CommonArmy

Durbar

2005-11-18T00:10:00.000-08:00

The three best-known durbars were held in Delhi in 1877, 1903, and 1911. They celebrated Queen Victoria's assumption of the title of Empress

R.e.m.

2005-10-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s (1990), provides provocative discussions of R.E.M.'s albums from Chronic Town (“every so often a chaotic undertow suggests there's more to their romanticism than Spanish moss”) to Green. Christgau struggles with the lack of literary specificity in the band's lyrics, promotes some understanding of their Southern origins, slightly underrates Fables of the Reconstruction while noting that the album “clinches it: their formal frame of reference is folk-rock,” and uses the crucial word to explain R.E.M.'s appeal for a certain sort of rock-based fan and commentator: “reassuring.” Patricia Romanowski, Holly George-Warren, and Jon Pareles (eds.), The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, revised and updated ed. (1995), pp. 826–827, presents a focused and informed narrative of the band's formation, development, and recording history through the Monster album. Mike Mills, “Our Town,” in Clinton Heylin (ed.), The Penguin Book of Rock & Roll Writing (1992), pp. 401–408, is an essay about Athens written in 1985 by R.E.M.'s bassist. The first sentence—“When you mention ‘the Athens scene' to anyone who's been here for four or five years, they get weird”—accurately establishes both the tone and ambition of the piece.

Congo

2005-08-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

Congo's many ethnic groups and regions have developed a mosaic of traditional arts, including painting, sculpture, music, and dance. There has been a tendency to classify sculpture and carving according to the styles of the areas from which they originate. The South-West Group is represented by the Kongo people and is known for stone and nail-studded statues; the Yaka,

Fuchs, Leonhard

2005-07-27T11:45:00.000-07:00

Fuchs obtained a humanistic education under Catholic guidance

Guadalupian Stage

2005-07-25T17:05:00.000-07:00

In Guadalupian time the conditions

Ryobu Shinto

2005-07-23T05:45:00.000-07:00

Also called Shingon Shinto, in Japanese religion, the syncretic school that combined Shinto with the teachings of the Shingon sect of Buddhism. The school developed during the late Heian (794–1185) and Kamakura (1192–1333) periods. The basis of the school's beliefs was the Japanese concept that Shinto deities (kami) were manifestations of Buddhist divinities. Most important was the identification of the sun goddess

Tapestry

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

Woven decorative fabric, the design of which is built up in the course of weaving. Broadly, the name has been used for almost any heavy material, handwoven, machine woven, or even embroidered, used to cover furniture, walls, or floors or for the decoration of clothing. Since the 18th and 19th centuries, however, the technical definition of tapestry has been narrowed to include

Marpurg, Friedrich Wilhelm

2005-07-08T03:10:00.000-07:00

Nothing is known of his musical education. In 1746 he was secretary to a Prussian general in Paris, where he met Voltaire and the composer Jean Rameau. He later lived in Berlin and Hamburg and from 1763 to 1795 directed the Prussian

Mahdist

2005-07-06T07:40:00.000-07:00

The Mahdists rose

Cacique

2005-06-29T07:45:00.000-07:00

Any of a dozen tropical American birds belonging to the family Icteridae (order Passeriformes) and resembling the related oropendolas. Caciques are smaller than oropendolas and have a less-powerful bill, which lacks a frontal shield. These striking black-and-yellow or black-and-red birds make hanging nests. A common species is the all-black, yellow-billed cacique

Ancient Rome

2005-06-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

Rome

Pitt-rivers, Augustus Henry Lane-fox

2005-06-01T04:10:00.000-07:00

Archaeologist often called the “father of British archaeology,” who stressed the need for total excavation of sites, thorough stratigraphic observation and recording, and prompt and complete publication. Like Sir Flinders Petrie, Pitt-Rivers adopted a sociological approach to the study of excavated objects

Clonograptus

2005-05-17T19:20:00.000-07:00

Genus of graptolites (extinct, small floating colonial animals related to the primitive chordates), characterized by a frondlike form. Groups of these animals were connected by stalklike structures to a central region. Various forms or species of Clonograptus are important guide, or index, fossils for the correlation of Ordovician rocks (505 to 438 million years ago).

