ClearBone

Sohak

2005-04-04T04:30:00.000-07:00

(Korean: “Western Learning”), in Korean history, the study of Western culture, introduced into Korea from the Chinese Ming and Ch'ing dynasties in the 17th and 18th centuries. In a broad sense, the term Sohak refers to the study of Western thought, religion, ethics, science, and technology. In a narrow sense, it sometimes refers only to the study of Western religion and ethics during

Seabury, Samuel

2005-04-04T04:12:00.000-07:00

Seabury was educated in medicine at Yale University and the University of Edinburgh. After he became a priest in 1753, he served parishes in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in Jamaica, New York, and in Westchester, New York; he also practiced

Excretion, Amphibians

2005-04-03T09:58:00.000-07:00

Direct evidence for the occurrence of filtration at the glomerulus was first provided by experiments on the amphibian kidney. Although amphibians are formally given the status of terrestrial animals, they are poorly adapted to life on land. They excrete nitrogen in the form of urea and cannot produce urine more concentrated than the blood. Their skins are permeable

Ile-ife

2005-04-02T13:38:00.000-08:00

Also called Ife, or Ife-lodun, town, Osun state, southwestern Nigeria. The town lies at the intersection of roads from Ibadan (40 miles [64 km] west), Ilesha, and Ondo. It is one of the larger centres and probably the oldest town of the Yoruba people. Considered by the Yoruba to be a holy city and the legendary birthplace of mankind, it was held to have been founded by a son of the deity Oduduwa and was certainly the

Okawa, Isao

2005-04-01T10:39:00.000-08:00

Japanese businessman (b. 1926, Osaka, Japan—d. March 16, 2001, Tokyo, Japan), was chairman of the Sega Corp. from 1984 until his death. Okawa was involved with a number of Japanese technology companies. He founded CSK Corp., a computer services company that was Sega's largest shareholder, and served on the boards of several other companies, including the ASCII Corp. and Bellsystem 24, Inc. As chairman

Sevan, Lake

2005-03-31T18:32:00.000-08:00

Lake in Armenia, with an area of 525 sq mi (1,360 sq km). Lying at 6,250 ft (1,905 m) above sea level in a mountain-enclosed basin, it drains by the Hrazdan River into the Aras River and to the Caspian Sea, but most of its water is lost by evaporation rather than by runoff. The lake is in two connected parts, the smaller but deeper Maly Sevan (northwest), with a maximum depth of 282 ft, and the Bolshoy Sevan (southeast),

Bara, Theda

2005-03-31T07:00:00.000-08:00

Theodosia Goodman attended the University of Cincinnati in 1903–05. In New York City she tried briefly

Bottle Gourd

2005-03-30T00:10:00.000-08:00

Many forms of the bottle gourd have been cultivated for specific purposes, and the sizes of the vines, leaves, and flowers, as well as the sizes and shapes of the fruits, vary greatly.

Ford, John

2005-03-29T22:44:00.000-08:00

American motion-picture director who was Hollywood's best-known director of westerns. He developed a distinctive directorial style characterized by effective cutting, an emphasis on action, colourful characterization, a sentimentalized vision of the past, and

Good Shepherd Sister

2005-03-29T18:48:00.000-08:00

Member of The Religious of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd (R.G.S.) , also called Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd a Roman Catholic order of religious devoted particularly to the care, rehabilitation, and education of girls and young women who have demonstrated delinquent behaviour. The congregation traces its history to an order founded by St. John Eudes in 1641 at Caen, Fr. This order, known as the Religious of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge, was virtually destroyed during the French

Adams, Gerry

2005-03-28T06:21:00.000-08:00

Gerard Adams was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Oct. 6, 1948, into a prominent Irish nationalist

Amu Darya

2005-03-26T16:32:00.000-08:00

English Amu River, Tajik Daryoi Amu, Turkmen Amyderya, Uzbek Amudaryo, ancient name Oxus River one of the longest rivers of Central Asia. It is formed by the confluence of the Vakhsh and Panj (Pyandzh) rivers and flows west-northwest to its mouth on the southern shore of the Aral Sea. In its upper course the Amu Darya forms part of Afghanistan's northern border with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. It then flows across the desert of eastern Turkmenistan

Molina, Luis De

2005-03-26T07:18:00.000-08:00

Molina's

Davis, Benjamin O., Jr.

