DifferentParcel

Estate Agent London

2006-10-26T21:30:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services, including estate agent london and estate agent central london. Their centrally located ground floor offices, minutes from Oxford Circus offer an ideal marketing base for your property.

Cyril And Methodius, Saints

2005-04-03T06:13:00.000-07:00

Brothers who for christianizing the Danubian Slavs and for influencing the religious and cultural development of all Slavic peoples received the title “the apostles of the Slavs.” Both were outstanding scholars, theologians, and

Ob-ugric Languages

2005-04-03T00:42:00.000-08:00

Division of the Finno-Ugric branch of the Uralic language family, comprising the Mansi (Vogul) and Khanty (Ostyak) languages; they are most closely related to Hungarian, with which they make up the Ugric branch of Finno-Ugric. The Ob-Ugric languages are spoken in the region of the Ob and Irtysh rivers in central Russia. They had no written tradition or literary language

Pius Vi

2005-04-01T16:22:00.000-08:00

He held various papal administrative positions before being ordained priest in 1758. Progressing rapidly, he became treasurer of the apostolic chamber under Pope Clement XIII in 1766, and in 1773 was made cardinal by Pope Clement XIV, after whose death a four-month

Dietz, Robert S.

2005-03-31T16:00:00.000-08:00

Dietz was educated at the University of Illinois (B.S., 1937; M.S., 1939; Ph.D., 1941). After serving as an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, he became a civilian scientist with the U.S. Navy. In this capacity, he supervised the oceanographic research on

Italianate Painters

2005-03-31T08:12:00.000-08:00

Group of 17th-century northern European painters, principally Dutch, who traveled in Italy and, consciously adopting the style of landscape painting that they found there, incorporated Italian models and motifs into their own works. Chief among the Italianates were Bartholomeus Breenbergh, Andries and Jan Both, Nicolaes Berchem, and Jan Asselijn. The Both brothers,

Papinian

2005-03-29T00:09:00.000-08:00

Papinian held high public office under the emperor Septimius Severus (reigned AD 193–211) and became vice president of the Consilium Principis,

United States, Bank Of The

2005-03-28T04:33:00.000-08:00

Central bank chartered in 1791 by the U.S. Congress at the urging of Alexander Hamilton and over the objections of Thomas Jefferson. Extended debate over its constitutionality contributed significantly to the evolution of pro- and anti-bank factions into the first American political parties—respectively, the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. Antagonism

Angus

2005-03-26T08:17:00.000-08:00

Formerly Forfarshire council area and historic county in eastern Scotland, bounded on the east by the North Sea and on the south by the Firth of Tay. The council area lies entirely within the historic county of Angus, which also includes the city of Dundee and a small area south of Coupar Angus in the Perth and Kinross council area. The chief city of the county is Dundee, which constitutes a

Audion

2005-03-26T04:45:00.000-08:00

Elementary form of radio tube developed in 1906 (patented 1907) by Lee De Forest of the United States. It was the first vacuum tube in which a control grid as well as a cathode and an anode was incorporated. With the development of multigrid tubes in the 1920s, the generic term audion fell into disuse and was replaced by more descriptive terminology. See also triode; tetrode; pentode

Amateur Radio

2005-03-24T22:39:00.000-08:00

Interest in amateur radio arose around the turn of the century, shortly after the Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi successfully sent the first transatlantic wireless signal in 1901. The interference of amateur broadcasts with commercial and military

Allison, William B.

2005-03-24T16:43:00.000-08:00

Allison practiced law in his hometown of Ashland, Ohio, and (from 1857) in Dubuque, Iowa. In the House of Representatives he was a partisan of railroad interests,

Masbate

2005-03-22T11:13:00.000-08:00

Island and town, central Philippines, part of the Visayas group, bordered by the Sibuyan (west), Visayan (south), and Samar (east) seas. The island, 30 miles (48 km) southwest of the southern tip of Luzon, is V-shaped, with the open end of the V forming the Asid Gulf on the south; it has an area of 1,262 square miles (3,269 square km). The discontinuous highlands that stretch along both arms of the V represent

