CruelRail

Colebrook-cameron Commission

2005-03-18T00:06:00.000-08:00

Committee sent by the British government in 1829–32 to investigate its colonial government in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and to make recommendations for administrative, financial, economic, and judicial reform. Most of the recommendations were accepted; they signified for Ceylon the first manifestation of constitutional government, the first steps toward modernizing

Xenophon

2005-03-17T15:05:00.000-08:00

The most personal of his writings is Anabasis (or Anabasis Kyrou, “The Expedition of Cyrus”), published probably under a nom de guerre. The narrative excels in graphic details, but the fictitious speeches with which it is adorned have a contrived and artificial air. It is an account by a young man, somewhat romantic, excited by danger and discovery, receptive of impressions,

Sri Lanka, Relief

2005-03-14T16:29:00.000-08:00

The Central Highlands

Caccini, Giulio

2005-03-13T17:31:00.000-08:00

Also called Giulio Romano singer and composer whose songs greatly helped to establish and disseminate the new monodic music introduced in Italy about 1600. This is music in which an expressive melody is accompanied by evocative chords, as opposed to the traditional polyphonic style with its complex interweaving of several melodic

Gaucher's Disease

2005-03-11T08:54:00.000-08:00

Rare inherited metabolic disorder characterized by anemia, mental and neurologic impairment, yellowish pigmentation of the skin, and bone deterioration resulting in pathological fractures. Gaucher's disease results when a defect in the body's synthesis of the enzyme glucocerebrosidase allows the lipid glucocerebroside to accumulate in the body's storage

Alkaptonuria

2005-03-08T16:52:00.000-08:00

Rather rare (one in 200,000 births) inherited disorder of protein metabolism characterized by an inability of the body to metabolize the amino acids tyrosine and phenylalanine. In the normal metabolic pathway of tyrosine, homogentisic acid is converted to maleylacetoacetate in the liver by the enzyme homogentisate 1,2-dioxygenase. This enzyme is not active in individuals

Wells, Horace

2005-03-07T07:08:00.000-08:00

While practicing in Hartford, Conn., in 1844, Wells noted the pain-killing properties of nitrous oxide (“laughing gas”) during a laughing-gas road show and thereafter used it in performing painless dental operations. He was allowed to demonstrate the method at the Massachusetts

Udon Thani

2005-03-04T07:55:00.000-08:00

Town, northeastern Thailand, near the northern (Laotian) border. Udon Thani is the major town of the northern Khorat Plateau and is served by road, rail, and air. The surrounding area produces rice, livestock, timber, and freshwater fish. Pop. (1986 est.) 82,706.

Jáchymov

2005-03-03T07:56:00.000-08:00

Spa town, Západoceský kraj (region), Czech Republic. It lies at the foot of Mount Klínovec, the highest summit in the Ore Mountains (Krušné hory), just north of Karlovy Vary. A silver-mining centre for the Holy Roman Empire, the town reached its peak in the 16th century, when its mines were owned by the counts of Šlik (German: Schlik). The German monetary unit taler, or thaler, from which

Aurobindo, Sri

2005-03-01T08:23:00.000-08:00

Aurobindo's education began in a Christian convent school in Darjeeling, and then, still a boy, he was sent to England for further schooling. He entered the University of Cambridge, where he became proficient in two

Waddington, William Henry

2005-02-27T01:01:00.000-08:00

The son of an English manufacturer living in France

Packing

2005-02-25T00:03:00.000-08:00

In mathematics, a type of problem in combinatorial geometry that involves placement of figures of a given size or shape within another given figure—with greatest economy or subject to some other restriction. The problem of placement of a given number of spheres within a given volume of space is an example of a packing problem.