2005-03-26T01:29:00.000-08:00

Davis studied at the University of Chicago before entering the United States Military Academy at West Point,

Rhyme Royal

2005-03-25T20:57:00.000-08:00

Rhyme also spelled rime seven-line iambic pentameter stanza rhyming ababbcc. The rhyme royal was first used in English verse in the 14th century by Geoffrey Chaucer in Troilus and Criseyde and The Parlement of Foules. Traditionally, the name rhyme royal is said to derive from The Kingis Quair (“The King's Book), attributed to James I of Scotland (1394–1437), but some critics trace the name to the French chant

Graysby

2005-03-25T17:12:00.000-08:00

Species of sea bass (q.v.).

Philip Ii

2005-03-25T14:13:00.000-08:00

Byname Philip Augustus, French Philippe Auguste the first of the great Capetian kings of medieval France (reigned 1179–1223), who gradually reconquered the French territories held by the kings of England and also furthered the royal domains northward into Flanders and southward into Languedoc. He was a major figure in the Third Crusade to the Holy Land in 1191.

Philip Ii

2005-03-23T20:05:00.000-08:00

Public broadcasting service over AM and FM radio networks and television networks in English and French, two national cable television channels, and shortwave radio, among other media in Canada. Advertising sales and, primarily, annual appropriations from Parliament finance the CBC's operations. It is especially noted for the high quality of its news and public

Vaishravana

2005-03-22T22:53:00.000-08:00

Alternate name for Kubera, the popular god of wealth in Hindu, Jaina, and Buddhist mythology. Among the four guardians of the world (lokapala), he is ruler of the North.

Heteropteran

2005-03-22T00:48:00.000-08:00

Any member of the insect order Heteroptera, which comprises the so-called true bugs. (Some authorities use the name Hemiptera; others consider both the heteropterans and the homopterans to be suborders of the Hemiptera.) This large group of insects, consisting of about 30,000 species, can be recognized by an X-shaped design on the back, which is formed by the wings at rest. A combination

Coster, Laurens Janszoon

2005-03-21T19:40:00.000-08:00

Little is known of this early printer, whose last name means “sacristan,” his title as an official of the Great Church of Haarlem. He is mentioned several times in records between 1417 and 1434 as alderman, tax assessor, and treasurer and is presumed to have died in a plague that struck

Mu'tazilah

2005-03-20T22:12:00.000-08:00

The name first appears in early Islamic history in the dispute over 'Ali's leadership of the Muslim community after the murder of the third caliph, 'Uthman (656). Those who would neither

Hesychius Of Alexandria

2005-03-20T02:56:00.000-08:00

Although nothing is known of his life, Hesychius indicated the comprehensive design of his lexicon in a letter prefacing the work. Entitled Synagoge pason

Tachylyte

2005-03-19T21:42:00.000-08:00

Also spelled tachylite glassy igneous rocks low in silica, such as basalt or diabase. Tachylytes are black with a pitchlike or resinous lustre; in thin sections they are characteristically brown and translucent, and the glass is crowded with granules of magnetite. Tachylytes are found only under conditions that imply rapid cooling, and they are much less common than are the corresponding

San-ming

2005-03-18T21:30:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Sanming, city in west-central Fukien sheng (province), China. San-ming lies along the Sha River, a southern tributary of the Min River, the valley of which provides the chief southwest-to-northeast route through central Fukien. Westward and southwestward routes fan out into the mountainous interior of Fukien, and to the south there is a good route via the valley of the Chiu-lung

Integrator

2005-03-18T21:05:00.000-08:00

The earliest integrator was a mechanical instrument called the planimeter (q.v.). The illustration (top) shows a simple mechanical integrator of the disk-and-wheel variety,

Arabia, History Of, Arabia since 1962

2005-03-18T14:27:00.000-08:00

Political changes in Yemen and Saudi Arabia during the early 1960s epitomized a vast transformation of the Arabian Peninsula that affected the lives of most of its inhabitants. In 1962 Egyptian-trained Yemeni officers led a coup d'état and invited Egypt to send troops to support the republic. The imam's forces, although backed by Saudi Arabia during five years of war against

Eye Disease

2005-03-17T21:42:00.000-08:00

This article briefly describes the more common diseases of the eye and its associated structures, and the methods used in examination and diagnosis; it also indicates the treatment and prognosis. The first part deals with conditions affecting the orbit, lids, and external eye, and the second with