D Region

2005-03-22T07:42:00.000-08:00

Lowest ionospheric region, at altitudes of about 70 to 90 km (40 to 55 miles). The D region differs from the other ionospheric regions (denoted E and F) in that its free electrons almost totally disappear during the night because they recombine with oxygen ions to form oxygen molecules. Hence, radio waves cannot then be reflected from it but pass through to the strongly reflecting

Skaldic Poetry

2005-03-19T23:12:00.000-08:00

Skalds were identified by name; their poems

Merchant Guild

2005-03-19T15:14:00.000-08:00

A European medieval association composed of traders interested in international commerce. The privileged fraternity formed by the merchants of Tiel in Gelderland (in present-day Netherlands) about 1020 is the first undoubted precursor of the merchant guilds, and the statutes of a similar body at St. Omer, France, actually use the term gilda mercatoria before the end

Hellenistic Religion

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

The conquests of Alexander opened the way for religious interchange between East and West; the political structures left behind by Alexander and continued by his successors provided strong incentives for the hellenization of native religions. Characteristic of this first period of Hellenistic religious history were the following developments: (1) the introduction

Felling

2005-03-17T21:54:00.000-08:00

Town, Gateshead metropolitan borough, metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Tyne. The town grew rapidly at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century with the extension of coal mining and later with the expansion of riverside industries such as shipbuilding and the manufacture of glass and heavy chemicals. New

Asuka Period

2005-03-17T20:50:00.000-08:00

In Japanese history and art, era from Ad 552 to 645 that began with the introduction of Buddhism from Korea and culminated in the adoption of a Chinese pattern of government. Initially opposed by conservative clans, Buddhism found favour with the powerful Soga family which defeated its rivals in a succession dispute in 587. As Imperial regent, Shotoku Taishi gave Buddhism official support, and his famous Seventeen

Chekiang

2005-03-17T13:41:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Che-chiang, (Pinyin) Zhejiang, sheng (province) of China. It is the third smallest province of China and also one of the most densely populated and affluent. Its area is 39,300 square miles (101,800 square kilometres). A coastal province, it is bounded by the East China Sea on the east and by the provinces of Fukien on the south, Kiangsi on the southwest, Anhwei on the west, and Kiangsu on the north. The provincial capital

Esdraelon, Plain Of

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

The plain, roughly triangular in shape, is oriented northwest-southeast with the apex at

Adams, John

2005-03-14T17:53:00.000-08:00

By then Adams's legal career was on the rise, and he had become a visible member of the resistance movement that questioned Parliament's right to tax the American colonies. In 1765 Adams published d, which justified opposition to the recently enacted Stamp Act—an effort to raise revenue by requiring all publications and legal documents to bear a stamp—by arguing that Parliament's intrusions into colonial affairs exposed the inherently coercive and corrupt character of English politics. Intensely combative, full of private doubts about his own capacities but never about his cause, Adams became a leading figure in the opposition to the Townshend Acts (1767), which imposed duties on imported commodities (i.e., glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea). Despite his hostility toward the British government, in 1770 Adams agreed to defend the British soldiers who had fired on a Boston crowd in what became known as the Boston Massacre. His insistence on upholding the legal rights of the soldiers, who in fact had been provoked, made him temporarily unpopular but also marked him as one of the most principled radicals in the burgeoning movement for American independence. He had a penchant for doing the right thing, most especially when it made him unpopular.

East Ayrshire

2005-03-13T02:26:00.000-08:00

Council area, southwestern Scotland. It covers an undulating lowland in the north and west that rises to forested and moor-covered uplands in the east and south, where Blackcraig Hill reaches an elevation of 2,298 feet (700 metres). East Ayrshire forms part of the historic county of Ayrshire. Dairy farming is important in the lowlands, while cattle and sheep raising predominate

Armstrong, John

2005-03-13T02:22:00.000-08:00

Armstrong fought in the American Revolution (1775–83) and, as an officer in the Continental Army, was apparently the author of the Newburgh Addresses attacking Congress. After

