LongChest

Steichen, Edward

2005-03-23T04:59:00.000-08:00

Pioneer of American photography who, with Alfred Stieglitz, was a leader of the Photo-Secession Group. His style evolved from painterly impressionism to a sharp realism after World War I. His portraits of artists and celebrities from the 1920s and '30s are remarkable evocations of character. In 1955 he organized the “Family of Man” exhibition

Tephroite

2005-03-22T19:12:00.000-08:00

Olivine mineral found only in iron-manganese ore deposits and skarns and in metamorphosed manganese-rich sediments, such as those of Cornwall, Eng., and Franklin, N.J., in the United States. Tephroite (manganese silicate; Mn2SiO4) forms a solid solution series with the olivine fayalite in which iron completely replaces manganese in the molecular structure. Minerals intermediate

Alegría, Ciro

2005-03-19T13:32:00.000-08:00

Educated at the National College of San Juan, Alegría acquired a firsthand knowledge of Indian life in his native province of Huamachuco; this first appeared in his novel La serpiente de oro (1935; The Golden Serpent), which portrays the diverse human life to be found along

Tarantella

2005-03-17T04:20:00.000-08:00

Couple folk dance of Italy characterized by light, quick steps and teasing, flirtatious behaviour between partners; women dancers frequently carry tambourines. The music is in lively 6/8 time. Tarantellas for two couples are also danced. The tarantella's origin is connected with tarantism, a disease or form of hysteria that appeared in Italy in the 15th to the 17th

Animals, Master Of The

2005-03-15T20:25:00.000-08:00

Supernatural figure regarded as the protector of game in the traditions of early hunting peoples. The name was actually devised by Western scholars who have studied such hunting societies. In some traditions, the master of the animals is believed to be the ruler of the forest and guardian of all animals; in others, he is the ruler of only one species, usually a large

Palayankottai

2005-03-14T08:09:00.000-08:00

Also called Palamcottah, city, southern Tamil Nadu state, southeastern India. It lies across the Tambraparni River from its twin city of Tirunelveli. Palayankottai is a residential and educational centre in the Tirunelveli urban agglomeration. It is a major centre of Christian missions in southern India and has private Christian schools and Christian and other colleges affiliated with

Buchholz, Horst

2005-03-12T20:23:00.000-08:00

German film actor (b. Dec. 4, 1933, Berlin, Ger.—d. March 3, 2003, Berlin), enjoyed a lengthy career in several countries and was best known in the U.S. for his role in The Magnificent Seven (1960) and the Billy Wilder farce One, Two, Three (1961). The strikingly handsome Buchholz had his first screen role in Marianne de ma jeunesse (1954). He won a best young actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for the 1955 film Himmel

Ottonian Art

2005-03-09T01:27:00.000-08:00

Painting, sculpture, and other visual arts produced during the reigns of the German Ottonian emperors and their first successors from the Salic house (950–1050). As inheritors of the Carolingian tradition of the Holy Roman Empire, the German emperors also assumed the Carolingian artistic heritage, the conscientious revival of late antique and Early Christian art forms

Parabasis

2005-03-07T06:12:00.000-08:00

Plural parabases an important choral ode in Greek Old Comedy delivered by the chorus at an intermission in the action while facing and moving toward the audience. It was used to express the author's views on political or religious topics of the day.

X-trisomy

2005-03-05T02:57:00.000-08:00

Sex chromosome disorder of human females, in which three X chromosomes are present, rather than the normal pair. More common than Turner's syndrome, where only one X chromosome is present, X-trisomy usually remains undetected because affected individuals appear normal, experience puberty, and are usually fertile. Statistical studies suggest a slightly increased

Pontevedra

2005-03-03T20:35:00.000-08:00

Provincia, northwestern Spain, smallest of the four provinces of the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Galicia. It is mountainous, with an Atlantic coastline deeply indented by the picturesque rías bajas (inlets) of Arosa, Pontevedra, and Vigo. Numerous traditional fiestas held throughout the province contribute, with the scenic beauty and fine beaches,

Brandt, Bill

2005-03-01T04:25:00.000-08:00

Following early schooling in Germany and a stay in Switzerland, during which he took up photography, Brandt briefly worked in the Paris studio of the American artist and photographer Man Ray in 1929. In 1931 he returned