Finland, Justice

2005-03-17T03:26:00.000-08:00

The Finnish judiciary is independent of the legislature and executive; judges are removable only by judicial sentence. There are municipal and rural district courts, held in cities and towns by the chief judge (oikeuspormestari) and assistants and in the country by a judge and jurors. Appeal from these courts lies to courts of appeal in Helsinki, Turku, Vaasa, Kuopio,

Olmi, Ermanno

2005-03-16T06:52:00.000-08:00

Olmi attended a science high school and took courses in acting at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Milan. He learned filmmaking while employed at Edisonvolta, a major Milanese electric

Nathan, George Jean

2005-03-16T03:54:00.000-08:00

Nathan graduated from Cornell University in 1904 and joined the staff of the New York Herald. Beginning in 1906, he was at various times drama critic for numerous magazines and newspapers, but his name is particularly

Swimming

2005-03-15T22:13:00.000-08:00

In zoology, self-propulsion of an animal through water. See aquatic locomotion.

Wick

2005-03-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

Thread, strip, or bundle of fibres that, by capillary action, draws up the oil of a lamp or the melted wax in a candle to be burned. By 1000 BC, wicks of vegetable fibres were used in saucer-type vessels containing olive oil or nut oil in order to provide light, and by 500–400 BC these wicks were in general domestic use. See lamp.

Irkutsk

2005-03-14T04:52:00.000-08:00

City and administrative centre of Irkutsk oblast (province), east-central Russia. The city lies along the Angara River at its confluence with the Irkut River. It was founded as a wintering camp in 1652, during the first Russian colonization of the area; a fort was built in 1661, and Irkutsk rapidly became the main centre of Cisbaikalia and of the Russian trade route to China and

Ahmed Vefik Pasa

2005-03-13T18:14:00.000-08:00

Born into a family of diplomats, Ahmed Vefik was appointed (1849) imperial commissioner in the Danubian principalities and later ambassador to Persia and to France. He presided

Yakuza

2005-03-13T07:39:00.000-08:00

In Japan, gangster, a member of a boryokudan (q.v.), or gang of racketeers. The word yakuza, which has come to mean “good for nothing,” is derived from a worthless hand in a Japanese card game similar to blackjack: the cards ya-ku-za (“eight-nine-three”), when added up, exceed the winning number of 19.

Alemán, Mateo

2005-03-12T14:40:00.000-08:00

Descended from Jews who had been forcibly converted to Catholicism, Alemán expressed many aspects of the experiences and feelings of the New Christians in 16th-century Spain. His most important literary work, Guzmán de

Bernard, Tristan

2005-03-12T01:12:00.000-08:00

Bernard's merit consisted in limiting his literary ambitions to his capabilities. His works were characterized by a tone of light cynicism and a cross fire of

O'brien, Tim

2005-03-11T23:47:00.000-08:00

After studying political science at Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota (B.A., 1968), O'Brien fought in Vietnam. When he returned to the United States, he studied intermittently at Harvard University and worked for the Washington Post (1971–74) as an intern and reporter. He collected

Aesthetics, Medieval aesthetics

2005-03-11T02:28:00.000-08:00

St. Thomas Aquinas devoted certain passages of his Summa Theologiae (c. 1266–73) to the study of beauty. To his thinking, man's interest in beauty is of sensuous origin, but it is the prerogative of those senses that are capable of “contemplation”—namely, the eye and the ear. Aquinas defines beauty in Aristotelian terms as that which pleases solely in the contemplation of it and recognizes

Qadarif, Al-

2005-03-10T17:16:00.000-08:00

Also spelled El-gedaref, town, east-central Sudan. It is situated about 120 miles (200 km) southwest of Kassala town. Located at an elevation of 1,975 feet (608 m), it is a commercial centre for the cotton, cereals, sesame seeds, and fodder produced in the surrounding area. The Gash Irrigation Project is located to the northwest of al-Qadarif. Light industries include cotton ginning and spinning mills and soap factories.

