ReadyEngine

Andorra

2005-04-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

Andorra's independence is traditionally ascribed to Charlemagne, who recovered the

Horyu Temple

2005-04-02T08:26:00.000-08:00

Beginning about AD 600, a number

Selaginella

2005-03-31T21:55:00.000-08:00

Genus of plants that are commonly known as spike moss (q.v.).

Camden

2005-03-30T16:11:00.000-08:00

Inner borough of London, part of the historic county of Middlesex, to the north of Westminster and the historic City of London. It extends some 5 miles (8 km) from below High Holborn (road) to the northern heights of Hampstead Heath. Camden was created a borough in 1965 by the amalgamation of the former metropolitan boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and St. Pancras. Camden includes

Insurance, Export credit insurance

2005-03-27T00:12:00.000-08:00

A special form of credit insurance is available to exporters against losses from both commercial and political risks. In the United States, for example, export credit insurance is written through a consortium of insurance companies organized by the Foreign Credit Insurance Association (FCIA). The Export-Import Bank of the United States assumes the ultimate liability

Lens Dislocation

2005-03-25T17:25:00.000-08:00

Abnormal position of the crystalline lens of the eye. The dislocation, which may be congenital or acquired, has as its immediate cause weakness or loss of a portion of the ligaments that anchor the lens to the ciliary muscle.

Cosin, John

2005-03-23T04:50:00.000-08:00

Cosin was named a chaplain of Durham Cathedral (1619) and subsequently wrote the famed Collection of Private

Chia-i

2005-03-21T05:54:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Chiayi, shih (municipality) and seat of Chia-i hsien (county), on the western coastal plain of Taiwan. It lies at the foot of the A-li Mountains, on Taiwan's main north–south rail and highway routes. Narrow-gauge branch railways built by the Japanese (who occupied Taiwan from 1895 to 1945) run from Chia-i to the sugar-producing plains to the west and into the A-li Mountains for the transport of lumber.

Gadamer, Hans-georg

2005-03-19T23:39:00.000-08:00

German philosopher (b. Feb. 11, 1900, Marburg, Ger.—d. March 14, 2002, Heidelberg, Ger.), was a principal figure in 20th-century philosophical hermeneutics. His conception of language as a historical phenomenon had great influence in postmodernist and poststructuralist thought. Gadamer studied philosophy in Breslau (now Wroclaw, Pol.), Munich, and Marburg, where he completed a doctorate (1922) on

Abu

2005-03-19T17:36:00.000-08:00

Also called Mount Abu, city, southwestern Rajasthan state, northwestern India. It is situated on the slopes of Mount Abu, an isolated feature of the Aravali Range. The city is a noted hill resort, and the Jaina temples at nearby Dilwara, built of white marble, are famous. Tejpal temple, built about AD 1200, is known for the delicacy and richness of its carving, especially for that on the underside of its dome.

Ploceidae

2005-03-18T23:23:00.000-08:00

Songbird family, order Passeriformes, including the bishop, weaver, and whydah groups and Old World sparrows. The 135 to 155 species are native chiefly to Africa—but several have been introduced elsewhere. Ploceids are small, compact birds with short, stout bills. In many species the males are brightly coloured; some acquire, in nonbreeding season, dull plumage resembling

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Influence of Jean de La Fontaine

2005-03-15T19:25:00.000-08:00

The fable has normally been of limited length, however, and the form reached its zenith in 17th-century France, at the court of Louis XIV, especially in the work of Jean de La Fontaine. He published his Fables in two segments: the first, his initial volume of 1668, and the second, an accretion of “Books” of fables appearing over the next 25 years. The 1668 Fables follow the Aesopian pattern,

Horace

2005-03-15T19:13:00.000-08:00

Latin in full Quintus Horatius Flaccus outstanding Latin lyric poet and satirist under the emperor Augustus. The most frequent themes of his Odes and verse Epistles are love, friendship, philosophy, and the art of poetry.

