SuddenLine

Zond

2005-10-16T21:15:00.000-07:00

Any of a series of eight unmanned Soviet lunar and interplanetary probes. Zond 1 (launched April 1964) and Zond 2 (November 1964) were aimed at Venus and Mars respectively, but failed to send back data on the planets. Zond 3 (July 1965) transmitted closeup photographs of 3,000,000 square miles (7,800,000 square kilometres) of the lunar surface, including the hidden side, before going into solar orbit. Zond 5 (September

Gaius

2005-07-27T23:55:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Caius Roman jurist whose writings became authoritative in the late Roman Empire. The Law of Citations (426), issued by the eastern Roman emperor Theodosius II, named Gaius one of five jurists (the others were Papinian, Ulpian, Modestinus, and Paulus) whose doctrines were to be followed by judges in deciding cases. The Institutiones (“Institutes”) of the Byzantine emperor Justinian

Gabelle

2005-07-26T05:25:00.000-07:00

In the 14th century the gabelle denoted any tax on the sale of consumer goods; an ordinance of 1360 made it a permanent tax. In the 15th century the gabelle began to mean specifically the salt tax, that is, a tax on consumption of salt. The nobility, the clergy, and certain other privileged

Middleton, Thomas

2005-07-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

A popular playwright,

Giovanni Da Pian Del Carpini

2005-07-08T15:30:00.000-07:00

Giovanni was a contemporary and disciple of St. Francis of Assisi. By 1220 he

Berbice River

2005-07-06T19:50:00.000-07:00

River in eastern Guyana. The Berbice River rises in the highlands of the Rupununi region and flows northward for 370 miles (595 km) through dense forests to the coastal plain. It enters the Atlantic Ocean at New Amsterdam, where its flow is obstructed by shallows. The basin of the Berbice is restricted by the proximity of its larger neighbours, the Essequibo and Courantyne

Ventilating

2005-06-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

The hazards of poor ventilation were not clearly understood until the early

Claudius Pulcher, Publius

2005-06-23T04:00:00.000-07:00

Son of Appius Claudius Caecus and commander of the fleet that suffered the only serious Roman naval defeat of the First Punic War (264–241 BC). The setback occurred in 249, when Claudius was consul. He attacked the Carthaginian fleet in the harbour of Drepanum (modern Trapani, Sicily) and lost 93 of his 123 vessels. It was popularly believed that Claudius failed because he had committed

Scale

2005-06-21T09:45:00.000-07:00

The specific selection of different tones in any piece of music generally reveals a pattern of relationships among its pitches that can be expressed as a series of fixed distances (intervals) from one pitch to another within the span of an octave. The interval relationships

Brea

2005-06-16T13:15:00.000-07:00

City, Orange county, southwestern California, U.S., at the foot of the Puente Hills. Early settlers dug the oil-soaked earth in the “Brea” canyon for fuel, and commercial production began in the 1890s after successful strikes in the Brea and Olinda fields. The influx of people inspired the Ontario Investment Company to file a subdivision map in 1908 for a town to be called Randolph;

Bail

2005-06-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

Procedure by which a judge or magistrate sets at liberty one who has been arrested or imprisoned, upon receipt of security to ensure the released prisoner's later appearance in court for further proceedings. Release from custody is ordinarily effected by posting a sum of money, or a bond, although originally bail included the delivery of other forms of property,

Calendar, Early history

2005-06-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

The oldest system, in many respects the basis of the classical one, is known from texts of about 1000 BC. It divides an approximate solar year of 360 days into 12 lunar months of 27 (according to the early Vedic text Taittiriya Samhita 4.4.10.1–3) or 28 (according to the Atharvaveda, the fourth of the Vedas, 19.7.1.) days. The resulting discrepancy was resolved by the intercalation of a leap month every 60 months. Time

Clapp, Cornelia Maria

2005-05-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

Clapp graduated from Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in 1871, and after a year of teaching elsewhere she returned to Mount Holyoke as an instructor in mathematics. Later she also taught

Literature, Latin America.

