RoundEngine

Cookie

2005-04-05T23:45:00.000-07:00

Probably the most popular cookies in the United States are those that are

Mond, Ludwig

2005-04-05T14:24:00.000-07:00

The son of a wealthy Jewish family, Mond studied chemistry at Marburg and Heidelberg, entered the chemical industry, and went to England in 1862. There his method for recovering sulfur

Kwazulu

2005-04-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

Former nonindependent black state, Natal, South Africa, that was the legal home of all of the nation's Zulus. Its area was scattered among 11 exclaves (detached sections) throughout Natal, occupying more than one-third of its territory. The capital, initially at Nongoma, was moved in 1980 to Ulundi, the last historic capital of the Zulu empire (founded in 1816 by Shaka), where the Zulu

Requests, Court Of

2005-04-03T08:11:00.000-07:00

Called the Court of Poor Men's Causes until 1529, it was a popular court because of the limited expense of bringing suit before it. Modeled after the French Chambre

Fetter, Frank Albert

2005-04-03T03:02:00.000-07:00

After an interruption of university studies because of illness in his family, Fetter graduated from Indiana University in 1891 and from Cornell University in 1892. He subsequently studied in France and Germany, receiving his Ph.D. (on population)

Biblical Literature, The Letter of Paul to Philemon

2005-04-02T00:05:00.000-08:00

From Ephesus, where he was imprisoned (c. 53–54), Paul wrote his shortest and most personal letter to a Phrygian Christian (probably from Colossae or nearby Laodicea) whose slave Onesimus had run away, after possibly having stolen money from his master. The slave apparently had met Paul in prison, was converted, and was being returned to his master with a letter from Paul appealing

Sorolla Y Bastida, Joaquín

2005-04-01T23:25:00.000-08:00

Sorolla was from a poor family and was orphaned at age two. He displayed an early talent and was admitted to the Academy of San Carlos in Valencia at

Yundum

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

Town, western Gambia. Located 18 miles (30 km) southwest of Banjul, it is the site of a teacher-training college. The Gambia's international airport, originally a World War II Allied airfield, adjoins Yundum to the east. The Abuko Nature Reserve, 4 miles (6 km) to the northeast, features birds, reptiles, and small mammals. Pop. (1973) 1,240.

Uruguay

2005-04-01T01:22:00.000-08:00

Country located on the southeastern coast of South America. The second smallest nation on the continent, Uruguay has long been overshadowed politically and economically by the adjacent republics of Brazil and Argentina, with both of which it shares many cultural and historical similarities. “On the map, surrounded by its large neighbors, Uruguay seems tiny,” writes

Denham, Dixon

2005-03-30T18:11:00.000-08:00

After serving in the Napoleonic Wars, Denham volunteered in 1821 to join Walter Oudney and Lieutenant Hugh Clapperton on an official expedition across the Sahara to Bornu (now in northeastern Nigeria), in the Lake Chad basin. After enduring danger and privation,

Berkhamsted

2005-03-30T06:43:00.000-08:00

Town (“parish”), Dacorum borough, administrative and historic county of Hertfordshire, England, 28 miles (45 km) northwest of London on an old coaching route along the Bulbourne Valley of the Chiltern Hills, which now contains modern road, rail, and canal routes. A moated Norman castle has been thoroughly excavated and is preserved. Diversified light industry includes paper

Graham, Jorie

2005-03-29T13:00:00.000-08:00

Graham grew up in France and Italy. After attending the Sorbonne, she continued her education at New York University (B.F.A., 1973) and at the University of Iowa (M.F.A., 1978). She taught in Kentucky, California, and New York City before returning

Saarland

2005-03-27T07:26:00.000-08:00

Also called Saar, Land (state) in the southwestern portion of Germany. It is bounded by France on the south, Luxembourg on the west, and the Land of Rhineland-Palatinate on the north and east. It covers an area of 992 square miles (2,569 square km). The capital is Saarbrücken, which lies along the Saar River.

