PoliticalStreet

Poland, The Carpathians

2005-11-17T20:25:00.000-08:00

The southernmost and also most scenic portion of Poland embraces the Carpathian Mountains and their associated chains and basins, created in the geologically recent mountain-building Tertiary Period (about 66.4 to 1.6 million years ago). Within the Polish frontiers lie the Oswiecim and Sandomierz basins, a portion of the Beskid Mountains, the Orawka-Podhale Basin, and the

Furtwangen

2005-10-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

City, Baden-Württemberg Land (state), southwestern Germany, in the upper valley of the Breg River, in the Black Forest (Schwarzwald), northeast of Freiburg im Breisgau. First mentioned in 1179, it was a possession of the abbey of St. George until it passed to Baden in 1806. It was chartered in 1873. Furtwangen has been a centre of the Black Forest clock industry since 1740 and has a clock museum.

Cooper, Cynthia

2005-07-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

Cooper was raised

Earth Sciences, William Smith and faunal succession

2005-07-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

In 1683 the zoologist Martin Lister proposed to the Royal Society that a new sort of map be drawn showing the areal distribution of the different kinds of British “soiles” (vegetable soils and underlying bedrock). The work proposed by Lister was not accomplished until 132 years later, when William Smith published his Geologic Map of England and Wales with Part of

Jerusalem, Siegfried

2005-07-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

Siegfried Jerusalem's name and voice were both well suited to a Wagnerian heldentenor. Strong, clear, and expressive, with a slight vibrato to give it richness, his voice was, Jerusalem believed, perfect for the role of Siegmund in Die Walküre. He also was praised for his effortless phrasing and seductive tone. In addition, Jerusalem had the good looks and athletic build

T'ien-t'ai

2005-07-05T15:40:00.000-07:00

The chief scripture of the school is the Lotus Sutra (Chinese: Fa-hua Ching; Sanskrit: Saddharmapu

Light

2005-06-28T16:00:00.000-07:00

Electromagnetic radiation that can be detected by the human eye. In terms of wavelength, electromagnetic radiation occurs over an extremely wide range, from gamma rays with a wavelength of 3 ´ 10-14 centimetre to long radio waves measured in millions of kilometres. In that spectrum the wavelengths visible to humans occupy a very narrow band, from about 7 ´ 10-5 centimetre (red light)

Surduc Pass

2005-06-17T03:40:00.000-07:00

Also called Jiu Defile , or Jiu Pass Romanian Pasul Surduc pass, southwestern Romania. The Jiu River flows through the pass between the Vâlcan (west) and the Parâng (east) mountains, in the Transylvanian Alps (Southern Carpathians). The pass connects the Petrosani Depression (upper Jiu Valley) with the Plain of Oltenia. A road and the Bumbesti–Livezeni railway line, opened in 1947, follow the pass by means of 30 tunnels and several

Syzran

2005-06-13T22:25:00.000-07:00

City, Samara oblast (province), western Russia. It lies along the Volga River at the latter's confluence with the Syzran River. Founded in 1683 as a stronghold at the eastern end of the Syzran defensive line, the city is a significant river port and an important centre of the western Volga-Urals oil field. Oil refining, manufacture of chemicals, glassmaking, timber working, and

Port

2005-06-02T17:45:00.000-07:00

Also called Porto, specifically, a sweet, fortified, usually red wine of considerable renown from the Douro region of northern Portugal, named for the town of Oporto where it is aged and bottled; also, any of several similar fortified wines produced elsewhere. The region of true port production is strictly delimited by Portuguese law. The soil and grapes, and the skill of Oporto vintners

Sartawi, 'isam

2005-05-31T00:30:00.000-07:00

Trained as a medical doctor in Baghdad, Iraq, Sartawi was conducting research in the United States

Bengali Literature

2005-05-17T03:35:00.000-07:00

The body of writings in the Bengali language of the Indian subcontinent. Its earliest extant work is a pre-12th-century collection of lyrics that reflect the beliefs and practices of the Sahajiya religious sect. The dispersal of the poets of the Muslim invasion of 1199 broke off all poetic activity until the mid-14th century. Thereafter, the literature is divided into medieval