Mataram

2005-03-12T06:42:00.000-08:00

Under Sultan

Austrian Succession, War Of The

2005-03-11T06:46:00.000-08:00

In the war for the Austrian succession itself, France unsuccessfully supported the dubious claims of Bavaria, Saxony, and Spain to parts of the Habsburg domain and supported the claim of Charles

Gabrieli, Giovanni

2005-03-11T06:27:00.000-08:00

Giovanni Gabrieli studied with his uncle, Andrea Gabrieli, whom he regarded with almost filial affection. To the latter's foreign travels and connections Giovanni owed his chance to become known

Episcopacy

2005-03-10T16:21:00.000-08:00

In some Christian churches, the office of a bishop and the system of church government based on the three orders, or offices, of the ministry: bishops, priests, and deacons. The origins of episcopacy are obscure, but by the 2nd century AD it was becoming established in the main centres of Christianity. It was closely tied to the idea of apostolic succession, the belief that

Hui

2005-03-09T22:03:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Hwei, or Hui-hui, also called (Wade-Giles) T'ung-kan, or (Pinyin) Tonggan, Burmese Pathay, Russian Dungan, Chinese Muslims, intermingled with the Han Chinese throughout China but relatively concentrated in western China—in the provinces or autonomous regions of Sinkiang, Ningsia, Kansu, Tsinghai, Honan, Hopeh, Shantung, and Yunnan. Considerable numbers also live in Anhwei, Liaoning, and Peking. The Hui are also found on the frontier between China and Myanmar (Burma) and

Habsburg, House Of

2005-03-09T07:56:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Hapsburg , also called House of Austria royal German family, one of the principal sovereign dynasties of Europe from the 15th to the 20th century.

Southern Africa, Xhosa-Dutch conflict

2005-03-08T03:02:00.000-08:00

Settler expansion to the Cape's eastern frontier was blocked by the 1770s when trekboers came up against numerous Xhosa farmers in the area of the Great Fish River. During the 18th century the Xhosa had been embroiled in two major civil wars over the chiefly succession, of which the more important was the dispute, between the paramount Gcaleka and his ambitious brother

Kaffir

2005-03-07T10:43:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kafir, Arabic Kafir (“Infidel”), member of a group of southern African Bantu-speaking peoples (see Xhosa); also, member of a people of the Hindu Kush in northeastern Afghanistan (see Nuristani). Use of the term for either group reflects a negative opinion. Especially in South Africa, kaffir (not capitalized) is used in a generally pejorative way to mean any African black.

Hysteresis

2005-03-06T17:09:00.000-08:00

Lagging of the magnetization of a ferromagnetic material, such as iron, behind variations of the magnetizing field. When ferromagnetic materials are placed within a coil of wire carrying an electric current, the magnetizing field, or magnetic field strength H, caused by the current forces some or all of the atomic magnets in the material to align with the field. The

Military Aircraft, Reconnaissance

2005-03-05T18:34:00.000-08:00

For military staffs contemplating offensive operations, aerial photography became the most important source of detailed information on enemy dispositions. British reconnaissance aircraft were especially capable. Modified versions of the Spitfire and Mosquito, stripped of armament and fitted with extra fuel tanks, proved essentially immune to interception

Hookworm Disease

2005-03-05T09:08:00.000-08:00

Also called ancylostomiasis , or uncinariasis a parasitic infestation of humans, dogs, or cats caused by bloodsucking worms (see photograph) living in the small intestine—sometimes associated with secondary anemia. Several species of hookworm can cause the disease. Necator americanus, which ranges in size from 5 to 11 millimetres (0.2 to 0.4 inch), is responsible for about 90 percent of human hookworm infections

Becque, Henry-françois

2005-03-05T06:29:00.000-08:00

Dramatist and critic whose loosely structured plays, based on character and motivation rather than on closely knit plots, provided a healthy challenge to the “well-made plays” that held the stage in his day. Although Becque disliked literary theory and refused identification with any school, he has been remembered as a forerunner of the

Pyrophyllite

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

Very soft, pale-coloured silicate mineral, hydrated aluminum silicate, Al2(OH)2 Si4O10, that is the main constituent of some schistose rocks. The most extensive commercial deposits are in North Carolina, but pyrophyllite is also mined in California, Canada, and South Africa. Talclike foliated masses occur in the Urals, in Switzerland, and in other localities. For detailed