Genetic Disease, Human, Techniques

2005-02-23T08:10:00.000-08:00

One of the major applications of somatic cell genetics to clinical medicine is in the area of prenatal diagnosis by genetic amniocentesis. This procedure permits the accurate prediction of some fetal diseases. The procedure is usually performed under a local anesthetic during the 15th to 17th week of pregnancy. By means of a needle introduced into the uterus, some

Olympus Mons

2005-02-20T14:37:00.000-08:00

Volcano on the planet Mars, the highest point on the planet and the largest known volcano in the solar system. Centred at 19° N, 133° W, Olympus Mons consists of a central edifice 21 km (13 miles) high and 540 km (335 miles) across. Around its perimeter an outward-facing cliff ascends as high as 10 km (6 miles) above the surrounding area. At the summit is an 85-km- (53-mile-) diameter crater, or caldera, comprising

Integral

2005-02-18T21:07:00.000-08:00

In mathematics, either a numerical value equal to the area under the graph of a function for some interval (definite integral) or a new function the derivative of which is the original function (indefinite integral). These two meanings are related by the fact that a definite integral of any function that can be integrated can be found using the indefinite integral

Chan-chiang

2005-02-16T07:53:00.000-08:00

Originally Chan-chiang was a minor fishing port in the area dominated by the city of Hai-k'ang (Lei-chou), some 22 miles (35 km) to the southwest, and at one time harboured a notorious

Nizhnevartovsk

2005-02-14T11:38:00.000-08:00

City and port, Khanty-Mansi autonomous okrug (district), Tyumen oblast (province), west-central Russia. It lies along the right bank of the Ob River. The city grew rapidly, especially in the 1970s, as a result of the discovery of large oil fields nearby. Along with Surgut, Nizhnevartovsk is a major administrative centre of the middle Ob oil fields. It also has a gas-processing plant.

Ventidius, Publius

2005-02-12T10:35:00.000-08:00

In his youth, Ventidius was captured by the forces of the Roman general Pompeius Strabo in his native town of Asculum Picenum, which had joined the revolt (90–88) of Rome's Italian

Performing Arts, Iberia.

2005-02-11T19:27:00.000-08:00

Two Catalan directors made notable films; Ventura Pons's Anita no perd

Guadalajara

2005-02-09T16:27:00.000-08:00

Guadalajara was founded in 1531 and was relocated several times in the following decade, under pressure from Indians. During the 16th century

Szechwan, Relief

2005-02-06T16:19:00.000-08:00

Szechwan is bordered on all sides by lofty highlands. To the north, the Tsinling Mountains extend from east to west and attain an elevation between 11,000 and 13,000 feet (3,300 and 4,000 metres) above sea level. The limestone Ta-pa Mountains rise to approximately 9,000 feet on the northeast, while the Ta-lou Mountains, a lower and less continuous range, with an average elevation of 5,000 to 7,000 feet, border the

China, The Plateau of Tibet

2005-02-04T20:15:00.000-08:00

This great massif occupies about one-fourth of the whole country. A large part of the plateau lies at elevations above 13,000–15,000 feet. The border ranges of the plateau are even higher, with individual peaks rising to heights of 23,000–26,000 feet. The interior slopes of these border mountains, as a rule, are gentle, while the exterior slopes are very steep. In its eastern and southern periphery,

Arts, Central Asian, Nomadic cultures

2005-02-03T20:59:00.000-08:00

During the 1st millennium BC and the 1st centuries of the Christian era, certain nomadic tribes affected the course of Central Asia's artistic history. Cyrus II the Great, the ancient Persian king who founded the Achaemenian Empire, was killed by the nomadic Massagetai when campaigning in eastern Iran in 530 BC. At the time, the Saka tribe was pasturing its herds in the Pamirs, central

Arts, Central Asian, Nomadic cultures

2005-01-31T16:44:00.000-08:00

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

Wolfe, Tom

2005-01-27T21:38:00.000-08:00

After studying at Washington and Lee University (B.A., 1951) and Yale University (Ph.D., 1957), Wolfe wrote for several newspapers, including the Springfield

Oman, Gulf Of

2005-01-25T22:44:00.000-08:00

Northwest arm of the Arabian Sea, between the eastern portion (Oman) of the Arabian Peninsula to the southwest and Iran to the north. The gulf is 200 miles (320 km) wide between Cape al-Hadd in Oman and Gwadar Bay on the Pakistan–Iran border. It is 350 miles (560 km) long and connects with the Persian Gulf to the northwest through the Strait of Hormuz. The small ports along the gulf include Suhar,

Salamander

2005-01-24T06:44:00.000-08:00

Any member of a group of about 400 species of amphibians that have tails and that constitute the order Caudata. The order comprises 10 families, among which are newts and salamanders proper (family Salamandridae) as well as hellbenders, mud puppies, and lungless salamanders. They most commonly occur in freshwater and damp woodlands,

Gur-e Amir

2005-01-21T10:19:00.000-08:00

Mausoleum in Samarkand, now in Uzbekistan, of the 14th-century Mongol conqueror Timur, or Tamerlane. Though it has suffered from time and earthquakes, it is still sumptuous. It consists of a chapel crowned with a dome, enclosed by a wall, and fronted by an archway. The interior walls are covered with elegant turquoise arabesques and inscriptions in gold.

