CupFloor

Clapboard

2005-04-04T00:28:00.000-07:00

Cleft oak clapboard was introduced to New England in the

Charles, Ray

2005-04-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

When Charles was an infant his family moved to Greenville, Florida, and he

Hackney

2005-04-03T01:45:00.000-08:00

Hackneys are heavily muscled, with wide chests, deep bodies, and arched necks; they average 14.2 to 15.2 hands

Sashimi

2005-04-02T10:39:00.000-08:00

Specialty of Japanese cuisine, fresh fish served raw. The fish, which must be utterly fresh, is sliced paper thin or alternately one-quarter to one-half inch (0.75–1.5 centimetres) thick, cubed, or cut in strips, according to the nature of the fish. The sashimi is accompanied by wasabi (green horseradish paste) and soy sauce. Sashimi is always part of a formal Japanese meal, served early

Teresina

2005-04-01T22:37:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Piauí estado (“state”), northeastern Brazil. The city lies along the Parnaíba River (there bridged to Timon in Maranhão state), 220 miles (354 km) upstream from the Atlantic port of Parnaíba. Founded in 1852 as the new capital of Piauí, it was originally named Therezina after the Brazilian empress Teresa Cristina. Since then, it has become the chief commercial centre of

Madhyamika

2005-04-01T06:14:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit: “Intermediate”), important school in the Mahayana (“Great Vehicle”) Buddhist tradition. Its name derives from its having sought a middle position between the realism of the Sarvastivada (“Doctrine That All Is Real”) school and the idealism of the Yogacara (“Mind Only”) school. The most renowned Madhyamika thinker was Nagarjuna (2nd century AD), who developed the doctrine that all

Radio Range

2005-03-31T06:08:00.000-08:00

In aerial navigation, a system of radio transmitting stations, each of which transmits a signal that not only carries identification but also is of intrinsic value to a navigator in fixing his position. The older “A–N” type, dating from 1927, operates at low and medium frequencies and is still in use, mainly by private light aircraft. The only equipment needed in the aircraft

Jalayirid School

2005-03-30T22:15:00.000-08:00

School of miniature painting that flourished in Baghdad, Iraq, under the Jalayirids, a local dynasty of governors in power from 1336 to 1432. Along with their contemporaries, the Mozaffarids of southern Iran, the Jalayirid school developed a system of perspective, though in a primitive form, that had been suggested by Mongol Il-Khan paintings of the late 13th-century school

Wright, Mickey

2005-03-30T14:27:00.000-08:00

Wright had begun playing golf by age 12. In 1952 she won the U.S. Golfing Association junior girls' championship. She attended Stanford University for one year before deciding to devote full time to golf. She was the 1954 World Amateur champion and also was

Ribbon Fall

2005-03-29T10:48:00.000-08:00

Cataract on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada in Yosemite National Park, east-central California, U.S. With a drop of 1,612 feet (491 m), it is one of the world's highest waterfalls and one of the park's most scenic features. Reaching a peak volume during May and June, it is fed mainly by melting snow; hence, it is sometimes dry for part of the year.

Sankt Gallen

2005-03-28T19:03:00.000-08:00

French Saint-gall, canton, northeastern Switzerland, bounded north by Lake Constance (Bodensee); east by the Rhine Valley, which separates it from the Austrian Vorarlberg Bundesland (federal state) and from Liechtenstein; south by the cantons of Graubünden, Glarus, and Schwyz; west by the canton of Zürich; and northwest by the canton of Thurgau. Appenzell Ausser-Rhoden and Appenzell Inner-Rhoden

Scandinavian Literature, Faeroese

2005-03-28T18:24:00.000-08:00

Faeroese literature came into its own after the turn of the century. Jens H.O. Djurhuus, who created rhetorical poetry of splendid resonance, was the first to emerge as a writer of international stature. His brother, Hans Andrias Djurhuus, wrote in a more naive manner, producing poems, fairy tales, and plays, which were based on native historical traditions and

