ConsciousRing

Greece, History Of, The Metaxas regime and World War II

2005-03-18T03:58:00.000-08:00

Public disillusionment with the endless intrigues of the political world, which had been growing apace in the preceding years, was exacerbated when the news leaked that the main political blocs were secretly negotiating with the communists. When the nonpolitical figure appointed by the king to head a caretaker government charged with overseeing the elections

Ibn Tibbon, Samuel Ben Judah

2005-03-16T03:33:00.000-08:00

From his father, Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon, Samuel received a thorough grounding in medicine, Jewish law and lore,

Avogadro, Amedeo

2005-03-12T22:56:00.000-08:00

In full Lorenzo Romano Amedeo Carlo Avogadro, conte di Quaregna e Cerreto Italian mathematical physicist who showed in what became known as Avogadro's law that, under controlled conditions of temperature and pressure, equal volumes of gases contain an equal number of molecules.

Lamb, Willis Eugene, Jr.

2005-03-10T16:55:00.000-08:00

Lamb joined the faculty of Columbia University, New York City, in 1938 and worked in the Radiation Laboratory there during World War II. Though the quantum

Gondophernes

2005-03-08T10:24:00.000-08:00

Gondophernes was first known from the apocryphal

Karbala', Battle Of

2005-03-06T21:43:00.000-08:00

(Oct. 10, 680 [10th of Muharran AH 61]), brief military engagement in which Husayn ibn 'Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and pretender to the caliphate, was defeated and killed by an army sent by the Umayyad caliph Yazid I. The battle helped secure the position of the Umayyads, but, among Shi'ite Muslims, followers of Husayn, the 10th of Muharran (or 'Ashura') became an annual holy day of public

Texas, Settlement

2005-03-04T08:43:00.000-08:00

By the 1730s the Spanish had sent more than 30 expeditions into Texas. San Antonio, which by 1718 housed a military post and a mission, had become the administrative centre. Missions, with military support, were established in Nacogdoches in East Texas, Goliad in the south, and near El Paso in the far west. The French also explored Texas. The explorations of Robert Cavelier, Lord de

Wellington

2005-03-03T10:43:00.000-08:00

Capital city, port, and major commercial centre of New Zealand, located in the extreme south of North Island. It lies on the shores and hills surrounding Port Nicholson, an almost landlocked bay that is ranked among the world's finest harbours. Mount Victoria rises 643 feet (196 metres) near the centre of the city. Wellington is in a fault zone and has survived several

Trichina

2005-03-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

Mating takes place in the host's small intestine, after which the fertilized female trichinae

Ribbon Worm

2005-02-25T10:50:00.000-08:00

Also called Bootlace Worm, Proboscis Worm, Nemertine, or Nemertean, any member of the invertebrate phylum Nemertea (sometimes called Nemertinea, or Rhynchocoela), which includes mainly free-living forms but also a few parasites of crustaceans, mollusks, and sea squirts. The majority of the approximately 900 known nemertean species are found in marine habitats. Some, however, live in freshwater or on land. The name proboscis worm derives

Joyner-kersee, Jackie

2005-02-25T03:40:00.000-08:00

Joyner showed great enthusiasm for athletics early on, and as a teenager she won the first of four consecutive National Junior Pentathlon championships. In high school she was a

Op Art

2005-02-23T09:22:00.000-08:00

Also called optical art branch of mid-20th-century geometric, abstract art that deals with optical illusion. Achieved through the systematic and precise manipulation of shapes and colours, the effects of Op art can be based either on perspective illusion or on chromatic tension; in painting, the dominant medium of Op art, the surface tension is usually maximized to the point at which an actual

Catbird

2005-02-20T03:08:00.000-08:00

The three species of the

Kyrenia

2005-02-19T22:47:00.000-08:00

Greek Kirínia, Turkish Girne, city, situated along the northern coast of Cyprus, in the Turkish Cypriot-administered area. Founded by the Achaeans, ancient Greek colonists, and fortified by the Byzantines, Franks, and Venetians, the city was the administrative headquarters of the Kyrenia district of the Republic of Cyprus until the Turkish intervention in 1974. Kyrenia city is a market centre and