Manasseh

2005-03-27T06:32:00.000-08:00

After the Exodus from Egypt and the death of Moses, the Israelites entered the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua, who assigned a territory to each of the 12 tribes. The tribe of Manasseh settled in central

Overton, Richard

2005-03-26T11:00:00.000-08:00

The details of Overton's early life are obscure, though he probably lived in Holland and studied at Queens' College, Cambridge, before becoming a professional actor and playwright in Southwark. In 1640 he became a political activist, writing some 50 tracts attacking the Church of England,

Suyuti, Al-

2005-03-26T10:59:00.000-08:00

The son of a judge, al-Suyuti was tutored by a Sufi (Muslim mystic) friend of his father. He was precocious and was already a teacher in 1462. In 1486 he was appointed to a chair in the mosque of Baybars in Cairo. When in 1501 he tried to reduce

Bone China

2005-03-25T19:28:00.000-08:00

Hybrid hard-paste porcelain containing bone ash. The initial development of bone china is attributed to Josiah Spode the Second, who introduced it around 1800. His basic formula of six parts bone ash, four parts china stone, and three and a half parts china clay remains the standard English body. Although hard porcelain is strong, it chips fairly easily and, unless specially

Abdul-jabbar, Kareem

2005-03-24T21:41:00.000-08:00

Alcindor played for Power Memorial Academy (at 6 feet 8 inches) on the varsity for four years, and his total of 2,067 points set a New York City high school record. He entered the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1965 and set a UCLA

Afonso V

2005-03-24T05:02:00.000-08:00

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

Halaf, Tall

2005-03-23T19:22:00.000-08:00

The site was excavated by German archaeologists between

Anthimus Vii Tsatsos

2005-03-22T10:44:00.000-08:00

Like Anthimus VI, his predecessor of a half-century earlier, Anthimus VII is known for his encyclical letter to the Orthodox world refuting a papal encyclical, Praeclara Gratulationis (“Splendid

Valdivia, Pedro De

2005-03-22T06:45:00.000-08:00

Valdivia served with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders before being sent to South America in 1534. During the Peruvian civil war (1538), he fought with Francisco Pizarro against Diego de Almagro. For the Chilean

Intentional Fallacy

2005-03-21T23:41:00.000-08:00

Introduced by W.K. Wimsatt, Jr., and Monroe C. Beardsley in The Verbal Icon (1954), the approach was a reaction to the popular belief that to know what the author intended—what he had in mind at the time of

Yüeh-fu

2005-03-20T14:43:00.000-08:00

Pinyin yuefu form of Chinese poetry derived from the folk-ballad tradition. The yüeh-fu takes its name from the Yüeh Fu (“Music Bureau”), created in 120 BC by Emperor Wu-ti for the purpose of collecting songs and their musical scores for ceremonial occasions at court. The music for these songs was later lost, but the words remained, forming a collection of Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220) folk poetry that served

Hood (of Whitley), Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount

2005-03-19T16:36:00.000-08:00

Hood entered the navy in 1741, becoming a lieutenant in 1746. During the Seven Years' War he served in the English Channel and then the Mediterranean. In 1778, after further service in North America, he became commissioner of the dockyard at Portsmouth and governor of

Dehmel, Richard

2005-03-19T10:12:00.000-08:00

After completing his studies in 1887, Dehmel worked as an insurance official and then, in 1895, became a freelance writer. He chose naturalistic social themes for his early works and was one

Burdwan

2005-03-17T19:49:00.000-08:00

Also called Bardhaman, or Barddhaman, city, central West Bengal state, northeastern India. The city is a major communications centre lying astride the Banka River just north of the Damodar River. Rice and oilseed milling and hosiery, cutlery, and tool manufacturing are the chief industries. Of historic interest are the Rajbari (the maharaja's palace and gardens), several ancient Muslim tombs, and 108 Siva linga,