Mobutu Sese Seko Koko Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (joseph-désiré Mobutu)

2005-05-16T01:00:00.000-07:00

Zairean politician (b. Oct. 14, 1930, Lisala, Belgian Congo--d. Sept. 7, 1997, Rabat, Mor.), as president of Zaire for nearly 32 years, ruled with absolute power. During his reign he took full advantage of the backing he received from the West, which viewed him during the Cold War as a guardian against communism. He amassed a personal fortune worth billions of dollars at the expense of the country's

Arms, Roll Of

2005-05-13T22:55:00.000-07:00

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.

Padilla, Heberto

2005-03-15T07:49:00.000-08:00

After elementary and secondary education in his native province of Pinar del R�o, Padilla studied law at the University of Havana but did not finish a degree. From 1949 to 1952 and 1956 to 1959, he lived in the United

Ramanathapuram

2005-03-14T10:32:00.000-08:00

Ramanathapuram district occupies part of the flat southern coastal plain, including the island of Rameswaram. Protected

Tocantins River

2005-03-11T04:33:00.000-08:00

Portuguese �Rio Tocantins� river that rises in several headstreams, including the Paran� and Maranh�o rivers, on the central plateau in Goi�s state, Brazil. It flows northward through Goi�s and then Tocantins states until it receives the Manuel Alves Grande River. Looping westward, it marks the boundary of Tocantins and Maranh�o states as far as its junction with the Araguaia River. The Tocantins

Biblical Literature, Pseudepigrapha connected with the Dead Sea Scrolls

2005-03-04T03:38:00.000-08:00

There are three Pseudepigrapha that are closely connected with the writings of the Dead Sea sect: the Book of Jubilees, the Ethiopic Book of Enoch, and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. It is not accidental that fragments of the two first books and of two sources of the third were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Yamashita Tomoyuki

2005-03-03T08:54:00.000-08:00

After graduating from the Army Academy (1905) and the Army War College (1916), Yamashita was an officer for the Army General Staff Office. He rose rapidly through the ranks of the Imperial Army, eventually becoming the highest-ranking general of its air

Eck, Johann

2005-03-02T21:01:00.000-08:00

Early in his career Maier adopted the name of his home village, Egg (or Eck), as his surname. He studied at the universities of Heidelberg, T�bingen, Cologne, and Freiburg im Breisgau. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1508 and became a doctor

World Water Crisis: Is There A Way Out?

2005-03-01T06:44:00.000-08:00

Norfolk Island

2005-02-28T09:43:00.000-08:00

Officially �Territory of Norfolk Island� external territory of Australia, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, 1,041 miles (1,676 km) northeast of Sydney. The island, with an area of 13 square miles (35 square km), is about 5 miles (8 km) long and 3 miles (5 km) wide. It is volcanic in origin, and its generally rugged terrain, with a mean elevation of 360 feet (110 m) above sea level, rises to Mount Bates (1,047 feet [319 m]) and Mount Pitt (1,043 feet [318 m]). Kingston, in the south, is the

Artabanus

2005-02-27T06:49:00.000-08:00

Also called �Ardaban� minister of the Achaemenid king Xerxes I of Persia, whom he murdered in 465. According to one Greek source, Artabanus had previously killed Xerxes' son Darius and feared that the father would avenge him; other sources relate that he killed Xerxes first and then, pretending that Darius had done so, induced Darius' brother Artaxerxes I to avenge the �parricide.� Artabanus was

First Folio

2005-02-26T17:15:00.000-08:00

The publication of drama in the early 17th century was usually left to the poorer members of the Stationers' Company (which issued licenses) and to outright