Usa

2005-02-18T08:30:00.000-08:00

City, Oita ken (prefecture), northern Kyushu, Japan; it lies 24 miles (39 km) northwest of the prefectural capital Oita. The city developed around the site of the first and most famous of shrines dedicated to the Shinto god Hachiman, Usa Hachiman Shrine, which dates to about 717–724. An annual festival is held on March 18, and the Shinkosai festival, with a procession of portable shrines (mikoshi

Bektashi

2005-02-17T17:56:00.000-08:00

Originally one of many Sufi orders within orthodox Sunnite Islam, the Bektashi order in the 16th century adopted tenets of the Shi'ite sect,

Roberts, Joseph Jenkins

2005-02-17T06:17:00.000-08:00

A native of Virginia, Roberts was the son of free “blacks” whose heritage was more than seven-eighths white. At the age of 20 he immigrated to Liberia with his mother and younger brothers, became a merchant, and also became an unofficial aide to the white governor of the colony, Thomas H.

Insurance, Types of contracts

2005-02-15T19:41:00.000-08:00

The major types of life insurance contracts are term, whole life, and universal life, but innumerable combinations of these basic types are sold. Term insurance contracts, issued for specified periods of years, are the simplest. Protection under these contracts expires at the end of the stated period, with no cash value remaining. Whole life contracts, on the other

Perak, Tun

2005-02-15T14:51:00.000-08:00

A leader in the Malay defeat of a Siamese invasion in 1445–46, Tun Perak was made bendahara by Sultan Muzaffar Shah in 1456, when he again led Malacca's forces in a decisive defeat of the Siamese. He

Christianity, The cosmological argument

2005-02-13T13:02:00.000-08:00

St. Thomas Aquinas gave the first-cause argument and the argument from contingency—both forms of cosmological reasoning—a central place for many centuries in the Christian enterprise of natural theology. (Similar arguments were also used in parallel strands of Islamic philosophy.) Thomas' formulations (Summa theologiae, I, Q. 2, art. 3) have been refined in modern neo-Thomist

Bertillon, Alphonse

2005-02-11T21:10:00.000-08:00

The younger brother of the statistician and demographer Jacques Bertillon, Alphonse Bertillon in 1882 introduced his system

Colchester

2005-02-11T16:21:00.000-08:00

As Camulodunum, the town of Colchester was the capital of the pre-Roman Belgic ruler Cunobelinus and is so named on his coins. Although burned in 60 CE during the rising of the British queen Boudicca, Colchester soon became one of the

'abbas I

2005-02-09T16:41:00.000-08:00

The third son of Soltan Mohammad Shah, 'Abbas came to the throne in October 1588, at a critical moment in the fortunes of the Safavid dynasty. The weak rule of his semiblind father had allowed usurpation by the amirs, or chiefs, of the Turkmen tribes, who had brought the Safavid to power and still constituted the backbone of Safavid military strength. Moreover, the intertribal factionalism

Togo, German occupation

2005-02-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

German missionaries arrived in Ewe territory in 1847, and German traders were soon established at Anécho. In 1884 Gustav Nachtigal, sent by the German government, induced a number of coastal chiefs to accept German protection. The protectorate was recognized in 1885, and its coastal frontiers with Dahomey and the Gold Coast were defined by treaties with France and Great Britain.

