YoungComb

Estate Agent London

2006-10-26T14:25:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services, including estate agent london and estate agent central london. Their centrally located ground floor offices, minutes from Oxford Circus offer an ideal marketing base for your property.

Sunbird

2005-04-04T16:49:00.000-07:00

Any of about 95 species of the songbird family Nectariniidae (order Passeriformes) that have brilliant plumage in breeding males. They are 9 to 15 cm (3 1/2 to 6 inches) long and live chiefly on nectar. Unlike hummingbirds, sunbirds rarely hover while feeding but instead perch on the flower stalk (see photo). Sunbirds are most numerous

Dace

2005-04-04T13:37:00.000-07:00

Any of a number of small, slim, active freshwater fishes of the carp family, Cyprinidae. In England and Europe, the dace is Leuciscus leuciscus, a relative of the chub. Usually found in moderately swift streams and rivers, the European dace is a rather small-headed, silvery fish attaining a usual length and weight of 25–30 cm (10–12 inches) and 0.5–0.7 kg (1–1 1/2 pounds). It lives

Halebid

2005-04-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

Historic site and modern village, south-central Karnataka (formerly Mysore) state, southwestern India. It is situated north-northwest of the town of Hassan. It grew up beside a large artificial lake, known as Dorasamudra (Dvarasamudra), which was probably built by the Rastrakutas in the 9th century. In the early 12th century the Hoysalas made it their capital, and for about two centuries

Baragwanathia

2005-04-02T13:18:00.000-08:00

A genus of fossil plants from the Early Devonian Epoch (about 408 to 387 million years ago) of Australia, of interest as being perhaps the earliest club moss class (or subdivision) Lycopsida. The plants exceeded the size of present-day lycopsids, some being up to 28 cm (11 inches) long.

Kahn, Louis I.

2005-04-02T02:33:00.000-08:00

Kahn's parents immigrated to the United States when he was a child. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, in 1924 and later toured Europe,

Cracow, Republic Of

2005-04-02T00:07:00.000-08:00

Also called Free City of Cracow , Cracow also spelled Kraków , Polish Krakowska Rzeczpospolita , or Wolne Miasto Kraków tiny state that, for the 31 years of its existence (1815–46), was the only remaining independent portion of Poland. Established by the Congress of Vienna at the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars (1815), the free Republic of Cracow consisted of the ancient city of Cracow and the territory surrounding it. Containing a population of 95,000, it was placed under the joint protection of Austria, Prussia,

Taranto

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

Kocu Bey

2005-03-28T15:35:00.000-08:00

In full Kuricali Kocu Mustafa Bey, Kuricali also spelled Göriceli, Kocu also spelled Koci Turkish minister and reformer, a notable early observer of the Ottoman decline. Originally from Albania, Kocu Bey was sent to Constantinople, where he was educated in the Imperial Palace. He later entered the service of a number of Ottoman sultans, finding particular favour with Murad IV (1623–40) and Ibrahim I (1640–48), whose adviser he became.

Anauxite

2005-03-28T11:08:00.000-08:00

Mineral, an interstratified mixture of kaolinite and free silica. See kaolinite.

Mahasiddha

2005-03-28T08:26:00.000-08:00

Both the Shaivites (followers of Shiva) of Hindu India and the Tantric Buddhists of Tibet preserve legends of 84 mahasiddhas who flourished up to the 11th century. (The number 84 is a conventional, mystical

Quinará

2005-03-27T08:20:00.000-08:00

Region, southwestern Guinea-Bissau, West Africa, bordered by the regions of Tombali on the south and east, Bafatá on the northeast, Oio on the north, and Biombo on the northwest. Quinará fronts the Atlantic Ocean and the region of Bolama to the southwest. It has an area of 1,139 sq mi (2,920 sq km). The Rio Grande de Buba flows east–west through the centre of the region and empties into the

Adamawa

2005-03-26T14:25:00.000-08:00

Traditional emirate centred in what is now Adamawa state, eastern Nigeria. The emirate was founded by Modibbo Adama, who was one of Sheikh Usman dan Fodio's commanders and who began a Fulani jihad (holy war) in 1809 against the non-Muslim peoples of the region. Adama moved the capital of his kingdom, which was then known as Fumbina, several times before settling it finally in