Poland, History Of, Augustus II

2005-02-27T08:19:00.000-08:00

A personal union with Saxony, where Augustus II was a strong ruler, seemed at first to offer some advantages to Poland. A king with a power base of his own might reform the Commonwealth, which was still a huge state and potentially a great power. But such hopes proved vain. Pursuing schemes of dynastic greatness, Augustus II involved unwilling Poland in a coalition war

Alfonso Vi

2005-02-25T01:36:00.000-08:00

Byname Alfonso the Brave , Spanish Alfonso el Bravo king of Leon (1065–70) and king of reunited Castile and Leon (1072–1109), who by 1077 had proclaimed himself “emperor of all Spain” (imperator totius Hispaniae). His oppression of his Muslim vassals led to the invasion of Spain by an Almoravid army from North Africa (1086). His name is also associated with the national hero of Spain, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (El Cid), who was alternatively

Quahog

2005-02-24T13:08:00.000-08:00

Edible species of clam (q.v.).

Manaslu I

2005-02-21T00:14:00.000-08:00

Also called Kutang I one of the world's highest mountains (26,781 feet [8,163 m]); it lies in the Himalayas of north Nepal, 38 miles (61 km) north of the town of Gurkha. The summit of this snow- and glacier-covered peak was first reached on May 9 and 11, 1956, by two separate Japanese parties.

Arishtanemi

2005-02-20T04:46:00.000-08:00

While the last two Tirthanakaras may be considered historical personages, Arishtanemi is a legendary figure. Said to have lived 84,000 years before the coming of the next Tirthankara, Parshvanatha, he is believed to have been the contemporary and cousin of the Hindu god Krishna

Swanton, John Reed

2005-02-17T06:05:00.000-08:00

Swanton studied with anthropologist Franz Boas at Columbia University for two years but received

Indriya

2005-02-13T01:54:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit: “faculty”), according to Indian philosophy, the instruments of a person's direct perception of the outside world. They are of two kinds, motoric and sensory. The motoric faculties are those of speaking, grasping, walking, ejaculating, and evacuating. The sensory faculties, or senses, are hearing, touching, seeing, tasting, and smelling. Both sets of faculties are

Dhrupad

2005-02-11T17:35:00.000-08:00

The classical dhrupad, heavy and majestic in style, required great breath control. It was used in praise

Allen, Florence Ellinwood

2005-02-10T16:25:00.000-08:00

Allen was a descendant of American Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen. She graduated from Western Reserve University's College for Women in 1904 and for two years studied music in Berlin. An injury prevented

Furniture, Mixed forms

2005-02-07T03:14:00.000-08:00

Apart from the kinds of storage furniture already mentioned, there are numerous combination forms. An ordinary table can be used as a writing desk, and the only differences between the typical French Rococo writing desk of the 18th century and other tables are the drawers in the underframe and the leather-covered top. The novelty of Louis XV's writing desk consists

Norfolk

2005-02-06T20:24:00.000-08:00

County, eastern Massachusetts, U.S., southwest and south of Boston, bordered by Massachusetts Bay to the northeast and Rhode Island to the southwest. It consists of an upland region, including the Blue Hills, that is drained by the Charles and Neponset rivers. The main parklands are Wrentham State Forest and F. Gilbert Hills, Bristol Blake, and Webb Memorial state

Gabin, Jean

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

Gabin was the son of a music-hall comedian (stage name Jean Gabin). In 1923 he began a theatrical career in the Folies-Bergère but left the stage after his film debut in Chacun sa chance (1931). He achieved fame in Maria Chapdelaine (1934) and later in Pépé le Moko (1937), directed

Mold

2005-01-28T20:44:00.000-08:00

Also spelled mould, in biology, a conspicuous mass of mycelium (masses of vegetative filaments, or hyphae) and fruiting structures produced by various fungi (division Mycota). Fungi of the genera Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Rhizopus form mold and are associated with food spoilage and plant diseases.

Manchester Ship Canal

2005-01-26T23:13:00.000-08:00

Waterway opened in 1894 linking Eastham, Merseyside, Eng., to the city of Manchester. The canal made Manchester accessible to large oceangoing vessels. It is 36 miles (58 km) long, 45–80 feet (14–24 m) wide, and varies in depth from 28 to 30 feet (about 9 m); it has five locks.