Tequendama Falls

2005-02-25T13:03:00.000-08:00

Spanish �Salto De Tequendama, � waterfalls on the Bogot� (Funza) River, which is a tributary of the Magdalena River, in the Andean Cordillera (mountains) Oriental, central Colombia. One of the country's major tourist attractions, the falls are located in a forested area 20 miles (32 km) west of Bogot�. The river surges through a rocky gorge that narrows to about 60 feet (18 m) at the brink of the 515-foot- (157-metre-) high falls. The

Kamenshek, Dorothy

2005-02-24T11:53:00.000-08:00

Kamenshek showed promise as an outfielder with a local softball league by the time she was 17. A scout for the newly created All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) persuaded her to try out in Chicago.

Adams, Herbert Baxter

2005-02-23T19:21:00.000-08:00

The son of a successful merchant and manufacturer, Adams graduated from Amherst College, Massachusetts, in 1872 and attended lectures in Germany between 1874 and 1876 at G�ttingen,

Coldstream

2005-02-22T03:50:00.000-08:00

Small burgh (town) in the Scottish Borders council area, historic county of Berwickshire, Scotland. It is situated at a fording place on the River Tweed on the border with England. Flodden, a battlefield (1513) where the Scots were badly defeated by the English, lies 6 miles (10 km) southeast, in England. Coldstream is associated with the famous British Coldstream Guards regiment;

Omdurman

2005-02-21T09:03:00.000-08:00

Arabic �Umm Durman, � one of the Three Towns (with Khartoum and Khartoum North), east-central Sudan. Situated on the left bank of the main Nile River just below the confluence of the Blue and White Niles, Omdurman was an insignificant riverine village until the victory of Muhammad Ahmad, known as al-Mahdi, over the British in 1885. Al-Mahdi and his successor, the caliph 'Abd Allah, made it their capital,

Maha Maya

2005-02-20T07:33:00.000-08:00

According to Buddhist legend, Maha Maya dreamed that a white elephant with six tusks entered her right side, which was interpreted to mean that she had conceived a child who would become either a world ruler or a buddha. After 10 lunar months, feeling that the time of birth was near, she went to the Lumbini

Aegean Civilizations

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

The area consists of Crete, the Cyclades and some other islands, and the Greek mainland, including the Peloponnese, central Greece, and Thessaly. The first high civilization on European soil, with stately palaces, fine craftsmanship,

Ponca

2005-02-18T22:56:00.000-08:00

North American Indian people of the Dhegiha branch of the Siouan linguistic stock. Under pressure of settlement by whites, the Ponca migrated westward from the Atlantic coast, settling first in Virginia and the Carolinas. After a time they moved to what is now western Missouri. The Ponca then moved north to present-day Minnesota, where they lived until the late 17th

Alcmaeonid Family

2005-02-17T04:02:00.000-08:00

A powerful Athenian family, claiming descent from the legendary Alcmaeon, that was important in 5th- and 6th-century-BC politics. During the archonship of one of its members, Megacles (632? BC), a certain Cylon failed in an attempt to make himself tyrant, and his followers were slain at an altar sanctuary. Accused of sacrilege and murder, the Alcmaeonids incurred the bloodguilt that

Algeria, The Sahara

2005-02-16T11:37:00.000-08:00

The Algerian Sahara may be divided roughly into two depressions of different elevation, separated from one another by a central north-south rise called the M'zab (Mzab). Each zone is covered by a vast sheet of sand dunes called an erg. The Great Eastern Erg (Grand Erg Oriental) and the Great Western Erg (Grand Erg Occidental), which average 1,300 to 2,000 feet (400 to 600 metres) in height, decline

Augustine, Saint

2005-02-15T23:54:00.000-08:00

Two of Augustine's works stand out above the others for their lasting influence, but they have had very different fates. City of God was widely read in Augustine's time and throughout the Middle Ages and still demands attention today, but it is impossible to read without a determined effort to place it in its historical context. The Confessions was not much read in the