Writing

2005-03-14T15:36:00.000-08:00

This definition highlights the fact that writing is in principle the representation of language rather than a direct representation of thought and the fact that spoken language has a number of levels of structure, including

Finsen, Niels Ryberg

2005-03-12T22:37:00.000-08:00

Finsen was born into a prominent Icelandic family that was involved in the administration of

Earth Tide

2005-03-11T06:28:00.000-08:00

Deformation of the solid Earth as it rotates within the gravitational fields of the Sun and Moon. Earth tides are similar to ocean tides. The Earth deforms because it has a certain degree of elasticity; were it perfectly rigid, there would be no Earth tides. Several tidal components mathematically can be shown to exist, but only four are large enough to be generally

Sabin, Albert Bruce

2005-03-10T11:08:00.000-08:00

Sabin immigrated with his parents to the United States in 1921 and became an American citizen nine

Shari'ah, Procedure and evidence

2005-03-10T01:18:00.000-08:00

Traditionally, Shari'ah law was administered by the court of a single qadi, who was the judge of the facts as well as the law, although on difficult legal issues he might seek the advice of a professional jurist, or mufti. There was no hierarchy of courts and no organized system of appeals. Through his clerk (katib) the qadi controlled his court procedure, which was normally characterized

Akriyavada

2005-03-09T02:41:00.000-08:00

Pali >Akiriyavada set of beliefs held by heretic teachers in India who were contemporaries of the Buddha. The doctrine was a kind of antinomianism that, by denying the orthodox karmic theory of the efficacy of former deeds on a person's present and future condition, also denied the possibility of a person's influencing his own destiny through preferring righteous to bad conduct. The

Venom

2005-03-08T19:05:00.000-08:00

The poisonous secretion of an animal, produced by specialized glands that are often associated with spines, teeth, stings, or other piercing devices. The venom apparatus may be primarily for killing or paralyzing prey or may be a purely defensive adaptation. Some venoms also function as digestive fluids. The venom poisoning of humans is primarily a problem of rural

Uyo

2005-03-06T21:15:00.000-08:00

Town, capital of Akwa Ibom state, southeastern Nigeria. Uyo lies on the road from Oron to Ikot Ekpene. A collecting station for palm oil and kernels, it is also a local trade centre (yams, cassava, palm produce) for an area inhabited mainly by the Ibibio people. The town has a brewery and a textile mill. It is the site of the University of Uyo (1983). Pop. (1991 est.) 66,860.

Shamanism, Drama and dance

2005-03-06T20:31:00.000-08:00

Shamanic symbolism is impressively presented in dramatic enactment and dance, as observed among the peoples where the shamanistic rites survived longest (such as the Samoyed, Tofalar, Buryat, and Tungus). The shaman, garbed in his ritual robes, lifts his voice in song to the spirits. This song is always improvised, with certain obligatory images and similes, dialogue,

Sentimental Comedy

2005-03-05T07:19:00.000-08:00

A dramatic genre of the 18th century, denoting plays in which middle-class protagonists triumphantly overcome a series of moral trials. Such comedy aimed at producing tears rather than laughter. Sentimental comedies reflected contemporary philosophical conceptions of humans as inherently good but capable of being led astray through bad example. By an appeal

Kirkland Lake

2005-03-04T04:48:00.000-08:00

Town, Timiskaming district, eastern Ontario, Canada. It is situated 125 miles (200 km) north-northwest of North Bay. Since the discovery of gold in the vicinity in 1911, at the time of the construction of the Ontario Northland Railway, the town has grown to become one of Canada's largest gold producers. During the bonanza years of 1927–28, dozens of mines sprang up along its “Golden Mile,” including

Catecholamine

2005-03-02T13:20:00.000-08:00

All catecholamines begin

World Water Crisis: Is There A Way Out?