Toprakkala

2005-01-19T00:45:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Topraq-qal'ah, or Toprak Kale, site of a Khwarezmian walled city near modern Dashhowuz in Uzbekistan. The city was inhabited from about the 1st century BC until the 6th century AD, a period during which Khwarezm was an independent feudal state. A palace at Toprakkala, which may have been the capital of that state, contained lifelike paintings and sculptures executed in a style reflecting the influence

Afghanistan, The 7th18th centuries

2005-01-17T03:43:00.000-08:00

Under the Hephthalites and Sasanids, many of the Afghan princedoms were influenced by Hinduism. The Hindu kings of the Shahi family were concentrated in the Kabul and Ghazni areas. Excavated sites of the period include a major Hindu Shahi temple north of Kabul and a chapel in Ghazni that contains both Buddhist and Hindu statuary, indicating that there was a mingling of these

Adams, Charles Follen

2005-01-16T10:27:00.000-08:00

During the American Civil War he was wounded and taken prisoner. In 1872 he began writing humorous verses for periodicals and newspapers in a Pennsylvania German dialect. Collections of his verse are Leedle Yawcob Strauss, and Other Poems (1877) and

Aldan River

2005-01-13T22:40:00.000-08:00

River in eastern Siberia, Russia. It rises in the Stanovoy Range and flows northwestward in a huge curve to join the Lena River at Batamay. The Aldan River is 1,412 miles (2,273 km) long, the second largest tributary (after the Vilyuy) of the Lena, and drains more than 281,500 square miles (729,000 square km). Its annual discharge varies considerably both seasonally and annually. The river is navigable

Niterói

2005-01-12T17:34:00.000-08:00

City, Rio de Janeiro estado (“state”), eastern Brazil. It lies on the eastern side of the entrance to Guanabara Bay. The city of Rio de Janeiro on the opposite side is connected to Niterói by ferry, railroad, and, since 1974, the President Costa e Silva Bridge, spanning Guanabara Bay; this is one of the longest bridges in Brazil. Both cities are located on low ground at the heads of inlets,

Pahlavi Language

2005-01-10T11:55:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Pehlevi major form of the Middle Persian language (see Persian language), which existed from the 3rd to the 10th century and was the official language of the Sasanian empire (AD 226–652). It is attested by Zoroastrian books, coins, and inscriptions. Pahlavi books were written in a confusing writing system of Aramaic origin called the Pahlavi alphabet. The major part of Pahlavi literature is

Furniture, Japan

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

Thin

Colosseum

2005-01-05T00:13:00.000-08:00

Originally called Flavian Amphitheatre giant amphitheatre built in Rome under the Flavian emperors. Construction of the Colosseum was begun sometime between AD 70 and 72 during the reign of Vespasian; the structure was officially dedicated in AD 80 by Titus in a ceremony that included 100 days of games. Later, in AD 82, Domitian completed the work by adding the uppermost story. Unlike earlier amphitheatres, which were nearly

Chandigarh

2005-01-04T13:07:00.000-08:00

City and union territory of India. Located on the plain just south of the Shiwalik Hills, about 150 miles (240 kilometres) north of New Delhi, Chandigarh is bounded by the state of Haryana on the east and by the state of Punjab on all other sides. The territory is administered by a chief commissioner, who is appointed by the president of India's union (central) government. The city of

Zizka, Jan, Count

2005-01-02T20:19:00.000-08:00

Zizka grew up at the court of the German king Wenceslas (King Wenceslas

Acroterion

2004-12-31T13:02:00.000-08:00

Plural Acroteria, in architecture, decorative pedestal for an ornament or statue placed atop the pediment of a Greek temple; the term has also been extended to refer to the statue or ornament that stands on the pedestal. Originally a petal-shaped ornament with incised pattern, such as the honeysuckle, was placed on the ridge and at the eaves at either side of the pediment. Later this ornamentation