Earth Sciences, Geologic sciences

2005-03-10T15:25:00.000-08:00

The development of the geologic sciences in the 20th century has been influenced by two major “revolutions.” The first involves dramatic technological advances that have resulted in vastly improved instrumentation, the prime examples being the many types of highly sophisticated computerized devices. The second is centred on the development of the plate tectonics

Caledonian Orogenic Belt

2005-03-09T04:58:00.000-08:00

Range of mountains situated in northwestern Europe, developed as a result of the opening, closure, and destruction of the Iapetus Ocean in the period from the start of the Cambrian (540 million years ago) to the end of the Silurian (about 408 million years ago). The final collision was between a northwestern European and a North American–Greenland continent, and it gave rise

Fairfax (of Cameron), Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Baron

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

The son of Ferdinando, 2nd Baron Fairfax of Cameron, he

Ciskei

2005-03-08T03:40:00.000-08:00

Also called Xhosa-ciskei, or Xosa-ciskei, former republic (though never internationally recognized as such) that was inhabited principally by Xhosa-speaking people in southern Africa. It bordered the Indian Ocean on the southeast and was bounded by the Republic of South Africa on the southwest, northwest, and northeast. A fingerlike extension of South African territory on the northeast separated Ciskei

Bene Beraq

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

Near the presumed location of ancient Bene Beraq, a

Mountain Mahogany

2005-03-07T13:58:00.000-08:00

It is said that the common name was given to species

France, History Of, Social classes

2005-03-07T10:49:00.000-08:00

The collapse of Roman imperial power and the influx of Germans did not destroy the old Roman senatorial and landed aristocracy; the 6th-century kings called on its members to serve in the administration. A sort of military aristocracy had existed among the Germans: at the time of their settlement within the empire, its members were given tax revenues and lands confiscated

Anhalt

2005-03-06T15:49:00.000-08:00

Former German state, which was a duchy from 1863 to 1918 and a Land (state) until 1945, when it was merged in Saxony-Anhalt. Saxony-Anhalt was a Land of the German Democratic Republic from 1949 to 1952, when it was broken up into Bezirke (districts), the former territories of Anhalt being divided between the Bezirke of Magdeburg and of Halle. Upon the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990, Saxony-Anhalt

Aurès

2005-03-05T07:43:00.000-08:00

Latin Aurasius Mons, mountains, part of the Saharan Atlas in northeastern Algeria, northern Africa, fronted by rugged cliffs in the north and opening out in the south into the two parallel fertile valleys of the wadies Abiod and 'Abdi, facing the Sahara. The highest peaks, which are snowcapped during winter, include Mount Chélia (7,638 feet [2,328 m]), the highest point in northern Algeria, and Mount Mahmel

Yust, Walter

2005-03-05T07:27:00.000-08:00

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Yust began his journalism career with the Philadelphia Evening Ledger in 1917 and later worked for newspapers in New Orleans and for other

Abu Ali Mustafa

2005-03-05T04:42:00.000-08:00

Palestinian nationalist (b. 1938, Arabeh, Palestine—d. Aug. 27, 2001, Ram Allah, West Bank), was a cofounder and, from July 2000, secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a radical faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). He was born Mustafa az-Zibri and later took the nom de guerre Abu Ali Mustafa. As a young man he joined George Habash's Arab National

Islam, The Black Muslims

2005-03-04T21:38:00.000-08:00

After World War II an Islamic movement arose among blacks in the United States; members called themselves the Nation of Islam, but they were popularly known as Black Muslims. Although they adopted some Islamic social practices, the group was in large part a black separatist and social protest movement. Their leader, Elijah Muhammad, who claimed to be an inspired prophet,

Culiacán

2005-03-03T06:50:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Sinaloa estado (“state”), western Mexico. It is on a small coastal plain (276 feet [84 m] above sea level) at the foot of the lofty Sierra Madre Occidental, on the Culiacán River. Founded in 1531, Culiacán played an important role in early colonial days as a base for Spanish expeditions. An elaborate irrigation system in the valley provides for a great variety of crops, including

Europe, Concert Of

2005-03-03T00:10:00.000-08:00

In the post-Napoleonic era, the vague consensus among the European monarchies favouring preservation of the territorial and political status quo. The term assumed the responsibility and right of the great powers to intervene and impose their collective will on states threatened by internal rebellion. The powers notably suppressed uprisings in Italy (1820) and Spain

Diego, Gerardo

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

Diego received a doctorate from the University of Madrid in 1920. During the 1920s he wrote experimental poetry and joined the avant-garde Ultraísmo and Creacionismo movements. He taught for a time in the ancient town of Soria in north-central Spain; the location inspired the