2005-03-01T23:12:00.000-08:00

Some 40% of the global population lives within river basins that are shared by two or more countries. Often one country is water-rich and the other water-poor, or one supports heavily polluting industries while the other does not. Since there is no strong international law governing the resolution of transboundary water disputes, the potential for conflict remains

Plum

2005-02-28T06:16:00.000-08:00

Fruit of the genus Prunus of the rose family (Rosaceae). Like the peach and cherry, it is a stone, or drupe, fruit. Trees of some plum species reach a height from 6 to 10 metres (20 to 33 feet), while others are much smaller; some species are small shrubs with drooping branches. The flower buds on most varieties are borne on short spurs or along the terminal shoots of the main branches. Each

Deep-sea Trench

2005-02-28T03:24:00.000-08:00

Trenches generally lie seaward of and parallel to adjacent island arcs or mountain ranges

Water Parsnip

2005-02-26T23:53:00.000-08:00

Any of several aromatic herbs of the genus Sium, especially S. latifolium, belonging to the parsley family (Apiaceae), distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and Africa. They grow in moist areas, and some species are even partially submerged. All are perennial herbs with divided leaves and clusters of white flowers. S. sisarum, known as skirret, is cultivated

Performing Arts

2005-02-26T11:20:00.000-08:00

Carnivore, Form and function

2005-02-25T18:15:00.000-08:00

Procyonids are plantigrade

Subsistence Farming

2005-02-23T09:37:00.000-08:00

Form of farming in which nearly all of the crops or livestock raised are used to maintain the farmer and his family, leaving little, if any, surplus for sale or trade. Preindustrial agricultural peoples throughout the world have traditionally practiced subsistence farming. Some of these peoples moved from site to site as they exhausted the soil at each location.

China, The Khitan

2005-02-23T06:15:00.000-08:00

To the north at the time of the Wu-tai rose the seminomadic but largely pastoral Khitan, who were related to the eastern Mongols. The word Khitan (or Khitai) is the source of Cathay, the name for North China in medieval Europe (as reported by Marco Polo), and of Kitai, the Russian name for China. The Khitan founded the Liao Empire (907–1125) by expanding from the border of Mongolia into

Space Exploration

2005-02-22T17:04:00.000-08:00

Germany's ROSAT, carrying an X-ray telescope,

Pauli Exclusion Principle

2005-02-21T13:03:00.000-08:00

Subatomic

Kuhn, Adalbert

2005-02-20T19:12:00.000-08:00

Kuhn first devoted himself to the study of German stories and legends, but he established

Pielinen, Lake

2005-02-19T16:51:00.000-08:00

Finnish Pielisjärvi, lake located in Pohjois-Karjalan lääni (province), eastern Finland, near the border with Russia. The lake is approximately 60 miles (100 km) long between the town of Nurmes and the village of Uimaharju and ranges from 1 to 25 miles (1.5 to 40 km) in width. Its area is 335 square miles (868 square km). Lake Pielinen has many islands and is drained southward into the large Saimaa lake system by the Pielis

Adams, John

2005-02-18T22:29:00.000-08:00

Early advocate of American independence from Great Britain, major figure in the Continental Congress (1774–77), author of the Massachusetts constitution (1780), signer of the Treaty of Paris (1783), first American ambassador to the Court of St. James (1785–88), first vice president (1789–97) and second president (1797–1801) of the United States. Although Adams was regarded by his contemporaries as one of the most significant statesmen of the revolutionary era, his reputation faded in the 19th century, only to ascend again during the last half of the 20th century. The modern edition of his correspondence prompted a rediscovery of his bracing honesty and pungent way with words, his importance as a political thinker, his realistic perspective on American foreign policy, and his patriarchal role as founder of one of the most prominent families in American history. (For a discussion of the history and nature of the presidency, see presidency of the United States of America. See also Cabinet of President John Adams.)

Bone Black

2005-02-16T08:24:00.000-08:00

Also called Bone Char, or Bone Charcoal, a form of charcoal (q.v.) produced by heating bone in the presence of a limited amount of air. It is used in removing coloured impurities from liquids, especially solutions of raw sugar. Bone black contains only about 12 percent elemental carbon, the remainder being made up principally of calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate.