Italy

2005-05-15T01:10:00.000-07:00

Officially Italian Republic , Italian Italia or Repubblica Italiana country of south-central Europe, occupying a peninsula that juts deep into the Mediterranean Sea. It has a shape that has been likened frequently to a high-heeled boot about to prod its triangular subject island of Sicily. Another important island, Sardinia, lies some 160 miles (260 kilometres) west of Italy's “shin.” The magnificent mountain barrier of the Alps forms a northern

Taree

2005-03-15T01:39:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern New South Wales, Australia, 10 miles (16 km) above the coastal mouth of the Manning River. Established in 1854 as a private town, it was proclaimed a municipality in 1885 and a city in 1981; it derives its name from the Aboriginal tareehin, or tarrebit, referring to a local wild fig. Situated on the Sydney-Brisbane rail line and the Pacific Highway, 80 miles (130 km) northeast of Newcastle,

Henri, Robert

2005-03-14T01:35:00.000-08:00

Henri studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, from 1884 to 1888, and at both the Acad�mie Julian and the �cole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Upon

Aesthetics, The origins of modern aesthetics

2005-03-12T06:46:00.000-08:00

Francis Bacon wrote essays on beauty and deformity, but he confined his remarks to the human figure. Ren� Descartes produced a treatise on music, although it contains little that would be recognized as aesthetics in the modern sense. During the first decades of modern philosophy, aesthetics flourished, not in the works of the great philosophers, but in the writings

West Germanic Languages, Characteristics of modern Standard German

2005-03-09T15:36:00.000-08:00

German has the following consonants, given here in phonetic symbols because the spelling often varies: stops, p, b, t, d, k, g; fricatives, f, v, �~x; sibilants, s, z,

Self-fertilization

2005-03-08T10:27:00.000-08:00

Fusion of male and female gametes (sex cells) produced by the same individual. Self-fertilization occurs in bisexual organisms, including most flowering plants, numerous protozoans, and many invertebrates. Autogamy, the production of gametes by the division of a single parent cell, is frequently found in unicellular organisms such as the protozoan Paramecium

Benedetti, Vincent, Comte

2005-03-07T05:24:00.000-08:00

Benedetti studied law in Paris and in 1840 entered consular service. He served in several embassies in Europe and the Middle East between 1845 and 1864, when he was named ambassador to Prussia with instructions from Napoleon III to prevent

Andreini, Isabella

2005-03-06T08:47:00.000-08:00

In 1578 Flaminio Scala, a theatrical manager and scenario writer, engaged Isabella Canali to play the female lead in his company. There she met Francesco Andreini and married him the same year. They helped form the

Nix

2005-03-05T14:41:00.000-08:00

Also called �nixie�, or �nixy� in Germanic mythology, a water being, half human, half fish, that lives in a beautiful underwater palace and mingles with humans by assuming a variety of physical forms (e.g., that of a fair maiden or an old woman) or by making itself invisible. One of three attributes may betray the disguises of nixes: they are music lovers and excellent dancers, and they have the gift of prophecy.

Abbadie, Antoine-thomson D'; And Abbadie, Arnaud-michel D'

2005-03-04T15:51:00.000-08:00

Their parents, a French father and an Irish mother, moved to France in 1818. In 1835 the French Academy sent Antoine on a scientific mission to Brazil. Arnaud

Mukacheve

2005-03-03T08:36:00.000-08:00

Russian �Mukachovo, �also spelled �Mukachevo, or Mukacevo, �Hungarian �Munk�cs, � city, Zakarpattya oblast (province), western Ukraine, on the Latoritsa River. Its location controls the southern approach to a major pass across the Carpathian Mountains, today followed by road and rail. This position has given Mukacheve a key fortress role in sub-Carpathian Ruthenia since its foundation in the 10th century - mainly during its period of Hungarian rule

O'higgins, Bernardo

2005-03-02T11:48:00.000-08:00

Bernardo O'Higgins was born in Chill�n, a town in southern Chile, then a colony of Spain. As noted in his certificate of Baptism, he was the illegitimate

Biblical Literature, Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls

2005-03-01T08:07:00.000-08:00

New literary documents from the intertestamental period were found in the caves of Qumran in the vicinity of the Dead Sea in the 1940s, but only a portion of them has yet been published. All the Dead Sea Scrolls were written before the destruction of the Second Temple; with the exception of small Greek fragments, they are all in Hebrew and Aramaic. The scrolls formed the library