Amin, Idi

2005-03-03T06:25:00.000-08:00

A member of the small Kakwa ethnic group of northwestern Uganda, Amin had little formal education and joined the King's African Rifles of the British colonial army in 1946 as an assistant cook. He quickly rose through the ranks, serving in the Allied

Maumee River

2005-03-02T21:30:00.000-08:00

River formed near Fort Wayne, Ind., U.S., by the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers. It flows northeast into Ohio, past Defiance and on to Toledo, where it enters Lake Erie through Maumee Bay. About 130 miles (210 km) long, the Maumee is navigable for about 12 miles (19 km) from its mouth and serves as the harbour of Toledo. It receives the Auglaize River, its chief tributary, at Defiance.

Jacksonville

2005-03-02T18:16:00.000-08:00

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

Pipe

2005-03-01T23:48:00.000-08:00

In music, specifically, the three-holed flute played with a tabor drum (see pipe and tabor); generically, any aerophonic (wind) instruments consisting of pipes, either flutes or reed pipes (as a clarinet), and also the reed and flue pipes of organs. A pipe's pitch depends on its length, a long pipe having a low pitch. Pipes stopped at one end sound an octave lower than open pipes

Yale, Caroline

2005-03-01T18:43:00.000-08:00

Yale attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (later Mount Holyoke College; 1866–68). She taught briefly in schools in Brandon and Williston, Vermont, before joining the staff of the Clarke Institution for Deaf Mutes (from 1896 the Clarke School for

Amalekite

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

Member of an ancient nomadic tribe, or collection of tribes, described in the Old Testament as relentless enemies of Israel, even though they were closely related to Ephraim, one of the 12 tribes of Israel. The district over which they ranged was south of Judah and probably extended into northern Arabia. The Amalekites harassed the Hebrews during their Exodus from Egypt

Lipalian Interval

2005-02-27T14:14:00.000-08:00

In geology, time span suggested in an attempt to explain the sudden appearance of abundant life forms in the earliest known Cambrian rocks (approximately 570,000,000 years old), in contrast to their absence in the latest Precambrian strata (no more than about 800,000,000 years old). Unlike Precambrian indications of life, Cambrian faunas are comparatively highly developed and diverse,

Shilka River

2005-02-27T04:23:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Šilka river, Chita oblast (province), southeastern Russia, formed by the union of the Onon and Ingoda rivers. It flows 348 miles (560 km) northeast to unite with the Argun to form the Amur River on the Russia–China border. The area of its drainage basin is 80,000 square miles (206,000 square km). The river is navigable for its entire length.

F-15

2005-02-26T13:35:00.000-08:00

The F-15 has

Arwad, Jazirat

2005-02-26T03:53:00.000-08:00

Greek Arados , Phoenician Arvad island in the eastern Mediterranean off the Syrian coastal town of Tartus. Originally settled by the Phoenicians in the early 2nd millennium BC, it formed an excellent base for their commercial operations, into both the Orontes Valley and the hinterland as far as the Euphrates, and also to Egypt. Arwadian soldiers fought against the Egyptians at the Battle of Kadesh (c. 1299 BC). From

Porphyry

2005-02-25T22:37:00.000-08:00

Original name Malchus Neoplatonist Greek philosopher, important both as an editor and as a biographer of the philosopher Plotinus and for his commentary on Aristotle's Categories, which set the stage for medieval developments of logic and the problem of universals. Boethius' Latin translation of the introduction (Isagoge) became

Kafka, Franz

2005-02-24T21:41:00.000-08:00

Czech-born German-language writer of visionary fiction, whose posthumously published novels—especially Der Prozess (1925; The Trial) and Das Schloss (1926; The Castle)—express the anxieties and alienation of 20th-century man.

Albany, Robert Stewart, 1st Duke Of

2005-02-24T19:14:00.000-08:00

The third son of Robert II of Scotland, he was made high chamberlain of Scotland in 1382 and won a military reputation in campaigns against England.