Aerospace Industry, Aerospace companies and projects

2005-03-17T10:31:00.000-08:00

David Weldon Thornton, Airbus Industrie: The Politics of an International Industrial Collaboration (1995), describes the integration of Europe's disparate aerospace industries into an industrial power that ended the American monopoly in the commercial airliner business. Additional accounts of the Airbus consortium are found in Guy Norris and Mark Wagner, Airbus (1999); and Matthew Lynn, Birds of Prey: Boeing vs. Airbus, a Battle for the Skies, rev. ed. (1997). Brian Trubshaw, Concorde: The Inside Story (2000); and Christopher Orlebar, The Concorde Story, new ed. (1997), cover the development of the British-French supersonic passenger transport. The collapse and recovery of Britain's aerospace business in the last decades of the 20th century is recounted in Richard Evans and Colin Price, Vertical Take-Off: The Inside Story of British Aerospace's Comeback from Crisis to World Class (1999). Specific American aerospace companies are examined in Eugene E. Bauer, Boeing: The First Century (2000); Robert Redding and Bill Yenne, Boeing: Planemaker to the World, rev. and updated ed. (1997); Bill Yenne, McDonnell Douglas: A Tale of Two Giants (1985), and Rockwell: The Heritage of North American (1989); and Walter J. Boyne, Beyond the Horizons: The Lockheed Story (1998). Accounts of individual Soviet design bureaus and the men who shaped them are found in R.A. Belyakov (R.A. Belíàkov) and J. Marmain, MiG: Fifty Years of Secret Aircraft Design, trans. from Russian (1994); Vladimir Antonov et al., OKB Sukhoi: A History of the Design Bureau and Its Aircraft (1996); Paul Duffy and Andrei Kandalov, Tupolev: The Man and His Aircraft (1996); and James Harford, Korolev: How One Man Masterminded the Soviet Drive to Beat America to the Moon (1997).

Levittown

2005-03-17T06:25:00.000-08:00

Unincorporated residential community in Hempstead town (township), Nassau county, western Long Island, New York, U.S. Developed between 1946 and 1951 by the firm of Levitt and Sons, Inc., Levittown was an early example of a completely preplanned and mass-produced housing complex. More than 17,000 low-cost homes were built, with accompanying shopping centres, playgrounds, swimming pools,

Acceleration

2005-03-17T06:01:00.000-08:00

Time rate at which a velocity is changing. Because velocity has both magnitude and direction, it is called a vector quantity; acceleration is also a vector quantity and must account for changes in both the magnitude and direction of a velocity. The velocity of a point or an object moving on a straight path can change in magnitude only; on a curved path, it may or may not

Foreign Service

2005-03-16T08:16:00.000-08:00

Also called Diplomatic Service, the field force of a foreign office, comprising diplomatic and consular personnel engaged in representing the home government's interests abroad and providing the necessary information on which foreign policy is based. There is a marked similarity in the foreign service organizations of most countries. Diplomatic and consular functions are generally performed

Austin, Alfred

2005-03-16T08:12:00.000-08:00

Before his official appointment, Austin studied law and was called to the bar, tried to enter

Sports

2005-03-16T07:02:00.000-08:00

Recreational or competitive activities that involve a degree of physical strength or skill. At one time, sports were commonly considered to include only the outdoor recreational pastimes, such as fishing, shooting, and hunting, as opposed to games, which were regarded as organized athletic contests played by teams or individuals according to prescribed rules.

Algeria, Resources

2005-03-15T17:24:00.000-08:00

Deposits of natural gas were first discovered at Hassi R'Mel in 1956, and since

Arête

2005-03-14T16:14:00.000-08:00

(French: “ridge”), in geology, a sharp-crested serrate ridge separating the heads of opposing valleys (cirques) that formerly were occupied by Alpine glaciers. It has steep sides formed by the collapse of unsupported rock, undercut by continual freezing and thawing (glacial sapping; see cirque). Two opposing glaciers meeting at an arête will carve a low, smooth gap, or col

Cambridge, University Of

2005-03-13T17:34:00.000-08:00

The start of the university is generally taken as 1209, when scholars from Oxford migrated to Cambridge to escape Oxford's riots of “town and gown” (townspeople versus scholars). To avert possible troubles, the authorities in Cambridge allowed

Urumchi

2005-03-13T04:25:00.000-08:00

It first came under Chinese control

Bracken

2005-03-12T20:35:00.000-08:00

Also called Brake, genus of ferns (Pteridium), the sole species (P. aquilinum) of which is widely distributed throughout the world in temperate and tropical regions. The species is represented by 12 varieties, 4 of which occur in North America and Great Britain. Variety pubescens grows from Alaska to Mexico, east to Wyoming, Colorado, and Texas. Variety latiusculum, growing also in