Nervous System, Axon

2005-02-28T14:31:00.000-08:00

The axon arises from the soma at a region called the axon hillock, or initial segment. This is the region where the plasma membrane generates nerve impulses; the axon conducts these impulses away from the soma or dendrites toward other neurons. Large axons acquire an insulating myelin sheath and are known as myelinated, or medullated, fibres. Myelin is composed of

Ercker, Lazarus

2005-02-27T20:20:00.000-08:00

Ercker studied at the University of Wittenberg (1547 - 48) and in 1554 was appointed assayer at Dresden, the first of many such positions he held in the state bureaucracy of Saxony. After 1567 he became control tester of coins at Kutn� Hora, near Prague. In his great work, Beschreibung

Pridi Phanomyong

2005-02-26T15:51:00.000-08:00

After studies at the Royal Law School, Pridi won a government scholarship to study law in France; he earned a doctorate in law from Paris in 1927. While in Paris he was strongly influenced by French socialism,

Sardica, Council Of

2005-02-25T19:41:00.000-08:00

(342/343), an ecclesiastical council of the Christian Church held at Sardica, or Serdica (modern Sofia, Bulg.). It was convened by the joint emperors Constantius II (Eastern, sympathetic to the Arian party) and Constans I (Western, sympathetic to the Nicene party) to attempt a settlement of the Arian controversies. In fact, the council merely embittered still further the relations

Aerospace Industry, The first decade

2005-02-24T06:52:00.000-08:00

The origin of the aerospace industry dates to 1903 when Wilbur and Orville Wright demonstrated an airplane capable of powered, sustained flight (see Wright flyer of 1903). The Wright brothers' success was due to detailed research and an excellent engineering-and-development approach. Their breakthrough innovation was a pilot-operated warping (twisting) of the wings to provide

Tsuzure

2005-02-23T06:10:00.000-08:00

Japanese tapestry, the full name of which is tsuzure-nishiki (�polychrome tapestry�). They were usually woven of silk on cotton warp covered with silk, gold, or silver threads. Tsuzure techniques reached Japan from China in the late 15th or early 16th century during the Muromachi (Ashikaga) period (1338 - 1573). Production was at its height in the Tokugawa period (1603 - 1867), particularly early in the

Moschus

2005-02-22T14:07:00.000-08:00

Greek pastoral poet and grammarian from Syracuse, in Sicily, whose only surviving works are three short extracts from his Bucolica, a longer piece translated as Love the Runaway, and an elegiac piece on love as a plowman. The short epic poem Europa is perhaps correctly attributed to him, the Lament for Bion, considered an excellent work, less certainly so. No traces

Deficit Financing

2005-02-21T09:39:00.000-08:00

Practice in which a government spends more money than it receives as revenue, the difference being made up by borrowing or minting new funds. Although budget deficits may occur for numerous reasons, the term usually refers to a conscious attempt to stimulate the economy by lowering tax rates or increasing government expenditures. The influence of government

Ruwenzori Range

2005-02-20T05:49:00.000-08:00

Lying slightly north of the Equator, the Ruwenzori Range has a maximum breadth of 30 miles (50 km) and extends south-north for 80 miles (130 km) between

Aurresku

2005-02-19T20:06:00.000-08:00

Basque folk dance of courtship, in which the men perform spirited acrobatic displays for their partners; it is one of the most elaborate European folk dances of this type. It begins as a chain dance for men, in which the leader and last man break off, dance competitively, and rejoin the chain. Each later dances before his partner, and finally all bring their partners

Cuman�

2005-02-18T16:14:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Sucre estado (�state�), northeastern Venezuela. On the Manzanares River, 1 mile (1.6 km) inland from its port, Puerto Sucre, on the Caribbean Sea at the mouth of the river, Cuman� has an elevation of 52 feet (16 m) and an average temperature of 83� F (28� C). Founded as Nueva C�rdoba in 1523, Cuman� claims to be the oldest European settlement on the South American mainland. Despite attacks

Fredericia

2005-02-16T11:46:00.000-08:00

City and port, Vejle amtskommune (county commune), eastern Jutland, Denmark, on the Little Strait, there bridged to Fyn (Funen) island. Founded and chartered in 1650 by Frederick III as a fortress to defend Jutland, it enjoyed special privileges, including freedom of worship and exemption from taxes. After a destructive siege in 1849, the Danes drove off the allied Prussians and

