DryTicket

Bradley, Edward R.

2005-04-05T23:36:00.000-07:00

As a student at Cheyney State College (now Cheyney University of Pennsylvania), Bradley worked his way into broadcasting by volunteering at Philadelphia radio station WDAS-FM. After graduating with a degree in education (B.S., 1964), Bradley became an elementary schoolteacher but continued to work

Wied, Gustav

2005-04-04T23:29:00.000-07:00

Wied was the son of a well-to-do farmer. He spent most of his life in provincial surroundings, which provide the usual background for his works. He was a private tutor for years, and then an actor, before he became

Myanmar, The Toungoo dynasty

2005-04-03T14:29:00.000-07:00

In 1531 a dynasty was established at Toungoo by Tabinshwehti, and by then the new kingdom had become powerful enough to conquer northern Myanmar from the Shan and southern Myanmar from the Mon. In 1511 the great trading entrepôt of Malacca (Melaka) on the Malay Peninsula had been conquered by the Portuguese, which led to a renewal of interest in trade in Myanmar's coastal waters.

Athens

2005-04-03T13:59:00.000-07:00

City, seat (1805) of Athens county, southeastern Ohio, U.S. It lies along the Hocking River, 73 miles (117 km) southeast of Columbus. It was founded in 1800 by the territorial legislature as the seat of the American Western University, which was renamed Ohio University in 1804. Athens and the university campus were laid out by General Rufus Putnam and the Reverend Manasseh Cutler. The village

Middleton, Stanley

2005-04-01T19:42:00.000-08:00

Educated at University College, Nottingham (now University of Nottingham; B.A., 1940; M.Ed, 1952), Middleton served in the British army's Royal Artillery and in the Army Education Corps. He later taught English and became department

Hess, (walter Richard) Rudolf

2005-04-01T16:10:00.000-08:00

The son of a merchant, Hess served in the German army during World War I. After the

Halberd

2005-03-30T20:58:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Halbert, or Halbard, weapon consisting of an ax blade balanced by a pick with an elongated pike head at the end of the staff. It was usually about 1.5 to 1.8 m (5 to 6 feet) long. The halberd was an important weapon in middle Europe in the 15th and early 16th centuries. It enabled a foot soldier to contend with an armoured man on horseback; the pike head was used to keep the horseman at a distance, and the ax blade

Casserius, Julius

2005-03-29T03:30:00.000-08:00

Casserius was a servant of Hieronymus Fabricius ab Aquapendente, professor of anatomy and surgery at the University of Padua. Instructed

Insurance, Liability insurance

2005-03-28T10:37:00.000-08:00

There are at least four major types of liability insurance contracts:

Charles

2005-03-27T03:50:00.000-08:00

Charles's claim to Brittany through his marriage to Joan the Lame of Penthièvre, niece of Duke John III of Brittany, led to a conflict with the other claimants, John of Montfort and later his son Duke John IV of Brittany, in the 20-year War of the Breton Succession, which also involved the

Torelli, Giacomo

2005-03-26T19:31:00.000-08:00

Nothing is known of Torelli's early life. In 1641 he was a military engineer at Venice. Already known as an architect, he built two churches there. Having erected the Teatro Novissimo at Venice, he furnished it

Interior Design, Concepts of design

2005-03-25T07:29:00.000-08:00

The scale and proportion of any interior must always relate to the architecture within which the interior exists, but the other important factor in considering the scale of man's environment is the human body. Throughout the ages, designers and architects have attempted to establish ideal proportions. The most famous of all axioms about proportion was the golden

Biblical Literature, The final period of the kingdom of Judah

2005-03-24T23:19:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile, the southern kingdom of Judah was to have another century and a half of existence before a similar and even grimmer fate befell it. Hezekiah (reigned c. 715–c. 686), who instituted a religious reform to return worship to a pure Yahwist form, also displayed political independence, joining a coalition of Palestinian states against Assyria. But the coalition was soon

Eiseley, Loren (corey)

2005-03-23T15:01:00.000-08:00

Eiseley was educated at the University of Nebraska (B.A., 1933) and the University of Pennsylvania (M.A., 1935; Ph.D., 1937) and began his academic career at the University of Kansas (1937–44) and Oberlin College (1944–47). In his long association with the University

China, Ch'ing society

2005-03-21T19:41:00.000-08:00

Chinese society continued to be highly stratified during the early Ch'ing. Hereditary status groups in the society ranged from the descendants of the Imperial line down to the “mean people” at the bottom of the social ladder. Many professions were hereditary: bannermen, brewers, dyers, doctors, navigators, and Taoist priests usually passed on their occupations to