Augustus

2005-03-26T07:44:00.000-08:00

Elector of Saxony and leader of Protestant Germany who, by reconciling his fellow Lutherans with the Roman Catholic Habsburg Holy Roman emperors, helped bring the initial belligerency of the Reformation in Germany to an end. Under his administration Saxony enjoyed economic and commercial prosperity at a time when

Demosthenes

2005-03-25T16:50:00.000-08:00

From this point on (354), Demosthenes' career is virtually the history of Athenian foreign policy. It was not very long before his oratorical skill made him, in effect, the leader of what today might be called the democratic party. Some interests, especially the wealthy, would have preferred an oligarchy instead of a democracy; many merchants would have preferred peace at

Amanita

2005-03-25T08:34:00.000-08:00

Among the deadliest of all mushrooms are the destroying angels

Force, Juliana Rieser

2005-03-24T06:17:00.000-08:00

Juliana Reiser (later changed to Rieser) at an early age went to work as a secretary. After directing a secretarial school in New York City, she

Scandinavian Languages

2005-03-23T09:12:00.000-08:00

Languages forming the North Germanic branch of the Germanic languages. The modern standard languages are Danish, Swedish, Norwegian (Dano-Norwegian and New Norwegian), Icelandic, and Faroese. These languages are usually divided into East Scandinavian (Danish and Swedish) and West Scandinavian (Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese) groups. They developed from the dialects

Masina, Giulietta

2005-03-22T05:07:00.000-08:00

Masina began acting in student theatre productions when she was in her teens. Although she enrolled as a student

Vail, Alfred Lewis

2005-03-21T07:26:00.000-08:00

Shortly after Vail graduated from the University of the City of New York in 1836, he met Morse and became interested in Morse's telegraph experiments. In return for a share in the

Gailhard, John

2005-03-20T11:24:00.000-08:00

In his

Croker, Thomas Crofton

2005-03-20T02:58:00.000-08:00

The son of an army major, Croker had little school education but did read widely while working in merchant trade. During rambles in southern Ireland from 1812 to 1816, Croker collected legends, folk songs, and keens (dirges for the

Van Doren, Mark

2005-03-19T15:58:00.000-08:00

Van Doren was the son of a country doctor, and was reared on the family farm in eastern

Châtelet, Gabrielle-émilie Le Tonnelier De Breteuil, Marquise Du

2005-03-19T11:31:00.000-08:00

She was married at 19 to the Marquis Florent du Châtelet, governor of Semur-en-Auxois, with whom she had three children. The marquis then took up a military career and thereafter saw his wife only infrequently. Mme du Châtelet returned to Paris and its dazzling social

Earth, Types of seismic waves

2005-03-19T09:59:00.000-08:00

Three types of seismic waves are commonly identified: body waves, free oscillations, and surface waves. Body waves are those passing through the interior, as illustrated in Figure 16 . For large earthquakes, standing waves of the entire planet—free oscillations—are also excited. Intermediate between these types of seismic waves are surface waves, which travel around

Alaska, Economic growth

2005-03-18T02:33:00.000-08:00

A dispute between the United States and Canada over the boundary between British Columbia and the Alaska panhandle was decided by an Alaska Boundary Tribunal in 1903. The U.S. view that the border should lie along the crest of the Boundary Ranges was accepted and boundary mapping was completed in 1913. Between 1898 and 1900 a narrow-gauge railroad was built across White Pass to link

Epigram

2005-03-17T14:35:00.000-08:00

Originally an inscription suitable for carving on a monument, but since the time of the Greek Anthology (q.v.) applied to any brief and pithy verse, particularly if astringent and purporting to point a moral. By extension the term is also applied to any striking sentence in a novel, play, poem, or conversation that appears to express a succinct truth, usually in the form

Rdx

2005-03-17T03:59:00.000-08:00

Abbreviation of Research Department Explosive , formally cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine , also called cyclonite, hexogen , or T4 powerful explosive, discovered by Hans Henning of Germany in 1899 but not used until World War II, when most of the warring powers introduced it. Relatively safe and inexpensive to manufacture, RDX was produced on a large scale in the United States by a secret process developed in the United States and Canada. The name RDX was coined by the British, and this name was accepted

Coast Mountains

2005-03-16T23:48:00.000-08:00

Segment of the Pacific mountain system (q.v.) of western North America. The range extends southeastward through western British Columbia, Can., for about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from just north of the border with Yukon Territory, Can., along the border of the panhandle of Alaska, U.S., to the Fraser River. Many peaks exceed 11,000 feet (3,400 m), including Monarch Mountain and Mounts Munday, Tiedemann, and

Schmucker, S.s.