Imagist

2005-03-26T18:44:00.000-08:00

The Imagists wrote succinct verse of dry clarity

Shaker Furniture

2005-03-26T14:32:00.000-08:00

Furniture designed for the religious colonies of Shakers founded in America in the last quarter of the 18th century, characterized by austerity of decoration and truth to materials. Deeply dedicated to ideals of communal living and asceticism, the Shakers designed and constructed furniture that reflected their belief that to make a thing well was in itself an

Military Aircraft, The first operational craft

2005-03-26T10:00:00.000-08:00

The existence of a Stealth program, designed to produce aircraft that were effectively immune to radar detection at normal combat ranges, was announced by the U.S. government in 1980. The first aircraft employing this technology, the single-seat Lockheed F-117A ground-attack fighter, became operational in 1983. The second was the Northrop B-2 strategic bomber, which first flew in

Peter Iii

2005-03-25T08:02:00.000-08:00

King consort of Portugal from 1777, with Queen Maria I. The younger son of John V of Portugal, he was married in July 1760 to the daughter of his elder brother, King Joseph. When she became queen as Maria I (February 1777), Peter became nominally king. He devoted himself entirely to religious practices.

Watercolour

2005-03-24T22:58:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Watercolor, pigment ground in gum, usually gum arabic, and applied with brush and water to a painting surface, usually paper; the term also denotes a work of art executed in this medium. The pigment is ordinarily transparent but can be made opaque by mixing with a whiting and in this form is known as body colour, or gouache (q.v.); it can also be mixed with casein, a phosphoprotein of

Yrjö-koskinen, Sakari

2005-03-24T04:54:00.000-08:00

Forsman—later, when he was made a baron, named Yrjö-Koskinen—was a nationalist scholar and a member of the mid-19th-century Fennoman Party,

Dachlan, Kijai Hadji Ahmad

2005-03-23T13:57:00.000-08:00

Dachlan was a wealthy merchant who made the pilgrimage to Mecca shortly after 1900. On his return, he became active in religious reform activities, first in formalistic issues of ritual and subsequently

Tacitus

2005-03-23T07:18:00.000-08:00

In the 40 years before Tacitus assumed power the empire was ruled by a succession of usurpers and emperors who had been career army officers. On the murder of the emperor Aurelian in 275, the army council invited the Senate to select a nobleman as head of state. The Senate delayed six months before choosing (September

Salan, Raoul (-albin-louis)

2005-03-22T17:28:00.000-08:00

French military officer who sought to prevent Algeria from gaining independence from France. In 1961–62 he led an organization of right-wing extremists, the Organisation de l'Armée Secrète (OAS; Secret Army Organization), in a campaign of terror against the government of Charles de Gaulle in both France and Algeria before being captured,

Tiffin

2005-03-21T06:30:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1824) of Seneca county, north-central Ohio, U.S., on the Sandusky River, 45 miles (72 km) southeast of Toledo. Fort Ball, a military depot of the War of 1812, occupied a site on the river's north bank (marked by a bronze statue, “The Indian Maiden”), where the settlement of Oakley (after 1824, Fort Ball) sprang up. In 1820 Josiah Hedges founded a settlement on the south bank and named it for Edward Tiffin,

Hypothec

2005-03-20T20:21:00.000-08:00

In Roman law, a type of security for a debt in which the creditor had neither ownership nor possession. It arose in cases in which a renter needed the use of the things that he pledged as security for his continued payment of rent, usually tools or equipment necessary for working the land he was renting. Possession could be taken by the creditor only when the debt, or, in

Wolffian Duct

2005-03-20T06:49:00.000-08:00

In advanced vertebrates the Wolffian duct develops

Ficino, Marsilio

2005-03-19T13:23:00.000-08:00

Ficino was the son of a physician who was acquainted

Alfonso Vi

2005-03-18T21:23:00.000-08:00

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

Laterality

2005-03-18T16:34:00.000-08:00

The most obvious example of laterality is handedness, the tendency to use one hand or the other to perform activities. It is the usual practice to classify persons as right-handed, left-handed, or ambidextrous (two-handed).