Elf Owl

2004-12-29T05:59:00.000-08:00

(Micrathene whitneyi), tiny bird of prey of the family Strigidae (order Strigiformes) of Mexico and the southwestern United States. It is the smallest owl and is about the size of a sparrow. In the cactus deserts, elf owls are among the most common birds, but they also inhabit forested areas, dry grasslands, and wet savanna. They nest in holes in cacti

Nepenthales

2004-12-27T22:23:00.000-08:00

An order of carnivorous plants, belonging to the class Magnoliopsida, also called dicotyledon (characterized by two seed leaves). The order consists of three families: the Droseraceae, containing the sundews and the Venus's-flytrap; the Nepenthaceae, consisting of the Old World pitcher plants; and the Sarraceniaceae, containing the New World pitcher plants. All of

Claiborne, William

2004-12-24T08:57:00.000-08:00

Claiborne immigrated to Virginia in 1621 as a surveyor for the colony, and in 1626 he was appointed secretary of state for Virginia and a member of the governor's royal council. The following year he received a license to trade with the Indians along Chesapeake Bay, and after exploring the

Earth, The atmosphere

2004-12-22T00:55:00.000-08:00

The Earth is surrounded by a relatively thin atmosphere consisting of a mixture of gases, primarily molecular nitrogen (77 percent) and molecular oxygen (21 percent). This gaseous envelope, commonly called the air, also contains much smaller amounts of gases such as argon, carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapour, along with minute solid and liquid particles in

China, Population movements

2004-12-19T22:22:00.000-08:00

Censuses taken during the Sui and T'ang dynasties provide some evidence as to population changes. Surviving figures for 609 and for 742, representing two of the most complete of the earlier Chinese population registrations, give totals of some 9,000,000 households, or slightly more than 50,000,000 persons. Contemporary officials considered that only about 70 percent of the population was

Policy

2004-12-16T22:48:00.000-08:00

Policy, a true lottery initiated in the United States by Italian-Americans, derives its name from the Italian polizza (“receipt,” or “ticket”) and retains only occasional

Amylase

2004-12-14T01:30:00.000-08:00

Alpha-amylase is widespread

Marrah Mountains

2004-12-13T21:11:00.000-08:00

Arabic Jabal Marra, mountain range, a rugged volcanic chain extending for 100 miles (160 km) west-southwest of Al-Fashir, in west-central Sudan. The highest point of the Nile-Lake Chad watershed, the mountains reach heights of more than 10,000 feet (3,000 m). Some intermittent tributaries of the Al-'Arab River rise on the southern flanks.

Abell, A.s.

2004-12-10T13:04:00.000-08:00

Abell left school at the age of 14 to become a clerk in a store dealing in West Indian wares. He had hoped to become a printer, and in 1822 he was taken on as an apprentice by the Providence

Pavement

2004-12-08T14:53:00.000-08:00

In civil engineering, durable surfacing of a road, airstrip, or similar area. The primary function of a pavement is to transmit loads to the sub-base and underlying soil. Modern flexible pavements contain sand and gravel or crushed stone compacted with a binder of bituminous material, such as asphalt, tar, or asphaltic oil. Such a pavement has enough plasticity to absorb

Aguilar, Grace

2004-12-07T04:49:00.000-08:00

Aguilar was the daughter of Sephardic Jews. She was tutored in the classics at home and (even in adulthood) was not permitted to move outside

Uvalde

2004-12-04T20:37:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1856) of Uvalde county, southwestern Texas, U.S. It lies along the Leona River, some 85 miles (135 km) west-southwest of San Antonio. Fort Inge was built (1849) on the Leona's east bank, and the site was settled in 1852 by W.W. Arnett, who was joined in 1853 by Reading W. Black and H.L. Stratton. Black opened a trading post (1855) and called the community Encina. The city was renamed Uvalde in 1856, when it was incorporated

Midgard

2004-12-02T17:30:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Midgardr (Old Norse: Middle Abode) , also called Manna-Heim (“Home of Man”) in Norse mythology, the Middle Earth, the abode of mankind, made from the body of the first created being, the giant Aurgelmir (Ymir). According to legend, the gods killed Aurgelmir, rolled his body into the central void of the universe, and began fashioning the Midgard. Aurgelmir's flesh became the land, his blood the oceans, his bones the mountains, his teeth the cliffs, his