2005-05-16T13:15:00.000-07:00

In 2001 many works explored Latin America's past and present social and political realities as well as offering variations on the theme of love. From Mexico, writer Carlos Fuentes returned to fantastic literature and to the theme of love's difficulties in Instinto de Inez. In La piel del cielo, Elena Poniatowska,

Conscription

2005-05-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

Modified forms of conscription

Integral Transform

2005-03-15T20:13:00.000-08:00

Mathematical operator that produces a new function f(y) by integrating the product of an existing function F(x) and a so-called kernel function K(x, y) between suitable limits. The process, which is called transformation, is symbolized by the equation f(y) = �K(x, y)F(x)dx. Several transforms are commonly named for the mathematicians who introduced them: in the Laplace

Sannyasi

2005-03-14T21:58:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �sannyasin�, Sanskrit �Sannyasin (�abandoning,� or �throwing down�)� in Hinduism, a religious ascetic, one who has renounced the world, having achieved the fourth ashrama, or stage, of life. The name sannyasi also specifically designates an ascetic who pays particular allegiance to the god Siva, who is sometimes known as �the great ascetic.� The Saiva ascetics were organized in the 8th century AD by the renowned Hindu teacher Sankara into 10 orders,

Madhva

2005-03-11T09:29:00.000-08:00

Born into a Brahman family, his life in many respects parallels the life of Jesus Christ. Miracles attributed to Christ in the New Testament were also attributed

Shih-ho-tzu

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

Pinyin �Shihezi, � new city in the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, China. The city is situated north of the Tien Shan range in the south-central Dzungarian Basin near the Ma-na-ssu River. Prior to 1949 the area was sparsely inhabited by Uighur, Kazak, and other Turkic pastoralists. The new Chinese government sent a colony of soldiers (later provided with wives), organized as a military construction

Cyril Of Jerusalem, Saint

2005-03-03T19:30:00.000-08:00

A senior presbyter when he succeeded Maximus as bishop (c. 350), Cyril was exiled about 357 and at two later times from his see by the Arians. Many years later at the Council of Constantinople (381) there was evidence

Dragon

2005-03-02T11:12:00.000-08:00

Legendary monster usually conceived as a huge, bat-winged, fire-breathing, scaly lizard or snake with a barbed tail. The belief in these creatures apparently arose without the slightest knowledge on the part of the ancients of the gigantic, prehistoric, dragon-like reptiles. In Greece the word drakon, from which the English word was derived, was used originally for any

Wupatki National Monument

2005-03-01T16:20:00.000-08:00

The monument comprises more than 800 pre-Columbian

Azare

2005-02-28T04:08:00.000-08:00

Town and traditional emirate, Bauchi state, northeastern Nigeria, located in the northern extension of the state. The town and emirate are peopled by the Hausa, Fulani, and Beriberi, who are predominantly Muslim. The first prime minister of Nigeria, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, was born in the emirate. The area is chiefly agricultural, the principal crops consisting

Ayutthaya

2005-02-27T02:22:00.000-08:00

The town was founded by Ramathibodi I about 1350 on an island formed by the confluence

Morphy, Paul Charles

2005-02-26T23:01:00.000-08:00

Morphy learned chess at the age of

Kodaira Kunihiko

2005-02-25T11:56:00.000-08:00

Kodaira attended the University of Tokyo (Ph.D., 1949). His dissertation attracted the attention of Hermann Weyl, who invited Kodaira to join him at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New

Kodaira Kunihiko

2005-02-24T09:16:00.000-08:00

Kodaira attended the University of Tokyo (Ph.D., 1949). His dissertation attracted the attention of Hermann Weyl, who invited Kodaira to join him at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New

Aron, Raymond (-claude-ferdinand)

2005-02-23T04:54:00.000-08:00

The son of a Jewish jurist, Aron obtained his doctorate in 1930 from the �cole Normale Sup�rieure with a thesis on the philosophy of history. He was a professor of social philosophy at the University of Toulouse when World War II

Argentina, Porte�os and gauchos

2005-02-22T08:50:00.000-08:00

The people of the port of Buenos Aires, the porte�os, often call their cultured and glamorous city the Paris of South America. But there is another Argentina away from the capital: that of the Pampas and the interior. The interior gave to all Argentines their symbol of national identity, the gaucho, who occupies a position in South American lore similar to that of the

Anicetus, Saint

2005-02-21T17:00:00.000-08:00

Possibly a Syrian, Anicetus laboured to combat the errors of the heresies of Valentine and Marcion and to prevent heresies, working particularly against the Marcionites and Gnostics. Although he suffered tribulations, it is questionable whether or not he was actually martyred.