World War I, Rival strategies and the Dardanelles campaign, 191516

2005-03-12T17:14:00.000-08:00

Erich von Falkenhayn had succeeded the dispirited Moltke as chief of the German general staff in September 1914. By the

Middle Eastern Religion

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

Any of the religious beliefs, attitudes, and practices developed in the ancient Middle East (extending geographically from Iran to Egypt and from Anatolia and the Aegean Sea to the Arabian Peninsula and temporally from about 3000 to 330 BC, when Alexander the Great conquered much of the area). They have had an enduring influence on Western civilization. While this article treats

Tobey, Mark

2005-03-11T01:52:00.000-08:00

Tobey studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and worked for a time as a fashion illustrator and portraitist in New York City. He converted

Adair, John

2005-03-11T00:44:00.000-08:00

Scottish surveyor and cartographer whose maps established a standard of excellence for his time and probably inspired the early 18th-century surveys of Scotland. Between 1680 and 1686 he completed maps of the counties adjoining the River Forth as well as charts of the Firth of Forth, the River Clyde, and the west of Scotland. Manuscripts of these are in the National

Duun, Olav

2005-03-10T13:09:00.000-08:00

Duun, a former cattle herder and fisherman, entered a teacher's college at age 26. He worked as a teacher in Holmestrand on the Oslo Fjord until 1927, when he retired to devote himself to writing. His many novels analyze the psychological and

Lorengau

2005-03-10T05:17:00.000-08:00

Town, northeastern Manus Island, in the Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea. It lies on Seeadler Harbour. Captured by the Japanese in 1942, the settlement was retaken by Allied forces in 1944 and eventually became part of a large U.S. naval and air base. As a port, the town handles the local copra production. Pop. (1990 prelim.) 4,547.

Mardi Gras

2005-03-09T09:37:00.000-08:00

(French: Fat Tuesday), festive day celebrated in France on the Tuesday (Shrove Tuesday; q.v.) before Ash Wednesday, which marks the close of the pre-Lenten season. In the United States the festival is most elaborately celebrated in New Orleans. See carnival.

Bashkirtseff, Marie

2005-03-08T11:07:00.000-08:00

Bashkirtseff was the daughter of Russian nobility, and she spent a peripatetic childhood with her mother

Alabama, The Civil War and its aftermath

2005-03-08T03:47:00.000-08:00

In 1861 Alabama seceded from the Union and joined the Confederate States of America, which established its first capital in Montgomery. The state legislature conscripted soldiers and appropriated several million dollars for military operations and for the support of the families of soldiers. Some 35,000 of the 122,000 Alabamians who served in the war died. Following the collapse

Grace, William R.

2005-03-07T19:37:00.000-08:00

Grace ran away to New York at the age of 14 but later returned to Ireland. In 1850 he visited Callao, Peru, where he entered

Analytic Philosophy, Divergence of ordinary language from formal logic

2005-03-07T03:28:00.000-08:00

Ordinary language, however, seems to differ from the artificial language of symbolic logic in more respects than its lack of precisely stated rules. On the surface, it often appears to violate the rules of symbolic logic. In the English statement “If this is gold [symbolized by p], then this will dissolve in aqua regia [symbolized by q],” for example, which in symbolic logic is

Light, Francis

2005-03-06T17:57:00.000-08:00

Light served in the Royal Navy from 1759 until 1763. In command of a merchant ship, he went in 1771 to the northern Malay state of Kedah, where he won the confidence of the sultan, Mohammed. About that time England,

Bone Marrow

2005-03-05T14:10:00.000-08:00

Also called Myeloid Tissue, soft, gelatinous tissue that fills the cavities of the bones. Bone marrow is either red or yellow, depending upon the preponderance of vascular (red) or fatty (yellow) tissue. In humans, the red bone marrow forms all of the blood cells with the exception of the lymphocytes, which are produced in the marrow and reach their mature form in the lymphoid organs. Red bone marrow

Malar, Lake

2005-03-05T07:24:00.000-08:00

Swedish Mälaren, lake in eastern Sweden, located just west of Stockholm, which lies at the lake's junction with Salt Bay, an arm of the Baltic Sea. At one time Lake Malar was a bay of the Baltic, and seagoing vessels using it were able to sail far into the interior of Sweden. Because of movements of the Earth's crust, however, the rock barrier at the mouth of the bay had become so shallow by about

Buyantu

2005-03-05T00:30:00.000-08:00

Also known as Ayurparibhadra , Chinese temple name (yüan) Jen Tsung , Pinyin romanization Yuan Renzong (reigned 1311–20), Mongol emperor of the Yüan dynasty of China, who was a patron of literature. He distributed offices more equitably between Chinese and Mongols than had his predecessors, and during his reign commercial ties with Europe increased.