Adz

2005-02-15T13:54:00.000-08:00

Also spelled adze hand tool for shaping wood. One of the earliest tools, it was widely distributed in Stone Age cultures in the form of a handheld stone chipped to form a blade. By Egyptian times it had acquired a wooden haft, or handle, with a copper or bronze blade set flat at the top of the haft to form a T. In this form the adz continued to be the prime hand tool for shaping and trimming wood.

Abbate, Niccolò Dell'

2005-02-14T08:54:00.000-08:00

He began his career in Modena as a student of the sculptor Antonio Begarelli. His “Martyrdom of St. Peter and

Gull, Sir William Withey, 1st Baronet

2005-02-12T21:03:00.000-08:00

Gull received his M.D. from the University of London in 1846 and became lecturer on physiology and anatomy and then physician, at Guy's, where he taught or served as consulting physician for the rest of his life. He

Floral Decoration, Other cultures

2005-02-12T19:27:00.000-08:00

Outside the West and the Far East, the arranging of plant materials was more a casual part of everyday life than a formally recognized medium of artistic expression. The elaborate stylistic traditions evolved and formulated in the West and Far East through centuries of sophisticated creative activity are rarely found, therefore, in other cultures. In the Islamic

Aleutian Basin

2005-02-11T00:06:00.000-08:00

Submarine depression forming the floor of the southwestern section of the Bering Sea in the Pacific Ocean. On the west it rises to meet Siberia and the Kamchatka Peninsula; on the northeast, the continental shelf of North America off southwestern Alaska; and on the south, the Aleutian Islands. The basin extends about 1,100 miles (1,800 km) north-south and 600 miles (1,000 km) east-west and is

Allen, Sir Hugh (percy)

2005-02-09T17:03:00.000-08:00

Allen was an organ scholar at Christ's College, Cambridge, and later held organist's posts at Ely cathedral (1898–1901) and New College, Oxford (1901–18). In 1918 he became director of the Royal College of Music, London, and in

Ancona

2005-02-07T22:38:00.000-08:00

Capital of Ancona provincia and of Marche regione, in central Italy, on the Adriatic Sea on the farthest branch of the promontory that descends from the Conero massif. Founded by Syracusan colonists in about 390 BC, it was taken by Rome in the 2nd century BC and became a flourishing port, particularly favoured by the Roman emperor Trajan, who enlarged the harbour. Attacked by

Frederick Charles, Prince Of Prussia

2005-02-06T10:15:00.000-08:00

The eldest son of Prince Charles of Prussia and nephew of the future German emperor William I, Frederick Charles was educated from childhood for a military career. He became a colonel in 1852 and a major general in 1854, in which year he married Princess

Biblical Literature, The significance of Elisha

2005-02-05T19:42:00.000-08:00

The stories of Elijah and his successor, Elisha, are of a different literary genre from the historical accounts of the political developments of the 9th century. The historical accounts are based on the viewpoints and biases of the monarchy, nobility, and military leaders. The stories of Elijah and Elisha are legendary, popular accounts, probably having arisen among

Euclidean Geometry, Axioms of betweenness

2005-02-05T08:17:00.000-08:00

The symbol [ABC] shall mean that the points A, B, C are in the relation of betweenness. Two axioms can be assumed for this relation (see Box 2, items 22, 23). If geometry has already been constructed, the reader may interpret [ABC] to mean, say, AB, BC are perpendicular, or B is the midpoint of AC, or A, C are on a circle the centre of which is B, and consider which of these statements is true. An intuitive interpretation

Biochemistry

2005-02-03T03:11:00.000-08:00

Study of the chemical substances and processes that occur in plants, animals, and microorganisms and of the changes they undergo during development and life. It deals with the chemistry of life, and as such it draws on the techniques of analytical, organic, and physical chemistry, as well as those of physiologists concerned with the molecular basis of vital processes.