Academy Award

2005-02-20T10:18:00.000-08:00

Ronald Bergan, Graham Fuller, and David Malcolm, Academy Award Winners (1994), is a lavishly illustrated chronological account. Emanuel Levy, And the Winner Is : The History and Politics of the Oscar Awards, new expanded ed. (1990), not only provides historical information but also compares the Oscars to other film awards and discusses the impact of winning an award. Charles Matthews, Oscar A to Z: A Complete Guide to More than 2,400 Movies Nominated for Academy Awards (1995), lists alphabetically the films nominated in the picture, performances, direction, design, and music categories and provides plot synopses, biographies, and other information. Robert Osborne, 65 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards, 2nd ed. (1994), is the chronological history presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Richard Shale (compiler), The Academy Awards Index (1993), is an easy-to-search reference. Mason Wiley and Damien Bona, Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards, 10th anniversary ed. (1996), is a comprehensive social history but includes many unverified rumours and anecdotes.

Canada Company

2005-02-19T04:06:00.000-08:00

Organization instrumental in colonizing much of the western part of Upper Canada (now Ontario). Many residents of Upper Canada had incurred losses during the War of 1812 and subsequently claimed an indemnity from the British government. The latter agreed to pay a portion of the claims if the government of Upper Canada provided the remainder. At the suggestion of John

Uintatherium

2005-02-18T21:19:00.000-08:00

Extinct genus of large, primitive hoofed mammals found as fossils in North America in terrestrial deposits of the Middle and Late Eocene Epochs (52 million to 36.6 million years ago). The uintatherium, which was as large as the modern rhinoceros, was among the largest animals of its time. The limbs were strongly constructed in order to support the massive body. The skull was

Blood River, Battle Of

2005-02-17T07:21:00.000-08:00

(Dec. 16, 1838), South African battle between the Zulu and the Voortrekkers (the Boers who made the Great Trek from Cape Colony to Transvaal). It was fought on the banks of a tributary of the Buffalo River, which became known as Blood River after its water reddened with the slaughter of about 3,000 Zulu. Four Boers were wounded. This battle turned Voortrekker fortunes in Natal, at a low ebb

Kuala Lipis

2005-02-16T07:39:00.000-08:00

Town, central West Malaysia (Malaya), situated along the Jelai River. It is a commercial centre for nearby villages and the riverine Aboriginals who inhabit the dense jungle to the north. Some of its residents live on the slopes of the surrounding hills, while many Malay families cluster in communities of raft huts along the river. The terminus of the central Malayan

Alcoa

2005-02-15T19:31:00.000-08:00

City, Blount county, eastern Tennessee, U.S., about 15 miles (25 km) south of Knoxville and adjacent to Maryville. The city is a gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which lies to the southeast. It was founded in 1913 by the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) on a tract of land known as North Maryville. In 1910 the first of a series of power dams was begun on the nearby Little Tennessee

Saudi Arabia, Demography

2005-02-14T09:37:00.000-08:00

The major

Epic Simile

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

Also called� Homeric simile� an extended simile often running to several lines, used typically in epic poetry to intensify the heroic stature of the subject and to serve as decoration. An example from the Iliad follows: As when the shudder of the west wind suddenly rising scatters across the water, and the water darkens beneath it, so darkening were settled the ranks of Achaians and Trojans in

Native American, Population and languages

2005-02-12T14:13:00.000-08:00

Estimates of the aboriginal population are based on information supplied by explorers, traders, missionaries, and other early reporters and are only as good as the reporters' observations were trustworthy. A more serious impediment to an accurate count is that some tribes, by the time they were encountered by the reporting traveler, had already been depopulated

Sauerland

2005-02-11T05:10:00.000-08:00

Region, North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state), northwestern Germany. It is bounded on the north by the Ruhr River and its tributary, the M�hne, and on the south by the Sieg River and the Wester Forest, a mountainous area east of the Rhine. It lies to the east of the Bergisches Land (plateau) and has historically centred on the city of Arnsberg (q.v.). Its name (meaning �Bitter Land�) is

Sauerland

2005-02-10T03:25:00.000-08:00

Abel, Theodora Mead

2005-02-09T15:24:00.000-08:00

Abel was educated at Vassar College (B.A., 1921), Columbia University (M.A., 1924), and the University of Paris, where she received a diploma in psychology (1923). After earning a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1925, she taught at numerous institutions, including