Actaeon

2005-01-24T04:36:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, son of the god Aristaeus and Autonoë (daughter of Cadmus, the founder of Thebes in Boeotia); he was a Boeotian hero and hunter. According to Ovid's Metamorphoses, Actaeon accidentally saw Artemis (goddess of wild animals, vegetation, and childbirth) while she was bathing on Mount Cithaeron; for this reason he was changed by her into a stag and was pursued

Beaconsfield

2005-01-23T14:44:00.000-08:00

The wide main street of the old town of Beaconsfield, bordered by 18th-century houses, contrasts with the modern town, in which commuters to London—28 miles (39 km) to the southeast—reside. Beaconsfield was adopted by Benjamin Disraeli, the 19th-century British

Sénégal River

2005-01-20T01:56:00.000-08:00

Pierre Michel, Les Bassins des fleuves Sénégal et Gambie: étude géomorphologique, 3 vol. (1973), is a fundamental work, providing a detailed description of topography, geology, hydrology, and soils in the Sénégal River basin. Louis Papy, “La Valée du Sénégal: agriculture traditionnelle et riziculture mécanisée,” Les Cahiers d'outre-mer, 4(16):277–324 (October/December 1951), covers hydrology, human exploitation, landscape, cultural traditions, and navigation, with excellent illustrations. Études sénégalaises, no. 9, Connaissance du Sénégal, fascicle 2, Hydrographie, by Félix Brigaud (1961), also studies the river's hydrology. Colette Le Blanc, “Un Village de la vallée du Sénégal: Amadi-Ounaré,” Les Cahiers d'outre-mer, 17(66):117–148 (April/June 1964), describes in detail the environment and daily life of a village on the Sénégal River.

Rowan College Of New Jersey

2005-01-19T16:04:00.000-08:00

Public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Glassboro, New Jersey, U.S. It includes the schools of Business, Education, Engineering, Fine and Performing Arts, and Liberal Arts and Sciences. In addition to some 30 bachelor's degree programs, the college offers a range of master's degree programs. There is a branch campus in Camden. University facilities include

Karbala'

2005-01-16T05:28:00.000-08:00

The city's religious importance derives from the Battle of Karbala' (AD 680) between the Sunnite and Shi'ite sects of Islam. Husayn ibn 'Ali, the Shi'ite leader and grandson of Muhammad, was killed, and his tomb remains one of the greatest Shi'ite shrines and pilgrimage

Roman Catholicism, The nature of the church

2005-01-15T22:59:00.000-08:00

In 1965 M.-J. le Guillou, a Roman Catholic theologian, defined the church in these terms: “The Church is recognized as a society of fellowship with God, the sacrament of salvation, the people of God established as the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit.” The progress of Roman Catholic theology can be seen in the contrast between this statement and the definition still

Radical

2005-01-12T11:58:00.000-08:00

Also called Free Radical, in chemistry, molecule that contains at least one unpaired electron. Most molecules contain even numbers of electrons, and the covalent chemical bonds holding the atoms together within a molecule normally consist of pairs of electrons jointly shared by the atoms linked by the bond. Most radicals may be considered to have arisen by cleavage of normal electron-pair

Braccio Da Montone

2005-01-11T02:15:00.000-08:00

Born of a noble Perugian family, Braccio became the pupil of Alberico da Barbiano, the first great Italian condottiere, initiating a lifelong rivalry with another

Venetian School

2005-01-09T00:10:00.000-08:00

The founder of the dynasty of painters that was most important

Computers, Grace Murray Hopper

2005-01-07T23:35:00.000-08:00

While the high cost of computer resources placed a premium on fast hand-coded machine-language programs, one individual worked tirelessly to promote high-level programming languages and their associated compilers. Grace Murray Hopper taught mathematics at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, from 1931 to 1943 before joining the United States Naval Reserve. In 1944 she

Mithra

2005-01-04T03:50:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Mithras, Sanskrit Mitra, in ancient Indo-Iranian mythology, the god of light, whose cult spread from India in the east to as far west as Spain, Great Britain, and Germany. (See Mithraism.) The first written mention of the Vedic Mitra dates to 1400 BC. His worship spread to Persia and, after the defeat of the Persians by Alexander the Great, throughout the Hellenic world. In the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, the cult of