Saint Bartholomew's Hospital

2004-11-30T09:10:00.000-08:00

Byname Bart's or Saint Bart's, oldest hospital in London. It lies just southeast of the Central Markets in the Smithfield area of the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by the Augustinian monk Rahere, who also founded the adjacent priory (the surviving part of which is now the church of Saint Bartholomew-the-Great). In 1381 Wat Tyler, the leader of the Peasant's Revolt, was brought to the hospital for treatment

Tien Shan, Glaciation

2004-11-29T22:51:00.000-08:00

The total area of the Tien Shan glaciers is some 3,900 square miles, of which approximately four-fifths is in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakstan. Largest among the several glacial areas are the region around Mount Han-t'eng-ko-li and Victory Peak and the O-ha-pu-t'e Mountains. There also are many glaciers in the Kok Shaal-Tau Range, the Akshiyrak Range, the Trans-Ili Alatau Range, and the

Switzerland, Literature

2004-11-26T22:16:00.000-08:00

In the field of literature, Switzerland has produced Jean-Jacques Rousseau; the historian and critic Jacob Burckhardt; Germaine de Staël, whose home at Coppet became a centre of European literary life during the 18th century; Gottfried Keller; Conrad Ferdinand Meyer; Jeremias Gotthelf; Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz; and the Nobel Prize winners Hermann Hesse and Carl Spitteler.

Springfield

2004-11-25T00:38:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1818) of Clark county, west-central Ohio, U.S., on Buck Creek and Mad River, 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Dayton. The original settlement by James Demint and migrant Kentuckians in 1799 was on the site of the village of Old Piqua (birthplace of Tecumseh, the Shawnee Indian chief). It was laid out in 1801 and named by the wife of Simon Kenton, an Indian scout who had settled there, for the springs

Offa's Dyke

2004-11-22T05:40:00.000-08:00

Great English earthwork extending linearly, with some gaps, from the River Severn near Chepstow to the seaward end of the Dee estuary, passing for 169 miles (270 kilometres) through the counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Radnorshire, Montgomeryshire, Shropshire, Denbighshire, and Flintshire. It was built at the orders of Offa, the great Mercian king of the second

Sha-shih

2004-11-20T05:36:00.000-08:00

Sha-shih was a large city in the state of Ch'u from the 6th century BC onward. The Ch'in dynasty (221–206 BC) and their successors,

Arabian Basin

2004-11-18T02:08:00.000-08:00

Submarine basin of the southern Arabian Sea, rising to meet the submerged Carlsberg Ridge to the south, the Maldive Island chain to the southeast, India and Pakistan to the northeast, Iran to the north, and the Arabian Peninsula to the west. It has a maximum depth of 19,275 feet (5,875 m) and is separated by the Carlsberg Ridge from the deeper Somali Basin to the south and west. The sill

Durand, Guillaume

2004-11-17T21:30:00.000-08:00

After receiving a doctorate in canon law at Bologna, Italy, Durand taught briefly there and later at Modena, Italy. Some time after 1260 he was appointed auditor (a judge commissioned to hear cases of appeal brought to the Holy See). At the second Council of Lyon (1274), he helped draft the statutes

Kelley, Florence

2004-11-14T04:24:00.000-08:00

Kelley graduated from Cornell University in 1882. After a year spent conducting evening classes for working women in Philadelphia, she traveled to Europe, where she attended the University

World War I, The Balkan front, 1918

2004-11-12T03:04:00.000-08:00

At Salonika the Allies' politically ambitious but militarily ineffective commander in chief, General Sarrail, was replaced at the end of 1917 by General Guillaumat, who was in turn succeeded in July 1918 by General L.-F.-F. Franchet d'Esperey, who launched a major offensive in September with six Serbian and two French divisions against a seven-mile front held by only one Bulgarian

Schall Von Bell, Adam

2004-11-11T08:13:00.000-08:00

Schall arrived in China in 1622, having been trained in Rome in the astronomical system of Galileo. He soon impressed the Chinese with the superiority of Western astronomy and was given an important official post translating Western astronomical