Berbera

2005-02-08T07:25:00.000-08:00

Port, northwestern Somalia, on the Gulf of Aden. It lies at the terminus of roads from the towns of Hargeysa and Burko and has an airport. Known during classical times and to Ibn Sa'id (d. 1286) and other early Arab geographers, Berbera was one of the Muslim settlements of the medieval state of Adal. It was sacked by the Portuguese in 1518 and occupied by the sharifs of Mocha in the 17th century,

Utica

2005-02-06T20:51:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1798) of Oneida county, central New York, U.S., on the Mohawk River and New York State Canal System, 45 miles (72 km) east of Syracuse. The first settlers were Dutch and Palatinate Germans, and in 1758 the British built Old Fort Schuyler, near the site of an ancient Oneida Indian council stone. Destroyed by the Indian-Tory raid in 1776, the early village was rebuilt and connected by stagecoach

Pacific Mountain System, Resource exploitation

2005-02-05T16:12:00.000-08:00

The abundant precipitation and deep, weathered soils of the coastal ranges from the Queen Charlotte Islands through the Klamath Mountains and into northern California produce the largest softwood lumber trees in the world. The completion of railroads into the region in the 1880s, giving it access to other parts of the country, made possible the large-scale commercial

Habeneck, Fran�ois-antoine

2005-02-04T23:08:00.000-08:00

Habeneck studied violin first with his father, a military bandsman of German descent, and then with Pierre Baillot at the Paris Conservatory. In 1804 he won the institution's first prize for violin and took a position with the Op�ra. Through a series of promotions, he attained the title of premier chef, his

Ectopic Pregnancy

2005-02-03T10:49:00.000-08:00

In tubal ectopic pregnancy the ovum becomes implanted in one of the fallopian tubes. This condition is not uncommon, occurring about once in 250 to 300 pregnancies and more frequently

Bioceramics

2005-02-02T20:35:00.000-08:00

Ceramic products or components employed in medical and dental applications, mainly as implants and replacements. This article briefly describes the principal ceramic materials and surveys the uses to which they are put in medical and dental applications. For an explanation of important issues in biomedical uses of all materials (including ceramics), see the

Bioceramics

2005-02-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

R�gio, Jos�

2005-01-31T15:47:00.000-08:00

R�gio began his literary career while still a student at the University of Coimbra with the publication of his lyric-dramatic Poemas de Deus e do

Toba, Go-

2005-01-30T01:22:00.000-08:00

After reigning for 15 years, Go-Toba in 1198 abdicated

Hippolytus

2005-01-29T22:46:00.000-08:00

In Euripides' tragedy Hippolytus, he was son of Theseus, king of Athens, and the Amazon Hippolyte. Theseus' queen, Phaedra, fell in love

Earth, Subduction zones

2005-01-28T02:12:00.000-08:00

It has been pointed out that, in comparison to magnetic and seismological studies, gravity measurements played only a secondary role in establishing the plate-tectonic theory in the 1960s. On the other hand, as early as 1929 the Dutch geophysicist Felix A. Vening Meinesz had shown that some of the most spectacular negative gravity anomalies on Earth are associated with oceanic

Lockwood, Belva Ann

2005-01-27T20:16:00.000-08:00

Belva Bennett attended country schools until she was 15 and then taught in them until her marriage in 1848 to Uriah H. McNall, who died in 1853. She then resumed teaching and continued her own education. She graduated from Genesee College

Kawaihae

2005-01-26T01:18:00.000-08:00

Kawaihae was a busy port in the 19th century for whalers and traders but declined

Hank

2005-01-25T09:03:00.000-08:00

In textile manufacture, unit of measure applied to a length of yarn or to a loose assemblage of fibres forming a single strand, and varying according to the fibre origin. A hank of cotton or of the spun silk made from short lengths of waste silk is 840 yards (770 m) long. A hank of linen is 300 yards (270 m). In worsted yarn, made from combed fibre, there are 560 yards (510 m) to a hank.