Bacchus Marsh

2005-02-15T06:41:00.000-08:00

Town in southern Victoria, Australia. It is located 32 miles (51 km) northwest of Melbourne (to which a growing proportion of its residents commute daily) on the east bank of the Werribee River. In 1838, Captain William Henry Bacchus founded the town, and it grew as a stopping place for Cobb and Company coaches traveling from Melbourne to the Ballarat goldfields. Bacchus Marsh is

Raytheon Company

2005-02-14T15:21:00.000-08:00

Major American industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in corporate and special-mission aircraft, defense systems, and defense and commercial electronics. It is the third largest defense contractor in the United States (after Lockheed Martin and Boeing). Established in 1922, the company reincorporated in 1928 and adopted its present name in 1959. Headquarters

Sarapis

2005-02-13T02:27:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Serapis� Greco-Egyptian deity of the sun first encountered at Memphis, where his cult was celebrated in association with that of the sacred Egyptian bull Apis (who was called Osorapis when deceased). He was thus originally a god of the underworld but was reintroduced as a new deity with many Hellenic aspects by Ptolemy I Soter (reigned 305 - 284 BC), who centred the worship of the deity at

Great Mother Of The Gods

2005-02-12T14:37:00.000-08:00

Legends agree in locating the rise of the worship of the Great Mother in the general area of Phrygia in

Linus, Saint

2005-02-11T14:57:00.000-08:00

Pope from about 67 to 76 or 79, who may have been the immediate successor to St. Peter. St. Irenaeus identifies him with the Linus in 2 Timothy 4:21 and writes that �the blessed Apostles passed on the sacred ministry of the episcopacy to Linus.� Although his martyrdom is doubtful, he is among the martyrs named in the canon of the mass.

Biblical Literature, Philosophical solutions

2005-02-10T17:09:00.000-08:00

Solutions were also sought in philosophy. Socrates, a 5th-century-BC Greek philosopher, was largely concerned with the search for the �good,� the good life. After Plato and Aristotle, however, philosophical systems sought to supply man's longing for inward security and stability. These were sought not by an in-depth understanding of reality but by ad hoc constructions - a

Greeley

2005-02-09T11:21:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1874) of Weld county, northern Colorado, U.S., 50 miles (80 km) north-northeast of Denver, at an elevation of 4,665 feet (1,422 metres). It was founded in 1870 as Union Colony, a cooperative agricultural enterprise organized by Nathan Meeker, agricultural editor of the New York Tribune, with the support of journalist and sometime politician Horace Greeley. An agricultural-based economy prevails,

Montfaucon, Bernard De

2005-02-08T13:47:00.000-08:00

He joined the Benedictine Congregation of Saint-Maur in 1676 and in 1687 was sent to Paris to edit the works of the Church Fathers. His major publications in this field were editions of Athanasius, 3 vol. (1698) and John Chrysostom, 13 vol. (1718 - 38). As a student of manuscripts

Terbium

2005-02-07T00:26:00.000-08:00

(Tb), chemical element, rare-earth metal of transition Group IIIb of the periodic table. One of the least abundant of the rare earths, terbium, when reduced to metallic form, is silvery white and is slowly oxidized by air at room temperatures and by cold water. The element was discovered in 1843 by Carl Gustaf Mosander in a heavy rare-earth fraction called yttria, but its existence

Radiation Measurement

2005-02-06T19:47:00.000-08:00

The term ionizing radiation refers to those subatomic particles and photons whose energy is sufficient to cause ionization in the matter with which they interact. The ionization process consists of

Monarchy

2005-02-05T15:47:00.000-08:00

The undivided sovereignty or rule of a single person. The term is applied to states in which the supreme authority is vested in a single person, the monarch, who is the permanent head of the state. The word has, however, outlived this original meaning and is now used, when used at all, somewhat loosely of states ruled by hereditary sovereigns, as distinct from republics

Alexander Ii

2005-02-04T21:09:00.000-08:00

Russian �in full Aleksandr Nikolayevich � emperor of Russia (1855 - 81). His liberal education and distress at the outcome of the Crimean War, which had demonstrated Russia's backwardness, inspired him toward a great program of domestic reforms, the most important being the emancipation (1861) of the serfs. A period of repression after 1866 led to a resurgence