Najahid Dynasty

2005-03-21T04:55:00.000-08:00

Muslim dynasty of Ethiopian Mamluks (slaves) that ruled Yemen in the period 1022–1158 from its capital at Zabid. The Ziyadid kingdom at Zabid (819–1018) had in its final years been controlled by Mamluk viziers, the last of whom divided Yemen between two slaves, Nafis and Najah. Nafis murdered the last Ziyadid ruler in 1018, and, after several years of bitter fighting and the death of Nafis, Najah emerged victorious

Wallas, Graham

2005-03-19T23:24:00.000-08:00

Wallas studied at Oxford (1877–81) and was a teacher (1881–90). He joined the Fabian Society in 1886 and was a contributor to Fabian Essays in Socialism (1889). Growing dissatisfied with the anti-liberal

Tsukuba Science City

2005-03-19T11:35:00.000-08:00

Tsukuba Science City was developed in the 1970s and 1980s to stimulate scientific discovery.

Anise

2005-03-19T03:36:00.000-08:00

(Pimpinella anisum), annual herb of the parsley family (Apiaceae, or Umbelliferae), cultivated chiefly for its fruits, called aniseed, the flavour of which resembles that of licorice. The plant, up to 0.75 m (2.5 feet) tall, has long-stalked basal leaves and shorter, stalked stem leaves. Its small, yellowish white flowers form loose umbels. The fruit, or seed, is nearly

Saudi Arabia, Religion

2005-03-18T17:54:00.000-08:00

Saudi Arabia is the home of Islam, and its native population is almost entirely Sunnite Muslim (i.e., adhering to the chief branch of Islam, Sunnism [Sunnah], called traditionalist or orthodox). The Wahhabi interpretation of Sunnite Islam is the one officially used. Wahhabism, as it is called in the West, is a puritanical interpretation and is named after Muhammad ibn 'Abd

Pacific, War Of The

2005-03-17T07:50:00.000-08:00

Spanish Guerra Del Pacífico (1879–83), conflict involving Chile, Bolivia, and Peru, which resulted in Chilean annexation of valuable disputed territory on the Pacific coast. It grew out of a dispute between Chile and Bolivia over control of a part of the Atacama Desert that lies between the 23rd and 26th parallels on the Pacific coast of South America. The territory contained valuable mineral resources, particularly

Clodomir

2005-03-16T22:49:00.000-08:00

The eldest son of Clovis I by Clotilda, Clodomir shared in the fourfold partition of his father's kingdom in 511, receiving lands in western and central France; his was the only one of the four kingdoms to form a single geographical unit on both sides of the Loire River. In 523, with his two full brothers, Chlotar

Houdon, Jean-antoine

2005-03-16T16:10:00.000-08:00

Houdon began sculpturing at the age of nine and underwent the

Distributive Law

2005-03-16T08:10:00.000-08:00

In mathematics, the law relating to number operations stated symbolically, a(b + c + d) = ab + ac + ad; that is, the monomial factor a is distributed, or separately applied, to each term of the polynomial factor b + c + d, resulting in the product ab + ac + ad. Hence, the result of first adding several numbers and then multiplying the sum by some number is the same as first multiplying each separately

Vaishnavism

2005-03-14T16:57:00.000-08:00

A major characteristic of Vaishnavism is the strong part played by bhakti, or religious devotion. The ultimate goal of the devotee is to escape from the cycle of birth and death so as to enjoy the presence

Diez, Friedrich Christian

2005-03-14T15:42:00.000-08:00

As a student Diez acquired a deep interest in Italian poetry, but a visit to the great German poet J.W. von Goethe in 1818 directed his attention to exploring

Algeria, Resources

2005-03-13T05:14:00.000-08:00

Deposits of natural gas were first discovered at Hassi R'Mel in 1956, and since

Corso, Gregory

2005-03-12T05:14:00.000-08:00

Corso lived in an orphanage and with foster parents until he was 11, when his remarried father took him to live with him. A repeated runaway, he was placed in juvenile institutions. At 17 he was sentenced to three years in Clinton Prison in Dannemora, New

López Velarde, Ramón

2005-03-11T14:19:00.000-08:00

López Velarde studied law and was a journalist and civil servant. His first book of poems, La sangre devota (1916; “Devout Blood”), treats the simplicity of country life, the tension between sensuality and spirituality, and