Smorgasbord

2005-02-07T06:29:00.000-08:00

Swedish Smörgåsbord, in Swedish cuisine, buffet offering a variety of fish, cheeses, and hot and cold dishes. In the country districts of Sweden, it was customary for guests to contribute to the fare at large gatherings. The foods were set out on long tables from which the diners helped themselves. By the 18th century, festive meals were preceded by appetizers from a bannvinsbord, offering aquavit,

Disposable Income

2005-02-06T09:44:00.000-08:00

That portion of an individual's income over which the recipient has complete discretion. An accurate general definition of income is not easy to provide. Income includes wages and salaries, interest and dividend payments from financial assets, and rents and net profits from businesses. Capital gains on real or financial assets should also be counted as income

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Diversity of media

2005-02-05T17:15:00.000-08:00

In the broadest sense, allegorical procedures are linguistic. Allegory is a manipulation of the language of symbols. Verbally, this mode underwent a major shift in medium along with the shift from oral to written literature: allegories that had initially been delivered in oral form (Christ's parables, for example) were written down by scribes and then transcribed

Kielce

2005-02-03T07:53:00.000-08:00

First chronicled in the late 11th century, the market town obtained municipal rights in 1360. It developed as an industrial and religious

Philip

2005-02-02T16:40:00.000-08:00

Antipope in July 768. Temporal rulers coveted the papal throne following the death (767) of Pope St. Paul I, and Toto, duke of Nepi, had his brother Constantine II, a layman, elected pope. The Lombard king Desiderius then sent troops to Rome, killing Toto and deposing Constantine. Backed by some Romans, the Lombards, in 768, secretly set Philip up as pope. Philip had been

Dressing Table

2005-02-01T22:54:00.000-08:00

Also called Toilet Table, a table used for the toilet. The term originally was applied in the 17th century to small tables with two or three drawers. It soon became common practice to conceal the fittings of the dressing table when they were not in use, and great ingenuity was exercised by 18th-century cabinetmakers to combine the most convenient fittings with a handsome piece of furniture. In the

Tebaldi, Renata

2005-02-01T01:15:00.000-08:00

Tebaldi received her early musical training from her mother, a singer, and studied at the Parma Conservatory. At age 18 she sang for Carmen Melis, of the Arrigo Boito Conservatory in Pesaro, who accepted her as a student. She made her debut in Rovigo in 1944 as Elena

Pietas

2005-01-31T13:16:00.000-08:00

In Roman religion, personification of a respectful and faithful attachment to gods, country, and relatives, especially parents. Pietas had a temple at Rome, dedicated in 181 BC, and was often represented on coins as a female figure carrying a palm branch and a sceptre or as a matron casting incense upon an altar, sometimes accompanied by a stork, the symbol of filial piety.

Mars Pathfinder

2005-01-30T15:21:00.000-08:00

Robotic U.S. spacecraft launched to Mars to demonstrate a new way to land a spacecraft on the planet's surface and the operation of an independent robotic rover. Developed by NASA as part of a low-cost approach to planetary exploration, Pathfinder successfully completed both demonstrations, gathered scientific data, and returned striking images from Mars. Its observations

Azuero Peninsula

2005-01-28T02:56:00.000-08:00

Spanish Península De Azuero, physical region in southwestern Panama, protruding south into the Pacific Ocean between the Gulf of Panama to the east and the Gulf of Montijo to the west. It measures 60 miles (100 km) from east to west and 55 miles (90 km) from north to south. It attains a maximum elevation of 3,068 feet (935 m) at Mount Canajagua, southwest of Las Tablas. The main towns of the region are Chitré and Las Tablas, both

Metamorphosis

2005-01-27T19:23:00.000-08:00

In biology, striking change of form or structure in an individual after hatching or birth. Hormones called molting and juvenile hormones, which are not species specific, apparently regulate the changes. These physical changes as well as those involving growth and differentiation are accompanied by alterations of the organism's physiology, biochemistry, and

Yi

2005-01-27T14:50:00.000-08:00

Also called Lolo, or Wu-man, ethnic group of Austroasiatic origin living largely in the mountains of southwest China and speaking a Tibeto-Burman language; the term is used by the Chinese to designate what they formerly called the Lolo or Wu-man. The Yi people numbered about 5.9 million in the late 20th century. Their principal concentrations were in Yunnan and Szechwan provinces, with smaller numbers

