005-01-13T20:08:00.000-08:00

All four species of Astrophytum, which is sometimes regarded as a subgenus of Echinocac

Aquitaine

2005-01-11T19:40:00.000-08:00

In Julius Caesar's description of Gaul, �Aquitania� was an area extending from the Pyrenees to the Garonne River. The Roman

Andean Peoples

2005-01-10T05:59:00.000-08:00

Although the Andes Mountains extend from Venezuela to the southern tip of the continent, it is conventional to call �Andean� only the people who were once part of Tawantinsuyu, the Inca Empire in the Central Andes, or those influenced by it. Even so, the Andean region is very wide. It encompasses

Pippin

2005-01-09T00:52:00.000-08:00

Given the title of king of Italy in 781, Pippin took part in campaigns against Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria from 787 and led an army against the Avars in 796. His Venetian campaign (809 - 810) enabled Charlemagne later to come to favourable terms with the Byzantine Empire. As early as 806, Charlemagne, in planning the division

Guernsey

2005-01-08T00:29:00.000-08:00

In the south, Guernsey rises in a plateau to about 300 ft (90 m), with ragged coastal cliffs. It descends in steps and is drained

Pacific Ocean, European exploration

2005-01-06T00:19:00.000-08:00

Pacific islanders had long inhabited their homelands before the European �discovery� of the Pacific in the 16th century. European exploration can be divided into three phases: Spanish and Portuguese, Dutch, and English and French. The Spanish and Portuguese period began with the voyages in the 1520s of Ferdinand Magellan and, after his death, of his crew members. Later discoveries

Sea Buckthorn

2005-01-05T17:41:00.000-08:00

Also called �Sallow Thorn� (Hippophae rhamnoides, family Elaeagnaceae), willowlike shrub growing to about 2.5 m (about 8 feet) high with narrow leaves that are silvery on the underside and globose, orange-yellow fruits about 8 mm ( 1/3 inch) in diameter. It is common on sand dunes along the eastern and southeastern coasts of Great Britain and is widely distributed in the mountains of Europe and Asia. The sea

Bexley

2005-01-04T11:52:00.000-08:00

Outer borough of eastern London, part of the historic county of Kent, on the south bank of the River Thames. It extends to the borough of Bromley in the south. Bexley was established in 1965 by the amalgamation of the former boroughs of Bexley and Erith, the urban district of Crayford, and part of Chislehurst and Sidcup. Within the borough are such areas as (roughly from north

Hawes, Harriet Ann Boyd

2005-01-03T07:23:00.000-08:00

Harriet Boyd graduated from Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1892; thereafter she taught ancient and modern languages for four years, first as a private tutor in Henderson, North Carolina, and then at a girls' school in Wilmington,

Pedro Juan Caballero

2005-01-02T13:27:00.000-08:00

Town, eastern Paraguay, founded in 1899. It lies in the Amambay Mountains at 2,296 feet (700 m) above sea level, opposite Ponte Por�, Braz. Pedro Juan Caballero is the region's largest town and principal trade centre. The hinterland is utilized primarily for cattle ranching and coffee growing. In the town are a government delegation, a radio station, a commerce school, a teachers college,

Allegany

2005-01-01T09:23:00.000-08:00

County, western Maryland, U.S. It consists of an irregular neck of land between Pennsylvania to the north and West Virginia to the south (the North Branch Potomac River constituting the border with West Virginia). The county rests on part of the Allegheny Plateau and includes Rocky Gap State Park, Green Ridge State Forest, and the scenic gorge of Cumberland Narrows (1,000 feet

Trabzon

2004-12-31T22:40:00.000-08:00

Also called �Trebizond�, historically �Trapezus� city, capital of Trabzon il (province), northeastern Turkey. It lies on a wide bay on the southeastern shore of the Black Sea backed by high ranges of the Pontic Mountains, which separate it from the central Anatolian Plateau. The heart of the city is on a triangle of tableland between two deep ravines, with remains of an ancient Roman-built harbour at its base. At its southern

Alaska, Transportation

2004-12-30T08:13:00.000-08:00

High costs of transportation continue to sap Alaska's economic development, largely because the major transportation links, both internal and external, are by air, which provides the fastest way to cross Alaska's great distances and formidable terrain. Two dozen airlines serve Alaska, with daily service for passengers and cargo from the South 48 and Canada, Europe,

Grundschule

2004-12-29T03:32:00.000-08:00

Before the 1920s, upper-class German children attended the Vorschule, a three-year course of preparation for secondary school (which usually began at age 9). Working-class children generally terminated their education at age 14 upon completing Volksschule (primary school).