Fakir

2005-02-02T22:04:00.000-08:00

Arabic Faqir (“poor”) originally, a mendicant dervish. In mystical usage, the word fakir refers to man's spiritual need for God, who alone is self-sufficient. Although of Muslim origin, the term has come to be applied in India to Hindus as well, largely replacing gosvamin, sadhu, bhikku, and other designations. Fakirs are generally regarded as holy men who are possessed of miraculous powers, such

Bot Fly

2005-02-01T18:21:00.000-08:00

Horse bot flies (family Gasterophilidae) include species of Gasterophilus, a serious horse pest. The adult horse fly, often known as a gad fly, deposits between about 400 and 500 eggs (nits) on the horse's

Palaic Language

2005-02-01T08:35:00.000-08:00

Ancient Indo-European language of northwest Anatolia. Modern knowledge of the language comes from 21 passages dealing with the cult of the deity Ziparwa that appear in the cuneiform tablets found in the ruins of the Hittite archives at Bogazköy (the ancient Hattusa, in modern Turkey). In its inflectional systems and pronoun forms, it appears to be very close to the Hittite

Hardwick, Elizabeth

2005-01-31T05:51:00.000-08:00

Hardwick attended the University of Kentucky (B.A., 1938; M.A., 1939) and Columbia University in New York City. Her experience as a young Southern woman in Manhattan provided the backdrop for her somber, introspective first novel, The Ghostly

Yungas

2005-01-29T21:20:00.000-08:00

Humid, subtropical region in western Bolivia. It occupies the eastern slopes of the Andean Cordillera Real and extends northeast and north of the cities of La Paz and Cochabamba. This rainy forested belt of rugged terrain (deep valleys and gorges separated by sharp ridges) has its counterparts in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Settlers have been attracted to the area

Nova Persei

2005-01-29T02:28:00.000-08:00

Bright nova that attained an absolute magnitude of -9.2. Spectroscopic observations of the nova, which appeared in 1901, provided important information about interstellar gas. The shell thrown off by the exploding star was unusually asymmetrical, and a bright nebulosity near the star appeared to be expanding incredibly fast, at practically the speed of light. This apparent

Van Fleet, Jo

2005-01-27T22:44:00.000-08:00

U.S. actress who played bold, matronly women on stage and screen, notably in Elia Kazan films, beginning with her role as the mother of James Dean's character in East of Eden (1955), for which she won an Academy Award (b. Dec. 30, 1919--d. June 10, 1996).

Saijo

2005-01-27T20:23:00.000-08:00

City, Ehime ken (prefecture), Shikoku, Japan, in the Kamo River delta. A castle town in the 17th century, it served later as a local administrative and commercial centre. The construction of two large power plants was followed rapidly by the establishment of pulp and paper mills and textile factories. The city, one of the core cities of the East Ehime Industrial City Program

Biblical Literature, Baruch

2005-01-26T23:46:00.000-08:00

The apocryphon of Baruch, which is extant in Greek and was included in the Septuagint, is attributed to Baruch, secretary to the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah (7th–6th century BCE). It was Baruch who read Jeremiah's letter to the exiles in Babylon. After hearing his words, the Jews repented and confessed their sins. The first part of the book of Baruch (1:1–3, 8), containing a confession

Ahmad Shah

2005-01-25T19:05:00.000-08:00

In full Ahmad Shah Bahadur Mujahid-ud-din Abu Nasr ineffectual Mughal emperor of India from 1748 to 1754, who has been characterized as a “good-natured imbecile,” without personality, training, or qualities of leadership. He was entirely dominated by others, including the queen mother, Udham Bai, and the eunuch superintendent of the harem, the emperor's vicar Javid Khan. Twice during his reign, the Afghan

Epistemology, Knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description

2005-01-24T14:09:00.000-08:00

The distinction between knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description was introduced by Bertrand Russell in connection with his celebrated theory of descriptions. Here only the epistemological (as distinct from the logical) version of his theory will be considered. It was invented by Russell to lend support to the basic thesis of empiricism that all

Medicine, Industrial health services

2005-01-23T19:32:00.000-08:00

During the epoch of the Soviet Union and the Soviet bloc, industrial health service generally developed more fully in those countries than in the capitalist countries. At the larger industrial establishments in the Soviet Union, polyclinics were created to provide both occupational and general care for workers and their families. Occupational physicians