Savings And Loan Association

2005-01-25T16:00:00.000-08:00

A savings and home-financing institution that makes loans for the purchase of private housing, home improvements, and new construction. Formerly cooperative institutions in which savers were shareholders in the association and received dividends in proportion to the organization's profits, savings and loan associations are mutual organizations that now

Metamorphosis

2005-01-25T13:35:00.000-08:00

Any of three species of large, slow aquatic mammals found along tropical and subtropical Atlantic coasts and associated inland waters. Dull gray, blackish, or brown in colour, all three manatee species have stout, tapered bodies ending in a flat, rounded tail used for forward propulsion. The forelimbs are modified into flippers; there are no hind

Steffens, Henrik

2005-01-23T17:00:00.000-08:00

Steffens spent his early years at Copenhagen, where he attended the university. He later studied at Kiel, Jena, and Berlin and by 1799 was an established figure in German literary and philosophical circles and on friendly terms with Schelling, Goethe,

Black Hundreds

2005-01-23T01:44:00.000-08:00

Russian Chernosotentsy, reactionary, antirevolutionary, and anti-Semitic groups formed in Russia during and after the Russian Revolution of 1905. The most important of these groups were the League of the Russian People (Soyuz Russkogo Naroda), League of the Archangel Michael (Soyuz Mikhaila Arkhangela), and Council of United Nobility (Soviet Obedinennogo Dvoryanstva). The Black Hundreds were

Italian Republican Party

2005-01-21T00:22:00.000-08:00

The party dates back to the 19th century, when radicals fought for a unified Italy under a republican form of government; the PRI was formally founded

San Francisco Gotera

2005-01-20T03:36:00.000-08:00

City, eastern El Salvador, on the Río Grande de San Miguel. Formerly called Gotera, its name was modified in 1887 to honour Francisco Morazán, the former Central American president. It is an agricultural and livestock-trading centre. Gold and silver are mined nearby at El Divisadero. Pop. (1985 est.) 15,113.

Regent's Park

2005-01-19T04:44:00.000-08:00

Park in the Greater London boroughs of Westminster and Camden. It occupies an area of 487 acres (197 hectares) north and east of the St. Marylebone district. Originally a part of Henry VIII's hunting forest, Regent's Park was developed and landscaped (in the 1810s and '20s) by the city planner and architect John Nash as an area of leisure for the royal family and other aristocrats. It was

Paeligni

2005-01-18T21:12:00.000-08:00

Ancient people of central Italy, whose territory lay inland on the eastward slopes of the Apennines. Though akin to the Samnites, they formed a separate league with their neighbours the Marsi, Marrucini, and Vestini. This league appears to have broken up after the Second Samnite War (304 BC), when each tribe came into an alliance with the Romans that lasted until the Social

Waterbuck

2005-01-18T02:51:00.000-08:00

Antelope species of the genus Kobus (q.v.).

Plumbaginales

2005-01-17T00:44:00.000-08:00

The plumbago, or leadwort, order of dicotyledonous flowering plants comprising the family Plumbaginaceae, with 10 genera of herbs and shrubs, found throughout the world but especially in semi-arid salt steppes and seacoasts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. The plants are characterized by alternating, simple leaves that often bear glands

Macaire

2005-01-15T18:35:00.000-08:00

The same story

Dolomites

2005-01-15T17:42:00.000-08:00

Italian Alpi Dolomitiche, mountain group lying in the eastern section of the northern Italian Alps, bounded by the valleys of the Isarco (northwest), the Pusteria (north), the Piave (east and southeast), the Brenta (southwest), and the Adige (west). The range comprises a number of impressive peaks, 18 of which rise to more than 10,000 ft (3,050 m). The highest point is the Marmolada (10,964 ft), the southern face of which consists of

Harburg

2005-01-14T13:14:00.000-08:00

Southern industrial district of the city and Land (state) of Hamburg, Germany. The district lies on the left bank of the southern arm of the Elbe River. It was first mentioned in 1142 as Horeburg, was united with the commune of Wilhelmsburg in 1927, and was incorporated into Hamburg in 1937. The district has port facilities and an electrical power station. Pop. (1992 est.) 5,814.