Literature, Hebrew.

2004-12-28T22:15:00.000-08:00

The main events in Hebrew literature in 1998 were S. Yizhar's new novel, Malcomia Yefaifia ("Lovely Malcomia") and Amos Oz's innovative novel Oto hayam ("The Same Sea"). Yizhar, considered one of the best Israeli novelists after S.Y. Agnon, had not published a work of fiction for almost 30 years until the early 1990s, when he began producing a new novel about every two years. Despite his long,

Kahneman, Daniel

2004-12-27T09:49:00.000-08:00

Kahneman attended Hebrew University (B.A.,

Abbot

2004-12-26T06:56:00.000-08:00

Late Latin and Greek� Abbas,� the superior of a monastic community that follows the Benedictine Rule (Benedictines, Cistercians, Camaldolese, Trappists) and of certain other orders (Premonstratensians, canons regular of the Lateran). The word derives from the Aramaic ab (�father�), or aba (�my father�), which in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) and in New Testament Greek was written

Pereda, Jos� Mar�a De

2004-12-25T14:14:00.000-08:00

Spanish writer, the acknowledged leader of the modern Spanish regional novelists. Born of a family noted for its fervent Catholicism and its traditionalism, Pereda looked an authentic hidalgo. An older brother provided him with an income that allowed him to become a writer. His first literary effort was the Escenas

R�gio, Jos�

2004-12-24T06:03:00.000-08:00

R�gio began his literary career while still a student at the University of Coimbra with the publication of his lyric-dramatic Poemas de Deus e do

Faial Island

2004-12-23T21:43:00.000-08:00

Formerly �Fayal Island, �Portuguese �Ilha do Faial� Portuguese island forming part of the Azores archipelago, in the North Atlantic Ocean. Its area of 67 square miles (173 square km) was increased by 1 square mile (2.5 square km) because of volcanic activity in 1957 - 58. The centre of the island consists of a perfectly shaped volcano, Mount Gordo. Faial (meaning �beech wood�) was named for the wax myrtle, once abundant, which its discoverers mistook

Kildare, Thomas Fitzgerald, 10th Earl Of

2004-12-22T17:02:00.000-08:00

When his father, the Irish lord deputy Gerald, 9th Earl of Kildare, was called to London in February 1534 to answer charges of

Kama

2004-12-21T16:41:00.000-08:00

In the mythology of India, the god of love. During the Vedic age, he personified cosmic desire, or the creative impulse, and is called the first-born of the primeval chaos that makes all later creation possible. In later periods he is depicted as a handsome youth, attended by heavenly nymphs, who shoots love-producing flower-arrows. His bow is of sugarcane, his bowstring

Chrissie, Lake

2004-12-20T18:05:00.000-08:00

The lake lies in the farming region known as New Scotland, which was settled about 1866 by Alexander McCorkindale.

Papin, Denis

2004-12-18T21:34:00.000-08:00

Papin assisted the Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens

Anders, William A(lison)

2004-12-17T17:34:00.000-08:00

U.S. astronaut who participated in the Apollo 8 flight (Dec. 21 - 27, 1968), in which the first manned voyage around the Moon was made. The astronauts, including Anders, Frank Borman, and James Lovell, remained in an orbit about 70 miles (112 km) above the surface of the Moon for about 20 hours, transmitting television pictures back to Earth and verifying that lunar landmarks could be

Spa

2004-12-16T08:07:00.000-08:00

The practice of �taking the waters� for therapeutic purposes reached its heyday in the 19th century, but springs have been considered places of healing at many

Kermadec Islands

2004-12-15T17:53:00.000-08:00

Volcanic island group in the South Pacific Ocean, 600 mi (1,000 km) northeast of Auckland, New Zealand; they are a dependency of New Zealand. They include Raoul (Sunday), Macauley, and Curtis islands and l'Esperance Rock and have a total land area of 13 sq mi (34 sq km). Raoul, the largest (11.3 sq mi), has rugged coastal cliffs that rise to Mt. Mumukai (1,723 ft [525 m]). It is heavily wooded and fertile, but its indigenous

Arrau, Claudio

2004-12-14T10:03:00.000-08:00

After studying privately in Santiago for two years, Arrau went to Berlin, where he studied with Martin Krause, a pupil of Franz Liszt, from 1912 to 1918. His serious career began with a recital in Berlin in 1914, and during the next decade he toured

Great Basin National Park

2004-12-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

The park consists mainly of the southern part of the Snake Range, a chain of peaks that trend north-south and rise abruptly from the surrounding desert