Aselli, Gaspare

2005-01-03T11:15:00.000-08:00

Aselli became professor of anatomy and surgery at the University of Pavia and practiced at Milan. His discovery of the lacteals (lymph vessels that take up the end products of fat digestion from the intestine) occurred

Hyesan

2005-01-03T06:46:00.000-08:00

City, northern North Korea. As a frontier city lying on the upper stream of the Yalu River (Amnok-kang), it was a fortress during the Yi dynasty (1392–1910), under the name of Hyesanjin. In winter it is one of the coldest places in Korea; a temperature of -44° F (-42° C) was recorded in 1915. It is the starting point of water transportation on the Yalu. Logs from the nearby Paektu Mountain area, which contains

Tragicomedy

2004-12-31T03:55:00.000-08:00

Dramatic work incorporating both tragic and comic elements. When coined by the Roman dramatist Plautus in the 2nd century BC, the word denoted a play in which gods and men, masters and slaves reverse the roles traditionally assigned to them, gods and heroes acting in comic burlesque and slaves adopting tragic dignity. This startling innovation may be seen in Plautus'

France, History Of, Charles X, 182430

2004-12-30T17:32:00.000-08:00

Charles X, the younger brother of Louis XVIII, had spent the Revolutionary years in exile and had returned embittered rather than chastened by the experience. What France needed, in his view, was a return to the unsullied principle of divine right, buttressed by the restored authority of the established church. The new king and his Cabinet—still headed by Villèle—promptly

Ryzhkov, Nikolay

2004-12-30T16:36:00.000-08:00

Little is known with certainty of Ryzhkov's early career. He seems to have begun his working career as a miner and then, by 1950, was a shift foreman at the Ordzhonikidze Uralmash plant (for heavy machinery) in the Urals, later rising to positions of shop superintendent and deputy manager. In 1956 he joined the Communist Party, and in 1959 he graduated

Switzerland, Tourism

2004-12-27T16:01:00.000-08:00

International tourist receipts amount to a considerable sum in Switzerland, but expenditures by Swiss abroad are also significant. Whatever surplus occurs is used to cover any deficit in the Swiss balance of payments. During the Middle Ages healing spas such as Baden, Bad Pfäfers, Leukerbad, and Rheinfelden flourished, while mountain-pass hospices such as those

Factor, Max, Jr.

2004-12-26T02:38:00.000-08:00

(FRANCIS FACTOR), U.S. cosmetician who, with his father, developed Pan-Cake makeup so actors would not appear green in colour motion pictures and, when it began to be worn offscreen as well, mass-produced it and built their company into an international cosmetics empire (b. Aug. 18, 1904--d. June 7, 1996).

Gaillard, Château

2004-12-25T06:23:00.000-08:00

(French: “Saucy Castle”), 12th-century castle built by Richard the Lion-Heart on the Andelys cliff overlooking the Seine River in France; substantial portions of it still stand. Château Gaillard, the strongest castle of its age, guarded the Seine River valley approach to Normandy. Skillfully designed and executed, with the base of the keep carved out of the natural

Eliphaz The Temanite

2004-12-23T23:25:00.000-08:00

In three speeches of increasing severity, Eliphaz attempts to reconcile Job to God and induce him to repent. In

Finland, Recreation

2004-12-23T18:07:00.000-08:00

In Finland the basic national sport—which originally was a necessary means of winter transportation—is cross-country skiing. Nationalism also encouraged the development of special proficiency, which was fostered by ski fairs and competitions held at Oulu beginning in the late 1890s. An interest in other athletics developed from the time that the Finns took part

Mauriac, François

2004-12-21T23:21:00.000-08:00

Novelist, essayist, poet, playwright, journalist, and winner in 1952 of the Nobel Prize for Literature. He belonged to the lineage of French Catholic writers who examined the ugly realities of modern life in the light of eternity. His major novels are sombre, austere psychological dramas set in an atmosphere of unrelieved tension. At the heart