Water Plantain

2005-01-21T22:07:00.000-08:00

Any freshwater perennial herb of the genus Alisma, commonly found in lakes, ponds, and ditches. The three or four species are widely distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and Australia. Water-plantain leaves float or extend out of the water. They are sometimes ribbonlike or grasslike, are without lobes, and are often heart-shaped

Numbat

2005-01-20T13:23:00.000-08:00

Also called Banded Anteater (Myrmecobius fasciatus), marsupial mammal of the family Dasyuridae (some authorities classify it as a family in its own right, Myrmecobiidae). It forages by day for termites in forests of southwestern Australia. Formerly widespread across southern Australia, the numbat is now restricted to the southwestern corner of the country and is regarded as an endangered

Amanollah Khan

2005-01-20T05:12:00.000-08:00

A favoured son of the Afghan ruler Habibollah Khan, Amanollah took possession of the throne immediately after his father's assassination in 1919, at a time when Great Britain exercised an important influence on Afghan affairs. In his coronation address

Tasmania, Cultural life

2005-01-19T21:03:00.000-08:00

For the smallness and dispersion of its population, Tasmania has a remarkably vigorous cultural life. At the amateur level, there are many musical groups, ranging from the full orchestra to the ensemble, as well as choral societies and repertory companies. The University of Tasmania has a conservatorium of music and a school of art. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation,

Atget, (jean-)eugène(-auguste)

2005-01-17T13:10:00.000-08:00

Little is known of his early life. He was orphaned very young and lived with an uncle until he was old enough to go to sea as a cabin boy. After several voyages, he abandoned the sea for the stage. He soon

Swiss Literature

2005-01-17T03:34:00.000-08:00

Properly, the writings in the only language peculiar to Switzerland, the Rhaeto-Romanic dialect known as Romansh, though broadly it includes all works written by Swiss nationals in any of the three other languages of their country: German, French, and Italian, or the Swiss dialect forms of any one of them. It also should be noted that the earliest literature produced

Lenormand, Henri-rené

2005-01-15T18:41:00.000-08:00

The son of a composer, Lenormand was educated at the University of Paris and spent much of his adult life writing for the Parisian stage. He was the author of a number of somewhat gloomy plays that explore

Literature, German.

2005-01-15T13:11:00.000-08:00

In his 2001 novel Rot, Uwe Timm sought to come to terms with the experiences of the generation of so-called 68ers, people who went through the cultural and political turmoil of the 1960s and '70s in West Germany. The protagonist of Rot is Thomas Linde, a 68er who makes his living as a eulogist at burials, a profession that becomes

Cosmos

2005-01-13T14:38:00.000-08:00

If one looks up on a clear night, one sees that the sky is full of stars. During the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere, a faint band of light stretches from horizon to horizon, a swath of pale white cutting across a background of deepest black. For the early

Bhagirathi River

2005-01-12T05:54:00.000-08:00

River in West Bengal state, northeastern India, forming the western boundary of the Ganges (Ganga) Delta. A distributary of the Ganges, it leaves that river just northeast of Jangipur, flows south, and joins the Jalangi at Nabadwip to form the Hooghly River after a total course of 120 miles (190 km). Until the 16th century, when the Ganges shifted eastward to the Padma, the Bhagirathi formed

Amory, Thomas

2005-01-11T07:16:00.000-08:00

A staunch Unitarian

Einstein, Albert

2005-01-11T06:11:00.000-08:00

German-American physicist who developed the special and general theories of relativity and won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921 for his explanation of the photoelectric effect. In the first 15 years of the 20th century, Einstein—recognized in his own time as one of the most creative intellects in human

Scalawag

2005-01-09T18:18:00.000-08:00

Scalawags came from various segments of Southern society. In the Deep South many were apt to be former Whigs of the planter–merchant aristocracy.