Duralumin

2005-03-04T05:50:00.000-08:00

Strong, hard, lightweight alloy of aluminum, widely used in aircraft construction, discovered and patented in 1910 by Alfred Wilm, a German metallurgist; it was originally made only at Düren in Germany. The original composition has been varied for particular applications; it may contain about 3 or 4 percent copper, 1/2 to 1 percent manganese, 1/2 to 1 1/2 percent magnesium, and, in some formulations,

Solomon Islands

2005-03-04T03:23:00.000-08:00

In midyear and at the invitation

Pauraque

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

Also spelled Parauque, also called Cuejo (Nyctidromus albicollis), nocturnal bird of brushlands from southern Texas to northern Argentina. It is a relative of the nightjar (q.v.), belonging to the family Caprimulgidae. The pauraque is about 30 cm (about 12 inches) long, with rounded wings and a longish tail. It is mottled brown with a bold white bar on each wing; in the male the outer tail feathers are white.

Tapestry

2005-03-03T21:59:00.000-08:00

Tapestry is first of all a technique. It differs from other forms of patterned weaving in that no weft threads are carried the full width of the fabric web, except by an occasional accident of design. Each unit of the pattern or the background is woven with a weft, or thread of the required colour, that is inserted back and forth only over the section where that colour appears

American Literature, Literary criticism

2005-03-02T11:25:00.000-08:00

The period

Lipalian Interval

2005-03-02T07:22:00.000-08:00

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

Alaska, Political growth

2005-03-02T03:50:00.000-08:00

As a U.S. possession Alaska was governed by military commanders for the War Department until 1877. During these years there was little internal development, but a salmon cannery built in 1878 was the beginning of what became the largest salmon industry in the world. In 1884 Congress established Alaska as a judicial land district, federal district courts were established, and a

Dee, River

2005-03-01T06:19:00.000-08:00

Welsh Afon Dyfrdwy, river in northern Wales and England, approximately 70 miles (110 km) long. It rises in the county of Gwynedd on the slopes of Dduallt, in Snowdonia National Park, and falls rapidly to Bala Lake. Its valley then runs northeast to Corwen and eastward past Llangollen. The Vale of Llangollen contains Thomas Telford's aqueduct (1805) for the Shropshire Union Canal. Leaving the mountains,

Accessory

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

In law, a person who becomes equally guilty in the crime of another by knowingly and voluntarily aiding the criminal prior to or after the crime. An accessory is one kind of accomplice (q.v.), the other being an abettor, who aids the criminal during the act itself.

Wisconsin, Settlement patterns

2005-02-27T11:01:00.000-08:00

The majority of the people live in clusters of cities in the southeast, the area first reached and settled by migrants from the East. There they found soils and climate favourable for agriculture. Those who moved farther on across the state, seeking farmland, in time spread themselves fairly evenly except in the southern part of the Central Plain and the Northern

Chromosomal Disorder

2005-02-27T06:38:00.000-08:00

Normally, humans have 46 chromosomes arranged in 23 pairs; the pairs vary in size and shape and are numbered by convention. Twenty-two of the pairs are autosomes, and one pair, number 23, is the sex chromosomes. Any variation from

Iron Curtain

2005-02-27T01:59:00.000-08:00

The political, military, and ideological barrier erected by the Soviet Union after World War II to seal off itself and its dependent eastern European allies from open contact with the West and other noncommunist areas. The term Iron Curtain had been in occasional and varied use as a metaphor since the 19th century, but it only came to prominence after it was used by the