Extinction

2005-03-11T01:26:00.000-08:00

In biology, the dying out or termination of a race or species. Extinction occurs when a species can no longer reproduce at replacement levels. Most extinctions are thought to have resulted from environmental changes that affected the species in either of two ways. The doomed species might not have been able to adapt to the changed environment and thus perished without

Raymond Of Peñafort, Saint

2005-03-10T09:38:00.000-08:00

He studied canon law at Bologna and taught there from 1218 to 1221. Among his works of this period were unpublished annotations

Argentina, The return of Peronism

2005-03-10T02:54:00.000-08:00

The newly elected president, Héctor J. Cámpora, took office in May 1973. It was immediately clear that he was merely preparing the way for the return of Perón from exile. Tensions rose sharply among Peronists as the organization's left wing fought with its right-wing Montoneros for influence. At the final return of Perón in June, there was a pitched battle between right and

Dabbling Duck

2005-03-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

Also called Dipping, Surface-feeding, Pond, River, or Freshwater Duck, any of about 38 species of Anas and about 5 species in other genera, constituting the tribe Anatini, subfamily Anatinae, family Anatidae (q.v.; order Anseriformes). They feed mainly on water plants, which they obtain by tipping-up in shallows—uncommonly by diving (with opened wings); they often forage near the shore for seeds and insects. The bill is flat and broad, the

'arabah, Wadi Al-

2005-03-09T02:16:00.000-08:00

Hebrew Ha-'arava, topographic depression in southern Palestine extending about 100 miles (160 km) south from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba; it is part of the East African Rift System. Largely sandy desert, it is divided between Israel and Jordan. In the Old Testament, except in Deuteronomy 2:8, the name Al-'Arabah refers to the Jordan Valley, but eventually the name came to be applied exclusively

Rabbula

2005-03-08T23:10:00.000-08:00

Reforming bishop of Edessa and theologian who was a leading figure in the Christian church in Syria. He advocated the orthodox Alexandrian (Egypt) position in the 5th-century controversy with the Antiochian (Syria) school of Nestorianism, a heretical teaching that denied that the person of Christ possessed both a divine and

Trade Agreement

2005-03-07T15:39:00.000-08:00

For most countries international trade is regulated by unilateral barriers of several types, including tariffs, nontariff barriers, and outright prohibitions. Trade agreements

China

2005-03-07T10:11:00.000-08:00

The year 2002 was a critical one for China. Domestically, it was a year of political transition to a new generation of leaders; internationally, significant changes in geopolitical alignments had major repercussions for the country. The 16th Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), after some delay, was convened in early November. China's “Three Represents” doctrine

Faraday Effect

2005-03-05T23:53:00.000-08:00

In physics, the rotation of the plane of polarization (plane of vibration) of a light beam by a magnetic field. Michael Faraday, an English scientist, first observed the effect in 1845 when studying the influence of a magnetic field on plane-polarized light waves. (Light waves vibrate in two planes at right angles to one another, and passing ordinary light through certain

Facsimile

2005-03-05T17:34:00.000-08:00

Also called Fax, or Telefax, in telecommunications, the transmission and reproduction of documents by wire or radio wave. Common fax machines are designed to scan printed textual and graphic material and then transmit the information through the telephone network to similar machines, where the documents are reproduced in close to their original form. Such machines, because of their low

Ostrovsky, Aleksandr Nikolayevich

2005-03-04T19:00:00.000-08:00

The son of a government clerk, Ostrovsky attended the University of Moscow law school. From 1843 to 1848 he was employed as a clerk at the Moscow juvenile court. He wrote his first play, Kartiny semeynogo schastya

Taidu

2005-03-04T04:07:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ta-tu , Mongol Khanbaliq the city of Peking (q.v.) under the Mongols.

Lewis, Robert

2005-03-03T21:35:00.000-08:00

American actor, drama teacher, and theatre director who cofounded, directed, and performed in the 1930s with the Group Theatre in such plays as Waiting for Lefty and Golden Boy before helping to found (1947) the Actors Studio, where for one year he tutored such future stars as Marlon Brando and Karl Malden; he eventually went on to Broadway, where he directed Brigadoon, Teahouse

Talca

2005-03-03T10:34:00.000-08:00

Formerly San Agustín De Talca, capital of Talca provincia and Maule región, central Chile, in the Central Valley near the Maule River. Founded in 1692, it was destroyed by earthquakes in 1742 and 1928; completely rebuilt, it is now a major urban centre midway between Santiago, 160 miles (260 km) to the north-northeast, and Concepción. It lies in the nation's greatest wine-making zone and contains Chile's largest match industry,

Bellingshausen, Fabian Gottlieb Von

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

Commanding

Abu Shahrayn

2005-03-01T18:42:00.000-08:00

Mound in southern Iraq, site of the ancient Sumerian city of Eridu (q.v.).