Chicago Literary Renaissance

2005-03-02T23:51:00.000-08:00

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

Mermaid

2005-03-01T14:59:00.000-08:00

Masculine merman a fabled marine creature with the head and upper body of a human being and the tail of a fish. Similar divine or semidivine beings appear in ancient mythologies (e.g., the Chaldean sea god Ea, or Oannes). In European folklore, mermaids (sometimes called sirens) and mermen were natural beings who, like fairies, had magical and prophetic powers. They loved music and

Ibn Battutah

2005-03-01T14:32:00.000-08:00

The greatest medieval Arab traveller and the author of one of the most famous travel books, the Rihlah (Travels), which describes his extensive travels covering some 75,000 miles (more than 120,000 km) in trips to almost all the Muslim countries and to regions as far as China and Sumatra.

Gondwanaland

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

Also called Gondwana, hypothetical former supercontinent in the Southern Hemisphere, which included South America, Africa, peninsular India, Australia, and Antarctica. The name was coined by the Austrian geologist Eduard Suess in reference to the Upper Paleozoic and Mesozoic formations of the Gondwana region of central India, which display typical developments of some of the shared

Ferdinand Ii

2005-02-27T14:09:00.000-08:00

The son of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (and cousin of Prince Albert of Great Britain), he was married to Maria in January 1836, only 10 months after the sudden death of

Spa

2005-02-27T10:14:00.000-08:00

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

U-boat

2005-02-27T08:14:00.000-08:00

German U-boot, abbreviation of Unterseeboot (“undersea boat”), a German submarine. The destruction of enemy shipping by German U-boats was a spectacular feature of both World Wars I and II.

Cheektowaga

2005-02-25T18:53:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Erie county, western New York, U.S. It lies immediately east of Buffalo, on Ellicott, Scajaquada, and Cayuga creeks, near Lake Erie. Originally part of the Holland Land Purchase and the town of Amherst, the site was first settled in 1808 by Appollos Hitchcock, who was appointed Indian agent for the Buffalo Reservation. The town, incorporated in 1839, derived its name

Masamune Hakucho

2005-02-25T08:41:00.000-08:00

Early influenced by Christianity, Masamune went to Tokyo in 1896 to

Abreu, Capistrano De

2005-02-24T18:20:00.000-08:00

After serving at the National Library of Rio de Janeiro (1875–83), Abreu became professor of history at the Colégio Dom Pedro II in 1883. Influenced by the sociology of Auguste Comte and Herbert Spencer and the historical enterprises of Henry

Alès

2005-02-24T11:07:00.000-08:00

Town, Gard département, Languedoc-Roussillon région, southeastern France. It lies along a bend of the Gardon d'Alès River, at the foot of the Cévennes mountains, north-northwest of Nîmes. The town's name meant “industry” in the language of its 10th-century-BC Phoenician founders. Alestium was its Roman name, and until 1926 the French called it Alais. Chartered in 1200, it became part of the

Krypton

2005-02-23T17:45:00.000-08:00

(Kr), chemical element, rare gas of Group 0 (noble gases) of the periodic table, forming very few chemical compounds. About three times heavier than air, krypton gas is colourless, odourless, and tasteless. Although traces are present in meteorites and minerals, krypton is more plentiful in the Earth's atmosphere, which contains 1 part krypton in about 900,000. The element was discovered

Shafi'i, Abu 'abd Allah (muhammad Ibn Idris) Ash-

2005-02-23T06:25:00.000-08:00

Little is known for certain of his life. He belonged to the tribe of the Quraysh, the tribe of the

Auburn University

2005-02-22T10:47:00.000-08:00

Public, coeducational institution of higher education located in Auburn, Alabama, U.S. The university offers a broad range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs and is noted for its colleges of engineering and business. Degrees in nursing, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine are also available. A branch campus in Montgomery offers undergraduate and graduate

Argentina, Discovery and settlement

2005-02-22T00:38:00.000-08:00

The main Atlantic outline of Argentina was revealed to European explorers in the early 16th century. The Río de la Plata estuary was discovered years before Ferdinand Magellan traversed the Strait of Magellan in 1520, although historians dispute whether the estuary was first reached by Amerigo Vespucci in 1501–02 or by Juan Díaz de Solís in his ill-fated voyage of 1516. Solís and a