New Forest

2005-01-24T18:28:00.000-08:00

District, administrative and historic county of Hampshire, England, comprising the New Forest and its urbanized coastal fringe flanking Southampton Water and The Solent, together with rural areas around Ringwood and Fordingbridge in the west of the county. The old harbour of Hythe and the modern oil terminal of Fawley on Southampton Water are economically linked

Arabia

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

Arabic �Jazirat Al-'Arab (�Island of the Arabs�), � peninsular region, together with offshore islands, located in the extreme southwestern corner of Asia. The Arabian Peninsula is bounded by the Red Sea on the west and southwest, the Gulf of Aden on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south and southeast, and the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf (also called the Arabian Gulf) on the northeast. Geographically the peninsula

Wolf Snake

2005-01-22T02:07:00.000-08:00

The Cape wolf snake (Lycophidion capense), abundant from Egypt to South Africa, is a small, drab species with a metallic sheen and lives chiefly

Theodebert I

2005-01-21T22:36:00.000-08:00

A proven soldier before he came to the throne, Theodebert exploited the war in Italy between Byzantium and the Ostrogoths to gain extensive territory in the Alpine regions and the northeast of the peninsula, though most of this was lost

Arms, Roll Of

2005-01-20T03:28:00.000-08:00

Illuminated manuscript describing (blazoning) and often illustrating (emblazoning) the arms of persons present at a particular battle or tournament. In addition to their historical interest, these rolls are excellent examples of heraldic art. There has been no break in the compilation of rolls of arms for official purposes since their origin in the mid-13th century.

Sanddab

2005-01-19T10:55:00.000-08:00

Any of certain edible, American Pacific flatfishes of the genus Citharichthys (family Bothidae). As in other flatfishes, sanddabs have both eyes on the same side of the head; as in other bothids, the eyes are usually on the left side. The most common species of sanddab is the Pacific sanddab (C. sordidus), a brownish fish mottled, in the male, with dull orange. It grows to about

Grumiaux, Arthur, Baron

2005-01-18T08:52:00.000-08:00

Grumiaux studied at the Charleroi and Royal conservatories in Brussels and later with Georges Enescu in Paris. In 1939 he won the Vieuxtemps Prize, and a year later he became the first recipient of the Belgian government's Prix de Virtuosit�. Shortly after his debut

Cle Elum River

2005-01-17T21:04:00.000-08:00

Watercourse, central Washington, U.S., rising in the Cascade Range. The river flows generally south through Cle Elum Lake, thence southeast past Cle Elum, joining the Yakima River of the Columbia River system after a course of about 28 miles (45 km). The fast-flowing river is a favourite destination for white-water rafting and kayaking; its name derives from the Yakima Indian

Rough Rider

2005-01-16T01:59:00.000-08:00

Member of �1st Volunteer Cavalry� in the Spanish - American War, one of a regiment of U.S. cavalry volunteers recruited by Theodore Roosevelt and composed of cowboys, miners, law-enforcement officials, and college athletes, among others. Their colourful and often unorthodox exploits received extensive publicity in the U.S. press. Col. Leonard Wood resigned as White House physician to command the regiment;

Bacillariophyta

2005-01-15T08:22:00.000-08:00

Division of algae the members of which are commonly known as diatoms. See diatom.

Lathrop, Mother Alphonsa

2005-01-14T11:04:00.000-08:00

The daughter of the author Nathaniel Hawthorne, Rose was an infant when her family moved to Liverpool, where her father

Vierzon

2005-01-13T01:37:00.000-08:00

City, Cher d�partement, Centre r�gion, central France. It lies along the Canal du Berry, at the confluence of the Cher and Y�vre rivers, northwest of Bourges. The city grew from a rail and industrial complex formed in 1938 from several small communes (Vierzon-Ville, Vierzon-Village, Vierzon-Forges, and Vierzon-Bourgneuf). Metals, glass, and agricultural machinery dominate local

Caucasian Languages, Grammatical characteristics

2005-01-11T22:18:00.000-08:00

In a number of languages (Lezgi, Udi) noun differentiation by classes has disappeared. The class of

Chiavari

2005-01-10T14:46:00.000-08:00

Town, Genova provincia, Liguria regione, northwestern Italy. It lies on the Riviera di Levante at the mouth of the Entella River, east of Genoa. The town grew up on the traces of a Roman camp on the Via Aurelia. A pre-Roman necropolis dating from the 8th to 7th century BC has been uncovered there. The old town contains numerous arcades and buildings from the 13th century, including

Tyrconnell, Richard Talbot, Earl Of, Viscount Baltinglass, Baron Of Talbotstown

2005-01-09T17:54:00.000-08:00

The son of Sir William Talbot, a Roman Catholic lawyer and politician, Richard fought with the Royalist forces in Ireland during the English Civil Wars between the Royalists and Parliamentarians. In November 1655 he was arrested