Ashurbanipal

2005-02-24T01:05:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Assurbanipal, or Asurbanipal last of the great kings of Assyria (reigned 668 to 627 BC), who assembled in Nineveh the first systematically organized library in the ancient Middle East.

Mauguin, Charles

2005-02-23T02:19:00.000-08:00

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

Fowler, William A.

2005-02-23T01:45:00.000-08:00

Fowler studied at Ohio State University (B.S., 1933) and at the California Institute of Technology (Ph.D., 1936), where he became a professor in 1939. His theory of

Breckinridge, Mary

2005-02-22T11:52:00.000-08:00

Breckinridge grew up in Washington, D.C., where her father was an Arkansas congressman, and in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he served as U.S. minister to Russia. Educated

Zamora

2005-02-22T01:00:00.000-08:00

Capital of Zamora province, in the autonomous community (region) of Castile-León, northwestern Spain. It lies along the northern bank of the Duero (Portuguese Douro) River, northwest of Madrid. The city occupies a rocky height overlooking the Duero, a little below its confluence with the Valderaduey River. In the early period of the Christian reconquest (8th–11th century)

Ghent

2005-02-21T01:45:00.000-08:00

One of Belgium's oldest cities and the historic capital of Flanders, Ghent was powerful, well-organized in its wealthy trade

Elision

2005-02-20T20:32:00.000-08:00

(Latin: “striking out”), in prosody, the slurring or omission of a final unstressed vowel that precedes either another vowel or a weak consonant sound, as in the word heav'n. It may also be the dropping of a consonant between vowels, as in the word o'er for over. Elision is used to fit words into a metrical scheme, to smooth the rhythm of a poem, or to ease the pronunciation of words.

Nitrate

2005-02-20T19:49:00.000-08:00

Any member of either of two classes of compounds derived from nitric acid. The salts of nitric acid are ionic compounds containing the nitrate ion, NO-3, and a positive ion, such as NH+4 in ammonium nitrate. Esters of nitric acid are covalent compounds having the structure R-O-NO2, in which R represents an organic combining group, such as ethyl (C2H5) in ethyl nitrate. See also nitro

Felix

2005-02-20T17:52:00.000-08:00

When Archbishop Elipandus of Toledo promulgated the Adoptionist doctrine, he was condemned by Pope Adrian I. Elipandus then sought the support of Felix, who expressed agreement, whereupon Charlemagne in 792 summoned Felix to the Council of Ratisbon (Regensburg, Bavaria [Germany]), where Felix was induced

Cairo, The old and new quarters

2005-02-19T19:28:00.000-08:00

Cairo is fan-shaped, narrowest in the south, where the river valley is wedged between desert escarpments, and widest in the north, where the valley blends into the delta. Over the centuries the city expanded westward as a receding river channel left land flood-free. In response to heightened demand, however, the city also has been elongated to the north and south and has

Theatre, Developments in staging

2005-02-19T11:07:00.000-08:00

In the latter half of the 16th century, intermezzi became a popular element of theatrical production. These entertainments, inserted between the acts of a play and totally unrelated to it, were generally on classical themes and were originally mounted during masked balls and banquets. The need to change settings rapidly for the alternating segments of plays and

Ogilby, John

2005-02-19T10:06:00.000-08:00

Ogilby's early career as a dancing master and theatre owner in Ireland, crowned by the success of a theatre he built in Dublin, ended in 1641 with

Tesich, Steve

2005-02-19T03:06:00.000-08:00

(STOYAN TESICH), U.S. screenwriter and playwright who won an Academy Award for Breaking Away and also scripted such films as Eyewitness and The World According to Garp (b. Sept. 29, 1942--d. July 1, 1996).