Friedman, William F(rederick); And Friedman, Elizebeth S(mith)

2005-02-21T19:54:00.000-08:00

William Friedman was still an infant when his family immigrated to the United States; he studied genetics at Cornell University (B.S., 1914). Elizebeth Smith majored in English at Hillsdale

Dovekie

2005-02-20T07:08:00.000-08:00

Also called little auk (Alle alle) small, black and white seabird of the North Atlantic. The dovekie belongs to the family Alcidae (order Charadriiformes). It is about 20 centimetres (8 inches) long, with a short bill. Its legs and wings are short, and its feet are webbed. It is a proficient diver, feeding on fish, mollusks, and crustaceans. Dovekies breed on rocky coasts and islands of the Arctic Ocean, from Greenland

Xerophyte

2005-02-20T04:47:00.000-08:00

Any plant adapted to life in a dry or physiologically dry habitat (salt marsh, saline soil, or acid bog) by means of mechanisms to prevent water loss or to store available water. Succulents (plants that store water) such as cacti and agaves have thick, fleshy stems or leaves. Other xerophytic adaptations include waxy leaf coatings, the ability to

China, Five Dynasties, Ten Kingdoms, and Sung periods

2005-02-20T00:30:00.000-08:00

Further general information is available in the following: Edward A. Kracke, Jr., Civil Service in Early Sung China, 960–1067 (1953), a monumental work; James T.C. Liu, Ou-yang Hsiu, an Eleventh-Century Neo-Confucianist, trans. from the Chinese (1967), and Reform in Sung China: Wang An-shih (1021–1086) and His New Policies (1959), both works attempting to relate general trends through historical figures; and Brian E. McKnight, Village and Bureaucracy in Southern Sung China (1971), an account coming down to the later period as well as the local scene. Jacques Gernet, Daily Life in China on the Eve of the Mongol Invasion, 1250–1276 (1962; originally published in French, 1959), provides vivid descriptions. See also Patricia Buckley Ebrey (ed. and trans.), Family and Property in Sung China: Yüan Ts'ai's Precepts for Social Life (1984), an excellent picture of family relations as studied in the 12th-century work by Yüan Ts'ai; Thomas H.S. Lee, Government Education and Examinations in Sung China (1985), a description of education and its relationship to the civil service; and Brian E. McKnight (trans.), The Washing Away of Wrongs: Forensic Medicine in Thirteenth-Century China (1985), a translation of an early work on the topic.

Alfonsine Tables

2005-02-19T13:07:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Alphonsine Tables the first set of astronomical tables prepared in Christian Europe. They enabled calculation of eclipses and the positions of the planets for any given time based on the Ptolemaic theory, which assumed that the Earth was at the centre of the universe. The introduction states that the work was prepared in Toledo, Spain, for King Alfonso X of León and Castile under the

Walker, Alice

2005-02-18T05:13:00.000-08:00

Walker was the eighth child of African American sharecroppers. While growing up she was accidentally blinded in one eye, and her mother gave her a typewriter,

Sacred Kingship, The king as judge

2005-02-18T02:25:00.000-08:00

From earliest times, in addition to other functions, the chief was the judge of his tribe; he personified the protection that the community provided for the individual. Providing for a balance of power in the community, mediating quarrels, and protecting individual rights, the chief or king was the lawgiver and the highest administrator for all community affairs.

Crab Apple

2005-02-16T16:08:00.000-08:00

Also called Crab, any of several small trees of the genus Malus, in the rose family (Rosaceae), native to North America and Asia. Crabs are widely grown for their attractive growth habit, spring flower display, and decorative fruit. The fragrant five-petaled, white, pink, carmine, or purplish flowers appear early in showy masses. The fruits are much smaller and more tart than the common

Dombes

2005-02-16T08:34:00.000-08:00

Historic region of east-southeastern France, once a sovereign municipality and now included in the département of Ain. From 1032, when the Kingdom of Arles, of which Dombes was part, passed to the Holy Roman emperor Conrad II, effective authority in the region was exercised by local lords. After 1378 it was under the nominal authority of the kings of France but was actually ruled