Marinid Dynasty,

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

The Marinids were a tribe of the Zanatah group - traditional allies of the Umayyad caliphs of C�rdoba. The Marinids had been established in eastern Morocco for more than a century when, in 1248, their ruler, Abu Yahya, captured Fez (F�s) and made it the

Carter, Jimmy

2005-02-02T01:53:00.000-08:00

At the conclusion of the president's term, the Carters returned to their hometown. Rosalynn, who had taken an active role as first lady - not only acting as an adviser to the president but also attending cabinet meetings when the subjects under consideration were of interest to her - joined her husband in establishing the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, which included a presidential library and museum. Carter served as a sort of diplomat without portfolio in various conflicts in a number of countries - including Nicaragua (where he successfully promoted the return of the Miskito Indians to their homeland), Panama (where he observed and reported illegal voting procedures), and Ethiopia (where he attempted to mediate a settlement with the Eritrean People's Liberation Force). He was particularly active in this role in 1994, negotiating with North Korea to end nuclear weapons development there, with Haiti to effect a peaceful transfer of power, and with Bosnian Serbs and Muslims to broker a short-lived cease-fire. His efforts on behalf of international peace and his highly visible participation in building homes for the poor through Habitat for Humanity established in the public mind a much more favourable image of Carter than had been the case during his presidency. After leaving office, Carter also became a prolific author, writing on a variety of topics, including his presidency, the Middle East, and his Christian faith. He also wrote a collection of poetry.

Wait

2005-02-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

An English town watchman or public musician who sounded the hours of the night. In the later Middle Ages the waits were night watchmen, who sounded horns or even played tunes to mark the hours. In the 15th and 16th centuries waits developed into bands of itinerant musicians who paraded the streets at night at Christmas time. From the early 16th century, London and all the chief

G�lvez, Jos�, Marqu�s (marquess) De La Sonora

2005-01-31T16:09:00.000-08:00

Spanish colonial administrator particularly noted for his work as inspector general (visitador general) in New Spain (Mexico), 1765 - 71. Among his important accomplishments were the reorganization of the tax system, the formation of a government tobacco monopoly, the reorganization of the defenses of the northern frontier of the Viceroyalty,

Basasiri, Arslan Al-muzaffar Al-

2005-01-30T08:38:00.000-08:00

Al-Basasiri was born a Turkish slave, and his activities were first mentioned about 1025. At the time, the weakened 'Abbasid caliphs at Baghdad, who represented Sunnite Islam, were under continuous pressure from the Fatimid caliphs of Egypt, representing the Shi'ite sect, and the insurgent Turks commanded by Toghr�l Beg.

Xie He

2005-01-29T08:38:00.000-08:00

The �Six Principles� introduce Xie's Gu Huapin Lu (�Classified Record of Painters of Former Times�), which rates 27 painters in three classes of descending merit, each with three subdivisions. The �Six Principles� have inevitably

Haber, Fritz

2005-01-28T07:53:00.000-08:00

In 1911, at the age of 42, he was appointed director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physical Chemistry in Berlin, a new research establishment that was to become even more famous than the school he had built up in Karlsruhe. With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, he immediately placed himself and his laboratory at the service of the government, his first concern being to organize

Japanese Spaniel

2005-01-27T09:41:00.000-08:00

Also called �Japanese Chin, � breed of toy dog that originated in China and was introduced to Japan, where it was kept by royalty. The breed became known in the West when Commodore Matthew Perry returned from Japan in 1853 with several dogs that had been presented to him. The Japanese spaniel is a compact, dainty-looking dog with large, dark eyes, a short muzzle, and a heavily plumed tail that curls over its

Talking Drum

2005-01-26T01:55:00.000-08:00

Five varieties of d�nd�n pressure drums of the Yoruba and the atumpani and fontomfron of the Ashanti are especially notable. They send messages up to 20 miles (32 kilometres),

Azo Dye

2005-01-25T22:40:00.000-08:00

The oldest

Bracciano, Lake

2005-01-24T03:37:00.000-08:00

Italian �Lago di Bracciano�, ancient (Latin) �Lacus Sabatinus� circular lake in Roma provincia, Lazio (Latium) regione, central Italy. It lies in the Sabatini Mountains, just northwest of Rome. Mineral hot springs along its shores recall its earlier geologic formation from a group of volcanic craters. The surface lies 538 feet (164 m) above sea level, with an area of 22 square miles (58 square km). The maximum depth is 525 feet (160 m) and the diameter is about