Kadavu

2005-02-17T23:46:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kandavu island of Fiji, in the South Pacific, 50 miles (80 km) south of Vitu Levu, across the Kadavu Passage. It was visited by the British naval captain William Bligh in 1792. Volcanic in origin, Kadavu has an area of 158 square miles (409 square km) and is bisected by a central mountain ridge with fertile slopes; it rises to 2,749 feet (838 m) at Ndelainambukelevu (Mount Washington). Timber from the forested central

Ghazal

2005-02-17T14:05:00.000-08:00

The ghazals by 'Umar ibn

Bench, Johnny

2005-02-17T08:06:00.000-08:00

In full Johnny Lee Bench American professional baseball player who, in 17 seasons with the Cincinnati Reds of the National League, established himself as one of the game's finest catchers. He won 10 consecutive Gold Glove Awards (1968–77) and had an exceptional throwing arm. Bench was a master at blocking home plate from base runners, and he popularized the now-standard

Tsushima, Battle Of

2005-02-16T05:23:00.000-08:00

The Japanese had been unable to secure the complete command of the sea because the Russian naval squadrons at Port Arthur and Vladivostok made sorties and both sides suffered losses in the ensuing engagements. Meanwhile, the Russian government decided

Clotilda, Saint

2005-02-15T05:11:00.000-08:00

Clotilda was the granddaughter of Gundioc, king of Burgundy, who was related to the Visigothic kings and shared their Arian Christian faith. At Gundioc's death his kingdom was divided between his four sons, Gundobad, Godegesil,

Swarthmore

2005-02-14T06:04:00.000-08:00

Borough (town), Delaware county, southeastern Pennsylvania, U.S. It is a southwestern suburb of Philadelphia. The community developed around Swarthmore College, which was founded in 1864. The borough is mainly residential, its economy based on services associated with the college. Inc. 1893. Pop. (1990) 6,157; (2000) 6,170.

Beach, Alfred Ely

2005-02-14T02:04:00.000-08:00

While Beach was attending

Leviathan

2005-02-14T00:18:00.000-08:00

Hebrew Livyatan, in Jewish mythology, a primordial sea serpent. Its source is in prebiblical Mesopotamian myth, especially that of the sea monster in the Ugaritic myth of Baal (see Yamm). In the Old Testament, Leviathan appears in Psalms 74:14 as a multiheaded sea serpent that is killed by God and given as food to the Hebrews in the wilderness. In Isaiah 27:1, Leviathan is a serpent and a symbol of Israel's

Lead Processing

2005-02-13T07:13:00.000-08:00

Lead (Pb) is one of the oldest metals known, being one of seven metals used in the ancient world (the others are gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, and mercury). Its low melting point of 327° C (621° F), coupled with its easy castability and softness and malleability, make lead and lead alloys especially suitable for a wide range of cast products,

Tephrochronology

2005-02-12T22:05:00.000-08:00

Method of age determination that makes use of layers of ash (tephra). Tephra layers are excellent time-stratigraphic markers, but, to establish a chronology, it is necessary to identify and correlate as many tephra units as possible over the widest possible area. Because of the large number of violent volcanic explosions in Iceland, Sigurdur Thorarinsson, an Icelander

Visconti, Luchino

2005-02-12T14:52:00.000-08:00

In full Don Luchino Visconti, Conte (count) Di Modrone Italian motion-picture director whose realistic treatment of individuals caught in the conflicts of modern society contributed significantly to the post-World War II revolution in Italian filmmaking and earned him the title of father of Neorealism. He also established himself as an innovative theatrical and opera director in the years

Peter Iv

2005-02-10T23:46:00.000-08:00

Peter was the most cultivated of Spanish 14th-century kings but was also an inveterate political intriguer whose ability to dissemble was notorious. Through his voluminous correspondence, the workings of his mind are far better known than those of any contemporary Spanish

Tank

2005-02-10T16:53:00.000-08:00

The need to cross rivers and other water obstacles led to the development of amphibious tanks, beginning with the British Medium D, designed in 1918. Amphibious tanks built during 1920s and '30s sacrificed armament and armour to achieve low weight in relation to their bulk and, therefore, sufficient buoyancy to float. This confined their usefulness to reconnaissance. A late

Fruit

2005-02-10T15:29:00.000-08:00

In its strict botanical sense, the fleshy or dry ripened ovary of a plant, enclosing the seed or seeds. Thus, apricots, bananas, and grapes, as well as bean pods, corn grains, tomatoes, cucumbers, and (in their shells) acorns and almonds, are all technically fruits. Popularly, however, the term is restricted to the ripened ovaries that are sweet and either succulent or pulpy. The