Artiodactyl, Modifications of the skin

2005-02-28T01:12:00.000-08:00

Pigs are covered with rather sparse, coarse hairs, and peccaries with a denser coat of coarse hairs. Except for those of the warthog and the babirusa (Babyrousa babirussa), piglets have longitudinal stripes or flecks. Hippopotamuses are naked. Tragulids have light-coloured flecks and stripes in their fur. The coats of camelids and deer are much thicker in species living

Arnoldson, Klas Pontus

2005-02-27T21:47:00.000-08:00

Arnoldson became a railway clerk and rose to stationmaster (1871–81) but then left the railway to devote himself entirely to politics. In 1881 he was elected to the Riksdag, the Swedish

Gas

2005-02-27T11:01:00.000-08:00

The best elementary discussion of the kinetic theory of gases is T.G. Cowling, Molecules in Motion (1960), clearly explaining the fundamental physical ideas without excessive mathematical manipulation. Other elementary books include Joel H. Hildebrand, An Introduction to Molecular Kinetic Theory (1963); Sidney Golden, Elements of the Theory of Gases (1964); and Walter Kauzmann, Kinetic Theory of Gases (1966). Two excellent books make greater demands on the mathematical background of the reader: James Jeans, An Introduction to the Kinetic Theory of Gases (1940, reissued 1982), which is an abridged and slightly simplified version of the author's classic The Dynamical Theory of Gases, 4th ed. (1925, reissued 1954); and Richard D. Present, Kinetic Theory of Gases (1958), an excellent though selective textbook. The historical literature is especially rich; the following works may be profitably consulted: J.S. Rowlinson (ed.), J.D. van der Waals: On the Continuity of the Gaseous and Liquid States (1988), a translation of van der Waals's 1873 Dutch thesis with a marvelous extended introductory essay by the editor that is unique in the field and surveys modern developments in the theory of liquids and solutions; Stephen G. Brush (ed.), Kinetic Theory, 3 vol. (1965–72), a set of famous historical papers along with introductory commentaries and summaries by the editor; Robert Lindsay (ed.), Early Concepts of Energy in Atomic Physics (1979), selections from famous historical papers—many of them omitted from the previous work—together with the editor's comments; and Stephen G. Brush, The Kind of Motion We Call Heat: A History of the Kinetic Theory of Gases in the 19th Century, 2 vol. (1976, reissued 1986), a thorough historical account without much mathematics, and Statistical Physics and the Atomic Theory of Matter: From Boyle and Newton to Landau and Onsager (1983), covering a much broader range and requiring a thorough scientific background. More advanced professional treatments include Sydney Chapman and T.G. Cowling, The Mathematical Theory of Non-uniform Gases, 3rd ed. (1970, reprinted 1990), the acknowledged classic on the modern kinetic theory of gases based on the Enskog-Chapman approach; Joseph O. Hirschfelder, Charles F. Curtiss, and R. Byron Bird, Molecular Theory of Gases and Liquids (1954, reissued with added notes 1964), a monumental compendium of detailed results on equations of state, transport properties of gases, and intermolecular forces, especially valuable as a reference; J.H. Ferziger and H.G. Kaper, Mathematical Theory of Transport Processes in Gases (1972), successfully combining the best features of the previous two works; Carlo Cercignani, The Boltzmann Equation and Its Applications (1988), by a mathematician, one of the few books that concerns itself with free-molecule gases and the transition to continuum behaviour; and Frederick R.W. McCourt et al., Nonequilibrium Phenomena in Polyatomic Gases, 2 vol. (1990–91), an account of the extension of the Enskog-Chapman theory to include truly molecular shape effects, including the effects of external electric and magnetic fields and of surface collisions. Special topics are addressed in Martin Knudsen, The Kinetic Theory of Gases, 3rd ed. (1950), a series of lectures from 1933 on rarefied gas phenomena, by one of the experimental pioneers in the subject; K.E. Grew and T.L. Ibbs, Thermal Diffusion in Gases (1952), a short monograph on one of the more intriguing special topics of the kinetic theory of gases; J.S. Rowlinson, The Perfect Gas (1963), emphasizing the internal mechanics of molecules as related to the calculation of the thermodynamic properties of gases by statistical mechanics; and E.A. Mason and T.H. Spurling, The Virial Equation of State (1969), emphasizing experimental measurements and the detailed connection with intermolecular forces.