Pereira, Nuno �lvares, Blessed

2005-01-23T03:09:00.000-08:00

Pereira distinguished himself in battle at age 13, fighting against the Castilians in their invasion of 1373. On the death of Ferdinand I of Portugal

Anatolia, Early Bronze Age

2005-01-21T13:10:00.000-08:00

The period following the Chalcolithic in Anatolia is generally referred to as the Bronze Age. In its earlier phases the predominant metal was in fact pure copper, but the older term Copper Age created confusion and has been discarded. Archaeological convention divides the Bronze Age into three subphases: early, middle, and late. The beginning of the Bronze Age, in

Xenon

2005-01-20T08:01:00.000-08:00

�(Xe), � chemical element, heavy and extremely rare gas of Group 0 (noble gases) of the periodic table. It was the first noble gas found to form true chemical compounds. More than 4 1/2 times heavier than air, xenon is colourless, odourless, and tasteless. Solid xenon belongs to the face-centred cubic crystal system, which implies that its molecules, which consist of single atoms, behave

Rowan

2005-01-19T09:27:00.000-08:00

A deciduous tree, Sorbus aucuparia; it is also called the European mountain ash, or quickbeam. See mountain ash.

Zulu Language

2005-01-18T07:31:00.000-08:00

A Bantu language spoken by more than nine million people mainly in South Africa, especially in the Zululand area of KwaZulu/Natal province. The Zulu language is a member of the Southeastern, or Nguni, subgroup of the Bantu group of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Other Southeastern Bantu languages are Xhosa, Swati (Swazi), Sotho, Tswana, Venda,

Sabotage

2005-01-17T13:46:00.000-08:00

Deliberate destruction of property or slowing down of work with the intention of damaging a business or economic system or weakening a government or nation in a time of national emergency. The word is said to date from a French railway strike of 1910 when workers destroyed the wooden shoes (sabots) that held the rails in place. A few years later sabotage was employed in

San Felipe

2005-01-16T20:51:00.000-08:00

Historic town, Austin county, southeastern Texas, U.S. It lies along the Brazos River, some 45 miles (70 km) west of Houston. Known as the �birthplace of Anglo-American settlement in Texas,� it was founded in 1824 as headquarters for the colony of Stephen Austin, who there first employed the Texas Rangers as a defense force. In 1829 the colony, then known as San Felipe de Austin, published the

Alytus

2005-01-15T04:01:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Alitus, �German �and Polish Olita, � city, southern Lithuania. It lies along the Neman (Lithuanian: Nemunas) River, 37 miles (60 km) south of Kaunas. The city dates from the 14th century. In the 20th century it developed as an industrial centre, with factories producing refrigerators, chemical products, linen, and clothing. Alytus is a rail terminus and road junction and has an agricultural college. Pop. (1994 est.) 77,400.

Clout Shooting

2005-01-14T16:25:00.000-08:00

As practiced by the Royal Company of Archers (the British sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland, formally organized in 1676) and the Woodmen of Arden (English society of archers, founded 1785), traditional longbows

Hadassah

2005-01-13T16:37:00.000-08:00

The organization is one of the largest volunteer women's organizations in the United States. It was founded in 1912 by Jewish scholar and activist Henrietta Szold and

Power, Tyrone (edmund)

2005-01-11T02:43:00.000-08:00

Power's Irish great-grandfather and namesake, Tyrone (1795 - 1841), was a popular actor and comedian; his granduncle Maurice (d. 1849), a Shakespearean actor; and his father, Frederick Tyrone (1869 - 1931), an actor on stage and in Hollywood. Before Power's Broadway debut in 1935 in Romeo and Juliet,

Moldova, Flag Of

2005-01-10T06:13:00.000-08:00

Moldova declared independence during World War I. At various times in prior centuries it had been a part of Moldavia, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and Romania, and its symbols are derived from historical and cultural links with Moldavia and Romania. Its flag of December 1917 was the traditional Romanian tricolour of blue, yellow, and red in horizontal format. In the centre