Typhon

2005-02-14T09:12:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Typhaon, or Typhoeus, � in Greek mythology, youngest son of Gaea (Earth) and Tartarus (of the nether world). He was described as a grisly monster with a hundred dragons' heads who was conquered and cast into the underworld by Zeus. In other accounts, he was confined in the land of the Arimi in Cilicia or under Mount Etna or in other volcanic regions, where he was the cause of eruptions. Typhon was thus

Gasp� Current

2005-02-13T19:47:00.000-08:00

Outflow from the St. Lawrence River, which moves around the Gasp� Peninsula and along the southern shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It merges with a cold branch of the Labrador (Cabot) Current before flowing through the Cabot Strait and into the North Atlantic Ocean. The current responds to the river's flow, being strong and warm in the summer and cold and weak in the winter.

A Moving Habitat:

2005-02-12T01:29:00.000-08:00

About once a week the three-toed sloth of Central and South America (Bradypus variegatus) descends from the trees, where it lives among the branches. For this slow-moving mammal, the journey is a dangerous and laborious undertaking, but it is one of great importance to members of the community among and aboard the sloth. Once the sloth has reached

Himeji

2005-02-11T09:28:00.000-08:00

City, Hyogo ken (prefecture), western Honshu, Japan. It is situated west of Kobe, near the Inland Sea. It developed as a castle town around the white, five-storied Himeji, or Shirasagi (�Egret�), Castle, built in the 14th century and reconstructed in 1577 and 1964. A large part of the city was destroyed by bombing during World War II. The city recovered and grew rapidly after the war. It is now the

Skaldic Poetry

2005-02-10T06:47:00.000-08:00

Skalds were identified by name; their poems

Art And Architecture, Oceanic, The north

2005-02-09T16:33:00.000-08:00

From the rain-forest country of northeastern Queensland comes an unusual type of shield, a large flat oval with somewhat asymmetrically curved sides. Most have a raised central boss. Designs above and below the boss radiate away from it and are outlined in black and infilled with red, white, and yellow. As usual, they refer to mythological beings and episodes. Paddles

Art And Architecture, Oceanic, The north

2005-02-08T11:05:00.000-08:00

French �Cour internationale de Justice, �byname �World Court � the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). The idea for the creation of an international court to arbitrate international disputes first arose during the various conferences that produced the Hague Conventions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The body subsequently established, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, was the precursor of the Permanent

H�lderlin, (johann Christian) Friedrich

2005-02-07T01:46:00.000-08:00

H�lderlin was born in a little Swabian town on the River Neckar. His father died in 1772, and two years afterward his mother married the burgomaster of the town of N�rtingen, where

Actuary

2005-02-06T21:22:00.000-08:00

Most actuaries are

Beresford, William Carr Beresford, Viscount, Baron Beresford Of Albuera And Dungarvan, Duke (duque) De Elvas

2005-02-05T16:09:00.000-08:00

An illegitimate son of the 2nd Earl of Tyrone (afterward 1st Marquess of Waterford), Beresford entered the British army in 1785. As a brigadier general

Peribsen

2005-02-04T20:48:00.000-08:00

Egyptian king of the 2nd dynasty (c. 2775 - c. 2650 BC), who promoted the cult of the god Seth over that of Horus, the god favoured by his predecessors. His tomb was located in Seth's district in Upper Egypt, at Abydos. According to some scholars, Peribsen's ascendancy was accompanied by a violent reaction against the supporters of Horus, but the supremacy of Horus was restored after his

China, The North China Plain

2005-02-03T15:21:00.000-08:00

Comparable in size to the Manchurian Plain, most of this plain lies at heights below 150 feet, and the relief is monotonously flat. It was formed by enormous sedimentary deposits brought down by the Huang Ho and Huai River from the Loess Plateau; the Quaternary deposits alone (i.e., those from 10,000 to 2,500,000 years old) reach thicknesses of 2,500 to 3,000 feet. The river channels, which are higher than