Narita

2004-11-10T10:26:00.000-08:00

City, Chiba ken, central Honshu, Japan. It is located approximately 30 miles (50 km) east of Tokyo, on the Ryoso Plateau. Originally an agricultural region producing rice, peanuts (groundnuts), sweet potatoes, and other vegetables, Narita developed as a temple town of the Shinsho Temple, which is visited by millions of Buddhist pilgrims each year, thus generating an extensive

Ussuri River

2004-11-09T20:04:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Wu-su-li Chiang, or (Pinyin) Wusuli Jiang, northward-flowing tributary of the Amur River that for a considerable distance forms the boundary between China (Heilungkiang province) and Russia (Siberia). The Ussuri is formed by the confluence of the Ulakhe and Arsenyevka rivers, both of which rise on the southwestern slopes of the Sikhote-Alin mountains. Its length from the source of the Ulakhe is 565 miles (909 km), and

Narita

2004-11-07T13:22:00.000-08:00

British honorary institution founded by Edward VII in 1902 to reward those who provided especially eminent service in the armed forces or particularly distinguished themselves in science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. The order is limited to only 24 members, although the British monarch can appoint foreigners as “honorary members.” The order carries no

Atharvaveda

2004-11-06T18:28:00.000-08:00

Collection of hymns and incantations that forms part of the ancient sacred literature of India known as the Vedas. See Veda.

Nation

2004-11-06T06:21:00.000-08:00

In medieval universities, a group of students from a particular region or country who banded together for mutual protection and cooperation in a strange land. In some universities nations were responsible for educating and examining students. Each one was governed by its own proctor, who was elected for terms varying from one month (at the University of Paris) to

Argentina, Government

2004-11-05T16:15:00.000-08:00

Argentina is a federal union of 23 provincias and a federal capital district, the city of Buenos Aires. Federalism came to Argentina only after a long struggle between proponents of a central government and supporters of provincial interests. The constitution of 1853 was modeled on that of the United States. The constitution promulgated in 1994 provided for consecutive

Amber

2004-11-03T21:42:00.000-08:00

Amber occurs as irregular nodules, rods, or droplike shapes

Haber, Fritz

2004-11-02T16:31:00.000-08:00

German physical chemist, winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1918) for his development of a method of synthesizing ammonia. With Carl Bosch, he invented a process for the large-scale production of ammonia for use in nitrogen fertilizer.

Mizo Hills

2004-11-02T06:30:00.000-08:00

Formerly Lushai Hills, mountain range in southeastern Mizoram state, northeastern India, forming part of the north Arakan Yoma system. They rise to about 7,000 feet (2,125 m), and their slopes are covered with thick evergreen forest containing valuable timber and bamboo. In the intermontane valleys, slash-and-burn agriculture and some terrace cultivation are practiced.

Insurance, Limits of liability

2004-11-01T09:22:00.000-08:00

Practically all liability insurance policies contain limitations on the maximum amount of a judgment payable under the contract. Further, the cost of defense, supplementary payments, and punitive damages may or may not be paid in addition to the judgment limits. Separate limits often apply to claims for property damage and bodily injury. An annual aggregate limit

Chelsea

2004-10-31T19:53:00.000-08:00

The city's economy was severely affected by the economic recession of the 1980s, and Chelsea was placed

Camden

2004-10-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

Inner borough of London, part of the historic county of Middlesex, to the north of Westminster and the historic City of London. It extends some 5 miles (8 km) from below High Holborn (road) to the northern heights of Hampstead Heath. Camden was created a borough in 1965 by the amalgamation of the former metropolitan boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and St. Pancras. Camden includes

Heidegger, Martin

2004-10-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

German philosopher, counted among the main exponents of 20th-century Existentialism. He was an original thinker, a critic of technological society, a leading ontologist of his time, and an influence on a younger generation of continental European cultural personalities.