Spahn, Warren

2004-12-21T04:49:00.000-08:00

In full Warren Edward Spahn American professional baseball player whose total of 363 major-league victories established a record for left-handed pitchers. His feat of winning 20 or more games in each of 13 seasons also was a record for left-handers. He set still another mark by striking out at least 100 batters each year for 17 consecutive seasons

Jungle Babbler

2004-12-20T20:53:00.000-08:00

Any of about 32 species of songbirds constituting the tribe Pellorneini of the babbler family Timaliidae. Found from Africa to Malaysia and the Philippines, these drab birds with slender, often hook-tipped bills skulk in forest undergrowth. An example is the striped jungle babbler, or spotted babbler (Pelloreum ruficeps), of Southeast Asia—16 centimetres (6 1/4 inches) long,

Young, Frederick Archibald ("freddie")

2004-12-19T02:07:00.000-08:00

British cinematographer whose visual flair and artistry added immeasurably to British films for more than 70 years, beginning with his work as an assistant cameraman on the 1922 silent Rob Roy. He was particularly known for the stunning beauty he brought to a series of films by director David Lean, three of which--Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Dr. Zhivago (1965), and Ryan's Daughter (1970)--earned

Schenk, Ard

2004-12-18T16:51:00.000-08:00

In Sapporo, Schenk dominated the Olympic competition, winning handily in the 1,500-, 5,000-, and 10,000-metre races. He was denied a sweep of the men's speed-skating

Arras Lace

2004-12-17T15:15:00.000-08:00

Bobbin lace made at Arras, Fr., from the 17th century onward and similar to that of Lille. Although Arras was known for its gold lace, its popularity rested on its exceptionally pure-white lace, stronger than Lille but with similar floral patterns. Arras lace was worn at the coronation (1714) of George I of England. In the 19th century Arras produced a light variety of lace called mignonette.

Arsenide

2004-12-16T17:21:00.000-08:00

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

Chicago Literary Renaissance

2004-12-15T22:09:00.000-08:00

The flourishing of literary activity in Chicago during the period from approximately 1912 to 1925. The leading writers of this renaissance—Theodore Dreiser, Sherwood Anderson, Edgar Lee Masters, and Carl Sandburg—realistically depicted the contemporary urban environment, decrying the loss of traditional rural values in the increasingly industrialized and materialistic

Kubrick, Stanley

2004-12-14T21:49:00.000-08:00

Having become interested in photography in high school, Kubrick became a staff photographer

Novo Mesto

2004-12-13T08:28:00.000-08:00

City, southern Slovenia, on the Krka River. Novo Mesto was founded in 1365 by Rudolf IV of Austria and became an important military base on the Ottoman frontier in the 15th century. Though ravaged twice by fire (1576 and 1664) and once by plague (1599), Novo Mesto developed into an important regional centre. The modern city has a hydroelectric power plant as well as textile, automobile, and chemical-pharmaceutical

Vyala

2004-12-12T09:32:00.000-08:00

Occurring in a relatively naturalistic form in

Irish Sweepstakes

2004-12-12T02:58:00.000-08:00

In full Irish Hospitals' Sweepstakes one of the largest lotteries promoted internationally; it was authorized by the Irish government in 1930 to benefit Irish hospitals. A private trust was formed to run the lottery and market tickets throughout the world. During the 57 years of its existence, the contest derived more revenue from the United States than from any other country, although all the tickets were

Anastasius Sinaita, Saint

2004-12-10T23:24:00.000-08:00

Theologian and abbot of the Monastery of St. Catherine, on Mt. Sinai, whose writings, public disputes with various heretical movements in Egypt and Syria, and polemics against the Jews made him in his day a foremost advocate of orthodox Christian doctrine, specifically on the person and work of Christ, and provided key documents for the history

Number System

2004-12-10T14:49:00.000-08:00

Any of various sets of symbols and the rules for using them to express quantities as the basis for counting, comparing amounts, performing calculations, determining order, making measurements, representing value, setting limits, abstracting quantities, coding information, and transmitting data. The most elementary representation of numbers is the tally or unitary

Epidemic

2004-12-08T20:26:00.000-08:00

An occurrence of disease that is temporarily of high prevalence. An epidemic occurring over a wide geographical area is called a pandemic. The rise and decline in epidemic prevalence of an infectious disease is a probability phenomenon dependent upon transfer of an effective dose of the infectious agent from an infected individual to a susceptible one. After