Arts, South Asian, Indian sculpture from the 1st to 4th centuries AD: Andhradesa

2005-01-09T05:24:00.000-08:00

Besides the schools of Mathura and Gandhara, a most accomplished school of sculpture flourished in Andhradesa during the three centuries after Christ, the most important centres being Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda. The remains consist mainly of carved railings and rectangular slabs that decorated the great Buddhist stupas, which have largely disappeared. The finds are

Afghan Hound

2005-01-08T18:29:00.000-08:00

The Afghan hound hunts by sight and, in its native Afghanistan, has been

Tolan, Eddie

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

While attending high school in Detroit, Mich., Tolan was a city and state champion in the 100- and 200-yard dashes. At the University of Michigan, he attracted national attention in 1929 when he set a record in the 100-yard dash (9.5 seconds)

Vaisya

2005-01-06T16:29:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Vaishya, �Sanskrit �Vaisya, � third highest in ritual status of the four varnas, or social classes, of Hindu India, traditionally described as commoners. Legend states that the varnas (or colours) sprang from Prajapati, a creator god - in order of status, the Brahman (white) from his head, the Kshatriya (red) from his arms, the Vaisya (yellow) from his thighs, and the Sudra (black) from his feet. The yellow colour

Doolittle, Hilda

2005-01-05T23:16:00.000-08:00

Doolittle was the daughter of an astronomer, and she was reared in the strict Moravian tradition of her mother's family. She entered Bryn Mawr College in 1904 and while a student there formed friendships with

Hardouin, Jean

2005-01-04T00:21:00.000-08:00

Hardouin entered the Society of Jesus in 1666 and was professor of positive theology in the Jesuit Coll�ge Louis-le-Grand at Paris (1683 - 1718) when he published his first works, editions of the classical writers

Craig, Sir James (henry)

2005-01-03T17:44:00.000-08:00

Craig entered the British army at the age of 15 and was made captain in 1771. In his Revolutionary War service he was wounded at the Battle of Bunker Hill (June 17, 1775). He

Frey, Adolf

2005-01-02T03:15:00.000-08:00

As a biographer Frey showed a predilection for rich character studies in the manner of the 19th-century realists. Because he knew many writers and painters when he was a professor

Racism

2005-01-01T03:51:00.000-08:00

Also called �racialism � any action, practice, or belief that reflects the racial worldview - the ideology that humans are divided into separate and exclusive biological entities called "races," that there is a causal link between inherited physical traits and traits of personality, intellect, morality, and other cultural behavioral features, and that some races are innately superior to

Earl Of Leicester's Men

2004-12-31T04:46:00.000-08:00

Also called �Leicester's Men, � earliest organized Elizabethan acting company. Formed in 1559 from members of the Earl of Leicester's household, the troupe performed at court the following year. A favourite of Queen Elizabeth, the company was granted a license by royal patent. In 1576 James Burbage, a member of the troupe, built The Theatre to stage their productions. From 1570 to 1583 the Earl of Leicester's Men enjoyed

Shrove Tuesday

2004-12-30T01:20:00.000-08:00

The day immediately preceding Ash Wednesday (the beginning of Lent in the Christian churches in the West). It occurs between February 2 and March 9, depending on the date of Easter. Shrove, derived from �shrive,� refers to the confession of sins usual in the European Middle Ages as a preparation for Lent. Shrove Tuesday eventually acquired the character of a carnival or festival

Shrove Tuesday

2004-12-29T06:02:00.000-08:00

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

Howard, Jean

2004-12-28T14:20:00.000-08:00

American actress and celebrity photographer (b. Oct. 13, 1910, Longview, Texas - d. March 20, 2000, Beverly Hills, Calif.), was an actress in films of the 1930s and '40s and later became a prominent socialite and a noted photographer of Hollywood's glamour set. She started in show business as a chorus girl, appearing in Florenz Ziegfeld's Broadway musical Whoopee in 1930 and Ziegfeld's last Follies (1931). A screen

Bruegel, Pieter, The Elder

2004-12-27T03:02:00.000-08:00

Byname �Peasant Bruegel, �Dutch �Pieter Bruegel De Oudere, or Boeren Bruegel, Bruegel �also spelled �Brueghel, or Breughel � the greatest Flemish painter of the 16th century, whose landscapes and vigorous, often witty scenes of peasant life are particularly renowned (see photograph). Since Bruegel signed and dated many of his works, his artistic evolution can be traced from the early landscapes,