Atheriniform

2004-10-27T18:10:00.000-07:00

Any member of the order Atheriniformes, containing 15 families of marine and freshwater spiny-finned fishes, including the flying fishes (see photograph), needlefishes, silversides, and cyprinodonts. The last group, the Cyprinodontidae, is an abundant tropical and subtropical family that includes the guppies, mollies, swordtails, and many

Mercury Poisoning

2004-10-27T01:41:00.000-07:00

Harmful effects of various mercury compounds on body tissues and functions. Certain modern industrial and biological processes concentrate mercury compounds to dangerous levels. Mercury is used on a substantial scale in numerous industries, such as the manufacture of chemicals, paints and various household items, pesticides, and fungicides. In addition to

Sculpture, Devotional images and narrative sculpture

2004-10-25T03:03:00.000-07:00

The production of devotional images has been one of the sculptor's main tasks, and many of the world's greatest sculptures are of this kind. They include images of Buddha and the Hindu gods; of Christ, the Virgin, and the Christian saints; of Athena, Aphrodite, Zeus, and other Greek gods; and of all the various gods, spirits, and mythical beings of Rome, the ancient Near East, pre-Columbian

Anti-saloon League

2004-10-24T23:33:00.000-07:00

The leading organization lobbying for prohibition in the United States in the early 20th century. It was founded as a state society in Ohio in 1893, but its influence spread rapidly, and in 1895 it became a national organization. It drew most of its support from Protestant evangelical churches, and it lobbied at all levels of government for legislation to prohibit the manufacture

Vieira, Luandino

2004-10-23T13:23:00.000-07:00

Vieira immigrated with his parents to Angola in 1938, living in and around the musseques (African quarters) of Luanda. His writings reflect the fusion of Kimbundu (the language of the Mbundu people) and a variety of Portuguese that is the unique language of the musseque. Vieira, a white Angolan, committed

Wells, Henry

2004-10-22T09:52:00.000-07:00

Wells gained experience as an agent for Harnden's Express at Albany, N.Y., and then as a founder of Livingston, Wells, and Pomeroy's Express, operating between Albany and Buffalo. In 1844, together with William Fargo (q.v.) and Daniel Dunning,

Museums, History Of, The spread of the European model

2004-10-21T15:53:00.000-07:00

Before the end of the 18th century the phenomenon of the museum had spread to other parts of the world. In 1773 in the United States the Charleston Library Society of South Carolina announced its intention of forming a museum. Its purpose was to promote the better understanding of agriculture and herbal medicine in the area. Another early institution, the Peale Museum, was

Austral Islands

2004-10-20T15:04:00.000-07:00

French Îles Australes, also called Tubuai Islands, southernmost archipelago of French Polynesia. Volcanic in origin, they are part of a vast submerged mountain chain (probably a southeasterly extension of the Cook Islands) in the central South Pacific. Scattered for 800 miles (1,300 km), they comprise five inhabited islands—Raivavae (6 square miles [16 square km]), Rapa (15 square miles [39 square km]), Rimatara, (3 square miles [8 square km]), Rurutu

Ryan, Thomas Fortune

2004-10-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

Born in poverty and orphaned at the age of 14, Ryan came to New York at 21, joining

Cueva, Juan De La

2004-10-18T16:47:00.000-07:00

Cueva differed from his contemporaries in having his plays published, thus transmitting to posterity intact examples of early, albeit mediocre, Spanish drama. Cueva's plays in the collection Primera parte

Conservation

2004-10-18T14:09:00.000-07:00

Although the idea of conservation is probably as old as the human species, the use of the word in its present context is relatively recent. Over the years conservation

Konovalov, Aleksandr Ivanovich

2004-10-17T00:35:00.000-07:00

Born into a prosperous family engaged in textile manufacturing, Konovalov was educated in England

Talbot, William Henry Fox

2004-10-16T07:07:00.000-07:00

English chemist, linguist, archaeologist, and pioneer photographer. He is best known for his development of the calotype (q.v.), an early photographic process that was an improvement over the daguerreotype of the French inventor L.-J.-M. Daguerre. Talbot's calotypes involved the use of a photographic

African Literature, Xhosa

2004-10-14T23:29:00.000-07:00

As in Zulu literature, the themes of the heroic past and of the opposition between beneficent tradition and harsh modernity are much in evidence. The question of how best to come to terms with change is also central in Xhosa literature. Much important early writing, expressing Xhosa aspirations and views on Christianity and tradition, appeared in the Xhosa-language

Shabonee

2004-10-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

By birth an Ottawa Indian, Shabonee married the daughter of a Potawatomi chief and succeeded him as tribal leader. Although an adherent

Saxifragaceae

2004-10-12T18:08:00.000-07:00

The saxifrage family of flowering plants, in the order Rosales, comprising 36 genera of mostly perennial dicotyledonous herbs. The members are cosmopolitan in distribution but native primarily to northern cold and temperate regions. Members of the family have leaves that characteristically alternate along the stem and sometimes are deeply lobed or form rosettes.