Mason, John Mitchell

2005-02-01T06:51:00.000-08:00

Mason developed a plan for theological education and in 1804 founded a seminary of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in New York City. He believed that the

Tiffin

2005-01-31T16:33:00.000-08:00

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,

Alabama, Agriculture

2005-01-30T07:14:00.000-08:00

The Alabamian rural economy challenges the traditional view of a dependency on cotton. Although cotton still remains of local importance, it suffered a heavy blow with the onset of the boll weevil blight in 1915, and acreage continued to decline. Mechanization and consolidation increased the average farm size after the 1930s. The diversification of agricultural production

Oak Harbor

2005-01-29T22:35:00.000-08:00

Town, Island county, northwestern Washington, U.S., on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. It was settled in 1849 by seafaring men, and its first industry was shipbuilding. Dutch immigrants arrived in 1890 and began developing the rich farmland; their presence on the island is celebrated in the town's annual Holland Happenings festival. The chief agricultural products are dairy foods,

East African Mountains

2005-01-28T07:25:00.000-08:00

Mountain region of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Congo (Kinshasa), Rwanda, and Burundi. The mountains are intimately related to the East African Rift System, the fractures of which extend discontinuously between the Zambezi River valley and the Red Sea and are flanked in many areas by highlands. Of the major mountains, all but one group - the Ruwenzori (Rwenzori) Range - are of

Ventilating

2005-01-26T17:57:00.000-08:00

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

Vise

2005-01-25T10:03:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Vice, � device consisting of two parallel jaws for holding a workpiece; one of the jaws is fixed and the other movable by a screw, a lever, or a cam. When used for holding a workpiece during hand operations, such as filing, hammering, or sawing, the vise may be permanently bolted to a bench. In vises designed to hold metallic workpieces, the active faces of the jaws are hardened steel

Abbott, Grace

2005-01-24T06:10:00.000-08:00

Abbott graduated from Grand Island College in 1898 and for eight years thereafter taught high school in her hometown. During that period she undertook graduate studies at the University of Nebraska

W�rzburg, University Of

2005-01-23T08:16:00.000-08:00

German �in full Bayerische Julius-maximilians-universit�t W�rzburg, � autonomous, state-supported university in W�rzburg, Ger., founded in 1582. Early a famous centre for the study of Roman Catholic theology, it was secularized in 1814 and became best known for its medical school. Among its teachers were the philosopher F.W. Schelling, the pathologist Rudolf Virchow, and the physicist Wilhelm R�ntgen, who discovered X rays there in 1895.

Woman Suffrage

2005-01-21T18:07:00.000-08:00

Women were excluded from voting in ancient Greece and Republican Rome, as well as in the few democracies that had emerged in Europe by the end of the 18th century. When the franchise was widened, as it was in the United Kingdom in 1832, women continued to be denied all voting rights. The question of women's voting

Bacau

2005-01-20T22:51:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Bacau judet (county), eastern Romania, near the confluence of the Bistrita and Siret rivers, 150 miles (240 km) northeast of Bucharest. Bacau was an early customs post, where trade routes came together at a ford over the Bistrita. It was first mentioned in documents in 1408. The manufacture of fighter airplanes has become the city's most important industry. Other industries

Sha'rani, Ash-

2005-01-19T18:32:00.000-08:00

Throughout his life Sha'rani was influenced by the pattern of his education. His introduction and exposure to Islamic learning were limited; his formal education was concerned with the 'ulum al-wahb (�gifted knowledge of the mystic�), as opposed to a traditional and rigorous study of Islamic sciences.

Religion, Salvation Army.