Y�eh-ch'in

2004-12-26T14:44:00.000-08:00

Also called �la ch'in�, Pinyin �yueqin�, or �laqin�, also called �moon guitar� Chinese lute, one of a family of flat, round-bodied lutes found in Central and East Asia. It was invented, according to tradition, during the Chin dynasty (AD 265 - 420). It has two pairs of silk strings, tuned (in relative pitch) to c - g, which run from a fastener on the wooden belly to tuning pegs set in the sides of the pegbox. A metal plate is hung inside the body, vibrating against

Gottschalk Of Orbais

2004-12-25T04:52:00.000-08:00

Of noble birth, Gottschalk was an oblate (i.e., a child dedicated to monastic life by its parents) in the Benedictine abbey of Fulda. Over the objection of his abbot and eventual lifelong enemy, Rabanus

Minas

2004-12-24T14:22:00.000-08:00

Capital, Lavalleja department, southeastern Uruguay. Founded in 1783, the city was named for the surrounding mines. In the second half of the 20th century Minas has become increasingly attractive to tourists, since it is only 75 mi (120 km) northeast of Montevideo and offers hills and forests, both unusual in Uruguay. Its bottled mineral waters long have been distributed throughout

Havana, The city layout

2004-12-23T08:57:00.000-08:00

Several broad

Biblical Literature, The Story of Ahikar

2004-12-22T09:18:00.000-08:00

According to the book of Tobit, Ahikar, the cupbearer of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon, was Tobit's nephew; he is a secondary personage in the plot, and his own story is mentioned. Ahikar is the hero of a Near Eastern non-Jewish work, The Story of Ahikar. The book exists in medieval translations, the best of them in Syriac. The story was known in the Persian period in the Jewish

Biblical Literature, The Story of Ahikar

2004-12-21T14:17:00.000-08:00

Any of 21 species of medium-sized toothed whales with extended snouts, including the bottlenose whales. Little is known about this family of cetaceans; one species was first described in 1995, two others are known only from skeletal remains, and the bodies of undescribed species occasionally drift ashore.

Xia Yan

2004-12-20T22:05:00.000-08:00

Xia studied in Japan, and after his return to China in 1927 he joined the Chinese Communist Party. He founded the Art Theatre in 1929, was the first to call for a �drama of the proletariat,� and became one of the leaders of the League of Leftist Writers when it was formed in 1930. In the same

Medicine, Costs of health care

2004-12-19T03:46:00.000-08:00

The costs to national economics of providing health care are considerable and have been growing at a rapidly increasing rate, especially in countries such as the United States, Germany, and Sweden; the rise in Britain has been less rapid. This trend has been the cause of major concerns in both developed and developing countries. Some of this concern is based upon the

Bohemond Iii

2004-12-18T22:58:00.000-08:00

The son of Constance (daughter of Bohemond II) by her first husband, Raymond of Poitiers, he succeeded to the principality upon attaining his majority and then exiled his mother. In the following year (1164) he suffered defeat and was captured by the Muslims. It was the influence of the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus that secured Bohemond's early

Russell, Pee Wee

2004-12-17T15:19:00.000-08:00

Reluctantly trained in violin as a child, Russell also tried piano and drums before settling on the clarinet, on which he became a distinctive stylist. Russell developed a quirky, chance-taking style that employed a generally plaintive tone punctuated by growls, squeaks, and breathy mutterings.

Seligman, C.g.

2004-12-16T20:10:00.000-08:00

Although educated as a physician, in 1898 Seligman joined the Cambridge University expedition to the Torres Strait (between New Guinea and Australia). After returning to England, he resumed

Diez, Friedrich Christian

2004-12-15T00:16:00.000-08:00

As a student Diez acquired a deep interest in Italian poetry, but a visit to the great German poet J.W. von Goethe in 1818 directed his attention to exploring

Baseball

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

Cuba defeated

Monboddo, James Burnett, Lord

2004-12-12T03:46:00.000-08:00

Monboddo's main work, Of the Origin and Progress of Language (6 vol., 1773 - 92), contains a vast body of curious lore on the manners and customs of primitive peoples, relates