Jacksonville

2004-10-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

City, Jackson county, southwestern Oregon, U.S. It lies along Jackson Creek, just west of Medford, in the foothills of the Siskiyou Mountains. It began in 1851–52 as a mining camp with placer gold discoveries along the creek (named for a prospector). By the 1920s mining activities had declined together with the population, and, bypassed by the railroad, in 1927 the city lost to Medford its status

Caruso, Enrico

2004-10-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

Caruso was of a poor family and was the 18th of 20 children. Although he was a musical child who sang Neapolitan folk songs everywhere and joined his parish choir at the age of nine, he received no formal

Moreto (y Cabaña), Agustín

2004-10-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

The son of Italian parents, Moreto studied law at the University of

Kochanowski, Jan

2004-10-08T22:34:00.000-07:00

Born into the country nobility, Kochanowski studied at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and later, between 1552 and 1559, at the University of Padua in Italy. On his return to Poland in 1559, he served as a secretary at the royal court in Kraków. He married about 1575 and retired to his family

Knebel, Karl Ludwig Von

2004-10-07T15:34:00.000-07:00

After serving in the Prussian army, Knebel became tutor to Prince Konstantine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. While traveling with the prince and his older brother,

Saanen

2004-10-06T15:14:00.000-07:00

Popular breed of dairy goat originating in the Saanen Valley of Switzerland. The coat of the Saanen is fine and light-coloured, with white being generally preferred. In build it is similar to the Toggenburg, with smallish frame, straight or dished face, and erect ears. As is that of other goats, milk of the Saanen is whiter and more easily digestible than cow's milk. The breed

Aschoff, Karl Albert Ludwig

2004-10-06T09:19:00.000-07:00

German pathologist who recognized the phagocytic (capable of engulfing bacteria and other substances) activity of certain cells found in diverse tissues and named them the reticuloendothelial system (1924). He also described (1904) the inflammatory nodule (called Aschoff's bodies, or nodules) in heart muscle

Deflation

2004-10-05T22:33:00.000-07:00

In geology, erosion of loose material from flat areas of dry, uncemented sediments such as those occurring in deserts, dry lake beds, floodplains, and glacial outwash plains. Clay and silt-sized particles are picked up by turbulent eddies in wind and may be carried for hundreds of kilometres; they later settle to form loess deposits. Local areas subjected to deflation

CruelRail

Colebrook-cameron Commission

Xenophon

Sri Lanka, Relief

Caccini, Giulio

Gaucher's Disease

Alkaptonuria

Wells, Horace

Udon Thani

Jáchymov

Aurobindo, Sri

Waddington, William Henry

Packing

Genetic Disease, Human, Techniques

Olympus Mons

Integral

Chan-chiang

Nizhnevartovsk

Ventidius, Publius

Performing Arts, Iberia.

Guadalajara

Szechwan, Relief

China, The Plateau of Tibet

Arts, Central Asian, Nomadic cultures

Arts, Central Asian, Nomadic cultures

Wolfe, Tom

Oman, Gulf Of

Salamander

Gur-e Amir

Toprakkala

Afghanistan, The 7th18th centuries

Adams, Charles Follen

Aldan River

Niterói

Pahlavi Language

Furniture, Japan

Colosseum

Chandigarh

Zizka, Jan, Count

Acroterion

Elf Owl

Nepenthales

Claiborne, William

Earth, The atmosphere

China, Population movements

Policy

Amylase

Marrah Mountains

Abell, A.s.

Pavement

Aguilar, Grace

Uvalde

Midgard

Saint Bartholomew's Hospital

Tien Shan, Glaciation

Switzerland, Literature

Springfield

Offa's Dyke

Sha-shih

Arabian Basin

Durand, Guillaume

Kelley, Florence

World War I, The Balkan front, 1918

Schall Von Bell, Adam

Narita

Ussuri River

Narita

Atharvaveda

Nation

Argentina, Government

Amber

Haber, Fritz

Mizo Hills

Insurance, Limits of liability

Chelsea

Camden

Heidegger, Martin

Atheriniform

Mercury Poisoning

Sculpture, Devotional images and narrative sculpture

Afghanistan, The 7th18th centuries