Furniture, England

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

About 1720, mahogany was imported into England and slowly superseded walnut as the fashionable wood for furniture. The Palladian (after the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio) interiors demanded furniture more striking and larger in scale than the walnut-veneered pieces of the early 18th century. Inspired by the interiors of French and Italian palaces,

Poel, William

2005-01-07T14:25:00.000-08:00

Poel was reared among the Pre-Raphaelite artists, and as a boy he posed for William Holman Hunt. He early decided to go on the stage. After working for a time as an actor, stage manager, and theatre manager, he

Ukrainian Catholic Church

2005-01-07T02:18:00.000-08:00

Largest of the Eastern Catholic churches, in communion with Rome since the Union of Brest-Litovsk (1596). Byzantine Christianity was established among the Ukrainians in 988 by St. Vladimir (Volodimir) and followed Constantinople in the Great Schism of 1054. Temporary reunion with Rome was effected in the mid-15th century, and a definitive union was achieved at Brest-Litovsk in 1596, when

Piepoudre Court

2005-01-06T20:52:00.000-08:00

The court decided summarily and on the spot disputes arising

Wellington

2005-01-05T01:35:00.000-08:00

Town, east-central New South Wales, Australia. It lies at the confluence of the Macquarie and Bell rivers. The site, used by John Oxley as a base for exploration (1817–18), was named by him after the Duke of Wellington. A convict settlement from 1823 to 1831, it was proclaimed a town in 1846, a municipality in 1879, and a shire in 1947. In 1950 Wellington was merged with Macquarie and a portion of Cobar shires. It serves

Babashoff, Shirley

2005-01-04T03:22:00.000-08:00

At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Babashoff won silver medals in the 100- and 200-metre freestyle events and competed on the gold-medal-winning U.S. team in the 400-metre freestyle relay. At the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, she again

Christophe, Henry

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

The facts of Christophe's early life are questionable and confused. An official document issued on his own order gives the birth date and birthplace

Long Range Mountains

2005-01-01T06:25:00.000-08:00

Highest range on the island of Newfoundland, Canada, extending about 250 miles (400 km) northward from Cape Ray along the western shore. The mountains have an average elevation of nearly 2,200 feet (670 m) and a maximum height of 2,670 feet (814 m) in the Lewis Hills, southwest of Corner Brook. Their relatively uniform summits represent the remnants of an ancient peneplain that has undergone periods

Term

2004-12-30T17:53:00.000-08:00

In logic, the subject or predicate of a categorical proposition (q.v.), or statement. Aristotle so used the Greek word horos (“limit”), apparently by an analogy between the terms of a proportion and those of a syllogism. Terminus is the Latin translation of this word, used, for example, by the 5th-century Roman philosopher Boethius. Hence in medieval logic the word came to be used

Middle East

2004-12-30T17:24:00.000-08:00

The lands around the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from Morocco to the Arabian Peninsula and Iran and sometimes beyond. The central part of this general area was formerly called the Near East, a name given to it by some of the first modern Western geographers and historians, who tended to divide the Orient into three regions. Near

38th Parallel

2004-12-28T16:50:00.000-08:00

Parallel of latitude that in East Asia roughly demarcates North and South Korea. The line was chosen by U.S. military planners at the Potsdam Conference, in July 1945, as an army boundary, north of which the U.S.S.R. was to accept the surrender of the Japanese forces in Korea and south of which the Americans were to accept the Japanese surrender. The line was intended as a temporary

Spaak, Paul-henri

2004-12-27T17:14:00.000-08:00

Belgium's foremost statesman in the decades following World War II and a leading advocate of European cooperation. He played a major role in forming the European Economic Community (EEC; now European Community), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and Benelux, the customs union of Belgium, The Netherlands,

Kunlun Mountains

2004-12-27T01:42:00.000-08:00

The northern rim of the Kunlun Mountains, skirting the Tarim Basin, served for centuries as the southerly branch of the Silk Road that, until the 16th century, connected China with Central and West Asia. Wool and salt were the main products brought down from the heights of the Kunluns to the oases on the edge of the Takla Makan Desert. Small regional Buddhist monasteries