Pemba Island

2005-02-27T01:50:00.000-08:00

Arabic Jazirat Al-khudrah, island in the Indian Ocean, lying 35 miles (56 km) off the coast of East Africa, opposite the port of Tanga, Tanzania. The island embraces 380 square miles (984 square km) and is 42 miles (67 km) long and 14 miles (22 km) wide. As the Arabic name, which means “Green Island,” suggests, it is more fertile than its sister island, Zanzibar, which lies 30 miles (48 km) to the southwest. Pemba is the world's leading producer

Wright, Warren

2005-02-25T11:52:00.000-08:00

Wright was educated in public schools and in business college and, starting in 1890, worked for more than 25 years in the firm that his father had founded, the Calumet Baking Powder Company in Chicago. He succeeded to its presidency

Chamber Music

2005-02-24T15:37:00.000-08:00

For well over a century after its inception about 1600, chamber music was supported primarily by the nobility. Aristocratic establishments customarily employed groups of musicians who served as composers, conductors, and performers of a variety of operatic, orchestral, and chamber music; and traditionally the audiences were restricted to the patrons and their guests.

Halston

2005-02-24T00:38:00.000-08:00

Halston studied at Indiana University and the Art Institute of Chicago and operated a millinery shop in Chicago before joining milliner Lilly Daché in New York City. In 1959 he became a milliner for Bergdorf Goodman; in 1966 he expanded his line into clothes

Vening Meinesz, Felix Andries

2005-02-23T22:11:00.000-08:00

Participating in a gravimetric survey of The Netherlands soon after he graduated from Delft Technical University as a civil engineer in 1910, Vening Meinesz devised an apparatus based on pendulums swinging together in opposite phase for use on the

Han Dynasty

2005-02-23T00:34:00.000-08:00

The dynasty was founded by Liu Pang, later Kao Tsu (256–195 BC), a man of humble birth who led the revolt against

Disarmament

2005-02-22T20:07:00.000-08:00

In international relations, any of four distinct conceptions: (1) the penal destruction or reduction of the armament of a country defeated in war (the provision under the Versailles Treaty [1919] for the disarmament of Germany and its allies is an example of this conception of disarmament); (2) bilateral disarmament agreements applying to specific geographic areas (naval

Li Keran

2005-02-22T14:56:00.000-08:00

Li showed a gift for painting, calligraphy, and music as a child. When he was 13, he began to study landscape

Botero, Fernando

2005-02-20T05:59:00.000-08:00

As a youth, Botero attended a school for matadors for several years, but his true interest was in art. While still a teenager, he began painting and was inspired by the pre-Columbian and Spanish colonial art that surrounded him as well as by the political

Mckim, Charles Follen

2005-02-20T05:22:00.000-08:00

McKim was educated at Harvard and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He was trained as a draftsman by the architect H.H. Richardson while the latter was completing Trinity Church, Boston. In 1879 he joined William Rutherford Mead

Biblical Literature, The need for consolidation and delimitation

2005-02-19T04:42:00.000-08:00

Viewed both phenomenologically and practically, the canon had to be consolidated and delimited. Seen historically, however, there were a number of reasons that forced the issue of limiting the canon. Oral tradition had begun to deteriorate in post-apostolic times, partly because many or most of the eyewitnesses to the earliest events of Jesus' life and death and

Argentina, The land and the people

2005-02-18T01:42:00.000-08:00

Patterns of settlement are the subject of Carl-Christoph Liss, Die Besiedlung und Landnutzung Ostpatagoniens unter besonderer Berücksichtgung der Schafestancien (1979); Robert C. Eidt, Pioneer Settlement in Northeast Argentina (1971); Mark Jefferson, Peopling the Argentine Pampa (1926, reprinted 1971); and Richard W. Slatta, Gauchos and the Vanishing Frontier (1983, reissued 1992).