2005-01-18T20:30:00.000-08:00

In March 1998 a group of 150 Protestants and Roman Catholics, including youth from the Salvation Army Ireland Divisional Youth Chorus, demonstrated their shared Christian ideals by traveling to Washington, D.C., where they were greeted by and sang for both U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton

Bohemian Forest

2005-01-17T17:57:00.000-08:00

German �B�hmer Wald�, or �B�hmerwald�, Czech �

Constable, Archibald

2005-01-16T20:45:00.000-08:00

At the age of 14 Constable was apprenticed to an Edinburgh bookseller, Peter Hill; after six years he left to open his own bookstore. He began to publish theological and political pamphlets, and in 1802 Sydney Smith

Biblical Literature, Hebrew prophecy

2005-01-15T17:28:00.000-08:00

Hebrew prophecy was rooted in the prophetic activities of various individuals and groups from the nations and peoples of the ancient Near East. Though prophecy among ancient Egyptians, Mesopotamians, and Canaanites - as well as among the peoples of the Aegean civilization - generally was connected with �foretelling� (or predicting) the future, the Hebrew view of prophecy

Ashur-uballit I

2005-01-14T09:55:00.000-08:00

(reigned c. 1365 - 30 BC), king of Assyria during Mesopotamia's feudal age, who created the first Assyrian empire and initiated the Middle Assyrian period (14th to 12th century BC). With the help of the Hittites he destroyed the dominion of the Aryan Mitanni (a non-Semitic people from upper Iran and Syria who had subjugated Assyria), ravaged Nineveh (near present Mosul, Iraq), and sent off the image

Earth, Variation with internal density distribution

2005-01-13T15:12:00.000-08:00

If the Earth were horizontally stratified so that density varied only with depth, the Bouguer anomaly would be everywhere close to zero. In fact, because the Earth is heterogeneous, the gravitational anomaly field displays �roughness� over a very wide range of length scales and amplitudes. When the distribution of excess or deficiency in density is known, the effect

Bedreddin

2005-01-12T19:40:00.000-08:00

A convert to Sufism (Islamic mysticism), in 1383 Bedreddin undertook the pilgrimage to Mecca, and, upon his return to Cairo, he was appointed tutor to the Mamluk crown prince of Egypt. He

Tercet

2005-01-11T08:27:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �tiercet� a unit or group of three lines of verse, usually containing rhyme, as in William Shakespeare's �The Phoenix and the Turtle�: Death is now the phoenix' nest; And the turtle's loyal breastTo eternity doth rest,

Padre Island

2005-01-10T07:16:00.000-08:00

Barrier island, 113 miles (182 km) long and up to 3 miles (5 km) wide, lying along the Gulf Coast of Texas, U.S. It extends south from Corpus Christi to Port Isabel and is separated from the mainland by Laguna Madre. The island consists largely of grassy dunes and a broad beach that yields shellfish such as clams and marine snails. The area is well known for its mackerel, sailfish, and tarpon

Genet

2005-01-09T04:02:00.000-08:00

Any of about five species of lithe, catlike carnivores of the genus Genetta, family Viverridae. Genets are elongate, short-legged animals with long, tapering tails; pointed noses; large, rounded ears; and retractile claws. Coloration varies among species but usually is pale yellowish or grayish, marked with dark spots and stripes; the tail is banded black and

Anorthite

2005-01-08T07:52:00.000-08:00

A feldspar mineral, calcium aluminosilicate (CaAl2Si2O8), that occurs as white or grayish, brittle, glassy crystals. Primarily a rock-forming mineral, it is used in the manufacture of glass and ceramics. Anorthite occurs in basic igneous rocks, as at Trentino, Italy; S�dermanland, Swed.; Tamil Nadu, India; Miyake, Japan; and Franklin, N.J. For detailed physical properties, see feldspar

Paekche

2005-01-07T02:25:00.000-08:00

One of three kingdoms into which ancient Korea was divided before 660. Occupying the southwestern tip of the Korean peninsula, Paekche is traditionally said to have been founded in 18 BC in the Kwangju area by a legendary leader named Onjo. By the 3rd century AD, during the reign of King Koi (234 - 286), Paekche emerged as a fully developed kingdom. By the reign of King Kunch'ogo (346 - 375), it had established