Lukas, J(ay) Anthony

2004-12-06T06:26:00.000-08:00

American journalist and author (b. April 25, 1933, New York, N.Y.--d. June 5, 1997, New York), wrote meticulous examinations of the societal and racial fissures in the U.S. He was known and highly regarded for his tenacity, perfectionism, and painstaking research and won a number of the country's top literature and journalism awards, including two Pulitzer Prizes. Lukas was educated at Harvard

Hippel, Theodor Gottlieb Von

2004-12-05T10:00:00.000-08:00

German writer of the late Enlightenment and a disciple of the philosopher Immanuel Kant. Although he was a minor writer of his time, his works have enjoyed an unusually long-lasting popularity and can now be seen to have foreshadowed the novels of Jean Paul (Johann Friedrich

Staghead

2004-12-03T21:47:00.000-08:00

Progressive slow death of tree branches from the top down. See dieback.

National Aquarium

2004-12-03T10:16:00.000-08:00

The facility houses more than 1,000 specimens of nearly 200 species of fishes in 54 individual display tanks ranging in capacity from 285 to

Fethiye

2004-12-02T23:18:00.000-08:00

Town, southwestern Turkey. It lies along a sheltered bay in the eastern part of the Gulf of Fethiye on the Mediterranean Sea that is backed by the western Taurus ranges. Fethiye's enlarged port is an outlet for the minerals and timber of the region. The hinterland is a major centre of chromium mining. Fethiye stands on the site of the ancient Lycian city of Telmessus, whose

Sacra Rappresentazione

2004-12-02T03:07:00.000-08:00

(Italian: “holy performance”), in theatre, 15th-century Italian ecclesiastical drama similar to the mystery plays of France and England and the auto sacramental of Spain. Originating and flourishing in Florence, these religious dramas represented scenes from the Old and New Testaments, from pious legends, and from the lives of the saints. The plays were didactic, using

Moscoso, Mireya

2004-11-30T06:21:00.000-08:00

Moscoso was born to a poor family in a rural town. After graduating from high school, she worked as a secretary and in the early 1960s met Arnulfo Arias, a former president of Panama. She began working on his political campaigns, and on October 1, 1968, he was reelected. When he was deposed nine days later

Wagner, Richard

2004-11-30T03:15:00.000-08:00

In 1869 Wagner had resumed work on The Ring which he now brought to its world-renouncing conclusion. It had been agreed with the King that the tetralogy should be first performed in its entirety at Munich, but Wagner broke the agreement, convinced that a new type of theatre must be built for the purpose. Having discovered a suitable site at the Bavarian town of Bayreuth, he

Self-fertilization

2004-11-27T21:46:00.000-08:00

Fusion of male and female gametes (sex cells) produced by the same individual. Self-fertilization occurs in bisexual organisms, including most flowering plants, numerous protozoans, and many invertebrates. Autogamy, the production of gametes by the division of a single parent cell, is frequently found in unicellular organisms such as the protozoan Paramecium

Leonardo Pisano

2004-11-27T00:55:00.000-08:00

English Leonardo of Pisa , original name Leonardo Fibonacci medieval Italian mathematician who wrote Liber abaci (1202; “Book of the Abacus”), the first European work on Indian and Arabian mathematics.

Vratsa

2004-11-26T21:48:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Vratca >, or Vraca town, northwestern Bulgaria. It is situated in the northern foothills of the western Balkan Mountains at the point where the Leva River emerges from its picturesque Vratsata gorge. The town was moved to its present position in the early 15th century after the Turks had destroyed a previously standing Bulgarian fortress. Under the Turks, Vratsa was a prosperous trading

Arabia, Ad-Dahna'

2004-11-26T15:53:00.000-08:00

The Ad-Dahna' belt, separating Najd from eastern Arabia, is a sand stream moving slowly over 800 miles from An-Nafud to the Rub' al-Khali. Usually it is no more than 50 miles wide. The sands, frequently reddish in colour, vary greatly in form; particularly in the central stretches, long parallel ridges rise to heights of approximately 150 feet, while some dunes are three times that height.