Angiosperm, The calyx

2005-03-18T05:27:00.000-08:00

The sepals (collectively called the calyx) most resemble leaves because of their generally green colour. From their base and along most of their length, sepals remain either separate (aposepalous, or polysepalous) or marginally fused (synsepalous), forming a tube with terminal lobes or teeth (see photograph). The number of calyx lobes equals the number of fused

Geoffrin, Marie-thérèse Rodet

2005-03-17T19:56:00.000-08:00

The daughter of a valet, she married a rich manufacturer, a member of the newly influential bourgeoisie, with whom she had no rapport. Although lacking formal education herself, Madame Geoffrin was sensitive, an excellent

Visigothic Art

2005-03-16T03:19:00.000-08:00

Artistic style produced in southern France and Spain under the Visigoths, who ruled the region between the 5th and the 8th century AD. The style is largely the result of local Roman traditions combined with Byzantine influences. The effect of Germanic metalworking techniques is also seen in the decorative arts, but the ornamentation of these pieces, most notably a collection

Well Logging

2005-03-16T03:09:00.000-08:00

When electrical instruments are employed, the technique involves the recording of variations in the natural electrical properties of subsurface formations. Changes in the porosity, fluid content, or lithology (rock character) of the formation are indicated

New Orleans, Education

2005-03-15T20:41:00.000-08:00

Among New Orleans's institutions of higher learning are Tulane University, Loyola University New Orleans, the University of New Orleans, Delgado Community College, Our Lady of Holy Cross College, Dillard University, Xavier University of Louisiana, and Southern University at New Orleans. The city has many private, parochial, and business schools. The public school

Roundelay

2005-03-15T14:18:00.000-08:00

A poem with a refrain that recurs frequently or at fixed intervals, as in a rondel. The term is also loosely used to refer to any of the fixed forms of poetry (such as the rondeau, the rondel, and the roundel) that use refrains extensively.

Stratemeyer, Edward

2005-03-14T17:30:00.000-08:00

Stratemeyer worked as a store clerk and, on the side, began writing stories in imitation of those of Horatio

Albacore

2005-03-14T06:47:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Albicore (species Thunnus alalunga), large oceanic fish noted for its fine flesh. The bluefin tuna (T. thynnus) is also sometimes called albacore. See tuna.

Ghent, Pacification Of

2005-03-13T10:57:00.000-08:00

(Nov. 8, 1576), declaration by which the northern and southern provinces of the Low Countries put aside their religious difference and united in revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs. The declaration was the first major expression of the Netherlands' national self-consciousness. The Pacification of Ghent called for the expulsion of Spanish troops from the Low Countries,

Chicago Literary Renaissance

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

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

Ibn Qutaybah

2005-03-12T08:41:00.000-08:00

Little is known of Ibn Qutaybah's life. Of Khorasanian stock, he was qadi (religious judge) of Dinawar (c. 851–870). From c. 871 until his

Wandering Spider

2005-03-12T00:57:00.000-08:00

Phoneutria fera, which occurs in South America, is poisonous to humans. Zora pumila, common in the eastern United States, is mostly

Chemical Compound, Monoterpenes

2005-03-11T22:36:00.000-08:00

The monoterpenes are isolated from their natural sources by distillation of the plant matter with steam. They are volatile oils, less dense than water, and have normal boiling points in the range 150°–185° C (300°–365° F). Purification is usually achieved by fractional distillation at reduced pressures or by regeneration from a crystalline derivative. Acyclic monoterpene hydrocarbons

Alisol

2005-03-11T19:14:00.000-08:00

One of the 30 soil groups in the classification system of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Alisols are highly acidic, poorly drained soils prone to aluminum toxicity and water erosion. Liming and fertilization are essential to their agricultural use—primarily for growing oil palm, corn (maize), and cotton. Their extent has not been established definitively,