Albert

2005-02-09T22:59:00.000-08:00

Albert was the younger son of John Cicero, elector of Brandenburg. Albert became archbishop of Magdeburg and administrator of the bishopric of Halberstadt

Top

2005-02-09T11:55:00.000-08:00

A toy having a body of conical, circular, or oval shape, often hollow, with a point or peg on which it turns or is made to whirl. If given a knock, a spinning top will go around in a circle at a slant; if spun with a slant at the start, it will quickly stand upright until halted by friction. Its physical properties are similar to those of the gyroscope. Some tops, as the common peg top,

Hara Takashi

2005-02-08T14:47:00.000-08:00

Hara was the son of a high-ranking samurai family of northern Japan. After graduating from Tokyo University he became a journalist. In 1882 he entered the foreign service, upon which he rose rapidly

Ch'i

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

In the 7th and 6th centuries BC, Ch'i, which was located on the extreme eastern edge of the North China Plain in what is now Shantung and Hopeh provinces, began to increase in size, expanding at least sixfold by incorporating many previous “barbarian” areas into its realm.

Acarigua

2005-02-07T17:56:00.000-08:00

City, northern Portuguesa estado (“state”), northwestern Venezuela. Formerly the state capital, Acarigua is a principal commercial centre of the northern portion of the Llanos (plains), in which cattle, sugarcane, cotton, corn (maize), and rice are the principal products. Industries in the city include sawmilling and dairying. Acarigua is accessible by air and by highway

Seto Ware

2005-02-07T08:40:00.000-08:00

Ceramics manufactured in Seto by one of the so-called Six Ancient Kilns of Japan. It was first produced in the later Kamakura period toward the close of the 13th century. The origin of Seto ware is usually attributed to Kato Shirozaemon (Toshiro), who is said to have studied ceramic manufacture in southern China and produced pottery of his own in the Seto district upon his return.

Cloaca

2005-02-06T06:07:00.000-08:00

(Latin: “sewer”), in vertebrates, common chamber and outlet into which the intestinal, urinary, and genital tracts open. It is present in amphibians, reptiles, birds, elasmobranch fishes (such as sharks), and monotremes. A cloaca is not present in placental mammals or in most bony fishes. Certain animals have, within the cloaca, an accessory organ (penis) that is used to direct

Activity Coefficient

2005-02-06T05:36:00.000-08:00

In chemistry, the ratio of the chemical activity of any substance to its molar concentration. The measured concentration of a substance may not be an accurate indicator of its chemical effectiveness, as represented by the equation for a particular reaction, in which case an activity coefficient is arbitrarily established and used instead of the concentration

Holbein, Hans, The Elder

2005-02-05T13:58:00.000-08:00

Nothing is known of Holbein's early life and training, but he was married and established as a

Cytoplasmic Streaming

2005-02-05T05:30:00.000-08:00

Also called protoplasmic streaming the movement of the living substance (cytoplasm) within a plant or animal cell. The motion transports nutrients, enzymes, and, in plants, large virus particles within cells. In unicellular organisms such as amoeba, it provides the mechanism for cell locomotion. First discovered in the 1830s, the presence of cytoplasmic streaming helped convince biologists that cells

T'ai-nan

2005-02-04T20:18:00.000-08:00

Hsien (county), southwestern Taiwan, with an area of 778 square miles (2,016 square km). It is bordered by Chia-i hsien (north), by Kao-hsiung hsien (southeast), and by T'ai-nan shih (municipality) and the Taiwan Strait (west). In the mid-17th century, what is now T'ai-nan hsien was part of the territory ruled by Cheng Ch'eng-kung (Koxinga), who established Chinese control over Taiwan and had his capital

Rusalka

2005-02-04T16:35:00.000-08:00

Plural Rusalki, in Slavic mythology, lake-dwelling soul of a child who died unbaptized or of a virgin who was drowned (whether accidentally or purposely). Slavs of different areas have assigned different personalities to the rusalki. Around the Danube River, where they are called vile (singular vila), rusalki are beautiful, charming girls, dressed always in light robes of mist, singing