Aigrette

2005-02-16T06:52:00.000-08:00

Jeweled

World War Ii, Iraq and Syria, 194041

2005-02-16T00:42:00.000-08:00

In 1940 Prince 'Abd al-Ilah, regent of Iraq for King Faysal, had a government divided within itself about the war; he himself and his foreign minister, Nuri as-Said, were pro-British, but his prime minister, Rashid Ali al-Gailani, had pro-German leanings. Having resigned office in January 1941, Rashid Ali on April 3 seized power in Baghdad with help from some army officers and announced

Tectonic Basins And Rift Valleys

2005-02-15T23:23:00.000-08:00

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

Shirk

2005-02-15T18:07:00.000-08:00

The Qur'an (Islamic scripture) stresses in many verses that God does not share his powers with any partner (sharik). It warns those who believe their idols will intercede for them that they, together with the idols, will become fuel for hellfire on the Day of Judgment

Annelid, Leeches

2005-02-14T13:19:00.000-08:00

Leeches have 34 segments, and elongation occurs by the subdivision of these segments. Leeches have a small sucker at the anterior end and a large sucker at the posterior end. A clitellum is present in the mid-region during the reproductive period. The poorly developed eyes are paired structures at the anterior end. Setae are absent.

Cuza, Alexandru Ion

2005-02-12T22:33:00.000-08:00

The scion of an old boyar family, Cuza studied in Paris, Pavia, and Bologna, participated in revolutionary agitation against Russo-Turkish rule in his native Moldavia (1848), obtained the rank of colonel, and subsequently achieved prominence

Teaching Machine

2005-02-12T14:25:00.000-08:00

There are many types of teaching machines. In general, they all work on the same method, which is to present a question, have the user indicate the answer, and then provide the user with the correct answer. Some machines may be extremely simple, such as test sheets or books so programmed that

Pitch Lake

2005-02-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

Large surface deposit of natural asphalt, a mixture of heavy oils that is left after the lighter, more volatile components of a crude-oil seepage have evaporated. An example is Guanoco Lake in Venezuela, which covers more than 445 hectares (1,100 acres) and contains an estimated 6,000,000 tons of asphalt. It was used as a commercial source of asphalt from 1891 to 1935. Smaller deposits occur commonly

Insurance, FPA clause

2005-02-12T05:40:00.000-08:00

The FPA, or “free of particular average,” clause excludes from coverage partial losses to the cargo or to the hull except those resulting from stranding, sinking, burning, or collision. Under its provisions, losses below a given percentage of value, say 10 percent, are excluded. In this way the insurer does not pay for relatively small losses to cargo. The percentage deductible

Far'ah, Tall Al-

2005-02-11T01:29:00.000-08:00

Ancient site in southwestern Palestine, located on the Wadi Ghazzah near Tall al-'Ajjul, in modern Israel. The site was excavated between 1928 and 1930 by British archaeologists in Egypt under the direction of Sir Flinders Petrie, who identified the site as Beth-pelet. Other scholars, however, are probably correct in their belief that the site is instead ancient Sharuhen, an

Aerospace Industry, Periodicals

2005-02-10T23:43:00.000-08:00

The best reference work for aircraft production data on types produced is Jane's All the World's Aircraft (annual). The best reference work on space hardware produced, the space industry, and space-related organizations is Jane's Space Directory (annual). Aerospace Facts and Figures (annual), prepared by the Aerospace Industries Association of America (AIA), is a standard reference source for figures on the American aerospace industry. Aerospace Yearbook (1919–70), compiled by the AIA and its predecessors, is a standard reference source on the U.S aerospace industry to 1970. Aviation Week & Space Technology (weekly) is the best source for the latest information on the aerospace industry. Space News (weekly) covers the business news of the space industry. Flight International (weekly) is an aerospace news magazine published in the United Kingdom. An informative German-language aerospace magazine is Flug Revue (monthly).