Granmont, Louis

2005-03-11T16:06:00.000-08:00

Granmont first distinguished himself in service in the French royal marines, but, having illegally gambled away a captured prize cargo in Hispaniola (Haiti), he dared not return to France and took to buccaneering. His first grand exploit

Tibet, Tibet under Manchu overlordship

2005-03-10T00:42:00.000-08:00

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

Gattamelata

2005-03-08T22:35:00.000-08:00

Also called Equestrian monument of Erasmo da Narni bronze statue of the Venetian condottiere Erasmo da Narni, (popularly known as Gattamelata, meaning “honeyed cat”) by the 15th-century Italian Early Renaissance sculptor Donatello. It was completed between 1447 and 1450 but was not installed on its pedestal in the Piazza del Santo in front of the Basilica of Sant'Antonio in Padua, Italy, until 1453. The statue established a prototype

Higgs Particle

2005-03-08T13:11:00.000-08:00

The Higgs field is different from other fundamental fields, such

Gsung-'bum

2005-03-08T09:50:00.000-08:00

The writings of the lamas include commentaries on Indian texts together with essays on

East Grinstead

2005-03-08T04:18:00.000-08:00

Town (“parish”), Mid Sussex district, administrative county of West Sussex, historic county of Sussex, England, lying south of London in the wooded countryside of the Weald within easy commuting range of the metropolis. Its market charter dates to 1121, and the town centre contains old buildings, as well as modern shops that serve an extensive residential district. The Queen

Giresun

2005-03-07T23:24:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Keresun, city and seaport, northeastern Turkey. It lies along the Black Sea about 110 miles (175 km) west of Trabzon. The older parts of the city lie on a peninsula crowned by a ruined Byzantine fortress, sheltering the small natural harbour. Nearby is Giresun Island, in ancient times called Ares. Giresun was known to the ancient Greeks as Choerades or Pharnacia and to the Romans as Kerasous

Yaddo

2005-03-06T16:58:00.000-08:00

Formally The Corporation Of Yaddo a working community of writers, composers, and visual artists, located on the outskirts of Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S. Yaddo is a nonprofit organization founded in 1900 by New York financier Spencer Trask (1844–1909), his wife, the writer Kate, or Katrina, Nichols Trask (1853–1922), and philanthropist George Foster Peabody (1852–1938) for the purpose of providing a place for artists to reside and work in

Avery, Oswald

2005-03-06T02:08:00.000-08:00

Avery received a medical degree

Delors, Jacques

2005-03-06T01:23:00.000-08:00

The son of a courier at the Banque de France, Delors himself joined the bank in 1945, later earning a degree in economics from the Sorbonne. He became active in the Christian Trade Union Confederation (renamed the Democratic Trade Union

Biblical Literature, I Maccabees

2005-03-05T15:23:00.000-08:00

The first two of the four books of Maccabees are deuterocanonical (accepted by the Roman Catholic Church). The First Book of the Maccabees is preserved in the Greek translation from the Hebrew original, the original Hebrew name of it having been known to the Christian theologian Origen of Alexandria. At the beginning, the author of the book mentions Alexander the

Dublin, University Of

2005-03-05T09:57:00.000-08:00

Also called Trinity College oldest university in Ireland, founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland and endowed by the city of Dublin. When founded, it was intended that Trinity College would be the first of many constituent colleges of the University of Dublin. No other colleges were established, however, and the two names became interchangeable. The full benefits of the

Trichomonad

2005-03-04T02:00:00.000-08:00

The genus Trichomonas is a common parasite in

Ranaivo, Flavien

2005-03-04T00:44:00.000-08:00

Educated at the Lycae Gallieri in Tananarive (now Antananarivo), Ranaivo worked in the information service

Anti-semitism

2005-03-03T18:17:00.000-08:00

Hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious or racial group. The term anti-Semitism was coined in 1879 by the German agitator Wilhelm Marr to designate the anti-Jewish campaigns underway in central Europe at that time. Although this term now has wide currency, it is a misnomer, since it implies a discrimination against all Semites. Arabs and other peoples