Aerial Perspective

2004-11-24T07:08:00.000-08:00

Also called Atmospheric Perspective, method of creating the illusion of depth, or recession, in a painting or drawing by modulating colour to simulate changes effected by the atmosphere on the colours of things seen at a distance. Although the use of aerial perspective has been known since antiquity, Leonardo da Vinci first used the term aerial perspective in his Treatise on

Resources, Allocation Of

2004-11-23T17:33:00.000-08:00

In free-enterprise

Tea Olive

2004-11-22T20:07:00.000-08:00

Any plant of the genus Osmanthus in the family Oleaceae, often grown for its fragrant flowers and shining, evergreen foliage. There are more than 30 species, native to eastern North America, Mexico, southeastern Asia, Hawaii, and New Caledonia. Sweet olive, or sweet osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans), a 10-metre (33-foot) tree, produces an edible fruit. Its leaves, used to perfume tea, hide

Tasmania, Flag Of

2004-11-22T09:38:00.000-08:00

The first official local flags of Tasmania, ordered by Governor Frederick Aloysius Weld, were published in the colony's gazette on November 9, 1875. The usual British Blue Ensign and Red Ensign (for use respectively by government vessels and by those privately owned) were to have a white cross added. At the fly end of each flag a Southern Cross was to be formed of white stars

Amazon

2004-11-20T05:32:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, member of a race of women warriors. The story of the Amazons probably originated as a variant of a tale recurrent in many cultures, that of a distant land organized oppositely from one's own. The ascribed habitat of the Amazons necessarily became more remote as Greek geographic knowledge developed. When the Black Sea was colonized by Greeks, it

Abacha, Sani

2004-11-19T05:25:00.000-08:00

Many found it downright curious how in 1997 Gen. Sani Abacha, who had ruthlessly seized power in Nigeria in a coup four years earlier, was sending troops to Sierra Leone in an effort to defend democracy there. Earlier he had assisted peacekeeping forces in Liberia, and it was thought that Abacha was also providing economic aid to support democracy in that country. At home,

France, History Of, The Grand Empire

2004-11-17T14:49:00.000-08:00

Napoleon now had a free hand to reorganize Europe and numerous relatives to install on the thrones of his satellite kingdoms. The result was known as the Grand Empire. Having annexed Tuscany, Piedmont, Genoa, and the Rhineland directly into France, Napoleon placed the Kingdom of Holland (which until 1806 was the Batavian Commonwealth) under his brother Louis, the Kingdom

Maclaine, Shirley

2004-11-17T10:32:00.000-08:00

After graduating from high school, MacLaine, who had studied ballet since age three, moved to New York City, where she worked as a dancer and model. In 1954 she was hired as a chorus girl and understudy

Balashikha

2004-11-16T04:08:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Balašicha, city, Moscow oblast (province), western Russia, situated 15 miles (25 km) east of Moscow on the banks of the Pekhorka River. Balashikha developed in the 19th century, first as the site of a cloth factory and later as a centre for papermaking. In Soviet times it underwent rapid growth and was incorporated in 1939. The city is now a heavy-industrial centre, specializing in machine building.

Gundisalvo, Domingo

2004-11-14T16:44:00.000-08:00

Gundisalvo may have studied

Kukenaam Falls

2004-11-12T07:26:00.000-08:00

Spanish Salto Cuquenán, high waterfalls on the Guyana-Venezuelan border. They spring from a table mountain, Kukenaam (8,620 feet [2,627 m]), to the northwest of Mount Roraima (9,094 feet) and are the beginning of the Cuquenán River, a tributary of the Caroni River. The falls have a 2,000-foot (600-metre) drop, one of the highest drops in South America.

Mauguin, Charles

2004-11-09T19:36:00.000-08:00

Mauguin was educated at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, and in 1919 he joined the Faculty of Sciences

Malawi, Flag Of

2004-11-07T08:04:00.000-08:00

The British territory of Nyasaland (now Malawi) was granted a coat of arms on May 11, 1914. It showed a leopard standing on a rock against a white background, but the top of the shield was black bearing a golden sun. The Latin motto beneath, “Lux in tenebris,” is translated as “Light out of darkness”; it is suggestive of the British self-image as protectors and civilizers of the territory.