2005-03-16T20:25:00.000-08:00

Schmucker joined in the establishment of the General Synod (1820) that coordinated the various Lutheran churches in the United States and

Ammonia-soda Process

2005-03-15T17:45:00.000-08:00

In the ammonia-soda process, common salt, sodium chloride, is treated with ammonia and then

Floral Decoration, Other cultures

2005-03-15T11:38:00.000-08:00

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

Pharmaceutical Industry, Dispersions

2005-03-15T03:31:00.000-08:00

Aerosols were formerly defined as colloidal systems consisting of very finely subdivided liquid or solid particles dispersed in a gas. Today the term aerosol, in general usage, has become synonymous with a pressurized package. For pharmaceutical purposes aerosols may be divided into two types. Space sprays disperse the medicament as a finely divided spray with

Andreini, Isabella

2005-03-14T18:17:00.000-08:00

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

Boisrobert, François Le Métel, Seigneur De (lord Of)

2005-03-13T20:07:00.000-08:00

A Norman Huguenot lawyer's son, he became a Catholic in the 1620s and began to take holy orders. His wit and effrontery won him the favour of Cardinal de Richelieu, and he was given a canonry at Rouen

Aeschylus, Works

2005-03-13T17:43:00.000-08:00

Persai (472 BC; Persians); Hepta epi Thebais (467 BC; Seven Against Thebes); Hiketides (c. 463 BC; Latin trans., Supplices; Eng. trans., Suppliants); the trilogy known as the Oresteia (458 BC), comprising Agamemnon, Choephoroi (Libation Bearers), and Eumenides; Prometheus desmotes (date uncertain, probably late; Prometheus Bound).

Scaevola, Publius Mucius

2005-03-12T08:20:00.000-08:00

In 133, Scaevola

Corax

2005-03-12T03:25:00.000-08:00

There is little reliable information about Corax's life or his work, of which nothing survives. He was active at a time when democratic constitutions had replaced tyrannies in Sicily. He specialized in the theory of forensic oratory and is said to have advocated argument

Annelid, Leeches

2005-03-11T22:10:00.000-08:00

Leeches have 34 segments, and elongation occurs by the subdivision of these segments. Leeches have a small sucker at the anterior end and a large sucker at the posterior end. A clitellum is present in the mid-region during the reproductive period. The poorly developed eyes are paired structures at the anterior end. Setae are absent.

Kamarupa

2005-03-11T06:51:00.000-08:00

Kamarupa was ruled by a single dynasty from AD 350 to 650. Although it began as a feudatory state of the Gupta empire, Kamarupa under a second dynasty

Graves, Robert James

2005-03-10T22:53:00.000-08:00

Graves received his degree from the University of Dublin in 1818. After studying in London and on the European continent, he returned

Presbyterian Church (u.s.a.)

2005-03-09T21:47:00.000-08:00

The U.S. Presbyterian Church traces its beginnings to the earliest Presbyterian

Dyer, Mary Barrett

2005-03-09T11:01:00.000-08:00

Married in 1633 in London to William Dyer, Mary Dyer went with him to America (c. 1635) and settled in Boston. She began to accept the antinomian

China, Nationalist deterioration

2005-03-08T17:42:00.000-08:00

The military weakness in 1944 was symptomatic of a gradual deterioration that had taken place in most aspects of Nationalist Chinese public life. Inflation began to mount alarmingly as the government pumped in large amounts of paper currency to make up its fiscal deficits. Salaries of government employees, army officers, teachers, and all those on wages fell far behind

Schnitger, Arp

2005-03-08T07:30:00.000-08:00

Schnitger was born into a family of woodworkers; his father was a carver, and Arp was apprenticed to a cousin at age 18. Three years after his cousin's

Elf Aquitaine

2005-03-07T22:09:00.000-08:00

In full Société Nationale Elf Aquitaine (French: “Elf Aquitaine National Society”), French corporate group formed on Sept. 1, 1976, in the reorganization and consolidation of petrochemical, mining, and several other industries. Until 1994, a French-government company, the Enterprise de Recherches et d'Activités Pétrolières (ERAP; “Enterprise for Petroleum Search and Activity”), held a majority interest in Elf Aquitaine.