Arabia, History Of, The Tubba' kings

2005-03-03T03:45:00.000-08:00

A major break with the past was made in the 4th century AD, when the polytheistic religion of the earlier cultures was replaced by a monotheistic cult of “The Merciful (Rahman), Lord of heaven and earth.” There was also an increasing interest, both friendly and hostile, in central Arabia. Already in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD Sabaean, Himyaro-Sabaean, and Himyarite rulers had employed

Rayong

2005-03-03T00:40:00.000-08:00

Town, southern Thailand. It lies southeast of Bangkok, on the northeastern coast of the Gulf of Thailand. Rayong is a fishing port and produces tapioca from locally grown cassava. Cassava, fruits, and rubber are the major products of the adjacent hinterland. Nearby beaches attract a growing number of tourists. Pop. (1985 est.) 41,222.

Zoo

2005-03-02T13:18:00.000-08:00

Also called Zoological Garden , or Zoological Park place where wild animals and, in some instances, domesticated animals are exhibited in captivity. In such an establishment animals can generally be given more intensive care than is possible in nature reserves or sanctuaries. Most long-established zoos exhibit general collections of animals, but some formed more recently specialize in particular groups—e.g.,

Arabian Religion

2005-03-01T13:49:00.000-08:00

Knowledge of pre-Islamic Arabia rests mainly on original archaeological and epigraphic data from the region itself. Countless pre-Islamic sites are scattered over the whole Arabian Peninsula: ancient lines of circles of raised stones, cairns, graveyards, and so on. In addition there are more recent constructions such as fortified towns and ruins of temples and irrigation

Interior Design, Middle Ages

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

From the fall of Rome, when the city was finally sacked by Odoacer in 476, to the 15th century, when the Renaissance was already well advanced, information about the decoration of interiors is scarce. Its history has to be pieced together from surviving objects and illuminated manuscripts.

Tien Shan

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

Chinese (Wade-Giles) T'ien Shan, or (Pinyin) Tian Shan, Russian Tyan Shan, great mountain system of Central Asia. Its name is Chinese for “Celestial Mountains.” Stretching about 1,500 miles (2,500 kilometres) from west-southwest to east-northeast, it mainly straddles the border between China and Kyrgyzstan and bisects the ancient territory of Turkistan. It is about 300 miles wide in places at its eastern and western extremities but narrows to about 220 miles

Faysal

2005-02-28T05:03:00.000-08:00

Faysal was a son of King Ibn Sa'ud and a brother of King Sa'ud. He was appointed foreign minister and viceroy of Hejaz in 1926 after his father conquered that province, in which lies the

Lochnagar

2005-02-27T09:08:00.000-08:00

Scenic mountain of coarse red granite, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, south of the River Dee in the Grampian Mountains. The mountain ridge, popularized in the 19th century by Lord Byron's poem “Lachin y Gair,” has 11 summits with elevations greater than 3,000 feet (900 metres); the highest is Cac Carn Beag, at 3,786 feet (1,154 metres). The name Lochnagar (“Goat Lake”) originally applied only to the small loch

Alewife

2005-02-26T20:29:00.000-08:00

Also called Sawbelly, Grayback, Gaspereau, or Branch Herring (Pomolobus, or Alosa, pseudoharengus), important North American food fish of the herring family, Clupeidae. Deeper-bodied than the true herring, the alewife has a pronounced saw-edge on the underside; it grows to about 30 cm (1 foot). Except for members of a few lake populations, it spends several years along the Atlantic coast of North America before

Arabia, History Of, Regional centres

2005-02-26T19:50:00.000-08:00

Once Mu'awiyah and the Umayyads had seized overlordship of the far-flung Islamic empire, which they ruled from Damascus, the Holy Cities remained only the spiritual capitals of Islam. The Umayyad caliphs appointed governors over the three crucial areas of the Hejaz, Yemen, and Oman; but in Iraq occasional powerful governors managed to control the Persian Gulf provinces,