Mabini, Apolinario

2004-12-26T01:52:00.000-08:00

Born into a peasant family, Mabini studied at San Juan de Letran College in Manila and won a law degree from the University of Santo Tomás in 1894. In an insurrection organized in August 1896 by nationalists, he joined the

Kuantan

2004-12-24T22:42:00.000-08:00

City situated on the eastern coast of the Malay Peninsula, West Malaysia. It lies at the mouth of the Kuantan River, on the South China Sea. Situated on a wide alluvial plain north of the fertile Pahang River delta, Kuantan is Malaysia's most important east-coast port, shipping tin, rubber, and copra south to Singapore for export. Tin is extracted from the deep lode mine at

Ahmet Pasa Bursali

2004-12-23T03:47:00.000-08:00

Born into a prominent family, Ahmet Pasa received a classical Islamic education and was appointed as a teacher in the madrasah (religious college) in the city of Bursa. In 1451 he became judge of the city of Edirne. With the accession of Sultan Mehmet II (1451–81), he became qadi 'asker (“military

Abd Al-aziz

2004-12-22T22:34:00.000-08:00

Abd al-Aziz was proclaimed sultan upon the death of his father, Hassan I, but did not begin direct rule until after the death in 1900 of his grand vizier, Ba Ahmed (Ahmad ibn

Corso, Gregory

2004-12-21T17:57:00.000-08:00

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

Maurepas, Jean-frédéric Phélypeaux, Count (comte) De

2004-12-21T02:30:00.000-08:00

Secretary of state under King Louis XV and chief royal adviser during the first seven years of the reign of King Louis XVI. By dissuading Louis XVI from instituting economic and administrative reforms, Maurepas was partially responsible for the governmental crises that eventually led to the outbreak of the French

Italy, Literature

2004-12-19T05:50:00.000-08:00

Italian literature, and indeed standard Italian, have their origins in the 14th century Tuscan dialect, the language of its three founding fathers, Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio. After unification, writers began to explore subjects theretofore considered too lowly for literary consideration, such as poverty and living conditions in the Mezzogiorno. Writers such

Circus, Wild West shows

2004-12-18T02:14:00.000-08:00

Wild West shows, which were sometimes attached to circuses, emphasized displays and events of America's old West. A Wild West show usually presented its exhibition in a large open field surrounded by bleachers protected by a canvas canopy. Typically, such shows featured American Indian ceremonies; cowboys who engaged in broncobusting, roughriding, roping, and sharpshooting;

Albury-wodonga

2004-12-17T11:25:00.000-08:00

Urban centre comprising twin cities on opposite sides of the Murray River and the New South Wales–Victoria border, Australia. By rail the region is about 398 miles (640 km) southwest of Sydney and nearly 186 miles (299 km) northeast of Melbourne. In 1973 the Commonwealth and the two state governments agreed to plan and develop the growing cities through the Albury-Wodonga Development

Narrogin

2004-12-16T22:59:00.000-08:00

Town, southwestern Western Australia. It developed in the 1880s, when the Great Southern Railway came through the site, and a hotel was erected at the trackside. The settlement grew around the hotel and became a town in 1895. Its name derives from the Aboriginal term gnargajin, meaning “water hole.” Situated on the Great Southern Highway and near Albany Highway, the town is the junction

Kazakstan

2004-12-14T06:27:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kazakhstan , officially Republic of Kazakstan , Kazakh Qazaqstan Respublikasï country of Central Asia. It is bounded on the northwest and north by Russia, on the east by China, and on the south by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the Aral Sea; the Caspian Sea bounds Kazakstan to the southwest. Kazakstan's 1,052,100 square miles (2,724,900 square kilometres) make it by far the largest state in Central Asia and the ninth largest in the world. Between its most distant

Aethelwulf

2004-12-12T03:53:00.000-08:00

The son of the great West Saxon king Egbert (ruled 802–839), Aethelwulf ascended the throne four years after the Danes had begun large-scale raids on the English coast. In 851 he scored a major