Smith, Hoke

2005-01-06T17:38:00.000-08:00

Admitted to the bar in 1873, Smith practiced law in Atlanta and became active in local Democratic politics. He published the Atlanta Journal (1887 - 1900), which he used as a forum to champion virtually all progressive measures of the period, with the notable exception

Reproductive System Disease, Inflammatory conditions

2005-01-05T17:05:00.000-08:00

Balanitis, or inflammation of the glans penis, and posthitis, or infection of the prepuce, result from the retention of secretions and bacteria beneath the foreskin and can be prevented with good sexual hygiene. Balanitis can also develop as a complication of certain sexually transmitted diseases. Acute prostatitis, inflammation of the prostate gland, may be caused

Hyperopia

2005-01-04T04:08:00.000-08:00

Also called �Farsightedness, or Hypermetropia, � visual defect in which the cornea and lens of the eye focus the image of the visual field at a point behind the retina (the light-sensitive layer of tissue lining the back and sides of the eye). The retina thus receives an unfocused image of near objects, though distant objects may be in focus. Hyperopia frequently occurs when an eye is shorter than normal from front to

Vacuum Technology

2005-01-02T06:30:00.000-08:00

Typically, the size of these pumps is about 1,000 grams of sorbent material, which retains gas molecules on its surface. They are capable of pumping from atmosphere to 10-2 torr or can be used in series down to 10-5 torr. In most cases the sorbent material is a molecular sieve - that is, a material that has been processed so that it is porous, with pore sizes comparable to the size of molecules,

Absentee Ownership

2005-01-01T01:32:00.000-08:00

Absentee

Absentee Ownership

2004-12-31T20:45:00.000-08:00

Absentee

Marie-antoinette

2004-12-30T15:21:00.000-08:00

The 11th daughter of the Holy Roman emperor Francis I and Maria Theresa, Marie-Antoinette was married in 1770 to the dauphin Louis, grandson of

Cultural Revolution

2004-12-29T04:56:00.000-08:00

In full� Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, �Wade-Giles romanization �Wu-ch'an Chieh-chi Wen-hua Ta Ke-ming, �Pinyin �Wuchanjieji Wenhua Dageming, � upheaval launched by Chinese Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong during his last decade in power (1966 - 76) to renew the spirit of the Chinese revolution. Fearing that China would develop along the lines of the Soviet model and concerned about his own place in history, Mao threw China's cities into turmoil in a monumental effort to reverse the historic processes

Mabillon, Jean

2004-12-28T09:02:00.000-08:00

He entered Saint-R�mi Abbey, Reims, in 1653 and became a Benedictine monk the following year. He was ordained priest (1660) at Corbie, Fr., before moving in 1664 to St. Germain-des-Pr�s, Paris, headquarters of the Maurists, a congregation of French

Olympias

2004-12-27T06:30:00.000-08:00

The daughter of Neoptolemus, king of Epirus, Olympias apparently was originally named Myrtale. Later she may have been called Olympias as a recognition of Philip's

Crusca Academy

2004-12-25T02:27:00.000-08:00

Founded by five members of the

Bas-relief

2004-12-24T13:43:00.000-08:00

Sculptural relief in which the projection from the surrounding surface is slight (see photograph). See relief.