Bin Laden, Osama

2005-01-12T00:44:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Usamah ibn Ladin mastermind of numerous terrorist attacks against the United States and other Western powers, including the 1993 bombing of New York City's World Trade Center, the 2000 suicide bombing of the U.S. warship Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden, and the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. (see September 11

Torez

2005-01-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

Formerly (until 1964) Chistyakovo city, Donetsk oblast (province), Ukraine. Torez is a typical coal-mining centre of the Donets Basin coalfield, but in Soviet times its industrial base was considerably widened. It is now a centre for engineering industries, especially electrical engineering, and for building materials. The city of Torez has been replanned in modern style, and its streets have been widened.

Anti-comintern Pact

2005-01-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

The treaties were sought by Adolf Hitler, who at the time was publicly inveighing against Bolshevism and who was interested in Japan's

Arnolfo Di Cambio

2005-01-09T07:14:00.000-08:00

Arnolfo studied painting under Cimabue and sculpture under Nicola Pisano. He served as assistant to Pisano in 1265–68 in the production of the pulpit for the Siena Cathedral. Arnolfo went to Rome

Channel Islands

2005-01-08T04:46:00.000-08:00

Also called Santa Barbara Islands island chain extending some 150 miles (240 km) along, and about 12–70 miles (20–115 km) off, the Pacific coast of southern California. The islands form two groups. The Santa Barbara group, to the north, is separated from the mainland by the Santa Barbara Channel and includes San Miguel Island, Santa Rosa Island, Santa Cruz Island, and Anacapa, a group of three small islets. The Santa Catalina group

Yozgat

2005-01-06T00:23:00.000-08:00

City, central Turkey. The city lies on the site of a Bronze Age settlement 100 miles (160 km) east of Ankara in a valley of the Ak Mountains, at an elevation of 4,360 feet (1,329 m). The main road between Sivas and Ankara passes through it, but the rail line bypasses it to the southwest, and the city functions primarily as a local market and administrative centre. Mohair, wool, grain, gum, and lead are

Pucallpa

2005-01-05T20:56:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Coronel Portillo provincia and Ucayali departamento, eastern Peru. It lies on the Ucayali River in the hot, humid Amazonian rain forest. Although the community dates from the early colonial era (1534), it remained isolated until 1945, when the Lima-Pucallpa highway, 526 miles (846 km) long, was completed. The largest community in Ucayali departamento, Pucallpa can be reached

Amphioxus

2005-01-04T05:20:00.000-08:00

Amphioxi are seldom more than 8 cm (3 inches) long, and in appearance they resemble small, slender fishes without eyes or definite heads. They

Thompson River

2005-01-03T13:36:00.000-08:00

Major tributary of the Fraser River, in southern British Columbia, Canada. The North Thompson (210 miles [340 km]) rises in the Cariboo Mountains east of Wells Gray Provincial Park and follows an easterly then southwesterly course to Kamloops; the South Thompson (206 miles) emerges from Shuswap Lake and flows northwesterly to Kamloops (see photograph), where the two streams unite

Ziyadid Dynasty

2005-01-03T06:42:00.000-08:00

The 'Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun transferred the rule of Yemen to the Ziyad family to offset the intrigues of the 'Alids—the Shi'ite opponents of the 'Abbasids—who had made southern Arabia their headquarters. The first Ziyadid, Muhammad ibn Ziyad, firmly established himself along the Yemeni coast (Tihamah) with

Neal, Patricia

2005-01-02T23:06:00.000-08:00

Neal studied theatre at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and then moved to New York City after landing an understudy assignment for the play The Voice of the

Nepenthales

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

An order of carnivorous plants, belonging to the class Magnoliopsida, also called dicotyledon (characterized by two seed leaves). The order consists of three families: the Droseraceae, containing the sundews and the Venus's-flytrap; the Nepenthaceae, consisting of the Old World pitcher plants; and the Sarraceniaceae, containing the New World pitcher plants. All of