Nervous System Disease, Syphilis

2005-03-06T18:24:00.000-08:00

Syphilis follows infection with the spirochete Treponema pallidum as a result of sexual contact with an infected individual or infection of the fetus in utero. Primary syphilis produces a chancre, or sore, at the site of infection. Weeks later, secondary syphilis develops and causes a skin rash and signs of meningitis. In the third stage, the spirochete invades the

Dmitry, False

2005-03-06T15:55:00.000-08:00

After Fyodor I (reigned 1584–98), the last tsar of the Rurik dynasty, died and his brother-in-law Boris Godunov succeeded him, the first False Dmitry appeared and

Van Buren

2005-03-06T05:17:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1839) of Crawford county, western Arkansas, U.S., on the Arkansas River opposite Fort Smith. The site, settled (1818) by Thomas Martin, was later called Phillips Landing (for Thomas Phillips, who bought land rights there in 1836). In 1838 it was renamed for U.S. President Martin Van Buren. It developed as a trading post and “fitting-out” centre for settlers moving to the West; after 1873 it became

Saccharomyces

2005-03-05T22:41:00.000-08:00

Genus of yeasts belonging to the family Endomycetales. An outstanding characteristic of members of Saccharomyces is their ability to convert sugar into carbon dioxide and alcohol by means of enzymes. The yeasts used to ferment sugars in the manufacture of baked goods, beers, wines, distilled spirits, and industrial alcohols are all strains of one species, S.

Discriminant

2005-03-05T19:21:00.000-08:00

In mathematics, a parameter of an object or system calculated as an aid to its classification or solution. In the case of a quadratic equation ax2 + bx + c = 0, the discriminant is b2 - 4ac; for a cubic equation x3 + ax2 + bx + c = 0, the discriminant is a2b2 + 18abc - 4b3 - 4a3c - 27c2. The roots of a quadratic or cubic equation with real coefficients are real and distinct if the discriminant is positive, real with at

Taganrog

2005-03-05T11:40:00.000-08:00

City and seaport, Rostov oblast (province), southwestern Russia. It lies on the northern coast of Taganrog Gulf of the Sea of Azov. Founded as a fortress and naval base in 1698 by Peter I the Great, Taganrog developed in the 19th century as a grain-exporting port. Although overshadowed by Rostov-na-Donu, it is still a significant port for the Donets Basin coalfield and industrial

Abakaliki

2005-03-04T00:19:00.000-08:00

Town, Enugu state, southeastern Nigeria. It lies at the intersection of roads from Enugu, Afikpo, and Ogoja. An agricultural trade centre (yams, cassava, rice, and palm oil and kernels) for the Igbo (Ibo) people, the town is located in an area known for its lead, zinc, and limestone deposits. Lead has been mined since precolonial times, and limestone is quarried for a cement plant

Bridges, Calvin Blackman

2005-03-02T19:36:00.000-08:00

The year after he entered Columbia University (1909), Bridges obtained a position there as laboratory assistant to the geneticist Thomas Hunt Morgan. He and Morgan designed experiments using the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, which

Teal

2005-03-02T17:17:00.000-08:00

Any of about 15 small ducks of the genus Anas (family Anatidae), found on the six major continents and many islands. Within the divisions of true duck species, the teal belong in the dabbling duck (q.v.) group. Many of the teal are popular as game birds, the best known being the Holarctic green-winged teal (A. crecca), a bird about 33–38 centimetres (13–15 inches) in length, usually found in dense

Dinawari, Ad-

2005-03-02T13:16:00.000-08:00

Ad-Dinawari studied philology in the Iraqi cities of Basra and Kufah. The systematic approach to learning that he acquired there is reflected in the preserved fragments of

Chilpancingo, Congress Of

2005-03-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

(September–November 1813), meeting held at Chilpancingo, in present Guerrero state, Mex., that declared the independence of Mexico from Spain and drafted a constitution, which received final approval (Oct. 22, 1814) at the Congress of Apatzingán. José María Morelos y Pavón, who called the congress at Chilpancingo, had assumed leadership of the Mexican independence movement after