Arts, East Asian, Forms of the 16th18th centuries

2004-11-05T17:11:00.000-08:00

The flourishing of regional music-drama has continued throughout the centuries from the Sung dynasty until the present day. Musically they vary greatly in their instrumentation and particularly in their voice qualities. However, all tend to follow a tradition of using either standard complete pieces (lian-ch'ü) or stereotyped melodic styles (pan-ch'iang) in every

Wieman, Carl E.

2004-11-04T02:47:00.000-08:00

After studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (B.S., 1973), Wieman earned a Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1977. He then taught and conducted research

Deira

2004-11-02T04:14:00.000-08:00

A northern Anglo-Saxon kingdom in Britain which, by the last quarter of the 7th century AD, had been united with its neighbour Bernicia (q.v.) to form the kingdom of Northumbria. Deira stretched from the Humber to the Tees River. There is a tradition that its first recorded king, Aelle, reigned from 560 and that, on his death in 588 or 590, Deira was seized by Aethelric of Bernicia, whose son

Ashes

2004-10-31T05:21:00.000-08:00

Symbol of victory in the usually biennial cricket Test (international) match series between select national teams of England and Australia, first staged in 1877. Its name stems from an epitaph published in 1882 after the Australian team had won its first victory over England in England, at the Oval, London. The epitaph lamented that English cricket was dead and that its body

Alaska Highway

2004-10-28T23:29:00.000-07:00

Formerly Alcan Highway, road (1,523 miles [2,451 km] long) through the Yukon, connecting Dawson Creek, B.C., with Fairbanks, Alaska. It was previously called the Alaskan International Highway, the Alaska Military Highway, and the Alcan (Alaska-Canadian) Highway. It was constructed by U.S. Army engineers (March-November 1942) at a cost of $135 million as an emergency war measure to provide an overland military supply route

Nova

2004-10-27T14:29:00.000-07:00

Plural Novas, or Novae, any of a class of exploding stars whose luminosity temporarily increases from several thousand to as much as 100,000 times its normal level. A nova reaches maximum luminosity within hours after its outburst and may shine intensely for several days or occasionally for a few weeks, after which it slowly returns to its former level of luminosity. Stars that become novas are

Liquid Crystal

2004-10-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

A substance that flows as a liquid but maintains some of the ordered structure characteristic of a crystal. Certain organic substances when heated will not melt directly but will turn from a crystalline solid to a liquid-crystal (mesomorphic) state. Upon further heating, a temperature is reached at which a true (isotropic) liquid is formed. The liquid-crystal state

Hadley, Henry (kimball)

2004-10-23T20:58:00.000-07:00

Hadley studied in Boston and Vienna and in 1904 went to Germany, where in 1909 he conducted his one-act opera Safié. He conducted the Seattle Symphony Orchestra (1909–11), the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (1911–15), and the Manhattan Symphony Orchestra (1929–32) and was associate conductor of the New York

Kubin, Alfred

2004-10-21T10:37:00.000-07:00

In 1898 Kubin went to Munich, Bavaria, in the German Empire (now Germany), to study art. As a student, he discovered the works that would become his major influences: the fantastic

Harmony, Rise of the intervals of the third and the sixth

2004-10-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

Until the late 14th century the attitude toward consonance, especially among continental composers, adhered largely to the Pythagorean ideal, which accepted as consonances only intervals expressible in the simplest numerical ratios—fourths, fifths, and octaves. But in England the interval of the third (as from C to E) had been in common use for some time, although it

Christian I

2004-10-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

The son of Count Dietrich the Happy of Oldenburg and Hedvig of Holstein, Christian was elected to succeed Christopher

Hisdai Ibn Shaprut

2004-10-14T04:55:00.000-07:00

After becoming court physician to the powerful Umayyad caliph 'Abd ar-Rahman III, Hisdai gradually gained eminence in the Arab world, acting as

Arghun

2004-10-12T03:36:00.000-07:00

Upon the death of his father, Il-Khan Abagha (reigned 1265–82), Prince Arghun was a candidate for the throne but was forced to yield to a stronger rival, his uncle Tegüder. Arghun thereafter accused Tegüder's followers of having poisoned his father, protested