France, History Of, Regrowth of the French monarchy

2005-02-17T16:13:00.000-08:00

Thus the monarchy recovered much of the authority it had lost during the early stages of the Hundred Years' War. Although its influence in Burgundy and Flanders, now united in a formidable dynastic association, had declined, its definitive recovery of Aquitaine consolidated a direct domain, again extensive enough to free the Valois from anxiety about landed resources.

Biblical Literature, Authorship and style

2005-02-17T16:04:00.000-08:00

Apocalypticism was introduced into Asia Minor after AD 70 (the fall of Jerusalem), and c. 80–90 a prophetic circle was formed near Ephesus. Its leader was John, a prophet, who might well have been the author of Revelation, which is deeply steeped in apocalyptic traditions. The “Johannine circle” bearing the tradition of John, the Apostle of the Lord, and from which emerged the Gospel

Ealing

2005-02-17T00:49:00.000-08:00

Outer borough of London, part of the historic county of Middlesex, midway between central London and the western periphery. The borough was established in 1965 by the amalgamation of the former municipal boroughs of Ealing, Acton, and Southall, all in the former county of Middlesex. It includes the districts and neighbourhoods of (from west to east) West End, Northolt, Southall,

Peter I

2005-02-15T16:08:00.000-08:00

Married by his cousin King Philip II Augustus of France to Alix, heiress to Brittany, Peter did homage for the province in 1213 and assumed the title of duke, though he was considered merely a count

Subic Bay

2005-02-15T02:59:00.000-08:00

Bay of the South China Sea, southwestern Luzon, Philippines. The bay is located 35 miles (55 km) northwest of the mouth of Manila Bay and extends northward into the Luzon coastline. From 1901 to 1992, on the southeast coast of the bay, the United States operated a naval base, Subic Bay Naval Station, the largest naval installation in the Philippines. Olongapo is the largest settlement

Renkum

2005-02-14T16:53:00.000-08:00

Gemeente (commune), Gelderland provincie, central Netherlands. Renkum is situated on the Lower Rhine (Neder Rijn) River, immediately west of Arnhem, and comprises the communities of Oosterbeek (the local government centre), Renkum, Doorwerth, Heelsum, and Wolfheze. The locality was especially associated with the Battle of Arnhem in World War II; on the Oosterbeek village

Fosse Way

2005-02-14T06:56:00.000-08:00

Major Roman road that traversed Britain from southwest to northeast. It ran from the mouth of the River Axe in Devon by Axminster and Ilchester (Lindinae) to Bath (Aquae Sulis) and Cirencester, thence straight for 60 miles (100 km) to High Cross (Venonae), where it intersected Watling Street, and on to Leicester (Ratae). After crossing the River Trent near Newark, it reached Ermine

Digestive System, Vertebrate, Substance P

2005-02-13T15:37:00.000-08:00

Present in significant amounts in the vagus nerves and the myenteric plexus, substance P stimulates saliva production, contraction of smooth muscle cells, and inflammatory responses in tissues, but it is uncertain whether it is other than an evolutionary vestige.

Fibre Optics

2005-02-13T11:39:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Fiber Optics, the science of transmitting data, voice, and images by the passage of light through thin, transparent fibres. In telecommunications, fibre optic technology has virtually replaced copper wire in long-distance telephone lines, and it is used to link computers within local area networks. Fibre optics is also the basis of the fibrescopes used in examining internal

Roman-fleuve

2005-02-12T02:14:00.000-08:00

(French: “novel stream”), series of novels, each one complete in itself, that deals with one central character, an era of national life, or successive generations of a family. Inspired by Honoré de Balzac's Comédie humaine and Émile Zola's Rougon-Macquart cycle, the roman-fleuve was a popular literary genre in France during the first half of the 20th century. Examples include

Radek, Karl (bernhardovich)

2005-02-12T01:14:00.000-08:00

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

Intension And Extension

2005-02-10T22:59:00.000-08:00

In logic, correlative words that indicate the reference of a term or concept: “intension” indicates the internal content of a term or concept that constitutes its formal definition; and “extension” indicates its range of applicability by naming the particular objects that it denotes. For instance, the intension of “ship” as a substantive is “vehicle for conveyance on

Biblical Literature, The canon of the Prophets

2005-02-10T14:53:00.000-08:00

The Hebrew canon of the section of the Old Testament known as the Nevi'im, or the Prophets, is divided into two sections: the Former Prophets and the Latter Prophets. The Former Prophets contains four historical books—Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings; the Latter Prophets includes four prophetic works—the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve (Minor) Prophets.