S�n�gal River, Plant and animal life

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

Typical trees of the S�n�gal valley are acacias, notably Acacia nilotica, which grows profusely on banks, and A. senegal, which provides the gum arabic of commerce and grows on drier slopes. The grass Vetiveria nigritiana grows in tufts in wet depressions. In dry areas near the valley sides A. albida, Balanites aegyptiaca (a tree with thorny branches), and grasses are

Kadavu

2005-01-07T05:06:00.000-08:00

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

Lowndes, Marie Adelaide

2005-01-06T09:29:00.000-08:00

The sister of the poet and essayist Hilaire Belloc, she received little formal education, but, because of the prominence of her family in intellectual circles, she was acquainted

Drug, Antacids

2005-01-05T14:04:00.000-08:00

Excess acid may be neutralized in the stomach with antacid tablets. The main constituents of antacids are aluminum and magnesium hydroxides. There are three side effects of antacid therapy, which depend on the compound used. First, many have an action on the bowel: some have a mild laxative effect, and some are constipating. Second, if the positively charged compounds

Liri River

2005-01-03T16:40:00.000-08:00

Latin �Liris, � river in central Italy, made up of two streams, the Rapido (or Gari) and the Liri, and having a total length of 98 mi (158 km) and a drainage basin of 1,911 sq mi (4,950 sq km). It has its sources near Cappadocia, in the Monti Simbruini east of Rome, and flows south and southeast through a long, narrow, scenic valley in its upper course as far as Arce, where it enters its wide lower valley and receives the

Sha-ch'ing

2005-01-01T01:46:00.000-08:00

The artifacts of the group were mainly brick-red gritty bowls, stone tools, and large tri-legged vessels of grey pottery. Evidence of bronze

Peregrine Falcon

2004-12-31T09:11:00.000-08:00

Bluish gray above with underparts white to yellowish with black barring, peregrines range from about 33 to 48 centimetres (13 to 19 inches) long. They are strong and fast. They fly high and dive at tremendous speeds, striking

Afonso V

2004-12-30T09:26:00.000-08:00

The son of King Edward (Duarte) and Queen Leonor, daughter of King Ferdinand I of Aragon, Afonso succeeded to the throne at the age of six. In 1440 his mother was deprived of the regency by his uncle Pedro, Duke de Coimbra, whose daughter Isabella Afonso married. The regent was in turn

Yamim Nora'im

2004-12-29T03:37:00.000-08:00

English �High Holy Days� in Judaism, the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashana (on Tishri 1 and 2) and Yom Kippur (on Tishri 10), in September or October. Though the Bible does not link these two major festivals, the Talmud does. Consequently, yamim nora'im is sometimes used to designate the first 10 days of the religious year: the three High Holy Days, properly so-called, and also the days between. The entire 10-day period

Amreli

2004-12-28T19:11:00.000-08:00

Formerly �Amaravalli, � town, southwestern Gujarat state, west-central India. The town lies on the Kathiawar Peninsula, 125 miles (200 km) southwest of Ahmadabad. Primarily a commercial centre, its industries include the manufacture of khadi (coarse cotton cloth), tanning, silverworking, and cotton ginning. Amreli is served by a railway and an airfield. Chief crops of the surrounding area are millet, peanuts

Sara

2004-12-27T09:26:00.000-08:00

Cluster of peoples living on the fringe of the southern Sudan, especially in the northwestern regions of the Central African Republic and the south-central area surrounding Sarh, south of Lake Chad in Chad. They include the Gula, Kara, Kreish, Nduka, Ngama, and Sara proper. The Sara peoples all speak Central Sudanic languages of the Nilo-Saharan language family, and their

Malatya

2004-12-26T21:17:00.000-08:00

City, east-central Turkey. It lies in a fertile plain watered by the Tohma River (a tributary of the Euphrates) and is surrounded by high ranges of the eastern Taurus Mountains. The modern town was founded in 1838 near the sites of two earlier settlements: the ancient Hittite city of Milid, on the site of the present-day Arslantepe, 4 miles (6 km) north, and its successor, the Roman and

Qadariyah

2004-12-25T21:36:00.000-08:00

In Islam, adherents of the doctrine of free will (from qadar, �power�). The name was also applied to the Mu'tazilah, the Muslim theological school that believed that man, through his free will, can choose between good and evil. But as the Mu'tazilah also stressed the absolute unity of God (tawhid), they resented the designation because of a saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad,