Babelthuap

2004-12-31T07:17:00.000-08:00

Also called Babeldaob, Palau, Baberudaobu, or Arrecifos largest of the Caroline Islands and largest island within Palau (a sovereign state since 1994). It has an area of 143 square miles (370 square km) and lies in the western Pacific Ocean, 550 miles (885 km) east of the Philippines. Partly elevated limestone and partly volcanic in origin, Babelthuap measures 27 miles by 8 miles (43 km by 13 km); it is fertile and wooded and rises to an elevation of 713 feet (217 metres).

Aerospace Industry, Fabrication processes and materials

2004-12-30T05:01:00.000-08:00

Fabrication involves the manufacture of individual components that make up larger assemblies or end products. This activity encompasses the working of metals and the incorporation of electrical and electronic devices into processors, circuit boards, and subassemblies for the components of navigation, communication, and control systems. Most of the basic

Cypress

2004-12-29T08:29:00.000-08:00

Any of about 20 species of ornamental and timber evergreen conifers constituting the genus Cupressus of the family Cupressaceae, distributed throughout warm-temperate and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. Many resinous, aromatic evergreen trees called cypress belong to other genera of the same family, especially

Philadelphia Zoological Gardens

2004-12-28T07:25:00.000-08:00

First zoo in the United States, opened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1874 with an animal inventory of several hundred native and exotic specimens. It was begun and continues to be operated by the Zoological Society of Philadelphia, founded in 1859. In 1868, three years after the end of the American Civil War, a 42-acre (17-hectare) site was selected in Fairmount Park, an architect was sent

Durg

2004-12-27T07:33:00.000-08:00

Formerly Drug city, central Chhattisgarh state, central India, just east of the Seonath River, part of the Durg–Bhilai Nagar urban agglomeration. The city is an agricultural market and is heavily engaged in milling rice and pigeon peas (Cajanus cajan). Its name is derived from the Hindi term durga (“fort”); there are remains of an ancient fortress used by the Marathas as a base of operations in subjugating

Provençal Literature

2004-12-25T02:05:00.000-08:00

The oldest extant piece of Provençal verse probably belongs to the

O Canada

2004-12-24T19:49:00.000-08:00

The music, written by Calixa Lavallée (1842–91), a concert pianist and native of Verchères, Que., was commissioned in 1880 on the occasion of a visit to Quebec by Lord Lorne (later Duke of Argyll), then governor-general of Canada, and his wife, Queen Victoria's

Aerospace Industry, Wind-tunnel testing

2004-12-23T11:00:00.000-08:00

Computer simulation has reduced the amount of wind-tunnel testing necessary, but the latter remains an important part of the development process in the aerospace industry. During development of the Boeing 777, for example, some 2,000 hours in the wind tunnel were clocked. The wind tunnel, which predates powered flight by 32 years, is a test apparatus in which air is blown over

Sweat

2004-12-23T04:09:00.000-08:00

The moisture excreted in visible quantities through the openings of the sweat glands. See perspiration.

France, History Of, Collective security

2004-12-22T17:38:00.000-08:00

Poincaré, in his final term of office (1926–29), retained as foreign minister Aristide Briand, who had been named to that post by the Cartel in 1925 and who was to remain there for seven years almost without interruption. Briand sensed a change in the public mood after the Ruhr episode and proclaimed himself “the apostle of peace”; he formulated a policy that he called apaisement. His

Smith, George Washington

2004-12-21T02:53:00.000-08:00

Smith's talents were developed by studying with various visiting European teachers in his native Philadelphia, then a mecca for theatre and dance. His performing debut was made in 1832, and he soon grew into a versatile dancer, admired

Baptist Union Of Great Britain And Ireland

2004-12-20T17:57:00.000-08:00

The Baptist Union is a voluntary organization made up of area associations of churches, individual churches, colleges,