Zambezi River, Kariba and Cahora Bassa schemes

2005-02-03T19:09:00.000-08:00

The Kariba Dam harnesses the Zambezi at Kariba, Zimb., 300 miles below Victoria Falls. A concrete-arch dam with a maximum height of 420 feet and a crest length of 1,900 feet carries a road connecting the Zambian and Zimbabwean banks of the gorge. Six floodgates permit a discharge of some 335,000 cubic feet of water per second. Both Zambia and Zimbabwe obtain most of their electricity from

Kunlun Mountains, Geology

2005-02-03T15:25:00.000-08:00

The principal folded structures and granitic rocks of the Kunlun Mountains date to about 250 million years ago, a time during which there was much mountain building in the Eastern Hemisphere. The inner depressions of the Kunluns, however, are relatively recent structures in their entirety, being formed by deposits that are no more than 26 million years old; only the largest

Wellesley (of Norragh), Richard Colley Wellesley, Marquess

2005-02-03T07:52:00.000-08:00

British statesman who, as governor of Madras and governor general of Bengal (both 1797–1805), greatly enlarged the British Empire in India and who, as lord lieutenant of Ireland (1821–28, 1833–34), attempted to reconcile

Empiricism, Broader senses

2005-02-02T23:42:00.000-08:00

In both everyday attitudes and philosophical theories, the experiences referred to are principally those arising from stimulation of the sense organs, in particular those of sight and touch. Most philosophical Empiricists, however, have maintained that sensation is not the only provider of experience, admitting as empirical the awareness of mental states

Marsa Matruh

2005-02-01T17:24:00.000-08:00

Town and capital of Matruh muhafazah (governorate), on the Mediterranean coast, Western Desert, in northwestern Egypt. The town serves as a market and distribution centre for the surrounding agricultural region. Olives, barley, and fruits are grown, and there are vineyards as well. Sheep and goats are raised. Winter rains (5–8 inches [125–200 mm]) provide most of the water needed in the coastal

épinay-sur-seine

2005-02-01T07:05:00.000-08:00

Town, northern suburb of Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis département, Paris region, north-central France, on the Seine River. Épinay originated from a Gallic-Roman settlement called Spinogelum (Place of Thorns and Gorse), and in the Middle Ages it was the site of La Brache, a castle of the Frankish kings. During the Franco-German War a battle was fought there (Nov. 30, 1870). The town has a chemical

Farm Machinery

2005-01-31T23:10:00.000-08:00

The operations of farming for which machines are used are diverse. For

Ghazipur

2005-01-30T19:06:00.000-08:00

Town, administrative headquarters of Ghazipur district, Uttar Pradesh state, northern India, northeast of Varanasi (Benares), on the Ganges River. Its ancient name of Gadhipur was changed to Ghazipur in about 1330, reputedly in honour of Ghazi Malik, a Muslim ruler. The town was a strategically important river port under the British, whose former cantonment now contains a college, a

Bloodhound

2005-01-30T01:59:00.000-08:00

Breed of dog unsurpassed by any other in scenting ability and from which most of the scent-hunting hounds have been derived. It was known, although not in its present form, in the Mediterranean area in pre-Christian times. Typically calm and affectionate, it has been used in tracking animals and in trailing persons. A large, strong dog, it stands 23 to 27 inches (58 to 69 centimetres)

Melanesian Culture

2005-01-30T00:01:00.000-08:00

The beliefs and practices of those indigenous peoples of the Pacific Islands grouped as Melanesia. The islands include (generally from west to east) the island of New Guinea, the Admiralty Islands, and the Bismarck and Louisiade archipelagoes; the Solomon Islands and the Santa Cruz Islands; New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands; Vanuatu (formerly New Hebrides); Fiji;

Elijah

2005-01-29T14:54:00.000-08:00

Elijah was from Tishbe in Gilead. The narrative in 1 Kings relates how he suddenly appears during Ahab's reign to proclaim a drought in punishment of the cult of Baal that Jezebel was promoting in Israel at Yahweh's expense. Later Elijah meets 450 prophets of Baal in a contest of strength on Mount Carmel to determine which deity is the true God of Israel. Sacrifices are placed