Earth Sciences, Knowledge of Earth history

2005-02-27T00:33:00.000-08:00

The occurrence of seashells embedded in the hard rocks of high mountains aroused the curiosity of early naturalists and eventually set off a controversy on the origin of fossils that continued through the 17th century. Xenophanes of Colophon (flourished c. 560 BC) was credited by later writers with observing that seashells occur “in the midst of earth and in mountains.” He

Switzerland, Environment

2005-02-26T22:09:00.000-08:00

A number of environmental problems must be addressed if Switzerland is to maintain the integrity of its unique landscape. Air pollution in the cities and the mountain valleys, depending on atmospheric conditions, has steadily worsened despite federal legislation. All Swiss vehicles must pass an annual emissions test; however, weak links are the millions of foreign

Pacific Railway Acts

2005-02-25T17:31:00.000-08:00

The first Pacific Railway Act (July 1, 1862) authorized the building of the railroad and granted rights of way to the Union Pacific to build westward from Omaha, Neb., and to the Central Pacific to build eastward from Sacramento, Calif.

Pietermaritzburg

2005-02-25T14:25:00.000-08:00

City, south-central KwaZulu/Natal province, South Africa. It lies in the Umsindusi River valley, at the base of a tree-covered escarpment, inland from Durban. Boers from the Cape Colony, who founded it in 1839 after a victory over the Zulus at Blood River, named it to honour their dead leaders Piet Retief and Gerrit Maritz. The British took control in 1843 and built Fort Napier (now

Conestoga Wagon

2005-02-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

Horse-drawn freight wagon that originated during the 18th century in the Conestoga Creek region of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, U.S. Ideally suited for hauling freight over bad roads, the Conestoga wagon had a capacity of up to six tons, a floor curved up at each end to prevent the contents from shifting inside, and a white canvas cover to protect against bad weather;

Egypt, The Western Desert

2005-02-24T10:22:00.000-08:00

The Western Desert comprises two-thirds of the land surface of Egypt and covers an area of about 262,800 square miles. From its highest altitude—more than 3,300 feet—on the plateau of al-Jilf al-Kabir in the southeast, the rocky plateau slopes gradually northeastward to the first of the depressions that are a characteristic feature of the Western Desert—that containing the oases

Wells-barnett, Ida Bell

2005-02-24T06:06:00.000-08:00

Ida Wells was the daughter of slaves. She was educated at Rust University, a freedmen's school in her native Holly Springs, Mississippi, and at age 14 began teaching in a country school. She continued to teach after moving to Memphis, Tennessee,

Iran, Ancient, The Old Elamite period

2005-02-23T16:19:00.000-08:00

The earliest kings in the Old Elamite period may date to approximately 2700 BC. Already conflict with Mesopotamia, in this case apparently with the city of Ur, was characteristic of Elamite history. These early rulers were succeeded by the Awan (Shustar) dynasty. The 11th king of this line entered into treaty relations with the great Naram-Sin of Akkad (reigned c. 2254–c. 2218 BC). Yet a new ruling

Afanasev, Aleksandr Nikolayevich

2005-02-22T13:41:00.000-08:00

Afanasev studied law at Moscow University. His early work included a study of Russian satirical journals of the late 18th century (1859) and commentaries on contemporary Russian literature. During the period

Chang Ch'ien

2005-02-22T06:25:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Zhang Qian Chinese explorer, the first man to bring back a reliable account of the lands of central Asia to the court of China. He was dispatched by the Han dynasty emperor Wu Ti in 138 BC to establish relations with the Yüeh-chih people, a central Asian tribal group that spoke an Indo-European language. Captured by the Hsiung-nu, nomadic enemies of China, he was detained for 10 years. Nevertheless,

12-tone Music

2005-02-21T03:37:00.000-08:00

Large body of music, written roughly since World War I, that uses the so-called 12-tone method or technique of composition. The Austrian-born composer Arnold Schoenberg is credited with the invention of this technique, although other composers (e.g., the American composer Charles Ives and the Austrian Josef Hauer) anticipated Schoenberg's invention by writing music

Ayala, Francisco

2005-02-21T00:29:00.000-08:00

Ayala received a law degree from the University of Madrid in 1929, having already published the novel Tragicomedia de un hombre sin espíritu (1925; “Tragicomedy of a Man Without Spirit”) and the story Cazador en el alba (1930; “Hunter at Dawn”). These works are psychological studies that make a strong use of metaphor but display little

All-england Championships

2005-02-20T17:14:00.000-08:00

Byname Wimbledon Championships, internationally known lawn tennis championships played annually in London at Wimbledon (q.v.).