X-ray Telescope

2004-12-23T19:39:00.000-08:00

Instrument designed to detect and resolve X rays from sources outside the Earth's atmosphere. Because of atmospheric absorption, X-ray telescopes must be carried to high altitudes by rockets or balloons or placed in orbit outside the atmosphere. Balloon-borne telescopes are used to detect the more penetrating (harder) X rays, whereas those carried aloft by rockets

Mountain Mahogany

2004-12-22T15:32:00.000-08:00

It is said that the common name was given to species

Rivi�re, Jacques

2004-12-21T02:04:00.000-08:00

Writer, critic, and editor who was a major force in the intellectual life of France in the period immediately following World War I. His most important works were his thoughtful and finely written essays on the arts. In 1912 a collection of these essays was published as �tudes; a second such collection, entitled Nouvelles �tudes (�Further

Maazel, Lorin

2004-12-20T19:17:00.000-08:00

Maazel grew up in Los Angeles and began his first musical instruction at age five. Although he began conducting as early as age nine, he made his adult debut in 1953 in Italy,

Argentina, The Dirty War and the Falklands dispute

2004-12-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

For vivid accounts of the Dirty War, see Andrew Graham-Yooll, A State of Fear: Memories of Argentina's Nightmare (1986); and Jacobo Timerman, Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number (1981, reprinted 1993; originally published in Spanish, 1981). Works on the Falkland Islands dispute and the war of 1982 include Raphael Perl, The Falkland Islands Dispute in International Law and Politics: A Documentary Sourcebook (1983); Alejandro Dabat and Luis Lorenzano, Argentina, the Malvinas, and the End of Military Rule (1984; originally published in Spanish, 1982); and Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins, The Battle for the Falklands (1983).

Argentina, The Dirty War and the Falklands dispute

2004-12-18T14:25:00.000-08:00

Sachs, Hans

2004-12-17T22:21:00.000-08:00

Wagner's opera is partly a tribute to the common people - and Sachs was one of them. The son of a tailor, he was apprenticed to a shoemaker in

Abbas, Ferhat

2004-12-16T22:51:00.000-08:00

Son of a Muslim official in the Algerian civil service, Abbas received an entirely French education at Philippeville (now Skikda) and Constantine and at the University

F�

2004-12-15T08:50:00.000-08:00

City, Bavaria Land (state), south-central Germany, situated at the junction of the Pegnitz and Rednitz rivers (which there form the Regnitz), just northwest of N�rnberg. It was originally a Franconian settlement dating from the mid-8th century. The royal palace of Furti (the �Furt�) was first mentioned in 1007, when the village was assigned to the newly formed bishopric of Bamberg.

Vung Tau

2004-12-14T08:12:00.000-08:00

French �Cap Saint-jacques, � port, southern Vietnam. It is situated near the tip of an 11-mile- (18-kilometre-) long projection into the South China Sea, which trends southwest and partially encloses Ganh Rai Bay. The bay receives the Saigon River on the northeastern Mekong delta. The port of Vung Tau has a pilot station, fuel depot, and sea harbour to serve vessels using the port of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly

Vung Tau

2004-12-13T16:18:00.000-08:00

Sickles, Daniel Edgar

2004-12-12T05:05:00.000-08:00

Sickles attended the University of the City of New York, later studied law, and in 1846 was admitted to the bar. He immediately

C.v.o.

2004-12-11T16:55:00.000-08:00

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, member of the third highest class of a British order of knighthood, although this rank does not confer knighthood. See Royal Victorian Order.

Amatique Bay

2004-12-09T02:28:00.000-08:00

Spanish �Bah�a De Amatique, � inlet of the Gulf of Honduras in the Caribbean Sea, indenting eastern Guatemala and southeastern Belize (formerly British Honduras). Extending northwestward for about 40 miles (64 km) from Santo Tom�s de Castilla, Guatemala, it is some 15 miles (24 km) from northeast to southwest. Amatique Bay receives the Dulce River, which drains Izabal Lake; the Sarstoon (Sarst�n) River, which

John

2004-12-08T11:08:00.000-08:00

After his father's death in 1486, John ruled the lands of the Ernestine branch of the Wettin

France, Banque De

2004-12-07T19:33:00.000-08:00

The bank listed among its founding shareholders Napoleon Bonaparte, members of his family, and several leading personalities of the time. Founded partly with state funds, but mainly with private