Craigavon

2005-02-26T14:33:00.000-08:00

District and borough, Northern Ireland, established in 1973 from portions of Counties Antrim, Down, and Armagh. It is situated south of Lough (lake) Neagh and is bordered by the districts of Dungannon to the west, Armagh to the southwest, Banbridge to the southeast, and Lisburn to the east. Its administrative seat is Craigavon new town. In the northern part of Craigavon district,

Alexander

2005-02-25T07:20:00.000-08:00

Alexander carried on the hopeless struggle of the crown against the growing power of the Polish senate and nobles, who deprived him of financial control and curtailed his prerogative. For want of funds, Alexander was unable to assist the Grand Master

Korfanty, Wojciech

2005-02-25T05:56:00.000-08:00

The son of a miner, Korfanty became a journalist and a member of the secret nationalist society “Z,” which resisted Germany's attempt to Germanize

Olt River

2005-02-25T04:52:00.000-08:00

River, rising close to the headwaters of the Mures River, in the Ciuc Depression, east central Romania, at an elevation of 5,900 feet (1,800 m); it flows generally southwest and then south for 420 miles (670 km), entering the Danube at Turnu-Magurele. The river exits from the Ciuc Depression through the mountains at Tusnad, carving out a valley where several resorts and spas are located (including

Constant, Benjamin

2005-02-24T03:56:00.000-08:00

The son of a Swiss officer in the Dutch service, whose family was of French origin, he studied at Erlangen, Ger., briefly at the University of Oxford, and at Edinburgh. In 1787 he formed, in Paris, his first liaison, with Madame de

Tiverton

2005-02-22T17:07:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Newport county, eastern Rhode Island, U.S. It lies along the Sakonnet River and Mount Hope Bay, opposite Portsmouth and Bristol. Originally a part of Plymouth colony and named for Tiverton, Devon, England, it was annexed to Rhode Island in 1746 and was incorporated in 1747. Southwest of Tiverton Four Corners, the Battle of Almy's Pea Field was fought during King Philip's

Westerwald Stoneware

2005-02-22T08:34:00.000-08:00

Salt-glazed stoneware produced in German towns such as Höhr, Grenzau, and Grenzhausen in the area known as the Westerwald. Their products (jugs, tankards, and the like), made from the 15th century to the present day, are molded, stamped with dies, and sometimes incised. Westerwald pottery received impetus from the immigration in the late 16th century of Anno Knütgen and his

Aleatory Music

2005-02-22T07:15:00.000-08:00

The indeterminate portion of aleatory

Venous Sinus

2005-02-22T06:56:00.000-08:00

In human anatomy, any of the channels of a branching complex sinus network that lies between layers of the dura mater, the outermost covering of the brain, and functions to collect oxygen-depleted blood. Unlike veins, these sinuses possess no muscular coat. Their lining is endothelium, a layer of cells like that which forms the surface of the innermost coat of the veins.

Liquidity Preference

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

In economics, the premium that wealth holders demand for exchanging ready money or bank deposits for safe, non-liquid assets such as government bonds. As originally employed by John Maynard Keynes, liquidity preference referred to the relationship between the quantity of money the public wishes to hold and the interest rate. According to Keynes, the public holds

Biblical Literature, Joshua

2005-02-20T02:47:00.000-08:00

The Book of Joshua takes its name from the man who succeeded Moses as the leader of the Hebrew tribes—Joshua, the son of Nun, a member of the tribe of Ephraim. In post-biblical times Joshua himself was credited with being the author of the book, though internal evidence gives no such indication. According to the views of the German biblical scholar Martin Noth, which have

Luther, Martin, Brother Martin Luther

2005-02-20T01:04:00.000-08:00

Evidence on the reason for his decision to enter the religious life is scanty. In his later, not always reliable, Tischreden (“Table Talk”), it is related that on July 2, 1505, he was returning from a visit to his parents when he was overtaken by a thunderstorm near the village of Stotternheim and cried out in terror, “Help, St. Anne, and I'll become a monk.” In his De votis monasticis (“Concerning