Piedmont

2005-02-20T13:35:00.000-08:00

To the south, west, and north Piedmont is surrounded by the vast arc of the Ligurian Apennines and the Maritime, Cottian, Graian, and Pennine Alps. The core of Piedmont is the Po River valley, which lies open to the east and consists

Hypertrichosis

2005-02-20T08:27:00.000-08:00

Also called Hirsutism, excessive, abnormal hairiness that may be localized or cover the entire body. It is thought that hypertrichosis results either from persistence of the lanugo-vellus hairs covering the body of the fetus or from augmented development of hair follicles. Generalized hirsutism is a common side effect of hyperadrenal corticoidism (Cushing's disease) and has also been

North Germanic Languages

2005-02-19T06:38:00.000-08:00

The six standard languages of today, in the order of their emergence as languages of culture and prestige, are Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, Faroese, New Norwegian (Nynorsk), and Dano-Norwegian.

Roberts, Richard

2005-02-18T20:58:00.000-08:00

Roberts began his career as an uneducated quarryman. He had remarkable mechanical ability, however, and worked at various times for the industrialist John Wilkinson and the inventor Henry Maudslay. He was one of the inventors of the metal planer and made

Economic Affairs, International.

2005-02-18T18:29:00.000-08:00

In late 1997 banks and other financial institutions in Southeast and East Asia fell like dominoes--one after another--as currencies and share prices collapsed in many of the much-admired "tiger" economies across the region. Beginning in July with the crash of Thailand's baht, the crisis spread to the Indonesian rupiah, Malaysian ringgit, and Philippine peso, all of which

Malabarese Catholic Church

2005-02-18T11:38:00.000-08:00

A Chaldean rite church of southern India (Kerala) that united with Rome after the Portuguese colonization of Goa at the end of the 15th century. The Portuguese viewed these Christians of St. Thomas, as they called themselves, as Nestorian heretics, despite their traditional alignment with Rome since about the 6th century. Although the Malabarese formally acknowledged

Powell, Lewis Franklin, Jr.

2005-02-17T19:58:00.000-08:00

American lawyer and judge (b. Sept. 19, 1907, Suffolk, Va.--d. Aug. 25, 1998, Richmond, Va.), served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court for 15 years, during which he often provided a centrist viewpoint in an otherwise polarized tribunal. He cast the deciding vote on a number of landmark cases, most notably Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), which opposed strict racial quotas

Monaco

2005-02-17T13:29:00.000-08:00

Officially Principality of Monaco , French Principauté de Monaco sovereign principality located along the Mediterranean Sea in the midst of the resort area of the Côte d'Azur (French Riviera). The city of Nice lies 9 miles (15 km) to the west, the Italian border 5 miles (8 km) to the east. Monaco's tiny territory occupies a set of densely clustered hills and a headland that looks southward over the Mediterranean. The principality has an area of

Mid-atlantic Ridge

2005-02-16T23:44:00.000-08:00

Submarine ridge lying along the north-south axis of the Atlantic Ocean; it occupies the central part of the basin between a series of flat abyssal plains that continue to the margins of the continental coasts. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is in effect an immensely long mountain chain extending for about 10,000 miles (16,000 km) in a curving path from the Arctic Ocean to near the southern

Ibex

2005-02-16T16:57:00.000-08:00

Any of several surefooted, sturdy wild goats of the genus Capra, family Bovidae (order Artiodactyla), found in the mountains of Europe, Asia, and northeastern Africa. The European, or Alpine, ibex (C. ibex ibex) is typical. It stands about 90 cm (3 feet) at the shoulder and has brownish gray fur, darker on the underparts. The male has a beard and large, semicircular horns with broad, transversely

Gonyaulax

2005-02-15T09:46:00.000-08:00

Genus of dinoflagellates (single-celled aquatic organisms) that inhabit fresh, salt, or brackish water. Members are covered by closely fitting cellulose plates and have two flagella: one extends downward from a longitudinal groove in the armour, and the other, in an encircling groove, appears to keep the animal afloat. There is no eyespot (stigma), and the pigment-containing

Game

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

A universal form of recreation generally including any activity engaged in for diversion or amusement and often establishing a situation that involves a contest or rivalry. Card games are the games most commonly played by adults. Children's games include a wide variety of amusements and pastimes primarily for children. See also card game; children's game.