Haley, Sir William

2005-02-09T22:22:00.000-08:00

Haley grew up on the island of Jersey and attended Victoria College there. In 1918 he began to study journalism, and in 1921 he secured his first newspaper employment

Epidaurus

2005-02-09T05:12:00.000-08:00

In ancient Greece, important commercial centre on the eastern coast of the Argolid in the northeastern Peloponnese; it is famed for its 4th-century-BC temple of Asclepius, the god of healing. Excavations of the sacred precinct reveal that it contained temples to Asclepius and Artemis, a theatre, stadium, gymnasiums, baths, a tholos, a hospital, and an abaton, an area where

Golden Gate

2005-02-07T21:12:00.000-08:00

Strait, in California, western coastal U.S., connecting San Francisco Bay with the Pacific Ocean and separating San Francisco from Marin County. An ancient river mouth, it is about 3 miles (5 km) long, from 1 to 3 miles wide, and 300 feet (90 m) deep and serves as the ocean gateway to the port cities of the bay and the Sacramento–San Joaquin river system. The strait, now spanned by the Golden

Cumaná

2005-02-07T03:25:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Sucre estado (“state”), northeastern Venezuela. On the Manzanares River, 1 mile (1.6 km) inland from its port, Puerto Sucre, on the Caribbean Sea at the mouth of the river, Cumaná has an elevation of 52 feet (16 m) and an average temperature of 83° F (28° C). Founded as Nueva Córdoba in 1523, Cumaná claims to be the oldest European settlement on the South American mainland. Despite attacks

Poyet, Guillaume

2005-02-06T18:37:00.000-08:00

After practicing successfully as a barrister at Angers and Paris, he was instructed by Louise of Savoy, mother of King Francis I, to uphold her rights against the constable Charles, Duke de Bourbon, in 1521. This was the beginning of his fortunes.

Earth Exploration, Excavation, boring, and sampling

2005-02-06T05:59:00.000-08:00

Direct sampling, usually by means of boreholes, is required to make positive identification of ores, fuels, and other materials. It is also necessary for determining their quantity and for selecting methods of recovery. Most deep boreholes are drilled by the rotary method, in which a drill bit is rotated while fluid (“drilling mud”) is circulated through the bit to lubricate

Absolute Idealism

2005-02-05T13:13:00.000-08:00

A philosophical theory chiefly associated with G.W.F. Hegel and Friedrich Schelling, both German idealist philosophers of the 19th century, Josiah Royce, an American philosopher, and others, but, in its essentials, the product of Hegel. Absolute Idealism can generally be characterized as including the following principles: (1) the common everyday world of things and embodied

Antarctica, Biological resources

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

Resources of the sea first attracted people to Antarctica and provided the only basis for commercial activity in this region for many years. Commercial fur sealing began about 1766 in the Falkland Islands and rapidly spread to all subantarctic islands in the zeal to supply the wealthy markets of Europe and China. Immense profits were made, but the toll was equally immense.

Prickly Heat

2005-02-04T15:27:00.000-08:00

A noncontagious skin eruption of red pimples with intense itching and tingling caused by inflammation around the sweat glands. It is a form of miliaria (q.v.).

Sankin Kotai

2005-02-03T13:36:00.000-08:00

System inaugurated in 1635 in Japan by the Tokugawa shogun (hereditary military dictator) Iemitsu by which the great feudal lords (daimyo) had to reside several months each year in the Tokugawa capital at Edo (modern Tokyo). When the lords returned to their fiefs, they were required to leave their wives and families in Edo. The system, which was imitated by the various daimyo

Indian Philosophy

2005-02-03T06:37:00.000-08:00

The systems of thought and reflection that were developed by the civilizations of the Indian subcontinent. They include both orthodox (astika) systems, namely, the Nyaya, Vaisesika, Samkhya, Yoga, Purva-mimamsa, and Vedanta schools of philosophy, and unorthodox (nastika) systems, such as Buddhism and Jainism. Indian thought has been concerned with various philosophical problems,

Bruce (of Melbourne), Stanley Melbourne Bruce, Viscount

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

Bruce studied at the University of Cambridge and then practiced law in England. After serving in the British army during World War I, he entered the Australian Parliament in

Settat

2005-02-01T05:55:00.000-08:00

City, central Morocco. Situated on the coastal plain immediately south of Casablanca, the city is the largest market centre in the fertile Chaouia coastal plain. Settat city's most notable features are a late 17th-century casbah built by the 'Alawi ruler Moulay Isma'il and a millah (traditional Jewish quarter) established in the 19th century. The city is connected by road and