France, History Of, Republican factions

2005-03-01T19:11:00.000-08:00

With the republican regime apparently safe from outside attack, rival factions developed among the republicans. During the 1880s the labels Radical and Opportunist began to be attached to the two wings of the republican movement. On the left, the Radicals saw themselves as heirs to the Jacobin tradition: they stood for a strong centralized regime, intransigent anticlericalism,

Pet

2005-02-28T14:34:00.000-08:00

While a pet is generally kept for the pleasure that it can give to its owner, often, especially with horses, dogs, and cats, as well as with some other animals, this pleasure appears to be mutual. Thus, pet keeping can be described as a symbiotic relationship, one that benefits both animals and human

Devo

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

Formed

Locke, John

2005-02-28T00:28:00.000-08:00

English philosopher who was an initiator of the Enlightenment in England and France, an inspirer of the U.S. Constitution, and the author of, among other works, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, his account of human knowledge, including the “new science” of his day—i.e., modern science.

Ahmad Ibn Hanbal

2005-02-27T22:08:00.000-08:00

For bibliography and information pertaining to Ibn Hanbal's works, see Fuat Sezgin, Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums, vol. 1 (1967); for his life and works generally, see W.M. Patton, Ahmed ibn Hanbal and the Mihna (1897); and H. Laoust, “Le Hanbalisme sous le califat de Bagdad,” in Revue des Études Islamiques (1959); and the Encyclopaedia of Islam, vol. 1 (1960). On Sufism in the Hanbali school of thought, see G. Makdisi, “L'Isnad initiatique soufi de Muwaffaq ad-Din Ibn Qudama,” in L'Herne: Louis Massignon (1970).

Bridge, Frank

2005-02-27T21:01:00.000-08:00

Bridge studied violin at the Royal College of Music, London, but changed to viola, becoming a virtuoso player. After a period in the Joachim Quartet (1906) he played with the English

Hackberry

2005-02-27T16:32:00.000-08:00

The eastern North American tree called hackberry, or nettle tree, is C. occidentalis. It has bright green elmlike leaves, which often

Frying

2005-02-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

The technique of frying is ancient, ubiquitous,

Grace & Co.

2005-02-24T13:59:00.000-08:00

The company grew out of a Peruvian land and resource enterprise formed by William R. Grace in 1854. In 1865 Grace moved the business headquarters to New York City, where the company expanded into shipping. The firm was incorporated

Performing Arts

2005-02-24T09:58:00.000-08:00

The eastern North American tree called hackberry, or nettle tree, is C. occidentalis. It has bright green elmlike leaves, which often

Sun Belt

2005-02-24T07:16:00.000-08:00

Region comprising 15 southern states in the United States and extending from Virginia and Florida in the southeast through Nevada in the southwest, and also including southern California. Between 1970 and 1990, the South grew in population by 36 percent and the West by 51 percent, both well above the national average. Large in-migration, along with a high birth rate and a decline in

Elk

2005-02-23T21:52:00.000-08:00

Elk county was created in 1843. The principal communities are St. Marys, Johnsonburg, and Ridgway, which is the county seat.

Eakins, Thomas

2005-02-23T00:08:00.000-08:00

Eakins returned to Philadelphia in the summer of 1870. His earliest artistic subjects were his sisters and other members of his family and the family of his fiancée, Katherine Crowell. Redolent with the character of each individual in an intimate and personal domestic setting—pensive young ladies at the piano, children engrossed with toys scattered on the floor, Katherine

Abdul-jabbar, Kareem

2005-02-22T19:30:00.000-08:00

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

Conti, François-louis De Bourbon, Prince De

2005-02-22T15:50:00.000-08:00

Naturally possessed of great ability, he received an excellent education and was distinguished for both the independence of his mind and the popularity of his manners. On this account he was not received with favour by Louis XIV; so in 1683 he assisted the Imperialists in Hungary, and while there he wrote

Tallahassee

2005-02-21T23:20:00.000-08:00

Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto camped in the area during the winter of 1539–40; it was originally occupied by Apalachee and later by Creek peoples. Seven Franciscan missions were established,

Candidas

2005-02-21T17:36:00.000-08:00

The popularity of Candidas' songs inspired much imitation, making it difficult to establish firmly the identity of the poet.