Abandonment

2005-02-20T01:02:00.000-08:00

In Anglo-American property law, the relinquishment of possession of property with an intent to terminate all ownership interests in that property. Abandonment may occur by throwing away the property, by losing it and making no attempt to retrieve it, by vacating the property with no intention of returning to it, or by any other act manifesting a complete disclaimer

France, History Of, Foreign policy

2005-02-19T16:21:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile, some important successes were being scored in the field of foreign policy. For two decades after 1871 France had remained diplomatically isolated in Europe. Bismarck, to ward off potential ideas of revenge in France, had shrewdly encouraged French governments to embark on colonial conquest overseas and had negotiated alliances with all those European

Berat

2005-02-19T11:11:00.000-08:00

Located strategically between the ancient regions of Illyria and Epirus, Berat was the

Ikirun

2005-02-18T17:22:00.000-08:00

The modern town is a local trading centre (yams, corn [maize], cassava, pumpkins,

Interior Design, Primitive peoples

2005-02-18T01:43:00.000-08:00

Although the practices of present-day primitive peoples sometimes shed light on the historical origins of those practices, there is too little art and decoration in such communities today to illuminate the beginnings of interior decoration. No clear-cut progressions of styles, like those that occurred in Europe, can be identified except among peoples who could

International Relations, The reorganization of the Middle East

2005-02-17T14:21:00.000-08:00

The Treaty of Sèvres likewise dismembered the Ottoman Empire. Here again secret war-aims treaties reflected Allied ambitions in the Middle East, but Wilson was less willing to challenge them given his belief that the Arab peoples were not ready for self-rule. To avoid the tinge of imperialism, the victors took control of the former Ottoman (and German) territories

Paddle Tennis

2005-02-17T05:01:00.000-08:00

Small-scale form of tennis similar to a British shipboard game of the 1890s. Frank P. Beal, a New York City official, introduced paddle tennis on New York playgrounds in the early 1920s. He had invented it as a child in Albion, Mich. It became popular, and national championship tournaments are still held in the United States. Platform tennis, a later development, is sometimes called

Daedalus

2005-02-16T20:52:00.000-08:00

(Greek: “Skillfully Wrought”), mythical Greek architect and sculptor, who was said to have built, among other things, the paradigmatic Labyrinth for King Minos of Crete. Daedalus fell out of favour with Minos and was imprisoned; he fashioned wings of wax and feathers for himself and for his son Icarus and escaped to Sicily. Icarus, however, flew too near the Sun, and his wings

La Romana

2005-02-16T20:20:00.000-08:00

City and port, southeastern Dominican Republic, on the Caribbean Sea opposite Catalina Island. Founded near the end of the 19th century, La Romana grew rapidly after the establishment of a large sugar mill in 1911. In addition to sugarcane, the surrounding region produces coffee, tobacco, beeswax, cattle, and hides. The city has food-processing and soap, shoe, and furniture plants.

Dasa

2005-02-15T18:33:00.000-08:00

Also spelled dasyu member of an aboriginal people in India encountered and embattled by the invading Aryans (c. 1500 BC). They were described by the Aryans as a dark-skinned, harsh-spoken people who worshiped the phallus. This allusion has persuaded many scholars that worship of the linga, the Hindu religious symbol, originated with them; it may, however, have referred to their sexual practices.

Neoplatonism

2005-02-15T08:19:00.000-08:00

The last school of Greek philosophy, given its definitive shape in the 3rd century Ad by the one great philosophical and religious genius of the school, Plotinus. The ancient philosophers who are generally classified as Neoplatonists called themselves simple “Platonists,” as did the philosophers of the Renaissance and the 17th century whose ideas derive from ancient Neoplatonism. See Platonism.