Kumarajiva

2004-12-19T18:50:00.000-08:00

Before his ordination at the

Difference Equation

2004-12-18T19:26:00.000-08:00

Mathematical equality involving the differences between successive values of a function of a discrete variable. A discrete variable is one that is defined or of interest only for values that differ by some finite amount, usually a constant and often 1; for example, the discrete variable x may have the values x0 = a, x1 = a + 1, x2 = a + 2, . . . , xn = a + n. The function y has the corresponding values y0, y1, y2, . . . , yn, from which the

Palamedes

2004-12-16T21:23:00.000-08:00

In Greek legend, the son of Nauplius, king of Euboea, and a hero of the Trojan War. Palamedes is a prominent figure in post-Homeric legends about the siege of Troy. Before the war he exposed the trickery of Odysseus, who had feigned madness to avoid military service; by placing the infant Telemachus in the path of Odysseus' plow in the field, he forced that king to admit his

Ferdinand I

2004-12-16T19:02:00.000-08:00

Because his elder brother, Henry III, was an invalid, Ferdinand took the battlefield against the Muslims of Granada. When Henry III died in 1406, his son John II was an infant and the regency was divided between Henry's widow, Queen Catherine of Lancaster,

Buddhism, The Buddha: divinization and multiplicity

2004-12-15T18:22:00.000-08:00

As Mahayana developed,

Ferdinand I

2004-12-14T02:13:00.000-08:00

An abortive attempt by western European powers, with United States support, to counterbalance the overwhelming conventional military ascendancy of the Soviet Union in Europe by the formation of a supranational European army. The idea was originally mooted at the Hague Conference of 1948. Influenced by the Korean War, the French politician René Pleven evolved a plan

Areopagus

2004-12-12T11:58:00.000-08:00

The Areopagite Council probably began as the king's advisers. Early in the Archaic period it exercised a general and ill-defined authority until the publication of Draco's Code of Law (c. 621). Membership continued

Levine, Jack

2004-12-10T22:28:00.000-08:00

Trained first at the Jewish Welfare Center in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and later at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Levine also studied at Harvard University from 1929 to 1931. From 1935 to 1940 he was intermittently part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Colorado National Monument

2004-12-10T08:45:00.000-08:00

Situated on the Uncompahgre Plateau (which itself is part of the larger Colorado Plateau), the monument is known for its colourful, wind-eroded sandstone

Gravimeter

2004-12-09T05:48:00.000-08:00

Also called gravity meter sensitive device for measuring variations in the Earth's gravitational field, useful in prospecting for oil and minerals. In one form, it consists of a weight suspended from a spring; variations in gravity cause variations in the extension of the spring. A number of different mechanical and optical schemes have been developed to measure this deflection, which in

Pacific Mountain System, Environmental concerns

2004-12-07T11:31:00.000-08:00

The logging practice of clear-cutting left millions of acres of denuded mountainsides. Exposed

Novembergruppe

2004-12-07T01:55:00.000-08:00

English November Group group of artists formed in Berlin in November 1918 by Max Pechstein and César Klein. Taking its name from the month of the Weimar Revolution, this group of Expressionist artists hoped to bring about a new unity in painting, sculpture, architecture, crafts, and city planning, and to bring the artist into close contact with the worker. In an attempt to reach the working masses,

Duque De Caxias

2004-12-05T07:46:00.000-08:00

City, Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil, suburb of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Until 1931 it was known as Meriti Station and from 1931 to 1943 as Caxias; it became the seat of the district of Caxias in 1931 and seat of the municipality of Duque de Caxias in 1943. The Duquecaxiense Academy of Letters is located there. The duke for whom the city was named was Luis Alves de Lima e Silva, soldier

Philemon

2004-12-04T14:27:00.000-08:00

As a playwright Philemon was noted for his neatly contrived plots, vivid description, dramatic surprises, and platitudinous moralizing. By 328 he was producing plays in Athens, where he eventually became a citizen; he also worked in Alexandria for a time.