Ocean, Seamounts, guyots, and abyssal hills

2004-12-24T03:57:00.000-08:00

Seamounts are submarine volcanoes with more than 1,000 metres of relief. Aseismic ridges are built by chains of overlapping seamounts. A seamount is akin to a subaerial shield volcano in that it also has gently sloping sides (5� to 15�) and is constructed by nonexplosive eruptions of alkaline basalt lavas that are thought to originate from depths of roughly 150 kilometres. About

La Crosse

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

City, seat (1851) of La Crosse county, western Wisconsin, U.S. It lies along the Mississippi River at the influx of the Black and La Crosse rivers, 129 miles (208 km) northwest of Madison. The settlement developed around a trading post (1841) on a site that French explorers named Prairie la Crosse, after the game of lacrosse played by the Indians there. A natural river port, it became an important

La Crosse

2004-12-22T04:38:00.000-08:00

Uberaba

2004-12-21T22:43:00.000-08:00

City, western Minas Gerais estado (�state�), Brazil, in the highlands at 2,575 feet (785 m) above sea level, on the Uberaba River. It was given city status in 1856. Uberaba is the trade centre of an important agricultural area, yielding cattle (the largest source of income), rice, oranges, corn (maize), beans, coffee, sugarcane, and bananas. A well-known cattle and agricultural exhibition is held there

Alicante

2004-12-20T21:15:00.000-08:00

The provincia's principal

Lowes, John Livingston

2004-12-19T09:18:00.000-08:00

Lowes received his A.B. degree from Washington and Jefferson College (Washington, Pa.) in 1888 and taught mathematics there until 1891, when he received his M.A. degree. After

Baraboo

2004-12-18T19:24:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1840) of Sauk county, south-central Wisconsin, U.S. It lies on small hills 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Madison. Baraboo originated in the early 19th century as a trading post established by the French trapper Jean Baribault, who lived along the river that was named (somewhat phonetically) for him. Incorporated in 1882, the community developed as a distribution centre for dairy

Baraboo

2004-12-17T10:00:00.000-08:00

Samuel

2004-12-16T06:42:00.000-08:00

Samuel, the son of Elkanah

Ardabil Carpet

2004-12-15T17:59:00.000-08:00

Either of two Persian floor coverings that are among the most famous examples of early classical Persian workmanship. The larger one measures 34 feet by 17.5 feet (10.4 by 5.3 m), and both carpets have a silk warp and wool pile. The carpets were completed in 1539 - 40, during the reign of the Safavid ruler Shah Tahmasp I (1524 - 76), and they were originally laid in the Mosque of Ardabil, in the Iranian province of

Wichita State University

2004-12-14T18:58:00.000-08:00

Public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Wichita, Kan., U.S. The university comprises the W. Frank Barton School of Business, Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School, and colleges of Education, Engineering, Fine Arts, and Health Professions. In addition to undergraduate studies, Wichita State offers more than 40 master's degree

Terborch, Gerard

2004-12-12T02:29:00.000-08:00

Terborch's father had been an artist and had visited Rome but from 1621 was employed as a tax collector. Surviving drawings made by the young Terborch

Toad Bug

2004-12-11T06:42:00.000-08:00

Toad bugs are found in all zoogeographic regions living along the muddy edges of streams and ponds. Some species spend part

Essex, Geoffrey De Mandeville, 1st Earl Of

2004-12-10T16:15:00.000-08:00

Geoffrey was a great landowner in Essex and elsewhere and hereditary constable of the Tower of London. He came to prominence in 1140 when Stephen, who could not dispense with his support against Matilda, a rival claimant for the throne, made him hereditary

Tibet, Tibet under Manchu overlordship

2004-12-09T21:45:00.000-08:00

The Dalai Lama's death in 1682 and the discovery of his five-year-old reincarnation in 1688 were concealed by Sangs-rgyas rgya-mtsho, who was intent on continuing the administration without disturbance. He informed the Manchu only in 1696. Emperor K'ang-hsi (reigned 1661 - 1722) was incensed at the deception. In 1703 he discovered an ally in Tibet and an antagonist to Sangs-rgyas rgya-mtsho when Lha-bzang

Co�

2004-12-08T16:14:00.000-08:00

City, M�laga province, in the autonomous community (region) of Andalusia, southern Spain. It is situated near the beach resort region of Costa del Sol. The site was first settled by the Turdetanos, an Iberian tribe, and was later occupied by the Romans, who established the town of Lacibis. In 713 the Arabs took the town, calling it Cohine (Pleasant Paradise), the basis of its present