Ray, Satyajit

2005-02-14T08:13:00.000-08:00

Bengali motion-picture director, writer, and illustrator who brought the Indian cinema to world recognition with Pather Panchali (1955; The Song of the Road) and its two sequels, known as the Apu Trilogy. As a director Ray was noted for his humanism, his versatility, and his detailed control over his films and their music. He was one of the greatest

Clare Of Assisi, Saint

2005-02-14T05:06:00.000-08:00

Deeply influenced by St. Francis of Assisi, she refused to marry as her parents wished and fled (March 18, 1212) to the Porziuncola Chapel below Assisi, where Francis received her vows, thus marking the beginning of the Second Order of St. Francis. Many joined

Media And Publishing, Amateur Radio.

2005-02-13T23:30:00.000-08:00

In 1998 the amateur radio (ham) community in the U.S. was grappling with the most sweeping restructuring of amateur radio licensing since 1989. In July the American Radio Relay League proposed reducing the number of classes of licenses from six to four and streamlining the examinations needed to obtain the licenses. Instead of six license classes, there would be four: technician,

Fjord

2005-02-12T17:44:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Fiord, long narrow arm of the sea, commonly extending far inland, that results from marine inundation of a glaciated valley. Many fjords are astonishingly deep; Sogn Fjord in Norway is 1,308 m (4,290 feet) deep, and Canal Messier in Chile is 1,270 m (4,167 feet). The great depth of these submerged valleys, extending thousands of feet below sea level, is compatible only with a glacial origin. It is assumed

Cambrai

2005-02-12T02:26:00.000-08:00

Town, Nord département, Nord-Pas-de-Calais région, northern France. It lies along the Escaut River, south of Roubaix. The town was called Camaracum under the Romans, and its bishops were made counts by the German king Henry I in the 10th century. Cambrai was long a bone of contention among its neighbours—the counties of Flanders and Hainaut, the kingdom of France, and the Holy

Nation, The

2005-02-11T13:12:00.000-08:00

The Nation under Godkin was an eloquent and increasingly influential voice against Reconstruction excesses, graft

United States, Effects of the War of 1812

2005-02-11T00:22:00.000-08:00

Internally, the decisions of the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Marshall in such cases as McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) and Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) promoted nationalism by strengthening Congress and national power at the expense of the states. The congressional decision to charter the second Bank of the United States (1816) was explained in part by the nation's financial weaknesses, exposed by the War of 1812, and in part by the intrigues of financial interests. The readiness of Southern Jeffersonians—former strict constructionists—to support such a measure indicates, too, an amazing degree of national feeling. Perhaps the clearest sign of a new sense of national unity was the victorious Republican Party, standing in solitary splendour on the national political horizon, its long-time foes the Federalists vanished without a trace (on the national level) and Monroe, the Republican standard-bearer, reelected so overwhelmingly in 1820 that it was long believed that the one electoral vote denied him had been held back only in order to preserve George Washington's record of unanimous selection.

Noverre, Jean-georges

2005-02-10T18:27:00.000-08:00

Distinguished French choreographer whose revolutionary treatise, Lettres sur la danse et sur les ballets (1760), still valid, brought about major reforms in ballet production, stressing the importance of dramatic motivation, which he called ballet d'action, and decrying overemphasis on technical virtuosity. His first choreographic

Yakima

2005-02-10T15:50:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1886) of Yakima county, south-central Washington, U.S., on the Yakima River. In 1884 the Northern Pacific Railway selected the site of Yakima City (now Union Gap) as a construction headquarters. This plan was abandoned and a new settlement, known as North Yakima, was established 4 miles (6 km) north. With its desirable location on a railroad, North Yakima became a depot and cattle-shipping

United States Court Of Appeals For The Armed Forces

2005-02-09T20:29:00.000-08:00

Originally consisting of three civil judges, the court since 1990 has consisted of five judges appointed by the president and