Berdichevsky, Micah Joseph

2004-12-04T04:11:00.000-08:00

Pseudonym Micah Joseph Bin Gorion author of works in Hebrew, German, and Yiddish. His impassioned writings, perhaps more than those of any other Jewish author, bear poignant witness to the “rent in the heart” of 19th-century Jews torn between tradition and assimilation. He was also the author of enduring reconstructions of Jewish

Miles, Bernard

2004-12-03T20:27:00.000-08:00

Miles studied at Pembroke College, Oxford, and taught briefly before quitting to pursue an acting career. He made his professional

Astor (of Hever Castle), Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount, Baron Astor Of Hever Castle

2004-12-01T17:03:00.000-08:00

He was the elder son of William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor, and a great-great-grandson

Sore Mouth

2004-12-01T17:02:00.000-08:00

Also called doby mouth, pustular dermatitis , or contagious ecthyma (CE) viral disease of sheep and goats. Blisters, pustules, ulcers, and scabs form on the lips especially but also on the face and ears. In severe cases sores form inside the mouth. Infections occur in the spring and summer and heal in about a month. Humans who work around the sheep sometimes become infected.

New Brunswick, Flag Of

2004-11-29T00:29:00.000-08:00

Following the establishment of the Dominion of Canada, Queen Victoria signed a royal warrant on May 26, 1868, designating coats of arms for the four original provinces—Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The golden lion on red in the New Brunswick coat of arms may refer to the arms of England (a red shield with three golden lions) or to the arms of the duchy of Brunswick

Aron, Raymond (-claude-ferdinand)

2004-11-28T01:49:00.000-08:00

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

Chat-thrush

2004-11-27T14:07:00.000-08:00

Any of the 190 species belonging to the songbird family Turdidae (order Passeriformes) that are generally smaller and have slenderer legs and more colourful plumage than true, or typical, thrushes. Chat-thrushes are sometimes treated as a distinct subfamily, Saxicolinae. They are found almost worldwide but are most common in the tropics, especially

Ria

2004-11-27T08:17:00.000-08:00

Funnel-shaped estuary that occurs at a river mouth and is formed by the submergence of the lower portion of the river valley. Generally occurring along a rugged coast perpendicular to a mountain chain, many rias were formed by the rise in sea level after the melting of the vast continental glaciers. Rias are commonly very irregular and may have several branching

France, History Of, Military reforms

2004-11-24T22:17:00.000-08:00

The fiscal reorganization facilitated equally significant military reforms. The Peace of Arras, rather than pacifying France, had only thrown the people once again to the mercies of disbanded mercenaries and brigands. In 1439 an ordinance made the recruitment of military companies the king's monopoly and provided for uniform strength in contingents, supervision,

Basedow, Johann Bernhard

2004-11-24T11:46:00.000-08:00

Basedow as a boy revolted

Sa'ib

2004-11-23T11:09:00.000-08:00

Sa'ib was educated in Esfahan, and in about 1626/27 he traveled to India, where he was received into the court of Shah Jahan. He stayed for a time in Kabul and in Kashmir, returning home after several years abroad. After his

Mckinney

2004-11-22T21:55:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1848) of Collin county, northeastern Texas, U.S., near the East Fork of Trinity River. Named for one of the signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence, it was platted in 1848. McKinney's home, formerly 17 miles (27 km) north, was moved in 1936 to Finch Park, where it was restored as a memorial. Many of the city's residents commute to work in Dallas or Plano, both located south of McKinney;

Jib

2004-11-20T19:04:00.000-08:00

In sailing ships, triangular sail rigged to a stay extending from the foremast, or foretopmast, to the bowsprit or to a spar, the jibboom, that is an extension of the bowsprit. The jib is first known to have been used on one-masted vessels. Its use began to spread about 1600 and extended to larger war vessels about 1700. Jibs proved handy in helping to steer and were much valued—e.g., on