Gautsch Von Frankenthurn, Paul, Baron (freiherr)

2005-02-10T02:49:00.000-08:00

A graduate of the University of Vienna, Gautsch von Frankenthurn entered the imperial Ministry of Education (1874) and served as Austrian minister of education in the cabinets of Eduard, Count von Taaffe (1885–93), and Kasimir, Count von Badeni (1895–97). With the fall of Badeni, he was appointed

Hawks, Howard (winchester)

2005-02-10T01:47:00.000-08:00

Hawks

Arecidae, The leaf

2005-02-09T20:24:00.000-08:00

Leaf structure is different and distinctive in each of the six families of the subclass. In Acoraceae both the leaves and the scapes are ensiform (sword-shaped). Leaves in Araceae usually have a basal sheath, a petiole, and a flat blade. The blade is lanceolate to broadly ovate or rarely linear or strap-shaped. The base of the blade may be heart-shaped (cordate), arrowhead-shaped

China, The National Government from 1928 to 1937

2005-02-09T01:29:00.000-08:00

The most serious immediate problem facing the new government was the continuance of military separatism. The government had no authority over the vast area of western China, and even regions in eastern China were under the rule of independent regimes that had lately been part of the Nationalist coalition. After an unsuccessful attempt at negotiations, Chiang

Quicklime

2005-02-08T01:23:00.000-08:00

Calcium oxide, an alkaline inorganic compound of calcium (q.v.).

Van Der Zee, James

2005-02-07T23:52:00.000-08:00

Van Der Zee made his first photographs as a boy in Lenox, Massachusetts. By 1906 he had moved with his father and brother to Harlem in New York City, where he worked as a waiter and elevator operator. In 1915 Van Der Zee moved to Newark, New Jersey, where he took

Tonga, Relief

2005-02-07T15:28:00.000-08:00

The summit of volcanic undersea mountains forms the two roughly parallel chains of the Tongan islands. Most of the islands of the western chain are classified as high islands because they have been raised well above sea level by repeated volcanic activity. Four of them are still active volcanoes. Some of the islands composed of lava formed by shield volcanoes, such

Madonie, Le

2005-02-06T16:57:00.000-08:00

Also called Monti Madonie, mountain range in Palermo provincia, northwest-central Sicily. The range extends for 30 miles (48 km) between the Torto River and the Nebrodi Mountains. Of limestone formation, its highest peaks are Antenna Peak, 6,480 feet (1,975 m), and Carbonara Peak, 6,493 feet (1,979 m). The Madonie is the source of several rivers and is known for its underground drainage system, which provides drinking water for

Affidavit

2005-02-06T03:57:00.000-08:00

A written statement of fact made voluntarily, confirmed by the oath or affirmation of the party making it, and signed before a notary or other officer empowered to administer such oaths. Affidavits generally name the place of execution and certify that the person making it states certain facts and appeared before the officer on a certain date and “subscribed and

ClearBone

Sohak

Seabury, Samuel

Excretion, Amphibians

Ile-ife

Okawa, Isao

Sevan, Lake

Bara, Theda

Bottle Gourd

Ford, John

Good Shepherd Sister

Adams, Gerry

Amu Darya

Molina, Luis De

Davis, Benjamin O., Jr.

Rhyme Royal

Graysby

Philip Ii

Philip Ii

Vaishravana

Heteropteran

Coster, Laurens Janszoon

Mu'tazilah

Hesychius Of Alexandria

Tachylyte

San-ming

Integrator

Arabia, History Of, Arabia since 1962

Eye Disease

Finland, Justice

Olmi, Ermanno

Nathan, George Jean

Swimming

Wick

Irkutsk

Ahmed Vefik Pasa

Yakuza

Alemán, Mateo

Bernard, Tristan

O'brien, Tim

Aesthetics, Medieval aesthetics

Qadarif, Al-

Earth Sciences, Geologic sciences

Caledonian Orogenic Belt

Fairfax (of Cameron), Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Baron

Ciskei

Bene Beraq

Mountain Mahogany

France, History Of, Social classes

Anhalt

Aurès

Yust, Walter

Abu Ali Mustafa

Islam, The Black Muslims

Culiacán

Europe, Concert Of

Diego, Gerardo

Chicago Literary Renaissance

Mermaid

Ibn Battutah

Gondwanaland

Ferdinand Ii

Spa

U-boat

Cheektowaga

Masamune Hakucho

Abreu, Capistrano De

Alès

Krypton

Shafi'i, Abu 'abd Allah (muhammad Ibn Idris) Ash-

Auburn University

Argentina, Discovery and settlement

Friedman, William F(rederick); And Friedman, Elizebeth S(mith)

Dovekie

Xerophyte

China, Five Dynasties, Ten Kingdoms, and Sung periods

Alfonsine Tables

Walker, Alice

Sacred Kingship, The king as judge

Crab Apple

Islam, The Black Muslims

World War Ii, Iraq and Syria, 194041