Kermadec Trench

2005-02-20T11:37:00.000-08:00

Submarine trench in the floor of the South Pacific Ocean, about 750 mi (1,200 km) in length, forming the eastern boundary of the Kermadec Ridge. The two together comprise the southern half of the Tonga–Kermadec Arc, a structural feature completed to the north by the Tonga Trench and Ridge. The Kermadec Trench reaches a maximum depth of 32,962 ft (10,047 m).

Henderson

2005-02-20T09:03:00.000-08:00

Dairying, livestock raising, and feed are important to the economy, and tobacco is the major crop in the area.

Akshak

2005-02-19T11:36:00.000-08:00

Ancient city of Mesopotamia on the northern boundary of Akkad, identified by some authorities with the Babylonian city of Upi (Opis). About 2500 BC Akshak was conquered by Eannatum, king of Lagash. About a century later Akshak temporarily established its hegemony over Sumer and Akkad. The location of Akshak is uncertain, although the Mari letters (from the royal archives

Eastern Africa, History Of, Rise of the Oromo

2005-02-18T21:51:00.000-08:00

The challenge came from the Oromo, a Cushitic-speaking pastoralist people whose original homeland was located on the Sidamo-Borena plain. From there, the related Afar and Somali peoples had hived off northeastward to the Red Sea coast, the Indian Ocean, and the Gulf of Aden, perhaps in some way causing the pressures that finally erupted in Ahmad Grañ's invasion of the

Daimlerchrysler Ag

2005-02-18T10:15:00.000-08:00

The origins of Chrysler Corporation lie in Maxwell Motor Company, Inc. (first formed in 1913). The first Maxwell car was made in 1904 by Jonathan Maxwell and Benjamin Briscoe, who in 1909 joined the short-lived United States Motor Company. With the collapse of this combine in 1913, Maxwell continued on alone until the postwar recession, when Walter P. Chrysler was brought in to revitalize

Berdichevsky, Micah Joseph

2005-02-18T09:21:00.000-08:00

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

Debré, Olivier

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

French abstract painter best known for his large-format commissions, including huge ornamental paintings for the French pavilions at the World's Fairs in Montreal (1967) and Osaka, Japan (1970), and the stage curtains for the Hong Kong Opera, the Shanghai Opera, and both the Comédie Française and the Théâtre des Abbesses in Paris (b. April 14/15, 1920, Paris, France—d. June 1, 1999, Paris).

Turkey

2005-02-16T22:30:00.000-08:00

Turkey is among the larger countries of the Middle East, in terms of territory and population, and its land area of 300,948 square miles (779,452 square kilometres) is greater than that of any European

Tzotzil

2005-02-16T15:08:00.000-08:00

Mayan Indians of central Chiapas in southeastern Mexico. Linguistically and culturally the Tzotzil are most closely related to the neighbouring Tzeltal (q.v.). The habitat of the Tzotzil is highland, with mountains, volcanic outcroppings, and valley lowlands. The climate at high altitudes is cool to cold, and summers are very wet. The native Tzotzil live mainly in the

Amarapura

2005-02-16T05:14:00.000-08:00

Town, central Myanmar (Burma). It lies on the left bank of the Irrawaddy River. A suburb of Mandalay, it is also known as Taung-myo (Southern Town) or Myohaung (Old City). Founded by King Bodawpaya in 1783 as his new capital, it supplanted Ava, 6 miles (10 km) southwest. Its population in 1810 was estimated at 170,000, but a fire that year and the return of the court to Ava in 1823 caused a decline to about 30,000 by 1827. King

Uzbek Language

2005-02-15T20:27:00.000-08:00

In Uzbek roughly two main dialect groups can be distinguished. One includes

Liquid-drop Model

2005-02-15T08:56:00.000-08:00

In nuclear physics, description of atomic nuclei formulated (1936) by Niels Bohr and used (1939) by him and John A. Wheeler to explain nuclear fission. According to the model, the nucleons (neutrons and protons) behave like the molecules in a drop of liquid. If given sufficient extra energy (as by the absorption of a neutron), the spherical nucleus may be distorted into a dumbbell shape

Banner System

2005-02-14T23:56:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade–Giles romanization) Ch'i-ping, Pinyin Qibing, the military organization used by the Manchu tribes of Manchuria (now Northeast China) to conquer and control China in the 17th century. The Banner system was developed by the Manchu leader Nurhachi (1559–1626), who in 1601 organized his warriors into four companies of 300 men each. The companies were distinguished by banners of different colours—yellow, red, white, and blue. In 1615 four more