Forbes, Edward

2005-02-15T01:03:00.000-08:00

While a medical student at Edinburgh, Forbes embarked upon a botanical tour of Norway (1833). Drawn to natural science, he then began an extensive study

Stefanboltzmann Law

2005-02-15T00:19:00.000-08:00

Statement that the total radiant-heat energy emitted from a surface is proportional to the fourth power of its absolute temperature. Formulated in 1879 by Josef Stefan, an Austrian physicist, as a result of his experimental studies, the same law was derived in 1889 by Ludwig Boltzmann, also an Austrian physicist, from thermodynamical considerations: if E is the radiant heat

Buddhism, All Souls festival

2005-02-13T20:07:00.000-08:00

The importance of the virtues of filial piety and the reverence of ancestors in China and Japan have established Ullambana, or All Souls Day, as one of the major Buddhist festivals in those countries. In China, worshipers in Buddhist temples make “boats of the law” ( fa-ch'uan) out of paper, some very large, which are then burned in the evening. The purpose of the celebration

Thomas, Jess

2005-02-13T09:12:00.000-08:00

U.S. operatic tenor (b. Aug. 4, 1927, Hot Springs, S.D.--d. Oct. 11, 1993, San Francisco, Calif.), sang a number of lyric roles but became best known as a Wagnerian heldentenor. He participated in local musical activities as a child, studied psychology at the University of Nebraska (B.A., 1949) and at Stanford University (M.A., 1954), and worked as a high school counselor. A professor at Stanford, Otto Schulman, persuaded

Arason, Jón

2005-02-12T13:28:00.000-08:00

The son of poor parents, he rose quickly to eminence in the church and was consecrated bishop of Hólar, the northern diocese of Iceland, in 1522. He administered his diocese prosperously until Christian III of Denmark began to impose Lutheranism

Tipperary

2005-02-12T04:20:00.000-08:00

Irish Tiobraid Árann (“House of the Well of Ara”) town and urban district, County Tipperary, Ireland. The town grew up around a castle erected by Prince John (later King John) when he was lord of Ireland; the outline of the bailey remains. A chancel arch from a 13th-century Augustinian abbey still stands. In 1339 the town was burned by the O'Briens. New Tipperary was founded in 1890, but it was later abandoned. There is a monument to the

Lutheran Church In Württemberg

2005-02-11T17:17:00.000-08:00

Independent Lutheran church established in the duchy of Württemberg in 1534 during the Protestant Reformation in Germany. A strong Lutheran church throughout the centuries, it was influenced in the 17th and 18th centuries by Pietism, the Lutheran-based movement that emphasized personal religious experience and reform. It became independent of the state after Germany

Essen

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

City, North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state), western Germany, between the Rhine-Herne Canal and the Ruhr River. It was originally the seat of an aristocratic convent (founded 852), still represented by the cathedral (the seat of a Roman Catholic bishop), completed in the 15th century. In the suburb of Werden, the abbey church was founded in 796 as part of a monastery. The convent and the

Wild West Show

2005-02-10T21:44:00.000-08:00

Theatrical extravaganza begun in 1883 by William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody. Cody, an Indian scout and Western hero, first turned to acting and then to producing and promoting his own Wild West show. In 1887 his show was performed at Madison Square Garden, New York City, with a cast of 100 Indians; Annie Oakley, the sharpshooter; other trick riders, ropers, and shooters; and such wild

Plymouth

2005-02-10T06:34:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Windsor county, south-central Vermont, U.S. The town includes the villages of Plymouth, Plymouth Union, and Tyson. It was chartered in 1761 as Saltash and renamed in 1797. Calvin Coolidge, 30th president of the United States, was born (July 4, 1872) in Plymouth in a small house behind the crossroads village store. The homestead in Plymouth Notch where he took the presidential

Grito De Dolores

2005-02-09T19:34:00.000-08:00

Hidalgo was involved in a plot against the Spanish colonial government, and, when the plot was betrayed, he decided to act immediately. After arming the people, he addressed them from the pulpit,