Mountain, Landforms associated with hot spot volcanism

2005-01-31T09:31:00.000-08:00

Some volcanic phenomena occur at large distances from plate boundaries (for example, on the Hawaiian Islands or at Yellowstone National Park in the western continental United States). Also, as noted above, volcanism is especially intense at some parts of the mid-ocean ridge system (as in Iceland or the Galápagos Islands in the eastern Pacific). Magmas erupted in these

Burbidge, (eleanor) Margaret

2005-01-31T08:03:00.000-08:00

Burbidge served as assistant director (1948–50) and acting director

Girnar Hills

2005-01-30T21:15:00.000-08:00

Physical region on the Kathiawar Peninsula, Gujarat state, west-central India. At the foot of one of the hills is a rock bearing one of the Rock Edicts of Asoka (3rd century BC). The same rock bears an inscription referring to the construction of a lake, called Sudarsana, by the Maurya emperor Candra Gupta (late 4th century BC). In the hills surrounding these two important historical records

Beadwork

2005-01-29T20:37:00.000-08:00

During the Middle Ages, when embroidery was an important art form, beads

Christian Reformed Church In North America

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

Protestant denomination that developed in the United States from a group that separated in 1857 from the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church (now the Reformed Church in America) and called itself the True Holland Reformed Church. It was strengthened in 1882 when joined by other dissenters from the Reformed Church in America who believed that the parent church should reject

Paglia, Camille

2005-01-28T02:24:00.000-08:00

The controversial academic, aesthete, and self-described feminist Camille Paglia enunciated her unorthodox views on sexuality and the development of culture and art in Western civilization in two books, Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson (1990) and Sex, Art, and American Culture: Essays (1992). Her public persona and iconoclastic views enraged

Quandong Nut

2005-01-26T22:00:00.000-08:00

Edible seed of the native peach (Santalum acuminatum), a small shrubby tree of the sandalwood family (Santalaceae), native to Australia. Unlike other members of this family, the native peach is grown for its fruit and nuts rather than for its wood. The nutritious, red, pulpy flesh of the fruit is used in jams, pies, and chutneys. The hard-shelled, edible nuts are customarily

Photography, Later trends

2005-01-26T21:34:00.000-08:00

Throughout its history, there have been two complementary yet distinct aesthetic approaches to photography. On the one hand, there has been the recognition of the basic qualities of photography and the desire to make use of them in a functional way. On the other hand, there have been those who believe that the most aesthetic use of photography is to relate it to other

Alcuin

2005-01-26T14:50:00.000-08:00

Anglo-Latin poet, educator, and cleric who, as head of the Palatine school established by Charlemagne at Aachen, introduced the traditions of Anglo-Saxon humanism into western Europe. He was the foremost scholar of the revival of learning known as the Carolingian Renaissance. He also made important reforms in the Roman

Ear, Human, Hearing tests

2005-01-25T14:17:00.000-08:00

Before the development of electroacoustic equipment for generating and measuring sound, the available tests of hearing gave approximate answers at best. A person's hearing could be specified in terms of the ability to distinguish the ticking of a watch or the clicking of coins or the distance at which conversational speech or a whispered voice could be understood.

Berenice

2005-01-25T08:31:00.000-08:00

The eldest daughter of Herod Agrippa I by his wife Cypros, Berenice was married at a young age to Marcus, the son of Alexander the Alabarch. Before consummating the marriage, Marcus died, and Berenice then married Herod, king of Chalcis, with whom she had two sons. Following

Arnaud, Henri

2005-01-24T02:30:00.000-08:00

After studying theology in Switzerland, Arnaud returned to Piedmont and established himself as pastor at Torre Pellice (1685), where he

Lag Ba-'omer

2005-01-23T03:08:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Lag B'omer, or Lag Be-omer, a minor Jewish observance falling on the 33rd day in the period of the counting of the 'omer (“barley sheaves”); on this day semimourning ceases and weddings are allowed. The origin of the festival is obscure. Among many traditions, one has it that manna first fell from heaven on this day; another tradition claims that a plague that raged among the followers of Rabbi Akiba ben

Felton, Rebecca Ann

2005-01-22T05:02:00.000-08:00

Rebecca Latimer was graduated first in her class from the Madison Female College, Madison, Georgia, in 1852 and the following year married William H. Felton, a local physician active in liberal Democratic politics. She assisted her husband in