Blomberg, Werner (eduard Fritz) Von

2005-02-14T20:32:00.000-08:00

A general staff officer during World War I, Blomberg was named chief of staff of the Stuttgart army area (1921), head of the department of military training

Acceleration Stress

2005-02-13T16:37:00.000-08:00

Physiological changes that occur in the human body in motion as a result of rapid increase of speed. Rapid acceleration and surges in acceleration are felt more critically than are gradual shifts. Pilots are especially subject to the effects of acceleration because of the high speeds at which they travel. Acceleration forces are measured in units of gravitational

Arabian Desert, Geology

2005-02-12T18:15:00.000-08:00

The Arabian Desert consists of two major regions. The first, the ancient Arabian platform (a segment of the African Shield) is in the west; composed mainly of Precambrian gneiss dated to between 2.6 billion and roughly 543 million years ago, it was assembled roughly 900 to 543 million years ago. The second region, in the east, comprises sedimentary rock layers deposited over the past

Xerxes I

2005-02-12T11:41:00.000-08:00

Xerxes was the son of Darius I and Atossa, daughter of Cyrus; he was the first son born to Darius after his accession to the throne. Xerxes was designated heir apparent by his father in preference to his elder brother Artabazanes. A bas-relief on the southern portico of a courtyard in the treasury of Persepolis, as well as the bas-reliefs on the east door of the tripylon

Xerxes I

2005-02-11T15:10:00.000-08:00

Formerly (1912–2001) International Amateur Athletic Federation track-and-field organization of national associations of more than 160 countries. It was founded as the International Amateur Athletic Association at Stockholm in 1912. In 1936 the IAAF took over regulation of women's international track-and-field competition from the Fédération Sportive Féminine International, which had been founded in 1921. The major aims of the IAAF are to

Cyrenaic

2005-02-10T17:31:00.000-08:00

The school was called Cyrenaic because Cyrene in North Africa was the

Powell, Anthony

2005-02-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

As a child, Powell lived wherever his father, a regular officer in the Welsh Regiment, was stationed. He attended Eton College from 1919 to 1923 and Balliol College, Oxford, from 1923 to 1926. Thereafter he joined the London

Dana, Richard Henry

2005-02-10T08:38:00.000-08:00

Dana withdrew from Harvard College when measles weakened his eyesight, and he shipped to California as a sailor in August 1834 to regain his health. After voyaging among California's ports and gathering hides ashore, he rounded Cape Horn, returned

26th Of July Movement

2005-02-09T20:28:00.000-08:00

Spanish Movimiento 26 De Julio revolutionary movement led by Fidel Castro that overthrew the regime of Fulgencio Batista in Cuba (1959). Its name commemorated an attack on the Santiago army barracks on July 26, 1953. The movement began formally in 1955 when Castro went to Mexico to form a disciplined guerrilla force. The leaders of the movement remaining in Cuba to carry out sabotage and political activities were

Chicago Literary Renaissance

2005-02-09T19:59:00.000-08:00

The flourishing of literary activity in Chicago during the period from approximately 1912 to 1925. The leading writers of this renaissance—Theodore Dreiser, Sherwood Anderson, Edgar Lee Masters, and Carl Sandburg—realistically depicted the contemporary urban environment, decrying the loss of traditional rural values in the increasingly industrialized and materialistic

Pacific Ocean, Relief

2005-02-09T17:22:00.000-08:00

The Pacific basin may conveniently be divided into three major physiographic regions: the eastern, western, and central Pacific regions.

Taliesin

2005-02-08T16:44:00.000-08:00

One of five poets renowned among the Welsh in the latter part of the 6th century, according to the Historia Brittonum attributed to Nennius (flourished c. 796). The Book of Taliesin, the oldest surviving copy of his works (written about 700 years after his time), contains a variety of poems, some on religious themes, some arcane religious verses that belong to Celtic mythological

Caucasian Languages, Nakho-Dagestanian languages

2005-02-07T09:42:00.000-08:00

The Nakho-Dagestanian group consists of the Nakh and Dagestanian languages. Some investigators subdivide the Nakho-Dagestanian languages into two independent groups: Central Caucasian languages (Nakh) and East Caucasian languages (Dagestan), although the great proximity of these groups, and their equal remoteness from the Abkhazo-Adyghian languages, may justify